Transformative Culture along Mekong river in 18D17N

Morning after having breakfast, depart for the famous Cu Chi Tunnels which were an incredible underground network constructed by Vietnamese fighters during the long struggle for independence. The tunnels contained hospitals, plus accommodation and schools, and were used as a military base for the Vietcong in the American war.  Afternoon, we took a half day of city tour to visit all the famous sites of this bustling city. The first destination is the Reunification Palace, which was the former residence of the President of South Vietnam until end of April 1975, followed by some French colonial structures including the Notre Dame Cathedral. Apart from the religious meaning, the even more special captivating point of this Cathedral is its special neo-Romanesque style of architecture. Next, it is on to the Old Saigon Post Office. After visiting the Jade Emperor Pagoda, we continue our trip to the bustling Ben Thanh Market, which is firstly well-known as the place for real Vietnamese food. There are a number of vendors and food stalls in the market food section that offer guests many freshly delicious dishes. You also can find any goods for daily use as well as a variety of eye-catching local handicrafts, souvenirs here. Overnight at the hotel in HCM city.

Accommodation : At the hotel in Saigon

Meals: Breakfast

08.00-08:30 Pick-up at the hotel in Saigon. (district 1 and parts of district 3 (only included for those pax using the transfer service)
11.30 Boarding of the cruise vessel and check-in.
12.00 Panorama cruise and lunch on board around 13.00
16.00 Guided land excursion – walk in orchards and small villages.
17.30 Return to the boat for refreshment and to enjoy the sunset on the top deck.
19.00 Dinner on board; night on board.
Accomodation: On Mekong Eyes cruise
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinne

07.00 Morning cruise and morning tea break served on board.
08.00 Check-out cabin. Excursion on a long sampan to Cai Rang floating market.
11.00 Drive to Chau Doc by shuttle bus service. Lunch en route.
15.30 Arrival in Chau Doc, check in hotel.
Evening at free disposal.
Night in hotel in Chau Doc.
Accomodation: At the Victoria Hotel
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

07.00 Departure of speed boat to Phnom Penh.
~ 13.00-13.30 Arrival at Sisowath quay International Port Phnom Penh (arrival time may vary due to current and immigration formalities). Transfer to the hotel in Phnom Penh by shuttle bus.
Phnom Penh is the capital of Kingdom of Cambodia. A visit to Phnom Penh is a very interesting experience indeed. It is a city with an interesting pulse and it gives us a very true taste of Asia. We will visit the Wats Phnom, National Museum, silver Pagoda and Royal Palace. Overnight at the hotel in Phnom Penh
Accommodation : At the hotel in Phnom Penh
Meals: Breakfast
 

In the morning, your driver picks you up from the hotel (without a guide) and transfers you to Siem Reap. It will take you 6 hours on a 314-km road. On the way, the driver will stop you to visit the Spider Market in Skuon, a local restaurant for optional lunch at Kampong Thom. After lunch, continue to drive to Siem Reap with one more stop to visit the ancient bridge from the 12th century called Naga Bride. Arriving in Siem Reap around 3 pm, check-in and free at leisure.

In the morning, visit the most famous of all the temples on the plain of Angkor: Angkor Wat. The temple complex covers 81 hectares and is comparable in size to the Imperial Palace in Beijing. Its distinctive five towers are emblazoned on the Cambodian flag and the 12th century masterpiece is considered by art historians to be the prime example of classical Khmer art and architecture. Angkor Wat’s five towers symbolize Meru’s five peaks - the enclosed wall represents the mountains at the edge of the world and the surrounding moat, the ocean beyond. Lunch in the local restaurant. Visit the South Gate, the ancient capital of Angkor Thom (12th century), Bayon Temple (unique for its 54 towers decorated with over 200 smiling faces of Avolokitesvara), the Royal Enclosure, Phimeanakas, the Elephants Terrace and the Terrace of the Leper King. Sunset at Angkor Wat. Overnight in Siem Reap.

