recomendations for Northern Thailand

Hi all, I am looking for recommendations for reputable tour operators - or excursions that are fairly easy to do on our own. There will be two of us and have only about a week in the north (I know, not enough time!). Chiang Mai, Chaing Rai, Mae Hon Song, I don%26#39;t know... Help!

We would be interested in:

* a 2-3 day trek. Would love to visit a hill tribe village, but am wary of going to the ';people zoo';

* a half day or whole day bike ride, either something REALLY easy for both of us or something extreme for one.

* visit to a silk factory

* anything else you suggest that is cool, fun or interesting!

thanks a ton

recomendations for Northern Thailand

Hi Delanaloo,

May I suggest splitting your time between Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai. Chiang Mai has a lot of great temples and is a big city which offers quite a bit but what I like about Chiang Rai is that it%26#39;s easy to do excursions to villages on your own. There%26#39;s a Karen/Paduang village that also have their own elephant camp along the Kok. While you could certainly rent a bike and ride out along the road meandering along the Mae Kok northwest of town you%26#39;ll cover a lot more ground if you rent a motorbike for approx. 150bahts/day. There are some caves and also a waterfall for a dip. And don%26#39;t miss Wat Rong Khun or the %26#39;White Temple%26#39; closer to C. Rai. Also visits to Doi Tung and Mae Fa Luang. Anyways, I would suggest popping into the Chiang Rai and Mai forums for futher ideas. Cheers.

recomendations for Northern Thailand

YOu could visit Elephant Nature Park. We went there in January 2009 and are going back this December. It was one of the highlights of our trip. YOu can pet and feed the elephants as well as bathe them in the river. You can observe them in a more natural enviroment and really see their personalities shine through. Several babies have been born this year.Elephant Nature park does not do circus shows, does not do rides. It is a sanctuary for elephants, they are not forced to do anything. ENP has been awarded by and commended by organizations such as Time Magazine, National Geographic, Animal Planet and the Humane society of the United States. Highly recommended.

There%26#39;s lots of other things to do as well around Chiang Mai. For adventure, there%26#39;s ATV tours, white water rafting, bamboo rafting, horseback riding, ziplining. You can visit some beautiful wats and temples, the most widely known being Doi Suthep on the mountain. There are national parks nearby.. Chiang Dao with caving, and Doi Inthanon. For shopping there%26#39;s the night bazaar and the sunday night walking market.

I think on the 2-3 day treks, from what I%26#39;ve heard, the hill tribes aren%26#39;t ';people zoos';, unlike the ones on day trips which seem more like that.

Have a look at this list of tour operators (scroll down the page past the Bangkok list);

tripadvisor.com/Travel-g293915-c125475/Thail…

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