Custom Tour: Classic Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, and Cambodia for Mandy & Craig
13 Jul 10 Bangkok - Arrival
Arrive on your flight - . Arrive in Bangkok; walk to gate C and turn right to meet Miracle Hometel's representative and transfer to your hotel.
Meals Included: None
Overnight at Miracle Hometel Suvarnabhumi Hotel - 1Double Deluxe Room
14 Jul 10 Chiang Mai - Doi Suthep and City Temple Tour
Check out of the hotel and catch the shuttle to the airport for your flight - Bangkok Airways PG215 departing at 08:05 & arriving at 09:20. You will be met at Chiang Mai Airport and transferred to your hotel.
This afternoon visit Doi Suthep, the most important Wat in Chiang Mai. Perched high above the city, it offers wonderful views of the city and countryside below.
Enjoy lunch with your guide a local restaurant.
Visit some of the more famous Wats, within the city walls of Chiang Mai. Your guide will discuss Buddhism and the role it plays in everyday life as well as showing you the many details of each temple.
Meals included: Lunch
Overnight at Pam's B&B - 1Double Superior Room
15 Jul 10 Chiang Mai - Patara Mahout Training at Patara Elephant Farm
You will be met in the lobby of your hotel at 7:30am and transferred to the Patara Elephant Farm outside of Chiang Mai. At the farm you will be given your mahout outfit and a brief talk on working with elephants before heading into the bush to find them. As the day goes on you will hear all about elephant farm management and the breeding program taking place here. You will meet the elephants and learn to approach them and work with them from the ground and to take them to the river for their morning bath.
After a short ride to a local temple you can learn about elephants in Buddhism and the Thai’s ancient relationship with these traditional beasts of burden. Around mid-day you will set off for a ride through the jungle to some waterfalls where you will enjoy a picnic lunch and a swim with your elephant in the falls. Return to the camp in the afternoon and say goodbye to your new friends before being transferred back to your hotel.
Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch
Overnight at Pam's B&B - 1Double Superior Room
16 Jul 10 Chiang Mai - Cooking Class
Enjoy a full day Thai cooking class. You will be taken to the market to learn about many of the fruits and spices. After getting your fresh ingredients you will be taught to make several Thai dishes before enjoying a huge feast together to celebrate your newly acquired skills!
Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch
Overnight at Pam's B&B - 1Double Superior Room
17 Jul 10 Luang Prabang - Arrival + Orientation tour
Transfer to Chiang Mai Airport for your onward flight - Laos Airlines QV645 departing at 15:05 & arriving at 16:05. Upon arrival in Luang Prabang you will be met and transferred to your hotel.
After your arrival in Luang Prabang you’ll be picked up from the airport and driven to the main part of town for a quick orientation tour. Your guide will give you an introduction to the city, showing you the main roads, some restaurants and the night market area, before dropping you off at your hotel to check in.
Meals included: Breakfast
Overnight at Lotus Villa Hotel - 1Double Frangipani Room
18 Jul 10 Luang Prabang - Sunrise to Sunset
Wake-up at sunrise to participate in giving the local monks morning alms. You’ll be accompanied by your guide who can demonstrate the proper method of alms giving and explain this daily Buddhist ceremony. Return to your hotel for breakfast, after which your guide will take you on a tour of the city, including visits to The National Museum, Wat Xieng Thong, Wat Visun and Wat Sen.
Enjoy lunch in town at a restaurant of your choice. After lunch your guide will meet you and you’ll continue your tour, finishing with a hike up Mt. Phou Si in the late afternoon to see a sweeping view of Luang Prabang and watch the sunset.
Meals included: Breakfast
Overnight at Lotus Villa Hotel - 1Double Frangipani Room
19 Jul 10 Luang Prabang - Life on the Mekong
Today you’ll escape the tourist hubs in town and see Luang Prabang through local eyes. First, you will drive up the Mekong to the village of Pak Ou. From here board a small boat and take a tour of the local fishing area, checking traps with the fishermen along the way and collecting any fish you might find. You will then cross the Mekong by longtail boat to visit the small village of Ban Mueng Keo, known for its production of local whiskey. Here you will be able to watch a demonstration of the whiskey-making process by a local Lao Lao Whiskey producer and, if you’re up for it, sample the finished product for an early morning punch!.
Continue on travelling downstream to visit the Pak Ou Caves, famous for the thousands of Buddha statues left inside by pilgrims. Return to Ban Pak Ou, where the former village chief and his family will cook you a Lao-style lunch and you’ll learn about dining customs and etiquette. After lunch, board a long tail boat and travel along the Mekong for a scenic ride until you reach the small weaving village of Ban Phone Xay, where you’ll enjoy a weaving demonstration and have a chance to purchase handmade items directly from the source.
Learn the story behind who really makes the beautiful textiles sold at the night market! At the end of the day you’ll be the only tourist in town who knows the real story behind the bottles of Lao Lao, the grilled Mekong fish and the night market.
Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch
Overnight at Lotus Villa Hotel - 1Double Frangipani Room
20 Jul 10 Luang Prabang - Day to the Waterfall
Take a scenic drive to the gorgeous Kuang Si Waterfall, stopping along the way to visit local villages and see traditional Laos communities. Once at the waterfall have lunch before hiking up the waterfall or just a relaxing afternoon dip in the serene pool. Head back to town in the late afternoon.
Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch
Overnight at Lotus Villa Hotel - 1Double Frangipani Room
21 Jul 10 Hanoi - Arrival
Transfer to Luang Prabang airport from your hotel in time for your flight - Laos Airlines QV868 departing at 14:45 & arriving at 15:35. Arrive at Noibai airport Hanoi, where you will be met by your guide and transferred to your hotel.
