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One-Day Trips:

· Bangkok – palaces and temples
(Itinerary D1.6)

Two “must-see” sights of Bangkok take up the morning. After an “away from tourists” lunch of authentic Thai food with a river setting, the afternoon includes a visit to a slum community craft project followed by a more leisurely sojourn in a charming old wooden palace. Suitable for first-time visitors to Thailand, you will be shown around by a knowledgeable and entertaining Thai guide.

· Ayutthaya – ancient and modern
(Itinerary D2.4)

Venturing out of the city for a day, we get to meet Thai people in their homes and communities and watch them working at their crafts, perhaps even having a try ourselves. These artisans provide a human link to a glorious past amply evidenced from the ancient ruins, now preserved, of Ayutthaya as the Siamese royal capital. 

· Thai Life outside the City: markets, religion and cultural diversity.
(Itinerary D3.1)

To see all aspects of Thai life in one day is clearly impossible but this tour at least gives us a glimpse and broadens our understanding of an age-old civilization based on rural traditions. Modernization threatens to overrun the old ways but, if you look behind today’s facade, the beauty of the past is hidden not so far away. We visit a floating market, a boat trip, Thai houses, a palace, some temples, ceramic painting and an ethnic minority village with weavers and basket makers.

Half-Day Trips:

For those who have little time to spare for sightseeing yet wish to get at least a flavour of Bangkok in half a day, these tours are for you - Our aim is to give you a taste that will make you want to return to see more of Thailand in the future! These tours present a wonderful introduction to the real Bangkok, that is not really a city of motorcar traffic but of delightful waterways - freeways stretching back into history.

All the following tours start at a downstream river pier from where our boat takes you up-stream along the Chao Phraya past old and new buildings. Grand views of Bangkok landmarks, Wat Arun and the Royal Palace complex are the highlights. From there on, each tour does something different:

· Old Bangkok:  The River of Kings and the Khlongs of the People - A
(Itinerary Code: D1.32)

Our boat takes you down the Bangkok Noi canal where we visit the royal processional barges and observe canal-side life. On the way back we visit Wat Arun and, if time, the fresh flower market.

· Old Bangkok:  The River of Kings and the Khlongs of the People - B
(Itinerary Code: D1.33)

We visit Wat Arun before traveling down Bangkok Yai and Khlong Dan Canals, where we enjoy the peaceful way of life of old Bangkok, visit one or two temples and, if time, the fresh flower market.

· Old Bangkok:  The River of Kings and a Relieving Thai Massage!
(Itinerary Code: D1.34)

The famous temple of the people, Wat Pho, is our destination where we pay respects to the huge reclining Buddha image and relieve our muscle pains by experiencing a traditional Thai massage.

· Bangkok:  Its History and Culture, Yesterday and Today
(Itinerary Code: D1.35)

We learn about Thailand’s culture and history at the national museum followed by a tram ride around the historic area, built over 200 years ago as a replica of the former capital in Ayutthaya.

· Old Bangkok:  Grand Palace and Rattanakosin Island
(Itinerary Code: D1.36)

A knowledgable guide takes us into the Grand Palace followed by a tram ride around the historic area, built over 200 years ago as a replica of the former capital in Ayutthaya, 80 kms to the north.

·  Isarn – a Blend of Cultures
(Itinerary M1.2)
(3 Days & 3 Nights)

The Northeast of Thailand (Isarn) is not often visited by tourists yet, by way of interest and culture, it offers just as much or even more than other parts of this kingdom. Its rural village communities of different ethnic origins have blended to create a distinct “Isarn” culture of its own which, mainly because of migration, has influenced Thai life nationwide. This fascinating, unhurried tour, befitting Isarn’s easy pace of life, visits the southern part of this region where ancient Khmer culture is still visible, both in edifices of the past and in the traditions and crafts of the people themselves.

· Isarn – Ancient heritage crafts modern employment
(Itinerary M1.4)
(3 Days & 3 Nights)

Though a largely flat landscape, Thailand’s Northeast Region, known locally as “Isarn”, has its own beauty and is full of cultural and historical interest. In the way of crafts, there are many complex fabric weaving processes to be discovered, some using natural dye techniques, and more. The comfortable overnight sleeper train takes us to the busy centre of Khon Kean where we meet a women’s group enterprise focused on traditional weaving in 5 communities. They show us their city store and take us to see different natural dye and handloom techniques for cotton and silk in some of the villages. The following day takes us to basket weavers as well as a visit to Ban Chiang, a UNESCO world heritage site, displaying earthen-ware pots that are 4,000 to 7,500 years old. The final day is spent in the attractive town of Nong Khai, on the banks of the Mekhong River, where we visit Catholic sisters whose job creation programme for young women is an inspiration. We visit some old temples and capture the ambiance of the old town before taking the night sleeper back to Bangkok.

