Sunday, August 10, 2008

Dates...Cities...Activities


Aug 14-15...Tokyo
  • Sleep City!
Aug 15-16...Kyoto
  • Taking the Bullet train to and from Kyoto
  • Exploring the Golden Palace
  • Downtown Gion (we think that may be Dave's evil twin in the picture), the largest geisha District in Japan
  • Traditional Japanese tea ceremony
  • Philosopher's Walk with Cherry Blossom Trees
Aug 16-18...Tokyo
Aug 18-21...Bangkok
  • Thai Spa Day
  • Visiting the Reclining Buddha, the Largest Buddha in Thailand
  • Walking Tour of the City
  • Over Night Sleeper Train to Chiang Mai
Aug 21-Aug 25...Chiang Mai
  • Thai Farm Cooking School, we go to a thai market in the morning and get the food we need for the day, and then we go to the farm, where they grow the rest of the ingredients, and learn some traditional thai cooking.
  • Elephant Nature Park, Which is a haven for abused elephants, where we get to bathe, feed, and play with the elephants.
  • Jungle Trek, including a trip to the long neck village of Karen, an elephant ride, and 2 walks around the jungle.
  • Walking Tour of Chaing Mai
  • Overnight Sleeper Train to Ayutthaya
Aug 26...Ayutthaya
  • Walking Tour and Local Sight Seeing, Ayutthaya was the old capitol of Thailand
  • Train Back to Bangkok
Aug 26-27...Bangkok
  • Arrive From Ayutthaya at 9:00 pm
  • Sleep...Sleep...Sleep
  • Leave For Siem Reap, Cambodia at 4:00 am, train to Siem Reap, then driver takes us on a 3 hour taxi ride.
Aug 27-Sept 1...Siem Reap, Cambodia
In Cambodia, we will be staying at a hotel that offers different trips, which we got to customize, so for this section
we are going to breakdown our activities by the days and include the full description of our trips.
  • Day One:
    • Go to the Cambodian Land mine Museum
    • Watch the sunset from a temple at the Angkor complex
    • Return to hotel for special Khmer dinner.
  • Day Two:
    • Spending the day exploring the Ankor Wat temple plaza with our own personal guide.
    • Head out to town and explore the many galleries, restaurants and cafes.
  • Day Three:
    • Leave the hotel at 6:00 am heading to the Ta Prohm, a very special temple, to watch the sunrise
    • Head out to The National Silk Centre, take tour of the farm including breeding of Cambodian Silk Worms, silk extraction processes, and watch garments get made through to completion.
  • Day Four:
    • Day in the Life, spend a day shadowing a poor Cambodian Family, helping with their chores which may include rice planting, harvesting, making wine, or many other cambodian tasks. The proceeds are split between the family and the village.
  • Day Five:
Sept 1-Sept 3...Bangkok, Thailand
  • Thai spa day, part duex
  • Relaxing
  • Saying goodbye to the Thai!
Sept 4...Arrive Chicago

Photos on Flickr

We just created a Flickr account so that you can see selected pictures from our trip. We'll try to upload pictures a few times over the course of the trip.

Here is the URL: http://www.flickr.com/photos/mollydamsky/

Dates...Cities...Hotels





Here is a list of the cities we will be visiting, where we will be staying and when we will be there.

(right: Bungalow from the Villas at Siem Reap, Cambodia)

Aug 13...Depart Chicago

Aug 14...Arrive Tokyo
Aug 14-15...Tokyo...Sunroute Plaza Shinjuku
Aug 15-16...Kyoto...Karasuma Kyoto Hotel
Aug 16-18...Tokyo...Asakusa Capsule Hotel Tokyo
Aug 18-21...Bangkok...Lub D Hostel
Aug 21-Aug 25...Chiang Mai...Green Tulip House
Aug 26...Ayutthaya...Day Trip
Aug 26-27...Bangkok...Twin Towers Hotel Bangkok
Aug 27-Sept 1...Siem Reap, Cambodia...Villas at Siem Reap
Sept 1-Sept 3...Bangkok, Thailand...Peninsula Hotel Bangkok
Sept 3...Depart Bangkok
Sept 4...Arrive Chicago