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Cambodia | Thailand | Laos | Vietnam | Myanmar
Signature Tours | Mekong Experience | Student Experiences
Journeys Within Custom Classic
Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam and Thailand
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04 Nov 09 Bangkok - Arrival
Arrive in Bangkok where you will be met by your Guide and transferred to your hotel.
Meals Included: None
Overnight at Guest Booked Hotel
05 Nov 09 Bangkok - Public Transport Tour with Klong trip
You will be met by your guide at your hotel at 9am before transferring to the Skytrain. Enjoy an elevated view of central Bangkok before boarding a river express boat to the Flower Market. Enjoy the sights and smells before taking an exciting tuk tuk ride to Wat Pho to see the famous Reclining Buddha. Enjoy a thirty minute massage from the temple’s near by traditional Thai massage school.
Break for lunch at a local restaurant, and then head to the pride of Thailand, the Grand Palace and Wat Phra Kaew housing the Emerald Buddha. Take a stroll down the street to a local Buddhist amulet market before heading off along the klongs (canals) finally boarding a river express boat to the Skytrain station and returning to your hotel.
Meals included: Lunch
Overnight at Guest Booked Hotel
06 Nov 09 Bangkok - Day at Leisure
Have a free day to explore on your own.
Meals Included: None
Overnight at Guest Booked Hotel
07 Nov 09 Luang Prabang - Arrival + Orientation tour
You will be transferred to Bangkok Airport for your flight - Bangkok Airways PG945 departing at 13:00 & arriving at 15:00. After your arrival in Luang Prabang you’ll be picked up from the airport and driven to the main part of town for a quick orientation tour. Your guide will give you an introduction to the city, showing you the main roads, some restaurants and the night market area, before dropping you off at your hotel to check in.
Meals Included: None
Overnight at Lotus Villa Hotel - Frangipani Room
08 Nov 09 Luang Prabang - Sunrise to Sunset
Wake up at sunrise to give monks morning alms. You’ll be accompanied by your guide who can demonstrate the proper method of alms giving and explain this daily Buddhist ceremony. Return to your hotel for breakfast, after which your guide will take you on a tour of the city, including visits to The National Museum, Wat Xieng Thong, Wat Visun and Wat Sen. Enjoy lunch in town at a restaurant of your choice.
After lunch your guide will meet you and you’ll continue your tour, finishing with a hike up Mt. Phou Si in the late afternoon to see a sweeping view of Luang Prabang and watch the sunset.
Meals included: Breakfast
Overnight at Lotus Villa Hotel - Frangipani Room
09 Nov 09 Luang Prabang - Life on the Mekong
Today you’ll escape the tourist hubs in town and see Luang Prabang through local eyes. First, you will drive up the Mekong to the village of Pak Ou. From here board a small boat and take a tour of the local fishing area, checking traps with the fisherman along the way and collecting any fish you might find. You will then cross the Mekong by small boat to visit the small village of Ban Mueng Keo, known for its production of Lao whiskey. Here you will receive a demonstration of the whiskey-making process by a local Lao Lao producer. And if you’re up for it, sample the finished product for an early morning punch!. Then travel downstream to visit the Pak Ou Caves, famous for the thousands of Buddha statues left inside by passerby.
Return to Ban Pak Ou, where the former village chief and his family will cook you a Lao-style lunch and you’ll learn about dining customs and etiquette. After lunch, board a long tail boat and travel along the Mekong for a scenic ride until you reach the small weaving village of Ban Phone Xay, where you’ll receive a weaving demonstration and have a chance to purchase handmade items directly from the source. Learn the story behind who really makes the beautiful textiles sold at the night market! You’ll be the only tourist in town who knows the real story behind the bottles of Lao Lao, the grilled Mekong fish and the night market stalls.
Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch
Overnight at Lotus Villa Hotel - Frangipani Room
10 Nov 09 Luang Prabang - Day at Leisure
Have a free day to explore on your own.
Meals included: Breakfast
Overnight at Lotus Villa Hotel - Frangipani Room
11 Nov 09 Siem Reap - Arrival
Transfer to Luang Prabang airport from your hotel in time for your flight - Vietnam Airlines VN869 departing at 10:35 & arriving at 12:00. You will be met by a Journeys Within representative and taken to Journeys Within Bed & Breakfast.
Spend the afternoon relaxing in the garden, cool off in the swimming pool or if you have the energy, take a trip down town and walk around the local market. Head into town toenjoy a traditional buffet dinner and dance show in the evening.
