ratt booked - other guides OK?
 

Hello,
Ratt is booked when we will be in Bkk. she has suggested using one of her other drivers. Anyone have experience using other drivers recommended by Ratt?
thanks

I used one of Ratt's drivers to take me to the Prasart Museum, about 45 minutes from central Bangkok. It worked out fine - if I had just used a "normal" taxi driver, he probably would have gotten lost. That being said, people on this board usually use recommended drivers or guides like Ratt and Tong because they can enhance the experience. It really depends what you want to use the driver for.

Are you wanting a driver or a guide?

If is one of Ratt's drivers there are 2 questions to ask: 1. Is the driver very fluent in English? 2. How long has the driver worked for Ratt? That said, if it is 3+ yrs. or so, then the person can be a driver and they know 90+% of what a guide knows and there are 2 places in all of Bangkok we have gone in 3 trips where a driver needs to hand you off to a guide. One example is the Grand Palace and Jackie is the guide they try to hook you up with and she is terrific. The addition cost is maybe $3-4 USD/person, so no big deal. You will see an experienced driver is 99.9% as good as a driver. Trust me.

Hate to disagree but I must. Saying a driver knows 90% of what a guide knows is simply not true. The schooling a guide takes is intensive and if the guide is a good one, the information in their heads about the history, architecture and how it directly relates to culture is extensive and invaluable.

Unless someone is not interested in those things or already has the information from their own study, I don't know why you would choose a driver over a guide.

Just my 2 cents.

I followed the advice on this board and wanted a guide and driver for our recent stay in BKK. We got home on 11/24. All the usual experts were booked but Cherry said that she could supply a licensed guide and van (with driver) for our group of 4 adults and one 8 year old. It was great. Cherry met us at the airport, our guides (we had 1 for 3 days and 1 for another day) knew the history and details of the sites and had excellent English. And were great with our little girl. Van was a 7 passenger one with a microphone and good A/C. Very comfortable. I highly recommend Cherry. She can be contacted at [email protected]. (Note it is magical_routes). She even arranged personally to take us to the Siam Niramet show our last night and then to the airport. Her driver stayed with the van and all of our luggage. Jerry.

offwego; Ratt's daughter went to the guide school with Tong. She spoke highly of her. But, I asked her about the course. Have you seen the course outline? Yes there is some study of history and architecture but the big difference is fluence in English.Ratt's daughter is very fluent with good comrehension, as Tong likely is. Bit, it is somewhat of a formality. I say this for the secind largest city in Thailand is Chiangi Mai and there is no licensing exam in that city of 2.3 millon.
I am happy so many travelers are happy with Tong as we have been with Ratt on our 3 trips to BK. It sound like Cherry may be another option for travelers, which is great.