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Travel Tips
1) Do I have to be barefoot when I visit temples?
The short answer is no. You must remove your shoes but it okay to wear socks, stockings or anklets. 2) May I use a knife and fork instead of chopsticks? Thais DO NOT use chopsticks except when eating at a "foreign" (Chinese or Japanese) restaurant. Knives will probably not be available at most restaurants unless you are eating in a Western cafe. The Thais have been using a fork and spoon for over two hundred years. The reason for no knife is that food is always prepared in small enough pieces. All food will fit nicely in the spoon which is used to convey the food to your mouth with the fork being held in the left hand and used to put the food into the spoon. 3) Boy Scouts The Boy Scouts were formed in Thailand a few years before they were established in the United States. Most males are in scouts while in school and it is more of a papa-military organization than it is here. |
Comments, questions, additional information , and suggestions on articles in this newsletter may be posted on the Facebook page for Hand Held Trips to Thailand.
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Tours The prices for all tours are pretty much all inclusive. This means that from the time you are picked up at the airport until the time you are returned to the airport for transfer home, everything is included in the price you have paid for the tour. Things included are: 1) Accommodations in air conditioned rooms unless specifically mentioned in the daily itinerary, such as the Flotel. 2) Meals included are stipulated in the daily itinerary, but as a minimum include all breakfasts. Some tours include all meals. 3) All in country transportation is included. This means all flights, boats, buses, trains, elephant, horse carriage, samlows, ox carts, etc. that are mentioned in the itinerary are included. 4) Entrance fees to all sites and venues are included. 5) Tips to Thai guides and drivers are paid. What are you responsible for? 1) International flight to and from Bangkok. 2) Drinks other than coffee or tea at meals. 3) Tips to bell hops. 4) Your own travel/medical insurance. 5) Laundry and personal expenses. 6) Meals other than those stipulated in the daily itinerary. |
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Prices
2012 Tour 5 (December)
Relaxing tour itinerary and price now published on the web site.
Price is $3460.00 per person in double room.
2013 Tour 1 (January 27th - February 9th, 2013)
Bangkok, Mae Hong Son, Chiang Mai, and the beach at Krabi. Includes village of the long necked women and the annual flower festival in Chiang Mai.
Price is $2846.00 per person in double room.
2013 Tour 2 (February 17 - March 2)
Another tour of the Isaan region but emphasis on the southern and central sections of the region.
Price is $3145.00 per person in double room.
2013 Tour 3 (July 11-26)
Special slower paced summer tour great for teachers and college students. Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, and Ubonratchathani are major cities visited.
Price is $3200.00 per person in double room.
Prices are in United States dollars per person in half twin rooms. Single supplements vary and are printed on the web site. Please contact Lee@H2t3tours.com for additional information.
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Tours for 2013 are almost all finalized and posted on the web site. The exception is the December 2013 tour which is still in draft form and will be on the web by early November.
The emphasis will once again be on holidays and the north east part of Thailand. Please check out the daily itineraries and give them some consideration. I have been making tour plans for honeymoons and small groups which are not part of the regular tours. If you know of someone who wants to go on their own but needs help in working out an itinerary please have them get in touch with me.
I am trying to get prices for Tour 4 and working on tour 5 as this is being written. Tour 2 will once again go to the Isaan area of Thailand. This is the area that is overlooked by most American tourists but one of the friendliest places to visit. Tour 3 will once again be a summer tour and will again include the far north of Thailand plus the Lenten Candle Festival and Parades of Ubonratchathani. This is a slower paced tour and will be for fifteen days.
You can always check the web site for the projected dates of any of the tours. Also, for complete information and the itinerary for any tour, go to the Tours page of the web site. If you click on the highlighted words of each tour it will take you to a brief itinerary. At the end of each brief itinerary is a second link that leads to the daily itinerary of each tour. This will give you a breakdown of what will be happening each day of the tour.
Finally, just a reminder, I will only accompany tours with six or more persons. However, when less than six persons sign up for a tour, I will make arrangements to have very good English speaking Thai guide(s) who will act on my behalf. |
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Daan Kwien
 | | Artist working . Photo by Lee Porter 2012 |
A few kilometers southeast of Korat (Nakhon Rachisma) is a village that has been making pottery for several centuries. The name of the village is Ban Dan Kwien. The name translates as the village for "checkpoint for oxcarts". Many years ago caravans of traders oxcarts would stop at this point on their travels from Korat to areas in the Khmer empire. The clay in the banks of the Mun River was of exceptional quality for making earthenware products. The pottery was fired in above ground wood kilns. In recent times the addition of other type kilns have been introduced but still the majority of the work is fired using the old method.
 | | Water vessels finished and unfinished. Photo by Lee Porter 2012 |
Prior to about 1972 most of the pottery made here was functional household pottery. The pottery was mainly used for storage of water, fermented fish, mortar and basins. Today, all types of items are made including many decorative items like the mural that you saw in the June 2012 issue of this newsletter. All types of little bric-a-brac, large birdbaths, water fountains, are only a few examples of the items one will find today.
