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 travelers 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 center. 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 flavors 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 flavors 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 colors 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-meter 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 colorful 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 colorful 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. It’s your final evening before flying to Phuket, gather with your Travel Director and fellow travelers for a farewell dinner at a local restaurant.
Our exhilarating encounter with old Siam and new Thailand at its end, we take a transfer to Chiang Mai International Airport for your onward flight.