Fabulous Tour Guide

We just returned recently from Thailand and Cambodia and I would like to tell you all about the fabulous tour guide we used while we were in Chiang Rai. The gentleman%26#39;s name is Tony of Tony Smile Travel and he can be contacted via tel/fax: 053-744762, mobile phone: 081-9985769, or email: Tonysmletravel@hotmail.com.

While we had originally intended to use Jermsak who is reviewed here by many, Jermsak was unavailable when we needed him and he was kind enough to refer us to his friend Tony. As it turns out, Tony used to be Jermsak%26#39;s driver, but is now a certified guide. We spent the day with Tony visiting the tribal villages and the tea plantations in Mae Salong. Tony%26#39;s English was great, his smile contagious and his personality just delightful. While there is much controversy over visiting the tribal villages since many people consider them ';human zoos';, Tony%26#39;s kindness, generosity and friendliness towards the villages were endearing. The villages opened their homes for us to view and we spent time talking and interacting with them. Our highlight was when Tony picked up a guitar type instrument to play with one of the Karen long neck woman and when my husband joined in. I would highly recommend this guide for anyone hoping to spend a delightful afternoon in the Chiang Rai area. This was definitely one of the highlights of our trip.

June

Fabulous Tour Guide

Hello June.

So pleased to hear it all worked out so well with Tony.

Hope you enjoyed Chiang Rai and your trip around Northern Thailand.

Caroline.

Fabulous Tour Guide

Hi June,

Glad to hear it all worked out well with Tony.

Would like to hear more about the tea plantations in Mae Salong.

Cheers,

Stewie.

June:

Glad that Tony worked out for you.

Stewie, we went to the tea plantation in Mae Salong also, with Jermsak. The dirve up is absolutely stunning (lots and lots of curves up the mountain). There was an outside ';tea/coffee'; bar where there were lots of samples. We sat for a good hour drinking tea and coffee and overlooking the valley below. We combined this part of our trip with our visit to the long neck tribe.

Broder

Hi Broder,

Will put that on our to do list.

Cheers,

Stewie.

Hi June,

I%26#39;m glad I just read your posting last week as Jermsak just advised that although we had two days in May booked with him he is now unavailable for one of those days so I would like to contact Tony. I just tried to send an email to the address you gave but it didn%26#39;t go through. Can you please confirm that the address in your post is correct. Thanks very much. Melinda

Hi Melinda,

There is a current post on the Chiang Mai forum - also recommending Tony. I had a look for you. You just need to add an %26#39;i%26#39; to the email address above. It%26#39;s tonysmiletravel@hotmail.com

Hope you get on to him.

Caroline.

Thanks Caroline. I%26#39;ll give it another try now. So excited to go after reading your regular postings as well all the other regulars over the last few months. 8 more weeks and then 3 weeks in beautiful Thailand!! Melinda

Hi Melinda,

Have a fabulous time.

Come back with any more questions and make sure you let everyone know how the trip went.

Caroline.

Melinda:

Make sure you let us all know how your trip goes. We%26#39;ll be very eager to read your trip report. Have a wonderful time!

Broder

I will definitely be writing some trip reports. After months of researching (which is all part of the fun of the trip) I have finally come up with what seems to be pretty good itinerary. We%26#39;re going to Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai (a day with Jermsak %26amp; a day with Tony) and then Hua Hin. Looking forward to posting all our news like you have all done in the past.