|
|
|
Fleeting Mekong Tour
|
Code: |
IDCN42 |
|
Routes: |
Chiang Mai - Luang
Prabang - Xieng Khouang - Muang Khone -
Meuang Kham - Vientiane - Siem Reap -
Phnom Penh |
|
Duration: |
15 Days |
Detail Itinerary
Places
Covered: Old City
Moats & Walls, a fruit market,Wat Chedi Luang,
Wat Phra Singh,Wat Suan Dok, Night Bazaar, The
Mountain of Doi Suthep, Wat Prathat Doi Suthep,
the small museum, Bor Sang village,
Sankamphaeng, Ban Tawai, Maetaeng Elephant Park,
Main Street Thanon Sisavangvong, Mekong River,
Nam Khan River, Phousi Hill, Tribal Market,
National Museum, Wat Visoun, Wat Aham, Wat Xieng
Thong, Hand-weaving Village of Ban Phanom,
Kuangsi Waterfall, Ban Sang Hai Village, Pak Ou
Buddha Caves (Tham Ting), Plain of Jars,
Historical Cave (Tham Piou), Hot Spring, Wat
Sisaket, Haw Pha Kaew, That Luang, Patuxai,
Morning Market, Rolous Group Temples of Lolei,
Bakong & Preah Ko, Angkor Thom, Bayon,
Phimeanakas, The Elephant Terrace, Terrace of
the Leper King, Preah Khan, Neak Pean, Ta Prohm,
Ta Keo, Prasat Kravan, Banteay Kdei, Sras Srang,
Angkor Wat, Bakheng Temple, Banteay Srei, Kulen
Mountain, Kbal Spean, National Museum, the Royal
Palace, Silver Pagoda, Wat Phnom, Toul Sleng
Prison-Museum, the "Killing Fields" at Choeng
Ek.
Day 01: Chiang Mai
- Arrival (Dinner)
Arrive in Chiang Mai airport, meet and transfer
to hotel.
Orientation tour of Chiang Mai city visiting the
old city moats and walls, a fruit market, a few
of the most important temples like Wat Chedi
Luang, Wat Phra Singh and Wat Suan Dok, and
other sights. If the monks are gathered under
the tamarind tree at any of these temples they
welcome visitors chatting with them about
Buddhism, Thai culture and history, or their
daily life in the temple. Be picked up at your
hotel at 7pm for the khantoke dinner with
northern Thai and hill tribe cultural show.
Return to your hotel at 9.30pm or drop off at
the Night Bazaar. This evening, stroll in the
interesting Night Bazaar which has a wide range
of handicrafts and souvenirs as well as coffee
cafes, money-exchange booths, restaurants, bars,
ice cream parlours and health massage places for
foot and traditional massages.
Overnight in your selected hotel in Chiang Mai.
Day 02: Chiang Mai - Doi Suthep Mountain
Monastery (Breakfast/ Lunch)
Buffet breakfast at the hotel.
Be picked up for the tour up the mountain of Doi
Suthep to visit Wat Prathat Doi Suthep with its
golden chedi, fine views of Chiang Mai below,
the small museum of votive tablets and Buddha
images. Be sure to ring all the bronze bells
surrounding the main chedi for merit. Burn a
joss-stick before the Buddha image to pray for
good health and good luck.
Lunch in a restaurant along the way. After lunch
visit Chiang Mai’s cottage industries of
teakwood carving, celadon firing, silk and
cotton weaving, lacquer ware and saa paper
umbrella making in the Bor Sang village.
Northern Thai craftsmen are carrying on the
artistic traditions of their forebears in the
Sankamphaeng and Ban Tawai enclaves producing
fine pieces of craft by hand and simple tools.
Return to hotel and be at leisure to relax by
the pool, or go out and explore Chiang Mai on
foot or go for a health massage.
Overnight in hotel, Chiang Mai.
Day 03: Chiang Mai - Maetaeng Elephant Park
(Breakfast/ Lunch)
Buffet breakfast at the hotel. Today learn a
whole lot about elephants at the Maetaeng
Elephant Park. Be picked up at your hotel at 8am
to go to the park 50km north of Chiang Mai.
