Pailin - Stadtführer in Chiang Mai

Worthwhile trip!

With all due respect to the guide, who is an elderly lady clearly doing her best, we were ultimately disappointed with this walking tour. A large portion of the commentary focused on irrelevant information about other countries and random words in different languages (particularly Spanish), rather than on Chiang Mai itself. This often felt distracting and unnecessary, and took time away from learning about the city, its history, and its culture. Several facts shared during the tour were also incorrect. For example, Saudi Arabia’s flag was described as having purple in it, which is not true, and inaccuracies regarding the amount of gold Thailand holds compared to other countries. These errors made it difficult to trust the information being presented. At the start of the tour, we were asked to pay 100 baht per person, which we were told was the entry fee for a temple we would visit later. Feeling committed after paying, we stayed for nearly two hours at least until we visit what we payed for, despite not enjoying the experience. Later, we noticed that the actual temple entry fee was 50 baht, which meant we had been charged double. As this is advertised as a free walking tour, where guests choose how much to tip based on value, this approach felt cunning. The guide also spent time at the beginning asking where everyone was from, yet repeatedly forgot participants’ countries during the tour, which came across as inattentive, offensive and maybe even disrespectful. Finally, the tour was stated to be 3.5 hours long, which felt excessive given the size of Chiang Mai’s old city. Overall, we felt this tour did not offer good value or accurate insight into Chiang Mai, and we left wishing we had spent our time exploring the city independently.