Thailand's cultural and social roots are firmly set in the countryside, in fact, when Mahatma Gandhi said of his home country "... the real India is in the villages". He could just as easily have been referring to Thailand, a country whose political and cultural birth was in the "million rice fields" of the ancient Lanna Thai Kingdom.
As such no trip to discover the Thai people and their way of life can really afford to ignore the villages.
On this journey we cross the bridge from a modern and increasingly consumer driven World to a more traditional land, experiencing how the Thai quote s manage to still hold onto their strong cultural identity and superimpose it onto an economic and technologically led lifestyle. By visits to hilltribes in the northern mountains, homestays with traditional Thai families, and by joining in and experiencing the rural life of typical Thai communities, we will learn something of the application today of Thai culture and tradition.
With the gradual homogenisation of the Thai's World into that of the silicon and Coca Cola age, many cultural bridges to the past have been disrupted. One bridge though, as strong today as it ever has been, is traditional medicine, and through this medium we will conclude our exploration of modern/ancient Thai life.
The skills of the village herbalist have an ancient provenance. Beginning in Thailand as much as 2000 years ago with the introduction of Buddhism, this ancient knowledge is still passed on from generation to generation. To visit the village herbalist then, is also a visit to an accumulated past of two eons of study, practice, goodwill, interlect and the adherence to a cultural system that was as workable then as it is now.
Our last few days will be spent with a unique village group, who realised that slash and burn cultivation in the forest (mainly for illegal Cannabis cultivation) was killing their future. Of their own volition they opted for a more sustainable lifestyle, collecting herbs, seeds and other plant medicine products from the forest, as well as cultivating plants for use in traditional medicine on their own land. The villagers formed the In Paeng cooperative as a result, for the promotion of indigenous herbal medicine.
There are now three centres of the In Paeng group in three provinces: Kalasin, Sakon Nakorn and Udorn Thani, with that in Kalasin being the best established with it's own Centre For Indigenous Herbal Massage, herbal grinding machine, fruit juice and herbal preservation home factory.
Notes
This is a tailor made holiday concept which can be adapted and tailored to meet your dates, preferences and passions. Please contact one of our bespoke holiday planners to create the ideal itinerary for you.
Sample Itinerary
Day 1 Arrive in Bangkok (-/-/-)
On arrival in Bangkok you will be met and transferred to the First House Hotel conveniently located in the town centre. The rest of the day is at your leisure. There are numerous shopping centres within reach of the hotel, a nice swimming pool conveniently 5 minutes away, and many of Bangkok?s famous sights are only a short taxi ride away. Overnight at the First House Hotel.
Day 2 Kred Island (B/L/-)
Full day?s excursion to a Mon community living on Kred island in the Chao Phraya River, Nonthaburi Province. The Dvaravati Mon Kingdom pre-dates the Thai and Khymer Kingdoms - rulers of Thailand from the 11th Century. Powerful between the 6th - 11th Century, today there is very little in the way of Mon architectural remains, leaving only the Mon community themselves to offer much of a record of their traditional way of life. There will be visits to Wat Poramaiyikawas, a Mon style temple with beautiful murals and stucco decorated windows and doors; Wat Sanam Nua; Maha Raman Chedi; a Mon Pottery Museum and home factories where visitors can observe the process of pottery making and carving; and the "Sweet Home" for a demonstration of Mon dessert cooking. Transfer back to the hotel. Evening free at leisure. Overnight at the First House Hotel.
Day 3 Bangkok - Samut Songkram - Tha Ka (B/L/D)
Transfer to Tha Ka Village, Samut Songkram Province, on the shores of Mae Klong Bay. Samut Songkram is a verdant low basin area, criss crossed by rivers and canals, experiencing frequent rains. An important agricultural hinterland to the capital (74 kms away) Samut Songkram is a world away from Bangkok. Deeply rural, most of the province is given over to the cultivation of fruit such as grape, guava, lychee, and home production of coconut sugar is an important family money earner. On arrival at Tha Ka meet your homestay host and join them buying provisions for dinner. After lunch your host will take you to his home and later introduce you to the village, rowing across to visit neighbouring gardeners, the local temple, households specialising in boat repairs, etc. Overnight at the homestay.
Day 4 Tha Ka - Cha Am (B/-/-)
Arise early morning and join your hosts offering food to the monks as they row along the canal, this is a daily ritual performed by the monks to let people make merit. Breakfast, then transfer to Cha-Am. Check in at the Beach Garden Hotel. The rest of the day is free at leisure. Overnight at the Beach Garden Hotel.
Day 5 Cha-Am - Bangkok (B/-/-)
Day free at leisure until late transfer back to Bangkok and to the train station. At the station board the 19.24 hrs overnight sleeper train to Chiang Mai. Overnight on the train in your second class, air conditioned cabin.
