The most recent comments on Tours with Tong are not really very recent. Anyone have an up-to-date comment on this company? We will be in Bangkok the third week in November, and we're thinking about doing an Ayutthaya tour with her. Comments?

This topic always brings out two different factions. The Tong lovers on one side and others that are critical of her as she doesn't run her business as professionally as they think she should.

Most that are critical have not met her, let alone taken a tour with her.

I too was a little anxious about how long she took to respond to my initial emails but everything ran like clockwork on the day.

Here is a link to my trip report, the first part of which is a first hand account of a fabulous day that I spent with Tong. This, also was from a few years ago but I could not imagine that much has changed. She is a GEM!!!! .... IMHO.


http://www.fodors.com/community/asia...-of-smiles.cfm

Tong is good can be difficult to book in season most complaints
on the bords relate to tardy EM response common with all locals
in many coutries.Prefer to support locals thoguh if possible.

Wandee and Rabbit
2 other private guides
with good reviews if
Tongtours.com is booked.

Happy Travels!

www.tourwithtong.com

www.wandeetours.com

2 best for me...

Um, Thanks, I think. Didn't mean to get in the middle of something. I emailed both Tong and Wandee, and I'll wait for a response.

My husband lived in Thailand for two years 40 years ago. He is an engineer and says he still would not drink tap water in Bangkok. We've traveled a lot, and I'm a little surprised by this. Any comments on the water? No fighting please.

Definately no to the tap water!!!! Bottled water is cheap and plentiful.

We avoid eating any raw fruit or vegetable that may have been washed in tap water,unless it can be peeled.

Stay away from shaved ice.

Ice cubes that have a cylindrical shape is generally safe.

Sorry about the fighting but,as I said, Tong is a GEM and deserves to be defended.

She obviously is busy and has a good business going so my motivation is purely to encourage people to use her for thier own sake, not hers. I think that her other "defenders" here would share the same motivation.

While tap water at the major hotels is supposedly safe, I still drink bottled water - and brush my teeth with bottled water.

I rarely drink tap water anywhere in the world apart from home (England), not because it is necessarily unsafe or un- treated, but mainly because it will contain bacteria that my gut is unused toand can cuase problems. This applies to developed countries such as the US and mainland European countries as well as less developed countries. In Thailand they have a pretty. Drink beer it is much safer!

a day with her is life changing... a day with her staff is informative and fun

I agree with Bob, like him I have toured with Tong and I really enjoyed it. I can't comment on the negative stuff as we had great service from her but I can imagine it's annoying. IMHO she is so much more than a tour guide when you actually meet her but of course I cannot comment on any issues HT or anyone else may have, I can only go from my own wonderful experience.

You can't go wrong with Tong. Her enthusiasm is infectious. However, her health has caused her to limit her tours, but from what I understand her staff is excellent.

Have fun!

Sandra

We toured two days with Tong several years ago. While I will agree that she is quite a ball of energy, I disagree that she is "life changing". In fact some of her frenetic pace wore on me after awhile. She would talk on her cell, text and drive all at once; while tossing out comments to us about passing scenery. If that kind of hectic personality is to your liking, by all means go with Tong. For a more relaxing day, we toured with Tan. Not sure if she still works on her own. Maybe others do.

Does Tan work for Tours With Tong, or a different company? I have yet to receive a reply from Tong, except the automatic email reply to my inquiry. Haven't heard from Wandee either. We're not going to be in Thailand until November 16, so we still have a little time to figure things out. We are signing up for the Bangkok Food Tour for sure!

Here is the link to a fairly recent review with contact info for Tan. This is the same email we used to contact her several years ago.

http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic...n-Bangkok.html