SECRETS OF THE THAI COUNTRYSIDE  6 DAYS / 5 NIGHTS : Depart from Bangkok every MONDAY
Day 1 Monday Bangkok/Samut Songkram (L)
Morning departure from your Bangkok hotel westwards to Samut Songkram by comfortable air-conditioned microbus with a knowledgeable English-speaking guide. On the way, see a salt flat, and a lovely temple where the interior and exterior of the main shrine hall are exquisitely inlaid with mother-of pearl. Visit a palm sugar factory, and taste the rich sweetness of their natural products. Admire a teakwood pavilion with rich gold leaf murals, and as you journey leisurely through the countryside, marvel at the miles of fertile orchards that supply fresh market produce year-round.
Visit the Bencharong (five-colour pottery) factory, which was chosen to craft the magnificent dinner sets presented to the statesmen and delegates of the 2003 APEC Meeting in Bangkok. Taste 'bamboo sticky rice' and see how it is made.
Thai lunch (included) will be provided at a local restaurant by the river.
At the end of an interesting day, check in for 2 nights at a comfortable air-conditioned hotel with ample time to swim or relax by the hotel pool.
Evening at leisure in the hotel, where you may eat dinner, or ask your guide to recommend a good local restaurant. If you still have energy, a pleasant after-dinner alternative (optional) is to ask your guide to hire a boat, and watch the fireflies glowing in the darkness as you drift along the small canals.
Day 2 Tuesday Samut Songkram (B, L)
An early start before breakfast to offer food to the Buddhist monks, who arrive in tiny boats. This is an experience not often seen by tourists, and a very nice photographic opportunity.
After American breakfast at the hotel, visit the largest rural floating market at Damnernsaduak, then proceed to see the impressive shrine hall of a Buddhist temple, whose walls and ceiling are decorated with huge woodcarvings.
Visit a beautiful Catholic church on the river, and watch pious local people making merit by feeding hundreds of protected fish living in a canal. Stop at King Rama II Memorial Park (Uthayan Ror II) and admire exhibits reflecting the early Rattanakosin Period, including four splendid Thai style houses, numerous art objects, and a lovely botanical garden.
Lunch (included) will be provided. Return to the hotel and spend the evening at leisure, perhaps making a trip to the colourful local market, famous for its delicious Thai desserts made from region's fertile coconut palms.
Day 3 Samut Songkram/Supanburi (B, L)
After a healthy breakfast at the hotel, travel to Suphanburi, one of Thailand's best developed towns, with impressive government buildings, and roads decorated with flowers, plants and neatly trimmed grass.
Visit the beautifully landscaped municipal park and enjoy a scenic view from the top of Thailand's first tower, which rises over 123 meters above the city, before proceeding to the famous Aquatic Centre of Bung Chawak Chalerm Phra Kiet, where there is a large 400 cubic meter circular aquarium, the first of its kind in Thailand. Here, visitors thrill to the sight of numerous sea creatures and freshwater fish swimming close to their faces. Lunch (included) will be provided a hotel in town.
At the end of another enjoyable day, check in for 2 nights at a comfortable air-conditioned Thai style house with a swimming pool and private facilities. Your guide will suggest a good restaurant for dinner this evening, and after enjoying your meal, a trip to the local night market makes a pleasant prelude to bed time.
Day 4 Supanburi (B, L)
After breakfast at the hotel, time to relax, and explore the resort’s beautiful garden before visiting a typical farmers' market, orchards and paddy fields, then a quaint old temple by a river, where thousands of fish live in a protected environment. Next, board a comfortable boat for a leisurely countryside cruise, passing many lovely old Thai houses, and enjoying charming vignettes of Thai rural life. Savour a tasty Thai lunch (included) at a typical Thai house, and afterwards see how buffaloes are trained to work on the farm.
Afternoon and evening at leisure to enjoy the pool and gardens, or explore on your own.
Day 5 Supanburi/Ayutthaya (B, L)
After breakfast at the resort, visit the most venerated old Buddhist temple of Supanburi before travelling on to Ayutthaya, Thailand's former capital between 1350 to 1767AD, and now a World Heritage Site. Visit the Elephant Kraal, an enclosure made of teak logs, once used to capture wild elephants, then to the ruins of Phra Maha That temple, and a chance to take an optional short elephant ride to Wat Phra Si Sanphet, the impressive major temple in the old Royal Palace compound.
Lunch at a restaurant by the river.
After lunch, check in at a comfortable hotel in Ayutthaya, and spend the afternoon at leisure.
In the evening, take a tour of the ancient city to see some illuminated monuments by night, and visit the magnificent Wat Chaiwatthanaram temple before returning to the hotel for overnight. Dinner is own expense. .
Day 6 Ayutthaya (B, L)
Leisurely breakfast at the hotel, before travelling to the lovely Summer Palace of Bang Pa-In, then board an air-conditioned river cruise boat for a slow, scenic return to Bangkok on the River of Kings. Lunch (included) will be served on board, and you arrive in Bangkok as the sun is beginning to set, a perfect end to a memorable tour. Transfer to your hotel.
Included:
-5 nights in air-conditioned room with private bathroom.
-Meals as specified in the programme.
-Transportation, and the services of an English-speaking guide throughout.
-Entrance fees, where applicable, to places included on the itinerary
Not included:
-Items and extras of a personal nature, such as drinks, laundry, telephone, etc.
-Optional tours
-Gratuities
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