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Enchanting Mekong Tour of Bangkok, Yunnan &
Vientiane, 11 Days / 10 Nights
An intimate itinerary for an enchanting reconnaissance of three neighbouring Mekong River countries.
DAY 1: ARRIVE IN BANGKOK
Arrive in Bangkok airport meet and transfer to hotel for check-in.
Have an orientation walk-about in the vicinity of your hotel which is in the city centre to see for yourself what makes this eclectic city throb with vibrancy of life, traffic, smells of pungent foods and roasting meats and contrast this hurly-burly world with the serenity of its temples where time seems rooted within their walls. Find out what Thai health and foot massage is, drink coffee in a coffee café and watch the human stream flow pass, walk the lively streets to come at close quarters with the Thai living and working in their city environment.
Overnight at Tawana Ramada Hotel (4-star) or hotel of your choice (see list below), Bangkok.
DAY 2: BANGKOK – DAMNERN SADUAK FLOATING MARKET & ROSE GARDEN (B, L)
Buffet breakfast at the hotel. Rise early to take a trip to Bangkok’s largest and most authentic floating market 80km southwest of the city where a flotilla of sampans loaded with local produce glide among boats of shoppers buying their daily sustenance in a large canal that is the marketplace. The sight of so many sampans and rowboats milling around is startlingly picturesque. We will row right up next to these sampans and you can buy a comb of bananas or a papaya or a bowl of hot steaming noodles. Fun. See sugar-palm making in the traditional way in a backyard ‘factory’. And as the sampans and other boats glide away for home, we too leave the floating market to go and see a folk show and an elephant show in the well-landscaped Rose Garden at Samphran. Lunch at the Rose Garden restaurant. It would be about 5.30pm before we arrive back in the comfort of your hotel for a dip in the pool.
In the evening as the hundreds of stalls selling all kinds of Thai and imported products lit up and open for business, stroll in the Patpong night market near your hotel.
Overnight at Tawana Ramada Hotel (4-star) or similar, in Bangkok.
DAY 3: BANGKOK – KUNMING (B, D)
Breakfast at the hotel. Free until time to transfer to the airport for the flight to Kunming, provincial capital of Yunnan in southwestern China. Arrive in Kunming airport, meet and transfer to hotel. Kunming has a freshness of air to delight anyone, and wherever the eye roves there is something natural and wondrous to see in spite of the old buildings with character largely gone to be replaced by concrete blocks; but small enclaves of old Kunming still exist in the interesting alleyways. On the way to our hotel for check in you will see sights of the modernizing city of 3.5 million Yunnanese including Yunnanese Muslims and Buddhists, and ethnic groups found nowhere else in the world. Free to amuse yourself until 6.30pm when we gather for dinner at the New Canton restaurant for your introduction to Yunnanese cuisine.
Overnight at Kai Wah Plaza Hotel (5-star) or hotel of your choice, Kunming.
DAY 4: KUNMING – STONE FOREST (B, L, D)
Breakfast at the hotel. A full-day excursion to the Stone Forest, one of China’s most remarkable natural phenomena, located 98km southeast of Kunming, a short scenic drive of one-and-a-half hours. It consists of 80 hectares of innumerable fanciful-formed limestone cliffs and peaks created by wind and water erosion some 270 million years ago. Marine fossils found here indicate that it was once under the sea. The Stone Forest area (Shilin) is home to the Sani minority group, a branch of the Yi tribe reputed for their diligence, valour, wisdom, exquisite embroidery, melodious songs and graceful dances. They put on nightly performance showing their cultural activities. A stop is made at Bao Shu Tang where you can buy China Famous Herbal Medical products.
Lunch at Ashima Great Hotel. After lunch we enter the Stone Forest National Park for a group photo (if you are in a group) followed by sightseeing. At about 4pm we drive one-and-a-half hours back to Kunming to the Colorful Yunnan restaurant for the Yunnan Cultural show with dinner of Yunnan rice noodle and pot-steamed chicken. The evening ends only after the Luyu Tea performance .
