Thailand
Suggested Thailand Experiences
The "Land of a Thousand Smiles" truly has it all. From superb scenery and village life in the north, to the bustling cosmopolitan capital, to the world-class beaches of the south, Thailand's cultural heritage, cuisine, nightlife, and friendly residents are on par with any country in Asia.
Destinations include: Bangkok, Ayutthaya, Chiang Rai, Chiang Mai, Phuket, Koh Lanta, Krabi, Koh Samui, Kanchanaburi, Sukothai and Khao Yai National Park.
Bangkok
With your expert guide visit Wat Suthat, one of Bangkok’s most important Buddhist temples, which was founded in 1807 by King Rama I. Arrive in time for the resident monks’ morning chanting at 08:30.
Take a boat trip up the Chao Phraya River, the city’s main artery, to meet a curator at the National Museum, which houses three permanent galleries: the Thai History Gallery, the Archaeological and Art History Collections, and the Decorative Arts and Ethnological Collection.
Visit Pak Klong Talaat, a market for fruit and vegetable whose busiest hours are between 02:00 and 03:00 each morning. Boats on the Chao Phraya River and trucks from nearby provinces arrive with immense quantities of fresh cut flowers, vegetables, spices, and fruits, all piled high inside the market and along nearby streets. There are great photo opportunities as all the flowers, particularly the orchids, are sold under fluorescent lighting.
Discover the secrets of homestyle Thai cuisine with a private cooking class at a renowned cooking school located beside the Chao Phraya River. You will have a chance to explore the school’s traditional herb and spice garden and select from its organic ingredients for your hands-on lesson, for which you will have your own cooking station and utensils.
Drive to Bangkok’s Noi District where you can see how the locals live in greater Bangkok’s authentic canal-side neighborhoods, with homes and gardens dotted along the waterfront of the klongs. Board a local “rocket boat” – long, canoe-like traditional vessels with outboard motors on the back – to zip up and down the canals.
Stop in a temple for a private blessing from Buddhist monk.
With your expert guide, explore the architectural landmarks of Bangkok: the Grand Palace and Wat Phra Kaew (the Temple of the Emerald Buddha), Wat Pho, and Wat Arun (the Temple of the Dawn). These are highly visited sites, but for good reason.
Take a private Muay Thai kickboxing class.
Try your bargaining skills at Suanlum Night Market, which has over 3,000 stalls of everything from local crafts to antiques.
Try an activity far from the typical tourist path: visit a hospital devoted to convalescing Buddhist monks, where you will likely be the only non-Thai people. The monks love company and sometimes offer private blessings.
Meet a curator who will illuminate the exciting world of Thai contemporary art at the gallery Art Republic, which features mostly young contemporary artists from all over Asia.
Have a private tour of the Jim Thompson House, a living history of traditional Thai architecture assembled by the silk magnate and former American OSS officer who mysteriously disappeared in Malaysia in 1967.
Continue your discovery of the pinnacle of traditional Thai architecture with a private tour of Suan Pakkad Palace Museum. This is a collection of homes bequeathed by Thai royalty and featuring a Prince and Princess’s vast collection of art and antiquities.
Have lunch at Supatra Riverhouse, a two-story traditional Thai house on the banks of the Chao Praya. The restaurant is housed in the former home of Khunying Supatra Singholaga, a successful businesswoman and leading advocate of women’s rights in Thai society.
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Ayutthaya
A very worthwhile day trip from Bangkok is the ancient imperial capital of Ayutthaya, about 50 miles north of the present capital and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Ayutthaya flourished as the Thai capital for 417 years, from 1350 to 1767, when it was sacked and burned in the kingdom’s final war with Burma.
The three main temples of Ayutthaya that should be seen on any visit are Wat Maha That, Wat Phra Si Sanphet, and Wat Chaiwatthanaram.
With your expert guide, explore these temples either early in the morning or late afternoon/early evening, which are the ideal times to visit as there are likely to be far fewer fellow visitors at these hours. The latter of these three principal temples, Chaiwatthanaram, is particularly splendid when illuminated by floodlights at night.
