Hosts: Yochit (Dtaw) Nampholsaen & Cathy DiSantis When: anytime Length of stay: A three-day itinerary is provided as an example of what can be done, but visits of any length are welcome. We have a number of half-day and one-day tours available, too Number of guests: Two or more Languages: English, Thai Fee: The three-day itinerary provided below costs 4,500 baht/person. Our one-day "Nature Experience" focusing especially on orchids, a butterfly farm, elephant camp, Hilltribe village, a sacred cave and the herb market costs 2,500 baht/person. A two-day trek visiting a local market, two Hilltribe villages, an elephant camp, and featuring a bamboo raft ride costs 3/500 baht/person. Other tours are in a similar price range. The fee for the featured three-day itinerary includes the elephant ride, bamboo rafting, transportation, insurance, entrance fees to National Park, wholesome meals from lunch the first day through the third, accommodation in the hilltribe villages, sleeping bags, life jackets and an expert trekking and rafting guide. With social work and academic backgrounds, Dtaw and Cathy have the network and resources to create tours that combine the fun of eco-adventure and sightseeing with unique and interesting educational experiences. Authentic village home-stays, community service projects or visits to organizations dealing with Thai social, religious and health issues help cultivate deeper mutual understanding and memories that last a lifetime. Dtaw and Cathy at 3rd Eye have personal interests in several aspects of Thai life that are not normally part of sightseeing tours of Thailand. Thai Alternative Healing Practices Social Issues in Northern Thailand Expatriate Life Alternative Shopping Organic Farm Visit In the past we have lead these alternative tours only on special requests from customers. We are listing them here to see if other people would be interested too. Below is a proposed itinerary for a three day trip. We have a number of half-day tours and experiences requiring more time, and we will be happy to discuss customizing something special for you. SAMPLE ITINERARY: A 3-DAY TREK DAY 1: On the first day, we'll leave your hotel in Chiang Mai at 8:00 in the morning by truck for a 2 ½-hour drive through scenic mountains to a National Park, stopping on the way to visit a local village market. Arriving at the National Park, we'll take a short walk to a hot spring and then venture uphill through forests for an hour to a resting point in a Karen hilltribe village where we'll meet the villagers and have our picnic-box lunch. Afterward, we'll trek for 3 to 3 ½ hours uphill and down through breathtaking mountaintop vistas, forests and rice fields to another Karen hilltribe village where we'll stay overnight with villagers in their wooden homes DAY 2: After breakfast on the second day, we'll walk around the village to learn about Karen traditional culture and how they live in harmony with nature. Then we'll trek for 2 ½ hours uphill and down through mountain forests and rice fields to the Elephant Conservation Camp where we'll prepare and have our lunch along the Mae Tang River. After lunch, we'll ride elephants for 2 hours through the mountain forest and over streams to a Lahu hilltribe village where we'll have dinner and stay overnight in a Lahu bamboo home. DAY 3: On the third morning, we'll walk around the Lahu village after breakfast to learn about their traditions and lifestyle. Then we'll bamboo raft along the Mae Tang River for 2 hours through dense tropical forest, passing through exciting rapids and along more gentle waters (life jackets are provided), arriving at a riverside Thai village where we'll prepare our lunch and leave afterward by truck for the 2-hour return to Chiang Mai, arriving at 5:00 p.m.

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