June Bathra - The Magic of Phang Nga Bay, Phuket (Français)


Phang Nga Bay's spectacular limestone scenery has captured the hearts of movie makers, writers and romantics for decades. Scores of beautiful islands rise up from the Andaman Sea, their tree-clad cliffs casting a rainbow of contrast to the bay's sparkling Perrier-bottle hue.

There is no finer way to experience this remarkable scene than from the deck of the June Bathra, a traditional junk-rigged schooner. Recline on comfortable cushions below the boat's striking red sails as the views of the archipelago from Phuket to Phang Nga unfold before you.

As the boat glides gracefully across the water, a spectacle of islands towering above the sea offers a striking display of green and mottled limestone colour. Later, you'll stop at a deserted white sand beach for a secluded swim in the refreshing clear waters.

You'll take a ride on a long tail boat to visit caves and mangroves, the entire area alive with birdsong and monkey chatter. At James Bond Island, enjoy views of the iconic rock formation rising out of the bay.

Back onboard, enjoy a delicious buffet lunch, including freshly caught fish and seafood. After a secluded swim, just sit back and savour this coastal scenery a bit longer - and the romance of the open sea on board this unique sailing vessel.

KHUM LANNA THAI COUNTRY LIVING
2 DAY / 1 NIGHT TOUR

Click here for AFTERNOON ARRIVAL (Code LNEX2P)

MORNING ARRIVAL (Code LNEX2A)

Day 01 KHUM LANNA (L, D)

09h30: Arrive at Khum Lanna and be greeted by local Lanna people. A tasty welcome drink (herbal tea or fruit juice from the garden) will be served prior to the briefing and orientation when you will choose your afternoon activity. Khum Lanna will provide Thai farmer shirts for guest use during their stay.

10h00: Enjoy preparation for Lanna country-style BBQ lunch with a garden tour around the compound; collect different seasonal herbs, vegetables, and fruits for cooking.

11h00: Get your free sample of our "Khum Lanna Thai Recipe Book" before the first Thai cooking class begins. Share an informal Lanna country-style BBQ lunch that you have prepared with your host. Get an introduction to Thai language (which will prepare you for your market shopping the next day).

From 14h00-16h00 you can choose one of the following (approx.) one-hour activities:
> Guided biking tour around Khum Lanna
> Fruit (or vegetable) carving
> Local style personal herbal steam bath
> Hot-pressed herbal massage (consisting of 8 kinds of herbs: ginger, zingiber, lemongrass, plantain, tamarind leaves, soap pod, camphor and Aom Kiew)

Notes:
- A second additional 1-hour activity can be booked at a nominal charge.
> Guided biking tour around Khum Lanna: 200 THB.
> Fruit (or vegetable) carving: 300 THB.
> Local style personal herbal steam bath: 200 THB.
> Hot-pressed herbal massage (consisting of 8 kinds of herbs: ginger, zingiber, lemongrass, plantain, tamarind leaves, soap pod, camphor and Aom Kiew): 500 THB.
- Freestyle biking (not guided, but with a Road Book of recommended itineraries) is considered as a free activity.

Late afternoon at leisure until the second Thai cooking class in the early evening.

Enjoy the fruits of your labors with a full 4-course sit-down Thai dinner with your host and friends. Watch a million stars beside a campfire in the garden.

Overnight at Khum Lanna.

Day 02 KHUM LANNA (B)

05h30: Coffee/tea will be brought to your room for your wake-up call before the sunrise biking along the rural country road via San Kwang village to Phrao to visit an early morning local market where local coffee is available. With the help of your guide you may buy local cookies and flower garlands for the temple offering on the way back.

Then walk to visit the farmer's rice and traditional tools shop, chat with the owner, and learn more about the rice legends and differences & properties of the varieties of rice. Your local escort will translate. Bike back to Khum Lanna with a stop to visit Wat Pa Gee. Pay respect to the Buddha image under the sacred tree. Continue biking to Khum Lanna along the local canal with a stop to see the rice fields and get more information about the rice-growing process and the place of rice in Thai life. Upon return, refreshment or shower before a local Lanna-style breakfast which is set on the riverside.