After sunset, enjoy a gourmet dinner on a private cruise around Ayutthaya. Although it doesn’t feel like it, Ayutthaya is technically an island, surrounded by the Chao Phraya, Lopburi and Pasak rivers, and an evening cruise affords another perspective on the ancient capital and its evocative ruins.
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Chiang Rai
Immerse yourself at the riveting Hall of Opium, which captivatingly chronicles the area’s history in the drug’s production and trade.
Train as an elephant mahout (a handler and caretaker) and go elephant trekking through the surrounding jungle.
With your expert guide, explore the fascinating architectural history and museum collections of Chiang Saen, the capital of Thailand’s 14th-century Lanna kingdom.
Journey up the “Burma Road,” a hair-raising route straddling the narrow and mountainous border between Thailand and Myanmar.
Drive 1.5 hours to the beautiful mountaintop village of Doi Mae Salong, home to indigenous hill-tribe peoples and Chinese settlers. Once opium country, Doi Mae Salong is now home to Thailand’s premier oolong tea production.
Go for a one-hour hike through the tea fields and hill-tribe villages. Pending his schedule, you’ll have a special opportunity to sip tea with the owner of one of the largest plantations in Thailand, followed by lunch and tea with a prominent member of the Doi Mae Salong community to discuss the life today in this rural part of the country.
Cruise approximately 30 minutes by boat up the Khong River and into Laos. Disembark and visit Ban Had Tai village, where your expert guide will introduce you to its residents for a better understanding of life in this remote region.
Complete your exploration of the Golden Triangle with a day trip into Myanmar. Your destination is a village not far from the border, on the way to Kengtung, capital of Myanmar’s Shan State. Your drive will take you through stunning mountain terrain to an undiscovered region refreshingly devoid of touts and souvenir shops. In this region dwell numerous tribes who have remained untouched by outside influence and live much as their ancestors have for centuries.
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Chiang Mai
Visit Wat Prathat Doi Suthep, a Buddhist temple atop a mountain just nine miles from central Chiang Mai. Meet with the temple’s monks and receive a private blessing. On your descent, your guide will alert you to any beautiful tropical birds that are sometimes present at Doi Suthep mountain.
Located at the foot of Doi Suthep is Huay Kaew Waterfall, which cascades over a 165-foot rock slope and is a good place to relax and take in the scenery.
Spend a morning with a scholar of Lanna culture and architecture. Your expert will explain the principles of Lanna design and the adoption of this aesthetic at the Rachamankha, a luxurious boutique hotel whose grounds reflect the architectural history of this diverse region and whose design is based on the viharn (chapel) of one of Thailand’s most beautiful temples, Wat Phra That Lampang Luang in Lampang province.
Have lunch at the Rachamankha’s beautiful restaurant, which is decorated with Lanna lanterns, antique Chinese tables and Ming Dynasty plates. The focus is on Thai, but there is also a large selection of innovative fusion dishes blending Asian and European cuisine.
Explore Wat Umong, or the “Temple of Tunnels,” located in a forested, rural area a few miles outside Chiang Mai. Your expert guide will relate the fascinating and mysterious history of this temple, which is believed to date from the late 14th century and was used by the Japanese as a base during World War II.
Visit Studio Naenna, founded by a textile expert and friend of Remote Lands in 1985 as a boutique for local weavers to market their wares. Today, the owner is semi-retired, but either she, one of her daughters or top staff will talk with you about the various types of weaving and dying found in this part of Thailand and give you a short demonstration.
Participate in a khantoke dinner at a scenic spot, such as Wieng Kum Kam, an ancient city not far from Chiang Mai. Khantoke is an authentic way for honored guests to partake in traditional music and dance while enjoying classic Issan (northern Thai) dishes.
After dinner, participate in a sky lantern release. The Thais in the northern part of the country are particularly fond of this tradition; it is considered good luck to release a sky lantern and symbolic of problems and worries floating away.
Visit the Tiger Kingdom, where you can interact with felines ranging from six-week-old babies to full-grown cats in a completely unrestrained environment.