Overnight at Kai Wah Plaza Hotel (5-star) or hotel of your choice, Kunming.
Day 5: KUNMING - LIJIANG (B, L, D)
Morning call at 8am and breakfast before leaving the hotel to go to airport for the flight to Lijiang. Upon arrival in Lijiang, transfer to town and check into hotel before dashing into the old town for lunch followed by sightseeing. This lovely old town is a gem of northwest Yunnan and high in popularity among visitors. It is a world heritage site crisscrossed by canals of rushing waters, quaint bridges and a labyrinth of narrow granite streets. The focal point of interest is the Market Square full of Naxi women in their traditional dress around mid-morning. Old Lijiang town has a majority population of Naxi (descendants of the Tibetan Qiang tribe), traditional houses of wood surrounded by a profusion of flowers and decorative plants, cobbled streets and gushing canals between them and crisscrossing one another, spanned by stone bridges, combined with a gracious people and wonderful scenery to make it a tourist destination not to be missed. In the afternoon, tour the Black Dragon Pool Park and visit the famous Dongba Research Institute to learn something about Naxi shamanism culture and see the real ancient Naxi script. Later in the afternoon, go on a guided tour of UNESCO’s “Ancient City of Lijiang” for about 2 hours and be fascinated by this World Heritage site. In a recent earthquake when the new buildings in Lijiang new town collapsed all those in the old town remained standing. Dinner in a restaurant.
Overnight at Jiannanchun Hotel (4-star) in the old city, or hotel of your choice, Lijiang.
Day 6: LIJIANG (B, L, D)
Breakfast at the hotel. At 9am we depart from our hotel to drive one-hour to Yulong Snow Mountain National Park. A two-way cable car goes to Love-Suicide Hill (where horses can be hired to ride up to Dragon Spruce Meadow, but we won’t go there). We change cable car at Glacier Park to go farther up the mountain range – the highest chair lift in Asia. The views of glaciers at such close quarters are mesmerizing. Snowy peaks glitter in the sun before our eyes. A ski-resort is in the making here. At White-water River we will stop for 30 minutes to take in the scene before going to lunch at the Snow Mountain Villa. At 1.30pm we proceed to Jade-Peak Lhama Monastery for an encounter with Tibetan monks and talk to them through your guide or if you speak Tibetan or Chinese then directly. At Baisha village we make a photo-stop. Naxi dinner with Chinese classical music show will keep us entertained at Huangshan village. For those people who have not have enough of music and shows they can pay USD15 to see the Splendid Lijiang Show at Li-shui-jin-sha. The others are free to walk in the UNESCO-adopted “Ancient City” - a better proposition. At 10pm we all return to our hotel.
Overnight at Jiannanchun Hotel or hotel of your choice, Lijiang.
Day 7: LIJIANG – SHANGRILA (B, L, D)
Breakfast at the hotel. Morning departure by road through fantastic scenery to Zhongdian, recently renamed “Shangrila”. After an hour’s drive we arrive at the small town of Shigu at the first bend of the Yangtze River. Here we will stop for half-an-hour to admire the beauty of the river-and-rapids and ponder on the great significance of this little place. If not for a hill of rocks (Cloud Hill) blocking the southward flowing Yangtze River thereby diverting it north and eastwards, the Yangtze would not be flowing through the heartland of China - with disastrous consequences to Chinese civilization. Proceed to Stone-Drum village to see how the rural Yunnanese live. Tour the awesome Tiger Leaping Gorge, a deep-sided ravine twisting with the furious rush of frothing water to form a spectacular scene of sheer beauty and power. A two-hour drive takes us to Shangrila, the fabled land that captured the imagination of millions who read and heard about the book “Lost Horizon” written by James Hilton in 1933. Tonight’s dinner will be at our hotel or in a restaurant in Shangrila. Be entertained tonight by participating in a visit to a Tibetan family and enjoy its cultural activities. Return to your hotel filled with wonderment at this Tibetan “hada”.
