THAILAND GOLFING TOUR, 20 DAYS/19 NIGHTS
(Bangkok – River Kwai – Cha Am-Hua Hin – Chiang Mai – Chiang Rai)

Day 1:  BANGKOK

Meet at Bangkok Airport for transfer to check in to the hotel.
Overnight at Tawana Ramada Hotel (4-star), Surawong Road, Bangkok.

 
Day 2:  BANGKOK – GOLFING AT SUBHAPRUEK  (B, D)

Breakfast at the hotel.
Golf at Subhapruek Golf & Country Club - Dye Design Inc. designed course. 
Subhapruek Golf & Country Club
18-Holes     Par 72     Champion Tee 6514 yards
Designer: Pete Dye

Formerly known as the Bangna Country Club,  this conveniently located golf course is very popular with Bangkok based golfers.  This course features hundreds of palm trees along every fairway and water comes into play on almost every hole. This is definitely not a course for hookers and a shorter, controlled game will generally prevail over a long, errant one. Those who hit straight will be rewarded at Subhapruek. The par 3s are all very tricky and a player who makes par at all four of them will have a good round of game.
 
Pick up time: 9.15am.
Tee off time: 11am.
After golf transfer back to hotel.

(NON-GOLFERS learn to cook 4 Thai dishes in the Baipai Thai Cooking School.  Pick up at about 9am at hotel lobby to go to the market to pick fresh ingredients for the cooking class, learn about Thai herbs and what they are suited for. Have lunch of what you have cooked.)

Dinner Cruise on the Chao Phraya River on board the "Chao Phraya Princess”.
(Pick up at hotel at 7pm.  Return to hotel at about 9.30pm.)
Overnight at Tawana Ramada Hotel, Bangkok.

Day 3: BANGKOK – GOLFING AT LAM LUK KA  (B)

Breakfast at the hotel.
Golf at Lam Luk Ka Golf Club - Roger Packard designed course

Lam Luk Ka Golf Club 
36-Holes
East Course  Par 72,  Yellow Tee 6617 yards
West Course Par 72,  White Tee 6176 yards
Designer: Roger Packard

Roger Packard has created a pleasant modern course, typical of the former padi-field courses around Bangkok, with lots of water, wide fairways and big greens. There has been a great deal of planting, so the courses already are blessed with more shade than many of the newer courses. The game strategy is accuracy rather than power play. A few holes have water on both sides of the fairway and at the back of the green.

Pick up time: 7am.
Tee off time: 9am.

After golf transfer back to hotel.

(NON-GOLFERS enjoy a cruise to Ayutthaya on the "River Sun", going one-way by coach and returning by boat. Pick up time at hotel 7.15am to drive 45 minutes to Bang Pa-In, the royal “summer” palace, and tour the ruins of Ayutthaya with a guide. Board the boat at Ayutthaya to cruise downriver while enjoying a lunch on board. Arrive in Bangkok at about 5pm.)
Overnight at Tawana Ramada Hotel, Bangkok.

Day 4:  BANGKOK – TOUR  (B)

Breakfast at the hotel.
Pick up at 8am for the Canal Tour by boat to see Thai traditional riverine life as it was lived 200 years ago before sightseeing of Wat Aroon (Temple of the Dawn), the Emerald Buddha Temple and the Grand Palace, including the famous 225-year-old monastic school of traditional Thai massage at Wat Pho (Reclining Buddha Temple).
Overnight at Tawana Ramada Hotel, Bangkok. 

Day 5: RIVER KWAI – TOUR   (B)

Breakfast at the hotel.
Pick up at 8am, check out & then transfer to River Kwai for check-in at Felix River Kwai Resort.  Sightseeing tour of historical River Kwai, to include the famous “Bridge of the River Kwai”, World War II Museum (JEATH), the cemetery of the Allied prisoners of World War II. Then board the original “Death Railway Train” to Nam-Tok Station, the last terminal station of the Thailand-Burma “Death” railway, passing over the very dangerously looking wooden bridge which is built along the mountain side.