Drive approximately 90-minutes to village of Mae Kampong, which is situated at more than 4,200 feet above sea level and thrives on the hydro-electric energy that its waterfalls produce.
Walk through the forest where villagers grow tea and coffee. Your expert guide will introduce you to locals; chat with them to learn about the preservation efforts of the nearby Gibbon Project and how these initiatives are shaping their daily lives.
Go on a spectacular trek beside the beautiful Mae Gompong Falls, followed by an al fresco picnic lunch in a scenic spot.
Explore the Chiang Mai Tribal Museum and, subject to availability, meet a curator for a private tour.
Wander through the Night Bazaar, the modern version of the old traders’ caravansaries where you can choose from a vast array of handicrafts of other locally made items to bring home as gifts.
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Phuket
Arrive in Phuket and stay at 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. Your palatial ocean villa overlooks the Andaman Sea, and comes complete with your own personal cook and butler and a private pool.
Spend a 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.
Have a lovely picnic lunch on a secluded white sand beach of Koh Kai Nok, and relax as you watch the waves roll in.
Take a speed boat to the Similan Islands, considered the top scuba-diving and snorkeling spot in Thailand and world renowned for their coral reefs and diversity of tropical fish.
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Koh Lanta
Remote Lands recommends the Pimalai Resort on Koh Lanta, located south of Railay but still in Krabi province. A variety of water sports, from sailing to snorkeling, are available here.
Take a long-tail boat trip on a small river through a mangrove forest, then proceed to Talengbeng Island for kayaking and swimming.
Drive to Lanta Noi for an experience of traditional life on Koh Lanta. Have lunch at a simple local restaurant belonging to one of the oldest families in the area, and, if you wish, talk with them about their way of life and heritage on the island.
Drive to the center of Koh Lanta and hike for a few hours through a beautiful forest to get to Mai Kaew Cave, whose entrance is a small, indistinct clearing through the rocks. This leads you to a series of caverns housing breathtaking stalactites and stalagmites. Explore this geological wonder whose entrances and exits are alternately monolithic in size or extremely narrow.
Go snorkeling or diving with your expert guide. The local marine life that you’ll see when you’re diving is both diverse and prolific with over 200 species of fish and 80 species of coral catalogued.
There are a number of wonderful dive sites in Krabi province that require various degrees of diving experience:
Hin Daeng, “Red Rock,” and Hin Muang, “Purple Rock,” are named after the beautiful red and purple corals that cover the pinnacles; the 12-plus dive sites at Koh Haa (a group of five islands) offer beautiful scuba diving and snorkeling with spectacular visibility; the Phi Phi islands, which offer consistently good diving, year round that rivals the Similans; and Koh Rok, with relatively shallow diving with abundant marine life and thriving corals in the shallower areas. The corals are among the best in the area at these dive sites.
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Krabi
Situated on Thailand’s beautiful Andaman coast, Krabi is an ideal location for outdoor adventures: rock climbing on the surrounding limestone cliffs, snorkeling and diving in the Andaman Sea, hiking, and sea canoeing or kayaking around the outlying islands and in remote mangrove channels.
Hop on a longtail boat and pass by Kao Kanab Nam, the most famous mountains in Krabi. During World War II, it is believed that Japanese soldiers hid weapons inside the mountain.
Continue cruising through the Andaman Sea through magnificent mangrove forests and a fish farm. Arrive at Middle Island, or Koh Klang, and chat with the villagers here who live in this idyllic atmosphere; most work as mini-longtail boat builders or rice field farmers. On this island and at other stops on this afternoon excursion, you might see monkeys, lizards, kingfishers, red-arm crab and other native wildlife.
Take an eco-friendly canoe on a private tour into some of the caves and interior rooms of Krabi’s limestone formations called hongs in Thai. Coral formations, in shallow and deep water, offer great snorkeling, and of course, the quiet, unobtrusive approach of the sea canoe is ideal for spotting some of the seabirds and wildlife to be found here.
