Testimonials
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My wife and I had the privilege of an incredible day with Tong in January. We did the Fishermans Village and Floating market trip. What an incredible day. Tong is so much fun we all hit it off immediately and first made a visit to a great Thai locals market the the food items colors and images that are will be with us forever were amazing. At one point Tong said that we should step into one of the stalls so we obediently did as we were told. Observing what came next was almost surreal as a train came right through the market place where we had just been walking.
Off from the market and onto a wood carving place that was great but crazy prices. Then to a beautiful bone china factory where they hand paint everything so amazing.
We then went to an incedible Temple small very personal but the interior was some thing to behold all hand carved teak wood that took two carpenters 10 years to carve. We were fortunate to meet the Abbott of the Temple and have our photo taken with him.
Next to the Floating market, it was facinating watching Tong call throughout the day to different friends informing her about how busy it was. I'm so glad we went when we did as the masses of tourists had left and despite a little crowding at the begining the place was ours. Two of Tong's favorite cooks had remained at the market to cook specially for us. Facinating place over commercialized for tourists. At least we were able to go to the more remote 
canals and feed some of the dog friends of Tong.
Next off to the fishermans village which was the highlight for us. So incredible met some of the local women fishing for crabs and mussels etc. The wild life was so abundant, very humbling seeing how hard these lovely people work on a daily basis. What a laugh with all the monkeys, swimming up to the boat, hopping onto the boat and taking bananas from us. The views, the peace and quiet, the beautiful mangroves such a magnifiscent place away from all the tourists, so personal. What a incredible day. Tong is a very special lady so full of life and fun.
Tong, I was struck by your intelligence and intuitiveness which allowed you to help us quickly understand and appreciate what we were exploring. You had a nutty outlandish personality, but it only served to put us at ease and in a carefree "holiday" mood, and yet your jovial behavior never diminished the importance of your culture and traditions you were introducing to us. You enriched our trip with your experience, knowledge, humanitarianism and joy for life!
We are looking forward to coming back with our grown children in a couple of years and can't wait to visit with you again Tong.
Love,
Mark (Sanwich man) and Susie Allen (Who makes a nice sandwich...)
Leadville Colorado
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My husband and I have just returned from our 10 days in Bangkok and Chiang Mai, Thailand (two days were for business and the rest were pure leisure) and the highlight for us both were the two day tours we did with Tong's Tours. They were both wonderful days. We 'found' Tong on tripadvisor only a week or so before we flew out of Sydney for Bangkok so unfortunately because of this time-frame we weren't able to have the lovely Tong herself be our guide but we weren't disappointed in any way by the tour guides Tong chose for us in her place (Nui for our floating market/tiger temple tour and Jerry for the fishing village tour).The first day, we were picked up at our hotel at 7.30am by our driver, David and Nui, a lovely young lady with a university degree in tourism and were whisked away to the floating markets in the comfort of an air-conditioned car, just the four of us. We had been to the floating markets on our first and previous trip to Bangkok on 2005 as part of a much larger group of people in a large bus so being able to have the comfort of our own car with just Nui and David and ourselves was just wonderful. What a difference to our previous trip. On the way to the floating markets, Nui asked us if we'd seen the railway markets to which we replied we hadn't so with the timing being just perfect, Nui quickly guided us there to await this unique spectacle. The market vendors set up their produce right beside the railway track and at the allotted times as the huge train approaches, they deftly fold up their overhead awnings and lower them again once it passes. They don't bat a single eyelid nor view it as an intrusion in their daily lives and is a unique experience for we tourists. We had never even heard of this market so this was a treat and as cooking is a great passion of mine, Nui took us through another fish and produce market where we were able to sample unusual (for us) Thai fruits, herbs, spices, vegetables and sweets along the way. It was truly a double treat for us and I personally came away vowing to find a source for these Thai fruits, herbs and vegetables once back home in Sydney Australia and to add more Thai food to my cooking repetoire. At the time of writing, we have been home now for three nights and I have cooked Thai meals on all three nights! And, yes I did head out to an Asian community the next day despite our jetlag and came home armed with pandanas leaves, green coconuts, fresh coriander, kaffir lime leaves, lemon grass, little Thai bananas and lots of other lovely things.
