Customer Testimonials | Siam Enduro Review

Safe adventures, idyllic scenes, hospitaliy and friendship…. ….all this you can find with Walter and Joang from Siamendurore, just 40 minutes by car North of Chiang Mai, North Thailand. I could write here a lot about the warm hospitality of Thai people and specially Joang and her german housband Walter. Or about Joangs beautiful garden right in front of the accommodations and her tasty food 😊. Or about the many scenic views during the unforgettable tours with Walter and his guides through the beautiful North of Thailand. But would you fully beleave me all this…(you can)? Do you beleave all the comments on websites (you can’t)?

What I think is one of the best recommendation about a motorbike-tour company, what really shows if you were satisfied, is the fact that you go on tour with them again and again and again….. And so I did!

My first tour with the Siamenduro-Guide Tommy (sadly he doesn’t do motorbike-tours anymore) was back in 2009 (that’s 11 years ago now). Then followed the tours with Walter and other guides in 2013 (the a-dragons-tale-tour with Jana), 2014 to the “golden triangle” (2nd part of the grand standard tour), 2015 did the a-dragons-tale-tour again with nice people from germany (got friends), 2016 we had a wonderfull and sometimes knee-shaking adventure-tour near the border of Laos 🙂 and 2017 the “Stefan-tour” (planned by myself) on a old elephant-route (new route/adventure with the motorbike) from the Siamenduro-home to Chiang Rai and to the ‘Pang Oung Roum Thai’ water-reservoir (in two days).

Be safe! Accidents can happen and in my motorbike-life I fell three times. But on tour with Walter (until now) I never fell…. even being a not very experienced motorbike-driver. Walter and his guides plan the tours responsibly according to the skills of the participants. That’s also why they use the first day for a round-trip near their basecamp, so they can get to know new participants. I really recommend to do this “induction-day”. The route is nice and you get to know the bike, the rules of riding in a group and other habits (driving on the left has never been a problem to me). On the tour then on some spots your heart will start pumping…. and you will maybe get “pushed to the limit”. But that’s one of the reasons why we’re doing it, isn’t it?! if you don’t take too much risk, you will get back safely with many unforgettable memories. And now finally I would like to express my feelings about all this in one sentence:

In my life, going on a enduro-motorbike-adventure-tour with Siamenduro.com is one of the best things at all! Nothing more to say….only that I want to go again!

December 2019 – Boring German Winter. I needed some kind of biking adventure.

So, I booked at Walter Fenske´s Siam Enduro.

The Website promised a lot and the trip showed even more!

Right after booking at home, Walter did offer his support by Whatsapp and did answer all my questions about vaccination, bike gear  or whatever.

On arrival at the airport, Walter and his wife stood there, ready to pic me up.

His idyllic guest house is located in a quiet area north of Chiang Mai. Rooms are clean and his wife cooked excellent. At the first evening, a friendly, trustful and pleasant atmosphere came up,

 

We found the bikes – Honda CRF250 – in an excellent technical condition and a good choice for this tour with 60-70% off road part (I ride a Tenere 7000 and a Beta 450 RR hard enduro and I am used to some more power, but for the off raod part the bikes are OK, because nobody would like to perform power drifting all day long for two weeks riding time. On road uphill, there could be a bit more power sometimes, but on this tight windy roads, it does not matter very much and the bikes are the best compromise for this kind of tour.) Walter is a calm and well experienced buddy. During the trips, he could easily cope with all situations very well and gave the feeling of full control and trust and his humor is fantastic. Short before X-Mas, there where only two members, but the tour started none the less. In case of more tour members, a support car will follow the group in case of any issues. We were lucky with the weather. It did not rain and ist war not too hot for enduro biking.

 

I guess, during rain season, some trails could become quite slippery, but Walter has all the routes in his head, does not need maps or an SatNav and is able to change each daily tour to to weather conditions, riding experiences of the tour members or any other wishes.

