Chiang Mai Tours
 

Has anyone used the services of Sergeant Kai of Chiang Mai Tours?

My husband and I were in Chiang Mai in August of this year and used Sergeant Kai as a guide. He was great. Highly recommend him. He is extremely knowledgeable about Chiang Mai and surrounding areas. You can either have him plan your days, or you can tell him what you want to do. We did a combination, ie, I did a lot of research before our trip and told him things we definitely wanted to do, but then listened to his very good advice about other things to do. I thought his rates were extremely reasonable, but I did not compare guides. Sergeant Kai came recommended to us by friends who had used him 2 years ago, so we just went with him without checking into other options. Leave another message if you want further info. I check the Fodors board on a regular basis.

yes please send his info to me .<BR><BR>I will be going to Thailand for 2 weeks<BR>Sept 25 -Oct 6th<BR><BR> 4 days in Bangkok staying with a group at the Ambassador Hotel .<BR> 2 days in Chang Mai Just my girlfriend & me ,<BR>&gt; she wants to ride the elephants I do not have a Hotel yet .<BR>&gt; I have looked at the Lanna Thai Villa but it looks like it is to far<BR>away<BR>&gt; from the city & with limited time might not be worth the extra money . I<BR>&gt; also saw the Suriwongse Hotel . . My friend stayed at the Westin but said<BR>&gt; it was run down .<BR>&gt; We are then going South to the Gulf . To lay on the beach & Go Scuba<BR>&gt; diving .<BR>&gt; Do you recommend getting the tours set up now ?<BR>&gt; It seems to be the slow season .<BR>&gt; Any must do's & must do's<BR>&gt;

David - Sergeant Kai can be contacted through his web site. Address is www.chiangmaitours.com. It sometimes takes him a day or two to get back to you. This should not be taken as an indication that he is not interested, or that his service is sloppy. He was truly great; he just gets really busy sometime. I would contact him immediately in light of the fact that you are leaving for Thailand in less than 10 days. I can't really help you with hotels. We stayed at the Regent Resort. It was incredible, but not conveniently located (30 minutes north of Chiang Mai.) Is also very expensive. We rode elephants at the elephant training camp in Lampang. There are a number of places near Chiang Mai where you can ride elephants. If you go to Lampang, it is a day trip, and since you only have 2 days in Chiang Mai, you may not want to take one full day to do the elephants in Lampang. Highly recommend going to the temple on the top of Doi Suthep; are also some great temples right in Chiang Mai. Hope that helps.

Thanks so much for replying -- I've heard from Sergeant Kai a couple of times now and he's made a few suggestions that sound great, so I feel quite confident about using his services.<BR><BR>Thanks again.

JAM: Not sure how far down on the list this message will be so I've also posted it as a new topic, hoping that you can answer my question. I've been reading conflicting reports on how long the ride is between Thaton and Chiang Rai by longtail boat -- anywhere from 3 hours to 5 hours. Is it a comfortable and interesting ride??? Or is there an alternative way to get there (and more comfortable for two 69-year-olds)? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Would love to know what you did and which hotels you stayed in if you took the same trip that we're planning -- which is Chiang Mai to Chiang Rai and the Golden Triangle. Thanks.

mzblizz - We did not do the tour that you are doing, so I'm not sure how much help I can be. We stayed in Chiang Mai the entire time, using it as a base to do day trips. As noted above, we stayed at the Regent Chiang Mai, which is an incredible hotel and worth every penny, however, it is not conveniently located. It is a long 30 minutes outside (north) of Chiang Mai. Sergeant Kai was happy to come pick us up at the hotel every morning though.<BR><BR>We were in Chiang Mai for 4 days. The first day, we went to the elephant camp in Lampang, saw the show, rode an elephant and then toured some of the temples in the area. On the way back to Chiang Mai, we stopped in Lamphun and visted several temples there. Wonderful day, but very long; we did not get back to the hotel until after 7:30 (Left hotel at 9:00 a.m.) Second day we visited the Hilltribe Musuem - very interesting - did some shopping, toured some temples in Chiang Mai and then went up to Doi Suthep at sunset to observe the monks' evening meditation session. Also a great day. The next day we flew to Mae Hong Song to see the long neck women. What an experience. Their village can only be reached by long tail boat. It was about a 45 minute ride on the boat. The boat is not particularly comfortable. My husband and I are both quite tall, and it was hard to find a comfortable position for our long limbs. There are no seats in the long tail boats; you just sit on the bottom of the boat. Our final day in Chiang Mai, we did some shopping and took in some additional temples in Chiang Mai.<BR><BR>Hope that helps.

Jam: Thanks so much for the info. I feared that might be the case with the longtail boats. We, too, are tall. My husband is 6'5" and not crazy about the idea of sitting in a hard boat for several hours -- especially on the bottom and no seat! Really would love to go to Mae Hong Song but heard that in March/April they do burning and sometimes planes can't land. Did you drive? I know it's a long and windy drive, but still sounds so interesting and might be the way to go. So much we'd like to see and so little time! Thanks so much for your help.

mzblizz - If you really are interested in going to Mae Hong Song, don't be put off by the possibility of burning taking place. We were warned that we might not be able to go because it was the rainy season. Turned out that the rain was not a problem and we were able to go. I would suggest that you play it by ear. If you're like me (a total control freak), I know how hard it can be to not have plans set for every day before you leave for vacation. What we wound up doing - at Sergeant Kai's suggestion - was waiting until we were actually in Chiang Mai and could gauge the weather. Getting plane tickets on last notice was not an issue. Sergeant Kai took care of everything. We decided on a Tuesday morning that the weather would be okay for Mae Hong Song and were on a plane the next morning. I don't think I would recommend the drive. From what I heard it is quite an arduous trip and you would not be able to get to Mae Hong Song and back to Chiang Mai in one day.<BR><BR>You are going to have a great time no matter what you decide to do. We absolutely loved our time in Thailand and can't wait to go back.

After reading all of the above comments, I contacted Sergeant Kai. I would like to know if you had to give a deposit to confirm the reservation with him for a tour program and if so, did you do it with a credit card? Also, do you know anyone like him in Bangkok and Hua Hin? Thanks for all of your help.

We did not have to give Sergeant Kai any kind of a deposit. We had emailed back and forth several times and he just trusted us to show up and pay him. We did not use a guide in Bangkok; we explored everything on our own. We hired a car and driver to take us to the floating market and Ayutthaya. Don't recall the name of the outfit we used. We just asked the concerige at our hotel to set up the trips for us.<BR><BR>You'll have a great time!