Our first meal home from Thailand - Thai chicken Our second meal home - Thai noodles
Nui and I at the floating markets enjoying our delicious 'nam tok' soup Arriving at the floating markets instead of hopping into a noisy motorised boat as we had done on our previous visit, Nui guided us into a smaller paddle boat instead. She took us down the side canals rather than just through the main canal where all the regular tourists flock in their hordes. She stopped every now and then to pick up more treats such as the delicious fried bananas (yum), satays, delicious Thai style iced coffee which gave us the 'caffeine fix' we needed just at that time) and what Nui said was 'the best 'nam tok' soup in the whole market" , and she was right. When I queried her later about why she said it was the 'best', she said it was the only soup where the cook didn't use congealed blood to colour the soup a rich brown but used herbs instead. As an avid cook myself and not partial to such animal protein, I gulped quietly and was ever so grateful Nui chose so wisely.
After we left the floating markets with our senses already on the way to being satiated from that experience, we headed to the Wat Pa Luangta Bua Yannasampanno Forest Monastery, known as the "Tiger Temple". Nui made sure we were well looked after and guided us to the best vantage points for photographs with the tigers, always getting us in first for these photo opportunities and whisking us quietly away from the mainstream of tourists to see and photograph the gorgeous tiger cubs etc. It was all these little personal caring touches that set this experience apart from other tours we have done in the past (we just did a tour of Egypt in September last year and have travelled fairly extensively through Europe over the years). Nui made sure we had a seat underneath one of the few umbrellas whilst in the tiger canyon (extremely important as I am prone to headaches when exposed to too much hot sun) and made sure we had lots of cold bottled water which was very much appreciated by us both. As icing on our tiger cake, Nui then took us up to meet Bambam, an adorable Asiatic black bear, and although we missed not being able to actually get inside her cage as Tong ensures, we enjoyed feeding Bambam her honey water and milk, milk tablets and bananas albeit through the bars or her cage but we still enjoyed a lot of chuckles at her cute antics. Bambam actually mistook my fingers for the milk tablets and for a short moment I held my breath but I needn't have worried as Bambam was as gentle as a lamb as I gently prised my fingers out of her mouth. This was a wonderful experience and one we hope to repeat next year, only inside her cage hopefully.
After a delicious lunch in a little local Thai restaurant ('little spicy' at our request) we were returned to our hotel hot, a little exhausted but truly satiated....and very impressed. We waited in eagerness for our next day's adventure with Tong's tour to her 'secret' Thai fishing village.
At 8.30am the next day , Jerry arrived at our hotel and away we headed to the fishing village. After what seemed only a short time though was probably almost 2+ hour comfortable drive, we arrived at the fishing village to be greeted with a cold bottle of water and a welcoming smile from the fisherman's family. We then climbed into Mr. Lead's boat and toured the oyster farm, watched the divers collecting mussels and clams, fed a 'king's ransom' worth of sweet, ripe sugar bananas to the local but wild fish-eating monkeys which was fun. We were then taken to one of Mr. Lead's pole houses and treated to a delicious homecooked and lovingly prepared seafood lunch of fresh oysters, crab, prawns, shrimp paste chicken and a delicious whole sea bass. Our guide, Jerry is a fine young man and a wonderful tour guide who took wonderful care of us and who shared a lot of reflective thoughts with us (being such a 'small world' we discovered we had a 'mutual' acquaintance and Thai mentor). It really added such a personal touch to our experience. What also impressed us further was that our lovely guide from the previous day, Nui, had alerted Jerry that we weren't able to eat food that was overly spicy so our lovely lunch at the fishing village was just perfect. I cannot emphasise enough how it was all these thoughtful 'little' gestures we experienced during these two days touring with Tong's Tours which are more often overlooked by other tour operators and this made the big difference between an ordinary experience and an unforgettable one. We were very, very impressed indeed and wouldn't hesitate to recommend Tong's Tours to anyone. We have already done so on tripadvisor since our return three days ago. "We shall return", as once famously stated. Next year.
