How the X-Centre started ...

Before they met, Ian and Sudarat "Long" Rauner were both active in developing and running tourist attractions in Phuket. Ian's experience in constructing and managing bungy jump operations had brought him there from New Zealand in 1992 to introduce the new adrenaline sport to Thailand.

Long, meanwhile, had graduated from the Prince of Songkla University with a masters degree in marketing and languages and was kept very busy setting up Phuket's first snake and monkey shows as well as the original elephant trekking company.

Being involved in such closely related businesses in a small community, it was only a matter of time beore they met. Happily, the meeting was a pleasant one and they hit it off so well that they eventually decided to tie the knot and start a family. However, beautiful as Phuket is, Ian and Long felt the more relaxed and friendly atmosphere of Chiang Mai would be a better environment to raise children in so a move was planned.

Thats when the X-Centre idea was born. With their mutual experience in the tourist industry and Ian's background in adrenaline sports it was the ideal project for them and one they felt would be a great addition to the Chiang Mai tourist scene.

As with most new ideas, it was a big risk and it took most of their financial resources to get it off the ground. Nobody knew for sure how popular the style of entertainment would be with visitors to Chiang Mai. Fortunately, the news was all good as the activities offered were immensely popular with people of all ages and the X-Centre was a hit with the public from day one.

But, the story doesn't end there. Ian and Long are always expanding the vehicle fleets and looking for new ways to thrill their visitors. There are many new ideas on the drawing board for the future so ... watch this space !