I know it is late but.... I have been working with Tan, however, she is currently very busy. Our last two e-mails resulted in her saying she would get back to me as she was to busy, at the time, to talk trip details. I am getting concerned as we arrive Bangkok Jan 28. Can I depend on her getting back to me to finalize our plans?

I have contacted Tong again eventhough she previously told me she was pretty much booked. Maybe she had a cancellation.

I dropped Ratt a note this morning as follow up of a previous e-mail. We will see how her schedule is.

Does anyone recommend Cherry? Please advise.

Thanks for the help.

We just returned yesterday from Thailand and toured with both Tong and Tan in BKK. It is hard for Tan to commit to a schedule as she works for an agency first and privately second. However, she is EXTREMELY reliable and THE BEST guide. You will not be sorry if you wait for her. We thought she was just an absolute jewel. Her English is perfect and her knowledge if wonderful. We spent one day with her in the flower/vegetable markets and I was amazed at how much cultural and religious information she could impart by relating to those items. She helped us find Chote Chitr and shared a wonderful lunch. We traveled by public transport with her in the city. I HIGHLY recommend Tan.

Tong is a bundle of energy. She chatters and giggles all the time. We used Tong for one day in Bangkok (Grand Palace, wats etc.) and one day outside BKK (floating market). I would say the floating market day was the best with her. She has her own boatman and really knows the vendors. She made a couple of extra stops along the way that were also very worthwhile -- not her "secret place" the fishing village, but a small temple and a ceramics workshop. Her English is not as good as Tan and I found it difficult to follow all of the dialogue at the Grand Palace etc. I think we might have been better informed with Tan. Tong does work independently and she has her own car -- a very nice, late model SUV.

That said, either would be good and were very realiable -- showing up on time and totally prepared.

Msheinberg:
We are using Ratt in January- we will contact her and have her respond to your email requests. Note that she is more of a driver and not a guide per se - but she does know quite a bit about the attaractions and can suggest things to do if you like. We use her as our driver.

BillT; Rest assurred Ratt knew the answer to ever question we asked. Having done our pre-work in guide books we could tell if she was on the mark and she was.We used her last in April '06 foor 3 and 1/2 days. While it came to $70/day average for 10-11 hours (she did not charge for 90 min. rest stops we took at our hotel on 2 days. Now Baht down almost 20% so it may be $80USD/day now, but worth it.At the 2 stops where a licensed guide is needed she hooks you up with one of the better guides so you get a very good comprehensive but not too long tour.

While Ratt is not a guide I also found that she knew more than many guides I have had. She's also a lot of fun.

Can anyone please give me Tong's and Tan's email contacts? Can't find the info online in the forums. Thanks

[email protected] Happy Travels!

Tan's updated email is: [email protected]

I just got an email from her (we send holiday cards and she gave me her updated home address). She said is soo busy right now.

However, like others said above she is SUPER reliable. We have used her two times personally and refered her to dozens of other people. She is a little more professional now then she was when we first used her back in 2005...but some people like that. I really like her (obviously if I send her a holiday card)and highly recommend her!

p.s. If you have google talk or g-chat...you can commuincate with her that way and see when she is online. I did that for our trip last year.