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Most visitors to Thailand spend time admiring the temples of Bangkok or walking along the palm tree lined beaches of Phuket, but do they get the chance to experience how Thais live?

Foreigners who choose to take part in a home-stay program have the opportunity to gain insights into the everyday lives of Thais, and visitors to the north of the country can get a close look at the culture of the Karen and Shan ethnic peoples.

Organizations that promote sustainable tourism are in charge of placing foreigners in the homes of Thailand’s ethnic tribes. Children will enjoy living with ethnic families and can even visit kindergartens and schools in the host villages.

The village of Mae Klang Luang is still clothed in darkness as, just before 4 a.m., pigs that spent the night lounging beneath the stilts of the neighboring house begin to grunt and roosters make their presence felt.

Just after five, Kalayanee begins using a wooden rice husker to remove the seed from the chaff to prepare her family’s daily ration of rice. Her father opens the door to the bathroom where he splashes cold water on his face to wake up. At six o’clock the sun begins to rise.

Woman of the Sangworn house places dishes containing rice, bell pepper, pork, fish and fried eggs with vegetables on basmati mats. The village of Mae Klang Luang village is in Doi Inthanon National Park, a 90-minute drive from the northern Thai city of Chiang Mai.

“Mae Klang Luang is among the 20 best places in Thailand that supply accommodation, guest houses, a varied country lifestyle and sustainable tourism to foreign families,” said Potjana Suansri, who works at the Community Based Tourism Institute in Chiang Mai. About 20 families in the village of 300 people open their homes to foreign visitors.

At seven o’clock, the Pongtwos’ guest has risen from his mattress. Last night’s evening meal prepared by the Karen family was delicious. The man of the house was generous with a 0.7-liter bottle of rice schnapps the guest bought in the village shop for $1.70. This morning breakfast consists of a small variation on the previous day’s meal and the same will be served at midday.

The people of Mae Klang Luang are friendly and everyone greets everyone else. Most guests are delighted by the peaceful atmosphere. Locals grow coffee and flowers, and breed fish and crabs — all projects that were initiated by the Thai royal family.

The view across the village’s paddy fields and palm trees to the next mountain is spectacular. No one is very poor in the village as nature and the Karen’s farming way of life provides plenty to eat. The Pongtwos have three mopeds and a satellite dish that supplies 50 TV channels stands in the backyard with the ducks and chickens.

Tables, chairs and cupboards are not used by the Karen and shelves only exist in kitchens. Women tend to wear the traditional long garments of embroidered blouses and a type of wraparound skirt.

Guests are allowed to help out during harvest time and lend a hand fishing out crabs from the ponds in the paddy fields. There are waterfalls in the rain forest and small temples. The villages’ kindergartens where children are learning the Thai alphabet turn into lively places when foreigners arrive.

Other mountain people such as the Akha, Lahu and Shan also live in northern Thailand close to the cities of Mae Hong Song, Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai. Akha families in the village of Huai Kee Lek also take in foreigners, and Shan families in Mae Lana are also accepting of visitors.

Many villages in the Home Stay Program are organized by the Tourism Development Office. “We train one local person in each of the communes who can communicate with guests in English,” said Pairaya Juwattanasaran, a representative from the development office in Bangkok. “We encourage cultural exchange, friendships and encounters but no commercial tourism.”

The office also organizes stays with ethnic families, mainly in the northeast part of the country. The only downside to the movement is that most of the home stay information made available to tourists is only written in Thai. DPA