Golf Tour in Chiang Mai - Chiang Rai, 7 Days/6 Nights

Day 1:  CHIANG MAI - TOUR (D)

Meet at Chiang Mai Airport (flight ticket BKK-CNX included), transfer to hotel for check-in. Orientation tour of Chiang Mai city taking in some important sights like the old city moat, Wat Phra Singh, Wat Chedi Luang and engage in a “Monk Chat” if you wish to know about how a Buddhist monk live and about the basic tenets of Buddhism. This city was the last of the three Lanna Thai cities built by King Mengrai of Chiang Saen in the late 13th century.

At 7pm pick up at hotel lobby for Khantoke dinner with northern Thai cultural show. You sit around the "khantoke" which is a small round table and partake of the dishes set on it. Meanwhile a dance performance goes on to entertain visitors. This is the tradition of hospitality among northern Thais. Dishes on the “khantoke” are replenished whenever the food is consumed, reflecting Thai hospitality.

Free to stroll in the very interesting Night Bazaar (closes at midnight) which has a range of handicrafts displayed in the stalls and in the buildings along this stretch of Changklan Road. There are coffee cafes, ice-cream parlours and money-exchange.

Overnight at Rydges Hotel or Tamarind Village, Chiang Mai.

Day 2:  CHIANG MAI – GOLFING AT CHIANGMAI-LAMPHUN (B)

Buffet breakfast at the hotel. Pick up at hotel lobby at 8am for a morning of golfing at Chiangmai-Lamphun Golf Club. Then transfer back to hotel and be at leisure.

(The Chiangmai-Lamphun Golf course lies in a natural valley surrounded by beautiful rolling hills. Thousands of mature native trees, together with well-designed traditional-style buildings give the golf course its unique, distinctly northern character. Its contoured terrain, interspersed with creeks and water hazards, offers a challenge to golfers of all handicaps. The clever use of bunkering and strategic placement of water hazards make it a necessity to be accurate if a good score is to be achieved. This is exemplified at signature hole number nine, where the tee shot needs to be 'placed' between water hazards on both sides of the fairway, followed by a long carryover the big pond to a sloping green. Designer Dr Sukhum Sukapanpotharam. Opened in December 1990. 18 holes, par 72. 

Total Yardage: 6,808).

Overnight at Rydges Hotel or Tamarind Village, Chiang Mai.

Day 3:  CHIANG MAI - GOLFING AT ROYAL CHIANGMAI (B)

Buffet breakfast at the hotel. Pick up at hotel lobby at 8am for a round of morning golf at the Royal Chiangmai Golf Resort, then transfer back to hotel and be at leisure.

(Designed by five-time British Open champion, Peter Thomson, the course is set in a beautiful valley and the scenery is magnificent. Waterfalls, trails, streams and all kinds of trees are surrounded by mountains. Strategic positioning of fairway and greenside bunkers calls for accurate play, rather than long hitting. However, on some holes, distances to the greens are deceptive and there is a tendency to under-club. There is not a poor hole on the golf course. At the finish of the round there is a beautiful view towards the clubhouse. Designed by Peter Thomson. Opened in February 1996. 18 holes par 72. Total yardage: 6,969).

Overnight at Rydges Hotel or Tamarind Village, Chiang Mai.

Day 4:  CHIANG RAI - TOUR (B,L)

Buffet breakfast at the hotel.

Morning departure to Chiang Rai province, inclusive of buffet lunch. We visit a hot spring along the way where people can take a sulfurous bath and boil eggs in the hot bubbling water, take in a couple of hill tribe villages, explore ancient Chiang Saen, drive along the Mekong River to the infamous Golden Triangle and onwards to Mae Sai on the Thai-Burmese border.

(Crossing into Burmese Tachileik by the connecting bridge from

Mae Sai costs a total of USD10 as immigration and other fees paid at the

check point. It is a poor Burmese town overflowing with goods from China and Thailand. “Duty-free” cigarettes and liquor of dubious quality are hawked by pestering vendors along the streets.) Arrive in Chiang Rai city in the late afternoon.

Overnight at Legend Hotel, Chiang Rai.

Day 5:  CHIANG RAI - GOLFING AT SANTIBURI (B)

Buffet breakfast at the hotel. Pick up at hotel lobby at 8am for a morning golfing at the Santiburi golf course. After golfing, transfer back to hotel at Waterford Valley in Wiangchai district and be at leisure.

