Explore Bangkok to Angkor Wat

Your trip begins with your arrival in Thailand. Our driver and guide will meet and greet you at the airport. You will be escorted to the hotel by private transportation. Check in to the hotel and get over the jet lag.

Enjoying the first day by yourself.

In the evening, our guide and our driver will pick you up at your hotel and transfer to pier:

Welcome onboard to a two- hour journey on the extravagant cruise. You will have a sensation of luxury, romance and entertainment along the river with Thai history and heritage imprinted on both sides of the river.

Program inclusion:

-  Live music

-  International buffet with coffee, tea

- One glass of welcome drink

After breakfast, we visit the Grand Royal Palace dedicated to the ceremony of the royal family of Thailand. In the same compound is the magnificent Wat Phra Kaew which is known for the Statue of the Emerald Buddha. After visiting this complex, we continue to visit Wat Pho, a giant house of the lying Buddha.

Then, we visit the Wat Traimit which is well known as the Golden Buddha.

Afternoon, boarding on a long tail boat for an excursion along the Chao Phraya River and many bustling interior canals that offer fantastic views of local life close by.

Along the way, we stop at Wat Arun, the temple of the Aube.

Then, transfer back to your hotel for relaxation.

Early in the morning, we drive to the southwest of Bangkok, visiting the Maeklong railway market, taking photo, and enjoying the local snack in the market before driving to Damnoen Saduak - a rural floating market. Stop for a motorized long tail boat trip along the waterway to the picturesque floating market of Damnoen Saduak.

Afterwards we continue the road to the city of Kanchanaburi.

Upon arrival, visit the World War II memorial including the Jeath War Museum, Cemetery. We arrive in Wang Pho to boarding a train for riding along the beautiful river for around 30 minutes and transfer then city to visit Kwai bridge.

Morning breakfast and depart for Erawan Waterfall - a beautiful seven-tiered waterfall. Located in Erawan National Park, walking up to see each of the picturesque falls, it is best to bring good walking shoes. Also, guests should remember to bring their swimming suit if they wish to swim in the fall’s natural pools.

After free lunch, we will drive you to Phra That Cave located 12 km northwest of the falls. The cave is spacious with many beautiful stalactites and stalagmites to explore.

We pick you up at your hotel/guest house (in Kanchanaburi city only) at 9.00 AM.

Arrival at Elephants World. Meet and feed the elephants.

Observe the elephants bathing.

Clean fruit/vegetables, prepare and cook sticky rice for our old elephants.

Lunch.

Gathering / planting food for the elephants. e.g. banana trees / sugar cane / banana grass or prepare fruit baskets for the afternoon.

Feed sticky rice balls to the old elephants.

Take the elephants to the river for a bath / scrub them clean.

Feed the elephants fruit and vegetables.

The day program ends at 3.30 PM and we will bring you back.

What to bring:

Please remember to bring sunscreen, a hat, your camera, mosquito repellent and a change of clothes (you will get dirty/wet). Please bring yellow bananas, you will make new friends!

Includes:

Transport to and from the city of Kanchanaburi, lunch, drinking water, coffee, and tea

In the morning, we will depart to Ayutthaya; it takes about more than hour to reach the former Thai capital. Witness the glory of the ancient capital through its temple and palace ruins. First you will visit Wat Phu Khao Thong, or the “Monastery of the Golden Mount”, which is located just outside Ayutthaya. 

Then you will proceed to the ancient palace and Wat Phra Si Sanphet. You will also visit Viharn Phra Mongkol Bopit, one of the largest bronze Buddha’s in Thailand. Have lunch by your own account. 

Afterwards you will visit Wat Lokaya Sutha. This temple enshrines a large reclining Buddha image. Our last visit will be the Bang Pa-In Summer Palace, built during the Ayutthaya era. The palace showcases an eclectic collection of buildings that blend European, Khmer, Thai and Chinese architectural styles. It’s the favorite summer palace of the King. 

At the end of the afternoon, return to the hotel and free time for relaxation.

You will be free until getting transfer to the airport for flight to Siem Reap, gateway of Angkor Complex. On arrival, local team will meet & drive you to the hotel.

In the evening, enjoy dinner with Apsara dance. Then wander the Old Market area of the town with its labyrinth of lanes filled with boutiques, galleries, cafes and small bars.

This morning you will be guided to indoor air–conditioned Angkor National Museum to have a surreal experience to the history of Angkor.

Then transfer to the edge of Lake Tonle Sap, and embark on a small wooden boat for the trip to Kompong Pluk. Cruise down a narrow waterway and enter this medieval floating village, where the houses stand on stilts as high as seven meters above the water. Everything lives on the water. Visit the local temple before boarding a bigger boat to take us through the flooded forest and across the Great Lake to the jetty, where you will be driven back to the town.

You have a full day exploring Angkor’s enigmatic temples. Picked up early at your hotel by tuk tuk, you will have chance to watch magnificent sunrise over Angkor Wat Temple. Dawn is one of the most beautiful and haunting times to visit the temples, whose ancient sandstone blocks are gilded gold by the early morning rays. 

Next, you will visit Angkor Thom’s imposing South Gate, topped with the four serenely smiling faces of Avalokiteshvara. Continuously venture to Bayon to become hypnotized by the smiling stone faces of the temple. Gain fascinating insight into the temple’s ancient origin from your guide, hearing of vicious battles and attempting to decipher the intricate bas-reliefs that detail scenes of cockfighting and childbirth. Later, you will visit the Elephant Terrace, the Terrace of the Leper King and finally Ta Phrom Temple.

Today you will travel to the lost temple of Beng Mealea, the titanic of temples, a slumbering giant lost for centuries in the forests of Cambodia. It is the most accessible of Angkor's lost temples, a mirror image of Angkor Wat, but utterly consumed by the voracious appetite of nature. Constructed by Suryavarman II (1113-1150), the builder of Angkor Wat, the forest has run riot here and it is hard to get a sense of the monument's shape amid the daunting ruins. Here it is possible to enjoy an Indiana Jones experience clambering about the vast ruin. For those who want a more gentle adventure, there is also a sturdy wooden walkway running right into the heart of the temple. It is also possible to visit a nearby Angkor-era quarry from where stone was cut to build these massive monuments.

Then head into the bush to the remote Angkor capital of Koh Ker. The history of Cambodia is riven with dynastic spats and political intrigue and one of the most memorable came in the 10th century when Jayavarman IV (928-942) fell out with his family, stormed off to the northwest and established the rival capital of Koh Ker. Although the capital for just 15 years, Jayavarman IV was determined to legitimise his rule through a prolific building programme that left a legacy of 30 major temples and some gargantuan sculpture that is on display in the National Museum in Phnom Penh.

Complete your trip and return to Siem Reap International Airport . A delicious early lunch will be served. We can drop you off at a hotel in the city or take you straight to the airport for your onwards flight. This is where your trip with us will end. We thank you kindly for joining Incredible Asia Journeys and we would love to be able to host you again in the future.