Thailand Off The Beaten Track: A Memorable Vacation
Thailand
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Jun 19 - Jun 30, 2023
A little background about my family to help give a perspective as to why we chose this trip. I traveled with my husband, my sons age 25 and 22 respectively. My youngest son achieved the rank of Eagle at 15 in 2015. My oldest is an officer in the Army. My husband and my boys have been in outdoor fanatics since elementary/primary school. While in college, both boys served in various roles as Wildland Firefighters. Me however, not even close. My minimum requirement for any outdoor activity must have running water and a flushable toilet. With this background, the family chose the trip titled "Thailand Off the Beaten Track". Two family members would go into anaphylactic shock with food containing crab and peanuts, and none of us can read or speak Thai, we elected to have a private tour with a guide.
I worked with Hien Do, the Local Specialist from Realistic Asia, back in October, and we finalized the trip in February. Needless to say that Hien was very patient and understanding throughout this process, and was very accommodating to my family's circumstance since October. When my husband could not fly with us on the actual travel date, and had to take a separate flight to Thailand, Hien arranged to have my husband picked up at the airport and dropped off where the rest of the family were located at day 2 in the trip, which was a 3 hour drive and a 20 minute boat ride to the River Kwai Jungle Rafts Floating Hotel. Now that's customer service done right!
We had 2 sets of guides and drivers, one in Bangkok (Kun Thim and Run Joie), and one in Chiang Mai (Kun Arty, Kun Johnny, and Kun Sompong). Both guides are very good in their jobs, very knowledgeable of the history and tribal knowledge of each location. When we wanted to take extra excursions, they found ways to fit them into the already packed itinerary, and they did so with great efficiency and always with a smile. With food allergies that could send my family to the hospital, they were on top of it like an eagle - always speaking to the restaurant staff to make sure that there are no crab or peanuts in any of the dishes. While at the Movenpick Hotel, Kun Thim requested for an allergy card for each of my family members, in the event that both guides were not available, we could just show the allergy cards to the restaurant staff to make sure that there were no crab or peanuts in the food.
If you ever go to Thailand and require a guide in Bangkok or Chiang Mai, I HIGHLY recommend using their service because, man alive, they are super at their job, but more importantly, they are good, honest, hard working folks who are patient, accommodating, kind, and understanding of you or your family's needs. Big shout out to both guides and drivers! Our trip would not be successful without them, they were really amazing, warm, and welcoming people.
The rest of the review will be to focus on notable events that happened during the trip beginning with a stop to the Hellfire Pass Museum, fully funded by the Australian government, this put a lot of perspective throughout the rest of the trip, and we were all so grateful for the opportunity to visit such a place rich with history. We proceeded to head towards the River Kwai Jungle Rafts Floating Hotel. What a beautiful floating hotel, the staff are very kind, patient, and polite. We stayed for 2 days, and each morning, we had the good fortune to meet the village elephant by the restaurant, who gladly took the fruit and vegetable scraps from you. She had such a funny personality and the family had great fun feeding her. We also toured the Mon Village and got a better understanding of Mon history and culture, the Buddhist Monk's way of living, and the seamlessness of the people to the monk's co-existence. Note to others: There is no electricity, except for the kitchen and dining area. Although a LED lamp and battery operated candle are provided in the room, might be good to pack a head lamp to navigate in the room for better light. While in the River Kwai, we visited the National Park, where we had the opportunity to explore various trails. Note to others, bring plenty of water, avoid using sunscreen with mineral content (somehow it attracts the mosquitoes, and other biting insects), wherever skin is exposed, and on your back, slather on loads of citronella or bug spray with Deet, and wear appropriate footwear. Depending on the weather, wet or dry, makes a difference in footwear. Some hiking trails can be quite slippery.
Lawa Cave, caught us by surprise, in a good way, because of the healthy bat population living in the stalactites and stalagmite formations. We've gone to caves but not had the experience of bats residing in the caves. This is a great sign of a health eco-system.
On our way to Ayutthaya, we rode on the historic Thai Burma Railway (aka: Death Railway), the experience made it more rich since we visited the Hellfire Pass Museum a few days before. This is a must to experience, to ride on a train and the track built in the 1940s with the knowledge of the circumstances that took place during construction made the experience all the more remarkable.
We took a side trip to the Maeklong Station (aka: train market), and that was quite the experience to watch the vendors pack up their stuff to make way for the train to pass. We also took another side trip to the oldest floating market, Damnoen Saduak Floating Market, the boys truly enjoyed the experience of watching how food was cooked on the boats and served, as well as haggling with vendors on the side of the canal.
We took the bike tour in Auytthaya, the guide was fantastic, and honestly can say that biking in temperatures between 90 F (32.2 C) and 97 F (36.11 C) with almost 100% humidity was not fun. Although the guide provided water, we froze water the night before and packed it with us. The temperature stifled the enthusiasm of the great history that was told by the guide, and we cut the trip short by an hour because of the sheer heat and humidity. Our guide was fantastic and bought more water for us, but whoo geez, it was super hot.
We flew to Chiang Rai and met up with another guide, Kun Arty and driver, Kun Johnny. We stayed at the beautiful The Riverie Chiang Rai hotel overlooking the Kok River. The food, accommodation, and service were unbelievable. Our guide, Kun Arty took us to an Akha village, specifically to her good friend's home to meet her and to get to know Akha life from her perspective. What a special treat that was to meet a special, old-time friend, and to get to understand Akha life. While in Chiang Rai we visited the tea plantation and was able to understand the process from growing, harvesting, packaging, and selling tea. Most notable during the tour, was the presence of the Akha women during harvest, they wear their traditional outfits. Although we did not see the harvest process, Kun Arty's friend informed us that she too goes to the plantation to pick tea leaves wearing her traditional garb.