Accommodation : At the hotel in Siem Reap 

Meals: Breakfast

Morning, transfer to Banteay Srei temple (10th c), regarded as the jewel in the crown of Classical Khmer Art. Continue to Ta Prohm, one of the area’s most beautiful temples. Ta Prohm has been relatively untouched since it was discovered and retains much of its mystery. Lunch at a local restaurant. Afternoon visit the Roluos Group. The monuments of Roluos, which served as the capital of Indravarman I (reigned 877-89), are among the earliest large, permanent temples built by the Khmers and mark the beginning of Khmer classical art. Preah Ko erected by Indravarman I in the late 9th century dedicated by the King to his ancestors in 880. Bakong, the largest and most interesting of the Roluos group temples, with his active Buddhist monastery just to the north of the east entrance. Lolei ,built on an islet in the center of a large reservoir (now rice fields) by Yasovarman I, the founder to the first city at Angkor. Overnight in Siem Reap.

Accommodation : At the hotel in Siem Reap 

Meals: Breakfast

After breakfast, start your tour with a short drive to visit Kampong Phluk floating village, a permanent settlement on the Tonle Sap Lake with a small land-based village attached to it. Its remarkable mangrove forest is unique in the Siem Reap area. You will board a local boat and cruise the waterways observing the authentic and diverse lifestyle of the local floating community. Once you arrive at the open lake, jump onto the floating restaurant where you will watch the sunset over the great lake. 

Return to the city for lunch at a recommended local restaurant (own account)

Afternoon, you will be transferred to the outskirts of Siem Reap to the Lotus Farm. Take part in one of the handicraft workshop classes and learn how to transform the lotus flower into unique handicraft souvenirs.

With a 1-hour Lotus Discovery class, you will learn to:

Fold your lotus flower

Make your own lotus paper

Create your own Lotus Yarn bracelet

Make your own Lotus Seeds Mala

Create own Lotus Meditation Wicks

Make your own Lotus Incenses sticks

You can try lotus tea and fruits while taking the class. You can bring your crafts home and also buy some quality photos from the shop.

4: 30pm, get your 1-day Angkor pass for your visit the next day.

Accommodation : At the hotel in Siem Reap 

Meals: Breakfast

You have free time until we arrive to pick up and transfer you to the airport for your flight to Bangkok. Upon arrival at the airport and after clearing immigration and customs, meet with your guide with a sign marked your name and transfer to the hotel for check in.  

Bangkok has been Thailand's dominant city since the eighteenth century. Established as the capital in 1767 after the fall of the ancient city of Ayutthaya, Bangkok is located on one of southeastern Asia's most important rivers, the Chao Phraya. In the 1980s and 1990s, Bangkok underwent rapid modernization, growing to approximately ten million people, making this the only major city in a country of villages and small towns. Bangkok's ancient palaces and Buddhist temples contrast with high rises and traffic jams. 

Accommodation: Hotel in Bangkok 

Meals: Breakfast 

Today, we will take the whole day to explore Bangkok – the city of golden temples.
The first destination is the Grand Palace. This huge architecture complex is over 2 sq. kilometers, including 3 main sites: Royal Palace, Royal Office and pagodas (Wat) built in the 1770s. Nowadays, the Grand Palace is no longer home of Thailand Royal, most of the national significant events take place there. Wat Phra Kaew is the most out-standing architecture in the complex, built in 1785 when King Rama I moved the capital to Bangkok. The pagoda is famous not only for its beauty of unique Thailand Buddhism architecture but also for the sacred jade Buddha statue. 
Nearby the Grand Palace is Wat Pho – the oldest and biggest pagoda in Bangkok with more than 1000 Buddha statues and the huge one sit-back Buddha in gold. This pagoda is also famous for being a birthplace of traditional Thai massage, since there is a traditional medicine school established in 1982, educating the arts of Thai massage. 

We continue to visit the Wat Traimit. This pagoda is famous for its unique and historic beauty, and also for the huge golden Buddha statue. Thai people believe that the statue represents prosperity and purity, as well as strength and power. 

After having lunch, we will board a boat to pay a visit along the Chao Phraya River, watching the life of local people close by. On route, we stop at Wat Arun, known as the most beautiful pagoda in Bangkok not only for its location on the Chao Phraya’s River bank but also for the different architecture from other pagodas. The pagoda was decorated with glass pieces and Chinese ceramic, in a complicated style. 

