Program tentatively dated August 4-18, 2006
Come to Thailand with Kat, and have fun learning about northern Thai cooking, herbal massage and Thai language, and explore the northern cities and mountains.
Our tour starts in the northern city of Lampang, where we will spend 12 days engaged in activities in town and in the surrounding area, followed by an exploration of the lovely northern part of the country.
Ititerary:
- Day 1
- Arrive in Lampang, relax and and get your energy back with our Traditional Thai massage, Herbal Spa and Sauna. Welcome Khan-toke (traditional sit down dinner with special northern dishes and a traditional dance performance.
- Day 2
- Morning market tour; pick up some food for breakfast and shop for fresh vegetables and materials for our first lunchtime cooking lesson. Afternoon: learn how to make homemade Thai chili pastes from the scratch. Dinner at a river side restaurant.
- Day 3
- Do as the Thai do: early-morning offering of food to monks who walk along the street. Cooking lessons for lunch and an afternoon trip to an ancient painting in a cave.
- Day 4
- Visit our lovely elephants at the World Elephant Conservation Center. A chance to ride on an elephant’s back and up into the hills. Afternoon: learn how to carve Thai fruit and vegetables with our Thai teacher.
- Day 5
- Temple and city tour in Lampang's local horse carriages. Afternoon: northern-style cooking lessons with our local people, who can show us recipes you'll never find in the States.
- Day 6
- Ritual ceremony at a temple. Don't worry, you won't be sacrificed. Afternoon: visit the Thai herbal medicine center.
- Day 7
- Thai noodles day! Enjoy learing how to cook Phad Thai or yellow curry noodles, and taste many deliciously different types of noodles.
- Day 8
- Jaesorn national park, where you have many options: and play in the waterfall, soak in the stream runoff of the Hot Springs, or rent your own room with hot spring tub in a cute little hut. Traditional Thai picnic food: roasted chicken, papaya salad and sticky rice.
- Day 9
- Visit Lampang's ceramic factories, which are big producers of local and exported ceramic kitchenware in Thailand, and a wood-carving village. Last cooking and fruit carving day in Lampang.
- Day 10
- Visit Chiang Mai & explore the famous Night Bazaar.
- Day 11
- Early-morning departure for the mountainous Chiang Rai Province. Local food in a remote mountain village.
- Day 12
- Walk through the beautiful northern forest. Late afternoon: return to Lampang.
- Day 13
- Morning: herbal massage to knead out any traveling aches. Afternoon: time for you to do any last-minute errands in Lampang. Evening: farewell party with local friends you’ve met during your stay in the north.
- Day 14
- Afternoon flight back to Bangkok and farewell.
Educational tour price: $1,200 (14 days). The tour price will be $1,300 if you would like me to purchase your round trip ticket between Lampang and Bangkok. Tour price does not include airfare to Thailand. The tour starts in Lampang province and includes all expenses such as hotel, tuition fees for Thai language lessons, cooking and fruit carving classes, all transportation, entrance fees, all meals, laundry and accident insurance during the trip.
In order to cover Kat's expenses, the minimum number per trip is 8 paying customers.
You can come from anywhere in the world and meet Kat in the Lampang airport (or in Bangkok by prior arrangement).
If you are interested, please
email me, or call
(206) 245-8360 or
(206) 417-3080.