Take a one-hour cyclo tour of this charming capital city through the scenic Colonial Quarter, the Old Quarter of “36 streets of 36 wares” and around Restored Sword Lake.
Attend a water puppet show to experience a truly traditional Vietnamese evening.
Your guide will take you to a local restaurant for dinner.
Meals included: Breakfast, Dinner
Overnight at Hanova Hotel - 1Double Deluxe Double Room
22 Jul 10 Halong Bay - Day 1
Your guide will meet you at your hotel and you will take a private minivan with driver to Halong Bay (Approximately 31/2 hours). Arrive in Halong Bay and board a Vietnamese “junk” (boat) where you will have lunch.
Then take a fantastic cruise in Halong Bay, where the cast limestone islands rise vertically out of the water and you will wonder if you are dreaming or sailing into a movie set. Visit Dinh Huong, Ga Choi, Dog, and Snail Islands before continuing to Sung Sot cave. Jump in for a swim at Titov beach. Enjoy dinner on the boat followed by optional fishing and drinking of Vietnamese wine before heading to your air-conditioned cabin.
Overnight onboard
Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
23 Jul 10 Halong Bay - Day 2
After breakfast on the boat continue cruising this area known as one of the 'Wonders of the World' to Man’s Head and Tortoise Islands. A small bamboo boat will take you to Luon Cave, then off to Bai Tu Long Bay, Toal Island, Bai Tho Mountain. Once you are back on board the boat will make its way to Halong City as you enjoy your lunch. Return to Hanoi in a private car, stopping en-route at Dong Trieu Pottery.
Visit the Temple of Literature, the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum and his House on stilts, One Pillar Pagoda, Quan Thanh Temple, and Tran Quoc Pagoda.
Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch
Overnight at Hanova Hotel - 1Double Deluxe Double Room
24 Jul 10 Siem Reap - Arrival
Transfer to Noibai airport for your onward flight - Vietnam AirlinesVN843 departing at 15:10 & arriving at 17:05. You will be met by a Journeys Within representative and taken to Journeys Within Bed & Breakfast.
Meals included: Breakfast
Overnight at Journeys Within B&B
25 Jul 10 Siem Reap - Angkor Wat
This morning head to Angkor Wat in an air-conditioned car, or if you choose by bike, with your guide. Explore this majestic temple throughout the morning while it is still cool and has fewer tourists.
Return to Journeys Within for lunch and a nap or refresh with a swim. In the afternoon head to Angkor Thom, the famous walled city and see the many temples within its borders, including the fascinating Bayon temple with its many magnificent faces smiling out. There are several beautiful spots from which to watch the sunset. Discuss with your guide where you would like to be and then relax and enjoy a memorable end to your day at the temples.
Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch
Overnight at Journeys Within B&B
26 Jul 10 Siem Reap - Banteay Srei and Tonle Sap
This morning set off with your guide to Banteay Srei, the intricately carved temple just 30 km beyond Angkor Wat. Then head back to the local temples where you will visit Banteay Kdei and Ta Prohm, two of the prettiest temples in the complex.
Followed by a stop at the Land Mine Museum, a rather humble look at the land mine problem, past and present, in Cambodia. After a rest or swim drive through rural Cambodia to the Tonle Sap Lake where you will take a boat ride to visit the floating village and a Cambodian fish farm. As the day ends choose to climb Phnom Krom and see the ancient ruins high on the hill and watch the sun set over the lake and rice fields below or relax and watch the sun disappear below the horizon from your boat on the lake.
Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch
Overnight at Journeys Within B&B
27 Jul 10 Siem Reap - Village Tour
Set out on the Journeys Within Village Tour with our guide who will take you to his village, showing you rice paddies and typical homes along the way. Once there enjoy a fresh coconut drink and meet his family and neighbors. Walk from here to West Baray Lake where you can take a local boat to an island with some picturesque ancient Khmer ruins and return to shore where your car will be waiting for you. From here head to Pua District and visit the fascinating Artisans de Angkor silk farm where many local women are trained in the art of silk weaving.
Take a walk around the Old Market where the locals and tourists shop side by side. Then pay a visit to Artisans de Angkor to see their workshop in town. Here you will be taken on a short tour to see the students learning the skills needed to produce works of art in a variety of different materials before visiting their beautifully displayed shop.
Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch
Overnight at Journeys Within B&B
28 Jul 10 Samui - Arrival
Transfer to the airport in time to catch your flight - Bangkok Airways PG906 departing at 13:10 & arriving at 16:40 . Arrive in Samui where you will be met by your guide and transferred to your hotel.
Meals included: Breakfast
Overnight at Pavilion Samui Hotel - 1Double Superior Spa Room
29 - 31 Jul 10 Samui - Day at Leisure
Have a free day to explore on your own.
Meals included: Breakfast
Overnight at Pavilion Samui Hotel - 1Double Superior Spa Room
01 Aug 10 Samui - Departure
Transfer to the airport in time to catch your flight - Bangkok Airways PG168 departing at 17:20 & arriving at 18:25. Arrive in Bangkok; walk to gate C and turn right to meet Miracle Hometel's representative and transfer to your hotel.
Meals included: Breakfast
Overnight at Miracle Hometel Suvarnabhumi Hotel - 1Double Deluxe Room
02 Aug 10 Bangkok - Departure
Check out of the hotel and catch the shuttle to the airport for your flight - Departing at 08:10.
Meals included: Breakfast