NORTHERN THAILAND-LAOS TOUR, 8 DAYS/7 NIGHTS
(From Chiang Mai to Chiang Rai and cross the border to sail down the Mekong River to the heritage town of Luang Prabang and Vientiane, staying in superior class hotel.)


DAY 1: ARRIVE IN CHIANG MAI-CHIANG RAI (D)

Arrive in Chiang Mai, meet at airport and transfer to Chiang Rai 180km farther north, a drive of about 3 hours through undulating hills, valleys and teak forests.
Or, meet at Chiang Rai airport and transfer to hotel.
Orientation tour of Chiang Rai city.
Dinner in the hotel or outside restaurant.
Stroll in the Night Market where there are lots of souvenirs and hill tribe handicraft on sale and local music-and-dance in open-air stages for entertainment as you sip your aperitif, drink beer or coffee. Return to hotel.
Overnight Rimkok Resort (on the river) or Wiang Inn (city centre), Chiang Rai.


DAY 2: CHIANG RAI - HOUEIXAI (B,L,D)

Buffet breakfast at the hotel. Morning tour of Chiang Rai province visiting the Chinese Haw settlement at Doi Mae Salong, the Thai border town of Mae Sai opposite which is Burmese Tachileik. Doi Mae Salong village was created by the KMT refugees who fled Mao Tse-tung's armies in 1949. The Thai government permitted them to stay after they were chased out of Burma with the understanding that they help to prevent communist infiltration into Thailand. The KMT built up a huge trade in opium until lately when they turned to cash crops farming. Today their most famous product is the fragrant Oo-long tea, fruits and vegetables that are free from pesticides. Mae Sai has lots of stalls on both sides of the wide main street selling bric-a-bracs and gems from Upper Burma. There is an option to cross into Tachileik (US$5 as border fee) for a look at a Burmese border town. It is full of goods from Thailand and China, and duty-free cigarettes and liquor of dubious quality. Mushrooms from Yunnan, clothings and preserved fruits from China and Akha hill tribe embroidery items are everywhere. In about an hour we cross back to Mae Sai.
Lunch in a restaurant.
Then we travel on to the Golden Triangle to stand on the spot where the borders of Myanmar, Laos and Thailand meet on the Mekong River. Views of the low hills of Laos across the river are tantalizing. Arabica coffee from the mountains of Chiang Rai is sold by the cup in the coffee cafes at this spot. About to be finished is the statue of a huge Buddha by the river bank. Tour the Opium Museum to know a little more about the opium trade which once made the Golden Triangle infamous. Proceed to ancient Chiang Saen which was an early Lanna kingdom to visit a couple of old temples like Wat Chedi Luang and Chom Kitti before taking the road to Chiang Khong (54km from Chiang Saen) where we do the immigration formalities before going to our hotel in Houeixai.
Dinner in a restaurant or at the hotel.
Overnight at Thaveesinh Hotel, Houeixai.


DAY 3: HOUEIXAI - HONGSA (B,L,D)

Breakfast at the hotel. Before boarding our slow boat to Hongsa, you are free to make an easy trek into a hill tribe village to acquaint yourself with the tribal culture. Nearby is the high-walled Fort Carnot on a hilltop built by the French during the colonial period and is now occupied by Lao troops, and so is off-limit to visitors. The slow-boat landing is at the northern end of the town from where we sail down the Mekong River to Hongsa about six-and-a-half hours downstream. (A fast boat can do the trip in 3 hours.)
En route visit Lao Lu at Ban Pak Tha, Hmong village at Ban Houei Lumpane.
Lunch on board.
Arrive at Ban Thasouang and continue by car for 2 hours to Hongsa 45km away to check-in at hotel.
Dinner at hotel or at local restaurant in Hongsa.
Overnight at Hongkham II Hotel, Hongsa.


