Our best trip!
Thailand
|
Jan 20 - Feb 8, 2026
Our best trip! Elena really put together an incredible itinerary. Great connections with real people, hotels were superb, guides were excellent, food was outstanding, logistics were perfect (highly recommend the fast track through customs and the airport and the guides were extremely helpful here too). The Monk Chat was life changing. Highly recommend.
Hotel Reviews
A bit high end corporate, but executed well. The pool was the best for jet lag -- swimming at dawn with the birds is a great way to start a trip! Layout of the hotel took a couple days to understand because of the multiple buildings, but great quality and service overall.
Possibly my favorite hotel in the world. The colonial feel with the modern updates create a great sense of place. Service, the pool, the breakfast and dinner by the pond were all memorable.
Food was fantastic -- the breakfast was always an event and even a light dinner was special. The modern design was not exactly Chiang Mai, but it was on the other side of the river and away from the traffic. The pool was nice and bedroom was large.
We had a great suite overlooking the lake. A great sense of old time French interiors and a nice roof deck.
The food and the pool were excellent. Breakfast was especially good and the special dinner event was fun.
Activity Reviews
A great sampling of Laotian cuisine mixed with some modern mixed drinks and emerging restaurant trends.
Interesting glimpse into Laos history and great for any student of culture and Buddhism.
This was out third time taking the vespa ride though Hanoi. Exhilarating and unique look at the city.
The experience of feeding the elephants and then walking through the jungle with them was totally worth it. The road to get there from LP was a disaster though -- slow and painful. Hopefully they can address this in the near future. Just be sure to get picked up on time to get there when the event starts.
The Monk Chat was life changing. We are advanced meditators and were able to get 1:1 time with the head monk for about an hour. The rest of the group went into an intro class in another room. The time and patience KayKay took with us was priceless.
This was the only disappointment of the trip. It was over touristed and the fish were not that interesting. There were so many people on the island that there was barely a bit of sand to sit on before we could go home. A long way to go in a jolting speedboat to end up with 10 other boats filled with people. They need to figure this out before they destroy such a beautiful spot. People and food were great, but they need to ramp back the number of boats allowed at one time.
A bit early to get up, but it was ideal to skip the long lines of tourists. Quiet and beautiful, it was lovely to have a guide to explain everything.
It was great to see all the crafts up close and try our hand at lacquerware. We bought a few small things to remind us of the trip
A bit far outside Chiang Mai at rush hour, but worth it once you get there. A lovely location to get educated about growing the ingredients, Thai food and culture. Cooking was fun and the food was delicious -- they have this one down.
The guided trip through all the historical sites was definitely worth it.
The food was fantastic and served in unique locations.
The insight and journey through the hidden parts of Bangkok was fascinating.
Waterfalls and lunch were epic
Great insider look at the back alleys of Hanoi. It was a great cultural experience and a fascinating walk.
