Say ‘sawadee ka’ to the land of smiles, starting your Thai adventure in Bangkok. Transfer to your hotel where this evening, you’ll meet your Travel Director and fellow guests for a Welcome Reception with local appetisers.

Montien Surawong

Welcome Reception

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.

Montien Surawong

Breakfast, lunch

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’ at leisure, or consider joining an optional experience to Jim Thompson’s House, home to an impressive collection of Asian art.

Montien Surawong

Breakfast, lunch

A riot of colours greets you this morning as you 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, you’ll stop at a coconut palm sugar plantation to discover how the farmer extracts the sap from the 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.

Dheva Mantra Resort Kanchanaburi

Breakfast, lunch and dinner

This morning, 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, embark on a thrilling train ride across wooden viaducts, skirting the winding waters of the Kwai River. Disembark to see the wooden viaducts first-hand walking across one. This evening, enjoy dinner at a local restaurant.

Dheva Mantra Resort Kanchanaburi

Breakfast, lunch and dinner

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

Legendha Hotel

Breakfast, lunch and dinner

Today, you’ll gain insights into a powerful kingdom that enjoyed its golden age during the 13th and 14th Centuries and shaped modern Thailand as it is 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.

Legendha Hotel

Breakfast, lunch

The day begins with a visit to the first of our experiences today at the village of Natonchan, where our visit supports the community’s eco-tourism project. Meet the locals and 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, enjoy an evening walk with your Travel Director and visit the colourful Sunday market. Your hotel tonight is located in the old town of Chiang Mai.

Movenpick Suriwongse Hotel

Breakfast, lunch

Admire the delicate hand-painted fans and colourful paper umbrellas that are famously crafted in Chiang Mai’s Sankamphaeng district. Continue to a nearby small village to join a family in their typical stilt house for a northern Thai-style lunch.

Next is a visit to Wat Suan Dok to meet a local monk and learn about Buddhism, against the backdrop of the temple’s magnificent golden chedi.

Movenpick Suriwongse Hotel

Breakfast, lunch

Your morning is free to spend as you please. Later, visit Wat Doi Suthep, one of Thailand’s most sacred temples. As the sun sets over this mystical temple, listen quietly to the tranquil sounds of the monks chanting. This evening, join your fellow travellers and Travel Director for a farewell dinner at a traditional Thai restaurant located next to the river.

Movenpick Suriwongse Hotel

Breakfast, dinner

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 the day is at leisure.

Tara Angkor

Breakfast

Today, walk through a pyramid-shaped gateway into an ancient world. Serene stone faces watch over the causeway that leads over the moat into the lost city of Angkor. A local specialist and renowned Khmer scholar will bring to life the stories behind 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’ll 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.

In the afternoon, you’ll embark on a guided walking tour of the Old Town before a visit to Wat Damnak to participate in a private blessing ceremony during which a sacred thread will be tied around your wrists to protect against evil spirits.

On a visit to the village of Krabei Riel, you will have a chance to learn about some of the traditional skills practiced in the village, such as palm leaf weaving.

Tara Angkor

Breakfast

Today’s first stop is the fortified Angkor Thom, where you’ll see iconic sites such as the Terrace of Elephants, the Royal Enclosure and the Temple of Bayon with its giant smiling faces of Buddha.

Venture underneath the dense tree canopy to the crumbling, moss-covered ruins of the Buddhist temple of Ta Prohm, which featured as the location for the film ‘Tomb Raider’, exploring its towers courtyards and corridors to uncover the intricate stone reliefs that are shielded by the surrounding foliage.

Continue with a visit to the Old Market, where the locals shop for fresh fruit, vegetables and spices. Wander past the busy stalls and smell freshly baked baguettes, a remnant of the country’s French heritage.

Enjoy an afternoon at leisure or consider joining an optional experience to learn the secrets of Khmer cuisine or a sunset boat cruise on Tonle Sap Lake.

This evening, transfer for a wonderful dinner accompanied by traditional Apsara Dancing that will bring ancient Khmer culture to life.

Tara Angkor

Breakfast and dinner

Bid a fond farewell to Cambodia and transfer to the airport for your onward flight.

Breakfast