DAY 4: HONGSA (B,L,D)

Breakfast at the hotel. Morning excursion by elephant safari to visit local villages in Hongsa and see their traditional houses on stilts of Lao Lue style.
Lunch at local restaurant or at hotel.
Afternoon, continue visiting local people by car and participate in a Baci ceremony performed by local people.
Dinner at hotel or at a local restaurant.
Overnight at Hongkham II Hotel, Hongsa.


DAY 5: HONGSA - LUANG PRABANG (B,L,D)

Breakfast at the hotel. Depart by road to Ban Thasouang and board a traditional boat to Luang Prabang. En route, stop to visit Ban Lat Hane, a Lao Lue village, and sightsee at the Pak Ou caves (Tham Ting and Tham Phoume) where hundreds of Buddha statues are placed there by worshippers. Picnic lunch on board. Continue our cruise down the Mekong River to Luang Prabang and stop to visit Ban Xang Hai where rice-wine is being distilled in the traditional way. Buy a bottle for your dinner tonight.
Arrive in Luang Prabang and transfer to hotel for check in.
Dinner of authentic Lao food at Pakhuay Mixai restaurant.
Overnight at Grand Luangprabang Hotel, Luang Prabang.


DAY 6: LUANG PRABANG (B,L,D)

Buffet breakfast at the hotel. Tour of Luang Prabang, visiting the main sights - Vat Visoune, Vat Aham, and Vat Mai Souvannaphoumarame, a gold-leaf making village and the weaving village of Ban Phanom. It is a World Heritage site adopted by Unesco and was the former royal capital of the Lan Xang (Million Elephants) kingdom. Its ancient traditions and serenity still exist.
Lunch of French set menu at Elephant Blanc restaurant .
Afternoon, visit Vat Xieng Thong the most beautiful of Luang Prabang temples, and the former palace of King Sisavangvong to look at the royal regalia and obtain more insight into Lao history and culture. Then climb the 329 steps up Phousi Hill to Vat Phabath Tai to watch the sun set over town and rivers. When you descend to the road below a market would have been set up by hill tribesmen at the foot of Phousi Hill. Traditional cloths of intricate designs woven in the villages and tribal ornaments are brought here for sale.
Dinner at Indochina Spirit restaurant for a romantic evening with soft live Lao music and candlelight.
Free to stroll in the interesting Thanon Sisavangvong poking your heads into the small shops lined alongside it and sit at a sidewalk cafe for a cup of coffee or a pistiche. Return to your hotel by arrangement for transport at no charge with your guide or return by yourself if you wish.
Overnight at Grand Luangprabang Hotel, Luang Prabang.


DAY 7: LUANG PRABANG - VIENTIANE (B,L,D)

Buffet breakfast at the hotel. Visit the local market on the way to the airport
for departure flight to Vientiane. Upon arrival in Vientiane airport, be met and transferred to your hotel for check in .Lunch at Kua Lao restaurant of Lao food.
Afternoon, visit main highlights of Vientiane: Vat Si Saket (the only temple not destroyed by the invading Siamese because it looks so much like a Thai temple), Haw Pha Kaew (a royal temple which housed the Emerald Buddha now in Bangkok and was converted into a museum), Patuxai (Laos's own Arc de Triomphe), That Luang Stupa (the holiest of Lao shrines and the country's most important monument) and the Lao National History Museum housed in the 1925 former French Governor's mansion, a good example of French colonial architecture that can be found scattered about in Vientiane.
Dinner at Le Cote d'Azur Restaurant of French cuisine.
Overnight at Royal Dokmaideng Hotel, Vientiane.


DAY 8: VIENTIANE - DEPARTURE (B)

Buffet breakfast at the hotel. Free until transfer to the airport for departure to Paris via Singapore or Bangkok. (Suggestion: explore the central market and main shopping centre or indulge in a herbal steam sauna with traditional massage for US$2.)


End of programme.


Tour cost in Japanese Yen per person in the group