Depart From: Overnight flight

In Transit: Overnight flight

Arrive To: Arrive in Thailand.

Afternoon: Convene with your Group Leader and other participants for program orientation.

Dinner: Welcome dinner at hotel.

Lodging: Majestic Grande Hotel

Meals Included: Dinner

Note: This day is a bit fast paced and busy. Need to be mindful of heat.

Breakfast: Breakfast buffet at hotel.

Morning: Start your time in Bangkok with an introduction to Buddhism, a religion and a way of life for the Thais, Laos and Cambodians.

Lunch: Continue the orientation with a lunch in a local restaurant by the river.

Afternoon: Spend the morning visiting the beautifully adorned temple Wat Po where the sound of monks chanting will fill the air, and the majestic Grand Palace, the home of the Emerald Buddha.

Dinner: Dinner at local restaurant.

Lodging: Majestic Grande Hotel

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Presentation on the Political Economy of the Greater Mekong / Fly from Bangkok to Chiang Mai

Breakfast: Breakfast buffet at hotel.

Morning: Start the morning with a presentation on the economies of Greater Mekong by an expert on Southeast Asian economy. Then fly to Chiang Mai.

Lunch: Lunch en route.

Afternoon: Coach to Doi Suthep, the symbol and icon of Chiang Mai. It is 3,520 feet above sea level and dates from 1383. The temple's golden pagoda contains holy Buddha relics, and attracts Buddhist pilgrims from all over the world throughout the year.

Dinner: Dinner at a local restaurant.

Lodging: Royal Princess Hotel

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Breakfast: Breakfast buffet at hotel.

Morning: This is your introduction to Northern Thai or Lanna Culture. Enter Chiang Mai with an orientation of Lanna culture, dance and music. Learn proper Thai etiquette and practice them here before introducing yourself to the locals.

Lunch: Lunch at a local restaurant.

Afternoon: Engage in conversations with local monks and learn about their life as a monk.

Dinner: Dinner at a local restaurant.

Lodging: Royal Princess Hotel

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Breakfast: Breakfast buffet at hotel.

Morning: This morning, enjoy a ride on an elephant through the mountain vista and learn how these camps work to help preserve elephants.

Lunch: Lunch at a local restaurant.

Afternoon: Enjoy the free afternoon exploring the ancient capital surrounded by gates and a moat. Walk along cobblestone sidewalks, visit the gates, observe the different markets, or just relax for the afternoon.

Dinner: Continue this relaxing day with dinner at your choice of restaurant.

Lodging: Royal Princess Hotel

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch

Breakfast: Breakfast buffet at hotel.

Morning: Take an excursion to the local fresh produce market in preparation for a cooking course. Learn about the different herbs and spices sold here. Then learn how to cook the Thai way, using local ingredients, and make your own Thai dish that you can enjoy for lunch.

Lunch: Taste your culinary delights.

Afternoon: Fly to Luang Prabang, and check into the hotel. Learn about Laos with a country orientation at the hotel, then end the day with a Baci Ceremony, a welcome ceremony wishing you good fortune and an intimate part of the Lao culture.

Dinner: Return to the hotel for a Laotion feast.

Lodging: Grand Luang Prabang Hotel & Resort

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Breakfast: Before breakfast, observe the early morning alms-giving ritual with monks which is an integral part of this town. Then enjoy a walking tour of Luang Prabang. Return to the hotel for a buffet breakfast.

Morning: Engage in a lecture on the political economy of Laos. Afterwards, learn about the silk industry in this town, with an on-site lecture by one of the founders of a silk weaving business that creates sustainable livelihoods for the Lao people.

Lunch: Enjoy the local cuisine at a local restaurant.

Afternoon: After lunch, learn how a resource center is providing educational opportunities for the young generation in Laos who would like to futher their education. Explore the center and meet some of the motivated students.

Dinner: Dinner at local restaurant.

Evening: Before dinner, enjoy a performance by the Royal Ballet Theater of Laos.

Lodging: Grand Luang Prabang Hotel & Resort

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Breakfast: Breakfast buffet at hotel.

