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Magical
Thailand
10 days/9 nights
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Day 01. Bangkok (L)
We pick you up at
your hotel in Bangkok for a longtail boat trip on the mighty Kings
River. Exploring Bangkok by boat
over the Chao Phraya River along the
many klongs (canals) is the most
exciting way of experiencing life in
Bangkok and you will soon understand why Bangkok is
called the “Venice of the East”. We
make a stop at the stunning Temple
of Dawn, “Wat Arun”. Around noon
we offer you a delicious lunch at the river.
Accommodation at the Tongtara hotel.
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Day 02.
Bangkok (B,L)
Breakfast at the
hotel. We visit the largest fresh flower
and vegetable market of Thailand.
This market is well known as “Pak Klong Talaad”,
a center for wholesale of
flowers, fruits and vegetables.
Farmers bring their farm products to
this market daily.
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We continue
to Chinatown, a center of
trading by the Chinese since
they arrived from China
some 300 years ago. We
stroll through the small sois
(alleys) and visit the
Indo-Chinese food market.
After lunch we visit the
most beautiful temple of ancient Siam:
Wat Phra Kaew and the
adjunct Grand
Palace, a must for every
visitor. We visit the
Emerald Buddha, the most
revered Buddha image of
Thailand, the Throne Hall, the
Coronation Hall and The
Funeral Palace.
Accommodation at Tongtara
hotel.
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Day 03.
Bangkok (B)
Day at leisure to
explore Bangkok by yourself. There
is a possibility to do optional
excursions, such as a "bicycle trip
through unseen Bangkok".
Accommodation at the Tongtara
hotel. |
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Day 04.
Bangkok – River Kwai (B,L)
In the morning
we leave for the Bangkok Noi train station
for our train ride to Kanchanaburi over
the infamous Thailand-Burma railway
, also known as the “ Death Railway”. We will sit among
the local people. During the trip
you will be served all the time! In
these trains it allowed that local
people sell their products, such as
fried chicken on a sticks, soft
drinks and souvenirs.
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An
unforgettable experience!
Around 11.00 am arrival at
the famous Bridge over the
river Kwai, where we take a
walk and taste the
atmosphere of the Kwai
River. After lunch we
continue to visit the JEATH war
museum to view a realistic
replica of a prisoner of
war’s living quarter
containing sketches, and
photographs describing life
in the camps and the war
cemetery, the final resting
place for over 6,000 allied
prisoners of war.
Accommodation at the Royal River Kwai Resort. |
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Day 05.
River Kwai – Bang Pa Inn – Ayutthaya
– Chiang Mai (B,L)
After breakfast
we continue to Ayutthaya where we
first stop by “Bang Pa Inn Palace”,
the summer palace of Thai monarchs
since the 17th century and a fascinating
tourist attraction.
Bang Pa Inn Palace has a charming
collection of pavilions in a variety
of Thai, Chinese, Italian and
Victorian architectural styles,
surrounded by a beautiful garden and
water. Afterwards we depart for the ancient city
of Ayutthaya. This old city was from
1359 till 1767 the capital of Siam.
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In 1767 its
was destroyed by the Burmese.
Here
we visit three important
temples “Wat Chawathanaram”,
occupying a magnificent
position on the west bank of
the Chao Praya river; “Wat Phra Sri Sanphet”
a world herirage site
in the middle of the old
capital; and the gigantic
bronze statue of Wat Mongkol
Borapith. After lunch there
is spare time to discover
the old city by yourself.
At 21.00 pm we take the
night train from Ayutthaya
to Chiang Mai. Before we
board we arrange a dayroom
to take a shower.
We spend the night in the
air-conditioned sleeper, second-class.
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Day 06.
Chiang Mai (B,L)
We arrive early
in the morning at Chiang Mai where
we have breakfast at
our hotel. After breakfast and fresh
up we will visit Doi Suthep, one of
the most revered Buddhist shrines in
Northern Thailand, built at an
elevation of 1,056 meters above sea
level. A staircase of 290 steps and
flanked by a Naga balustrade takes
you to this mountain top temple
where you have an excellent view over the city of
Chiang Mai. After lunch
we visit the handicraft industries
from San Kamphaeng we will
visit workshops making local
handicrafts, such as umbrellas and
fans, silk, jade, woodcarvings, silver,
etc. Accommodation at the Lanna
Palace Hotel. |
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Day 07.
Chiang Mai (B,L)
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In the early
morning we visit the Chiang
Dao
Elephant Training Center. This natural
center is located in a
forest besides a river.
You will see how elephants
are trained and will
see them taking a bath. Next we
have a one hour ride
through the jungle on the
back of an elephant. After this
we raft down the river on
bamboo rafts.
Lunch is at a local farm. The
afternoon is free for leisure.
Accommodation at the Lanna
Palace Hotel. |
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Day 08.
Chiang Mai (B)
In the morning
there is time to discover Chiang Mai
on your own. Rent a tuktuk and let
the driver show you the highlights
of this ancient city. Highlights
include the temples “Wat Chiang
Man”, “Wat Phra Singh”, “Wat Chedi
Luang” and “Wat Suan Dok”, as well
as the
Warrot market,
during the day it is a covered market
with
cloths, souvenirs, fruit, spices and
tasty dishes. In the evening the
street in front of this market
changes into a colorful flower
market. Here the prices are often lower than
at the
famous Night Bazaar.
Accommodation at Lanna Palace Hotel. |
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Day 09.
Chiang Mai – Lampang – Sukothai
(B,L)
Departure to Dan
Kwiang Forest market, this market is
known for the variety of edible
insects, either grilled,
baked or roasted.
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Continue
to Lampang where visit one
of the most old and
famous temples in Northern
Thailand "Wat Phra That
Lampang Luang". The
eventful history of this
1000-year-old temple is
described in its many
murals. We then drive on to Sukothai,
where you visit the
ancient’s ruins at the
Historical Park as well as Wat Sri
Chum, with its gigantic
Buddha statue. Accommodation
at the Pailyn Sukothai Hotel. |
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Day 10.
Sukothai – Phitsanuloke – Lopburi –
Bangkok (B,L)
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Departure to
Phitsanuloke where we visit
Wat Mahatat and it’s highly
revered Buddha statue, Phra
Buddha Chinaraj as well as a factory
of Buddha sculptures. Then
its on to Lopburi, one of Thailand
oldest cities. In the 6th
century, during the Dvaravati period, Lop Buri
was known by the name of Lavo and
was an
important outpost of the
Khmer Empire. We visit King Narai’s Palace and
the Prang Sam Yot Khmer temple
which is inhabited by monkeys. We
continue to Saraburi where
we visit “Wat Phra Buddha
bat” to see a very revered
footprint from the Buddha. After lunch we
continue to Bangkok
where the program ends. |
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Included:
English speaking guide, 8
lunches, and visits as in the program, entrance
fee, train ticket 2nd class sleeper Ayutthaya to
Chiang Mai. Elephant ride, bamboo rafting
B=Breakfast
L=Lunch
D=Dinner
Not
included:
flight to
Thailand, airport taxes, meals not mentioned,
drinks,
tips, optional excursions and travel insurance
Departure date in Bangkok: Monday 4 February 2008
Note: small deviations in the
tour program are sometimes necessary, depending
on weather, road conditions and room
availability
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