You Can Stay In A Thailand Airbnb That Looks Like A Mushroom

Nestled in the city of Chiang Mai, Thailand, is Leafy Greens, a sustainable eco-retreat center that will make you feel like you're staying in a modern day "Alice in Wonderland." According to the digital nomad Gie Anywhere, the outdoor haven consists of five larger-than-life clay fungus fortresses, two cottages called the Peanut House and Snail Dome, the greenery room (an upstairs flat), and a sizable indoor meditation space aptly known as the Lotus Dome. There's an onsite café, outdoor pizza oven and barbecue, and an alfresco kitchen that butts up right alongside an organic vegetable and herb garden. Oh, and there are also a few resident cats that share the property with you.

The cozy toadstool accommodation is roughly 376 square feet, and sleeps two people max, as noted on Airbnb. Although it's small (you're going to be sleeping on a bunk bed), the mushroom house has all the amenities that a normal hotel room would, per Expedia: a mini fridge and microwave, built-in seating with desk space, and a uniquely structured shower that's been built right into the side of the cottage.

Once you set foot on the Leafy Greens property, you may feel the need to indulge in philosophical banter with a giant caterpillar which may or may not be hanging out on your roof. The host does make a point to warn that nature — as in big bugs — can get inside from time to time.

We could all use a bit of calm and stability in our lives, and one great way to accomplish this is to learn how to quiet the mind. To help us along the road to internal tranquility, Leafy Greens was originally meant to be a meditation center that would offer 7- to 10-day courses in their cob-built Lotus Dome. The other clay cottages on the property were intended for visiting practitioners as a place to retire after a long day of getting into the zen zone, per Gie Anywhere. However, these meditation courses are only offered a handful of times a year, so these beautiful cob-buildings remained empty for long stretches. 

Being entrepreneurial yet compassionate people, the property owners did what any other savvy businessperson would do — they decided to make Leafy Greens available for vacationers as well as those who were trying to find a peaceful meditation space in an otherwise loud and chaotic world. Leafy Greens does still offer meditation classes in the comfy, cozy Lotus Dome, which can sit up to 20 mellow-minded individuals. If sitting quietly doesn't do it for you, perhaps one of the many cats can act as your therapy pet, instead.

Leafy Greens is considered a sustainable and eco-friendly retreat center for more than a few reasons. The first is that all the handmade structures have been built with cob, which is a mixture of soil, straw, and clay. Cob buildings are one of the most structurally sound types of earth-based architecture in existence, per Eco Earth Builds. Because the mixture is porous, it excels at trapping and storing heat, which keeps the inside temperatures nice and cool. The material is also easy to work with and considered to be the building material of choice for desert dwelling people and survivalists. Side note for any aspiring DIY home builders: Cob is also relatively inexpensive — Home Advisor claims you can make your own earth house for as little at $30,000. This particular architecture is not the best for homeowners who rely heavily on Wi-Fi because the walls can be up to 2 feet thick (via Reddit); that being said, Airbnb confirms that Leafy Greens does indeed offer Wi-Fi.

Keeping with sustainable living, Leafy Greens encourages guests to use their outdoor kitchen and organic garden to make their own meals rather than calling for a taxi and increasing your carbon footprint. But if you feel the need to visit the outside world, Gie Anywhere notes that the property has bikes you can borrow for when the solitude becomes a bit overwhelming (said no meditation retreat participant ever).