Thailand holidays

We just got back from our trip and it was wonderful...It's really hard
to adjust back to real life!

We had a great trip and the trek was wonderful. Jatoo, our guide, was an
extraordinary guy, his English was very good, he knew the area very
well, he told us a lot about Thailand and he was a riot over all! I
think he made a big difference to our experience.

I'd rate the overall experience at 4. I think it'd be helpful to be a
little more detailed in the requirement up front, as we thought the trek
was walking around the forest but it was a bit more than that. We
thoroughly enjoyed the challenge, so the last day, the bike ride fell a
little short of expectations, we woke up really early and wished that we
did a bit more at the end. I'd certainly recommend it to my friends and
we'll look at other tours that you arrange in the future.

OyaEcevitt reviewing Hill Tribe Trekking in Thailand

.The trekking experience was great (i.e. day 1 and 2) would rate that a 5, Day 3 was a 4, Day 4 was a 3. Some elements of the trip such as the dancers at Lisu lodge was not really necessary as we prefer to see the Lisu tribe in their village rather than a forced dance in the lodge. Also, the bike trip on day 4 was too short. I think you should look at extending this trip and rearranging some of the other activities.

Having said these, I must point out that we had an excellent tour guide (Jatoo). I would recommend him to all my friends. He was very knowledgeable, and never got tired of our detailed questions.

Overall my main disappointment was that apart from the Lahu Outpost, the "rules" did not allow Jatoo to have dinner with us. I find this very strange at this day and age. This decision should be left to the guide and the visitors, not the owners of the lodges.

Hope these comments help. We had a wonderful time and saw the best part of Thailand.
Thanks for your help.

OzgaUste reviewing Hill Tribe Trekking in Thailand

Chiang Mai Thailand –The lush green farm fields of northern Thailand are beautifully framed by the jagged Chang Dao mountains as we spin through northern Thailand on a seven-day cycling trek.
People call out "Sa wa dee kha!" ("Hello!") as we pedal by. The many glittering Buddhist temples (wats) are awe-inspiring, but even more important: The food is mind-blowing. Together, we ride from the city of Chiang Mai, a cool enclave of art and culture, to the northern border that Thailand shares with Myanmar.

Pedalling at 25 km/h (on flat terrain), I can stare into the hills in the distance, eyeball the cows grazing by the side of the road or wave back at the kid sitting on the back of a motorbike who squirms around to laugh and greet the silly tourist on a bike. Going downhill is another matter: reaching speeds upward of 40 km/h scares the hell out of me. At every sharp curve, a blast of cool mountain air, chilly as air conditioning, shocks me into giddy excitement. It's a thrill you can't get from walking or being shut in a car.

Lunch is always a stop at a roadside noodle shop. At first, eating is just the fuel for our pedalling, but with each passing meal, invariably delicious, cycling becomes just the means to the end of having more food. Khao soy, a northern specialty, is egg noodles in a soupy, lightly curried sauce with chicken. Green papaya salad, in its native land, is a revelation, salty and fishy, with bits of crab, crushed peanuts and fragrant herbs. Plates of food leave me reeling with their complex flavours, while Thai snacks are about simple pleasures. Steamed sticky rice and coconut milk is a favourite, whether it comes wrapped in a banana leaf pocket, or stuffed into a rod of bamboo the length of my forearm. Every morsel is swoon-worthy, and the range of food so vast that I forego any Fear Factor bravado and pass on the fried insects and other unfamiliar delicacies available at every market.

By the end of our trip, we have visited temples with grandeur that rivals any European cathedral. We've stayed in luxurious resorts, passed through an elephant conservation centre and marvelled at the traditional dances of hill tribes in the border region of the north.

The whole trip was done at the right pace, the tempo over the 150-kilometre journey set by our pumping legs and growing appetites.
(Hannah Sung, writing for the Toronto Star, March 2010)

Toronto-Star reviewing Cycling Tour of North Thailand