“Great Chiang Mai guideâ€
We spent ages trawling through the internet trying to find the perfect tour, we were only staying in Chiang Mai for 4 nights and wanted to experience as much as possible. We decided on Authentic Thai Tours as they seemed to have good reviews on TA and they offered a 1 day trek which included Elephants, waterfall swim, jungle trek, hill tribe and bamboo rafting. I emailed to enquire about the tour and got a very quick response from Nikhom giving me all the options available and even offered to pick us up from the airport for free, we decided to go for the private tour as we have a 10 yr old daughter and it wasn't much more than the join in tour.
We were picked up from our hotel on time and after going via the office we were taken out to the first activity (elephants). On the way Nikhom stopped at a roadside market and bought some fresh fruit for us. The elephant ride was good, just under an hour but that was long enough. Next we drove to the start of the jungle trek, we walked through the jungle via a small tribal village, the walk we took was easy, Nikhom gave us the option of a more adventurous trek but we went for the easy option. After about an hour (although i wasn't checking the time) we arrived at the waterfall and had a swim (cold water but very refreshing). After this it was back to the restaurant for some lunch, then a drive to the Karen tribal village, followed by a drive to the bamboo rafting. This was amazing and so relaxing. All through the day Nikhom was the perfect guide, pointing out interesting things along the way even massaging my leg when i pulled a muscle on the trek. This was our first full day in Thailand and we were all way outside of our normal comfort zone, but we always felt safe with Nikhom guiding us.
We enjoyed the trip so much that on the way back we arranged for Nikhom to take us on another tour to Mae Sa and the craft villages. This was also a great day and he brought his young daughter along who was great company for our daughter.
The two days we had with Nikhom were great and made the holiday even more special, he took lots of photos on the tour and has put them on his Facebook page (see one day trek mae wang album) so we could download them after. If I was lucky enough to be going to Chiang Mai again I would definitely book another tour with them.
Jamie Willshire
Southampton,
United Kingdom