Explore Khao Yai [ 考艾 ] - Day 2 : Jim Thompson Farm + A Cup of Love

Day 2 was a much longer day out! There was a slight change to our initial planning because one of the places could not be located. So we agreed to proceed to Jim Thompson Farm instead for the day considering the fact that the location for this place of interest is the furthest of all. It's about a 2 hour drive from where we stayed.

I would say Khemika was awesome ! When she came across places that were not planned in our list of to-go places, she would ask if we wanted to make a fast visit if we happened to pass by any places which she felt that we might be keen to visit. Along our way,  Khemika came across this grape farm and of course this was something not to be missed as we did not see one before!

A scene of a mother hen and her chicks, sent a delightful smile on the kids and us. Having to stay in a country where we see mainly houses and sky scrappers, such a scene on the farm was indeed a rare sighting for the kids especially !

First time ever in my life and for Xav, this was his first as well to see how grapes are grown. We were pretty excited to see the clusters right above us. We had to buy a bunch of these juicy grapes as snacks.

Our #snack of the day #Grape #葡萄 #GrapeFarm #Random #Explore #khaoyai #考艾 #Thailand #泰国 #Instatravel #Travel #Kidstravel #Travelasia #travelmom #Travelwithkids #travellife #travelawesome #Familyglobetrotters #Tourist #Vacay #schoolout #wonderlust #aroundtheworld #Thailand #sgfamily #Igers #littleglobetrotter #globetrotting #TheChuasTravelogue #xavvyexploreskhaoyai2016

A post shared by Serene Seah (@xavvylicious) on Dec 6, 2016 at 7:30pm PST

And we came across another farm. This time, it was a strawberry farm.

An overview of the farm with a breath-taking backdrop I must say. It did not look like as if we were in Thailand !

Xav got to know how the flowers and leaves of a strawberry plant looked like. There were not alot of strawberries, likely that they could have been harvested. Before we left, we managed to spot two mini strawberries but one seemed to be drying up!

Vera had to miss it as she was taking her nap but she woke in time to find a papaya tree as tall as her !

We continued on our journey to Jim Thompson Farm and we were pretty lucky to have spotted "A Cup of Love" on our way.

This was jotted down in my list to go only if we can find or if we have spare time. You can choose to just dine at the cafe while overlooking this scenic view or you can choose to pay an entrance fee and  purchase milk for feeding the sheeps and goats. All payment will be done at the counter when you are purchasing your entrance fee.

 Too cute ! We could not resist but to take a goat-fie with it.

If you have time to spare, go take a walk up hill where you can see nice pretty flowers and spots for taking pictures.

We spent like an hour to two running and exploring the place at our own leisure timing. Headed for lunch at a nearby eating place (with a structure of a sail boat), along the same stretch of road, before we arrived at Jim Thompson Farm.

To locate A Cup of Love:
GPS E14.387712, N101.797986 , E14 23'15.76", N101 47' 52.75"

My purpose of visiting this farm is simply because Xav asked me how are silk form? This is a perfect place to give him the answer. This brand is well known in Thailand and on this farm it has 5 major atttraction for visitors, all housed under this farm:

Attraction 1: Field of Cosmos and "U-pick" Organic Vegetable Garden
Attraction 2: Pumpkin Patch and Colourful Flower Fields
Attraction 3: Isan Village
Attraction 4: Jim Village
Attraction 5: Jim Market

This place can easily take up to 1.5 day. Hope on to the free tram service to save your legs from walking the distance.

Photo credit: Pla 

The pumpkin patch was a signature scene and a favourite spot of tourists at Jim Thompson Farm.

Photo Credit: Pla

She was so happy to see the giant and mini pumpkins !

Photo Credit: Xav

Within the giant pumpkin

Within the Pumpkin Patch, there were stunning fields blooming with pretty flowers of all colours! The surrounding view was spectacular and provided great backdrop for photo-taking.

Isan village was next, where we were introduced to the fasinating life cycle of a silk worm that produces beautiful silk yarn for Jim Thompson fabrics. In this zone, visitors could see the complete life cycle of the silkworms.

Moths and their eggs

Matured eggs

Oh well, kids will be kids. Their innocence made them fearless of anything. Vera almost grabbed the larvaes !

Do you know that silkworms grow so quickly that they change their skin four times. This process is known as "Molting". As they grow and shed their skin, their size has also increased 10,000 times when  compared to when they were a tiny new, laid egg.

Larvae

Being matured larvae, their bodies turn slightly yellow, getting themselves ready for the next important job. This round, bamboo tray is their new home where they are comfortably spaced, the larvae will spin a silken home around themselves, called a cocoon. Being Isan silkwarms, these cocoons are special in the beautiful golden.

These golden cocoons will be slowly and carefully reeled into yarns for weaving. One cocoon can measure up to 1000 metres in length.

Boiling of the cocoons

This were what was remained in the cocoon.

We got to watch how they weaved using the traditional methods.

Experiencing the traditional farming.

Simple wooden entertainment but we had loads of fun.

Both of them were lucky enough to ride on a buffalo ! With thanks to the friendly staff.

Xav got to see the traditional way of how water was transpored into the padi fields during the olden days whereby technology was not so advanced.

Padi field

At the end of the tour, you can proceed to do some shopping at Jim's Market. Do note that this farm only operates from December to January. Do check out their opening dates before you plan your trip.

You can visit their website or Jim Thompson Farm Facebook page for updates. Otherwise, you can also email to: farmtour@jimthompson.com for any further enquiries.

Address: 2072, Tambol Takob, Amphur Pak Thing Chai, Nakhon Ratchasima

Opening hours: 9am - 5pm daily
Entrance Fee:
Weekdays:
120 Baht / USD $3.40 (Adult)
80 Baht / USD $2.20 (Child)

Weekends:
140 Baht / USD $3.90 (Adult)
100 Baht / USD $2.80 (Child)

By the time we finished with our tour, we planned to head for dinner on our way back. Initial plan was to visit the night market at Pak Chong, somehow the heavy traffic in the evening was pretty bad and with two children in tow, their well being is always the top priority. Pretty hard to find a nice and decent place (you know with children, hygiene in food handling is one of the important factors we take into consideration when travelling overseas) Pak Chong district as we were all strangers to the place. After several turns, Khemika decided to turn into a small road and we spotted restaurants !

If you are one vintage junkie, this dining place is a must come. Language barrier aside, this place is sure to recollect all your childhood memories! We were kept occupied from viewing the collection while waiting for our dishes to be served.

For the address, you might want to refer to my check in. The dishes were great and the menu had something suitable for both the young and old.

Khao Yai Day 1 - Sunflower field (Saraburi District) | Primo Piazza

Thank you for reading and if you would like to stay tune for future updates, do follow me on Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram !

Disclaimer: This holiday is a NON SPONSORED post. All expenses are paid through our very own pocket. Just purely documenting down these lovely memories and to be shared to all who are looking into kids friendly places in Thailand!