Tuk Tuks And Elephant Encounters With ThaIntro

A cultural experience to say the least, travelling around Thailand can be daunting for some, especially alone. To put your mind at ease, ThaIntro introduce you to Thailand with a bunch of people you’ve never met that quickly become lifelong friends. Here, Will Gorton takes us through his seven days with ThaIntro – tuk tuks, elephants and floating bungalows included…

I graduated last May with a degree in marketing. Because I was adamant on graduating in a four-year time span, I wasn’t able to study abroad, and upon finishing my undergrad degree I didn’t land a solid job in my field so I figured I would do the next best thing and travel abroad.

I found ThaIntro to be reasonably priced and, according to everything included in the package and photos, it appeared that I would have the time of my life! I never had my heart set on travelling to Thailand, but I could not be happier with my decision. I fell in love with Thailand and I cannot wait to travel back!

Having this adventure be my first, I’m very pleased with the fact that I went with a tour because the people that I met will forever be my close friends. On our last dinner we had together in Koh Phangan, we went around the table and each spoke about our most memorable moments within the last week. The most significant thing for me was learning about everyone else’s cultural backgrounds. I also loved getting around Thailand by every possible means of transportation – tuk tuk, cab, taxi truck, overnight train, plane, long tail boats. Sleeping on bungalows in Khao Sok National Park was quite the experience as well; I loved every minute of it because it was the perfect bonding experience with the crew of about 20 other mates around the globe!

Bangkok was everything I expected it to be, plus more. With ThaIntro, we spent a couple of nights in the major backpacker area of Bangkok, Khao San Road. Once the tour was finished, I had a couple of nights to play with at my own leisure before I flew over to Sydney. So, I decided to take a flight back up to Bangkok, but this time I decided to stay in Sukhumvit Soi 11. It was great to see two different sides of Thailand’s Capital.

As for the beauty of nature that Thailand has to offer – wow. Sarana Bungalows is a beautiful resort right on the beach, within walking distances from Koh Phangan’s small town. It was amazing to wake up in the bungalows in the national park. Just to walk outside and look off into the mountains was breath-taking.

The leaders of our ThaIntro tour were amazing. Every since I received the email from Adam and Allen introducing themselves as our “leaders/life advisors/dance partners” I knew I was in for a great experience. When any of us had questions, they knew the answer. Adam was great, considering it was his first time leading a tour group. And Allen just seemed to know everyone wherever we visited. When it came time to planning our further travels, the guys had all the best advice.

There were many bonding opportunities during the trip because there was a lot of travelling; waking up and having breakfast together, sleeping in bunks on the overnight train, and snorkelling together in the ocean. I loved everyone I toured with. Speaking of, this weekend, friends in Adelaide and Melbourne are visiting me in Sydney that I met in Thailand.

Find out more about experiencing Thailand with ThaIntro at thaintro.com