"We had a great time. Courtney would like to move to Singapore. Thailand was the highlight of my trip. The Rachamanka Hotel was a great choice. It's so unexpected to find a tranquil place like that in the middle of the city. Our guide was a really nice guy and so was his assistant, who was a member of the Karen tribe and lived in a village that we didn't get to visit. The forest was indeed burning and we even rafted through a stretch that was on fire. Somehow that didn't spoil it for us. It was very interesting to see the jungle in a state other than green. It's sort of the equivalent of our winter, everything goes brown and the leaves fall off the trees. I have just one suggestion and in no way is this to be taken as a complaint. If anyone else does this trip or something like it, make sure that you tell them to bring along a clean sheet that can be doubled over or one of those sleeping bag liners. All the y provided was blankets and mats that had been used by guzillions of other trekkers. The sleeping arrangements were in dormitory style huts that were open to the outside. If anyone goes during mosquito season, they should absolutely have their malaria shots. Some of the nets had holes in them. The bathrooms were primitive but very clean. I'm glad that I didn't have to ride the elephant for longer than an hour. It was novel, but not really the most comfortable ride. We rafted for a day and that was great. We pretty much had the river to ourselves, except for the locals. Overall, it was a great adventure and at no time did we feel uncomfortable or in any way uneasy. I would do this again . Also, as an added plus, our guide was a really good cook.
On our last night in Chiang Mai, our guide suggested that we take in the Transvestite Caberet. Courtney loved it, and so did I. You should include this in any trips that you arrange for there.
Thank you for all your help. I'm sure that we will talk to you again.
Louise Weller
March 2007
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