Phanom Bencha Mountain Resort

We had a fantastic stay at Phanom Bencha Mountain Resort. Son and his wife treateds us like family guests. An associate picked us up at the airport on New Year's Eve. Son greeted us warmly and showed us to our bungalow. Our luggage was carried for us, which was good. I do not think we would have made it up the hill in the dark if we had to carry our luggage. I would characterize this place as a bush resort, but it was the first bush resort I have stayed at with hot and cold running water. The bed was excellent and the veranda was beautiful. The resort is tucked into a narrow mountain valley on the back side of Phanom Bencha National Park. The sun was shining on a massive limestone bluff when I awoke on the morning of New Year's Day. The place is gorgeous. The restaurant was a covered deck beside a small impoundment on the valley's principal stream, where you can watch fish and birds and large water monitor lizards. The food was always fresh and well presented. We explored the menu for 11 meals and found a few things we did not like, but most of it was excellent. We encountered cigarette smoke a few times, but mostly we were able to avoid it by sitting near the edge of the deck where there was open air. Our daughter took advantage of the free wifi on the deck between meals. I was surprised to find the rock pool near the top of the hill, rather than on a permanent stream. The water was very clear when we first arrived, but it was beginning to get green with algae a couple of days later. They have to clean it out every few days. Nevertheless, it was a beautiful swimming hole. We avoided the centipedes that were living on the largest boulder. The other emergent boulders were good places to sit. My wife and I enjoyed bird watching throughout the valley. The bill for our stay was surprisingly low. I did not have any Thai baht when I arrived in the country, and Son only accepts cash. That was not a problem. Son trusts his associate who drove us to our next destination. We just stopped at an ATM machine. I was able to get enough cash to pay for our lodging, meals, transport, and a wildlife tour that we had taken. It was a convenient ending to a very good stay.