If you are traveling by yourself, please do not be mislead by the pottery factories and stores on the main road. Make sure you visit the actual village with is only a short distance from the main road. It will make a world of difference in what you will learn and see. Also the prices will be so much better in the village for anything you might like to purchase. Use the large stores on the main road only if you want items shipped home.
 | | Umbrella stands being readied for market. Photo by Lee Porter 2012 |
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Ho Chi Minh's House
 | | Listening to story of Ho Chi Minh in Thailand (inside his house). Photo by Lee Porter 2012. |
Your first impression might be that I have included an article on Vietnam. Nothing could be farther from the truth. A short distance from the village of Ban Na Chok (Jok) is the house where Ho Chi Minh lived in Thailand. The village is a Vietnamese village that was founded over 100 years ago. It was a natural place for "Uncle Ho", as he is still referred to by the villagers, to live while he was in Thailand. Although there are conflicting dates of when he actually lived here, there can be no doubt that he did live for a least one year in Thailand and possibly as many as seven.
 | | Granary at Ho Chi Minh's house. Photo by Lee Porter 2012. |
The house has been lowered from the typical stilts that it was built on but the interior is structural the same. You can get a good idea of how the house might have looked years ago by viewing the granary that is still on the property. The home and garden are well worth a visit. Our host, Khun Kornkanok, is the daughter of a Mr. Tiew, who was a close personal friend of Ho Chi Minh and now owns the property. She is a gracious hostess and speaks four languages. She tells the story of Ho Chi Minh and I must admit the story changes a bit when the language is English for American tourists. I can verify this because I listened to her tell the story in Thai to our driver. Do not let that stop you from this remarkable house.
 | | Flowers in the garden at Ho Chi Minh's house. Photo by Lee Porter 2012. |
While examples of older palaces and temples are plentiful there are really very few places where you can see the home of a common person. The addition of many framed photos and memorabilia on the walls does not distract from the house. One feels a since of humility when stepping into the building and knowing this is how the common person lived almost one hundred years ago. The garden is well worth a short stroll just to see the various flora and see the well kept grounds.
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Chiang Khan
 | | At the center of Chiang Khan. Photo by Khun Wachara, tour guide, 2012 |
One of the most unique and soon to be overrun places to visit is the small village of Chiang Khan in Loei province. It is an old village that still has much of the charm and feel of many years ago. However, it has become very popular with Thai tourists and therefore soon to be followed by foreign tourists. You should get there soon if you want to enjoy this quiet little town with its' beautiful views of the Mekong River and the mountains of Laos.
 | | Typical house in Chiang Khan. Photo by Khun Wachara, tour guide, 2012. |
The wooden houses have not given way to concrete buildings yet, and a first class hotel is not available. In fact, hotels for westerners are very limited and even then they do not meet the standards for above one star. Good news is that they are clean and if you are willing to share the bathroom with other guests then you can have a wonderful stay. Ideally one should plan on spending several days here, just resting and recharging from the hectic pace of Bangkok and Chiang Mai. There are no great tourist sights here, just a small village that is easy to walk around and get the feeling of the real Thailand. There are several wats in the town and hidden monasteries within short walking distances. It is possible to see monks meditating in caves and on tree platforms. Depending on the season of your visit, the rapids near by are some of the best to be found. There are plenty of small restaurants and small shops but most owners speak very limited or no English.
 | | Waiting to give alms to Buddhist Monks. Photo by Khun Wachara, tour guide, 2012. |
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Summer is gone and fall is once again in the air. Its time to start thinking of the warm sunny beaches of Thailand. This is the perfect season to visit Thailand since this is also the winter time there. Enjoy those cool nights of high 60's and low 70's. Daytime temperatures will average in the 80's.
In this newsletter for the Travel Tips section I have included two questions that I received recently. If you have a question that I might be able to answer please send it to me and it just might help someone else too. Also, if there is something you would like to see in the short articles I am always welcome to ideas. Sometimes it is difficult to come up with new topics for each newsletter.
Again, the three articles were inspired by the trip to Isaan last February. Also I once again thank Khun Wachara Tantidontanet for his permission to use photos that he took.
As always I thank you who share this newsletter. You have my sincere appreciation. It is one of the ways new readers are added. Each month a few more people sign up with your help. When you forward the newsletter, the recipient is not automatically added to the mailing list, but they must sign up for future issues.
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Sincerely,
Lee Porter
H2T3 Tours, LLC
P.O. Box 2114
Springfield, VA 22152
571-244-4363
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