Amazing Family Vacation to Thailand (7 Days Tour)

The May Poses of Buddha

The morning brings with it the many flavors of Thailand, from the fresh fruits to the fresh juices, where the luscious scent of coconut milk drifts through the hotel; the sweet tartness of fresh squeezed orange juice is always appealing. Today you board a boat and drift along the famous Chao Phraya River, once the most used highway in the entire city. As you float along the gentle waters of the river you can see the impressive expanse of the city, where the skyscrapers peak into the clouds in the distance. Closer on the shores you see thin, towering spires as you make your way to the Grand Palace. The palace complex was built in 1762, and now stands as a symbol of the Royal Family’s residence made up of several buildings, halls, and pavilions.

It is easy to be swept up in the Palace’s magnificence, including the charm of the simple structures, such as Phra Thinang Sanam Chan. The traditional Thai pavilion is decorated with red roofs and yellow fringe. The wooden pediments contain gilded carvings while the glass mosaics are arranged in floral designs that boast both Western and Eastern influences. 

Continue to the sensational temple of Wat Pho where you can witness both the enrapturing culture and inspiring statue of the Reclining Buddha. Located behind the marvelous Temple of the Emerald Buddha, Wat Pho is one of the largest temples in Bangkok and houses an image over 130 feet long, completely covered in gold leaf. The gentle aroma of incense fills the hall.

The serene room gives a relaxed atmosphere to experience the splendor of the statue, the sculptural feat and dedication. His feet are textured with images, including footprints that swirl around the toes and 108 different panels that explain the various symbols by which Buddha can be identified, from flowers to tigers, and more. As the day winds down you will board your longboat and return to your hotel, getting ready for an evening of traditional Thai dancing that gives shows the rich culture of a storied history.

What’s Included: breakfast, tour, accommodation.

A Farmer’s Market

The endless wonders of Thailand stretch far beyond Bangkok, where the culture and traditions are continually practiced and enrich the modern cities, and allure its visitors. Best visited in the earlier morning, the family will be awash with wonderment as you witness the tremendous life at the Floating Market of Damnoen Saduak. Long-tail boats swarm the river as cheerful and excited voices echo on its banks.

There looks to be an endless amount of boats, each one filled with produce and freshly cooked food, from coconuts to bananas, pineapple to jackfruit. The aromas are delicious and embracing. A woman carves a coconut in front of you. You can hear the crackle of another person frying eggs. Every boat contains another vibrant color and powerful flavor, where the only urge you have to fight is buying everything.

Samut Songkhram is the coconut plantation district where the fields of lush crop stripe the sky. The sweet scent of coconut milk surrounds the district. You can watch the locals demonstrate how to make coconut sugar. Although sugar cane and brown sugar have all but replaced the coconut sugar, you can imagine the enhanced curry, or the sweet tea, just by the way the fragrance of the drying fruit beckons you. 

As you come closer to Bangkok you can see the remarkable salt farms that stretch along the marshes. Pools of water are partitioned, eventually evaporating leaving salt ready for the harvest. You can see men and women piling the white mounds into woven baskets, balancing the harvest around their shoulders, and carrying it to the storeroom.

What’s Included: breakfast, tour, accommodation.

Along Wild Lines

A short distance outside of the boisterous streets of Bangkok is the city of Kanchanaburi, located along the riverbanks and known for more than just the setting of the movie, “Bridge Over River Kwai.” The city feels more like a village with a sleepy river running through.

The air is warm and the trees are plentiful. You can hear the gentle trickle of the water lingering in the air. The sleepy quality of the city is a wonderful reprieve from the hurried air of Bangkok. As the stories of World War II reach further into global history the lesser-known pasts of Kanchanaburi are coming to light. A visit to the Death Railway Museum is an interesting way to witness the history of the city, international troops, and the way that the past can be remembered.

Around 61,000 Allied prisoners were transferred to the city throughout the war for the purpose of building a railway for the Japanese from Bangkok, Thailand to Rangoon, Myanmar. The museum houses many photos and personal stories from prisoners of war that give greater detail to the tragedies that befell the area. There is a small stretch of railway known as Hellfire Pass that you can walk through, giving you a spine tingling view of the scene from the stories within the museum.

What’s Included: breakfast, tour, accommodation.