Experience the Best of Thailand - Two Private Journeys
Two Private Journeys
Thailand is a lush, beautiful country filled with countless charms for travellers. Splendid temples, magnificent Buddha statues and bustling waterways lined with floating markets await you, along with stunning natural scenery and enticing white-sand beaches. Here are two private journeys which cover the countryside.
Classic Thailand (10 Days)
From famed waterways in Bangkok to a revered mountaintop temple in Chiang Mai and sunny, pristine beaches in Phuket, this private journey reveals Thailand at its most authentic. Behold the spectacular Reclining Buddha statue, enjoy an enchanting Thai puppetry show, receive a private blessing at Wat Phrathat Doi Suthep and learn to create art with an elephant.
Day 1: Bangkok - Mandarin Oriental
You are met and given VIP assistance through immigration procedures. Afterward,transfer to your luxurious hotel in this fascinating city of canals and temples.
Day 2: Bangkok - Mandarin Oriental (B)
Start your day early and arrive at Wat Pho in time to hear the morning chants of the temple’s monks. View the spectacular, 150-foot-long Reclining Buddha statue, its gleaming surface covered in gold leaf, its feet intricately inlaid with mother of pearl. Travel by tuk-tuk to the Grand Palace, a magnificent Siamese court complex begun in 1782 that borrows from the architecture of the Italian Renaissance. In the 1860s, it was home to Rama IV (King Mongkut) whose English governess inspired the novel Anna and the King of Siam.
Day 3: Bangkok - Mandarin Oriental (B)
Explore the beautiful Thai-style house and garden of the late American silk entrepreneur and architect Jim Thompson, and then visit the Jim Thompson Thai Silk Company. Later, tour former prime minister M.R. Kukrit’s Heritage Home and enjoy a private boat ride along the bustling Chao Phraya River, observing traditional Thai life along the way. Visit Baan Silapin, a 100-year-old renovated house, now an art gallery, where you may experience an enchanting performance of traditional Thai puppetry. En route back to your hotel, stop at the ornate, spired Temple of Dawn (Wat Arun), perhaps the most famous temple in Thailand.
Day 4: Chiang Mai - Four Seasons Resort (B)
After breakfast, fly to Chiang Mai to experience northern Thailand’s way of life with a visit to the copious Waroros Market. Sit back for a trishaw ride to Wat Phra Singh, which houses an enduring and sacred Buddha image. Ascend to the mountaintop temple of Wat Phrathad Doi Suthep, the most important temple in Chiang Mai. Enjoy the special atmosphere of dusk on the temple grounds after other visitors have gone, and receive a private blessing ceremony followed by a magical evening listening to the chants of monks and gazing down upon the glittering lights of Chiang Mai.
Day 5: Chiang Mai - Four Seasons Resort (B)
Enjoy a morning in the private company of the elephants and mahouts (elephant trainers) of a local elephant camp. Trek through the forest surrounding the camp, then don your own mahout uniform and receive a lesson in the basic commands needed to control an elephant. Climb aboard your elephant and test your skills. For the remainder of the afternoon, work with your elephant — paintbrush in trunk —
to create a piece of art. Take home the masterpiece you create together, as well as your uniform and an official mahout certification, as fond mementos of your time with these gentle giants.
Day 6: Chiang Mai - Four Seasons Resort (B)
Spend a full day in Chiang Mai completely at your leisure, relaxing and enjoying the many amenities of your luxury resort, which include world-class fitness facilities, swimming pools, tennis courts and optional activities, such as golf, balloon rides and Thai cooking lessons.
Days 7-10: Phuket - Amanpuri (B)
After breakfast, board a flight to Phuket, for a serene and relaxing stay at the Amanpuri Resort Phuket, enjoying its many amenities and everything the sun, sand and sea have to offer. On your fourth day here, transfer to the airport to board your departing flight.
Four Seasons Amanpuri Phuket
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Best of Thailand (10 Days)
Experience the finest sights, sounds and tastes of Thailand, including the magnificent Grand Palace and the Pak Khlong Talat flower market in Bangkok. View a sacred Buddha image at Wat Phra Singh in Chiang Mai, create your own Thai dishes under the guidance of a master chef and enjoy the best of sun, sand and sea in lush Koh Samui.