Overnight at Felix River Kwai Resort, Kanchanaburi.

Day 6: RIVER KWAI  - GOLFING AT NICHIGO (B)

Breakfast at the hotel.
Golf at Nichigo Resort & Country Club - Mitsuaki Kobayashi designed course
 
Nichigo Resort & Country Club
27 holes     
Lake 9          Par 36      Blue Tee 3334 yards
River 9         Par 36      Blue Tee 3326 yards      
Mountain 9   Par 36      Blue Tee 3242 yards
Designer: Mitsuaki Kobayashi

There is a welcome peace and spaciousness about the course, its varieties of trees, plants and flowers, its scenic beauty of mountains, lakes and river views, and the mountain air....gives it an undoubted distinction.
The fairways are turfed with Norshiba grass from Korea, which needs no pesticides and hardly any fertilizer, thus making it very environment-friendly. The greens covered with Tifdwarf, are of a comfortable speed, but the undulations make putting a challenge.
Mr. Kobayashi, who has designed more than 90 courses around the world, has created one of the finest golf courses in Thailand.
Nichigo Resort is a fully self contained golfing and recreation resort nestled between the mountains of the Western border and the legendary River Kwai. A perfect blend of finest international standard 27-hole golf courses, first class hotel right in the doorstep, family recreational facilities and restaurants in a peaceful 500 acres natural setting.

Pick up time: 8am
Tee off time: 9am.

After golf transfer back to hotel.

(NON-GOLFERS take a raft-boat cruise up the River Kwai towards the hills of Tenasserim bordering Burma, stopping at  a few places for sightseeing.
Lunch on board the raft as it drifts pass forested banks.)

Overnight at Felix River Kwai Resort, Kanchanaburi.

Day 7: RIVER KWAI – GOLFING AT MISSION HILLS (B)

Breakfast at the hotel.
Golf at Mission Hills Golf Club – Jack Nicklaus designed course
 
Mission Hills Golf Club
18-Hole     Par 72     Gold Tee 6700 yards
Designer: Jack Nicklaus

A challenging course, this magnificient PGA standard layout was created and constructed regardless of cost. The relative flat terrain, lightly wooded and not overloaded with roughs or water hazards, is deceptive. Jack Nicklaus has put sand everywhere and five of the holes offer double fairways, giving different approaches to the green. Only really good players are likely to play to their best handicaps. Venue for the World Cup Eastern Zone qualifying round in '95 and there is a strong probability that the World Cup itself will be staged at this course in the near future.
 
Pick up time: 8am.
Tee off time: 9am.

After golf transfer back to hotel.

Overnight at Felix River Kwai Resort, Kanchanaburi.

Day 8: RIVER KWAI - OLD SUKHOTHAI  (B)

Breakfast at the hotel.
Your Northern Thailand guide will meet you in the hotel lobby for the morning departure from the hotel at 9am for the 5-hour drive north to old Sukhothai.  Tour of the Sukhothai Historical Park to understand the significance of this Thailand's first kingdom established in the year 1268 by defeating the Khmer overlords of Angkor.
Overnight at Sukhothai Resort, old Sukhothai.

Day 9: SUKHOTHAI  - SI SATCHANALAI - CHIANG MAI  (B)

Breakfast at the hotel.
Leave the hotel at 9am for a morning tour of Si Satchanalai, old Sukhothai's twin city with its own set of splendid ruins restored by Unesco, and continue on to Chiang Mai, a drive of 4 hours with vistas of undulating hills and teak forests as we approach the northern hills of Chiang Mai.  Arrive in Chiang Mai and check into hotel for rest. (You might want a Thai traditional massage or just relax by the pool.)
Overnight at Rydges Amora Tapae Hotel, Chiang Mai

Day 10: CHIANG MAI – GOLFING AT CHIANGMAI-LAMPHUN  (B, D)

Breakfast at the hotel.
Morning golf at Chiangmai-Lamphun Golf Club.
 