After breakfast (around 10h00) the Experience ends.

Daily Departures!

5 Day / 4 Night Lisu Lodge Trekking (Code LSTK5D)
Lisu Lodge, Lahu Outpost, Akha Outpost & Khum Lanna

Day 01 LISU LODGE - LAHU OUTPOST (L, D)

09h00: Arrive at Lisu Lodge. A traditional welcome drink will be served.

Then, drive by local open-air truck to the area near Pha Mieng. Start walking along the jungle trails to the remote village of Hmong Pha Mieng (1h30). Meet the inhabitants of this small hilltribe village in the jungle.

Enjoy a picnic lunch in the forest.

After lunch, walk to the top of the mountain (1h30) where the Red Lahu Village of Pha Daeng is located. Continue walking along a mountain ridge to the Lahu village of Kup Kap (1h00), from where you have a spectacular view overlooking the Mae Taeng district and Chiang Mai town glittering at night in the distance. Beyond the mountain peaks to the west lies Myanmar (Burma).

Total walking time: about 4 - 5 hours
Difficulty: medium grade walking, mainly uphill
Distance: about 12 - 15 km

Dinner and overnight at Lahu Outpost, modeled on a typical Lahu house. Basic amenities are provided: mattress, pillow, bed linen, blankets, towels, mosquito nets, etc. Two Western-style toilets and a communal shower are provided.

More details about LAHU OUTPOST

Day 02 LAHU OUTPOST - LISU LODGE (B, L, D)

Breakfast at the Outpost. Then, walk 2 hours downhill passing the clear pool of Huay Sadarn Waterfall.

Total walking time: about 1.5 - 2 hours
Difficulty: hard grade walking, mainly down hill
Distance: about 3 - 4 km

Experience a 45-minute inflatable raft trip downriver to a traditional Thai country village. Short transfer to the Elephant Camp, where a picnic lunch can be enjoyed in this remarkable setting.

Afternoon, enjoy an hour of elephant riding through the beautiful mountainous jungle down to the river where you will take a short drive to an Akha village for a visit and chat with the shaman (spirit doctor).

From there, return transfer to Lisu Lodge. Upon arrival, a welcome drink will be served before checking into your room. Then you will receive a briefing and orientation for you to select your activity for the following morning.

Guided by a Lisu villager, walk from Ton Lung temple to visit the herbal garden. Then continue through the village with a stop for a cup of tea at the village shaman's house. Chat with the Lisu shaman and learn about his life, beliefs, curing rites and Lisu traditions.

Visit the cultural center and 'museum' created by the villagers. Inside you will find a collection of typical household items and tools from the Lisu as well as well as the Akha mountain peoples.

Time at leisure until Thai dinner with a traditional Lisu dance show.

Overnight at Lisu Lodge.

Day 03 LISU LODGE - AKHA OUTPOST (B, L, D)

Breakfast at the Lodge.

In the morning, we provide you with a choice of one-hour activities:
> Guided biking tour around the Lisu Lodge area
> Steam bath
> Massage
> Ox-cart ride through farmlands and orchards to the Thai village of Baan Pang Mai Daeng - about an hour ending up back at Lisu Lodge

Notes:
- A second additional 1-hour activity can be booked at a nominal charge.
> Guided biking tour around the Lisu Lodge area: 200 THB.
> Steam bath: 200 THB.
> Massage: 350 THB.
> Ox-cart ride through farmlands and orchards to the Thai village of Baan Pang Mai Daeng - about an hour ending up back at Lisu Lodge: 350 THB.
- Freestyle biking (not guided, but with a Road Book of recommended itineraries) is considered as a free activity.