Overnight at Gyalthang Dzong (5-star) in the countryside or hotel of your choice, Shangrila.
Day 8: SHANGRILA (B, L, D)
Morning call at 8am and followed by breakfast at the hotel. The fabled “Shangri La” of James Hilton’s 1933 novel, “Lost Horizon”, waits to be discovered. The name “Shangri La” crops up everywhere to the confusion of travellers. Deqin county is called “Shangri La”; so also is the town of Zhongdian renamed “Shangri La”. Restaurants and even grocery stores latch on to the name Shangrila. Like the name “Angkor” in Siem Reap (Cambodia) the eye-catching and mind-boggling name appears everywhere. So also is the great scenery everywhere in Zhongdian Shangri La. Sightseeing of the Ganden Songzanlin Monastery where the frescoes completed in the 15th century depicting Taoist, Chinese and Tibetan Buddhist themes are reputedly of the highest order. See Napahai Lake beautiful only in summer; at other times it is a marsh for flocks of birds. We will visit a local market and a Tibetan Buddhism Book pavilion. Lunch in a local restaurant and free until time to transfer to the airport for the flight to Kunming. Upon arrival in Kunming, meet and transfer to tour the Western Hills on the western side of Lake Dian for sightseeing. We go up to the mountain top by cable car and see the Dragon Gate grottoes, sculptures and pavilions gouged into the cliff-face by a Taoist monk in the late eighteenth century and have a bird’s eye view of Lake Dian. Visit the Taoist Sanqing Temple (actually a group of temples, shrines and pavilions which was a country villa of a Yuan prince) before taking the mini-train back to our waiting coach. On the way to the airport, we stop at Huating Temple for a 30-minute visit. It was the most important temple of the ancient Nanzhou kingdom displaying fine statues, stupas and superbly designed gardens. Then have a leisurely lunch of pot-steamed chicken and Yunnan wild mushroom.
Free afternoon for self-exploratory of Kunming, go shopping, experience a mineral bath, or a Chinese massage.
Overnight at Kai Wah Plaza Hotel or hotel of your choice, Kunming.
Day 9: KUNMING – VIENTIANE (B, L, D)
Breakfast at the hotel before proceeding to the airport for the flight to Vientiane, the capital of Laos, by QV827 (only Wednesdays & Sundays), dep.1045/arr.1155. Upon arrival at Wattay airport, meet and transfer to lunch at Hung Hsing restaurant before check-in at your pre-booked hotel in the city centre. Sightseeing of Vientiane will include Wat Sisaket (built by Prince Anou in 18181 of Thai design that was not destroyed by the Thai invaders of the early Bangkok period), Haw Pha Kaew (a former royal temple built in 1565 to house the Emerald Buddha that is now in Bangkok since 1779), That Luang (the holiest of Lao temples that annually holds a huge religious fair that attracts devotees from all over Laos), and Patuxai (Laos' own Arc de Triomphe). Dinner at Kua Lao restaurant of good Lao food.
Overnight at Lao Plaza Hotel (4-star) or hotel of your choice, Vientiane.
Day 10: VIENTIANE (B, L)
Breakfast at the hotel. Morning tour of the the outskirt of the city to see rural Laos villages and see how the villagers live. On the way out, drop in at Wat Ong Teu Mahawihan in Thanon Setthathilat, one of the most important temples in Laos originally built by King Setthathirat in the mid-16th century, was destroyed by the Siamese, and rebuilt in the 19th century. The wooden façade of the sim is a masterpiece of Lao carving. There are three other temples along this road but are of no particular interest except for Wat Mixai with its Bangkok-style sim and giant demons guarding its massive gates and sharing the compound with a school of smiling Lao children upon seeing visitors. We then drive 20km to the Lao-Thai border to visit Buddha Park (Xieng Khuan) stopping at a couple of villages along the way. On the opposite bank of the Mekong River at this border is Nong Khai (Thailand). This park was built in 1958 by Luang Pu Bunleua Sulilat, a yogi-monk-shaman who merged Hindu and Buddhist beliefs and mythology, depicting this mish-mash in strange-looking statues of the Buddha, Vishnu, Shiva and other deities. A pumpkin structure represents the three layers of earth, heaven and hell. This yogi-monk now resides at Wat Khaek in Nong Khai after he fled to Thailand following the 1975 communist take-over of Laos. Lunch in a restaurant before returning to Vientiane. You are free for the rest of the afternoon to engage in more sightseeing or better still indulge in a typical Lao herbal steam bath (US$1) and good Lao massage (US$2) at Wat Sok Pa Luang located in the road by the same name. Or for those who want to meet Lao students they would want to visit Dong Dok University about 9km north of the city where students at the Foreign Language Institute there are delighted to talk to foreigners in English, French, Japanese and Vietnamese.