(Designed by Robert Trent Jones II, this course features a wide range of sloping lies and natural hazards. Surrounded by distant hills, the golf course and housing development is set on low hilly land. At holes 2, 3, & 4 players have to play alongside a huge lake. Most greens are well protected by bunkers and there are several very good dog-leg holes, particularly the par-5 eighteenth, where players have to negotiate water on the left side from the tee shot and again on the right side of the fairway on the approach shot to the green. Designer Robert Trent Jones

II. Opened in October 1992. 18 holes with par 72. Total yardage: 6,966.)

Overnight at Waterford Valley hotel, Wiangchai, Chiang Rai.

Day 6:  CHIANG RAI - GOLFING AT WATERFORD VALLEY (B)

Buffet breakfast at the hotel. Pick up at hotel lobby at 8am for morning golf at Waterford Valley Chiangrai set in lush green surrounding hills and beautiful 18 holes. Then be at own leisure.

(This lovely course is situated in one of the loveliest areas of Thailand. The course playing from the back tees is just short of 7,000 yards. Altogether, there are five sets of tees at this 18-hole layout and players can be forgiven if they are distracted by the background of mountain scenery. There are eight OB holes, numerous water hazards and lovely flowers adorning the surrounds. The service in the clubhouse is very friendly and the complex has its own hotel fringing the golf course. From November through March the cool weather is ideal for golf and family enjoyment. Designed by Rathert International Golf Design Inc. 18 holes with par 72. Total yardage Blue 6,847, Yellow 6,352, White 6,023 and Red 5,218).

Tee off Time: 8.30am. (Just walk to the golf course to register for play.)

Overnight at Waterford Valley hotel, Wiangchai, Chiang Rai.

Day 7: CHIANG RAI - DEPARTURE (B)

Buffet breakfast at the hotel.

Free until time to transfer to Chiang Rai Airport for departure flight.

  (End of program)

Package Price Per Person in JPY (inclusive of domestic airfares & airport taxes)

Above package costs INCLUDES:

· 6 nights 4-star hotel accommodation with daily breakfast.

· Domestic airfares BKK-Chiang Mai // Chiang Rai-BKK on the lowest fare available and domestic airport taxes.

· 4 times golfing inclusive of green fees and caddy fees. (No golf-cart.)

· Tours as stated in the programme (not the optional Non-Golfers’ tours).

· Khantoke dinner with northern Thai and hill tribe cultural shows.

· All transfers airport-hotel and hotel-golf courses.

· Services of English speaking guide.

SURCHAGES:

For WEEKEND and Public Holiday play, please add: JPY 6,000 to the above

Golfer rates.

For HOTEL surcharges, please add: JPY 7,000 for the HIGH SEASON from

November to April to the Golfer and Non-Golfer rates.

OPTIONAL TOURS FOR NON-GOLFERS:

1) On DAY 2: Non-golfers go on an excursion up Doi Suthep to the mountain monastery to visit the fabled temple with its golden chedi sitting in the centre of the viharn. On a clear day the views of Chiang Mai city spread out below is charming. There is a small museum housing votive tablets, amulets and Buddha statues of various sizes in Lanna style. Be sure to ring all the bronze bells surrounding the main chapel for good luck. (US$15).

2) On DAY 3: Non-golfers go on a trip to see traditional handicraft making in Sankamphaeng or Ban Tawai. Age-old methods of teakwood carving, celadon and ceramic pottery, lacquer ware, silk-weaving and paper umbrella making are done daily as cottage industries outside the city. Or, attend a Thai cooking course at the Chiang Mai Thai Cookery School in Moon Muang Road from 10am to 4pm. A full-colour cookery book containing recipes taught at this cooking school is included for you. (US$30).

3) On DAY 5: Non-golfers take a trip to Phayao, an hour’s drive south of Chiang

Rai to tour this little visited new province. Its large natural lagoon (Kwan Phayao) is not only scenic but also a breeding area for freshwater fish. On its bank is located Wat Si Khom Kham whose main Buddha image has a lap width of 14 metres and a height of 17 metres. Located in the monastery compound is Ho Thai Nithat, a building housing antiques and exhibitions on literature and representations of Phayao’s lifestyle. Ascend a small hill to Chom Thong monastery where there is a small community of monks. The views of Phayao from here is very pleasant. Visit also Wat Analayo on Doi Busarakham where there is a big temple with a large, beautiful Sukhothai-style Buddha image and an excellent view of Kwan Phayao from the top. Or, take another Thai cooking lesson at The Hot Wok cooking school in Chiang Rai to learn how to cook northern Thai cuisine using local herbs and ingredients. (US$40).

4) On DAY 6: Non-golfers go on a trip up Doi Mae Salong to the former

Kuomintang refugee settlement which is now famous for its expensive Oolong tea, fruits and other products. For decades this Chinese enclave was the hub of the opium trade since the 1950s, but is now a respectable village producing cash crops and a tourist attraction. (US$45).