There are about 40 elephants free-ranging in
this park. You can see them taking their bath,
feed them and ride on them for a romp into the
jungle. Ride an ox-cart to experience an ancient
mode of local transport. Then have lunch by the
riverside restaurant and glide downriver on a
bamboo raft before returning to Chiang Mai, and
be free at leisure.
Overnight in hotel, Chiang Mai.
Day 04: Chiang Mai - Luang Prabang (Laos)
(Breakfast/ Dinner)
Buffet breakfast at the hotel.
At 8am meet in the hotel lobby to transfer to
the international airport for your flight to
Luang Prabang by Lao Airlines. Upon arrival,
meet your English speaking guide at the airport
and be taken to your hotel. Go with your guide
on a walking tour of this heritage town which
was once a royal city of Laotian kings, in
particular in the main street, Thanon
Sisavangvong. You will not forget the wonderful
simplicity of the town and its sedate flow of
life beside the Mekong River and the smaller Nam
Khan River. You might like to have a Lao coffee
or tea with a baquette sandwich or pastry at Le
Café Ban Vat Sene at the top end of the main
street. Climb the 329 steps up Phousi Hill and
see a panoramic view of Luang Prabang city
nestling between the Nam Khan and the Mekong
rivers. Upon your descend see the tribal market
at the foot of the hill as the Hmong tribesmen
would have set up their makeshift stalls on the
road to display their home-made embroidery and
other products.
Have a good Lao dinner at Pakhuay Mixay
restaurant that your guide will take you to.
Overnight at hotel, Luang Prabang.
Day 05: Luang Prabang (Breakfast/ Lunch)
Buffet breakfast at the hotel.
Morning sightseeing of Luang Prabang including
the former Royal Palace now the National Museum
for the memorabilia of the last Laotian King
Sisavangvong and other cultural treasures of
Laos before the Pathet Lao takeover. Visit Wat
Visoun, Wat Aham and Wat Xieng Thong - the best
of them all. Chat with the friendly English
speaking monks in these temples and take photos
with them. Learn how they study and live the
dharma. Lunch at Visoun restaurant. The
afternoon is free at leisure. (Suggest indulging
in the herbal steam bath and massage at the Red
Cross building. Sauna is US$1 and one-hour
massage is US$2).
Overnight at hotel, Luang Prabang.
Day 06: Pak Ou Caves - Kuangsi Waterfall
(Breakfast/ Lunch/ Dinner)
Buffet breakfast at the hotel.
Morning trip by road to the Kuangsi Waterfall
about 30km to the south of Luang Prabang. On the
way visit the famous hand-weaving village of Ban
Phanom where very good embroidery works are made
by the villagers, and see some village life and
the weavers busy at their looms underneath their
houses. The Kuangsi Falls have water tumbling
over several tiers of limestone formations into
several turquoise pools that people enjoy wading
in.
Lunch of French set menu at the Elephant Blanc
restaurant..
Afternoon excursion by boat upstream of the
Mekong River to visit Ban Sang Hai (a village
producing very good Lao rice-wine and embroidery
works) by the bank of the Mekong River. It used
to be famous for its earthen jars but today it
imports such jars to contain its copious
production of rice-wine. Proceed by boat to the
Pak Ou Buddha Caves (Tham Ting) where local
people bring various sizes and kinds of Buddha
images and wooden elephants to place at this
shrine for good luck and fortune. By now there
are hundreds if not thousands of these images
inside the main cave. See the light of the
setting sun strike the limestone cliff opposite
the caves. Return to Luang Prabang revived by
this mystical experience. Dinner at Indochina
Spirit restaurant
Overnight at hotel, Luang Prabang.
Day 07: Luang Prabang - Free Day (Breakfast)
Buffet breakfast at hotel.
Full day you are free at leisure. It is a
required thing for visitors to this ancient
heritage city to have a day all to themselves to
discover the little gems around the town and
truly absorb themselves with Luang Prabang.
Overnight at hotel, Luang Prabang.
Day 08: Luang Prabang - Xieng Khuang
(Breakfast/ Lunch/ Dinner)
Buffet breakfast at hotel.
