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Whirlwind Mekong Tour
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Code: |
IDCN41 |
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Routes: |
Bangkok - Samphran -
Luang Prabang - Xieng Khouang - Muang
Khone - Meuang Kham - Vientiane - Siem
Reap - Phnom Penh |
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Duration: |
15 Days |
Detail Itinerary
Places
Covered: City Centre,
Floating Market, Rose Garden, Patpong Night
Market, 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: Bangkok - Arrival (Dinner)
Arrive in Bangkok airport meet and transfer to
hotel for check-in.
Have an orientation walk-about in the vicinity
of your hotel which is in the city centre.
Overnight at your selected hotel in Bangkok.
Day 02: Bangkok - Tour (Breakfast/ Lunch)
Buffet breakfast at the hotel.
Morning Bangkok city & temple tour to see what
makes this eclectic city throb with vibrancy of
life, traffic, smells of pungent foods and
roasting meats and contrast this hurly-burly
world with the serenity of its temples where
time seems rooted within their walls.
Be introduced to a good Thai lunch in an
excellent restaurant for a first taste of
Thailand after the sights. Afternoon at leisure
to find out what Thai health and foot massage
is, drink coffee in a coffee cafe and watch the
human stream flow pass, walk the lively streets
to come at close quarters with the Thai living
and working in their city environment.
Overnight at hotel in Bangkok.
Day 03: Bangkok - Damnern Saduak Floating
Market & Rose Garden (Breakfast/ Lunch)
Buffet breakfast at the hotel. Rise early to
take a trip to Bangkok’s largest and most
authentic floating market 80km southwest of the
city where a flotilla of sampans loaded with
local produce glide among boats of shoppers
buying their daily sustenance in a large canal
that is the marketplace. The sight of so many
sampans and rowboats milling around is
startlingly picturesque. We will row right up
next to these sampans and you can buy a comb of
bananas or a papaya or a bowl of hot steaming
noodles. Fun. See sugar-palm making in the
traditional way in a backyard ''factory''. And
as the sampans and other boats glide away for
home, we too leave the floating market to go and
see a folk show and an elephant show in the
well-landscaped Rose Garden at Samphran. Lunch
at the Rose Garden restaurant. It would be about
5.30pm before we arrive back in the comfort of
your hotel for a dip in the pool.
In the evening as the hundreds of stalls selling
all kinds of Thai and imported products lit up
and open for business, stroll in the Patpong
night market near your hotel.
Overnight at hotel in Bangkok.
Day 04: Bangkok - Luang Prabang (Laos)
(Breakfast/ Dinner)
Buffet breakfast at the hotel.
At 9am meet in the hotel lobby to transfer to
the international airport for your flight to
Luang Prabang by PG632, dep.1130 /arr.1320. 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. 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 River. 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
dharmma. 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: Xieng 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; the 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 |
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Prices inclusive of:
14 nights
hotel accommodation with daily breakfast
8 dinners (one with show) and 6 lunches
All transfers and transportation in air-conditioned car/van/coach
Tours as stated in the programme
All entrance fees when on tours including that to the Angkor Temple
Complex, tolls and parking charges
Boat fares in Bangkok and Luang Prabang
English, Thai or French speaking guide services |
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Prices exclusive
of:
Domestic
and regional airfares and their airport taxes: BKK-LPQ, XKH-VTE,
VTE-REP, REP-PNH, and departure flight from Phnom Penh
Visa-on-arrival fees in Laos (US$30) and Cambodia (US$20). 1 photo and
passport valid at least 6 months
Drinks at meals other than what is served at table
Expenses of a personal nature like massage, use of hotel mini bar,
laundry, phone calls, room service and the like |
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