My husband I just returned from the Thailand 12 Day Golden Triangle tour.

Our tour package was an escorted tour, meaning that we had the same bilingual tour guide with us during our entire trip. We visited Bangkok, Pitsanoluke, Lampang, Chiangmai, and Hilltribe Village. This was an all inclusive tour in that almost everything (with a few exceptions) was included - our hotel accommodations, air-fair from San Francisco, travel while in Thailand, and entry fees to sites visited.

Our guide, Wat was one of the best tour guides we have ever had. We had a relatively small group (13 people) with a broad age range. Our group bonded well, and hopefully our friendships will continue now that we are back in the states. Our hotels were excellent. During this tour, we did stay at several different hotels; among them were a River Lodge and a Mountain Lodge. Both of those accommodations were beautiful, romantic and rustic (not to mention extremely clean with exceptional service). . Our hotel in Bangkok was very high class! And the hotel in Changmai was very nice as well. The Pitsanoluke hotel was mediocre (but the pool was very nice) nothing really bad about it and nothing really exceptional about it – in all it was rather average.

The River lodge had a beautiful tropical garden surrounding the cabins, and were furnished with air-conditioning, beautiful views of the gardens and presented a more exotic tropical Thai decor. The rooms at the River lodge were furnished with air conditioning and electric, however no TV or radio (which we never missed as we spent most of our time in the beautiful pool, and spoiling ourselves with an incredible Thai massage for an unbelievable price!). . My husband and I both agree that if we had the opportunity to visit Thailand again we would like to go back to the river lodge and stay for several more days! It was a quiet slice of heaven in a tropical paradise.

The Mountain Loge was excellent. To get to the Lodge we had to pack a night bag, and travel to the lodge via 4x4 Land Rovers up into the mountains and through a Hilltribe Village. The travel to the lodge itself was like a National Geographic moment. Our drivers let us out of the vehicles on two separate occasions, one at this incredible scenic location on top of the mountain where we could see the terraced farmlands on the mountainsides and at the same time almost touch the clouds! The other was to let us walk through one of the villages – all of us thoroughly enjoyed this cultural experience. Are accommodations were unique and fun. Each cabin had 4 rooms (1 room for each couple) with a bathroom in each room, a large general common area in the middle of the cabin and a deck overlooking the scenic view. There was electricity but no air-conditioning (no need for air-conditioning as the temperature on the mountain always remains cool), TV or radio. Again we did not miss the TV as we spent time with others in our group playing dice/card games (that two of us had brought) and socializing on the deck. The lodge also provided cultural entertainment after dinner as well. The entire complex lost electricity overnight so when we awoke in the morning we did not have any light (important side note, all of the rooms are supplied with candles and matches, I highly advise getting to know where they are when you first arrive! Or better yet bring a flashlight.) but it really wasn’t that much of a bother for any of us in the group - as we accepted it as part of the experiance in being in a very rural area.

The Thai people are wonderful, hospitable, and proud to share their culture with visitors. Thailand is a beautiful land filled with smiling faces and warm harts. The temples we visited were beautiful, and my husband and I really enjoyed the various boat excursions on the canals and rivers that we had taken. This trip provides a feast for your eyes! I can’t wait to pick up our film from the developers so that I can share our adventures with our friends and family.

We traveled in Thailand late July and early August, it was very humid and hot. We were very fortunate that it only rained the evening we were at the Mountain Lodge, and briefly while we were on one of the boat excursions. Things to consider packing for the trip – bug & sun lotion, lightweight rain jacket, sunglasses, good walking sandals with rubber soles and a strap that goes around the heal and can dry quickly if you get them wet, gym shoes (if your not the sandal type), and 1 pair of light weight comfortable pants or skirt that goes to the ankles as some temples request “respectable dress” (this is not an absolute – as at many temples they have available either for rent or to borrow sarongs and shawls for visitors.). .

The only negative about the tour had nothing to do with Pacific Delight or Turismo (the company Pacific Delight works with in Thailand). . That negative was one of our travel companions. He was the perfect example of an “Ugly American”. . I have never been so embarrassed and ashamed by someone who calls themselves an American! This man talked down to our extremely accommodating, hospitable Thai hosts, guide, and service persons. He was an extremely unhappy man, and chose to take it out on everyone! He would get right into the faces of our Thai guide, hosts, and service people and yell at them. This is completely unacceptable behavior in the States and highly offensive to those in Asia. Most of the things he was complaining and being unreasonable about were completely out of the recipient of his complaints control. Everyone in our group tried to socialize with him at first but by the trips end no one wanted to do so any more because of his inappropriate actions and words toward our Thai guide, hosts, and some of the people within our tour group!

Our tour guide Wat was exceptional! Wat was very patient with our rude travel companion. He was very in tune with what our group’s needs and interests were – after noticing that our group were starting to tire of temples, he made alternative arrangements for us. One of the persons in our group had asked him if the bus could stop by the roadside so that she could take pictures of workers in the rice fields – not only did he find a stop, but he walked everyone up to the fields and explained what they were doing and answered all sorts of questions we had! Wat also managed to rearrange our schedule so that while we were in Chiangmai we had the opportunity to take a little side trip to Laos and Burma (where he had also made arrangements for each of us to take a rickshaw ride) – although it was only an extremely short trip in each, it was well worth it! Wat also went the extra mile when one of our travel companions had hurt himself in the ribs when he had slipped and fallen by accident. He even arranged with the hotel for those of us departing at 4am to return to the states to receive a box packed with breakfast food for us to eat since the hotel restaurant would not be open until 6am. We couldn’t have asked for a better guide!

Tour groups are great vacations in that all of the hassle and stress of figuring out where to go, what to do, and how to get there are taken out of the equation. You just wake up in the mornings, get on the bus and let go and enjoy as all of that has been worked out for you! Some travel companies will buffer into the schedule free time so that you can go off on your own and explore – this was one of them as we had plenty of time in the evenings to enjoy the various night markets, hotels amenities, and other activities that the cities have to offer that you can arrange on your own such as a dinner cruse on a river.

Bottom line is this, I would highly recommend this trip with this tour company if you are up for a mix of adventure, shopping, free time to explore on your own, cultural experiences, very nice hotels and two very different scenic, beautiful (and romantic/rustic) accommodations. Then pack your bags, Sun & Bug lotion and go for it! My husband and I are happy that we did!