Thailand & Cambodia Discovery – 14 days

Enter Angkor Thom through its South Gate, lined with stone gods and demons and crowned with giant carved faces. At its heart stands the Bayon, where serene smiling faces gaze out from every tower. Walk on through the Royal Enclosure to the temple-mountain of Phimeanakas, then along the Elephant Terrace and the Terrace of the Leper King, carved with elephants, warriors and dancing figures.

After lunch, visit Angkor Wat, the largest and most complete of all the temples. Built in the 12th century and covering about 210 hectares, it is a masterpiece of galleries and columns, libraries, pavilions and courtyards, its towers reflected in the ponds before the main gate.

Enjoy a welcome dinner at a local restaurant with a performance of Apsara dance, the graceful classical dance of the Khmer court, whose poses you will have seen carved into the temple walls.

Rise before dawn to watch the sun come up over Angkor Wat, its towers mirrored in the still water, then return to your hotel for breakfast.

Head out of town on a quiet country road, stopping at the village of Pradak to see rural life along the way. Visit Banteay Samre, whose reliefs depict the legends of Vishnu and Krishna, then continue to Banteay Srei, a small, well-preserved temple of pink sandstone, famous for some of the finest carving in all of Angkor.

After lunch, explore Ta Prohm, where Lara Croft: Tomb Raider was filmed. Enormous fig trees and creepers grip the stone walls, giving the feeling of a temple slowly being reclaimed by the forest.

Drive about 18 kilometres to the Tonle Sap for a private boat trip with your guide. The lake swells and shrinks with the seasons and flows into the Tonle Sap River, which joins the Mekong at Phnom Penh. Glide through a fishing village where homes, schools and even a police station float on the water, the whole village moving from place to place as the water level changes.

Transfer to the airport for your flight to Bangkok, where your guide meets you and takes you to your hotel.

The rest of the evening is yours to relax.

Take to the water on a boat along the Chao Phraya River and into the quieter canals, where families still live in wooden houses much as they did generations ago. Stop at Wat Arun, the Temple of Dawn, and climb its steep steps for a view across the river to the Grand Palace. Cross to the busy Wat Pho, home to the 45-metre Reclining Buddha, and make an offering for a wish to come true.

After lunch, visit the Grand Palace, Thailand’s most important landmark, with its golden spires and grand throne halls. Then wander through the flower market, a sea of orchids and marigolds where local people buy blooms for their family altars, and lose yourself in the lanes of Chinatown, full of colour, aromas, traditional shops and Chinese temples.

Return to your hotel for an evening at leisure.

Travel by boat along narrow canals to the floating market of Damnoen Saduak, where vendors in wide straw hats sell noodle soup, pomelo, rambutan and other colourful fruit from their little wooden boats. Step behind the souvenir stalls to find old wooden houses and bridges still lining the waterways.

After lunch, continue to Ayutthaya, the capital of Siam for four centuries and now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Wat Chaiwatthanaram, built in the style of the temples at Angkor, is especially beautiful. As you walk, your guide brings the ruins back to life and tells of the day the Burmese army sacked the city and carried away the gold that once covered its temples.

Browse the night market in Ayutthaya.

Visit Bang Pa-In, a summer retreat of the Thai kings, where an eclectic collection of royal residences in Thai, Chinese and European styles stands in manicured gardens on the bank of the Chao Phraya River.

Fly to Chiang Mai, where your guide meets you and takes you to your hotel. The rest of the day is yours at leisure.

Transfer to Patara Elephant Farm for its Elephant Owner for a Day programme. Learn how to approach your elephant, read its mood, feed it and check its health, then bathe and brush it in the river. With your mahout beside you, learn the spoken commands and ride bareback on its neck to the forest, a waterfall or a local temple.

Return to your hotel to refresh.

Your guide collects you for a monk chat at one of the city’s temples. Take off your shoes, sit down with a resident monk in orange robes and ask anything you like about Buddhism, daily life in the monastery or whatever is on your mind, with your guide on hand to translate if needed. Afterwards, explore the Ton Payom market and taste your way through the local food.

Drive up the winding road to Doi Suthep, more than 1,000 metres above sea level, and climb the 306 steps to the temple gate, guarded by two great naga serpents. Walk among the golden pillars, giant gongs and rows of bells around the gleaming golden chedi, with the city spread out far below.

Back in the city, visit Wat Chedi Luang, whose great chedi, the largest in Chiang Mai, dates from around 1401, and Wat Chiang Man, the oldest temple within the city walls, built by King Mengrai, the founder of Chiang Mai. Drive past the moat and the old city gates, then wander through Warorot Market, bursting with tropical fruit, local delicacies, flowers and clothes.

Transfer to Chiang Mai Airport for your flight to Krabi, where your driver meets you and takes you to your hotel.

Transfer to the pier and take the ferry to Tonsai Pier on Phi Phi Don, then continue by long-tail boat to your hotel.

The rest of the day is yours on the beach.

Spend the day as you like: swim and snorkel in the warm, clear water, stretch out on the sand or simply relax at your resort.

Let the day unfold at its own pace, then watch the sun go down over the Andaman Sea.

Take a long-tail boat to Tonsai Pier and the ferry back to Krabi, where your driver takes you to the airport for your flight to Bangkok.

Transfer to your hotel and enjoy the rest of the day at leisure.

Enjoy a last breakfast and some time at leisure.

At the agreed time, your driver takes you to the airport for your flight home.