Excursion by road to Xieng Khuang a drive of
about 270km through verdant valleys and
mountains to an ancient capital of the Lan Xang
kingdom. On the way make a few stops at local
minorities villages for sightseeing. Tour the
mysterious “Plain of Jars” where hundreds of
huge and small stone jars carved in situ are
strewn in clusters all over the plain. Their
purpose has been debated for decades with no
consensus reached. We will also explore Muang
Khone, the former and ancient capital of Xieng
Khuang. Return to town for lunch in a local
restaurant, then continue to Meuang Kham to
visit the Tam Hmong hill tribe, historical cave
(Tham Piou) and hot spring. Return to town and
transfer to hotel.
Dinner and overnight at hotel, Xieng Khuang.
Day 09: Xieang Khuang - Vientiane (Breakfast/
Dinner)
Breakfast at hotel.
Transfer to the airport for your flight from
Xieng Khuang to Vientiane, the capital of Laos.
Upon arrival in Vientiane, meet and transfer to
hotel for check-in. In the afternoon tour the
city. Sightseeing of Vientiane will include Wat
Sisaket (built by Prince Anou in 1818 of Thai
design that was not destroyed by the Thai
invaders of the early Bangkok period), Haw Pha
Kaew (a former royal temple built in 1565 to
house the Emerald Buddha that is now in Bangkok
since 1779), That Luang (the holiest of Lao
temples that annually holds a huge religious
fair that attracts devotees from all over Laos),
and Patuxai (Laos' own Arc de Triomphe). Dinner
at Kua Lao restaurant.
Overnight at hotel, Vientiane.
Day 10: Vientiane - Siem Reap (Breakfast)
Breakfast at the hotel. Check out of the hotel
after breakfast. Visit the large sprawling
morning market to have an insight into the kinds
of food consumed daily by the Lao people in
Vientiane. You will see a host of edible
products including frog legs so loved by the
former French colonialists in the city, and
baquettes by the basketfuls, a whole range of
vegetables and many other things. Transfer to
the airport for your flight to Siem Reap (in
Cambodia). Upon arrival, be met by your
driver-guide and taken to your city hotel for
check-in.
Overnight at hotel, Siem Reap.
Day 11: Rolous Group & Angkor Thom
(Breakfast/ Lunch/ Dinner)
Breakfast at the hotel. Morning tour to the
Rolous group temples of Lolei, Bakong and Preah
Ko all built in the pre-Angkor period (850-893)
to see the precedents of the great Angkor period
temples. Lunch at Jasmine Angkor restaurant.
Afternoon sightseeing of Angkor Thom, the great
city located next to Angkor Wat. Angkor Thom was
the greatest achievement of King Jayavarman VII.
Built in the 12th century, it extends almost 4
square miles and is enclosed by a wall 26 feet
high, 7.5 miles long and surrounded by an
originally crocodile-infested moat. This great
city contains many structures built to honour
the Buddha and amenities for the king and people
to enjoy. The area is surrounded by five
monumental gates more than 65 feet high, each
dominated by 5 huge carved faces of the king
himself represented as the Buddha
Avalokitesvara, facing north, south, east, west
and centre. In front of the south gate are giant
statues of 54 gods on the left, 54 demons on the
right. In the centre is the Bayon, a massive
cluster of towers carved with 216 faces of the
king. More great carvings are found on the 4000
feet of interior walls that are covered with
bas-reliefs showing 11,000 figures engaged in
battles, ceremonial pageants and everyday life
of 12th century Angkor. Visit Phimeanakas, a
10th century temple built by Jayavarman V; the
Elephant Terrace, a viewing platform from which
the kings of Angkor watched military
processions; Terrace of the Leper King,
supposedly named after the founder of Angkor who
legend says was afflicted with leprosy. Visit
also Preah Khan dedicated to Buddhism and Neak
Pean, both built by Jayavarman VII, the latter a
healing place. Dinner at New Bayon Restaurant.
Overnight at hotel, Siem Reap.
