Your Thailand
Tour Guide should
have a 'full quiver' of narratives ( animated, please! ) on Thai
society / Thai history /
relevance and be able to present appropriate options relevant to any issue
at hand.
A good tour guide is an entertainer.+
Guides must REALLY enjoy being the center of attention.
A
good guide is a wealth of 'constant information' & 'knowledge based
suggestions' relevant to common situations.
It is impossible
to know everything, but a good guide should be an accomplished student of
LANGUAGE, geography, history, local traditions & societal standards.
Even a Bangkok Taxi with the right
driver can make for an excellent short trip.
If you find a favored in city driver inquire
about day trips.
Taxis are not good for a multi day trip ..
but for short day trips they are excellent.
or take
a guide with you on the train & then
arrange transportation in Issan.
The
train ride is 'different' & the roads congested. I take
the train at every opportunity.
Another train option is to return
to Bangkok via train while the driver returns on his own.
A
bilingual guide w/ included transportation should be less than
3500 BT ( $80. + meals & tip ) per day. Repeat visits
to the toured locations sans guide is 'kosher' .. but be sure to
get phone numbers + names & directions written in Thai if you
intend on 'self guiding'.
Realistically,
85% of the tourist clients ask the same basic 25 questions & 99% ask
questions from an expanded list of 100 questions.
Answer the same question twice a day for 10 years & your SHOULD have
the answer down pat.
A guide should
be a negotiation facilitator & product validity consultant.
The
advantage of 'personal guide' vs 'tour group' is that the
big group can only go to places prepared for 'tourist
groups'.. locals generally do not frequent 'tour
group' locations, due to higher prices & tourist
congestion.
Tour Guide Management Tip #1: A guide returning to a shop after your
purchase is returning to receive his commission. The guide is your
representative & should not receive compensation from shops he recommends
without prior notice.
The
'standard tour group scheduled locations' are generally
interesting in their own right.
If
there are a lots of tourist & few locals, it's probably
not a good place to shop for 'special items'.
http://www.muaythai.com/
Rajadamnern Stadium, Bangkok, Thailand . 72 kg Muaythai
extravaganza comprises 8 invincible contenders all over
the world.
The winner gets 1,000,000 Baht.
More detail ... lots of
pics of Thai Professional Muay Thai Boxers.
It may
take a couple of short preliminary 'afternoon' outings to sort
out the guide that best meets your needs, both personality &
knowledge, for day long or multi-day excursions.
'Odds
are' the same request / agenda will result in assorted
outcomes.
An
area of particular interest: antiques, furniture, jewelry, art, temples. Any interest, could be
investigated in more than 1 outing with more than 1 guide.
This is
an area of great benefit ( guides ) but few guarantees.
Ask
about day shopping / trip options & fees / prices. His
fee, transportation method & cost, ect.
How
much more is a new Volvo worth over a raggedy city taxi for
a multi hour trip?
&
Then
if the guide / driver does provide a quality & memorable experience.
tip 'um~!~!
Know that MOST of the guides
will receive commission or have a business arrangement with the shops they
recommend.
Know that a (rich) tourist is viewed
as an income / business opportunity, a friendly business opportunity but a
necessary income opportunity none the less.
Always remember that you are their
"tourist client" & temper their recommendations with your common
sense.
& the "Thai
tourism contractor" is entitled to
make a good living
Respect
the 'Thai tourism professional' & compensate your guides & amenity
providers generously! :-)
Do not expect them to work for free, westerners can view the Thai
culturally based friendship offered as a sign of non-professionalism.
But,
determining which guide is the ' 80% on your
side' guide {:-o I'm a realist! } is always a 'gray
area'.
A 'smart
taxi driver' is often better than the 'Hotel recommended /
supplied' guide.
A good
guide asks relevant questions & provides specific
UNDERSTANDABLE answers / suggestions.
I've
worked with guides whom were defiantly on my side as well those
obviously not 100% on my side!
However,
if the guide wants more work, he should demonstrate his value by
proper recommendation of activities, vendors & the demonstration of
good, valid advice.
Any
of the 'airport limo / limo to Pattaya' type businesses will
also have daily hires with driver.
Tourist
areas have plenty of 'freelance tour guide hustlers',
several of these freelance type contacts have proven to be excellent!
Why
Freelance? The guide receives 100% of the fee
instead of a small salary.
Guides
are more difficult to find in Issan, the southeast.
Probably the easiest & safest way
is to tour Issan is to hire a car and driver in BKK.
A
third option is to
take
the train to Korat, Buri Ram City or Surin & hire a 'pick up truck'
guide.
Hotels in the larger towns will
have guides.
The
train station areas all have 'pick-up truck taxis' w/ 'some what bi
lingual' drivers, some available for long term / day hire.
Waiting
'til you get to the country area to find a bi lingual knowledgeable
guide is a 'crap shoot' at best.
But
what the heck, the more difficult days are the most
memorable! ":-o... we'll laugh
about this when we get back home, dear."
The
long drives on 'red dirt roads' through the rural non tourist areas are
not for the faint at heart.
The
area is safe, but you will be in remote areas! :-o
In
some of the rural areas that new digital camera around a tourist's
neck is worth a years wages... for a family!
In 'larger
shopping center' type stores prices are relatively fixed. No
point is negotiating with a sales person / clerk in a department
store, grocery store, restaurant over a 'minor retail buy'.
Medical Tourism Book Store
Bangkok
/ Pattaya / Hua Hin Road Map
