Tong or Tan
 

Hi! Have read great things about Tong and Tan as private guides in Bangkok. Since my Mom and I are in Bangkok for 4 days, we opted to have a private guide with a car for the first 2 days. I have contacted both of them and they are available for both days. Rates are fairly similar also. Now it's a matter of choosing which one to pick...Tong or Tan...any comments/suugestion would be appreciated :)

Don't know Tan.

We toured with Tong and she was beyond wonderful, so she gets my vote!

I can't comment on Tan as we have not corresponded. We are booked to go with Tong in July and August. She has been fantastic to plan with - we love her ideas (she really tailors your days out to your needs and interests) and we have been emailing quite regularly as she has been helping with me plan for my wedding in Thailand also. She is a lovely warm person.
BB

I have to "ditto" offwego... I know nothing about Tan... but we used Tong and thought she was fantastic...

Amen re Tong. We've reserved her for a few days in September -- I am awestruck by her kindness, flexibility and knowledge of Bangkok. Can't speak to Tan -- but I know Tong is a licensed guide (graduated from a University to get a license) and has her own car.

Me and mine were looking to deviate (at least a bit!) from the normal tourist track -- and Tong has thrown our so many interesting recommendations in that vein.

There are a lot of postings about how she can be contacted and who she works for. I understand that she's working on her own now, not through Ratt. You can catch her at [email protected].

Let us know what you end up doing and how it goes!

Seriously...

Tong got me tickets in the grandstalls to see the royal barge procession...

Does a guide get any better than that?

Lloyd

That's great! Your replies were so helpful. Needless to say I have confirmed with Tong and am waiting for her reply and itenary suggestions for 2 days of sightseeing. Thanks so much!

We just toured a week with Tong (Pornpitcha Kaewtrakulpeng - TONG) in Bangkok, Ayutthaya, floating markets etc. She is an english speaking, very good and licenced tourist guide. And after all she is a very nice person with an extraordinary service (always cool and free drinks in her car, refreshment tissues ...). She organised really everything we wanted to do (Klong cruises, restaurants, Spa, theater etc). She helped us also very much beyond the normal tasks of a guide (eg. she helped us in her spare time very much with the shipping of some souvenirs). And she uses her own car (eg a very comfortable van). We can really recommend her!

maddoc,
you will love her..

is it necessary to have a tour guide? we were planning on getting one for some places (e.g.Chiang Mai... Sergeant Kai) but I was hoping we could get around Bangkok by ourselves because we're on a budget... is this feasible or am i being naieve? :)

you do not need a guide in bangkok....having a guide/driver in bangkok just makes things move a little faster and you cut through the maze of getting around....and of course they point out lots of things that you might miss on your own...

so do your own planning and you will be perfectly fine in bkk without a guide...

Just a another thumbs up for Tong. Although I haven't met her in person yet (we will be using her June 1 and 2) she has been very attentive, emailing me with suggestions and, she just emailed me today to tell me that a dress rehearsal for the Royal Barge Procession has been added for one of the days I will be there and asked if I wished for her to get us tickets. Of course I said yes! She seems to go over and above her "duties" as a guide and I'm really looking forward to seeing her in Bangkok.

We just returned from 3 weeks in Thailand. We booked Tan for a half day in BKK, and she was great. We met on our first day in BKK (because that was the only match in our schedules), and it worked out really well. We met at our hotel (Mariott Resort & Spa) and took the hotel boat, then the river boat to the Grand Palace stop. Did the Grand Palace, Wat Pho, the vegetable market and the flower market.

Tan is really sweet - I'd say the best part was just talking to her and gaining a better understanding of Thai culture. Having her there in the markets was also great to understand all the fabulous fruit and veg.

So, you don't "need" a guide, but it always enlightening. Tan charged 800 Baht for 4 hours, and we were together for about 5.5 hours. We had a great time.

Tong sounds fabulous as well. I don't think you can go wrong with either -- I'd really recommend spending a day with a guide, it will certainly enhance your trip!

Darcie

I only need a 1/2 day tour as well to se Grand Palace and the temples. If anybody knows, what is Tan's contact info? Thanks a lot

Nevermind - I did a search and got her contact info - [email protected].

I have used Tan before and have recommended her to anyone we talk to about Bangkok! We really liked her a lot! She made our short time we had in Bangkok PERFECT and at a great price.