Traveler Experiences & SE Asia Team

Bob Christensen, Founder of Roads2.Com, was born and raised in the Northwest region of the United States.  The love of mountains, passion for experiencing different cultures, and travel have always been part of his life.  Bob was an avid rock climber in his early years, and loves to sail. Bob traveled through the United States, Europe, Canada, Mexico and worked extensively in both North and South Asia.  His professional endeavors involved the global telecommunications industry.  Bob has a Master's degree in Urban Information Systems from the University of Washington, Seattle.

 

                                    
Sathien Chalermchainukul is the Director for all Roads2.Com ASEAN country tours.  He was born in his Land of Freedom and Land of Smiles.  His broad range of program management experience in IT, Telecom, Wine, Hospital and golf Industries has taken him to Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, New Zealand, and Vietnam.  Sathien lives in Bangkok and also has a 70 rai teak and rubber tree plantation in Chiang Rai.  His daughter is a member of the Queen of Thailand's ceremonial orchestra.  His son is a recent university graduate and involved in the electronics industry.

Beyond Thai, Lao and English, Sathien is fluent in Mandarin and Techew.  Sathien lived in the USA for 10 years.  He holds a Master's Degree in Mathematics from Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles. 

Tun Lwe is the Roads2.Com Country - Myanmar.  Tun Lwe was born in Tachileik, Myanmar, Shan State near the Thai border.  After his early years in this small town, he attended the University of Yangon and received his degree in Electrical Engineering.  An opportunity to become involved in the tourism industry emerged, and Tun Lwe has been involved in that activity ever since.  He started as a licensed tour guide and has managed every aspect of a travel tour agency. 

Tun Lwe has two small children.  He likes basketball and reading.  His favorite food beyond Burmese is Thai.  He likes to travel and has visited Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, China and India.  His favorite spot in Myanmar is Inle Lake.  Beyond Burmese and English, Tun Lwe speaks Thai, Lao and Mandarin.

Tony Tien Huynh is the Roads2.com Country Manager - Vietnam.  He was born and raised in Ho Chi Minh City -Saigon, Vietnam.  Tien graduated from the University of Natural Sciences with a degee in IT.  He then jumped right into the travel profession in sales and marketing with the Saigon Tourism Information Center.

Tien was one of the first boutique wedding travel planners in Vietnam. He also has special interest in Vespa and bicycle tours. He loves the beach,  reading, and jogging. Beyond Vietnamese and English, Tien is speaks Spanish.  

Thongchan is the Roads2.Com Country Manager - Laos.  He grew up in the ancient capital, Luang Prabang.  After his formal tourism studies, he found himself providing tour guide services to all regions of Laos.  Now after 10 days of tourism experience, he finds himself responsible for developing and coordinating luxury escorted tours in Luang Prabang, Vang Vieng, Vientiane, Pakse, Hidden Caves, Plain of Jars and other unique areas of this Land of a Million Elephants. 

Thongchan likes soccer, table tennis, reading and time at home with his family of 2 young boys.  His favorite food is seafood, Lao style.  Beyond Lao and English, Thongchan speaks local Mong. 

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... I only wish we could have had 10 more days to spend with Roads2.Com in Thailand.  This tour company has a definite boutique style.  With only 8 of us on the tour, we had the ability to go to places that larger tours would never get to ...

... Wow ... the first day on tour in Thailand, we found ourselves going up the Chao Phraya River in a longtail boat early in the morning, heading to Koh Khed, a unique island in the middle of the river where the Mon people once lived, and one still finds their famous pottery ...

... we will always remember the hosted dinner party.  It was something to remember.  The boat traveled up the famous river of Bangkok at night ... the gold building of the Grand Palace were beautiful after dark ... the Thai food was great, and the Thai dancing only added to a wonderful evening ...

... I enjoyed the train ride from Bangkok to Hua Hin.  The train station at Hua Hin is the historical stopping off place for the Royal Family's Summer Palace.  The bungalow on the beach was warm and quiet.  The easfood was delicious.  Such a contrast from busy Bangkok ...

... from famous Jim Thompson silk to local handicrafts from street vendors.  The Roads2 staff truly know their stuff and how to bargain in Thailand.  With their help, we obtained enough sislk and art work to provide the finishing touch to our dining room remodel that reminds us of our trip everyday ...

... Being my first trip to Asia, I was a bit nervous about the skills, capabilities and support the tour group would provide.  Wow, I was pleasantly surprised.  This is not a group that just takes you from point A to point B, but is truly a group that cares about your experience, and caters portioinsn of each day to what I wanted to visit by myself ...

... Julie and I enjoyed Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai, but the highlight for us in northern Thailand was being in a longtail boat on the Mekong River at the famous Golden Triangle sitting between Thailand, Laos and Myanmar ...

... each morning at 6 am I waded into the warm, clear water of the Gulf of Thailand on Koh Samui watching the sun come up over the horizon ... will never forget those mornings ...

... this tour combined a glimpse of Thailand and much more of Laos ... some differences ... many things the same ... two wonderful neighboring countries ...

... Sao paper, Lao whiskey, Lao coffee, Lap Mu, sticky rice, namm doc mai, mangos, durian ...

...the first comment Lori made seeing the anicent Angkor temples was amazing ... simply amazing ... once part of the majestic Khmer empire ... I wonder what life was like then ...

... if you don't have a morning coffee on the street in Bangkok, you have missed a wonderful part of the local culture ... the same for Cambodia ...

... our tour guide Seo Yee explained that even though Kipling wrote 'the golden mystery' and 'the winking wonder' when referring to the famous Shwedagon Pagoda, he had never visited Myanmar ...

... one has not seen SE Asia without experiencing Myanmar ... I will come back again and again ... it has become a very special place for me ...

... in the rural areas of Vietnam, children came to accompany John and I as we explored their world ...

... the morning market in Cholon revealed the early start of each day for the Vietnamese people ... everything from fruit to noodles, flopping fish, vegetables, local donuts and hanging meat being displayed and quickly sold ...

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