· “Nan” - A Cultural Shopping Experience
(Itinerary M2.1)
(4 Days & 3 Nights)

Come with us to the North of Thailand, where we will visit an area not frequented much by travellers. Here in Nan, you can gain a flavour of the past, as traditions are still strong.  Ethnic minorities dominate the craft scene both in the lowlands and in the highlands where colourful embroidery and appliqué of the Hmong and Mien women are as skilfully worked as they are varied in design. After one night in a national park resthouse high in the hills, we visit villages nestled in mountain valleys, where basket makers will show us the versatility of bamboo and we will see a very different style of silver jewellery being crafted – which, as part of their tribal costumes, has important symbolic purpose for ethnic identity.

· Northern Heritage – crafts, religion and elephant conservation   (Itinerary M2.3)
(3 Days & 2 Nights)

While Chiang Mai and much of the North is, quite justifiably, a tourist trap, it is still possible to savour much of its heritage without necessarily visiting those places described in every published guidebook. This tour takes you to villages tourists seldom reach, visits interesting and beautiful Buddhist temples that are less well-known and spends time at an elephant camp that is primarily a preservation project rather than a tourist attraction – though that doesn’t prevent these amazing animals putting on quite a show!

· Chiang Mai – Weaving Through The Valleys of The North
(Itinerary M 2.5)
(4 Days & 4 Nights)  

Chiang Mai is more than just a city. It is Thailand’s second largest province, with a wide variety of landscapes from high mountains to wide valleys, and is home to people of many cultures, including several ethnic minorities, known locally as hilltribes. This tour offers an overview of this beautiful and interesting province, and we meet artisans of different hand-weaving and embroidery styles in their villages, and later visit one of the foremost textile experts in the country. If weaving is your hobby, there’s the opportunity to obtain useful materials but the interested observer will also find the different techniques and styles fascinating to study. But it’s not all weaving. Many “must see” sites and “must do” activities of this former centre of the ancient Lanna culture are not missed out.

· Chiang Rai – a Golden Triangle of Culture, Art and Religion
(Itinerary M 2.6)
(4 Days/3 Nights)

If less well-known and prestigious than Chiang Mai, the province of Chiang Rai, northern-most in Thailand, is no less attractive in terms of beauty and charm, boasting a wide variety of art and culture among both its lowland and upland peoples. This tour will remind us (in our visit to a spectacular museum) but does not dwell on the opium reputation of the so-called Golden Triangle (where Thailand, Burma and Laos meet). Instead, we turn to what has replaced it and how art and craft play an important part in today’s way of life. Religion also has a significant role and we visit a new Buddhist temple that complements the old. We see lowlanders making paper and pottery, recently influence by other cultures. We visit hilltribes who adapt their traditional craft to satisfy the tastes of modern markets and migrants from the northeast who maintain their original skills in silk production. Finally, we can applaud the future prospects of highland communities weaned off opium-growing and now practicing new high-value skills with the help of a Royal sponsored project.

· The Andaman Sea – Nature’s beauty and Nature’s wrath
(Itinerary M3.1)
(4 Days & 3 Nights)

Southern Thailand’s largest island, Phuket, and the Western mainland coast exposed to the Andaman Sea has become a world-famous holiday destination for millions of visitors each year. But can the fragile environment withstand this human onslaught? Nature demonstrated its ultimate fury in the devastating tsunami in 2004 and the slow process of recovery and reconciliation with the elements will continue for a long while yet. On this unusual tour in a popular tourist area, we get up close to the wonders of nature’s awesome beauty by canoe and then meet with some of the survivors in communities which bore the brunt and lost the most from nature’s unstoppable brutality.

· Thailand’s Alternative South - away from the tourist traps
(Itinerary M 3.2)
(5 Days/5 Nights)

While millions of tourist flock to the holiday beach resorts on both coasts of Thailand’s southern peninsula each year, hardly any of them get to see the real southern way of life, meet the genuine local people or experience the wild beauty of the tropical-forested mountains that make up the interior. On this tour, we do all this. We visit the craftspeople who make and perform traditional shadow puppets, weave baskets from rushes, mould clay into traditional container shapes, tie-dye using plants and weave cotton the southern Thai way. On the way, we visit ancient temples, peruse past art and craft at museums, spend one day and one night with a high mountain valley community, and end up on the west coast, in a fishing village community who will take us on a boat trip to a nearby islet to learn more about the fragile ecology of this beautiful coastline.