Checking into Villa Duang Champa, Room 7 in the back was still being refurbished, so I was offered Room 10 in the front instead for my complimentary stay. Given that VDC has won an award for its renovation in the past, I’m excited to return next time for that room.
With only 10 rooms total, this boutique, family-owned hotel run by the affable and accommodating Khun Lek (Ms. Little) is a cozy place to stay. Conveniently situated on Rajdamnoen, the main East-West artery in the heart of the nearly-perfect 1.6 square kilometer (1 square mile) Old City of Chiang Mai, Thailand. I found these to be apt albeit unintentional metaphors during my enjoyable stay there.
From the comfort of Room 10, I enjoyed the view of the top of the ruins of Wat Chedi Luang looking one way — one of the most famous temples in Chiang Mai — and the glory of Doi Suthep — a local mountain — through the western windows. Room 10 has a comfortable bed, a little couch, a useful desk, a cute balcony from which to leisurely overlook the goings on, and a large bathroom including a big, round bathtub soaked in light from the southern and eastern facing windows.
Although it is a pleasant, comfortable, family-owned small business, it is not for everyone, as the property shows its wear, some of which is being repaired. But especially if you appreciate wabi-sabi — the Japanese aesthetic philosophy of beauty in imperfection, incompleteness, and impermanence — then this place can suit you, as it did me.
Thailand‘s second city, the “Rose of the North“ is absolutely glorious, seamlessly mixing East and West, traditional and modern, religious and secular, nature and culture, serenity and excitement. There is no shortage of wonders here. On Sunday afternoons and evenings, Chiang Mai’s Rajdamnoen becomes the Sunday Walking Street Market with a seemingly-endless array of colors, sounds, smells, textures, and tastes to amaze and delight one’s senses and imagination. And when weary after shopping and gawking and eating in this enchanting experience, what a treat to be able to return to this adjacent little sanctuary.
At the hotel itself, the food and drink are simple but satisfying; it’s a place to be satiated, not necessarily wowed. Likewise, the live music they host is also consistently good and fun, even if not mind-blowing. Villa Duang Champa is a down-home place designed for coziness more than excitement and it feels calming and charming being there in the center of the Old City, despite whatever else is going on in this magical city and chaotic world. It was just what I needed.
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