17 Day Thailand and the Temples of Angkor

Say sawadee ka to the land of smiles, starting your Thai adventure in Bangkok. Transfer to your hotel where this evening, we meet our Travel Director and fellow guests for a dinner.

Rise early and join the locals for a graceful T’ai Chi practice in Lumpini Park to kick-start your day. Alternatively, enjoy a leisurely start before joining your fellow travellers on a City Tour, which begins with a visit to Bangkok’s Grand Palace, where you’ll visit the most sacred Buddhist temple in Thailand, Wat Phra Kaew. See the largest-reclining Buddha in Thailand in Bangkok’s oldest temple, Wat Pho, and enjoy a traditional Thai massage in the temple’s massage centre. Return to your hotel by express river boat, cruising down the Chao Praya past beautiful Wat Arun, the Temple of the Dawn.

Immerse your senses in the five flavours of Thai cuisine as you join a Local Specialist for a traditional cooking class in a colonial-style house. Visit a local market nearby to source the freshest ingredients that reveal the sweet, sour, salty, bitter and hot flavours of Thai cuisine. Sample the results later, then spend the afternoon exploring the City of Angels on your terms, or consider joining an Optional Experience to Jim Thompson's House, home to an impressive collection of Asian art.

A riot of colours greets us this morning as we embark on a visit to the famous floating market at Damnoen Saduak. Connect with the friendly merchants who paddle along the congested canals in their sturdy canoes, laden with fresh fruit and vegetables to sell to shoppers on the banks. En route, we’ll Dive Into Culture, stopping at a coconut palm sugar plantation where we’ll discover how the farmer extracts the sap from his palm trees to create palm sugar.
After lunch in a local restaurant, visit the world-famous Bridge over the River Kwai. After a walk along the bridge continue to the Thailand-Burma Railway Museum, revealing insights into the history of the infamous railway line built during WWII by the Imperial Japanese army. Our final stop today sees us pay tribute to the thousands of allied prisoners of war who were laid to rest at the War Cemetery.
 

This morning, we visit Hellfire Pass, a section of the Thailand-Burma “Death Railway”, so named for the tortuous conditions that prisoners of war endured during WWII to build it. After lunch, we embark on a thrilling train ride across wooden viaducts, skirting the winding waters of the Kwai River. We’ll disembark and see the wooden viaducts first-hand walking across one. This evening, we enjoy dinner at a local restaurant.

After breakfast, we travel to the UNESCO-listed Ayutthaya, once the second-most important ancient capital of Old Siam and the largest city in the world. Here, we’ll delve into the trading heritage of a mighty city that was all but raised to the ground by an 18th century Burmese invasion. We’ll enjoy lunch at a local restaurant, then return to Bangkok for our flight to Sukhothai, Thailand’s first capital.

Gain insights into a powerful kingdom that enjoyed its golden age during the 13th and 14th centuries and shaped modern Thailand as we know it today. Start the day with a visit to the UNESCO-listed Sukhothai Historical Park which reveals thousands of years of history and a 15-metre seated Buddha secreted within its walls. Your choice of exploring will see you engage with the historic complex by bicycle or on the internal tram. This afternoon, visit the home of a local family and learn how to make amulets which are thought to protect the owner from harm.

Our day begins with a visit to the first of our MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® experiences today at the village of Natonchan, where our visit supports the community’s eco-tourism project . We’ll interact with the locals and meet one of the villagers to learn about 'gymnastic doll' making and the villagers’ traditional cotton clothes which are soaked in mud to protect them from fading. Arriving in Chiang Mai, we enjoy an evening walk with our Travel Director and visit the colourful Sunday market. Our hotel tonight is located in the old town of Chiang Mai.

Visit Wat Suan Dok where we’ll meet a local monk and learn about Buddhism, against the backdrop of the temple’s magnificent golden chedi. We continue to a small village nearby where we’ll Connect with Locals, joining a family in their typical stilt house for a northern Thai-style Be My Guest experience with lunch. Then admire the delicate hand-painted fans and colourful paper umbrellas that are famously crafted in Chiang Mai’s Sankamphaeng district.

Your morning is yours to enjoy or join an Optional Experience to visit the Kayan tribe, where you’ll meet the women who wear traditional brass rings round their necks and learn about their centuries-old customs. Later, you’ll visit Wat Doi Suthep, one of Thailand’s most sacred temples. As the sun sets, take in the breathtaking views and listen to the amazing chants of the monks. Gather with your Travel Director and fellow travellers for a dinner at a local restaurant tonight.

Transfer to the airport for the short international flight to Siem Reap in Cambodia via Bangkok. On arrival you will meet your local Cambodian Travel Director. The rest of your day is at leisure.

Today, walk through a pyramid-shaped gateway into an ancient world. Serene stone faces watch as you cross the causeway suspended over a moat into the spiritual heart of the ancient lost city of Angkor. Be amazed by the sheer size, you’ll be memorised by the intricate carvings and murals of celestial nymphs and mythical serpents along the abandoned hallways of Angkor Wat. Your next stop is the terracotta-hued walls of Banteay Srei Temple – the “Citadel of Women” dedicated to the Hindu God Shiva. You will have time to admire the 10th-century carvings of women, said to have been too delicate to have been carved by a man, hence the name. Finishing with a visit to Krabei Riel local village you will have a chance to walk and talk with the villagers who are always keen to share their smiles with you. Learn some of their traditional skills such as palm leaf weaving, your time will be spent truly engaging in a real-life Cambodian Village MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® Experience. Later, enjoy the best of Cambodian cuisine and be entertained by a traditional Apsara dance performance.

Start at Angkor Thom, exploring the Terrace of Elephants, the Royal Enclosure, and Bayon Temple’s smiling faces of Buddha. Next, wander Ta Prohm, its mossy ruins you may recognise from the film ‘Tomb Raider’. Under the canopy, you’ll discover towers, courtyards and stone carvings hidden among the foliage. Visit Artisans d'Angkor this afternoon, supporting Khmer craftsmanship in silk making and wood carving. You’ll join a private blessing at Wat Damnak where a sacred thread is tied around your wrist as protection from evil spirits. End your day with an Optional Experience to join a sunset boat cruise on Tonlé Sap Lake.

As your journey through Vietnam comes to an end, a shuttle service to the airport has been arranged to ensure a smooth departure for your onward flight.