Travel to Thailand and enjoy the excitement and intrigue of a whole new culture. In fact one of the best ways to see Thailand is by taking a tour.
This tour is a great choice for anyone who is experiencing Thailand for the first time. You’ll begin your adventure in Belgin in Bangkok.
DAY 1: ARRIVE BANGKOK
Arrive in Bangkok where a local representative will meet you at the airport and transfer you to your hotel for a three-night stay.
DAY 2: BANGKOK
Your guide and driver will escort you on a private longtail boat ride along the Chao Phraya River and its residential canals. You’ll visit Wat Arun, the Temple of Dawn Next the Grand Palace, the ceremonial home of the Thai Royal Family. Then visit the magnificent Wat Phra Kaew, the temple that houses the Emerald Buddha the country's most sacred religious image. Then it’s off to Wat Po which is home to the School of Thai Massage. You’ll loop back to Bangkok's central market, a labyrinthine maze of stalls alongside the Chao Praya River.
You’ll visit Bangkok’s flower market where beautifully traditionally dressed women will greet you and offer you flowers. Then it’s off to the silky tycoons Jim Thompson’s home which is filled with an incredible collection of Asian art and antiques. During the evening you can check out Thailand's excellent cuisine.
DAY 3: BANGKOK
Early in the morning you’ll witness the monks practicing their chants at the Marble Temple. Proceed to the Monks Bowl Alley, one of the few places where traditional alms bowls are still handcrafted. Next you’ll get to tour the private Prasart Museum on a Bangkok estate which is surrounded by lush gardens and home to a private collection of Thai and other Southeast Asian art and artifacts dating back to the 13th century. The afternoon will be yours to spend as you like exploring the sights and sounds of Bangkok.
DAY 4: BANGKOK - CHIANG RAI
Today you’ll fly to Chiang Rai, the first capital of the ancient Lanna Thai kingdom, for a two-night stay. Once you’re settled in your hotel you’ll embark on a full day Golden Triangle excursion. You’ll first stop at the Mae Fah Luang Art and Cultural Park where you can stroll along the beautiful botanical gardens, visit the golden pavilion, and admire the collection of northern Thai religious and secular art. From there it’s off to Mae Sai, the northernmost point in Thailand and an excellent stop for shoppers. Then you’ll cross into Myanmar and visit the market at Tachilek. After lunch it’s off to the Golden Triangle where the borders of Thailand, Laos and Myanmar converge. Then you’ll take a drive along the Mekong River to the ancient ruins of Chiang Saen. You’ll be back at your hotel by sundown in time to enjoy the night culture.
DAY 5: CHIANG RAI
The early morning starts with a boat ride up the Mae Kok River to the Karen village of Ruam Mitr followed by a two-hour elephant ride through rice paddies and precarious ridges. Then you’ll visit Yao hilltribe village where our representative will pick you up for a picnic lunch at Ya Pou. Spend some time walking to the Lahu village of Jaleh, and if you’re energetic continuing for another hour along the trail to the local waterfall. You’ll return to Chiang Rai by late afternoon and it’s time to explore on your own or take a peaceful nap.
DAY 6: CHIANG RAI - CHIANG MAI
You’ll depart by car for the northern city of Chiang Mai, where you will spend three nights. After you’ve settled into your room the rest of the day and evening are at your leisure. But be sure to visit the festive Night Bazaar.
DAY 7: CHIANG MAI
Day 7 is a full day of private touring where you get to explore the city and numerous Lanna Thai temples of Chiang Mai. You’ll start with the mountain temple of Doi Suthep. Here you’ll find 300 intricately carved steps that lead to the temple gate. And what a view of Chiang Mai! After exploring Doi Suthep you’ll stop in at Wat Chedi Luang, the original home of the Emerald Buddha. Finally you’ll take a city tour through Chiang Mai which is considered the second most important city in Thailand, and it has an entirely different feel than bustling Bangkok.
DAY 8: CHIANG MAI
You’ll have the day to explore and enjoy the facilities at your resort.
DAY 9: CHIANG MAI - PHUKET
This morning you’lll be transferred to the airport for the flight to the resort island of Phuket, located in southern Thailand. You’ll spend a three relaxing nights at the resort
DAYS 10 - 11: PHUKET
For the next few days you’ll get to enjoy the splendor the white sand beaches and towering limestone stacks rising vertically from gentle, lapping aquamarine waters in Phuket. . Take a cruise, go sailing, snorkeling, or just relax.
DAY 12: PHUKET - BANGKOK
Today you will fly to Bangkok where you’ll be driven to your hotel for an overnight stay.
DAY 13: DEPART BANGKOK
It’s off to the airport for your flight home’
You’ll have wonderful memories to share with friends and family when you return! This is will be one of the best vacations you ever take!
http://www.articleclick.com/take-the-discover-thailand-tour.html
Showing posts with label discovery. Show all posts
Showing posts with label discovery. Show all posts
2007/08/21
2007/07/28
Learning Thai -- The Language of Crows
by Douglas Anderson
This morning, at dawn, I listened to the morning news delivered by a large, black crow in the tree next to my bedroom window. This crow has a very large vocabulary, and its language is tonal, like Thai. Although crows can make only one sound, which in English we transcribe as "caw", in fact it uses the same five tones as Thai.
The morning news lasted about ten minutes, with frequent pauses, which I took to be the pause between sentences or paragraphs. This crow used repetition and tones to create different words. Unlike Thai, which only duplicates a word to indicate a generic plural, the crow would issue as many as five identical caws quickly, then pause slightly. I took the five caws to be one word or phrase.