Chiangmai-Lamphun Golf Club
18-Holes     Par 72     White Tee 6199 yards
Designer: Dr. Sukhum Sukapanpotharam
Dr. Sukum, part owner, golf enthusiast and engineer, has designed and built an excellent course in combination of the best English, Scottish and American designs.  By damming an existing watercourse, a series of meandering streams and lakes have been created. Given the narrow valley, some holes are quite tight, calling for accurate and thoughtful play over and around water and trees.  Opened in December 1990, the 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.  

Pick up at hotel at 8am.
Tee-off: 9am.

Then transfer back to hotel and be at leisure.
At 3pm leave our hotel for a city tour of Chiang Mai to include a few of the important temples and landmarks of Chiang Mai.  Engage in a "Monk Chat" with monks gathered under the tamarind trees in the Buddhist University at Wat Chedi Luang.
At 7pm go for a 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, shops and restaurants and most things a tourist may want in this street.
Overnight at Rydges Amora Tapae Hotel, Chiang Mai.

Day 11: CHIANG MAI – GOLFING AT ROYAL CHIANGMAI   (B)

Breakfast at the hotel.
Morning golf at Royal Chiangmai Golf Club. 

Royal Chiangmai Golf Club
18-Holes     Par 72     White Tee 6387 yards
Designer: Peter Thomson
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 kind 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 underclub.  There is not a poor hole on the golf course.  At the finish of the round there is a beautiful view towards the clubhouse.  Opened in February 1996.

Pick up at hotel at 8am.
Tee-off: 9am.

Transfer back to hotel and be at leisure.

(NON-GOLFERS go on an excursion to Wat Prathat Doi Suthep, the well known mountain monastery that is the most famous in Chiang Mai.  From here the view of Chiang Mai is refreshing.  Be sure to ring all the bronze bells surrounding the main chedi to gain merit and get good luck.  There is a very small “museum” housing local Buddha images and votive tablets among an assortment of historical things.  )

Overnight at Rydges Amora Tapae Hotel, Chiang Mai.

Day 12: CHIANG RAI (B)

Breakfast at the hotel.
Morning departure to Chiang Rai province. We visit a hot spring along the way where people can take a sulphurous bath and boil eggs in the hot bubbling water, take in a couple of hill tribe villages; go to Mae Sai on the Thai-Burmese border joined to Burmese Tachileik by a friendship bridge; drive along the Mekong River to the infamous Golden Triangle where a giant golden Buddha and the Opium Museum add to the attraction of the charming scenery of the low hills of Laos across the Mekong River; explore ancient Chiang Saen; and proceed to Chiang Rai. (Crossing into Burmese Tachileik by the connecting bridge from Mae Sai costs USD5 as immigration fee paid directly at the Burmese check-point.) 
Overnight at The Legend Hotel, Chiang Rai.

Day 13: CHIANG RAI  - GOLFING AT SANTIBURI  (B)

Breakfast at the hotel.
Morning transfer to Santiburi golf course for play.
 
Santiburi Country Club
18-Holes    Par 72     Blue Tee  6335 Yards.
 Designer:   Robert Trent Jones II
This golf 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.  The course weaves its way around natural rolling hills and lakes, with first nine holes taking a down and uphill course, featuring a long par 4 at lakeside. The back nine sweeps through a scenic of steep valleys leading to a chain of 3 lakes, making the 17th and 18th hole a delightful challenge.  Opened in October 1992.

Pick up at hotel at 8.30am.
Tee-off: 9am.

After golfing, transfer back to hotel at Waterford Valley in Wiangchai district.

(NON-GOLFERS learn how to cook a few more Thai dishes with a slant to northern Thai cuisine at the cooking school in "The Hot Wok" Thai Cooking School, 9.30am-4pm. 
Pick up time at hotel 9am.)
Overnight at Waterford Valley Lodge, in Wiangchai, Chiang Rai.