Leave Lisu Lodge and head to a Palong village in Chiang Dao. A tasty picnic lunch will be provided en route.

Walk uphill about 3 hours to Akha Outpost.

Total walking time: about 3 - 4 hours
Difficulty: medium grade walking, mainly up hill
Distance: about 10 - 12 km

Check-in at Akha Outpost, set in an isolated area with spectacular views: looking north down into the valley far below or to the west, the mountain peaks stretching into Burma; and finally in the east: the Lao PDR.

For dinner, help your guide whip up a tasty, wholesome mountain meal.

Dinner and overnight at Akha Outpost, modeled on a typical Akha house. Basic amenities are provided: mattress, pillow, bed linen, blankets, towels, mosquito nets, etc. Two Western-style toilets and a communal shower are provided.

More details about AKHA OUTPOST

Day 04 AKHA OUTPOST - KHUM LANNA (B, L, D)

Breakfast at Akha Outpost.

Start walking downhill passing by the waterfall to another Akha village.

Total walking time: about 2 - 2.5 hours
Difficulty: easy grade walking, mainly down hill
Distance: about 7 - 8 km

Then take the short drive to Khum Lanna.

Arrive at Khum Lanna and be greeted by local Lanna people. A tasty welcome drink (herbal tea or fruit juice from the garden) will be served prior to the briefing and orientation when you will choose your afternoon activity. Khum Lanna will provide Thai farmer shirts for guest use during their stay.

10h00 Enjoy preparation for Lanna country-style BBQ lunch with a garden tour around the compound; collect different seasonal herbs, vegetables, and fruits for cooking.

11h00: Get your free sample of our "Khum Lanna Thai Recipe Book" before the first Thai cooking class begins. Share an informal Lanna country-style BBQ lunch that you have prepared with your host. Get an introduction to Thai language (which will prepare you for your market shopping the next day).

Enjoy a satisfying Thai Lunch at Khum Lanna.

In the afternoon, we provide you with a choice of one-hour activities:
> Guided biking tour around Khum Lanna
> Fruit (or vegetable) carving
> Local style personal herbal steam bath
> Hot-pressed herbal massage (consisting of 8 kinds of herbs: ginger, zingiber, lemongrass, plantain, tamarind leaves, soap pod, camphor and Aom Kiew)

Notes:
- A second additional 1-hour activity can be booked at a nominal charge.
> Guided biking tour around Khum Lanna: 200 THB.
> Fruit (or vegetable) carving: 300 THB.
> Local style personal herbal steam bath: 200 THB.
> Hot-pressed herbal massage (consisting of 8 kinds of herbs: ginger, zingiber, lemongrass, plantain, tamarind leaves, soap pod, camphor and Aom Kiew): 500 THB.
- Freestyle biking (not guided, but with a Road Book of recommended itineraries) is considered as a free activity.

Late afternoon at leisure until the second Thai cooking class in the early evening.

Enjoy the fruits of your labors with a full 4-course sit-down Thai dinner with your host and friends. Watch a million stars beside a campfire in the garden.

At leisure until the scrumptious dinner which you prepared already in the afternoon.

Overnight at Khum Lanna.

Day 05 KHUM LANNA (B, L)

05h30: Coffee/tea will be brought to your room for your wake-up call before the sunrise biking along the rural country road via San Kwang village to Phrao to visit an early morning local market where local coffee is available. With the help of your guide you may buy local cookies and flower garlands for the temple offering on the way back.

Then walk to visit the farmer's rice and traditional tools shop, chat with the owner, and learn more about the rice legends and differences & properties of the varieties of rice. Your local escort will translate. Bike back to Khum Lanna with a stop to visit Wat Pa Gee. Pay respect to the Buddha image under the sacred tree. Continue biking to Khum Lanna along the local canal with a stop to see the rice fields and get more information about the rice-growing process and the place of rice in Thai life.

Upon return, refreshment or shower before a local Lanna-style breakfast at 09h00, which is set on the riverside.