Ray and Julie Yee
Sydney, Australia
Jerry (centre) and us enjoying our 'not too spicy' seafood lunch at the fishing village
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My Husband and I visited Thailand with friends in February this year, this was the second time for us but the first for our friends so we thought we would arrange a tour.We have never used guides before but after reading Tongs reviews thought we would give her a go.After months of emails being sent back and forth to arrange the perfect 4 day tour I had an idea it would be just fine as everything was tailor made from start to finish.We were all a bit nervous as we were just about to spend 4 days of our holiday with a complete stranger what if we didn’t get on, but from the first time we saw her smile in our hotel lobby we all knew it would be just fine, but I don’t think any of us knew just how great a time we would have.
The first day was a tour of Bangkok and within the first 5 minutes Tong had us feeling like we were best friends, our driver was Roger who was also very very nice, we were taken to the Grand Palace, reclining Buddha and a canal tour which we both did last time but this time we learnt so much about all the places with Tongs never ending encyclopaedia of knowledge, and she made it all so interesting and had us all mesmerised with her upbeat personality, we all said we wanted what she had for breakfast.She then took us for a lunch and very soon realised that my friend did not really take to the hot Thai food so quickly and throughout the whole tour made sure that there was something there that she could eat.
The following morning we were picked up at the hotel at 7am and we were having trouble with the hotel trying to charge us for 1 night we never stayed because they booked us in early, within 10 minutes of Tong arriving she had sorted it out for us and we were on our way.
Our first stop was past salt and shrimp farms, I didn’t know that there was so much went into making shrimp paste, but Tong did, we then went to the train market which was very exciting and again very knowledgeable as tong seemed to know everyone and everything, and she made the whole experience fun, then on to the floating market, we did this as well last year but as a tourist which is defiantly not how Tong does it, we were taken to the local parts of the river and stopped very often for local cuisine for us to try, coconut pancakes yummy, then it was on to the fisherman’s village I would say this was one of my highlights, feeding the wild monkeys who Tong and the boatman seemed to have a rapour with, calling them down and within 2 minutes they all seemed to know they were there to give them their dinner of bananas and water melon, we were then taken to a local fisherman’s house in the middle of the sea for the most amazing lunch nothing was to much trouble for Tong, making sure we all had enough to eat and drink, and even personally washing all our hands, which the men found great.We were then taken to our hotel in Kanchanaburi and given an hour to wash before Tong had arranged dinner on the edge of the river Kwai.We all sat there for hours just eating, drinking and talking about all aspects of our lives and it was then that we all realised what an absolutely amazing, funny, and special person Tong was.
The following morning we met for breakfast and then off to the Tiger temple for our VIP tour, what an experience there was only us four and two other couples, we walked, played, bathed and fed the tigers and all the time tong would make sure that the cameras were in full swing and of course looking out for our safety, I know a lot has been said about the welfare of these tigers but throughout our time there I only saw them in very good health and enjoying there playing and bath time, it did not seem like a tourist trap at all, I think the afternoon trip is a different story with so many tourist having there photos taken I think that could be a bit stressful for them and I wouldn’t like to see that.
Tong then took us to a great restaurant for lunch, we had a table outside in a little gazebo, she would not eat with us this time as Roger was eating inside and she didn’t want him to eat alone but she still wouldn’t go and eat her dinner until she was sure we had enough and everything was ok, we kept telling her Go eat your lunch but she wouldn’t go she just kept piling more on our plates, we had to tell her again and again we were ok.