Day 14: CHIANG RAI – GOLFING AT WATERFORD VALLEY  (B)

Breakfast at the hotel.
Morning golf at Waterford Valley Chiang Rai set in lush green surrounding hills.
 
Waterford Valley Golf Club
18-Holes     Par 72     Blue Tee 6458 yards
Designer: Rathert International
This beautiful 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 set of tees at this eighteen-hole layout and players can be forgiven if they are distracted by the background of mountainous scenery. There are 8 OB holes, numerous water hazards and lovely flowers adorning the surroundings.  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.
 
Tee-off: 9am. (Just walk over to the Club House to register.)

(NON-GOLFERS go on a morning trip to little-visited Phayao an hour’s drive from Chiang Rai.  This provincial town has charming temples on hillslopes, high mountains and a huge lake (Kwan Phayao) full of fishes that the locals go to for canoeing and fishing.  Visit Wat Si Khom Kham on the lakeside which has the largest Buddha image of Lanna Thai.  Next door is Ho Watanatham Nithat, the indigenous museum, dealing with the history and ancient relics, native culture and traditions of Phayao.  The Phayao fresh-water Fishery Station in town, is the first facility in the world to successfully breed Pla Buk, the giant catfish of the Mekong River. There is an aquarium displaying many species of fish and water plants.  On a hilltop is the lovely Wat Analyo featuring buildings and sculptures of religious characters by contemporary craftsmen of great skill. From here an expansive view of Kwan Phayao, the fields and the town is visible.  Return to Chiang Rai afternoon.)
Overnight at Waterford Valley hotel, Wiangchai, Chiang Rai.

Day 15: CHIANG RAI – CHA-AM   (B)

Breakfast at the hotel.  Free until time to transfer to Chiang Rai airport for the flight to Bangkok.  At Bangkok's domestic airport, meet and transfer to Cha Am.  An orientation tour of Cha-Am town before checking into the hotel.
Overnight at The Regent Cha-Am, Cha-Am Beach..

 
Day 16: CHA-AM – GOLFING AT IMPERIAL LAKE VIEW    (B)

Breakfast at the hotel.  Morning golf at Imperial Lake View Golf Club, then transfer back to hotel and be at own leisure.
 
Imperial Lake View Golf Club  in Cha Am/Hua Hin
27 holes     Par 72     Designer: Roger Packard

The golf course is constructed on land which already had character, but significant quantities of earth were moved to shape the large mounds and depressions to add the features which are the hallmark of the well known architect, Roger Packard. Adventure is the style of this absorbing course. Greens are often hidden from the tees, but well defined fairways provide the necessary pointers for golfers to retain a sense of direction. Lake View has been designed to convey a sense of adventure. Adrenaline flows from the first tee shot onwards as the combination of dog-legs, occasional water hazards and well guarded greens over the opening holes prepare the mind for surprises to come.
 
Pick up time: 8am.
Tee-Off time: 9am.
Overnight at The Regent Cha-Am, Cha-Am Beach.

Day  17:    CHA-AM – GOLFING AT PALM HILLS GOLF RESORT  (B)

Breakfast at the hotel.  Morning golf at Palm Hills Golf Resort and Country Club.  Then transfer back to hotel and be at leisure.
 
Palm Hills Golf Resort Country Club
18 holes     Par 72    Designer: Max Wexler

The 18 holes are arranged in two distinctive nine-hole sections, separated by the clubhouse on a rocky outcrop extending from the mountain range. These escarpments strongly influence the topography, which the designer has exploited so that gentle undulating slopes and side hill lies are very much the main features of the course. Water can come into play on twelve of the holes, but in the majority of cases it requires an unusually poor golf shot before justice is served.
 
Pick up time:  8.00am
Tee-Off time: 9am
(NON-GOLFERS go on a tour to the palace built of prime golden teak in the reign of King Mongkut (Rama IV of the “King and I” fame) 9km south of Cha Am called “Phra Ratchaniwet Marukhathayawan” and onwards to Hua Hin beach where King Rama VI constructed his palace also of golden teak now being used by the royal family.)

