Ive finished the Thai Intro 18 days and am still on the Epic Asia 38 Day tour. I would highly recommend the thailand 18 days! You see so much, its very well organised, and theres a great range of activities. Thailand is a brilliant country and this trip helped me experience so much more than if I had been travelling alone. The food and experience were truly incredible! Intro seem like a great company who really care about their staff, guides and customers. Charlie was our absolutely brilliant group leader. He was super fun, organised, calm and kind, and completely brilliant at his job! He went above and beyond to help and would do whatever to make sure you had the best, easy going, safe trip possible. Would definitely recommend!
Wonderful contrasting country cycling This tour gives a great overview of the 3 countries visited with differing food, landscapes and people. Our group was small (only 9: Brits and Americans) which gave us a very close bonding time together and our leader 'Is' was outstanding in her warmth, compassion and sense of humour. The pace was faster than expected and yet although we cycled further than I have experience of, it was completely manageable and I was never tempted to get on the bus. It's hot and sweaty but virtually flat the whole way. There is more traffic and car fumes than anticipated and it felt a bit risky at times, but 'Is' had her eye on us the whole time with help from the crew. The food is wonderful and as a gluten free vegetable lover I was in heaven. There really is no need to bring anything extra except perhaps a bag of muesli. The cycle snacks are never ending and delicious. Culturally, we were indulged in many new tastes, sights and sounds from spiders, silk worms, frogs, rats and snakes to be eaten in the local markets to fabulous home cooking in the home stay. We toured Angkor Wat in its splendours over 3 days and enjoyed the boat ride in Cambodia and the homestay in Vietnam. Entering Vietnam, we experienced the New Year celebrations in a riot of colourful flowers and local costumes and decorations as well as some evening shows. We enjoyed every aspect of the trip and followed straight on to our tour company's Cycle Vietnam trip. This was totally manageable and I recommend it as a way of enhancing the experience if you can manage that amount of time and expenditure (see my review for that trip too). We loved the time spent in Saigon and also had a few extra days in Bangkok at the start to acclimatise to the time zone difference and the weather. The hotels along the way can be basic but all are clean and comfortable and most have swimming pools. Laundry is easy to do. Leave space in your suitcase for shopping. There are lots of possibilities along the way for cheap and colourful clothing, crafts and food items. The history of war can be hard to digest and the visits in Pnom Penh quite devastating. But we were taken for lunch to a community restaurant project rehabilitating street children, which was so uplifting that we could see how the people have moved forward from their dark history with quiet hope, endurance and humility. We have so many great photos and memories but are already thinking about where to go on our next adventure. A big thanks to 'Is' and our tour company for this great holiday.
If you’re looking for a tour company then look no further. And if you come to Thailand and you get Bee and/or Nancy as your guides you have won the lottery. The tour itself is packed with incredible experiences and our tour guides Bee and Nancy are 2 of the most genuinely lovely people I have ever met. They were the best tour guides and were a real highlight of our trip. So happy and helpful.