1/5 Melody Y. 6 years ago on Google
BEFORE
THE
TRIP
I
planned
a
trip
to
Chiang
Mai
for
myself
and
17
other
people
in
November
2017.
Given
the
group
size,
I
requested
and
paid
for
the
ENTIRE
lodge
(see
receipt
attached),
which
I
was
told
could
fit
up
to
24
people.
Additionally,
given
that
we
had
a
group
of
18
Americans
who’d
never
been
to
Thailand
I
wanted
a
more
personalized
group
experience.
I
had
planned
to
go
through
an
actual
travel
agency
in
Chiang
Mai
but
Nakrit’s
(Papick
Lodge
Owner)
seemingly
helpful
nature
persuaded
me
to
trust
him
with
some
travel
details.
I
created
an
itinerary
outlining
every
second
of
the
trip.
I
simply
needed
logistical
assistance
transportation
and
a
translator.
Nakrit
helped
secure
2
vans
that
were
scheduled
to
stay
with
us
the
entire
5
days
(which
I
was
told
could
fit
9
ppl
per
van)
and
an
English-Thai
translator.
He
took
the
itinerary
I
created,
placed
it
in
another
format
(see
attached),
and
charged
me
a
10%
service
charge
for
his
“work.”
Nevertheless,
Nakrit
always
maintained
great
communication
before
the
trip.
He
was
always
patient
and
quick
to
answer
any
questions.
Unfortunately,
upon
arriving
to
Thailand
I
experienced
a
completely
different
person.
DURING
THE
TRIP
THE
TRANSPORTATION:
Upon
arrival
the
group
was
picked
up
by
2
mid-size
SUVs
that
could
fit
6-7
people,
not
9
people
as
promised.
For
the
entire
5
days,
the
group
could
never
travel
from
place
to
place
as
a
unit.
The
vans
would
make
one
trip
and
have
to
come
back
for
those
left
behind.
That’s
not
what
we
paid
for.
And
it
made
travel
logistics
extremely
difficult.
What’s
worse,
on
multiple
occasions
during
the
trip,
the
VANS
DIDN’T
EVEN
SHOW
UP.
We
ended
up
taking
public
transportation
and
paying
per
ride.
We
were
18
young
women
in
a
completely
foreign
country.
We
not
only
placed
our
money
in
Nakrit’s
hands,
but
we
also
placed
our
safety
in
his
hands
and
Nakrit
completely
disappointed
us.
THE
LODGE:
Upon
arriving
to
Papick
Lodge
we
noticed
there
were
2
bedrooms
on
the
ground
floor
blocked
off
to
our
use,
one
marked
“staff”
and
the
other
marked
“Management.”
This
was
an
issue
for
a
number
of
reasons:
(1)
We
paid
for
the
ENTIRE
lodge
(2)
I
already
planned
who
in
my
group
would
go
in
what
rooms
(3)
we
were
a
group
of
all
women
and
there
were
men
in
shared
spaces
where
we
didn’t
feel
particularly
comfortable
and
(4)
WE
PAID
FOR
THE
ENTIRE
LODGE.
Throughout
our
time
there
we
came
to
find
out,
that
the
individuals
in
the
rooms
were
actually
guests
(we
talked
to
them).
Because
of
that,
some
of
my
group
had
to
share
rooms
and
even
beds.
We
were
never
refunded
any
money
though
we
paid
almost
double
to
have
the
entire
lodge.
THE
TRANSLATOR:
She
hadn’t
fully
mastered
the
English
language
which
completely
invalidated
her
claim
as
an
ENGLISH
translator.
THE
ITINERARY:
What’s
the
point
of
having
an
itinerary
if
you’re
not
going
to
stick
to
it?
The
very
first
day
we
arrived,
Nakrit
told
me
he
moved
the
schedule
around.
There
were
times
where
we
had
nothing
planned
because
he
moved
an
activity
and
there
were
other
times
where
we
had
to
cancel
stuff
because
there
was
too
much
planned.
NAKRIT:
There
were
some
activities
that
I
planned
on
my
own
before
getting
to
Thailand.
For
some
reason,
Nakrit
wanted
to
call
all
the
places
I
booked
and
check
them
out
“for
safety
reasons.”
On
the
last
day
of
our
trip
we
had
a
yoga
session.
After
the
session,
the
yoga
instructor
pulled
me
to
the
side
and
said
there
was
something
he
had
to
tell
me.
Apparently,
Nakrit
called
every
place/activity
we
went
and
told
them
to
double
their
prices
for
our
group
in
hopes
that
he
would
get
half.
Before
knowing
this,
everything
in
me
said
Nakrit
was
a
genuinely
good
person
who
just
made
poor
business
choices
or
simple
mistakes.
I
could
get
over
the
mistakes.
But
to
be
intentionally
deceptive
to
the
point
where
you’d
take
advantage
of
your
customers
to
make
more
money
is
simply
disheartening.
I
did
approach
Nakrit
with
this
knowledge.
Of
course
he
denied
it.
But
the
yoga
instructor
had
nothing
to
gain
by
lying.
He
told
me
before
I
even
paid
him.
Chiang
Mai
was
great,
Papick
Lodge
was
not.
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