Dear Real Gap,
I’ve just returned from a most enjoyable trip to Thailand. However there was one slight problem, this was not down to Real Gap, which is my reason for writing. Let me illustrate my point more clearly.
I spent £1,599 on your Thailand Explorer tour, a four week adventure that was supposed to show me Thailand. The clue was in the title, I expected to explore Thailand. Except I noted we weren’t planned to see any Northern Thailand. I assumed we were going to explore a hidden side of Thailand that only experts in that field could know. For that price I was sure the trip was going to be a treat.
Before joining the tour I decided to go and see some of the best sights myself. Easy enough to organise and research using the internet and a guide book. My trip started in Chiang Mai then moved on to Mae Hong Son and finally a short visit to Sukhothai before heading off to be picked up at the airport in Bangkok by a real gap representative. Well that is after several minutes of waiting and an announcement over the airport.
The first week of our Thailand Explorer tour was absolutely fine. Visiting a massive market where a map would have saved me from getting lost and feeling a little overwhelmed was I’m sure all part of my ‘exploring’. In fact I thought simple maps at each location would have been very useful, they can be very helpful when trying to navigate around a new area. Still I’m sure Starfish, who was the company organising this tour might have thought this was completely unnecessary as our two guides would be able to give us with all the information we were to require. And they did except for perhaps some pieces of information such as what we were doing and where we going each day. Knowing that I could have taken a bag and left it at the campsite rather than carrying it around on my back when trekking would have meant a very welcome towel for my shower. In fact knowing there would be showers would have been beneficial. Perhaps knowing which road to take on our journey back from the winery would have meant we didn’t spend 3 hours in the back of a truck instead of 30 minutes. However this was just one of the many adventures that made the tour truly special. I could list more but wish to get to the main problem and not waste your time.
I’d like to tell you about the next 10 days or so, which we were supposed to spend in Surin. We were told of a swimming pool just over the road which sounded like a dream, After spending our days in temperatures regularly reaching 38 degrees we all needed a respite from the intense heat. If you’ve ever spent a minute in a sauna you’ll imagine our need. However what we encountered was a small house that made Colditz look inviting, 20 minutes walk from the town centre and not a tuk tuk in sight. Oh, and that swimming pool just over the road, just a mere 15 minutes long, hot, exhausting walk away. Still we could always sit in the garden and have a nice cold beer, except there was no garden or even a small patio or a tiny space to sit, or chairs for that matter. No actually that’s not quite true we could take the only two chairs from the inside so we could take it turns to get some fresh air. Actually there wasn’t so much of that either. The house heated up nicely reaching a record breaking temperature that one small fan moved around the airless bedroom we were to sleep in. Still we were sure that Surin was a beautiful place. Except that after a walking tour it was obvious that it wasn’t. Imagine travelling to the UK and spending two out of four weeks of your trip in the outskirts of Croydon. The interesting activities that were to make up for it amounted to lessons in Thai cooking and massage from our guides, and a spot of basket weaving. If all this sounds so glamourous, trust me cooking on a one ring hob with no equipment in a kitchen that was reaching temperatures of 40 degrees would have brought you back to reality. I trust you have been on this tour and sampled the delights of Surin for two weeks which is exactly why you offer this tour as part of the Gap year for grown ups and charge a whopping £1600 for it.
So after nearly fainting from lack of sleep and air I left. From then on I travelled independently in order to actually explore the rest of Thailand. It seemed a terrible waste to travel all this way to see such a small dismal amount of the country. I’m sure the proposed itinerary would have suited the teenagers that had been staying there as being anywhere on your own with a bunch of people of the opposite sex is all that is often required when you young. Our group however were aged 36 to 60 I think and expected a little more than this for our Baht.
Our guides were pretty clueless. One had just been shipped in at the last minute as the previous one had driven a motorbike into a tree. Our other guide was not really suited to that occupation, however they were trying their best which was appreciated but it was like they had been told to dig a 10 ft hole and only been equipped with a toothpick.
So hopefully I’ve illustrated my slight problem. To make it absolutely clear, who on earth thought this was an exploration of Thailand and how could you charge £1600 for it?
Ask yourself why would anyone enjoy spending 10 days – 2 weeks in Surin staying in Colditz. The highlight of the week being able to learn basket weaving.
I’m quite happy to pay money for something understandably enjoyable and a true exploration of Thailand but this was far from that. I am quite aware that a profit needs to be made but at the prices I paid for my independent travelling I am also aware how much this tour would have cost. I think that the time in Surin was purely to make a profit and a waste of my time.
I spent a lot of money with you and got a very inadequate tour and want a refund.
I have stated my case and you may argue the toss with platitudes about experiencing the real Thailand. Please don’t waste any more of my time as this is a foolish argument we both know it doesn’t cost £1600 to experience the real Thailand. I assure you that I will continue this matter until I’m satisfied with the result.
