Our Thailand trip was arranged through Travel Local, who contracted locally with Odynovo. It was incredible! A customized trip for 4 newly retired women, our 12 days started in Bangkok. Golf, our guide, was so much fun and really knowledgeable. We really bonded with him (he called us his four Moms). We hit all the highlights: Reclining Buddha, palaces, flower market, floating market, railroad market, boat ride on the canals, all accompanied by incredible food stops. Our Travelodge Sukhumvit hotel was centrally located where we could walk to lots of restaurants and the elevated trains.
After 3 days in Bangkok, Golf started the drive portion of our trip: overnight in Ayutthaya, where we toured the Summer Palace and historical park, then overnight in Sukhothai after touring the historic park there. Both hotels they arranged gave us garden villas - Baan Thai House in Ayutthaya and Le Charme Sukhothai Resort - which were delightful. We made a fast stop enroute to feed the wild monkeys that swarmed us! The next day it was on to Chiang Mai where we were amazed by the Wat Phrathat temple on top of Mount Doi Suthep overlooking Chiang Mai.
Highlight of our time in northern Thailand was the day we spent playing with the elephants at Baan Chang preserve. Our day was filled feeding, roaming, washing the elephants and cooking a traditional Thai meal. Highly recommend this amazing adventure with these gentle giants.
Our northern Thailand guide Ying met us the next morning to escort us to a Thai family home where we arrange flowers, learned about the graceful teakwood homes and then cooked an amazing Northern Thai lunch. From there, we drove to Chiang Mai for an overnight stay and wandering the parks and night market, prior to visiting the Hill Tribes and the White Temple the next day.
We again enjoyed our centrally located hotels - Sabai Sabai Chiang Mai and Nak Nakara Hotel in Chiang Rai - where staffs were so friendly, and pools were inviting. Our tour finished in Chiang Mai with two days spent at the annual Flower Festival and the markets.
An incredible, bucket list-filled trip. Odynovo did a fantastic job selecting our hotels, detailing our day-by-day itinerary and staffing. We can't say enough good things about our guides (and drivers). Golf and Ying are both fantastic: knowledgeable, passionate about their country and accommodating, adding all delightful stops along the way. Thank you for an amazing adventure-filled trip.