Return to the hotel and you are free to explore Bangkok by night.
Accommodation : At the hotel in Bangkok
Meals: Breakfast
 

This morning, you will drive to Ayutthaya. The first visit is Wat Prasri Sanphet which used to be the supreme royal temple during Ayutthaya’s days of prosperity. Stop at Viharn Phra Mongkol Orbit housing a large bronze cast Buddha image, which was originally enshrined in the open area outside the Grand Palace and later covered by a building in the reign of King Songtham. Next visit is Wat Mahathat where the head of Buddha ‘s image is surrounded by roots of a tree. Wat Ratchaburana is a temple built where the two sibling princes of Ayutthaya flew on the back of an elephant at the approach to the Pa-Than bridge and ended with the death of them both. King Sampraya built the temple to house the ashes of his elder brothers. In 1950, the thief excavated this coyote and found a priceless number of treasure underneath. Now part of the treasure is kept in the Sampraya museum.
 
Then drive to Bangkok airport to fly to Chiang Mai 
 
Upon arrival at the airport, meet with your guide with a sign marked your name and transfer to a hotel in Chiang Mai for check-in.
 

Paddle in the glassy waters of the Sri Lanna Reservoir

Enjoy lunch at a boat house in the National Park

Marvel at lush trees and wildlife as you paddle peacefully along

Plunge into the coolness of the lake as you take part in the many swimming opportunities

Full description

07.00am: Get picked up from your hotel in Chiang Mai city center and drive 60km to the Sri Lanna National park. You can enjoy a 14 km round trip past lush jungle and across open waterscapes. In good conditions, we enter the reservoir from the west and kayak to a group of floating boathouses. 

At the floating restaurant, you are provided lunch and refreshments. A diving tower invites you for a dip while others might explore the bay on their own. After a playful day at the lake, the group heads back on a kayak, enjoying the fantastic views of the Mae Ngat Valley and Sri Lanna National Park along the way.

Transfer back to the hotel for free time.

Overnight in Chiang Mai.

Accommodation: Hotel in Chiang Mai

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

Visitors to the Sanctuary will also be privileged enough to meet and interact with members of the Karen tribe, and witness stunning views of the surrounding jungle and mountains – All while interacting personally with friendly, happy elephants in a safe and sustainable environment.

On the morning of your visit, you will be picked up from your place of accommodation and will drive for approximately 1.5 hours through scenic agricultural areas, hills, and forest, before arriving at the Sanctuary. There, you will meet your English-speaking guide and learn a little about the elephants, before changing into traditional Karen clothing.

After being allocated bananas and sugar cane to feed to the elephants, you will walk with your guide through the Sanctuary, where you will find free-roaming elephants and hear their individual stories. You can touch, feed, photograph, and interact with the elephants at your leisure while you learn about their lifestyle and behaviors. After you have met all the elephants, you will accompany them to a nearby mud spa. Get muddy with the elephants as you apply a healthy cosmetic mud treatment to their skin. Next, you will walk with the elephants to a nearby river and join them in the water for a refreshing bath. Take a swim and help bathe and brush the elephants while they wade through and play in the water.

Once the elephants are clean, you can take some final photos with them, and then it will be time to part ways with your new friends and change into some dry clothes. Finally, eat some snacks and seasonal fresh fruit, before enjoying once again the impressive rural scenery as you drive back to Chiang Mai to fly to Krabi 

Upon arrival at the Krabi airport and after clearing immigration and customs, meet with your guide with a sign marked “Customer” and transfer to the hotel for check in.  

Krabi a province on southern Thailand Andaman coast is an almost otherworldly region of labyrinthine archipelagos where islands seem to erupt vertically out of the sea and secluded beaches are only accessible by colorfully adorned long tail boats. Krabi s myriad of bays and coves have sheltered pirates merchants and sea gypsies for thousands of years and archaeological evidence indicates that Krabi was originally inhabited as early as 25000-35000 years ago.

Accommodation: Hotel in Krabi 

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch 

08.00 am. Transfer service from your hotel by minivan.

08.30 am. Transfer service from your hotel in Ao Nang Area.

09.00 am. Arrive at Nopparat Thara pier to take a longtail boat to tour.

