Published on November 29, 2017
Baby elephant at Mae Tang park. Image © Thomas Kriese/Creative Commons.
What You’ll Get
This epic 27-day/26-night voyage through Northern Thailand, Laos and Cambodia leaves no stone unturned, no road un-traveled and no adventure un-experienced
Highlights
If you have a month to devote to adventure, we have an itinerary for you that takes you through Northern Thailand, Laos and Cambodia’s highlights, in detail and in full living color.
Start in Thailand, and use Chiang Mai as your springboard to the country’s north and its many adventures: among them, contemplation at the Wat Phra That Doi Suthep temple; pachyderm fun at the Mae Tang Elephant Park; an easy bamboo raft trip on the Ping River; and a great photo opportunity with the famous Long Neck Karen women.
Continue to the Golden Triangle – where the borders of Thailand, Laos, and Myanmar meet – and proceed to Laos, where the meandering roads take you to a flurry of cultural and natural surprises within the country’s interior.
In Chiang Khong district, you’ll enjoy the hospitality and friendliness of the different hill tribes. In Muang Sing, you’ll test your limits trekking some of Asia’s most rugged mountains. In Oudomxay province, you’ll visit the local market and as the Wat Phra Xack Kham temple. And in Phongsaly, you’ll enjoy the view of tea plantations spreading out on the mountainside.
You’ll also have the chance to visit the communities of Phounoi or Laoseng, Akkha, villages. Enjoy your cruise on the Nam Ou River to Nong Khiow, then bike ride through the picturesque local limestone caves nearby, and make your way to the World Heritage town of Luang Prabang UNESCO.
Finally, you’ll cross the border into Cambodia: you’ll head to Banlung, the capital of Rattanakiri to check the local markets and ethnic groups; you’ll travel by boat on the river Se San to visit a village tribe where the Tompuon practice funeral statuary; you’ll visit Cambodia’s capital Phnom Penh for a day out in the city; and you’ll take a journey through the Cardamom mountains to end up in the beach town of Sihanoukville, where sun and fun complete your long saga.
Image of Luang Prabang © Jean-Marie Hullot / Creative Commons