From Chiang Rai, we headed to Chiang Mai, where we stayed at another beautiful hotel, Na Nirand Romatic Boutique Resort. Just as in the Riverie hotel, the accommodations were fantastic! We took an additional trip to the Silk Factory. Well worth the trip! We walked through the process of mulberry silk making and purchased beautiful scarves and clothing. What an experience.
The highlight for my husband and the boys was the bamboo river raft experience. This is the portion of their trip in their element: long hike (8 km, normally 12 km) through the jungle, villages, and rice patties. I paid to ride on a motorcycle to get to the village. We stayed in very rustic, provincial accommodation at our guide, Kun Suwit’s home. We helped cook dinner with Suwit’s family and watched LOADS of fireflies near the house, and in the darkness, watched the countless number of stars above. The toilet and shower are a few meters away from the house, so we did our business before retiring for the night. The next day we met and fed a very friendly elephant within the village owned by Kun Suwit’s friend, Kun Salam. He spoke no English and did not understand English, so he went through Kun Suwit to relay messages. We did not go to Elephant EcoValley, but enjoyed private time with Kun Salam’s elephant, Mabutsi. So special, to experience first-hand in a quiet setting to getting to know Mabutsi. Before meeting Mabutsi, several local villagers prepared the bamboo raft. Amazing to see how the bamboo raft was put together in a matter of a couple of hours that can easily hold 6 people. The raft floated right on top of the water, so every rapid we went down, we were easily under water a few inches, then popped back up to the water level. We stopped by the Lahu Hill Tribe briefly, nothing notable, then proceeded down the river to the Shan village to have lunch. This was the last stop before heading back up to Chiang Mai to head back to Bangkok.
This was a story, not a review, of our family’s experience in beautiful Thailand, with fantastic guides, all coordinated by the patient and helpful Ms. Hien. A highly recommended trip for those that love adventure with all the riches of history, temples, museums, monks, hiking, biking, and to experience the jungle, raw, rich with foliage, and filled with people in villages that are so kind and accommodating. We are looking forward towards our next visit in years to come.
Hotel Reviews
What a beautiful resort! The room, service, and food was fantastic. Just a few minutes from the night market, a fun place to grab local food, and experience the culture. Will definitely come back to this resort at our next visit.
Arriving by boat to be met by thatched roof accommodations was very special. The staff were very polite and accommodating. The food was delicious, and in the mornings between 7:00 am - 7:30 am, were greeted by the village elephant! What a magnificent surprise. One thing to note, there is no electricity in the rooms, however, there is in the kitchen and dining areas. LED lamp and a battery operated candle are provided in the rooms so that you can navigate to the restroom at night. Other than not having electricity in the bedroom , this was a very nice hotel.
What a spectacular hotel. We arrived and was greeted by this beautiful lounge area overlooking the Kok river. The staff were just lovely and accommodating and the rooms so pristine. Our room overlooked the river and was just wonderful to just sit next to the window and relax.
Activity Reviews
What an experience to ride on the train and the track built in the 1940's. Having a brief understanding of the history, enriched the experience even more.
The National Park has loads of trails with lots of history with some of the trails. We went at the beginning of rainy season, and the terrain in some of the trails can be a bit slippery.
This was a man made fall but still very nice to visit. Visitors were able to get to the top portion of the water fall, which was greatly appreciated on a very hot, humid day. Visitors are highly encourage to remove their shoes before ascending to the top.
Wow! We were so close to neighboring countries, Laos and Myanmar. We definitely were able to get a better appreciation of Thai history. We also were treated to meet our guide's best friend in of the Akha villages. That was quite an experience to hear the story of daily living in the village.
This is an experience for those that truly love to hike and be connected to nature. This is a truly provincial, rustic experience of trekking 8 km (should have been 12 km, but the rice patties were dry so an alternate route was taken) through rice patties, jungle, other villages, close encounters with water buffalos, and crossing creeks to get to the village. Once there, it's basic accommodations where the toilet and shower are meters from the main living quarters. We stayed at our host and guide, Kun Suwit, home. We helped prepare dinner with his wife and kids. The best part after a long day trekking, preparing and having dinner, was to watch in the darkness, the millions of stars, the quietness broken by the humming of the cicadas, and being entertained by the hundreds of fireflies next to the house. The next day we were greeted by a beautiful, 50 year old elephant named Mabutsi. We didn't head to the Ecovillage where the other elephants were staying, but had a private, wonderful encounter with Mabusti. Then we witness how a bamboo raft was built within a couple of hours that safely can carry 6 adults down the river. Shortly we bid Run Suwit's family goodbye and headed down the river until we landed in the Shan village.
The guide, Bella, from Recreation Biking Tour, was absolutely amazing! The downside was that the temperature by 9:00 am hovered around 90 F (32.2 C) and hit 97 F (36.11 C) with almost 100% humidity by 10:30 am. Biking in such warm conditions was not fun by any stretch of the imagination, but Bella was super nice and very informative. We cut the tour short by an hour because of the heat, it became remarkably unbearable, but other than that the everything was fantastic. We went to a restaurant, where Bella informed the restaurant of the food allergies, for which the restaurant was sure to not present any food with crab or peanuts.
Thanks for your kind words about our tour guides and drivers. All our guides and drivers had a wonderful time with you, and we all hope you come back in the future!
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