Morning: Walk through the morning market to see the different goods that are offered. Then cruise along the Mekong towards Pak Ou Caves, the caves of a thousand Buddha images and learn about the influence of the spirit world in Laos.

Lunch: Lunch at local restaurant overlooking the Mekong River and Pak Ou Caves.

Afternoon: This afternoon, stop at a village and continue with a visit to a local school.

Dinner: Dinner at hotel.

Lodging: Grand Luang Prabang Hotel & Resort

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Breakfast: Breakfast buffet at hotel.

Morning: Take a guided visit of the National Museum to gain a better understanding of the royal family that once ruled Luang Prabang. Afterwards, learn about the preservation efforts of Luang Prabang with a presentation conducted by the organization that works to preserve this magical city. End the morning with a presentation at the Traditional Arts and Ethnology Centre about ethnic diversity and cultural change in Laos.

Lunch: Lunch at the Traditional Arts and Ethnology Center.

Afternoon: This is your free afternoon to explore this magical city and immerse yourself in the splendor of the Lao people.

Dinner: This evening is free for you to explore the different food offered in this small town.

Lodging: Grand Luang Prabang Hotel & Resort

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch

Note: Can be a slightly long day, since transit can be long.

Breakfast: Breakfast buffet at hotel.

Morning: Enjoy some free time, then transfer to the airport for your flight to Siem Reap, Cambodia.

Lunch: Lunch at a local restaurant.

Afternoon: Before checking into the hotel, get a city tour of Siem Reap, passing by the local market, the old city, the post office, the ATMs. Then continue with a country orientation followed by a documentary that will give an insight into the construction of this great empire.

Dinner: Taste your first Khmer cuisine with dinner at hotel.

Lodging: Tara Angkor Hotel

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Note: Participants must be able to get in and out of bus and sit and stand in hot and humid weather.

Breakfast: Breakfast buffet at hotel.

Morning: Begin your introduction to the temples of Angkor with a visit to Ta Prohm, the Jungle Temple. Unlike most of the temples of Angkor, Ta Prohm has been largely left to ruins. With its dynamic interaction between nature and man-made art, this atmospheric temple is a favorite for many - who can't help but feel a little like Indiana Jones or Lara Croft (which was filmed here) as they pick through the rubble. Then learn about the Cambodian education system as you visit a local school.

Lunch: Lunch at hotel.

Afternoon: Take a field trip to the Angkor National Museum. This new museum will provide you with an introduction and information about the different temples in Siem Reap.

Dinner: Dinner at a local restaurant.

Lodging: Tara Angkor Hotel

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Breakfast: Breakfast buffet at hotel.

Morning: Also explore Angkor Thom, the last and most enduring capital city of the Khmer empire. Established in the late twelfth century by king Jayavarman VII, at the centre of the city is the mesmerising temple of Bayon. Then take a field trip to the Angkor Children's Hospital.

Lunch: Lunch at a local restaurant.

Afternoon: Explore Banteay Srei, Then continue to Banteay Srei, the Citadel of Women, a pink sandstone temple, built in the latter half of the 10th century by Rajendravarman II and Jayavaraman V.

Dinner: Dinner at local restaurant.

Lodging: Tara Angkor Hotel

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Breakfast: Breakfast at the local restuarant.

Morning: Immerse in the breathtaking beauty of Angkor Wat as it silhouettes in the sky during sunrise. A UNESCO World Heritage Site, Angkor Archaeological Park contains the magnificent remains of the different capitals of the Khmer Empire, from the 9th to the 15th century. As the best-preserved temple at the site, Angkor Wat, is the only temple to have remained a significant religious centre since its foundation is Hindu - dedicated to the god Vishnu - then Buddhist. The temple is at the top of the high classical style of Khmer architecture. Then take a field trip to a local school in order to learn about the educational system in Cambodia.

Lunch: Lunch on own.

Afternoon: The afternoon is yours to relax or explore more of the city, visit the old market, or relax at the hotel. Then enjoy a screening of The Flute Player, a film about a Cambodian American who escaped Cambodia and returns to his home country to revive the Khmer traditional performing arts.

Dinner: Dinner at a local restaurant.

Evening: Enjoy a performance by local artists who are keeping the Khmer traditions alive.

