Remote Lands

Thailand

Suggested Itinerary

Day 1 - Bangkok

Arrive in Bangkok and check in to the elegant Oriental Hotel, overlooking the Chao Praya River. This legendary property is considered one of the top hotels in the world, where the service is impeccable and no details are spared.

Venture out with your personal guide for a private cruise to the Grand Palace and Wat Phra Kaew, also known as the Temple of the Emerald Buddha. This is Bangkok's most gilded shrine and top pilgrimage destination, and home to the revered Emerald Buddha image. Remote Lands will arrange for you to be received and welcomed into the palace's private diplomatic reception rooms, lined with full-length portraits of the current and former monarchs of Thailand.

Have lunch at Arun Residence, a boutique hotel on the Chao Phraya River. Their restaurant, Deck by the River, has a menu of fusion items, including soft-shell crab salad with spicy pesto sauce and steamed sea bass with Chinese plum, ginger, soy sauce and spring onion.

Cross the river to Wat Arun, the scenic temple of dawn, and then visiting Wat Maharat, where you will meet with the head of the International Buddhist Meditation Center to discuss Buddhism in Thailand and its relevance to the pulse of the kingdom. While in the area, visit the quirky amulet market, where a vast array of talismans and other good luck charms, as well as traditional medicine, are on offer. Have your fortune told for fun, and have a traditional medicine doctor give you a check-up to tell you what herbal medicines would benefit your health

If you are feeling exceptionally adventurous, visit Siam Ocean World, an aquarium located in a shopping mall of all places, where you can dive in their shark tank - don't worry, the sharks are harmless! - with a member of the aquarium's staff. You will have the opportunity to feed the huge sand tiger sharks, black-tipped reef sharks and eagle rays in the water, sure to be an unforgettable experience.

Return to the Oriental for a shiatsu massage at the hotel's spa, an oasis of tranquility right across the river.

Have cocktails in the Bamboo Bar, or tea in the Author's Lounge, the haunt of such literary luminaries such as Graham Greene, Joseph Conrad and John Le Carre.

Have dinner at the gorgeous home of a prominent Bangkok family, and see their amazing collection of contemporary Asian art as well as antiques. Discuss with them the opportunities and challenges facing Thailand in today's rapidly emerging Asia.

Day 2 - Bangkok

As Bangkok is a very international, cosmopolitan city and thousands of tourists throng its many sites everyday, it is getting more difficult to have experiences that are local and authentic. One of our favorite activities that we consider very special is visiting a hospital devoted to healing ailing Buddhist monks; you will most certainly be the only non-Thai people to visit the hospital today. The patients are in varied states of convalescing and those who are cognizant would appreciate your company for a few minutes if you would like to talk to them, and if you are lucky, you will be offered a private blessing.

Board your private boat for a trip to the floating market of Damnoen Saduak on the outskirts of Bangkok. Fruit, vegetables, handicrafts and other goods are sold by boats paddling around the city of canals. Witness quotidian Thai life along the waterways, and visit pomelo farmers, woodcarvers, potters and other small-scale artisanal businesses. Cruise to a small local restaurant on the water and have a casual lunch of fresh seafood and pad thai together with the friendly owner and his family.

En route back to Bangkok, stop at the unique Queen Saovabha Research Institute, more commonly known as the Snake Farm, where anti-venom is made from all types of poisonous snakes. Meet the caretakers and go around with them as they carry out afternoon milking sessions with the snakes, and learn all about this rarified practice.

Have dinner at C'yan, the Metropolitan Hotel's restaurant whose menu draws inspiration from the Mediterranean, including Moorish influences. Follow dinner with a drink at the Met Bar in the hotel, one of Asia's hippest haunts.

Day 3 - Phuket

Fly from Bangkok to Phuket and be met by your private driver for the short ride to Surin Beach and Amanpuri, one of the most luxurious hideaways in the world. The resort was created by the architect who designed the Winter Palace of the former Shah of Iran.

