Traveling usually involves doing tourist-y things. My friends and I love to do activities like that too, but we prefer and enjoy doing something unusual. Local things that take us off the beaten path not usually frequented by your typical tourist.
This is exactly the reason why I love the Take Me Tour–It is done and hosted by locals, and there are a a lot of off beat choices for you to pick from, and this way you can avoid the crowds and see a different, hidden part of the country that most visitors don’t get to.
From all of the tour options, we decided to go with the Mahasawat tour and our tour guide, Mr. Chai himself was born there so he knew a lot about the place as well as where exactly to go in order to get good stuff. We loved it.
Take Me Tour are great for many different reasons, and some tourists thinking about booking a visit to Thailand may not have heard of it. These are the reasons that make their trip unique and special .
- Take Me Tour is a website made for booking tours all over the country of Thailand.
- They have over 12, 000 local experts as well as more than 600 local tours all over the country.
f
- All of the tour guides at Take Me Tour are locals who know Thailand like the back of their palm due to years of experience and immersion.
- All of the tour guides have sufficient background checks in order to ensure your safety as well as security.
- Take Me Tourfma helps you see a side of Thailand that you’ve never seen before with tours located in every nook and cranny of the country.
We met our guide and he was very enthusiastic and very eager to share about his home country, Thailand. We had a big night out the night before our tour so we ending up falling fast asleep— we were polite enough to tell him about endeavours the night before so he wouldn’t be surprised at our drowsiness.
There was a 45 minute to a 1 hour drive before we were to arrive at our first stop. So, after our introductions and a few exchanges we asked if it was alright to sleep during the ride. (We really needed it)
That was a good nap because when we finally arrived at our first destination we were recharged and able to appreciate everything Mr. Chai showed us. It was definitely one of our highlights.
He took us to a stop where we boarded a boat to explore the canal. This reminded me of my experience in the Mekong Delta in Vietnam but this experience, on the other hand, felt very local and less touristy due to the quiet atmosphere and lack of crowds.
Stop 1: Lotus Farm
First and foremost, Mr. Chai took us to the biggest lotus farm in the area. We were shown all sorts and sizes of different lotus, and in order to get around the lotus fields we took an aluminium boat. We also tried food and drinks which were made out of, you guessed it—lotus.
What is the lotus?
The Lotus is a beautiful blooming flower which takes on all sorts of different sizes and colours such as blue, pink, and white. It typically grows in the waters amongst the lily pads which is why we needed to use a boat in order to get to them. The lotus also happens to be the traditional flower of Buddhism, and Buddhism is a religion which is deeply ingrained in Thailand.
Lotuses are definitely very important in Thailand as well as Thai culture, which gave the tour all the more cultural and spiritual meaning.
As for the food served, the lotus wrap was one of our favourites–it was really good.
Stop 2: OTOP
OTOP, which is an acronym for One Town One Product, was our second stop. OTOP is a housewives group who are known for making their delicious berry rice cracker products, which is the reason behind their name.
Here, we were taught how to make rice crackers. Of course, the woman making them and teaching us how to do so didn’t speak in English but thankfully, Mr. Chai was able to translate the process well. I even asked if I could try and they let me make one as well, and it was fun.
Stop 3: Juice Cactus
Aside from seeing and making rice crackers, we were also introduced to Juice Cactus, which is a popular cactus water extracted from the dragon fruit cactus. It is packed with lots of nutrients and electrolytes which help replenish the body, hence its popularity in places like Thailand and Vietnam.
Stop 4: Orchid Farm
Our fourth stop was the orchid farm, where we were able to see different orchid plants which are all of Thai origin. You can also snap pictures and take selfies with the orchids freely.
Stop 5: Lunch
We had lunch in Mr. Chai’s auntie’S own home and the food there was spectacular— They cooked for us well, but we tried one of the most special desserts here— it was our first time to try it and it reminded us of coconut, rice, salt and all sorts of other tastes, but despite that it was a delicious combination of both sweet and salty flavours and we all loved it.
Stop 6: Memory Lane
Our sixth and final stop was the Memory Lane, which is a really cool place for pictures but then they showcased things like old theatre, old train station, the river with the boats— it’s a portrayal of the olden times, reminiscent of a photo or interactive museum. We loved it.
The trip ended with Mr. Chai, our tour chide, dropping us off in Khao san. We loved the whole trip. We were tired and exhausted after the eventful day so we decided to rest—but despite our exhaustion we were still happy. We loved how local it was, and all the new insights we learned from Mr. Chai.
We recently tried another tour with Take Me Tour and it was a daytrip to Ayuthaya with Tom Yam Kung cooking class at a Shrimp farm and I highly recommend it. Our day trip to Ayuthaya from Bangkok was fun but the experience with the local family made this tour more unique.