Lodging: Tara Angkor Hotel

Meals Included: Breakfast, Dinner

Breakfast: Breakfast buffet at hotel.

Morning: Then, take a trip to the Tonle Sap, the largest lake in Southeast Asia that has sustained many livelihoods in Cambodia, and have some tea and biscuit at a stilt village.

Lunch: Lunch at hotel.

Afternoon: Transfer to the airport for departure to Hanoi, Vietnam. (Please note that this an early evening flight.)

Dinner: Dinner at airport, followed by flight to Hanoi and Vietnam country orientation.

Lodging: Mercure Hanoi La Gare Hotel

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Breakfast: Breakfast buffet at hotel.

Morning: Begin the morning with a lecture on the History of Vietnam, followed by a field trip to the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum and Ba Dinh Square where Ho Chi Minh read out the Declaration of Independence in 1945. This is where independence is celebrated each year. Then visit the One Pillar Pagoda, built by Emperor Lý Thái Tông, who ruled from 1028 to 1054. The emperor constructed the temple in gratitude for the birth of his son.

Lunch: Lunch at local restaurant.

Afternoon: Travel through time to the Temple of Literature, a complex dedicated to Confucius. This was also the location for Vietnam's first univeristy to educate Vietnam's administrarive and warriors class. End the afternoon and maneuver through Hoan Kiem Lake and the Old Quarters with a cyclo ride.

Dinner: End the cyclo ride at a local restaurant and enjoy the local fare.

Lodging: Mercure Hanoi La Gare Hotel

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Breakfast: Breakfast buffet at hotel.

Morning: Transfer to Halong Bay to board the Emeraude. Enjoy cruising around the bay surrounded by islands jutting out from the ocean.

Lunch: Lunch on board ship while cruising Halong Bay.

Afternoon: Then take a field trip to Surprise Cave. Discovered in 1901, this very large grotto was used by Viet Cong as a hideout during the war with the United States. A short, steep climb up paved steps leads you to three chambers, the last being the largest. Led by your Study Leader, attend a lecture on the geological makeup and the ecological impact of the caves.

Dinner: Dinner on board ship with cool breeze and light atmosphere.

Lodging: Emeraude Cruises

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Breakfast: Breakfast on the Emeraude while cruising along the bay.

Morning: This morning, disembark the ship and transfer back to Hanoi.

Lunch: Try the traditional "PHO" lunch.

Afternoon: Take time to rest or explore parts of Old Quarter on your own. Reconvene towards late afternoon to engage in a traditional northern Vietnamese Mua Roi Nuoc performance, or Water Puppet Show, that tells the story of day-to-day living in rural Vietnam and Vietnamese folk tales of harvest, fishing, and festivals.

Evening: Dinner at a local restaurant.

Lodging: Mercure Hanoi La Gare Hotel

Meals Included: Breakfast

Lecture on Agriculture/Museum of Ethnology/Optional Guided Tour of Hanoi's Old Quarter

Breakfast: Breakfast at the hotel.

Morning: Attend a morning lecture by an expert on the importance of Agriculture in Vietnam - agricultural products accounted for 30 percent of Vietnam's exports in 2005.

Lunch: Lunch on your own.

Afternoon: Take a tour of the Museum of Ethnology. Vietnam is a multi-ethnic country, which is composed of 54 ethic groups. Vietnam Museum of Ethnology is both a research centre and a public museum exhibiting the ethnic groups of Vietnam. Afterwards, relax or take an optional guided tour in the late afternoon of the Old Quarter. Remnant of a bygone era, The Old Quarter has the original street layout and architecture of old Hanoi. At the beginning of the 20th century the city consisted of only about 36 streets, most of which are now part of the old quarter. Each street then had merchants and households specialized in a particular trade, such as silk traders, jewellery, etc. The street names nowadays still reflect these specializations, although few of them remain exclusively in their original commerce. While here, visit a restored 'tube house' to see how residents in this area once used to live.

Dinner: Farewell dinner at a local restaurant.

Lodging: Mercure Hanoi La Gare Hotel

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Breakfast: Breakfast buffet at hotel.

Morning: Depart for Noi-Bai Airport in Hanoi.

Meals Included: Breakfast