Chiangmai Trekking with Piroon

2014-01-11, 7:43 PM

Rene & Ale Knight

My husband and I decided to spend our Christmas/New Year 2014 in Thailand and we were fortunate enough to have found Piroon Nantaya – a super nice, friendly and entertaining tour guide who took us on a fun, action-pack, personalized journey through the jungle, villages, and the fantastic nature that Chiang Mai has to offer.
We arrived in Chiang Mai and one of the first things we did was to meet with Piroon and his wonderful wife - Jit. They took the time to explain the tour in details and all the essentials we needed for the trip so that we were well prepared.
On the first day, we visited a beautiful waterfall and we also swam there. The waterfall was so powerful that it felt like we were getting a water-jet massage. It was quite a spectacular experience! After hiking, we got to the Karen village where we stayed for the night. It was a charmingly idyllic farming village that truly took city people like us back to the good old humble life before electricity, automation, noise, pollution took over our lives! I had the most amazing shower that day where I stood in the creek and there was a bamboo which delivered a steady stream of water from an elevated water source. That evening, Piroon’s wife – Jit – kindly prepared a gourmet dinner for us and they were authentic (albeit not spicy) and hearty thai home dishes with all the unique, aromatic, fragrant thai herbs and flavours! If you happen to live in the western countries and are hunting for authentic thai restaurants on a regular basis like I do, you will find that Jit’s dishes put all these restaurants to shame!
The next day, we left the village and continued to hike through the woods. We had the chance to admire the natural beauty and breathe fresh air whilst constantly getting pleasant surprises from Piroon. He showed us a tree that had a natural sap which made bubbles, and he encouraged us to take on a Tarzan swing – amongst many others! Finally, we reached the river where a villager was waiting for us with his bamboo raft. The ride on the bamboo raft was very pleasant and scenic. Piroon also showed off his amazing fly fishing skills while navigating us at the front of the bamboo raft. We then arrived at the elephant camp and had lunch while the elephant was getting ready to be our chauffeur. When we got on the elephant, we sat in the wooden seat initially but Piroon encouraged us to climb up to the elephant head. We followed his advice and I must admit, it was one of the most amazing and surreal experiences we had! I was literally hugging the elephant’s ears and sitting on its head, I could feel the coarseness of its skin and most of all, I felt like I was part of the elephant and seeing the world from its view! The elephant was very sweet and well-trained. Even though we were the ones riding the elephant, and not the elephant jockey (mahout), he walked behind the elephant and was communicating to the elephant the whole time. (We later saw many other tourists sitting on the “tourist seats” on the elephants which were not at all comfortable and we know our unique experience would not have been possible had it not been Piroon!) The elephant took us to another village which was similarly charming comparing to the first one we stayed. That evening, Piroon continued to impress us with his secret stash of Thai Whisky and his guitar performance. We could not have expected a better way to finish the evening.
The next day, we said goodbye to the villagers and went back on the bamboo raft to continue our pleasant river cruise. After lunch, we were picked up by Jit in their truck and we finished the tour by visiting the long-neck village nearby. Piroon also educated us about the history of the long neck tribe and how lucky it is to be Thai! The trekking tour with Piroon was much more than what we expected. It was full of little pleasant surprises, discovery, and most of all – it was a life experience so authentic and genuine like no other! The personalized service and care that Piroon and his wife Jit showed us throughout the trip made us feel like their friends – not just some tourists! This was our most remarkable and memorable time in Thailand and it also made Chiang Mai our favourite place in Thailand compared to Bangkok and Koh Samui.
Thank you once again Piroon for your fantastic tour!
Rene :)

2014-01-07, 10:52 PM

Simon und Melanie

Hi Jit, hi Sem,
we want to thank you. It was really great that Jit picked us up directly from the Airport and also the recommendations of the Guesthouses were good. Sem is a really great Guide! We could have not have better.
The Tour was a great Experience we will never forget it and can recommend it. The Nights in the villages, the Trek through the Jungle, the Elephants and bamboorafting was great! Sem is a great Cook and always in a good mood. He also explains a lot about everything we want to know during the Tour. Many thanks to Jit for preparation and many thanks to Sem for the unforgettable experiencs!
@ Sem: Potato ---> Kartoffel

2014-01-07, 8:58 PM

Johannes & Nadja

Hi Sem and Piroon,
Thank you for the wonderful trekking Tour, it was an amazing Adventure we will never forget!
We thought it was very nice that you two visited us at our hotel before the trip to present us what we were going to experience.
With Sem, the best guide we could have hoped for, we had so much fun at the beautiful waterfall, the jungle, the elephant riding in the river and the bamboo rafting! The Evenings in the different villages were awesome as Sem's cooking was so delicious and sitting together at the fire, listening to his funny stories was very amusing :)
Thanks so much Sem! (Same same :))
Best regards, Johannes and Nadja.
PS: Sem, let us know if you visit Germany one day! We 'll catch up then!!

2014-01-07, 3:12 PM

Janos & Maike

We went on a 3 day Trekking Trip with our guide Sam and it was one of the best experiences in Thailand!
It was great to be in the nature all day away from any stress and noise. We were a group of 6 persons and Sam made us feel comfortable and safe at any time. We had a lot of fun with the bamboo rafting.
Also great was the thai food that Sam and his mates prepared for us. Absolutely delicious!
Maybe the best thing about our trip was Sam itself who was so friendly, helpful and always in a good mood!
Thank you very much Sam. All the best for you!
Janos & Maike

2014-01-03, 1:22 PM

Florain & Lisa.

We did the 3 day trekking tour with Piroon in June 2013 during our Honeymoon. It was the best trip we ever had. After a short inspection of our fitness the day before we decided to take the hunters path right through the jungle
After a short stop at a typical market to buy our food for the next days and a stop at a waterfall where we could take a bath we started at the first day with an exciting tour through the jungle. There Piroon always told us everything about the wildlife and showed us some tricks to survive in the jungle. After 4 hours walking we reached the first camp where we could have a shower in the small river next to our hut. To our surprise Piroon prepared a 4 course menu for us with a delicious chicken-curry, fresh self-made spring rolls, beef-vegetables and a fresh rice. We have never been eating such a good rice before! (also thanks Piroon for the Action cooking over the open flame).
After a breakfast with eggs and fresh fruits we started our trip the second day in the morning. We passed rice fields, walked through the jungle, saw a snake and other animals, walked through a river (shoes in our hands) an reached 4 hours later the elephant camp where we got some fresh cooked noodles. The elephant ride was excellent. We where riding the elephant for 2 hours along and through a river and finally reached our second camp. After a second delicious 4 course menu we could enjoy the musical talent of Piroon who sang us some songs while we were drinking beer.
The third day started again with fresh fruits, eggs and banana-pring-rolls with honey from the jungle! Afterwards the bamboo-rafting started. 2 hours on a wild river only on some bamboo rods tied together through the jungle -unforgettable awesome. Finally on the way back home we made a stop at a butterfly and orchid farm and were drinking a fresh coconut at a market stand on the street.
Finally we can only recommend the trekking tour with Piroon. Good speaking english, good entertainment, exciting tour through the jungle and not along some streets, delicious cooking.
Thank you for making our start of the honeymoon unforgettable.
Florain & Lisa :)