09.30 am. On the way to 4 Islands, you will ride past a small beautiful island Heading to Railay Bay, Krabi is a place with beautiful mountains and cliffs. It is the world's most beautiful rock climbing place

10.00 am. Departure toPhra Nang Cave, where the sandy beach is soft, smooth and clear water as you can see the beauty of the underwater. You can take pictures and admire the beauty of the beach or enjoy swimming and snorkeling on the beach. There is a cave on the southern end of the beach. Which fishermen and local people respect and most of the villagers come to ask for children here. Inside the cave, if you look out from the cave's entrance, you will see stalactites and stalactites coming down as a beautiful chandelier. Who visit here will pay their respects to pray when they get the request. They will bring a small wooden image of penis to put in that area. This cave here will be a mythical story of a young woman who never fulfilled her love. Therefore, called Phra Nang Cave After that will go to Thale Waek (Separate sea)

11.00 am. Arrive to Thale Waek you can explore the beautiful natural wonders of "Unseen Thailand" Tup Island &Mo Island and Chicken Island. This is an island with sandy beaches connected during low tide and you will see sand dunes, known as "Thale Waek". And you can walk across from island to island, it looks like walking in the sea. The highlight of this place is taking pictures of the open sea view. This is a picture with a very beautiful natural view. Or you can swim in this area because the water is crystal clear and there are small rocks under the water to see as well.

12.00 pm. Depart toPoda Island as Poda Island is not far from Tap Island you can see Thale weak. We will have lunch at Poda Island. There are tables for eating on the island, or you can put a mat to sit and relax. There is also a white sandy beach for relaxing, sunbathing on the beach or swimming in the clear sea and you can see fish underwater. And the opposite Poda island is Tangming island. The shape is similar to the face of a person. It is another peak point that tourists like to take pictures of from Poda Island and has a stunning backdrop of Tangming Island in the middle of the sea.

13.00 pm. After that we will depart to Chicken island, an amazingly shaped island. One end of the island looks like a rooster's head. In addition to taking pictures of the wonders of nature Also enjoy swimming, snorkeling. Explore the beauty of the world under the Andaman Sea.

14.00 pm. Finish the program with experience and impressions of the Krabi sea. Ready to go back to the pier

14.30-15.00 pm. Arrive to the pier and transfer you back to your hotel for relaxing.

☀Tour Include: Hotel Transfer Ao nang zone, LongTail Boat, Lunch (picnic), Fruit, Water, Life Jacket, Mask Snorkel, Insurance & Experienced licensed guide, national park fee 

☀What to brink: Sun protection, swimming suit, Beach footwear, Towel & Camera.

Remark : 

The program may vary according to the weather.

For pregnancy please let us know and some tours can’t join the tour.

Accommodation: Hotel in Krabi 

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch 

Free for relaxing or swimming.

Accommodation: Hotel in Krabi 

Meals: Breakfast

Morning, transfer to the airport for the flight to Bangkok. Upon arrival, drive to the restaurant for lunch on your own.

Then, you visit the Chatuchak weekend market. The Chatuchak market or the weekend market is definitely one of the best places to shop and find great deals in Bangkok. One finds almost everything, clothing, food, music, plants, decorations, animals… This market was created in 1942, it is the largest market in Thailand and one of the largest markets in the world. It has an area of ​​more than 110,000 square meters and receives nearly 400,000 visitors per weekend!

And you have a short break before meeting at the hotel lobby for our Evening street food tour 

A short walk brings us the first food stop, fish balls in pink noodle soup. The noodle stall is near Wat Traimit or the Golden Buddha Temple which we visit next. Then we hit the main road of Chinatown, stopping at a Chinese temple first. Our second food stop is Dim Sum, followed by the Michelin Star Chinese fried dough. Next, we eat seafood, then pig's organ or crispy pork (your choice) in peppery soup. The desserts follow, ice cream and sesame dumplings in sweet ginger tea. Our tour guide then brings you back to Hua Lamphong MRT where your driver is waiting for you and transfers to the hotel overnight.

*The itinerary can be changed due to unexpected circumstances. We will do our best to notify you if any changes occur.

Accommodation: Hotel in Bangkok 

Meals: Breakfast, Dinner 

The rest of the day is free and easy at leisure on your own until time to transfer to the airport for departure flight. 

Accommodation: N/A

Meals: Breakfast