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Day
1
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Depart
USA for Bangkok, Thailand |
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Day
2
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Arrival
Bangkok in late evening. |
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Day
3
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Depart
from hotel to visit the Grand Palace and the temple of the Emerald
Buddha, which represents over 200 years of Royal history. Then
Thonburi Canals boat ride to Wat Arun. Dinner at hotel.
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The
Grand Palace is surrounded by walls built in 1783. The length of
the four walls totals 5700 feet. Within these walls are situated
government offices and the Chapel Royal of the Emerald Buddha besides
the royal residences. |
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Rivers
and canals referred to maenam and khlong in Thai have always been
vital forms of communication. When the capital of Thailand was moved
to Bangkok in 1782 (the beginning of the Rattanakosin period), the
capital was laced with canals, so Bangkok was sometimes called the
"VENICE OF THE EAST" by European visitors. |
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The
famous Wat Arun, perhaps better known as the Temple of the Dawn,
is one of the best known landmarks and one of the most published
images of Bangkok. It consists of a massive elongated prang (Khmer-style
tower), and is surrounded by four smaller prangs. The prang is described
as 300 feet high. It is decorated by bits of porcelain which had
previously been used as ballast by boats coming to Bangkok from
China, a hallmark of the reign of King Rama III. |
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Day
4
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Early
rise to visit Floating Market, then continue on River Kwai to Jungle
Raft in a remote Mon Village 3 hours out of Bangkok. Visit elephant
village Lunch on the way. Dinner at Jungle Raft Water Hotel - Visit
village school, picture of elephant, local exchange activities.
Free time for rest of the day to explore the Mon village and exchange
with most friendly local villagers. |
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Day
in and day out from about 8 a.m. to about 11 a.m. the Floating Market
is routinely crowded with hundrreds of vendors and purchasers floating
in their small rowing boats selling and buying or exchanging their
goods. What they purchase are particularly food, fruit and vegetable
which mostly brought from their own orchards. |
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Just
slightly over 120 kilometers from Bangkok, to the northwest, located
at a junction of rivers, including the Meklang, which is perhaps
better known as Menam Kwae or the River Kwai. (This is location
of the infamous Bridge on the River Kwai, originally built by prisoners
of war and forced laborers during the Second World War.) Without
indulging in the war times, River Kwai is a tranquil - albeit our
own long tail boat - and heavenly scene: the limestone caves, hilltribe
villages and beautiful waterfalls in the vicinity all help to make
this one of the most fascinating places to visit. |
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The
elephant village along the River Kwai is a must stop place. You
will have real close encounters to the tame elephants, who are operated
by riders. You may even meet the Belgian girl Janet who married
a Thai and a proud elephant rider herself. The ride is about 20
minutes and costs 300 Baht (or about 8 dollars) |
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In
the evening, we stay at Jungle Raft hotel, a series of rafts tied
together to form a long array of thatched roof tops on the River
Kwai itself. The rooms are of twin beds with a bathroom, with
toilet and simple shower but no electricity or hot water. But
none is needed at this surreal place that is almost from a different
world from our hectic daily lives.
Mon is a minority nationality in Thailand. It has its own language,
which is taught at the village school. Mon Dancing in the evening
on the Jungle Raft is an ear-deafening experience with its variety
of drum beats in the quiet surroundings of the night and oil lanterns.
The girls and boys from the village perform to you what they perceive
to be the most beautiful sequels from the angels.
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Day
5
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Depart
back to Bangkok. On the way, visit the ruins of Ayutthaya, the old
capital of Thailand. Dinner at hotel. |
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The
ancient city of Ayutthaya, Thai capital for 417 years, is one
of Thailand's major tourist attractions. Ayutthaya ( 72 kilometers
north of Bangkok ) boasts numerous magnificent ruins. Such ruins
indicate that Ayutthaya was one of Indo- China's most prosperous
cities. The Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya Historical Park, avast strectch
of historical site in the heart of Ayutthaya city, has been included
in UNESCO list of World Heritage since December 13,1991.
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Day
6
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Free
morning, departure at 10:00 am to airport to Siem Reap. After arrival
transfer to hotel for check-in. Then departure to Tonle Sap for
boat trip to see floating villages and village exhibitions. Dinner
with local folk dancing at local restaurant. |
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When
you leave Bangkok, there is a departure tax of 500 baht, or about
$12. When you arrive at Siem Reap, Cambodia, you will need to apply
a visa (which would take about 5 minutes) and pay US$20 for the
visa and one whole page in your passport for the whole page size
stamp. |
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Nestled
between rice paddies and stretched along the Siem Reap River rests
the small provincial capital of Siem Reap Town, gateway to the millennium-old
temple ruins of the Khmer Empire. Designated a World Heritage Site
by UNESCO, the Angkor Archaeological Park encompasses dozens of
temple ruins including Bayon, Banteay Srey and the legendary Angkor
Wat whose artistic and archaeological significance and visual impact
put it in a class with the Pyramids and the Taj Mahal. Unlike many
other world class monuments, the ruins of Angkor are as yet not
as spoiled by commercialism and over-development. This may not be
true in a couple of years. |
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Tonle
Sap is seasonable river in the heart of Cambodia. Hundreds of
thousands of natives live their whole lives on the river and the
banks around the river.
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Day
7
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Departure
to visit South Gate of Angkor Thom, Bayon, Elephant terrace, Phimean
Akas, and Leper King. Lunch, then Artisan D'Angkor, a traditional
Khmer craft shopping place. Dinner at hotel. |
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Angkor
Thom is the inner royal city, built by the end of the 12th century
during the reign of King Jayavarman VII, shortly after Angkor
had been conquered and burnt down by the Chams. This inner royal
city was built as a quadrangle and bordered by a 100-metres-wide
moat and an 8-metres-high wall. Angkor Thom is geometrically oriented:
it covers an area which is an exact quadrangle; the sides of this
quadrangle run exactly in North-South and East-West direction.
A gate opens exactly in the middle of each wall, connecting, through
a bridge over the moat, the royal city with the outside. Exactly
in the center of Angkor Thom are the temple grounds of the Bayon.
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Day
8
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Depart
for visit to Bantey Srei, Neak Pean, Ta Promh and Takeo temples.
Then visit to Angkor Wat.
Lunch and Dinner at local restaurant |
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Banteay
Srei is an exquisite miniature; a fairy tale palace in the heart
of an immense and mysterious forest. |
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There
are two great complexes of ancient ruins in southeast Asia, one
at Bagan, Burma, the other at Angkor in Cambodia. The temples
of Angkor, built from 879 - 1191AD, when the Khmer civilization
was at the height of its development, represent one of humankind's
most astonishing and enduring architectural achievements. From
the great citadel of Angkor, the kings of the Khmer empire ruled
over a vast domain that reached from what is now southern Vietnam
to Yunnan, China and from Vietnam westward to the Bay of Bengal.
The structures one sees at Angkor today, more than 100 temples
in all, are the surviving religious remains of a grand social
and administrative metropolis whose other buildings - palaces,
public buildings, and houses - were all built of wood and are
long since decayed and gone.
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Day
9
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Visit
Elementary School and Silk Farm then to airport for flight back
to Bangkok |
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The
Departure tax from Cambodia is US$25 per person, payable at the
airport.
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Day
10
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Free
day at Bangkok (lunch/dinner not included) |
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Day
11
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Leave
Thailand early flight back to the states, arrival back at home on
the same day. |