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1. Wild Thailand Jungle Delights & Ancient Empire Weekend Getaway

Itinerary
Day 1: Bangkok – Winery Visit – Khao Yai National Park – HQ – Waterfall Swimming – Bat Cave – Khao Yai Park
Depart Bangkok driving 2+ hours to Khao Yai National Park. Stop en route to visit a local winery and perhaps have a taste. Southeast Asian Tigers are sometimes seen here and the poachers who once hunted them have in many cases become rangers.

Visit the park HQ and learn about local conservation projects. Visit a waterfall and cool off with a swim before a short hike to watch the black cloud of bats emerging from the “Bat Cave” to feast on insects at dusk. Return to the resort for dinner on your own.

Meals: Lunch (at local restaurant)

Day 2: Day 2: Khao Yai Dawn Nature & Birding Walk – Buriram – Phnom Rung Khmer Temple Complex – Muang Tham Khmer Temple Complex – Ban Dan Kwian Pottery Village – Nakorn Ratchasima
Wake before dawn to leave the hotel at first light for a nature walk in the jungle. The jungle is alive and in search of food at this early hour, and likely you will see macaques, gibbons, and several subspecies of rare hornbills and many other birds, insects, reptiles, orchids, ferns and the plant life of the forest. Return to the hotel for breakfast and a shower before checking out.

Drive to visit Phnom Rung Khmer Temple complex built over 1,000 years ago and took several hundred years to construct – the reign of several Khmer monarchs! Neighboring Muang Tham Temple & Reservoir lay just below and give one a different feeling. Muang Tham is built in the classic 5-mountain configuration (reproducing the Khmer’s concept of heaven). Continue to Ban Dan Kwian to see the Dan Kwian pottery with the traditional to more modern designs. Then continue to Nakorn Ratchasima for overnight.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

Day 3: Nakorn Ratchasima – Ban Prasat Archaeological Excavation Site – Phi Mai Khmer Temple Complex –– Bangkok
Drive to visit Ban Prasat Bronze-age archaeological excavation site, then continue to Phi Mai Khmer Temple Complex built at the apex of empire (around 1100AD). The museum here displays some of the more interesting finds from this site. Enjoy lunch at local restaurant before transfer back to Bangkok.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

Price Includes:

• Accommodation
• Meals as indicated on the itinerary.
• All entrance fees on route
• Baggage handling, tipping and porter age
• Services of an English speaking Guide throughout the tour.
• Transportation in an air-conditioned car, mini bus or coach, depending on numbers booked

2. A Touch of Chiang Mai for Families

Day 1: Chiang Mai – Lampang Elephant Camp – Lampang by horse carriage – Chiang Mai
Pick up from Chiang Mai Airport and transfer to Hotel for check-in.

Depart to Lampang Elephant hospital and conservation camp. You will have a chance to practice driving an elephant, visit the hospital which gives free care to all elephants, see the artistic skills of the elephants and take a saddle-back ride through the forest.

Have lunch in a local restaurant.

After lunch drive to Lampang and visit by horse carriage this unveiling ancient city, which is believed to be the earliest historical settlement in the Chiang Mai area established by Mon settlers as a satellite town for the Haripoonchai kingdom. Archaeological remains excavated at the site, such as the stone tablets with Mon inscriptions, pottery, earthenware moulds, Buddhist sculpture and architecture, suggest that there has been a long and continuous history of settlement in the area dating back to the 8th century Haripoonchai era.

Later that afternoon return to Chiang Mai and spend the rest of your evening at leisure.

Dinner is on your own.

Meals: Lunch

Day 2: Cycling around Chiang Mai
Optional: Alms giving with 05:30 Pick up from your hotel for alms offering to Buddhist monks at Wat Srisoda.

Return to hotel for your breakfast.

After breakfast depart to Wat Umong Suan Putthathum and start cycling from the temple to Ang Kaset Reservoir for a scenic view point of the city of Chiang Mai. Continue to bike to Ban Chao-na (Thai farmer’s house), going through Chiang Mai University campus. Stops are made at Wat Chedyod and Chiang Mai National Museum. Embark the “Scorpion-tail” vessel and cruise along the Ping River for about 40 minutes to Wat Chai Mongkol. Picnic lunch is served during the trip. Take a trishaw for a ride to Warorod Market, Chiang Mai’s oldest and largest market and return to your hotel.

Spend the rest of the day at leisure, dinner is on your own

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

Day 3 Chiang Mai – Cooking class – Bamboo rafting – Chiang Mai
Breakfast at your hotel.

Transfer to the cooking school and meet your chef. You will start the day with a visit to a local market to experience what all Thai cooks typically do when shopping for ingredients. This is a time for ‘Q & A’ and getting-to-know the ingredients. After shopping for necessary items for today’s menu we then drive to the cooking school and get ready for class.

Thai and Lao cultures tend to be very flexible, so be prepared for last minute menu adaptations; this is partly because local conditions may allow for the creation of a special dish, according to availability of various ingredients in the local market. However, rest assured that you will learn how to create a 3-5 course Thai meal on this day! Learn the steps in creating the dishes, create them, and then eat!

In the afternoon drive to Mae Taman, about 50km out of town in the mountains and enjoy 1 hour bamboo rafting down the Mae Taeng river (this is not white water rafting! It is a gentle float down this beautiful river).

Then drop off at Chiang Mai or airport.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

Price Includes:

• All Accommodation
• All Transfers and transportation as described
• All Meals as described
• English-speaking guide for the duration of the tour
• All Admission fees
• All Activities described in the itinerary plan