 

North Thailand is ideal for Enduro and adventure biking. Off road surfaces change constantly. Gravel, Sand, soft ground in the jungle, rocky, mud – you name it. Veeery good for learning how to ride off road. The guest houses during the tour are clean and from good standard. If you are looking for spa and five star wellness hotels, you are wrong here.

 

Experience and feel country and people and the excellent food is, what Walter offers during the evening activities. Visits of markets, beer bars with live music, temples, hot springs, caves, waterfalls, elephants, military camps at the border to Myanmar, little villages in the mountains, Coffee plantations, river crossings – each and every day tour has it´s highlight. The on road parts of the tour at the Mae Hong Son Loop are a dream. The most windy roads I´ve ever ritten. Neither the Dolomits nor the French Seealp could offer even something like that. Of course, there are one or two 50km strait sections, but just to quickly reach the next curvy, or off road area with some single trails too. Walter speaks Thai and so the are no communication problems at all. I booked the short tour in the beginning, with the option to extend it to the long trip. But at the second day already it was clear to me, that I will extend this one in a lifetime experience as long as possible, and so I did stay. Who ever is looking out for a great, but controlled adventure, who would like to ride on road and off road with a great buddy, would like to see and meet local culture and people, would like to have daily highlights, and fun pure, is right here.

Summary:

Anytime again! A real experience with adventure feeling. The magic and mystic of South East Asia. Price is worth at any time. One of the best – may be the best – biking trips ever!

 

Many thanks to Walter and his wife

I booked a 2 week Laos Tour with Walter in February 2018. My expectations were more than met. The 250 Honda Enduros were in a very good condition and are perfect for a trip like this, especially for those with little off-road experience. The resort’s we stayed at during our journey offer just the luxury you need (clean, air-conditioned and family run).

The planned daily tours are well thought out, so no one is overwhelmed. On this trip I got an deep insight into Laos, it’s people and culture.

I would recommend J&W Fenske Ltd to anyone who loves to ride a motorcycle and experience new culture and countries.

Well I had a great time from beginning to end. Great food, cold beer, great locations and excitement. That’s a pretty good combination! I thought my own country was beautiful but it can’t compare to Thailand. The people were always nice and smile a lot more than back home.

 

Walter the guide was endlessly patient even with my repeated mistakes. The Thai riders were nice to me too even though I was (very!) far below their level. Equipment was good and the different locales we saw in a short span of time such as elephant farms, exotic restaurants, winding roads, gravelly roads, shallow streams, river crossings, (good paved roads) too were amazing.

 

After Chiang Mai I took a day off for jet skiing in Phuket. Just thinking about going back sounds exciting.

Great tour and a great time! Thanks Walter!

Leading up to christmas I took a trip to Northern Thailand for an Enduro tour with Walter Fenske, who runs trips in the Chiang Mai area and also into Laos.

 

The trip was a road / trails /off-road mix, using CRM250s or Baja’s. I’d never riden a 2-stroke before but I really enjoyed that bike. The off-road was tricky at times as I was a novice, but Walter and our guide Tong and another customer on the trip Michael soon got me into it.

 

For an experienced off road rider it would have been relatively easy going fun. For me it was quite scary and hard but fun! The trails (unsurfaced roads of VERY variable quality) were a lot of fun and we covered most of our miles on those.

 

There was a fair amount of road riding as well which allowed for some tourism. The traffic was light but the driving styles meant you had to keep your wits about you..

‘Great trip with Walter he has a great balance between giving you the freedom to ride and making sure it’s done right.  I was new to off-road riding and he made sure it was awesome.

 

I can highly recommend these tours for all riders you will not be disappointed and you will have a trip of a lifetime

From the first day, where we were taken down an overgrown double track, to the last day, which was a slightly easier jaunt along the Thai/Myanmar border, the riding and guiding was excellent. The variation of terrain and scenery was second to none, and there were many instances of breath-taking beauty to be seen.

 

Balancing the few days in “touristy” areas with the majority of time riding on rural tracks highlighted how easy it was to get off the beaten track and see many different areas. The variety of food was outstanding and along with it all being of excellent taste, just added to the holiday. Avoiding the spicy hot stuff was surprisingly easy as well.

