Few days tour in Chiang Mai
Sep 4th, 2006, 07:40 AM
#1
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Few days tour in Chiang Mai
What companies/guides are recommended for a nice solid organized tour of a few days(included accommodation) in the area?
Are there guides who take you to "more authentic" ares?
Thanks
Are there guides who take you to "more authentic" ares?
Thanks
Sep 4th, 2006, 08:00 AM
#2
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Take a look at ChiangMaiTours.com. Sergeant Kai has arranged several excellent tours for us. On one, my son and wife trekked into the hills for several days. The guides were local and there were almost no other tourists.
Sep 4th, 2006, 08:12 AM
#3
Another recommendation for Sergeant Kai. He's wonderful. We booked two 1-day tours with him, one with one of his guides (Sutee) for a bamboo raft ride, visit to a waterfall and market, and a trek to a hill tribe village (no other tourists at all - just us - not even any souvenir stands). The other day was Sgt Kai for a trip to the Elephant Conservation Center for bath time, the show, a short ride, and some time feeding one of the baby elephants, followed by a stop in Lamphun and then a visit to Doi Suthep. Both days were fabulous. I believe he also arranged multi-day tours farther afield. He's a wonderful man - excellent English, great sense of humor, polite and kind. We really enjoyed our time with him.
Karen
Karen
Sep 4th, 2006, 08:34 AM
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Karen,
Was Sutthee good. Sergeant Kai is unavailable for our trip (he said he's going to Moscow!) and he said Nooy or Sutthi would be our guides.
Also, your itinerary looks perfect for us. Did it work well for you-would you change anything. What was the cost? And how difficult and long was the trek (my 17 y/o daughter is not a big hiker). I'll check out your detailed trip posts as well.
Ellen
Was Sutthee good. Sergeant Kai is unavailable for our trip (he said he's going to Moscow!) and he said Nooy or Sutthi would be our guides.
Also, your itinerary looks perfect for us. Did it work well for you-would you change anything. What was the cost? And how difficult and long was the trek (my 17 y/o daughter is not a big hiker). I'll check out your detailed trip posts as well.
Ellen
Sep 4th, 2006, 02:25 PM
#6
We enjoyed Sutthee (Sutthi?) very much. He's polite, easy-going, and friendly - not overbearing in the least. I don't like a guide who talks non-stop and he didn't. He's cute, too.
The trek would probably be perfect for your 17-year-old daughter. My 24-year-old did NOT particularly want to do a hike - it's not her thing - but she "put up with it" for the sake of Mom. It was about 2-3 hours and was really terrific. Much of it was along a stream and there were quite a few waterfalls. It's not a particularly strenuous hike, but in a few places it's a bit steep (downhill, not up), and there was one spot where we went down a bamboo step-ladder (pictured in my photo link). We also crossed a bamboo bridge just below a waterfall. Toward the end we came out of the woods into the open and there were wide open fields (tea or coffee - I can't remember which) and we saw a man with a bunch of water buffalo. Then we ended up at the village. No one spoke English, and it was very poor. But totally fascinating. We had Sutthee and also a driver (which worked out well because when we went bamboo rafting, the driver went on ahead and met us at the end). That day we spent 1925B per person - which included lunch and, I think but don't remember for sure, the bamboo rafting.
Our second day was the elephant camp and that day was just with Sgt Kai as our driver. It was 1500B plus gas money, I believe. We paid our own way into the Elephant Conservation Center and for the ride, and also for lunch, which we had there and which was quite cheap. All in all we felt like both days were quite a bargain. We loved both Sutthee and Sgt Kai. Both speak very good English, Sgt Kai a little better maybe. But Sutthee was very easy to understand also. Here's the link to my trip report for more details on our two days with them (you have to scroll down about half way to get to the Chiang Mai section). I'm also posting my photo link (there's at least one picture of Sutthee, I think at the end of the trek drinking coffee with my daughter in the village)...
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34762799
http://kbutler8.photosite.com/
Have a great time!
The trek would probably be perfect for your 17-year-old daughter. My 24-year-old did NOT particularly want to do a hike - it's not her thing - but she "put up with it" for the sake of Mom. It was about 2-3 hours and was really terrific. Much of it was along a stream and there were quite a few waterfalls. It's not a particularly strenuous hike, but in a few places it's a bit steep (downhill, not up), and there was one spot where we went down a bamboo step-ladder (pictured in my photo link). We also crossed a bamboo bridge just below a waterfall. Toward the end we came out of the woods into the open and there were wide open fields (tea or coffee - I can't remember which) and we saw a man with a bunch of water buffalo. Then we ended up at the village. No one spoke English, and it was very poor. But totally fascinating. We had Sutthee and also a driver (which worked out well because when we went bamboo rafting, the driver went on ahead and met us at the end). That day we spent 1925B per person - which included lunch and, I think but don't remember for sure, the bamboo rafting.
Our second day was the elephant camp and that day was just with Sgt Kai as our driver. It was 1500B plus gas money, I believe. We paid our own way into the Elephant Conservation Center and for the ride, and also for lunch, which we had there and which was quite cheap. All in all we felt like both days were quite a bargain. We loved both Sutthee and Sgt Kai. Both speak very good English, Sgt Kai a little better maybe. But Sutthee was very easy to understand also. Here's the link to my trip report for more details on our two days with them (you have to scroll down about half way to get to the Chiang Mai section). I'm also posting my photo link (there's at least one picture of Sutthee, I think at the end of the trek drinking coffee with my daughter in the village)...
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34762799
http://kbutler8.photosite.com/
Have a great time!
Sep 4th, 2006, 02:32 PM
#7
If you look at my photos, go to the northern Thailand album, select Chiang Mai, and go to the second page before starting the slide show if you want to start right at the point of our day with Sutthee. The picture of the cooking class was the previous evening, and the next shot of workers in a field was taken along the way to go bamboo rafting. The young man standing on the bamboo raft with my daughter is not Sutthee. But you'll see him in several pictures after that along the trail and then sitting drinking coffee. The old woman and baby pictures were taken at a market we stopped at.