Day 1: Bangkok - Mandarin Oriental
You are met and given VIP assistance through immigration procedures. Afterward, transfer to your luxurious hotel in this fascinating city of klongs (canals) and Buddhist temples.
Day 2: Bangkok - Mandarin Oriental (B)
Start early to arrive in Wat Pho to hear monks perform their morning chants and view the 150-feet-long Reclining Buddha statue. Covered in gold leaf, its feet are intricately inlaid with mother of pearl. Wat Pho is regarded as the nation’s first center of public education and is sometimes called "Thailand's First University." Travel via tuk-tuk to the Grand Palace, a 
magnificent Siamese court begun in 1782 that borrows from the architecture of the Italian Renaissance.
Next, take an excursion along the klongs (canals) that once gave Bangkok the title of “The Venice of the East” and observe the traditional Thai way of life along the mighty Chao Phraya River (the River of the Kings). Pass the Temple of Dawn (Wat Arun), embedded with pieces of multi-colored porcelain that catch the rays of the morning sun. Continue to Bangkok’s Chinatown, an area of frenetic commercial activity, filled with fascinating shops. Continue to Wat Leng Neng Yee to visit its Taoist Temple. Then immerse yourself in Thailand’s exotic flowers, including many species of orchids, in the Pak Khlong Talat flower market.
Day 3: Bangkok – Samut Songkhram/Ayutthaya – Mandarin Oriental (BL)
After breakfast, choose from two day-trip options.
Option One – A Countryside Experience: Drive south to Samut Songkhram province to visit an amazing country market set up along railroad tracks from which vendors pull their tables and set them up again as each train passes through. Continue to a Buddhist temple with an unseen chapel enclosed within the roots of a banyan tree. Enjoy lunch in Baan Amphawa and then head to Amphawa floating market, frequented by locals seeking the ingredients of authentic Thai cuisine.
Option Two - Ayutthaya: Travel to this former capital of Thailand (AD 1350-1767) and tour the
ruins that remain after it was sacked and looted by 18th-century Burmese invaders. See the royal temple of Wat Phra Sri Sanphet, view the bronze Buddha statue in Phra Mongkok Bopit and the gold chedi at Wat Yai Chai Mongkoi. Enjoy regional cuisine at a local restaurant, and then continue to Bang Pa-In, a former royal summer retreat, to tour its brightly painted buildings and impeccably manicured grounds.
Day 4: Chiang Mai - Four Seasons Resort (B)
After breakfast, fly to Chiang Mai to experience the northern Thai way of life with a visit to copious Waroros Market, and then take a trishaw ride along Tapae Road down through City Walls and along Rajdamnern Road to Wat Phra Singh to view an enduring and sacred Buddha image.
Then travel to the mountaintop temple of Wat Phrathad Doi Suthep, the most important temple in Chiang Mai. Enjoy the special atmosphere of dusk on the temple grounds after other visitors have departed, and receive a private blessing ceremony followed by a magical evening listening to the chants of monks and gazing down upon the glittering lights of Chiang Mai.
Day 5: Chiang Mai - Four Seasons Resort (BL)
Enjoy an early breakfast and then receive half a day of Thai culinary instruction, which includes a tour of a fascinating local food market, a traditional Thai spirit house blessing and introduction, and a cooking demonstration, after which you can create your own Thai dishes under the guidance of a master chef. Savor your creation for lunch and then get a lesson in vegetable carving. Spend the rest of your day at leisure.
Day 5: Chiang Mai - Four Seasons Resort (B)
Spend your last full day in Chiang Mai at leisure, enjoying the many amenities of your luxurious Four Seasons Resort, including world-class fitness facilities and options such as nearby golf, shopping and cooking classes.
Four Seasons Resort Koh Samui
Days 7-10: Koh Samui - Four Seasons Resort (B)
After breakfast, board a flight to Koh Samui and spend the remainder of your sojourn in Thailand enjoying the many amenities of your luxurious resort accommodations, and the best that sun, sand and sea have to offer. On day 10, enjoy breakfast at your hotel before transferring to the airport for your departing flight.
in association/A&K
