Chang Mai jungle-tour

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introduction

The nature around the second city of Thailand Chang Mai invites to make a tour or trip here. Next to the beautiful nature are living in the region still also several mountain tribes with their unique way of living, thinking, history, food, relgion and architecture.

Tours around Chang Mai are very popular and many tour-operators offer one-day to several day tours around the city. I booked with a travel agency on Moon Muang Road in Chang Mai a 3 day (2 nights) trip to Doi Suthep and Doi Pui National parks, about 50 kilometers north of the city.

included:

Transport to the national park and back to Chang Mai (most of the time at the travel-agency where you've booked the trip;
Two nights in simple accommodation (dormitory); sometimes in a hut in a village from the hill-tribe;
All food during the trip (breakfast 3x, lunch 3x, dinner 2x);
Drinking (water);
Entrance fees from the nature parks;
A good speaking English guide.

content of the triP

Trekking through the jungle where the guide teaches you something about life in the jungle;
Rafting over the river Ping;
Visit a waterfall in the national park;
Riding the elephant; see under.
Visit (among others the night) with traditional (mountain) tribes Lisu and Karen;
Smoking opium;
Swimming in the river Ping.

other tips etc.

The dry season, between October and February, is the best time to make a trekking around Chiang Mai in terms of climate. In the months thereafter it gets very hot and there are “heavier” any more long trips to do. In the rainy season the paths become muddy and not everything is equally accessible;
Notice how the hill tribes behave and how you behave with these people; is it a circus or do you really feel that you are learning something in the presence of these traditional people? With respect, patience and a smile you come very far;
Ask what is included and what is not; important things are water, food (breakfast, lunch and dinner), drinks, transport, guide and overnight stays;
A good English speaking guide (the quality of this is very important but very difficult to estimate in advance). Make sure you choose a guide that has a "Professional Guide License".

More tips:

I found the 6 hours of rafting on day 3 too much to be the good;
Elephant ride yes / no: there are very different stories about these journeys. Some say that the animals are treated horribly. Far too early taken away from their mother and mistreated for a lifetime for the tourist industry;
Check with a number of agencies what they offer and what their prices are – (too) cheap is usually not good, but does not have to be bad either; a good tip is to talk to a group that has just returned and ask for experiences;
All the way to the north of Thailand there are still opium fields. There are plenty of guides that take you there and give you the chance to smoke opium. Whether you want to do that is up to you, but remember that it is just illegal and the Thai police are regularly looking for tourists who take the risk;
Ask how big the group is; our group was 12 people and OK.

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