Day 12: Ta Prohm & Angkor Wat (Breakfast/
Lunch/ Dinner)
Breakfast at the hotel. Morning departure at
8.30am to tour Ta Prohm which is unrestored and
left to the elements with giant trees embracing
its stoneworks, giving Ta Prohm its unique
character. Also Ta Keo, a 11th century sandstone
temple dedicated to Shiva. Prasat Kravan,
Banteay Kdei, Sras Srang and others if we have
time for. Lunch at Angkor Cafe. Continue
sightseeing after lunch.
Visit Angkor Wat, the great temple built before
Angkor Thom. Angkor Wat represents the spiritual
and mystical grandeur of the Khmer people. The
kingdom was founded in the early 9th century by
King Suryavarman II as a microcosm of the
mythical world in which he identified himself
with the god Vishnu. At the heart of the city
was a mountain temple - traditional home of the
Hindu gods and also the centre of an earthly
kingdom in which the king was regarded as
sacred. The temple also served as a mausoleum
for the dead kings and was in use until 1431
when the Siamese eliminated the kingdom. The
lost city was re-discovered by western
archaeologists in the late 19th century. The
temple complex of Angkor covers 200 acres,
enclosed by a massive rectangular-shaped wall
and surrounded by a moat. The wall contains
gates on all four sides, with the main entrance
richly decorated with carvings and sculptures.
The temple comprised of five distinctive towers
with 72 major monuments and an irrigation
system, which together portrayed the
harmonization of Indian roots in a Cambodian
context – which was the very foundation of Khmer
art and architecture. This place is probably the
largest religious monument ever built on earth,
and is considered one of the most inspiring.
Angkor Wat was declared a world heritage site by
the United Nations, and is regarded as one of
the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. As the
sun lowers itself beneath the horizon, climb up
to the Bakheng Temple ruins to see the sunset on
Angkor Wat. Dinner at Sampheap restaurant.
Overnight at hotel, Siem Reap.
Day 13: Tour of Banteay Srei & Kbal Spean
(Breakfast/ Lunch)
Breakfast at the hotel.
Pick up at 8.30am to drive to the temple of
Banteay Srei, 38 km from Siem Reap. It is the
only pink sandstone temple exquisitely carved
dated before Angkor Wat. Its apsaras on the
walls are regarded as the best in the whole
Angkor temple complex. Venture out farther into
the Kulen Mountain area to Kbal Spean, which was
the first capital of the pre-Angkor period.
There are over 20 unrestored temple ruins here,
but the marvellous carvings are of huge Hindu
gods and the hundreds of carved lingas in the
river-bed that you get to with a half-hour trek
along a shady jungle path. On the return trip,
if there is time, also visit Ta Keo, an 11th
century sandstone temple dedicated to Shiva,
Banteay Kdei in the image of Ta Prohm used as a
monastery, Prasat Kravan and Sras Srang. Lunch
along the way.
Return to Siem Reap and be at leisure.
Overnight at hotel, Siem Reap.
Day 14: Siem Reap - Phnom Penh (Breakfast/
Lunch/ Dinner)
Breakfast at the hotel. Morning transfer to the
airport for your flight to Phnom Penh, the
capital of Cambodia. Lunch at Rum Chang
restaurant of good Khmer cuisine. Tour of the
city to include the National Museum (a wonderful
museum displaying priceless artefacts from the
Angkor classical and non-classical periods), the
Royal Palace where King Sihanouk resides, Silver
Pagoda tiled with 5,000 slabs of silver on its
floor each weighing one kilogram, Wat Phnom the
holiest temple in Phnom Penh on a knoll housing
the Buddha statues that started with the
foundation of the city, the Toul Sleng
prison-museum and the "Killing Fields" at Choeng
Ek where the truly savage brutalities of the
Khmer Rouge will forever haunt the nation and
the world.
Dinner at Pondok Restaurant. Free evening to
stroll along the waterfront beside the Mekong
River that is lined by many nice shops, pubs,
bistros and bars.
Overnight at hotel, Phnom Penh.
Day 15: Phnom Penh - Departure (Breakfast)
Breakfast at hotel. Free until time to transfer
to the airport for your departure flight.
End of Tour & Services |
|
|
|
|