Hire Sealion, a classic 40-foot Chinese junk, for an unforgettable day cruising through Phang Nga Bay, where hundreds of limestone karst peaks thrust up out of the sea in a variety of formations, towering over the turquoise water. Stop at James Bond Island, which was a location for the action epic, The Man With the Golden Gun, and the Phi Phi Islands, where The Beach was filmed. Have a lovely picnic lunch on a secluded white sand beach of Koh Kai Nok, and relax as you watch the waves roll in.

Have a massage back at the hotel before going out to dinner at Mom Tri's Boathouse, noted for its seafood, fine wine and waterfront location. Despite the curious name, this is the most esteemed restaurant in Phuket, where Thai politicians, pop stars, and other celebrities dine.

Day 4 - Similan Islands

Charter a luxury speedboat to the Similan Islands, considered the top scuba diving and snorkeling spot in Thailand. The Similans are world renowned for their coral reefs and diversity of tropical fish. The nine islands, which are a national park, are home to rare species of flora and fauna, such as the Nicobar pigeon, flying lemur, and bottlenose dolphin. You will be taken in a luxury speedboat out to the Similans, where you can spend the day diving or learning to dive. Other activities include snorkeling, hiking or just relaxing in this tropical paradise. Stop at a secluded beach for a private gourmet picnic lunch complete with champagne. Return to Phuket in time for cocktails and dinner at the hotel.

Day 5 - Krabi

In the morning, cruise by private boat to Krabi (three hours), noted for its exquisite beaches, mangrove forests, limestone peaks, and emerald waters. Krabi is also famed as a location for outdoor sports, possibilities for the day include: rock climbing (Krabi is considered one of the premier climbing venues in the world), kayaking estuaries and tidal lagoons, elephant trekking, snorkeling in the crystal clear water, or just relaxing on the magnificent beaches of Rai Leh.

Stay at the Rayavadee, a five-star oceanfront resort with lavish Thai villas with private pools and landscaped gardens. Have sunset cocktails followed by a delightful beach barbecue of fresh fish and grilled vegetables.

Day 6 - Chiang Mai

Fly to Chiang Mai, Thailand's northern capital and second largest city, noted for its old walled city and hundreds of temples. Check into the Mandarin Oriental Dhara Dhevi, a stunning hotel filled with striking Lanna architecture. The resort is located on 62 serene acres of forests, rice paddies and plantations, and has the largest spa in Thailand.

Drive to nearby Doi Inthanon, Thailand's highest peak at 8,550 feet. The mountain is part of a national park, and has several striking waterfalls as well as stupendous views over all of northern Thailand.

Not far from Doi Inthanon is the city of Lampang, noted for its impressive Lanna architecture. Visit the Lanna Museum in Wat Phra Kaew Temple with a noted Lanna scholar, and have a look at the various Lanna style temples that grace the old city. Explore the area via horse cart, as Lampang is the only town in Thailand that still uses horses and buggies for public transport.

Visit Mae Kampong, a village that is best known as the site of the Flight of the Gibbon. Participants soar through the air much like gibbons do, and the experience was recently featured on The Amazing Race. There are 18 platforms, skybridges and lowering stations that connect two kilometers (just over a mile) of zip lines that will take you through different layers of pristine rainforest canopy.

Spend the afternoon zipping through the air and learning about the various animal and plant species in Mae Kampong and all over northern Thailand. Another purpose of ziplining through the rainforest, rather than hiking, is to minimize human impact on the canopy.

Return to Chiang Mai and visit Studio Naenna and have a private meeting with textile expert, Khun Patricia Cheesman, a highly respected scholar based in Chiang Mai with interesting, swashbuckling tales of derring-do in her past. She has done extensive research in Thailand and Laos and has lectured worldwide on the topic of textiles and other traditional arts. She has been based in Chiang Mai for over 20 years established Naenna in 1985 as a boutique for local weavers to market their wares. Today, she is semi-retired and her various shops around town are chiefly managed by one of her daughters, Lamorna. She or her staff will chat with you about the various types of weaving and dying found in this part of Thailand and give you a short demonstration.