Then it was off to the elephant camp, I think we all had the best time here and had never laughed so much, firstly we fed the elephants bananas then took the most amazing ride bare backed down to the river Kwai, we were taken into the river where the elephants started a water fight with us, all the time Tong is on the river bank screaming orders at them to soak us and screaming with laughter when we were both thrown off into the river, we then played some more with them in the water and gave them a wash.We then walked back to the van were Tong produced some gifts for the children of the camp that she had brought at the floating market, but there were two children who didn’t have any so being the loving person she is she walked them back to the van and gave them both biscuits and sweets there faces just lit up. We were then taken to the waterfalls, it was hot, we were tired but Tong kept our spirits up joking constantly that we didn’t even notice, and when we got there it was all worth while it was absolutely beautiful.
We were on our way to the floating hotel on the river Kwai when Tong got the bad news that they had double booked her room and she would not be staying with us but at a hotel further down the river, when she dropped us off after making sure our rooms were okay and that we had the best table in the restaurant for dinner and breakfast and we were settled in off she went to her hotel, we had just spent 3 days with her taking complete control, making sure everything was done just right and now we were alone, it was like having your right arm taken away.Having said that it was still an amazing experience, no electric and no hot water just floating on the river listening to the wild animals, truly amazing.
After breakfast we were discussing how we were going to get our suitcases to the reception to wait for Tong, as we had the last rooms at the end of a long wooden walkway and quite heavy bags. We heard her before we saw her laughing and screaming good morning she had the boat come right up to our rooms and moor on our decking and before we could do anything the suitcases were packed onto the boat and we were away to meet roger for our last day with them, she had even brought us all a little present from where she stayed.
The last day we were taken to death railway and I must say some of the most breathtaking views I have ever seen, then it was onto the war cemetery, on the way Tong talked about all the soldiers and what they went through to build the bridge, how they died and everything about the war and the bridge, how this little lady has so much knowledge I just don’t know, after the cemetery we went on to the bridge and had a lovely lunch at the restaurant overlooking the river, again Tong made sure we had enough to eat and drink, we only mentioned that back in England when we go to our local Thai Restaurant that we had this boiled egg dish with Thai spices and before we knew it a portion was on the table.After lunch it was time to return to our hotel, we had a four hour drive but with Tongs contagious laughter and joking the time flew by, we even stopped at a petrol station on the way were a little kitten had been abandoned , Tong could not leave him there so she asked the locals if she could take him home, and she has since emailed me photos of him sitting on her sofa looking very pleased with himself, all I can say is what a lucky cat to have an owner like Tong.When we got to our hotel we had more drama with them saying they were over booked and did not have rooms for us, well thank god for Tong again miraculously rooms were found.
After a very emotional farewell it was time to say goodbye to our new friend and all I can say is that Tong is one of the most amazing, beautifully spirited and unselfish person I have ever met, she made sure that we didn’t want for anything throughout our whole time with her and I hope we have made a friend for life, we will most defiantly meet up with her again and if you get a chance to meet her I am sure it will also be the highlight of your holiday.
Theressa & Gary White
Cheri & Steven
February 2010
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Dear Tong:
What a marvelous, amazing, unique day we enjoyed with you in Thailand. Your tours include places that other tours don't go, and that was a real treat. The railway market was unbelievable, the floating market a must for Thailand, and the cockle/mussel/shrimp farms a one-of-a-kind experience. Feeding the monkeys on the banks of the estuary was memorable. I wish I'd had my grandchildren there. They would have been ecstatic. I do wish that we had known that it was going to be a "gourmet" tour in which you offered us incredible tastes and tidbits from the best of the markets. We should have skipped breakfast! I wish I had some recipes--especially the coconut puffs and those delicious noodles.
We learned so much about Thailand and culture from talking to you and appreciated both your fine education and high energy in sharing your knowledge of this wonderful country. It was clear that, everywhere we went, the people knew and loved you. It's because of your generosity of spirit and fun personality.
We are lucky to have heard about you, and will recommend you to all we know who visit Thailand.
Sincerely,
Kathleen & Garth Pickett
March 5, 2010
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