Supi Prach-Umpai

Bangkok: Ramada Plaza Menam Riverside = great, modern highrise hotel, excellent breakfast buffet.
Guide for Bangkok and River Kwai (4 days) = Chanphen ("Toon") was EXCELLENT.
Favourite Bangkok sites = ride in Bangkok Canal and Night Food tour by TukTuk. The food and flower markets were very interesting. The palaces and temples were beautiful BUT were maybe too much to see in 2 days.
Less favourite things = Asiatique Shopping Complex was disappointing as many shops had not reopened after the pandemic. The weekend market is definitely not something I would recommend. The items were junky and the shops were all repetitive. We WERE lucky to have lunch at Guay New Kua Gai restaurant - Michelin star!

Rom Hub Train Market was interesting to see but the Taka Floating Market was even better!
The long tail boat ride to the River Kwai Jungle Rafts Floating Hotel was very scenic.
River Kwai: The Floating Hotel was rustic, quiet and good for a short stay. Not much to do there. We were there 2 nights. Our visit to the lava cave was a welcome activity away from the resort.
The food was very good.
Returning to Bangkok - The Bridge, museum , and cemetery on the River Kwai were "must see" historical sites.

Chiang Mai: Rimping Village Hotel (3 nights) had wonderful rooms and breakfast buffet.
Our very best excursion was to the elephant sanctuary. We did not want to leave!
The white water rafting that followed was a fun adventure. It was not a physical challenge yet had some thrilling moments.
Our guide for our remaining time in Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai was Jeda. She was also EXCELLENT.
Doi Inthanon National Park was not a "must see". It was not a hike but a stroll and rather unremarkable.
The pagodas and gardens were lovely but it was a long way to go for just that.

The Thai cooking class at Bann Hong Nual was a highlight. Even the two males in our group had fun. Umporn, our instructor, was very lovely and engaging. We would do this again.

Chiang Rai: Imperial River House (2 nights) = very nice rooms and great buffet breakfast.
We stopped at more temples and pagodas on our drive to Chiang Rai. Our interest was waining by then...until we visited Was Wrong Khun (aka The White Temple) was absolutely stunning. It was a "must see".
The visit to the tea plantation was interesting. The visit to Doi Mae Salong , Chiang Saen, and The Golden Triangle were unremarkable.

Krabi: Peace Laguna Resort (4 nights) = a rather run-down hotel. The rooms were not clean and the linens were stained and old. The most disappointing accommodation in all. Fortunately, the breakfast buffet was good.
Phi Phi Island Excursion was not good. Hoards of people in the water and on the island "walk". We would not recommend this.
The Rain Forest Discovery Tour did not meet our expectation. The rainforest, pools and waterfalls were not much to see. The Tiger Cave Temple on our way back to the hotel was ok but not a highlight.
Krabi was a busy beach resort city which is great if you simply want to sit by a pool or go to the beach. Many good restaurants.
We had a great mix of activities and thoroughly enjoyed Thailand.

Supi did a great job putting together this trip. He was helpful and resolved any issues we had immediately. Planning is sometimes the hardest part of vacationing but he made it very easy and stress free for us. I would recommend Kim Kim in our future travels. The tours were very nice and we had a lot of fun. Everything was set up from Bangkok to Phuket and then from Phuket to Krabi. Thanks again Supi!

Highly recommend KimKim and will use them again on my next big adventure! The travel company with whom KimKim matched us, Royal Silk Holidays was fantastic! Our main travel planners, Suwanna and Supi were great during the planning phase. Great communicators and truly tailored our trip for our interests and budget, making as many changes as we required. Our Thailand private tour guide, Niracha Saksopin (Pom) was fantastic! She and her driver were a huge part of our excellent experience. We will request her on our next visit.
Our outdoor "adventure" experience with 8 Adventures was phenomenal! Highly recommend them! Our guides, were top notch! Our 4-wheeler guide was kind, fun and attentive. Our hiking and home-stay guides, Oat and Jafu were terrific! The Lahu home-owner for our village home stay, Pim Weda, was so very nice and hospitable.
Our "Elephant Owner for a Day" experience at Patara Elephant Farm was even better than expected! Highly recommend!
Finally, the beautiful boutique hotel, Yaangcome Village was absolutely wonderful! Highly recommend!

Overall our experience in North Thailand was more than amazing. Our moments with my (private) group members were irreplaceable and we highly recommend Kimkim for adventure and extreme destinations. The places we visited were really difficult to reach them without a local guide being comfortable and familiar with the people and the place. Every single day was unique and different. We were able not only to experience for a few hours some villages in the jungle but also to stay for some nights and live the local and simple life. Kimkim is a really trustful company with many advantages and will definitely choose them again for our next destinations.

The rep greeting us at the airport was courteous.

Our guide Richard was very knowledgeable. He even bought us some delicious food treats. We had the best experience with him.

The Siam Niramit Show was great. But we wished the audience could be warned ahead of time about the "Hell" scene. Little children could have been scared.

The Food Tour on the last day was not very special, unfortunately.