Jenni Powell

Has anyone ever done this? I have read about it in several books that its a great cultural experience, but I have also heard that this is a tourist attraction, people dress up in costumes for pictures etc and it wasn't recommended. It sounded cool, riding elephants, hiking to the tribes, and rafting.

Kathy

We visited a traditional & rural Thai village outside of Chiang Mai through Eco-Life. It was a very genuine and memorable 2 day visit (we brought our then 15 & 20 year old kids with us last winter.) Search for this travel agency and let me know if you have problems finding it.

craig

While I have not gone on a trek myself, the general rule is, the longer the trek and the farther afield you go, the less "touristy" it is. The people I have talked to that have done this say that those elephant rides can be downright uncomfortable after a couple of hours. Also, if your trek is overnight you may have to sleep on the floor of a tent and eat meals consisting solely of rice. That being said, if you can tolerate those kind of conditions for a couple of days, you will have a richly rewarding experience.

Dan Yoder

Jenni and others, we visited Chiang Mai in Feb of this year as a family of 6, ages 6-48. We made several overnight trips to outlying areas including Luhu and Lisu villages, and the golden triangle area. Yes, the tribes are aware of the income to be made thru trinket sales etc., nevertheless we had many genuine relationships (the most memorable being when I got out my bottle of US whiskey to augment the Thai whiskey at the Lahu Chinese New Year celibration...), and we never really went on any long treks. Our trip was made safe, relaxing and thouroughly rewarding by an American volunteer who is in Chiang Mai. His name is Harley, he met us at the airport in Bangkok and never left us. I highly recommend him to any family or group who doesn`t want to figure it all out as you go!! He has a webpage devoted to travel; http://www.harleythedude.com/hhtravel.htm ENJOY!!!<BR>

zanadali

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