The team at GOOD Travel booked this Andaman Discoveries homestay for the group I was traveling with. This was my first experience with GOOD Travel as well as with Andaman Discoveries. But it won't be my last.

I had read all of the information they provided and had Googled some on my own. I also spoke with friends who were familiar with GOOD Travel and Andaman Discoveries. So I was confident in my understanding of what was to occur. But I didn't "get it" till we drove into the village of Ban Tale Nok and were greeted by one of the village leaders. That's when the experience began taking on meaning that I had not anticipated. And thus began my transformation in Thailand.

Lindsey, our Andaman Discoveries guide, had a warm neighborly relationship with the villagers she introduced us to. She knew the names of their children and her exchanges with the villagers reminded me of the conversations my mother used to have with neighbors and passers-by when I was a boy growing up in a small town in Georgia. They spoke of things that mattered to them.

The village leader, an easy-going fisherman with a slow smile, told us about his community and answered our questions as he showed us around the village... the beach where the tsunami hit, the lasting impact of erosion, the health station, the mosque. He and Lindsey then introduced us to our "host moms," who insisted that we sit for the lunch of fresh seafood and vegetables that they had prepared for us using the culinary traditions of that region. The meal, like the tidy straightforward home we sat in, was an unadorned act of kindness and generosity that was as warm and inviting as any I have ever had. And what's not to love about authentic Thai dishes prepared by someone with the title, "mom?"

There were four of us... all men, ravenous travelers eager to be guests. Our hosts seemed to enjoy watching us receive their hospitality, so they kept on being hospitable... even when my rather sizable American ass broke a stool apparently designed only for Thai behinds. We made soap as we learned about the village economy in the aftermath of the 2004 tsunami. And we probably looked kind of silly crafting panels out of long skinny leaves, but Lindsey and the villagers made it lots of fun. At nightfall, our hosts served dinner on the beach, giving us the opportunity to socialize with various members of the community. The highlight of the evening for me, though, was running around on the beach with the children, taking turns inventing games we all could play.

I had my first bucket shower that night, and went to bed feeling refreshed. Open. Falling asleep in a tiny fishing village on the Andaman Sea was, in a sense, revelatory. It gave me the opportunity for self-exploration; to observe myself in the world differently and to gain a new perspective on my impact as a consumer. I felt like I think Anthony Bourdain, the late chef, author and travel documentarian, must have felt countless times on his forays into parts unknown.

It also gave me a new perspective on roosters: they crow whenever they feel like it, and not just when the sun comes up. And sometimes they help you go to sleep when you're in a tiny fishing village on the Andaman Sea.

Andaman Discoveries says that its programs are collaborative and "use local resources to have a positive human, environmental and financial impact." As far as I'm concerned, Mission Accomplished.