Overnight at The Regent Cha-Am, Cha-Am Beach.

Day 18:  CHA-AM – GOLFING AT SPRINGFIELD ROYAL GOLF CLUB  (B)

Breakfast at the hotel.  Morning golf at Springfield Royal Country Club of Cha-Am, then the rest of the day at own leisure or optional tour.
 
Springfield Royal Golf Club 
18 holes     Par 72      Designer: Jack Nicklaus

The course has been designed to meet the high demands of a recognised championship golf course, and yet it remains an enjoyable challenge for golfers of all standards. Each hole has a minimum of five tees to play from, but only the brave and those who regularly rub shoulders with the world's best will venture from the back tee.
Water hazards regularly come into play and each hole presents it own individual challenge and character requiring finesse or unrestrained power.
The magnificient clubhouse providing excellent amenities, set on the high ground over looking the course and the Gulf of Thailand.
 
Pick up time:  8am.
Tee-Off time” 9am.

Overnight at The Regent Cha-Am, Cha-Am Beach.

Day 19:     CHA-AM – BANGKOK  (B)   

Breakfast at the hotel.  Free morning until 3pm when it's time to transfer to Bangkok.  We stay in an airport hotel the vicinity of which is very lively, with lots of shops, restaurants, boutiques, etc.
Overnight at Asia Airport Hotel, Bangkok.

Day 20: BANGKOK – DEPARTURE  (B)   

Breakfast at the hotel.  Transfer from hotel by the hotel’s complimentary transfer service to Bangkok airport for your departure flight.

End of Thailand’s Golfing Package.

Package Price Per Person in JPY (inclusive of domestic airfare & airport tax)

SURCHARGE for the period of 20 Dec. – 10 Jan. JPY 3,000 per day per person in Twin-share room, and JPY 5,000 per person per day in Single room occupancy as hotel surcharge.

Gala dinners of 24 Dec. & 31 Dec. are compulsory at the resort hotels (except Bangkok) and the cost will be made known by the hotel nearer the time.

INCLUSIONS:
1) 4-star hotel accommodation for 19 nights with daily breakfast (4 nights in Bangkok, 3 nights in River Kwai, one night in Sukhothai, 3 nights in Chiang Mai, 3 nights in Chiang Rai, 4 nights in Cha Am, and the final night in Bangkok airport vicinity).
2) Golfing  of 2 rounds in Bangkok, 2 rounds in Kanchanaburi, 2 rounds in Chiang Mai, 2 rounds in Chiang Rai and 3 rounds in Cha Am-Hua Hin, with green fee and caddy costs included.  (Golf-carts can be paid for at 600 Baht / US$15 directly to the golf courses for those who wish to use them.)
3) Tours for everybody in Bangkok, River Kwai, Sukhothai, Si Satchanalai, Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai and Cha Am on private basis.
4) All transfers (airports-hotels-airports and hotels-golf courses-hotels).
5) All entrance fees and boat charges on tours.
6) Dinner cruise on the Chao Phraya River in Bangkok and khantoke dinner in Chiang Mai.
7) Non-golfers get additional tours of a cooking class in Bangkok of central Thai dishes, a boat cruise to the ancient  city of Ayutthaya with luncheon on board, rafting on the River Kwai with lunch on board, trip to the Doi Suthep mountain monastery, another cooking class in Chiang Rai with emphasis on northern Thai cuisine, an excursion to Phayao and a tour of King Rama IV’s palace “Phra Ratchaniwet Marukhathayawan” in Cha Am and King Rama VI’s palace in Hua Hin and their surroundings.
8) Services of English-speaking guides.
9) Domestic airfare Chiang Rai to Bangkok on either Thai Air Asia (FD) or Orient Thai (OX) and  its airport tax.  (Surcharge of US$32 to be added if flight is to be by THAI Airways.)

NOT INCLUDED:  International airfare and airport tax, lunches and dinners, use of hotel minibar, laundry, phone calls, and other expenses of a personal nature.