Then, enjoy some light biking to the rural village down the road. See the incredible accumulation of beehives on the sacred tree at Ban Nam Phrae and get information about the need for bees and the reasons for local conservation.

Continue biking to Wiang Phrao Wung Hin (the ancient city 30 years older than Chiang Mai) to visit a temple and Phra Chao Lan Tong, the most significant Buddha Image in the Phrao district. Here, King Mengrai (1259-1317) assembled the villagers and trained them as soldiers to defend the city. Bike to Wat Tham Dork Kum and visit different Buddha stucco figures and the huge reclining Buddha.

Picnic lunch will be provided on the top of the mountain, which has a fantastic overview of the entire Phrao valley and Khum Lanna. Bike back to Khum Lanna.

Refreshment and check-out.

End of the Experience.

3 Day / 2 Night Lisu Lodge Trekking (Code LSTK3D)
Mountain Trek: Lahu Outpost - Lisu Lodge

Day 01 LISU LODGE - LAHU OUTPOST (L,D)

09h00: Arrive at Lisu Lodge. A traditional welcome drink will be served.

Then, drive by local open-air truck to the area near Pha Mieng. Start walking along the jungle trails to the remote village of Hmong Pha Mieng (1h30). Meet the inhabitants of this small hilltribe village in the jungle.

Enjoy a picnic lunch in the forest.

After lunch, walk to the top of the mountain (1h30) where the Red Lahu Village of Pha Daeng is located. Continue walking along a mountain ridge to the Lahu village of Kup Kap (1h00.), from where you have a spectacular view overlooking the Mae Taeng district and Chiang Mai town glittering at night in the distance. Beyond the mountain peaks to the west lies Myanmar (Burma).

Total walking time: about 4 - 5 hours
Difficulty: medium grade walking, mainly uphill
Distance: about 12 - 15 km

Dinner and overnight at Lahu Outpost, modeled on a typical Lahu house. Basic amenities are provided: mattress, pillow, bed linen, blankets, towels, mosquito nets, etc. Two Western-style toilets and a communal shower are provided.

More details about LAHU OUTPOST

Day 02 LAHU OUTPOST - LISU LODGE (B, L, D)

Breakfast at the Outpost. Then, walk 2 hours downhill passing the clear pool of Huay Sadarn Waterfall.

Total walking time: about 1.5 - 2 hours
Difficulty: hard grade walking, mainly down hill
Distance: about 3 - 4 km

Experience a 45-minute inflatable raft trip downriver to a traditional Thai country village. Short transfer to the Elephant Camp, where a picnic lunch can be enjoyed in this remarkable setting.

Afternoon, enjoy an hour of elephant riding through the beautiful mountainous jungle down to the river where you will take a short drive to an Akha village for a visit and chat with the shaman (spirit doctor).

From there, return transfer to Lisu Lodge. Upon arrival, a welcome drink will be served before checking into your room. Then you will receive a briefing and orientation for you to select your activity for the following morning.

Guided by a Lisu villager, walk from Ton Lung temple to visit the herbal garden. Then continue through the village with a stop for a cup of tea at the village shaman's house. Chat with the Lisu shaman and learn about his life, beliefs, curing rites and Lisu traditions.

Visit the cultural center and 'museum' created by the villagers. Inside you will find a collection of typical household items and tools from the Lisu as well as well as the Akha mountain peoples.

Time at leisure until Thai dinner with a traditional Lisu dance show.

Overnight at Lisu Lodge.

Day 03 LISU LODGE (B, L)

Breakfast at the Lodge.

