TRU TRAVELS 14 DAY NORTHERN THAILAND TOUR

My boyfriend bought me the 14 day Tru Travels Northern Thailand tour as a birthday present, we felt it was super good value for the activities and accommodation and wanted to do all of the activities it included. We had already planned to move from Bangkok to Chiang Mai during our 3 month trip so this tour ticked all the boxes - It also meant we didn't have to plan or book anything or risk bad accommodation and we now have contacts in Thailand should we need any advice for the rest of our travels :) Activities/Itinerary The tour covered SO much in just 14 days which meant it was very fast paced - so if you're looking for relaxation and lots of chill time I would recommend one of the island tours. There are also a lot of early morning starts but don't let this put you off it just means you can take an afternoon nap when you get back from the days shenanigans. 

We moved every 2-3 days which if you could see how much stuff I crammed into my bag was a faff but all part of the backpacker life right?

A few tips I would say are:

- Pack motion sickness and sleeping aids, the sleeper bus and the drive up to Pai are not enjoyable without

- Rehydration sachets will become your morning coffee - bring loads!

- The Jungle stay is very cold in the evening - pack warm clothes, I’m talking bonfire night in the UK

- If coming in wet season make sure you bring good shoes and waterproof for the trek!

- You will regret bringing half of your bag when you see the night markets My top 3 activities were: 1. Jungle trek and hill tribe stay - this isn't to say I enjoyed every part of it as spiders the size of my hand in our hut was not ideal but this was an amazing experience and the people were unbelievably generous and kind.

2. Elephants sanctuary - at first I did think I was going to get trampled for a banana but once the nerves went I realised how playful and amazing the elephants were!

3. Thai cooking course and Grand Canyon waterpark - it was so good to see the flavours that are used in the cooking so now when I eat out I know exactly what I like! The water park was SO much fun, exhausting but hilarious.

Now the tour is over I am looking forward to a few days of relaxing by our shaded (FFS) pool to catch up on emails, blogging, Instagram (obv).

It was intense but I enjoyed every single one of the days. It was so fun to do all these activities with the same group as your grew closer, we were all part of one big team. 

Accommodation I would say accommodation on the trip was mid range budget. We will now be staying in more budget accommodation so made the most of comfy beds, big pools and hot showers. The accommodation is basic but most places are in Thailand and you're out exploring so much if you have aircon, a comfy bed and a good bathroom what more do you really need? My favourite accommodation was the SK House 2 guesthouse in Chiang Mai as this was kind of a base for us we spent the most nights there (and they washed and ironed my clothes so well). Food was good there and it was just around the corner from Zoe Yellow which is a nice chilled bar to go to in evenings. 

My least favourite accommodation was Noble Guest house in Kanchanaburi. Even though this had the best view and arguably best pool the rooms were quite basic and the bathrooms were by far the worst. 

I struggle to sleep at home and had no problem sleeping in any of these places which is great for everyone else as I'm moody AF on little sleep :) Dinners Some meals were included with the tour - off the top of my head all of our meals over the 2 day trek, elephants sanctuary and waterfalls were included and this was a great way of trying something new. Every free meal we had was SO good.

In the evenings we would usually eat out ourselves somewhere/at the guesthouse however some evenings we would go where the tour guides would recommend for family dinners. My favourite dinner: Bombay Blues, Bangkok

My worst meal: Rainbow bar, Kanchanaburi - nothing the tequila and good company couldn’t solve though

We had so many good meals during our trip so hard to pick a favourite - the pizza place in Chiang Mai that served affordable wine (very rare) was also insane! 

How much we spent We couldn't really live our #budgetlife during this tour because of where we were staying and the restaurants we were going to. It was all still cheap compared to the UK but we weren't about to go get a toastie from 7/11 and miss out on a group dinner and drinks. We did try to reign in the drinking as they are about 100-150bht and it’s so easy to have 10 mojitos and think nothing of it - am I right? 

As mentioned before all accommodation, activities, most transport and some meals were included in this tour price. We did watch what we ordered at restaurants most of the time but sometimes splashed out on a big breakfast or a few (too many) drinks and ‘necessities’ aka new sunglasses and flip flops. Josh was ill one of the day so we saved a few ££, taking one for the team cheers babe!

We spent around £225.00 each in the 14 days but you could easily spend a lot more. I also had some Thai baht gifted to me for my birthday which I spent on a few bits from the night market (a must do in Chiang Mai). The people (the best part) Our guides Benmore - Our Thai mum, you will never see her without a smile Barbie - The positive Penelope who I related to so much - she always made sure every single person was having a good time! Steve - the absolute knowledge bomb - ask him anything! The Squad Nicola - The 'Innocent' one - but really wild AF Matt - The 'let's take shots' - I will forever have a mental image of Matt's sick in a bag during a taxi ride and being saved by mints Katy - The 'trooper' - twists her ankle, sees a ghost but never heard her moan ONCE about anything! Sean - The 'one who disappears' but always comes back and gets stuck in! JP (a nickname he blatantly made up for this trip) The 'Intellectual' one and Joshes part time bae, the bromance is real. Lisa - The 'funny one' - partly because she says words weird. I have a bank of 'that time Lisa said' for rainy days.

I can't believe it's only been 2 weeks I've known everyone above, everyone brought something different to the trip. We had so many laughs, falls, comical taxi rides, sleeping in the mountains, sharing buckets of paint stripper, awkward pees together and I wouldn’t change a thing!

If you’re think of booking one of the TruTravels tour I would 100% recommend the Northern Thailand trip - I’m so sad it’s over! Head over to @lifeinlycra_ on Instagram for more snaps from the trip on our onward adventure!

PS - I will be writing a blog of the journal I kept during the tour on what the days included, how much we spent, where we went etc - stay tuned.

AbbieJS Xxxx 

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