Have dinner at the well-regarded Whole Earth Restaurant. It serves Thai, Indian, and vegetarian food in a traditional Thai-style wooden house amid landscaped tropical gardens.

Day 7 - Doi Suthep

After trying a bowl of khao soy, Chiang Mai's famous curried breakfast noodles, take part in a private ceremony performed by monks intended to prolong one's life at a local temple. The ceremony is an ancient Buddhist and Lanna custom believed to bring greater happiness into one's life, progress one's career and keep one's family safe and in good health. In the Northern part of Thailand, this ceremony is celebrated on occasion of getting a new job, receiving a promotion, recovering from an illness, or turning 24, 36, 48, 60 and 72 years old. The ceremony is also performed if a fortune teller deems it necessary safeguard one's health or happiness.

Drive twenty minutes to Doi Suthep, a mountain that looms over Chiang Mai, and is home to the sacred temple of Wat Phra That. Visit Wat Phra That and also Phra Tamnak Phu Phing, the winter palace for the royal family occupying this high ground. On the way down the mountain, stop in at one of the many Hmong ethnic villages that cling to Doi Suthep's slopes and have tea with the family in their traditional home.

Visit the Tiger Kingdom. The tigers that live here are well taken care of by their minders and range in age and size from 6 week old babies up to full-grown cats that are a few years old. You can visit with the tigers in a completely unrestrained environment, which makes this experience extremely unique in the world - this would never happen at a zoo in the US! As with many baby animals regardless of species, if you try to hold one, they will squirm out of your grasp but you are welcome to pet them and help pet and feed them. There is a restaurant on the premises with tables lined around the enclosed perimeter of the tigers' playground so you can have a cold drink or a snack and watch them romp around if you wish.

Have dinner at The Gallery, a 100-year-old teak house that is an art gallery and elegant restaurant, sitting on a scenic spot overlooking the Ping River. Before dinner, one of the area's premier artists will give you a private tour of the gallery, and then have cocktails with you and tell you about his work and his life as a Thai artist.

Day 8 - Chiang Rai

Board your private helicopter for a scenic ride over lush and mountainous northern Thailand, eventually touching down in Chiang Rai, the capital of the infamous Golden Triangle. Check into the exclusive Four Seasons Tented Camp. From your luxury tent, you will have views of Laos and Myanmar, right across the Mekong River not far away.

After lunch, go to the Elephant Camp right next to the Four Seasons. It was set up by the Thai Government as a conservation center for elephants as well their handlers who have traditionally relied on them for their livelihood. Help the kindle and gentle mahouts to bathe and feed the delightful beasts, and go on an elephant trek through the lovely forests to a beautiful waterfall.

Visit the Hall of Opium, an impressive museum describing the history of the Golden Triangle and its former role in the production and trading of opium. The museum emphasizes the strong measures that Thailand has taken to eradicate drug production and use.

Return to the Four Seasons and pamper yourself after this busy day in its stylish and soothing spa, with a variety of treatments including mud baths, facials, and various types of massage for you to choose from.

Attend an exotic Lanna wedding as an esteemed guest. All participants are dressed in beautiful costumes, and the groom is transported to the bride's house on an elaborately decorated elephant. Take part in the singing, dancing and feasting rituals of this highly convivial and extremely important life event.

Day 9 - Chiang Rai

After breakfast, go by private car up to the Doi Tung Royal Gardens. This development project, started by the late Princess Mother, is a center for sustainable agricultural and economic practices for local hill tribe groups. Have a private tour with one of the directors and see how this program has become a model, copied by governments and organizations around the world, for creating sustainable alternatives in regions once dependent on the drug trade.