Day 6 Chiang Mai (-/-/D)
Arrive Chiang Mai early morning and transfer to the Chiang Mai Gate Hotel. Later that morning there will be city tour including a visit to Wat Chedi Luang, a huge ancient stupa within whose grounds a king was killed by a bolt of lightning and whose partial collapse in 1545 destined Thai women to be forever behind their men. Here you will also observe the use of ?universal electric power? for healing. In the afternoon visit Wat Phra Sing founded in 1345, and the most revered temple in Chiang Mai, Wat Phra That Doi Suthep high above the city on Suthep Hill. In the evening there will be special northern style ?Kantoke? Dinner accompanied by Thai dancing. Overnight at the Chiang Mai Gate Hotel.
Day 7 Chiang Mai - Doi Angkhang - Chiang Dao (B/L/-)
Depart Chiang Mai and head north to Doi Angkhang. The scenery as you draw near Angkhang is of great vertical, vegetation clad limestone peaks leaping out of the ground. Enter the mountains and follow a ridge skirting a deep river valley with views of classical ?Dragon?s Teeth? oriental limestone mountains on the far side. At Angkhang visit the Royal Angkhang Station Project. Here local hilltribe people cultivate flowers, bonsai, fruits, vegetables and herbs as a replacement for the otherwise traditional opium poppy, in a successful business project sponsored & developed by the King of Thailand. You can also pay a visit to the local Lahu & Palaung Hilltribes, and Kiew Lom view point on the Thai-Burmese border. Overnight at the Chiang Dao Hill Resort.
Day 8 Chiang Dao - Doi Mae Salong (B/L/D)
Depart for Mae Salong also in the mountains, with short stops at Mae Fang Hotsprings and Thaton on the Kok River. Mae Salong began life as a refuge for the Kuomingtang Nationalist Chinese, who escaped here from China after the great revolution. Until recently completely isolated from the rest of Thailand, Mae Salong is a little part of China in Thailand. After lunch and a short look around, continue to the Hill Area Development Foundation, a progressive agro-ecology project working with local Akha, Lisu, and Lahu hilltribe villages to promote sustainable farming in the mountains. The foundation?s staff will explain their work to you and take you into the villages to meet with the hilltribe people who will be your hosts. Overnight at a homestay in the village.
Day 9 Doi Mae Salong (B/L/D)
A full day in your homestay village joining in with the people?s activities e.g. nature conservation, literacy classes, the everyday tasks of farming, etc. Overnight at the homestay.
Day 10 Doi Mae Salong - Chiang Mai (B/-/-)
Transfer back to Chiang Mai. Arrive, check in at the Chiang Mai Gate Hotel and the rest of the day is free at leisure. Overnight at the Chiang Mai Gate Hotel.
Day 11 Chiang Mai - Khon Kaen - Bua (B/-/D)
Depart Chiang Mai flying to Khon Kaen in Isaan, North eastern Thailand, via Bangkok. On arrival in Khon Kaen you will be met and transferred to Bua village, a center of the self reliant ?In Paeng? Group. Arrival and introduction to your host ?In Paeng? homestays. The rest of the day will be involved with learning, practising and indulging in various traditonal healthcare activities e.g. massage, wraps, herbal sauna and yoga and socialising with the villagers. Overnight at the village homestay.
Day 12 Bua (B/L/D)
Morning nature walk in Pu Pan Mountain National Park, searching, identifying and collecting herbs used in traditional medicine. Pu Pan National Park is scattered with limestone mountains, groves, and savannahs with attractions such as Tat Ton Waterfall and Kham Hom Waterfall. Picnic lunch in the forest. Return to Bua in the afternoon. At leisure then late afternoon join in the preparation of your Thai evening meal, cooking with ingredients chosen for the promotion of good health. Dinner and overnight at the village homestay.
Day 13 Bua - Kalasin - Khon Kaen (B/L/D)
In the morning there will be a lesson in diagnosis using ?the power of life?. A common theme in oriental traditional medicine based on the belief that a vital energy, or the ?power of life?, passes around our bodies. The Chinese call this vital energy ?Chi? while Indian Yogis refer to it as ?Pran?, health problems and sickness occur when this vital energy is blocked and cannot flow smoothly through the body. Cures used to improve the circulation of the ?power of life? include massage, acupuncture, yoga, and herbal medicine. Farewell lunch and ?Bai Si Su Kwan? (the farewell ceremony) a Northeastern tradition for wishing health, prosperity and safe journey. Transfer to Kalasin, visit Wat Sri Bunrueng and Kalasin Cultural Centre where there is a show of Northeastern dances. Continue to Khon Kaen, dinner and board the night sleeper train back to Bangkok. Overnight on the train.
Day 14 Bangkok - Depart Thailand (-/-/-)
Arrive Bangkok 06.10 hrs. Transfer to the First House Hotel where you will have day use of the hotel until your transfer to the airport and departure.
Ends.
Notes:
B = Breakfast L = Lunch D = Dinner
Things to bring: Raincoat in Rainy Season (Jun. - Oct.); sarong or similar for bath/shower; torch; small presents for your hosts.
Dos & Don?ts: Do wear neat clothes at all times while staying in the village; Do ask for permission before taking photos of people and ceremonies; Don?t show affection between couples in public.
Due to the nature of the tour, the weather, road conditions, local circumstance, prevailing safety factors, the route & itinerary may vary to those published. The content however, of the tour will remain similar. The final decision of the actual itinerary will be made by the tour operator?s staff on the day of the tour.
