THAILAND & LAOS TRAVEL ITINERARY
with optional Angkor Wat extension
JANUARY 23 TO FEBRUARY 9, 2013
About Ock Pop Tok and Our Guide Jo Smith
Ock Pop Tok (translates to "East Meets West") is a textile design social enterprise that works with 15 ethnic groups in Laos. Founded by local weaver Veomanee Duangdala and Joanna Smith, a UK photographer, the two came up with the idea to try and sustain themselves, and a small group of local weavers, through the design and creation of contemporary Lao textiles. 11 years later, the operation has grown and now consists of a master Weavers Studio at their Living Crafts Centre in Luang Prabang and a series of initiatives in villages known as the Village Weavers Project. OPT has been a presence at the Santa Fe International Folk Art Market for the past four years.
ITINERARY
Day 1 USA – BANGKOK
Depart home city for Bangkok. Meals aloft.
Day 2 BANGKOK
Arrive at the Suvarnabhumi International Airport. After clearing security and customs, our representative will meet and transfer you to your hotel. Meals aloft.
HOTEL SILOM SERENE (or similar)
Day 3 BANGKOK, THAILAND
Enjoy a full day of sightseeing in this vibrant and exotic city – visit the Royal Palace and the architectural wonder that is the Temple of the Emerald Buddha. A private tour and lunch at Jim Thompson House (a series of classic Thai houses which he combined to make his home – beautifully done), where you will have a private tour. His collection of Thai art and architecture is superb. The American entrepreneur was instrumental in reviving Thai silk weaving and promoting it to Western markets. The adjoining shop sells beautiful items in classic sumptuous fabrics. Dinner at a local restaurant.
HOTEL SILOM SERENE BLD
Day 4 BANGKOK – CHIANG RAI
A morning flight takes us to the northeast of Thailand. Our tour leader and guide, Jo Smith, meets us at the airport. After checking into the charming hotel, we'll enjoy a typical Thai lunch. Jo has planned an interesting afternoon for us: a visit to the fascinating Opium Museum and then on to Doi Tung to visit the weaving workshop run by a Norwegian woman who has lived here for over for 15 years. The Doi Tung designs are cutting edge contemporary weave. Weaving on Swedish style looms, the women working there are from ethnic minority groups, and are part of the opium eradication project offering alternative income. Jo photographed the Doi Tung project for Gourmet Magazine some years ago and was very impressed by the operation. Dinner at the hotel.
THE LEGENDS (or similar) BLD
Day 5 CHIANG RAI
A textile experience is planned (to be determined) with a local group, including lunch with the artisans. We'll visit the Lanna Tai Textiles Center at Chiang Rai Rajapat University to learn about, admire and even purchase regional handmade weavings of various Mekong River Region styles. There's a loom with an operator, a yarn and dye-making exhibit, pattern-making and design with the aid of a splendid computer program, as well as an exhibit of regional traditional clothing.
Jo will present an evening seminar on Village Weaving Projects in Laos, with an overview of the various colorful ethnic groups of Laos, and an introduction to the interesting textile projects being worked on at Ock Pop Tok. Dinner will be at a local restaurant.
THE LEGENDS (or similar) BLD
Day 6 CHIANG RAI – HUAYXAI, LAOS
We have about a 1 ½ hr. drive to our next destination, located on the banks of the famed Mekong River, on the Laotian side of the border, where Jo has arranged an indigo dyeing workshop with women from the Lantan tribe. After a walk around the village, we'll have an introduction to Lantan culture, and then begin the indigo workshop. We also visit the Tai Lue village of Ban Na Noon to learn about their unique interlocking tapestry creations. Lunch and dinner will be enjoyed along the river. An optional visit to the sapphire mines or a trek in this mountainous area may be arranged for anyone not wanting to participate in the workshop.
HUAYXAI RIVERSIDE HOTEL (or similar) BLD
Day 7 HUAYXAI - LUANG NAMTHA
After breakfast we have a 4 hr. drive to Luang Namtha, with lunch on the Namtha river. An afternoon workshop has been arranged, with Tai Daeng silk spinners, learning how to spin silk from bombyx mori cocoons. During the Vietnam war, this village was relocated from a heavily bombed area to this beautiful site right in the middle of rice paddies. Still practicing the art of hand reeling silk, the spinners will teach us to reel our own silk straight from the cocoons. Dinner is in the village, with a traditional ceremony.
ZUELA GUESTHOUSE (or similar) BLD
Day 8 LUANG NAMTHA – MUANG SING – LUANG NAMTHA
This morning we drive 1 ½ hrs. to the village of Muang Sing, where we have a workshop with Akha artisans, learning about their style of needlework and traditional dress. We have lunch in the village and are treated to a classic massage! (Optional hiking or kayaking can be arranged at an additional charge.) Returning to Luang Namtha, dinner is on our own. We can also visit the small night market here.