Thai uses five tones: low, middle, high, rising, and falling. The crow used the same tones. There was clearly a "caw?" and a "caw!", which were quite distinct from the other three caws: low caw, middle caw, and high caw.
As far as I could tell, the crow did not repeat itself during the ten minute news announcement. I could not hear any answering crow, so I took this as general broadcast news, as opposed to "hey, I'm looking for a mate!".
In Thailand, 20 years ago, I lived at JB Mansion on Phaholyothin Road, Soi 3. I often went into the pool, but I had to wait until sunset, as I have fair skin and burn easily. There was a large bird, perhaps a parrot or toucan, in a cage that was obviously too small, on the balcony of the apartment building next door.
All day, this bird sent out a single whistle, which I took to mean, "Is anyone there?"
One day, I repeated the whistle back to him. It was easy to reproduce and I did it accurately.
The bird immediately perked up, shifted around on its perch, sat up straight, turned its head around in both directions, and issued a different whistle which I had never heard before.
I duplicated that whistle, and the bird looked confused. It tilted its head, shifted around, then issued the second whistle again.
I repeated it.
The bird settled down, and went back to issuing the first whistle.
So what happened here?
Clearly, if the first whistle meant "Is anyone there?", the second whistle meant "I am here, who are you?" and it should have been followed by a third whistle, which I did not know.
This is similar to the "discovery protocol" used in computer communications, for example with Bluetooth and Wi-Fi devices. An initial signal, called "Attention" in computer-speak, is followed by an "Acknowledgement", and then a "Begin Transmission". This is also termed a "handshake".
When communicating with the parrot, the handshake failed as I did not provide the correct third whistle, and the bird realized that I was not another parrot.
Getting back to the crow, it did not do what the parrot did, that is, issue a single sound repeatedly. It was clearly speaking different sentences for a long period of time, ten minutes, without repeating itself, as far as I could tell.
In Australia, some crows in the Northern Territory have figured out how to eat cane toads, which have two poisonous sacs behind the head. Normally, anything that eats a cane toad dies. Because of this, cane toads have spread southwards and have now reached Sydney. But the crows near Darwin have figured out that if they flip the toad onto its back, they can eat the cane toad by going through the stomach.
Amazing birds, crows. I never realized before today that they spoke a version of Thai. I wrote Speak Easy Thai to help people learn Thai; maybe I should write a Speak Easy Crow.
thai-culture-publishing.com
This morning, at dawn, I listened to the morning news delivered by a large, black crow in the tree next to my bedroom window. This crow has a very large vocabulary, and its language is tonal, like Thai. Although crows can make only one sound, which in English we transcribe as "caw", in fact it uses the same five tones as Thai.
The morning news lasted about ten minutes, with frequent pauses, which I took to be the pause between sentences or paragraphs. This crow used repetition and tones to create different words. Unlike Thai, which only duplicates a word to indicate a generic plural, the crow would issue as many as five identical caws quickly, then pause slightly. I took the five caws to be one word or phrase.
Thai uses five tones: low, middle, high, rising, and falling. The crow used the same tones. There was clearly a "caw?" and a "caw!", which were quite distinct from the other three caws: low caw, middle caw, and high caw.
As far as I could tell, the crow did not repeat itself during the ten minute news announcement. I could not hear any answering crow, so I took this as general broadcast news, as opposed to "hey, I'm looking for a mate!".
In Thailand, 20 years ago, I lived at JB Mansion on Phaholyothin Road, Soi 3. I often went into the pool, but I had to wait until sunset, as I have fair skin and burn easily. There was a large bird, perhaps a parrot or toucan, in a cage that was obviously too small, on the balcony of the apartment building next door.
All day, this bird sent out a single whistle, which I took to mean, "Is anyone there?"
One day, I repeated the whistle back to him. It was easy to reproduce and I did it accurately.
The bird immediately perked up, shifted around on its perch, sat up straight, turned its head around in both directions, and issued a different whistle which I had never heard before.
I duplicated that whistle, and the bird looked confused. It tilted its head, shifted around, then issued the second whistle again.
I repeated it.
The bird settled down, and went back to issuing the first whistle.
So what happened here?
Clearly, if the first whistle meant "Is anyone there?", the second whistle meant "I am here, who are you?" and it should have been followed by a third whistle, which I did not know.
This is similar to the "discovery protocol" used in computer communications, for example with Bluetooth and Wi-Fi devices. An initial signal, called "Attention" in computer-speak, is followed by an "Acknowledgement", and then a "Begin Transmission". This is also termed a "handshake".
When communicating with the parrot, the handshake failed as I did not provide the correct third whistle, and the bird realized that I was not another parrot.
Getting back to the crow, it did not do what the parrot did, that is, issue a single sound repeatedly. It was clearly speaking different sentences for a long period of time, ten minutes, without repeating itself, as far as I could tell.
In Australia, some crows in the Northern Territory have figured out how to eat cane toads, which have two poisonous sacs behind the head. Normally, anything that eats a cane toad dies. Because of this, cane toads have spread southwards and have now reached Sydney. But the crows near Darwin have figured out that if they flip the toad onto its back, they can eat the cane toad by going through the stomach.
Amazing birds, crows. I never realized before today that they spoke a version of Thai. I wrote Speak Easy Thai to help people learn Thai; maybe I should write a Speak Easy Crow.
thai-culture-publishing.com
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