In the morning, we provide you with a choice of one-hour activities:
> Guided biking tour around the Lisu Lodge area
> Steam bath
> Massage
> Ox-cart ride through farmlands and orchards to the Thai village of Baan Pang Mai Daeng - about an hour ending up back at Lisu Lodge

Notes:
- A second additional 1-hour activity can be booked at a nominal charge.
> Guided biking tour around the Lisu Lodge area: 200 THB.
> Steam bath: 200 THB.
> Massage: 350 THB.
> Ox-cart ride through farmlands and orchards to the Thai village of Baan Pang Mai Daeng - about an hour ending up back at Lisu Lodge: 350 THB.
- Freestyle biking (not guided, but with a Road Book of recommended itineraries) is considered
a free activity.

Enjoy a fine Thai lunch.

End of the Adventure.

Lanjia Lodge - Hilltribe Discovery
Community Experience & Culture Trekking in the Mekong Hills, Thailand

Discover one of Thailand's most progressive hilltribe cultures and diverse regions at Lanjia Lodge. Built in traditional Hmong style with Western comforts, Lanjia Lodge offers trekking, bike riding, birdwatching and handicrafts along with first-hand experience of how tourism can play a positive role in the preservation of ancient cultures.

Lanjia, meaning 'peaceful' in the Hmong language, is an eco-friendly, community-based lodge nestled on a hill overlooking the Mekong River and Laos. It is set in harmony with a lush green environment inside a Hmong and Lahu village in northern Thailand's Chiang Rai province.

Lanjia Lodge is designed to improve the quality of life of hilltribe villagers and to promote community-based tourism in Thailand. To achieve this goal, Asian Oasis is working with the Population and Community Development Association (PDA) - one of Thailand's most respectable and diverse non-government organizations.

The hosts at Lanjia Lodge are the proud and hospitable Hmong and Lahu villagers who will take care of all visitors and activities ar Lanjia Lodge. Contributions from your stay will be used on community projects that improve the local hilltribe people's living conditions.

Khum Lanna - Home of Artisans

Lanna was the name of a prosperous self-ruling kingdom that occupied the whole of Northern Thailand and parts of present day Myanmar and Laos. Founded in the 13th century, the name means 'Land of a million rice fields'.

The rich culture and history owe much to the influence of Burma and, to a certain extent Laos. As a result, Lanna is quite different from other regions of Thailand, particularly in cuisine, culture and custom. It is generally agreed throughout Thailand, that the Northern women are the most beautiful and people the friendliest and most polite in the country. The charm and gentleness of the Northerners seldom fail to impress even the most demanding of visitors.

At Khum Lanna, discover the rural charms of traditional Northern Thai life and bathe your senses in this enchanting Lanna experience. Set in a small valley surrounded by mountains, the property is located in the serene village of Phrao, an hour and a half drive from Chiang Mai. With emerald-green rice fields and lush orchards, Khum Lanna gives you a luxury home-stay experience - a celebration of heritage, food and lifestyle.

Take a leisurely bike ride around the village and visit the quiet temple and huge reclining Buddha in a part set amidst the forest. Gain an experiential understanding of Thai 'country' cuisine, through a special cooking class, beginning in the market, followed by a class on the essentials of 'iconic' Thai dishes and the art of fruit and vegetable carving.

Mekhala - Bangkok Cruise on the River of Kings

For centuries, The River of Kings has been the lifeblood of Thailand, carrying with it the history and culture of this proud nation. Flowing down from the fertile central plains for almost 400 kilometres, this birthplace of Thai civilization connects the ancient Siamese capital Ayuthaya with the modern capital Bangkok, where it remains an essential artery in the region's economic life.

Beautifully crafted, Mekhala is a collection of three restored rice barges that provide the setting for daily journeys between Bangkok and Ayuthaya, retracing the paths of former royal processions. Their journey is a fascinating insight into how life on the river has changed over this time.

The magic of this voyage is its unhurried pace that captures the subtle colours and moods of life on the river over a 24-hour period. A couple of hours into the journey, the bustle of the city is replaced by the tranquillity of the countryside.

Along densely wooded river banks, tin and timber homes nestle in the hyacinth-clogged shallows housing families whose lives are still bound by the ancient waterway.