ZUELA GUESTHOUSE (or similar) BL
Day 9 LUANG NAMTHA – OUDOMXAI
A 4 hr. drive takes us to village of Oudomxai, arriving in time for lunch. We then drive 1 hr. to the Tai Lue village of Ban Nyor; a cotton spinning and weaving workshop has been arranged for us. Tonight we experience a home stay, in clean and comfortable surroundings, an added, unique experience in our exploration of fascinating Laos.
HOME STAY BLD
Day 10 OUDOMXAI – PAK PENG – LUANG PRABANG
An early departure takes us to the Mekong River bank where we board our private boat, a stylish replica of the elegant boats once used on the river. We travel along the river, passing settlements, stopping at the famous Pak Ou Buddha Caves, in limestone caves, filled with hundreds of Buddha images placed there by individuals over the years; we continue our cruise to a handcraft village. We'll enjoy drinks and lunch on board. Jo will give us a talk on antique textiles, presenting rare collectors pieces she has brought specially to show us, discussing their significance in Lao and western cultures.
We arrive in the afternoon at the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Luang Prabang, a still slow-paced, charming town on the Mekong, our home for the next few days. It is filled with temples, lantern-lit streets and Indochinese architecture; the cuisine is a delicious fusion of French and Asian dishes. It attracts curious travelers enticed by its laid-back atmosphere, inviting cafes, charming small hotels and tiny shops featuring local crafts and silver jewelry, in traditional and contemporary styles. You can walk everywhere, and the motorbike "tuk tuks" are available for a small charge. There is a good night market as well, filled with colorful textiles, paper lanterns and weavings, along with the ubiquitous souvenir T-shirts. We check into our hotel and then go to TAEC, Traditional Arts & Ethnology Centre, for a director-led tour of this non-profit museum dedicated to the ethnic cultures in Laos. Dinner tonight is at the Coconut Garden restaurant with some delicious Lao specialties.
THE APSARA (or similar) BLD
Day 11 LUANG PRABANG (LP)
9 a.m. presentation at the Ock Pop Tok (OPT) weaving center, located on the edge of town, by Directors Veo and Jo. Here, weavers and spinners work in a picturesque setting on a bluff above the Mekong; their shop sells their weavings, along with those from the remote villages OPT works with. A workshop follows from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. in silk, natural dyes and supplementary weaving. We get to take home our own creations!
Lunch is in their river-view restaurant,
with traditional Lao dishes. For an alternative to the workshop, we can arrange a walk through the countryside to the source of the Kuangsi Waterfalls, 2-3 hrs., with lunch along the way. Enjoy a beer and the tuktuk back to town, about 45 min. Cost approximately $50 pp. Dinner on our own, with several possibilities.
THE APSARA (or similar) BL
Day 12 LUANG PRABANG
We have the choice this morning of several options:
- An optional half day workshop at OPT (batik on hemp, silk and bamboo weaving) $40
- Sightseeing in LP of several temples, the important Royal Palace Museum where one can see gifts from other nations (the U.S. gift of a desk pen set, among gilt, bejeweled and other important gifts from around the world, is bemusing), an important library project, Big Brother Mouse literacy project getting books to rural kids, and more; included
- Take the morning off and explore the town at your leisure
After lunch at a restaurant along the Mekong, a demonstration and workshop will be held in a charming local setting, where we'll learn about the gold thread embroidery as practiced in the former royal courts. This afternoon of traditional arts is quite special. Dinner on our own tonight, with several suggestions from Jo.
THE APSARA (or similar) BL
Day 13 LUANG PRABANG – VIENTIANE
Enjoy a free morning for last minute shopping, or a coffee at one of the many enticing cafes.
This afternoon we fly the short distance to Vientiane, capital of Laos, and check into our well-located hotel near the beautiful, tree-lined avenues featuring wats, cafes and high quality shops. We have a guided tour of the city including the golden Pha That Luang, the most important national monument in Laos, a symbol of both Buddhist religion and Lao sovereignty, and the strikingly different Wat Si Saket. Much of the Soviet, Chinese, Thai and French architecture remains, as does their cuisine. We'll enjoy a French-style lunch. This evening we visit the Taykeo Textile Gallery and meet with Taykeo herself, and see her amazing collection of ancient textiles, contemporary weavings and learn about how she began her collection, about the gallery and her work with OXFAM in remote villages. We join her for dinner.
HOTEL SALANA (or similar) BLD
Day 14 VIENTIANE
This morning we visit the Phaeng Mai Gallery, home to an amazing collection of textiles made of naturally-dyed silk and painstakingly woven on traditional looms; many designs are taken from antique pieces commissioned by the ancient royal courts. Our next stop is the Saoban Craft Centre, filled with crafts from all over the country, direct from the artisans. We will also have lunch here.
