In the lead up to Christmas we took the opportunity to go off grid and spend time in a community living in the hills of northern Thailand. In a remote village, reached by a four hour hill trek, the hill tribe live a simple existence in bamboo huts on stilts. Riverside living, surrounded by lush tropical vegetation, they cook with the indigenous plants available; banana flowers, chillies and herbs to produce some delicious dishes. Animals roam freely and the focus is very much on sustainable living. Life is simple here, they work long hard days and there is an incredibly strong sense of community. The children are happy and appear to have very few boundaries and enjoy the freedom to explore, gaining practical skills along the way.

We are welcomed into the village, a sea of friendly faces, nothing is too much trouble and we enjoy settling in to our bamboo hut. It's not obvious where we sleep, a compartment behind a door is the obvious choice and would accommodate us but there's no mattress or other such luxuries. The rest of the hut is open, basically a platform overlooking the river. An important water source, strewn with boulders where women are often found washing clothes whilst children play. There's an abundance of farm animals to keep us company, pigs and piglets, a dozen chickens plus chicks, at least three cockerels (which kindly awake us at 3.30am every morning), dogs and numerous cats.

We spend our days immersing ourselves in the culture and participating in village life. Most of the day is spent out in the hills, lush and tropical, banana trees line narrow pathways covered in vegetation which eventually open out to breathtaking vistas. Oliver armed with a machete cuts back the undergrowth, we follow behind as he strides ahead to clear pathways for us all! Workers huts are dotted throughout the undulating landscape, providing shelter and respite from the midday heat, a perfect spot for lunch. We cook what we've harvested along the way over an open fire using bamboo we've collected as our cooking equipment. Pork is King here, its pork in various guises for breakfast, lunch and dinner, certainly no room for veggies!

After trekking back to the village, late afternoons are spent weaving colourful bands, cleverly woven into striking bracelets and shoulder bags which are often sold to generate extra income. The shoulder bags are strong and durable, worn by the women as they work the land and a testament to the quality of the goods they produce. We enjoy taking part although the quality of our craftsmanship is no match for theirs!

The lighting of the fire signifies the end of the day bringing the village together as they chat happily about the days events over a brew. We are privileged to witness their traditional dance and join in as best we can, trying to keep up with their fancy footwork round the fire.

After physically demanding days in the heat we dream of a nice comfy bed and showers, no such luck, I was right about the sleeping compartment and whenever we drift off to sleep we are soon awoken by the cockerels and a very stiff back to bring us back to reality. Sleeping on wooden floors is something we struggle with; we are not physically equipped to handle this with our soft western skin.

We are reluctant to leave at the end of our stay, it's been one of our most culturally rich experiences so far. So much can be learnt from communities like these, there is such a strong commitment to preserving their heritage and culture. Their sense of community is clearly visible, sustainability is top of their list and they all work together to achieve this. They don't strive for material gain and are happy enjoying a simple rural lifestyle in a beautiful part of Thailand. A huge thank you goes to the wonderful family that invited us into their home and made this such an incredible experience for us all, it has given us plenty to contemplate over the festive period.