Overnight at Lao Plaza Hotel or hotel of your choice, Vientiane.
Day 11: VIENTIANE - DEPARTURE (B)
Breakfast at the hotel. Transfer to the airport
for your departure flight.
End of Enchanting Mekong Tour
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Tour cost in Japanese Yen per person |
Enchanting Tour of Bangkok, Yunnan & Vientiane, 11 Days. |
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No. of Pax |
Superior (3*) |
First Class (4*) |
Deluxe (5*) |
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2 pax |
124,000 |
139,000 |
154,000 |
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3 - 5 pax |
123,000 |
138,000 |
151,000 |
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6 - 9 pax |
122,000 |
134,000 |
148,000 |
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10 - 14 pax |
119,000 |
131,000 |
144,000 |
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15 - 19 pax |
117,000 |
129,000 |
142,000 |
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20 pax & up |
115,000 |
127,000 |
141,000 |
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Single room
sup. |
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35,000 |
53,000 |
77,000 |
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Full board
suppl. |
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7,000 |
7,000 |
7,000 |
INCLUSIONS:
- Domestic airfares Kunming-Lijiang, Shangrila-Kunming.
- 11 nights’ hotel accommodation with daily breakfast.
- 7 dinners and 8 lunches.
- All transfers and transportation in air-conditioned car/van/coach.
- Tours as stated in the program.
- All entrance fees when on tours, tolls and parking charges.
- Boat fares in Bangkok.
- Cable car and train fares in Yunnan.
- English speaking guide services.
EXCLUSIONS:
- Regional airfares and their airport taxes: BKK-Kunming, KMG-Vientiane, and departure flight from Vientiane.
- Visa fees of China obtain at embassy & Laos (US$30) visa-on-arrival.
- Drinks at meals other than what is served at table.
- Expenses of a personal nature like massage, use of hotel mini bar, laundry, phone calls, room service and the like.
HOTELS:
SUPERIOR (3-Star).
IN BANGKOK: New World Lodge, Mandarin Hotel.
IN KUNMING: Green Lake View Hotel, Jinshen, Cassia Plaza Hotel.
IN LIJIANG: Guyunshan, Longyaoxiang Hotel.
IN SHANGRILA: Shiner, Xinhua Hotel.
IN VIENTIANE: Royal Dokmaideng, Novotel.
FIRST CLASS (4-Star).
IN BANGKOK: Tawana Ramada, Montien, Silom Serene.
IN KUNMING: Sakura Hotel, Huazhou, New Era Hotel.
IN LIJIANG: Jiannanchun, Heyu, Sightseeing Hotel.
IN SHANGRILA: Longfengxiang, Sightseeing Hotel.
IN VIENTIANE: Tai-Pan, Lao Plaza, Park View.
DELUXE (5-Star).
IN BANGKOK: Royal Orchid Sheraton, Sofitel Silom.
IN KUNMING: Kai Wah Plaza, Bank Hotel.
IN LIJIANG: Guanfang Resort.
IN SHANGRILA: Tianjieshenchuan (in town), Gyalthang Dzong Hotel (in countryside).
IN VIENTIANE: Settha Palace.
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