Hello again!

So I've contacted Sergeant Kai, per the many recommendations here. The problem is, he is unable to conduct the kind of tour we want to take and I'm hoping maybe someone has had an experience with another tour guide who might be more amenable to our schedule.

Our proposed itinerary is as follows. We're only there for 3 days and want enough time to relax at our hotel (Baan Lanna Rai, which is outside of town) but also see as much as possible of the countryside with a brief tour of downtown Chiang Mai as well:

Day 1: Arrive mid-morning on night train from Bangkok. Travel to hotel (45 mins to 1 hr. outside of city centre) and unwind a bit. Mid-afternoon we'd like to go into the city of Chiang Mai and tour the city a bit as well as visit the Night Market (this was one of the problems, as Seargent Kai does not do night tours)

Day 2: Spend the day trekking, elephant camps, bamboo rafting, etc. This would be the most intensive day and we'd want to be out pretty much from dusk till dawn.

Day 3: More cultural sightseeing (hilltribes, local village markets, etc.) Not as heavy a day as Day 2, maybe ending in the mid-afternoon.

Any input or suggestions for a tour guide that speaks English and might be amenable to a schedule like this would be greatly appreciated!

Perhaps you could use Sergeant Kai for days 2 and 3. You really don't need a guide for day 1. As far as I can see, you need a car to the hotel (take a taxi, or your hotel can arrange it), then you'll need a car into town, and you may opt to take tuk tuks from place to place, you'll need a taxi back to your hotel.

Have you inquired to Baan Rai Lanna about having them provide you with a guide? I'm sure they could. The night market doesn't require a guide, you can easily walk around by yourself, it isn't hard to find, and it's really set up for tourist - mostly souvenir type things on sale and some food. Staying at Baan Rai Lanna, though, you might just want to enjoy the countryside there rather than travel an hour back in Chiang Mai where you just came from that same afternoon. The night market isn't special...if you are talking about the Sunday Walking Street, though, I think that is more worth a trip into Chiang Mai for.

Kim,

The BRL unfortunately only has guides that don't speak English. Normally this wouldn't bother me, but I really want to absorb as much about the culture and history of the area and English, therefore, seems a necessity.

As for the Sunday Market, I haven't heard of it before. Interestingly enough, we arrive on a Sunday.

I'd love to find out more about it, if you don't mind.

The Sunday Walking Street takes place within the city walls (mostly, there is a small part of it that is just outside the walls as well). The street is closed to vehicles, and vendors set up to sell anything and everything. Kitchen stuff, clothes, souvenirs, food, foot massages (chairs fill in intersection). As it gets dark, the place really comes to life, with street performances, mini parades. It's packed with people by dark, and we found the goods there to be more interesting than the night market. The atmosphere is also nicer in my opinion, as the night market is really a tourist market for the most part, but the Sunday Walking STreet is for everyone. In fact, you see more Thai people than tourists, which is certainly not the case at the night market.

You don't need a guide for the Walking Street either. It's dead easy to find...everyone knows where it is. You can't get lost.

the sunday market is wonderful. way more special than the night market. kathy and kim are right; you definitely do not need a guide for this. sargeant kai is excellent. have a blasy.

excellent tour guide if needed, works for a&[email protected]

i would do exactly as kathie has suggested....or try the new guide suggested above...

no need for a guide for town really...especially on a sunday afternoon and nite....a driver might be a help...

how about using a guide book as an intro to the area??

cochin, i'd love some more info on this guide you're recommending, if you don't mind. also if you have pricing info that'd be really helpful too.

thanks for the heads up!

Just wondering if cochin or filmwill have more info on the guide cochin recommends here. I've contacted sgt Kai but he himself is not available for my dates. I will be traveling alone in Dec. Thanks.

I'll post a separate thread on my experience later once I'm over jet lag. But the short version w.r.t. a tour I did with Sergeant Kai a week ago or so ...

Sergeant Kai is one of the most genuine people I mave met in Thailand or elsewhere. Our tour with him was an absolute pleasure. It was as if we were traveling with a Uncle who we had known for 20 years. A great person and a great guide.

I tried to get him for my dates but he is unavailable and would have to send someone else.

Poon, Ratt's sister in Bangkok, is excellent for Day 1 & 3 but not Day 2, in my opinion. Why not use Poon for Day 1 and Kai for 2 and 3 as suggested if he has done the trip. He may know something about the rafting that say's it's not wise to do and rather not be part of it. I have rafted in some "hairy places around the world when my wife and I were in our 30's. As I look back we should never have taken the chance on Class 5 & 6 rapids in wood and rubber cord bound rafts. Some rafts without guides in them. We insisted on a guide but they only had 3 guides for 9 rafts and we lost out.Fortunately we had a mind-boggling trip without incident in our raft but a fractured hip in a raft that flipped without trained personnel to aid the rafter was unpleasant until they could get to him and get him on land. Maybe Kai knows those incidents are not uncommon.