@Iris **********

most welcome

@Paul *******

Wowwww amazing.

If you are travelling South to Hua Hin then also do try Koh Phangnan, Koh Samui, Krabi in order of choice.

i am Canadian too and now living in Thailand since little over 3 years. Last year I spent Christmas day in a place called Pai in Mae Hong Son Provice. If you make a trip to Chiang Mai then from the bus terminal Arcade 2 you can take a van to Pai or Mae Hong Son Mueng (this is the actual Mae Hong Son City. I was confused with the same name for the Province and the city so i only visited Pai. But i would recommend you visit Mae Hong Son City too. I was shocked that the prices were not hiked coz I met a travelling buddy who booked into the same place i was staying in on the day we arrived Dec 24 evening and he paid less for his room than what I paid by booking in advance online. It can be nippy early morning for the sunrise excursion and late evening for the sunset....two different points. Be careful at the sunset point it is very dangerous in some places. The night market at Pai was marvelous if you are adventurous to try the local cuisine. Prices are so cheap compared to Canada OMG. Returning to Chiang Mai you can visit Doi Tung Palace and Mae Fah Luang Garden. You will not regret your trip there. You can take a van or hire a private car. if you leave early it can be a day trip morning to evening and then back to your comfortable hotel at night. If you want to experience a train journey then I suggest taking a overnight train from Bangkok to Chiang Mai. You can book a cabin for a couple and it would cost you about 2500 Thai baht (about C$120) for both of you. The cabin sleeps 2. They provide sheets, blankets, pillow (all fresh and laundered). You could take a day train if you want to see more of the country enroute. You don't need a cabin for that and can just take a first class or second class AC chair. The weather can get pretty cool/cold when travelling to Northern Thailand during winter..... especially December. If you want to know anything more do let me know. you can message me separately if you so desire. All the best. for sheer experience you can even travel by train from Bangkok to Malaysia and even down to Singapore but I wouldn't advise it because it's too long a journey and you have to change trains too. Flights are far quicker and almost the same as the price of a train ticket.

and that too for initially 45 days instead of 30

I too always trusted Agoda till i made my trip to Pai in Mae Hong Son for Christmas last year. I paid a bomb through Agoda that showed prices at 65% discount. A last minute travel buddy paid much less at the hotel. I asked the hotel owner how come????? She explained that all these travel websites hike up the actual rate and then show huge discounts and finally charge us much more that the actual price of a walk in. The only problem is as a last minute walk in and that too on Christmas day one may find themselves without any accommodation available. So from now I first check directly with the hotel and then compare if sites like Agoda etc are giving better prices before I book

@Mitchell ******

I agree and i have taken Eva umpteen times to the extent that even my Travel Agency in Canada has booked me on flights with Eva. And the journey is smooth without any ruffles.

this is the same with opening a bank account. a couple of banks of the same branch will turn you down for varied different reasons and then suddenly you will get a branch of the same back doing it like easy peasy. Nothing really seems to be a uniform standard. So always expect the unexpected

@Al**

on I hope thing worked out for you