Temples, Palaces & Villages

Feast your senses on the whirlwind of Bangkok, a crazy mishmash of towering skyscrapers and shopping malls, traditional markets and historic temples. Tour the dazzling Grand Palace, check out the Temple of the Reclining Buddha (Wat Pho) and the Temple of the Emerald Buddha, all dazzling examples of jewel-encrusted monuments, on your city tour. For an insight into daily life in Bangkok, browse the colourful flower market. Jump on board your cruise to the crumbling temples and palaces of Ayutthaya, once the largest city in the world, now an atmospheric ruin.

Fly to Chiang Mai, surrounded by lush countryside and mountains dotted with traditional villages and hilltribes. The town is overflowing with temples – over 300 of them – the best and most recognisable of which is Wat Phrathat Doi Suthep, with its glittering gold chedi. Learn how to cook authentic Thai cuisine at a cookery class - browse the local market for ingredients, then head into the kitchen and get cooking. Learn how to create sizzling curries, perfect pad thai and coconut sticky rice.

Stay with a local family in the pretty mountain village of Mae Kampong. At an altitude of 1300 metres, it’s a refreshing place, filled with tea plantations, wooden huts and rice fields. The tea leaves are actually used to make fermented tea (locally called miang), somewhat of a dying industry, so more recently the locals have branched out into coffee as well. Learn about village life, trek to a waterfall, and feast on a delicious home-cooked dinner with your homestay family.

Return to Chiang Mai for one more night in this beautiful city. Perhaps take a walk to one of the city's open-air markets, which are only set up when the sun sets and the temperature comes down.

Uncover the secrets of the Golden Triangle and marvel at the striking White Temple. Be sure to check out the Hall of Opium, charting the history of the opium industry in this area. Visit Mae Fah Luang Art & Cultural Park, set in landscaped gardens, for an insight into Buddhist art and architecture. Wat Rong Khun, otherwise known as the White Temple, in Chiang Rai, is a spectacle in itself. In Buddhist style but completely white, it is reflected in surrounding pools, giving it an otherworldly quality.

Don your mask and fins and uncover the myriad fish that lurk in the corals of Koh Chang, a great place to learn to dive or snorkel, plus, there are some pretty beaches to relax upon with a cocktail or two if that’s more your thing. The centre of the island is covered in limestone peaks and dense forest, and home to a fair amount of wildlife including elephants, deer and a variety of birds. Sea kayaking, boating and walking are popular activities here too.