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Travel Tips
1) Visa requirements The Kingdom of Thailand does require a visa for entry for citizens of the United States. A 30 day visa can be obtained free of charge when going through immigration at the airport. 2) Oh thank heaven for 7/11 This old marketing jingle will have new meaning once you visit Thailand. Yes, they have large shopping malls, and big box outlet stores, but 7/11 will become one of your favorite places. Bottled water, and all kinds of other drinks will be available there as well as those pesky little sundry items you forgot or didn't bring along. The packaging may not have English on them but you will recognize them anyhow. 3) Booking your overseas flight I will make all your transportation arrangements in Thailand. When making your overseas flights be aware that it is not the same as making domestic flights. Discount prices on the web can be a disaster and a bad way to start your trip. If you have layovers in your itinerary, make sure that the airport you arrive in is the same one from which you will depart. This is not always obvious from brief airline itineraries and should be avoided unless you are aware of the method you need to use to get to the next airport. Most airlines will book international tickets up to eleven months in advance and many times those prices will be much lower than prices closer to flight times. |
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
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.
2013 Tour 4 (November 10-23) Central and northern Thailand with the highlight being the celebration of Loy Krathong in Sukhothai.
Price is $2925 per person in double room.
An additional 3 day, 4 nights in Krabi for $786.00 per person in double room includes flights from Bangkok to Krabi and return to Bangkok plus hotel accommodations.
Please check web site for final tour of 2013 which will be posted soon.
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 still not finalized as the final tour in December has not been posted on the web site. It will be from December 1st to 14th but final pricing is still not available.
While I try to emphasize something in each tour, it is important to check out the daily itineraries to get the full flavor of each tour. Remember if you have a group of from five to eight persons who want to travel together and share some must see sights, let me know. I will work with you to organize a trip to include your ideas plus add a few more that just might not be on any other tour. At the present time there are certain cities and areas in Thailand that I would not suggest for any tour. Thailand has many wonderful places and areas for a great vacation/tour. Please do not be mislead by some very discounted tours to areas that no longer represent the best of Thailand. 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.
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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Phu Tok
 | | View approaching Phu Tok. Photo by Khun Wachara, tour guide, 2012. |
Only a very few travelers make it to the changwat (state) of Bueng Kan in the Isaan Region of Thailand. This is because of its remote locale and also because it is has not been developed for tourism. Luckily for those that do make the journey, these are the same reasons you will find one of the most accessible, challenging and isolated meditation retreats for monks and mae chii in the northeast of Thailand. Wat Phu Tok is really a sandstone mountain that rises sharply out of the flatland around it. Many monastic meditation huts can be seen on the cliffs and caves of the mountain.
 | | View on pathway going up. Photo by Khun Wachara, tour guide, 2012 |
Plan on a long and exhausting thrill filled walk if you go to the top of the mountain. The steps and trails around the mountain are formed to represent the seven levels of enlightenment in the Buddhist philosophy. It is a combination of mostly wooden staircases and paths that lead from the lush vegetation at the base of the mountain to the trees on the top plateau and they can be slippery and very rickety. The entire trip will be several kilometers and needless to say, if you go up, you also have to come down.
 | | The path can be steep. Photo by Khun Wachara, tour guide, 2012 |
At all times, one must remember that this is a retreat so silence and respect are expected. The outstanding views of the countryside are breathtaking and change with the seasons. While this is not a walk for the faint hearted, you might be rewarded by a woman selling warm Coke Cola when you reach the top.
 | | Pathway narrows but great view. Photo by Khun Wachara, tour guide, 2012. |
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Ubonratchathani National .Museum
 | | Students with Lee and Donna Porter visiting the museum. Photo 2011. |
The Ubonratchathani National Museum is a favorite of mine for many reasons. This is the building that I worked out of when I was a Peace Corps Volunteer. At the time I worked there, it was used as the City Hall and the office of Rural Community Development. The building was build in 1918 and has been continually used for public purposes since the reign of Rama VI.
 | | Life size figures with local musical instruments. Photo by Khun Wachara, tour guide, 2012. |
The room that I actually worked in now houses the display of "Folk music" which includes instruments and history of the region. It seems so much larger now that the desks of my eight co-workers and myself have been removed. Other than that the building looks the same in many respects. The Fine Arts Department have done a wonderful job of rehabilitating the building and organizing a grand collection of artifacts and materials for the well organized displays that are included in the museum.
Objects in the museum date back 2500 years and most have English descriptions to explain what you are looking at. Her Royal Highness Princess Siridhorn presided over the opening of the museum on the 30th of June 1989.
 | | Display in the museum. Photo by Khun Wachara, tour guide, 2012. |
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Sorapong Buddhist Park
 | | Wat Luang Phor Toh. Photo by Khun Wachara, tour guide, 2012 |
Often called Wat Sorapong or Soraphong, this location site near Korat is actually a Buddhist Park. It includes a temple, many religious structures and a very well planned out garden with walking paths and places to sit and recharge ones body and mind. This being said, it is only fair to warn you that it is still being built and changes tend to be sudden and dramatic. One of Thailand's best known and loved movie stars, Sorapong Chatree, is responsible for much, if not all, of the fortune that was used to establish this pilgrimage place for Buddhists.
 | | Statue of revered monk Phra Somdej Toh or Phra Luang Phor Toh. Photo by Khun Wachara, tour guide, 2012. |
According to information from a Thai travel web site Somdej Toh is the person who is honored at this temple. The monk Somdej Toh (I have purposely used the shortened name) was a guru monk and abbot. His life span from 1788 to 1872 helped him serve the first five kings of the Chakri Dynasty. However, and I have no proof, I believe the the statue of the person who is central to this site is the monk Luang Phor Toh (1886-1980).
To most western visitors, it will be of little concern about which abbot is honored. Your visit will be remembering the fantastic buildings and landscaped gardens of this beautiful site.
 | | Grounds of the park.. Photo by Khun Wachara, tour guide, 2012. |
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Although the weather is still rather nice, the calendar tells us it is winter and snow will soon be upon us. This time of year becomes very hectic for many of us and we start to dream of other times and places. It really is time to start thinking of a nice long vacation where Americans are still liked, temperatures are in the eighty and nineties, food is wonderful and life is a little more laid back. In other words it it time for a tour of Thailand! Why not join one of my preplanned tours or get a small group of your friends, relatives or co-workers together for a once in a life time tour organized and planned just for you?
The three articles again are from places in the northeast of Thailand and again, I want to again thank Khun Wachara Tantidontanet for his permission to use the 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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