Make a short drive up and over spectacular jungle-covered mountains and past hill-tribe villages en route to an enchanting mountain retreat called Doi Mae Salong. This dramatic mountain region was first settled by indigenous hilltribe groups such as the Ahka and Lahu peoples, and more recently by Chinese settlers who fled the Cultural Revolution in China in 1949. Having first fled Yunnan in southern China, the Kuo Min Tang (KMT) become embroiled in Burma's emerging civil war in the late '50s and a large group of them then escaped to northern Thailand, establishing the gorgeous mountaintop village of Doi Mae Salong as their peaceful new home. Once opium country, Doi Mae Salong is now home to Thailand's premier oolong tea production thanks to the emergence of this thriving Yunnanese community. Tea is one of the area's biggest exports, and you'll have a special opportunity to sip tea with the owner of one of the largest plantations in Thailand.

Afterwards, have a classic Yunnanese lunch with a prominent member of the Doi Mae Salong community and a member of one of the original founding families who fled Burma in the early '60s to lay cornerstones in this enchanting town. Over lunch you'll hear more about the history of the area, the significance of tea in the area's development, as well as enlightening stories of one of the world's most notorious drug lords who once resided in town, Khun Sa! You will then have a short visit to the Santikhiri School in the mountains to witness student life in a hilltribe village, and to meet some of the delightful students and teach them a few words of English.

Return to the Four Seasons in the evening and relax with a spa treatment. Enjoy an alfresco dinner of Northern Thai cuisine on the terrace at the resort's Sala Mae Nam restaurant, which has wonderful views of the Mekong Valley.

Day 10 - Chiang Khong

Visit Queen Sirikit Botanic Garden, which at just over a decade old is an internationally recognized center for botanical study and research that offers visitors the opportunity to learn about the biodiversity unique to northern Thailand and also local conversation efforts. Meet with a senior member of staff, who will guide you on a private tour of the gardens, which include four unique trails.

Driven from Chiang Rai to Chiang Khong.

Arrive in Chiang Khong in the afternoon and check in to your accommodations at Rai Saeng Arun, the most luxurious property in town that is just 10 minutes from the city center. The resort is located next to the Khong River and surrounded by mountains and farmland; most neighboring farmers grow vegetables and rice organically, which Rai Saeng Arun uses.

The border town of Chiang Khong is in Thailand's Chiang Rai province just opposite Huay Xai in Laos. Although it is located on the Mekong, one of Southeast Asia's main arteries for travel and trade, the town only has one road and no nightlife to speak of. Soak in the sleepy atmosphere of this river town, whose true charm and uniqueness actually lies inland away from the riverfront with its gorgeous waterfalls and rapids.

Have dinner at Rai Saeng Arun. The resort also functions as a wellness center and caters to those looking to improve their health and eating habits. Specialists are on hand to make recommendations to improve one's diet so if you have any questions about your regular diet or the ingredients that are used in your dinner, feel free to ask.

Day 11 - Chiang Khong

From Chiang Khong, you can drive and take a boat into Laos where you can continue your journey through Indochina. If you do not want to do this, return to Chiang Rai and fly to Bangkok to meet your connecting flight home or onwards.

To enter Laos from Thailand:

Check out of Rai Saeng Arun. You will be driven to the Chiang Khong border where you will board a boat to Huay Xai, Laos, and go through immigration procedures with your Thai guide, who will hand you off to your guide in Laos, after immigration procedures are complete. Then you will be driven to Buk pier where you will be transferred to your private boat, Luang Prabang II, which will take you to Pakbeng (7-7.5 hours). This will be an interesting ride where you will see life on the Mekong unfold before you: small plots of farmland, people gathering bright-green colored kai, or river seaweed, and modest homes and villages. The boat normally accommodates up to 50 people; as we have chartered it just for the two of you, it will be quite spacious with plenty of comfortable spots to enjoy the passing scenery.

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