Free time this afternoon before meeting with Sandra Yuck, of Caruso Lao Home Crafts. Her shop/gallery is filled with exquisite hand made items of wood, silk, silver and more, which she has designed. The work is beautiful and unique, each piece a work of art as well as useful and decorative, and prices reflect this. She has invited us to dine with her tonight, a fitting farewell.
HOTEL SALANA (or similar) BLD
Day 15 VIENTIANE – BANGKOK or SIEM REAP for extension
This morning is free for your own exploration and/or a visit to Carol Cassidy's famous atelier, filled with gorgeous textiles and women working the many looms in a renovated French villa. Afternoon transfer to airport for your flight back to Bangkok. Lunch and dinner on your own.
HOTEL SILOM SERENE B
Day 16 BANGKOK – USA
Transfer to your flight back to the U.S.
Day 15 VIENTIANE – SIEM REAP
This morning we fly to Siem Reap and transfer to our hotel and lunch at Bopha Angkor Restaurant. We enjoy the afternoon visiting the Wat Thmie, a modern day pagoda (1992) in contrast with the ancient sandstone of Angkor Wat (1113-40); a private tour of the Artisan d'Angkor silk weaving atelier and shop (Cambodian silk comes in a rich variety of textures, motifs and coloration: phamung (silk fabric in plain color), chorebap (silk brocade), hôl (silk with colorful patterns) and hôl lboeuk (hôl combined with a brocade fabric); picturesque Tonle Sap Lake with its floating villages. Dinner on our own. We might want to venture out to the colorful and bustling night market!
ROYAL ANGKOR HOTEL (or similar) BL
Day 16 SIEM REAP
Enjoy a full day touring the south gate of Angkor Theom, Bayon, Baphoun, the Terrace of the Elephant and Leper King and the startling Ta Prohm Temple, still engulfed by the roots of centuries-old trees, made famous by "Indiana Jones". After lunch we visit the stunning Angkor Wat. Tonight we'll enjoy dinner at the hotel.
ROYAL ANGKOR HOTEL (or similar) BLD
Day 17 SIEM REAP – BANGKOK
The morning is free for your enjoyment before transferring to the airport for the afternoon flight to Bangkok. We are transferred to our hotel and dinner is on our own.
HOTEL SILOM SERENE (or similar) B
Day 18 BANGKOK – USA
Transfer to airportfor flights home. B
PRICES for MAIN TRIP
8-10 people $4,895 per person in double
11-16 people $4,595 per person in double
Includes flights Bangkok-Chang Rai, Luang Prabang-Vientiane, Vientiane-Bangkok
Single supplement $1,190
• Additional night & transfer from airport to hotel in Bangkok for
those wanting to come a day early: $125 pp in double
• Any additional nights in Bangkok: $55 pp in double
INCLUDES:
- Accommodations as noted, or similar
- Meals as noted
- English speaking guides throughout the journey
- Private coach for land portion of trip, with bottled water on board
- Private boat along the Mekong River to Luang Prabang
- All workshops and materials
- All sightseeing and entrance fees
- All special meetings, receptions, etc.
- Airport transfers
- Taxes and services
- Jo Smith as Tour Leader
- Joan Noble as Tour Manager
- Visa to Laos
- Flights: Bangkok-Chiang Rai; Luang Prabang-Vientiane; Vientiane-Bangkok
NOT INCLUDED:
- International airfare USA-Bangkok-USA
- Items of a personal nature (i.e. telephone, laundry, soft drinks, alcoholic drinks, etc.)
- Any meals not mentioned
- Tips to guides and drivers
PRICES for Angkor Wat Extension
8-10 people $1,660 per person in double
11-16 people $1,595 per person in double
Includes flights Vientiane-Siem Reap, Siem Reap-Bangkok
Single supplement $295
INCLUDES:
- Accommodations as noted, or similar
- Meals as noted
- English speaking guide
- Private coach for land portion of trip, with bottled water on board
- All sightseeing and entrance fees
- Airport transfers
- Taxes and services
- Joan Noble as Tour Manager
- Flights: Vientiane-Siem Reap; Siem Reap-Bangkok
NOT INCLUDED:
- Items of a personal nature (i.e. telephone, laundry, soft drinks, alcoholic drinks, etc.)
- Any meals not mentioned
- Tips to guides and drivers
- Visa to Cambodia
PLEASE NOTE: both the Laos & Thai main trip and the extension to Angkor Wat itinerary content, pacing, hotels, etc. all subject to change due to circumstances beyond our control. We strive to provide equal or better replacements. Please understand we are traveling to out-of-the-way destinations. Flexibility and a sense of humor required!
4/29/2012
Thailand and Laos Reservation Page
What to Expect in Thailand and Laos