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Koh Samui
Most Asian countries with coastline experience at least part of their wet season during the summer, but Koh Samui is one of the few places we recommend visiting at this time of year because it is typically hot but relatively dry. Beautiful fine sand beaches on the calm, warm Gulf of Siam and a wide array of water sports, including sailing, fishing, snorkeling, and boogie boarding are available, in addition to hikes through the rainforest, delicious Thai cuisine and indulgent spa treatments.
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Kanchanaburi
Surrounded by hills and mountains all the way to the Burmese border, Kanchanaburi is blessed with spectacular scenery. With stunning waterfalls, national parks and some of the friendliest people in Thailand, it is easy to spend more time here than originally planned. A definite draw to the area is the many minority ethnic groups living in this sparsely populated province, although Kanchanaburi is probably best known for being home to the Bridge on the River Kwai.
Board a local train that will take you over the bridge and other parts of the “Death Railway,” one of the Burma Railway’s more direct sobriquets.
Visit Wat Pha Luang Ta Bua, the famous Tiger Temple. Now over 10 years old, this Buddhist temple keeps and cares for numerous animals, most notably the tigers who walk around freely, being stroked by visitors. A private visit with the adorable cubs can be arranged where you can feed, play and swim with them.
Visit a Mon village and spend time in a school teaching English, exchanging details with the students about your lives (with the help of your expert guide as translator). As this school exists outside the Thai schooling system, it is usually open even when the normal school year is over.
Visit the JEATH War Museum with a curator. JEATH stands for Japan, England, America, Australia, Thailand and Holland, representing the nationalities of the prisoners of war (POWs) who were forced to work on the Death Railway. This impressive memorial and tribute was established to show actual items that were connected with the construction of the Death Railway by POW’s between 1942-1943.
Outdoor activities abound in Kanchanaburi’s fertile, rugged landscape. Options for the adventurous traveler include rafting on the River Kwai, a tributary of the mighty Mekong; kayaking; elephant trekking; and hiking to the seven-tiered Erawan Waterfall and the Tharn Pratat cave, with its dramatic stalactites and stalagmites.
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Sukothai
Today, the Thai people view Sukhothai as the cradle of the Thai nation, as it was the capital of the Sukhothai Kingdom, which was considerably larger than present-day Thailand. Supposedly at its peak, the kingdom stretched from Martaban (now in Myanmar) to Luang Prabang (Laos) and down the Malay Peninsula as far south as Nakhon Si Thammarat. Sukhothai literally translates to “Dawn of Happiness,” and the kingdom existed for 200 years (1238-1438).
Declared a UNESCO site in 1991, Sukhothai Historical Park includes ruins of the royal palaces, Buddhist temples, the city gates, walls, moats, dams, ditches, ponds, canals, and the water dyke control system. The site was thoroughly restored by the Thai Fine Arts Department in conjunction with UNESCO; meet with the head of the restoration project who will give you a private guided tour of the site and discuss the history of the area in greater depth.
Meet a curator for a privately guided tour of the Ramkhamhaeng National Museum, which offers a more narrative, comprehensive look at Thai ways of life during the Sukhothai period through the many sculptures and antiquities on display.
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Khao Yai National Park
Khao Yai National Park in Khorat province is home to more than 800 species of fauna, including 112 mammal species such as Asiatic black bears, Asian elephants, gaur, tigers, gibbons, Indian sambar deer, Indian muntjac, dholes, and wild pigs). Almost 400 bird species and 200 reptile and amphibian species also call the park home.
Stay at the Kirimaya Resort, the only luxury property in the area. The resort is about an hour’s drive from Khao Yai.
Trek through the jungle with your private naturalist guide. You will rarely be exposed to direct sunlight as Khao Yai is covered with three types of foliage: moist evergreen forest, mixed deciduous forest, and dry evergreen forest. There are some 2,000 to 2,500 plant species here and possible wildlife sightings include gibbons, stump-tailed macaque, sambar deer, barking deer, great hornbills, elephants, wild dog, and more.
In the evening, go on a night safari, where the diverse wildlife you may spot includes civets, elephants, deer, porcupine, wild dog, and more.
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