HELPFUL DIRECTORY:
| · | & F.A.Q |
| · | |
| · | |
| · | |
| · | Thai Difference |
| · | Travel Stories |
| · | Travel Videos |
| · | 
Bird Watching Info |
| · | North Thailand |
| · |
|
| · |
|
| · |
|
| · |
|
| · | |
| · |
|
| · |  |
| · | 
|
|
EXAMPLE ITINERARIES: | |
| · |
|
| · | |
| · |
|
| · |
|
| · | |
| · |
|
| · |
|
| · | |
| · |
|
| · |
|
| · | Travel Links |
 |
All Thailand Experiences.
|
Please take notice that any text that is underlined is clickable to and more information.
| There are hundreds of trekking operators in and around Chiang
mai. Some treks are excellent and some horrible. Here are a few tips on
how to decide who to go trekking with.
Please be careful with trekking operators that advertise new area or village. Most good eco-culture friendly operators go to the same area and villages year after year. They have an excellent relationship with them so everything is in balance and harmony so they do not need to go to a new area. Most hill tribe villages do not have handicrafts as they spend most of their time working in their fields. There may however be elderly women in the village taking care of young children that do make handicrafts. In this case there will be one home or area where handicrafts can be viewed and bought. No one will bother you to buy anything and you are not looked at as a major source of income. Make sure you are not allowed to give candy to children or money for pictures. Nothing should be exchanged directly between you and anyone in the village. A village is a very communal place and what belongs to one belongs to all. Jealousy and hate between villagers can arise because one family or person received something from you and they didn’t. It is true that many villages that are visited by tourists drop drastically in population because of jealousy. Most move away to a different village. Usually that of another family member who is married to a someone in that village. Ask to meet your guide first. Talk alone with your guide. Find out how much your guide knows about the village as you can. Tell your guide you want to smoke opium and if he or she says no problem find a different operator and guide. Many tour operators don’t know their guides are selling drugs to tourists so you need to ask your guide. Ask how many persons are going on the trek with you and get it in writing as part of your receipt. Many people are told a small number later to find out there are up to 15 persons going on the trek. If they come to pick you up and there is more than what they wrote on your receipt when you paid for the trek get your money back. 6 persons should be the maximum and the fewer the better and a private trek is best. The fewer people on the trek or tour the better the experience. An eco-culture tour and trekking operator will keep the number of persons visiting a village small. The impact of even 50 visitors a month in a village is devastating and should not be allowed. Some excellent operators take visitor to a village only once a week and then no more than 6 persons. They have many villages they can visit so they can take tourists daily to different villages. Eco-tourism is not cheap so before you go out to find the best price for a trek or tour, first think about who wins and who looses on a cheap tour or trek. No one wins. Think about it. |
Have questions about Thailand and our tours and soft adventures?
We will be happy to answer them for you just click on this text.
When you are ready
to reserve your accommodations and festival tour or design your own excursion,
fill out the Custom Excursion Request form or
contact us directly at
allthai@all-thailand-exp.com Please
include when you plan to be in Thailand, how many persons in your
party and type of room you prefer (single, double, tripple, or twin).
We recommend the
Welcome to
Chiangmai & Chiangrai Magazine,
and thank them
for providing such useful information about north Thailand.
 Want to know more about Chiangmai & chiangrai |
 Want to know more about Bangkok |
Please report technical problems to webmaster@all-thailand-exp.com
This document was updated on:;February 22, 2008