A Selection of Our Client's Feedback - Thailand

July 2004 - Private trip for Husband and wife who regularly visit Thailand on business and know the country quite well - they wanted a cultural trip into the less touristy area of Korat with time spent with a family (Community Tourism) and a jungle safari too. 

The Request (in brief)
My husband has been doing business in Thailand over the past 7 years.  We have both spent two two-week vacations in Thailand.  We have hiked near Mae Hong Son and Nan and...  but now we want to focus on spending time with typical Thais (not hill tribes) and to participate in Thai life and to give my husband a chance to really use his Thai language.

Airport Transfers - Was the service timely and efficient ?      Y   
Very efficient and very warm welcome 

Hotel Accommodation - Was the standard as expected?      Y       
Hotels in general were fine.  We loved the first night sitting out over the river, and the next to last night with the balcony hanging over a splendid view of the mountains.  The last night was sketchy, but all the other places were very comfortable.  Double beds would have been nice now and then, but didn't seem to be available, and that's ok.

Wildlife watching - Was the Guide knowledgeable  ?      Y  
Chris [real name is Chan, a native of Korat] is an exceptional person and was knowledgeable about so many aspects of Thai life and language.  We loved talking to him, his interest and curiousity were infectious.  The people he engaged in conversation, like the wild elephant researcher at Kao Yai and the organic farmer near the end of the trip were so interesting and Chris was wonderful about drawing them out and translating for us.

Village Homestay - Was your experience special ?       Y       
Wonderful family, interesting village, with lots of people eager to talk to us. The family was very warm and welcoming.  They talked to Jules a lot in Thai.  We had fabulous food there.  The accomodations were very comfortable (our only double bed!!) and we liked them very much.  We went to a meeting with some of the villagers when Chris engaged them in conversation about the history of the discovery of the site. We spent a whole morning at the school (I am a teacher) learning about teaching methods and curriculum.  We toured the archeological site.  We loved the little village and felt very much a part of it by the time we left! 

Village Homestay - English Speaking Guide
Was the overall standard, as expected ?      Y       
Chris was very helpful in facilitating the interactions with the family and villagers.  He has a gift for interacting with people, he communicates genuine caring and interest and they are consequently very responsive.  We also very much enjoyed Chan's company and he was great at expanding Jules' vocabulary!

Any Other Comments…  
We want to thank you for arranging all of this and for giving us such a terrific guide!  We had a wonderful time and felt that we saw much more of real Thailand instead of just the tourist attractions.  Please feel free to use any of this information. 

R.S. USA

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Thailand - Community Homestay - November 2003

Extracts from the Client Feedback Form:-

Any Other Comments…The whole tour was the best we have done and varied which made it more enjoyable and would recommend you and the itinerary to anyone

DG - UK

Thailand - Community Homestay - November 2003

Dear Muir's Tours,

we had a great time, thank you. It was a unique experience and we would like to go back again sometime.

I have filled the form below. The negative comments have already been discussed with Noi (our guide in the north) directly, therefore you can divulge the information provided without any problem and you can use it for marketing purposes as well.

Airport Transfers
Was the service timely and efficient ?      Y        
Comments...    We never waited for anybody, everything was ready for us. Excellent!
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Hotel Accommodation
Was the standard as expected?      Y        
Comments…   At the Galare guest house the standard was over our expectations.
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Staff at the Hotel
Was the standard of service acceptable?          Y        
Comments…   It was very good.
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Train Travel to Chaing Mai
Was the service adequate ?      Y        
Comments…   Impressively clean train, very quick staff, comfortable and clean bed.
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Village Homestay
Was your experience special ?       Y        
Comments…  We really enjoyed the stay at Noi's house in Mae Jaem, a bit less in the Karen village.
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Golden Buddha Resort - Accommodation
Was the standard as expected?              N
Comments…   No, it far exceeded our expectations!! It was excellent! The bungalow was comfortable, but not sophisticated , modern but natural and we could watch the stars from our bed. The bed was everything we could hope for after the homestays....
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Golden Buddha Resort - Additional Services
Was the standard as expected?      Y        
Comments…  The food was excellent, the guides were really friendly.
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Did you have enough pre-departure info from us?        N
Please outline what else would have been helpful…
Comments…   A better description of the areas to be visited and of the accommodations booked.

MM - UK

Thailand - Community Homestay - October 2001

The holiday was absolutely fantastic - all we imagined and more. I expect you know by now we didn't actually stay in the homestay as we are far too westernised and used to our comforts. We thoroughly enjoyed visiting the villages though and in fact we found we learnt far more from them than they from us. In each village we visited we were immediately struck by how happy and welcoming the people are. It certainly gave us plenty to think about
when we compared our lives with theirs, particularly our children's comfortable way of life which we all take for granted. 

Bangkok was another kind of education! It is actually pretty much as we imagined it would be and for a shoppaholic like me an absolute paradise. The festival was quite spectacular and more extravagant than the parades we have seen in Disneyworld.

I would very much like to know more about the work you do. Noi explained some of it to us but if you have any more information I would be very interested to read it. Do you work with other countries as well as Thailand?

Finally we would like to thank you for our holiday and for the opportunity
to try a new experience which we both enjoyed immensely.

SS - UK

Thailand - Community Homestay - September 2000

Thai Culture with homestays - North & South Thailand

I am very appreciative of the trip to Thailand.  You did such a great job putting it together for us... and we were very lucky to have you and Resam along for part of the trip.  You two made it lots of fun.  It was such a great experience for me and one I won't soon forget.  Mo, thanks for all your work to make it happen and for your patience with us.

I would be pleased to act as a reference for Muir's Tours.   As you know, I was very happy with our trip to Thailand and would give your prospective clients good information about your company.

SM.  Texas, USA