Tom Zhou
My passion for travel has taken me to visit all 11 Southeastern Asia countries. 12 years of experience with Odynovo Travel has given me the opportunity to witness some of the world’s most cherished treasures. Such as the unique interactive moment with lovely elephant in Chiang Mai, the ancient ruins of Angkor Wat, the historic temples in Ayutthaya, the jaw-dropping scenery along Halong Bay cruise. I love sharing my own revelations from the road with clients, always encouraging them to push outside of their comfort zones. My passion for travel lies in the journey itself, regardless of the time and distance it takes to arrive, there is a meaningful pleasure that comes with ‘getting there,’ ‘getting to know’ the people along the way, ‘getting to taste’ the culinary delights, and ‘getting it right’ by accepting that we are all transient visitors into a foreign world, peeking temporarily into the lives of others and respecting their boundaries.
My vision is designing purposeful luxury travel with an awareness of the impact we have on the environment, and the communities we reach. Together, let us explore whatever it is you seek on our wild and wonderful planet.
What places and activities do you specialize in?
"I love arranging honeymoons and romantic short breaks for my busy clients.
I fuel my life with adventures & culture, I hope to inspire you and others around me.
I now have 1 young child, so I am keen to discover all the child-friendly destinations out there! I know what I want in a child-friendly holiday and use this when helping others with these sorts of holidays."
How did you get involved in travel?
"Traveling and exploring was something that defined me from early childhood. After working as an engineer for 2 years, I think it was time to do something I was really fascinated with. I couldn't resist traveling and would like to pass that happy way to other travelers. So I went on to pursue my dream of being a professional traveler and consultant at Odynovo.
“We travel, initially, to lose ourselves; and we travel, next to find ourselves!” I am glad that I can help others find themselves in this way!"
Please share a unique travel experience you will never forget.
"When I graduated from college, I went to Yunnan province in China first time. I was shocked by the spectacular scenery and cultures there. I took a month to do volunteer work to help local minority children learn English and help the local farmer to sell their sweet honey in Shangrila. During that period, I visited lots of local families and get involved in the local community immensely. The local friends took me to many beaten-off tracks, we hiked 6-7 hrs over the mountain, cycled on the plateau for 3-4 hrs, and saw so many yaks along the way! I couldn't believe the view! We also discovered a turquoise ice lake! That travel and volunteer experience opened a new window for me. Since then, I keep searching for more meaningful and unique experiences, and at the same time introducing them to my clients.
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Featured trips & expertise
Ultimate Japan Tour: Tokyo to Kyoto - 11 Days
This exciting itinerary goes beyond normal expectations by including a diverse range of activities for an authentic travel experience. Immerse yourself in Japan's state of the art tech in Tokyo and visit an interactive art museum on the man-made island Odaiba prior to traveling to Fujikawaguchiko where you can look at the famous Mount Fuji volcano while relaxing in an onsen hot spring. You will then depart for Nagoya and visit interactive robots as well as the Ise Jingu Grand Shrine before a bullet train takes you to Kanazawa which has many historic samurai homes and the charming village Gokayama and finally, you will tour your final destination Kyoto by bicycle and discover breathtaking temples as well as the lively city culture.
Active Honeymoon in Bali - 14 Days
Tied the knot and want a customized trip to celebrate your love? Try honeymooning in Bali. This tour combines culture, relaxation, beautiful landscapes, snorkeling, and a touch of adventure: the perfect combination for an unforgettable honeymoon.
Recent trip reviews for Tom
Our trip to Thailand was excellent! We did ev...
Thailand
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Feb 15 - Feb 24, 2023
Our trip to Thailand was excellent! We did everything we wanted... started off at Bangkok with our guide Jack, ver attentive and nice, gave us all the must do's in the city and during our visit to the grand palace, floating and train markets he gave us all the history of each place and took a lot of pictures for us. In Cambodia we were with Vannak, who was also excellent, smiling all the time, we learned a lot about Cambodia during our time with him, very caring. Ankor thom and ankor wat are... read more
Hi Ariana,
Thank you and glad to know you had a nice trip with us !
Thank you for your warm comments on our services. And thank you for choosing our company as your tour operator. I really appreciate your valuable feedback about the Wassana Elephant park, we will look into it and find other alternative activities. We do care about the elephant very much, we will never arrange this kind of elephant in the future. Thank you so much for your timely feedback .
Hope in the future you will travel with us again to explore more beautiful places!
Bangkok City Highlights Tour
Thailand
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Jan 17 - Jan 20, 2023
We used Kimkim to help us with a guide for our few days in Bangkok. Our guide "Jack" was most informative. We covered all the Bangkok highlights, Jim Thompson house, Flower Market, Grand Palace, Long tail boat ride, Wat Arun; Evening Tuk tuk food tour, Maeklong Railway and Damnoen Saduak Floating Market.
I thought Jack did a great job. He and the driver even took us to the airport and Jack made sure we got checked in and showed us where to go.
My ONLY suggestion would be, I would have preferred a different service provider for the Food Tour. Otherwise, I thought it was all great.
Hi Andrea,
Thank you and glad to know you had a nice trip with us !
Thank you for your warm comments on our services and your valuable suggestion about the Food Tour. We will find more providers and improve the food tour experience.
Hope next time you will book another tour with us again to explore other destinations.
We had not done personalized private tours be...
Vietnam
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Nov 17 - Dec 1, 2022
We had not done personalized private tours before and the experience overall was better than expected. You will need to budget quite a bit more for this kind of service to start with, and in the end you will get the quality of local tour guides if you had diligently selected your own tours separately.
We wound up selecting kimkim as the main contact for setting up our private tour. It turned out however, that they worked with another private tour company Odynovo that specializes in the... read more
Hi J C.
Thank you so much for leaving us such a detailed review and valuable suggestions. It is so happy to hear that you have enjoyed your trip overall although there are still some spaces for us to improve in the future.
According to your feedback , I will not use Alagon D'antique Hotel & Spa for my clients in the future and also redesign the Mekong delta river tour, thank you so much for your valuable feedback.
I am sorry that I forgot to mention the difference of the airport transfer... read more
A C review of Vietnam and KL trip for Jerry and Billy
Vietnam
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Nov 17 - Dec 1, 2022
The guides and drivers were helpful and accommodating.
In Hanoi, Mr. Le “Leo” was kind enough to take us to some restaurants to taste some food we wanted to try.
In Hoi An and Da Nang, Mr. Tuan allowed us to stop by a tailor to get some custom clothes.
In Saigon, Victor helped us negotiate the chaotic Saigon traffic. One suggestion is that he should provide links to the videos he showed rather than showing them during the drives. It can be difficult to watch videos while in a... read more
Hi A C.
Thank you so much for leaving us such a detailed review and valuable suggestions. We are so happy to hear that you have enjoyed your trip. Thank you again for your choosing us for this trip to Vietnam and Malaysia!I will forward your suggestion about video links to Victor. I hope to see you on the next holiday to South-East Asia again.
Best regards,
Tom