13 Jun 2025
Let me start by saying the adventure was amazing. The driver picked us up at our hotel which was very simply communicated over Trip Advisor inbox. Since we only had a WiFi puck, this was very convenient. The drive to the staging area was about 45 minutes from our hotel (Phuket Marriott at Merlin Beach).
My daughter (13) and wife had zero experience riding anything like this, so I thought we might have to double up. But I wanted them to have the full experience so we tried it. I’m so glad that we did, because both of them conquered their inexperience and fears with huge help from the young gentleman from Myanmar that guided us. So I think that’s a key take away for anyone. If you have a shy young teen, I wouldn’t hesitate to use these experts to help you. Take advantage and give them chance. I wanna send out a huge thank you to that gentleman. So kind and so patient.. my daughter got stuck a couple of times. I’m so glad I had the patience to let her learn and even more thankful that our guide didn’t get frustrated. He also took time to take our picture and I can’t say enough good things. My assumption is that the entire staff is this great.
The only thing that bothered me was the ride in the TukTuk. Hated it. Not only was it uncomfortable, but in my old age I was so worried about our speed plus a bad tire that think I lost about 50 pounds of sweat. Also, I feel a bit like a bad guest for saying it but the smells in two of the towns were so bad that all of us in the TukTuk were covering our noses and mouths. Because of this, once the ride was over and we arrived at the Buddha, we tipped our guide and took a taxi back to our hotel. I did not want to take the same route back to the hotel in a TukTuk. :D I think a mask would help with the smell…but unfortunately, nothing will help if you have old man nerves.
Thanks again to the kind staff! Would highly recommend.