Dear Jeff & Kong,
I am back at home and going over our pictures of our recent biking tour to
Chiang Rai. I wanted to recognize and recommend to others your fine
Thailand Mountain biking adventure service.
I have ridden with numerous other bike touring services. I would say you are
providing one of the best in the world. Your excellent route selection and variety
is world class. The weather in December could not have been more enjoyable.
The team you have assembled Kong, Ti and yourself are all easy to get along with
and eager to please. Each day after our ride you dropped us off and had our rigs
cleaned and tuned up for the next day. Then it was time to chek our email and
enjoy an expresso at the local cafe.
Your nightly dinner restaurant choices were again varied and excellent.
Little extras were never a challenge for you guys. Kong found me a great club
to play some Badminton, I just wish I had more time and energy. The after dinner
Thai massages you recommended did wonders to get the muscles ready to go the
next day.
I will highly recommend your service to anyone I talk to about bike trips. For
experienced riders or novices you provide a super experience in "The
Land of Smiles".
You can be sure we will be back next December.
Kind regards,
Gary
Dear Jeff and Kong,
Thank-you very much for the fantastic guided trip though
the wilds of Thailand. I travel a great deal and look for an active
holiday. As I like to see and do things which are out of the normal trip, I
do not usually get involved with tours. I find most tours cater to a middle
aged person so much of the trip is sterilized for "western" consumption.
I was really pleased with the tour you provided myself and my friends. It
was
totally awesone. The local food was well investigated, the riding in the
jungle was unparelleled and the level of difficulty was very challenging but
achievable. So much so that I fell in love with hill climbing. What a great
work-out.
My friends and I really appreciated that we could tailor our trip and you
executed the details with seamless effort.
Once again, one of the most enjoyable trips I've ever had. I will return some
day to do more riding and to visiit with Kong and your family.
My best to you all. Let me know if you get this letter and when you will be
returning to Van. so I may organize the purchase of a bike.
Take-care
Ron Murphy
I am pleased to write this testimonial on behalf of Jeff Carr of Thailand Mountain Bike Adventures. On 05 January 2005 my wife an I embarked on a two week adventure with Jeff and his wife Kong. Our priorities for this trip were discussed with Jeff in advance and would include mountain biking excursions which were challenging but fun and which could be viewed as a means for us to see the country as opposed to exhaustive riding.
Since we had never been to Thailand before, We also wanted to treat this trip as a photographic opportunity where we could witness the Thai culture through our cameras as well as immerse ourselves in the day to day living of the local Thai people.
With Jeff's help we planned an itinerary that would maximize our two week stay and allow us to sample as much of what Thailand had to offer. His customized itinerary included meeting us in Bangkok and taking us to a comfortable hotel in downtown Bangkok where we could recover from our air travel. The following day we flew north to Chiang Rai where we would base our day trips from. Our accommodation at the Ing DOi resort consisted of a simple but spacious private condominium with two bathrooms. There was a sizable pool at the resort which never had more than a few people in it.
Our daily morning routine consisted of, having a shower then sampling some fresh tropical fruit they provided. We would then ride into town on motorbikes where we would find a diffent noodleshop each day to have "breakfast". Then it was off to a local coffeeshop or Internet cafe for an americano or iced coffee drink.
Then we'd head back to the resort and get into out biking clothes. Depending on our itinerary we'd either have an easy cycle through the farm land or a more rigorous one towards the mountains. Then it's back to the resort for a swim and some refreshments.
One of our excursions saw us cycling up into the mountains to overnight at a Ahka Hilltribe village. We were given a thatched roof bungalo overlooking the beautiful valley and tea plantation below. As primitive as it was, it came complete with refrigerator, TV, flush toilet and mosquito netting. The next day after a relaxing breakfast and a short hike in the forest we cycled down the mountain back to Chiang Rai. Did I mention that our luggage was trucked up the mountain. All we had to carry on our bikes was our water and a camera.
Between rides we found time to tour the country side in a comfortable van. We visited neighbouring towns with temples. We saw Budda's everywhere. In the city, on top of mountains, even in caves. Big ones small ones, even a fat one. One of our days we travelled by longboat on the Mekong river from the Golden Triangle into Laos to a small tourist village. Another trip by longboat took us to a Karen Hilltribe village where we could ride an elephant.
After about 8 or 9 days into our trip we headed back to Bangkok for the night. In the morning we would catch another flight down to Trat where we would take a taxi to the coast of the Gulf of Thailand. Jeff had arranged accommodation for us on Koh Mak, a small Island accessible only by boat. The fact that Jeff and Kong arranged transportation in advance eliminated the anxiety of travel. After 4 days of exploring beaches swimming, snorkeling and generally lazing about it was time to head back to Bangkok for one more day.
Our final day in Bangkok saw us visting the Grand Palace and other temples. We took a longboat ride down the canals of the residential areas which were most interesting. We visited the shopping district and the many food and flower markets. We ended the day at a well known local seafood restaurant. Now thoroughly stuffed we headed back to the hotel for one last night.
On the morning of departure Jeff and Kong escorted us to the airport in ample time to make sure we did not miss our flight. They made sure that we had properly checked in and escorted us to the securty gate where we said our goodbyes and thanked them for a great experience.
If you are looking for an exotic holiday in southeast asia which gives you the opportunity to explore and experience great food and culture, where you don't have to worry about transportation or accommodation, where you can mountain bike in a strange new land, then give Jeff Carr at Thailand Mountain Bike Adventures a call.
Sincerely,
S. Yee
Dear Jeff,
Looking back I am not sure what my expectations were of our mountain biking trip with you to Thailand, but I can tell you that it was a trip that will be remember for a lifetime!
I have told everyone that if you are looking for the standard trip in all of the ‘hot spots’ in the guide book, Jeff is not for you. If you well and truly want to go off the beaten track, then he is absolutely the person to take you. The city of Chang Rai is a world away from Bangkok and the nearby mountains are yet another world away. As we traveled across the rice patty field and up the mountains on the edge of the river bank with the bamboo railing stopping you from hurtling down to the river below, our small group up there felt like early explorers to another land.
As you know, I was a novice accompanying two advanced riders. Somehow you were able to find routes that worked for all of us. Your patience and teaching for me definitely paid off and a few days into the trip I was a different rider. Not that it was all biking either. The river trips in the James Bond boats were great. Since your wife Kong is from Chang Rai and the two of you were able to steer us to local restaurants that we would never have found and if we had might never have ventured in. We were well rewarded with some of the best food that we have ever had. Breakfasts were a treat – traditional Thai, followed by a couple of strong shots of espresso to get us started for the daily ride.
We had a blast! You, Kong and local biking legend T guided us through the mountains, the food and the culture.
I think that the ultimate test of if you had a good time is whether you would do it again and whether you recommend it to friends. My answer is “Yes” and “I already have”.
I hope you have as much fun and success with your other groups as you did with us.
Sincerely yours,
Blair Beaton
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