Meals included: Breakfast, Dinner
Overnight at Journeys Within B&B
12 Nov 09 Siem Reap - Angkor Wat
This morning head to Angkor Wat in an air conditioned car, or if you choose by bike, with your guide. Explore this majestic temple throughout the morning while it is still cool and has fewer tourists. Return to Journeys Within for lunch and a nap or refresh with a swim.
In the afternoon head to Angkor Thom, the famous walled city and see the many temples within its borders, including the fascinating Bayon temple with its many magnificent faces smiling out. There are several beautiful spots from which to watch the sunset. Discuss with your guide where you would like to be and then relax and enjoy a memorable end to your day at the temples.
Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch
Overnight at Journeys Within B&B
13 Nov 09 Siem Reap - Beng Mealea, Banteay Srei and the Ta Prohm
Enjoy breakfast at Journeys Within before leaving the crowds behind and heading to Beng Mealea, a temple only recently opened to the public; about one and a half hours drive from Journeys Within. After an hour you will leave the paved road and get onto a beaten track running through rice fields and villages of rural Cambodia. At the temple our guide will help you imagine how it once was as you pick your way through the rubble now surrounded by jungle.
In the afternoon head to Banteay Srei, an intricately carved temple known as the Lady Temple. Enjoy lunch at a local restaurant near Banteay Srei and then on the way back visit Ta Prohm, one of the prettiest temples in the complex.
Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch
Overnight at Journeys Within B&B
14 Nov 09 Siem Reap - Village Tour and Journeys Within Our Communinty
Set out for our Journeys Within Village Tour. Our village guide will take you to his village showing you rice paddies and typical homes along the way. At his village enjoy a fresh coconut drink and meet his family and neighbors. Walk from here to West Baray Lake where you can take a local boat to an island with some picturesque ancient Khmer ruins. Return to shore where your car will be waiting for you. From here head to Pua District and visit the Artisans de Angkor silk farm where many local women are trained in the art of silk weaving.
Visit one of Journeys Within Our Community’s (JWOC’s) free schools to help in an English class. JWOC offers a wide variety of free classes to students who have the desire to learn, but lack the financial means to do so. Our English program for children and adults welcomes the participation of native English speaking volunteers who play an extremely useful role assisting the teachers with speaking activities, providing a model for students who often have limited opportunity to hear and speak English in their everyday lives. No experience is necessary – your ability to speak English is the only qualification you need to help. Please arrive at least 10 minutes before the class starts to meet the teacher and find out what you will be doing.
Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch
Overnight at Journeys Within B&B
15 Nov 09 Saigon - Arrival
Transfer to the airport in time to catch your flight - Vietnam AirliensVN826 departing at 13:40 & arriving at 14:40 .
Arrive in Saigon where you will be met and transferred to your hotel.
Meals included: Breakfast
Overnight at Majestic Saigon Hotel - Colonial Room
16 Nov 09 Saigon - City Tour
Our guides are the experts so we leave you in their hands to decide what you want to see and do today. There are some great markets if you are in the mood to shop or you can visit some of the museums like the History Museum, or some pagodas, like Thien Hau Pagoda and Jade Emperor Pagoda. A more somber attraction is the War Remnants Museum, a very powerful look at the Vietnam War. Chat with your guide and decide what suits you!
Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch
Overnight at Majestic Saigon Hotel - Colonial Room
17 Nov 09 Saigon - Departure
You will be picked up and taken to the airport for your flight - Vietnam AirliensVN851 departing at 11:30 & arriving at 13:00. Arrive in Bangkok where you will be met by your Guide and transferred to your hotel.
Meals included: Breakfast
Overnight at The Heritage Baan Silom - Superior Room
18 Nov 09 Phuket - Arrival
You will be transferred to Bangkok Airport for your flight - Thai Airways TG217 departing at 16:00 & arriving at 17:20. You will be met at Phuket Airport and transferred to your hotel. Once you have checked in relax and enjoy your resort. There are restauraunts in the hotel and in the surrounding area, pools to enjoy and of course the beach!
Meals included: Breakfast
Overnight at The Old Phuket Hotel - Deluxe Room
19 - 21 Nov 09 Phuket - Day at Leisure
Have a free day to explore on your own.
Meals included: Breakfast
Overnight at The Old Phuket Hotel - Deluxe Room
22 Nov 09 Phuket - Departure
Transfer to the airport in time to catch your flight - Thai Airways TG218 departing at 18:25 & arriving at 19:50. Catch your connecting flight - Departing at 00:40.
Meals included: Breakfast
Cambodia | Thailand | Laos | Vietnam | Myanmar
Signature Tours | Mekong Experience | Student Experiences
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