High in the mountains outside Nanjing lies a little-known jewel. Qijia Village in Jiangning District is home to Racha Thailand, a cosy resort on a miniature scale, its size in no way indicative of the stunning quality of the rest and relaxation on offer inside its quaint white walls.
A 40-minute drive from downtown, Racha Thailand Resort welcomes guests in a graceful, soft-spoken manner. Bamboo fronds decorate the steps to reception. To the right, a fire pit, stacked with sweet wood sits below the check-in area, waiting for songs and laughter after sundown. To the left, a pool sits below, with empty sun loungers beckoning.
Few rooms, an intimate space and a sense of privacy combine with good sized fridges in which the intrepid traveler packs lunch snacks. Breakfast is included in the room fee, and dinner is an optional must. Lunch is not provided. I recommend giant tubs of peanut butter and jelly. Swimming makes for hungry tummies.
Prices range from ¥788 to ¥1,788; we opted for the ¥1,088 option which includes the Thai cuisine dinner.
Our luggage is ported from reception to another wing, with another pool, this one dropping into infinity where the sun is an orange ball over the mountains. Some guests enjoy cycling around the lakes and mountains that surround the resort. Others enjoy intimate time wooing themselves by the pool, in the gym or throwing down on the comfy beds inside. Spacious rooms with gaping windows give a Siamese feel to the open spaces.
Dinner is served inside or out. The fare is abundant, delicious and bursting with true Thai flavour. Tom Yum soup, green curry, pineapple rice, red curry chicken, spring rolls; authentic Thai cuisine served with milk tea. The quality and quantity of the fare is excellent, and with the rolling stepped mountainside in front and the turquoise pool glinting in the twilight, one might imagine oneself transported for a moment to Chiangmai, where Ms. Lu, the manager, owns a house similar in style to Racha Thailand in Nanjing.
If you are like me, you will eat beyond capacity and have to sit a while enjoying the sunset. While you do so, the hot baths beneath the spring trees are warming, and once you can move, a soak in the hot water is just the thing to wring out any remaining tight spots, and sleep like a stone.
The final surprise is the spa located to the back of the west wing, tucked away behind the peach grove and the hot baths. Good value, at 50 percent discount, the able masseuse delivers a Thai and oil massage ably, in a peaceful nest of solitude. It’s best to book early as demand is high and the attention to knots and sore spots on point.
We only spent 2 days, but it felt like a week in Thailand, almost from the comfort of our own home. We shall return.
Racha Thailand is located at 70 Qijia Village, Sechun Village, Dongshan Subdistrict, Jiangning District. Tel : 19825067410.