 

I would thoroughly recommend riding and staying with Walter and Joang in Thailand!

An adventure to Northern Thailand and Laos. Oh yes!

 

I was met by Walter Fenske and his lovely wife Joang for the trip of a lifetime. A ten day trip led by experience travel guide Walter who demonstrated full knowledge of the routes and geography of the two countries. I was joined by two riding companions, both experienced travel bikers riding Kawasaki KLX250’s and Honda CRF250L’s. A great choice for the roads we encountered.

 

After settling into one of Walter and Joang’s marvellous bungalows to acclimatise, we set off for Chiang Rai for the first overnight stay passing many Wat’s and the elephants in Chiang Dao. The border crossing over the Mekong river to Laos was smooth and well organised. What a difference between the countries, to drive on the right and dusty roads to encounter whilst passing the mountainous peaks and paddy fields. We rode to Luang Prabang, complete with its picturesque French colonial architecture. Walter new the best stops for breaks and the overnight hotels were well chosen.

 

Daily rides were completed by mid afternoon to allow for rest and to sample the delicious food, the happy smiley people, the local markets and to buy the souvenirs we could carry on our bikes. The trip back to Chiang Mai was sublime, riding the smooth mountainous switch backs to Phayao. A delightful lakeside town where I chatted with the locals rod fishing as the sun set…and with a Lao beer!

 

Walter with his intimate knowledge of Northern Thailand and Laos with his wife Joang organising the itinary and accomodation were the perfect hosts. For me, the trip was a re-introduction after a long lay off to biking, a perfect British winter getaway and left memories to treasure.

I really enjoyed my 1 week tour up in the mountains around Chiang Mai with Siam Enduro. I rented one of their 250 Honda dirt bikes for the trip and the bike ran really well.

 

Our local, English speaking Thai tour guide grew up in the area so he knew all the back roads and hidden trails around and over the mountains We had a support truck for the entire week that transported our luggage from hotel to hotel and tended to any on trail mechanicals. The route was fun and some of the ridge runs we did were spectacular.

 

A great way to experience the back roads of Thailand! I’m looking forward to my next adventure with Siam Enduro.

I am an avid motorcyclist and have travelled by bike in many countries all over the world.

 

It was with some trepidation that I signed up with Enduro Tours for their off road adventure in Jan 2005. I was worried that I would not have the fitness or the off road skills to keep up with everyone else on the trip. My fears were completely unfounded. This trip was all about having fun, it’s not competitive and we were encouraged to go at our own pace.

 

I was met at the airport by Walter and Joang, and then taken to meet the other guys on the trip, 3 other Brits and 4 Austrians. The beer flowed freely and we all set off the next morning, after being allocated bikes, with varying degrees of hangover. The first day was an easy, relaxed and an informal introduction to the bikes and the kind of terrain to expect, it also allowed the group to gel together, and set the tone for what was to come.

 

The riding was very much a “go at your own pace” affair, the quicker guys took off and the slower ones caught up during the frequent cigarette, lunch, and scenery admiring/photo stops. The scenery and roads (on and off road) in the north of Thailand make for an amazing motorcycling adventure. We were looked after in the evenings with fantastic food and comfortable accommodation. The guides, who made sure we never got lost, were really friendly and quick to repair any problems that occurred with the bikes. Walter (the tour leader, and all round great guy)does a great job making sure everyone has a good time, and following on behind in his 4×4 with all the luggage making sure no-one gets left behind.

 

I can highly recommend this trip for anyone who enjoys their motorcycling, and having fun with other likeminded people, even if, like me, you are going by yourself. Off road experience is not essential but it does help. Another thing you’ll be amazed at is how far your money goes; – Cooked lunch and can of coke £1. Pack of Marlborough, 80p. Bottle of Heineken £1.

 

I plan to go back and do this again as soon as I can. I have also fallen in love with Northern Thailand and it’s my dream to go and live there…soon.