Elephants and Parasols: From Vientiane to the Golden Triangle (9 Days) We love road journeys. They are by far our favourite way of traveling. We think the world of western China and the countries that border on this region – think Vietnam, Lao, Thailand, Myanmar, for example.

On the Road Experiences is all about sharing with like-minded travelers just how beautiful a road journey in these varied lands can be. Now turn the page to find out what we’ve come to love so much…

p2 p3 Itinerary Map …where you will travel… p. 006 Yes, it is possible… p. 008 Journey of Discovery… p. 010 Day-by-day… p. 030

In closing... Any car you like, so long as it is an SUV… p. 043 Adventures and discoveries in local cuisines p. 044 What’s included/Best Months to Go... p. 046 Photo credits p. 049 p5 Itinerary Map Day1 Day6 Arrive in Vientiane – Luang Namtha to Chiang Saen – Welcome to ! Preparing for your To the Golden Triangle journey Day7 Day2 Around the Golden Triangle – Vientiane to Vang Vien – Relax at the Anatara or explore the Into the limestone hills Myanmar border area

Day3 Day8 Vang Vien to – Golden Triangle to Chiang Mai – To the Land of Wats and Villas To the heart of the Lanna Kingdom

Day4 Day9 Luang Prabang to Muang Xai – Chiang Mai – From old-world romance to rural Farewelll Thailand, unless you’re idyll able to stay on?

Day5 Muang Xai to Luang Namtha – Continue through the hills

p6 p7 Yes, it is possible...

A driving holiday in this part of the world is indeed possible. We take care of everything. All you need to do is come, drive and enjoy a rare adventure!

Elephants and Parasols: From Vientiane to Chiang Mai is a discovery of beautiful landscapes, natural splendour and local culture.

Your journey takes you from Vientiane, Laos’ capital, through the countryside of northern Laos to Vang Vieng, Luang Prabang, Muang Xai and Luang Namtha before crossing the into Thailand. Enjoy a day near the Golden Triangle and end your journey in the former capital of the Lanna Kingdom – Chiang Mai.

Don’t come here looking for big shopping centres, cinema complexes, skyscrapers, crowded streets or fancy nightlife. Laos is an ideal destination if you are after a breathtaking getaway, being close to nature, enjoying a relaxing, peaceful journey and meeting friendly people everywhere you turn. The laidback atmosphere and the relative lack of modern development make Laos among the most authentic and unspoiled of the Southeast Asia’s nations. Wherever you go here, you’ll encounter the delectable Lao cuisine: a little bit French, a lot Southeast Asian, and perfect washed down with a bottle of Beer Lao.

All along this exciting route you will enjoy the best accommodation available – staying in some of the region’s loveliest hotels – and travel through an area steeped in the cultures of many different ethnic minorities and through beautiful countryside.

On the Road in China has paved the way for you to cross borders in your own properly insured SUV, so that you can enjoy the romance of a classic overland journey without any of the logistical headaches that typically accompany such journeys... p8 p9 p11 Mountain ranges encircle the Luang Prabang city in lush greenery…”

Welcome to Laos p13 Explore MINORITY villages along the road sides…”

On the Road in Laos p15 VIEW from the road side...”

Travelling through northern Lao p17 Off the beaten path in Lao... where VISTORS are... as RARE as UFOs…”

A small village in northern Lao p19 Where CHILDREN are as LOVEABLE and UNSPOILED as anywhere on the PLANET…”

In a small village in northern Lao p21 ELEPHANT encounters with KINDLY CARED FOR animals…one of your CHOICES in the GOLDEN TRIANGLE...”

In Thailand’s Golden Triangle p23 ...or an OUTING to the MYANMAR border…or much else besides...”

The Thailand/Myanmar border p25 KITCH or FLIGHT OF FANCY? Never mind, definitely worth a VISIT...”

The ‘White’ temple on the way to Chiang Mai p27 A BEAUTIFUL HOTEL right by Chiang Mai’s NIGHT MARKET… a wonderful way to end the journey...”

The Anantara Chiang Mai p29 p31 Day 1 of the Mekong River where a Day 2 On the banks of the Nam Song Welcome to Laos! city has stood since 1,000 AD. River, a beautiful resort with The charming boulevards of the Driving Distance & Duration Into the limestone charm and character awaits Driving Distance & Duration Preparing for your historic old quarter are lined Distance: NA hills you. It is laid out around an Distance: 158 km journey with frangipani and tamarind inviting swimming pool, and trees. Stop at one of the district’s Duration: NA Duration: 4-5 hours Today you start your journey offers stunning views of the temples - Wat Si Saket was built Arrive in Vientiane according through Laos with a leisurely lush, forest-clad landscape. Elevation to your own arrangements. We in 1818 and is one of the oldest Elevation drive on winding roads through Relax, swim and enjoy the will meet you at the airport and temples in Vientiane, featuring Highest Daytime: 174m Highest Daytime: 300m rainforest and past sleepy sunset before meeting your transfer you to your hotel. thousands of Buddha images. Overnight: 174m Overnight: 296m villages. Today’s destination, fellow travellers for a local In the afternoon you have time Vang Vieng, is set in dramatic dinner. Hotel to explore the capital of Laos. In the evening, enjoy a group Hotel dinner together in a lovely Greenpark Hotel, Vientiane (****) surroundings, where a thick Riverside Boutique Hotel (****) Despite being the country’s vein of limestone has been largest city and the hub of restaurant and attend our staff’s sculpted into karst hills and commerce and administration, safety briefing. Dinner will be an Vientiane is still refreshingly opportunity to begin to acquaint of Lao cuisine and to meet your caves by the Nam Song River. laidback. It lies on the banks yourself with the many flavours fellow travellers. Once little more than a bus stop on the long journey between Vientiane and the temples of Luang Prabang, Vang Vieng has recently become a destination in its own right. The town itself is nothing special, having grown up around a disused US airstrip, but the surrounding countryside draws adventurous travellers with its potential for caving, kayaking and climbing.

At sunset, even the most indolent of explorers can enjoy the ethereal scenery as the colours ebb from the hills – a vibrant palette of greens fading to a dreamy watercolour grey.

p33 Day 3 Day 4 Oudomxai Province. There are many ethnic minorities living in To the Land of Wats From old-world Driving Distance & Duration this region, each with their own Driving Distance & Duration language and customs. and Villas Distance: 183 km romance to rural idyll Distance: 200 km Duration: 4-5 hours Duration: 5 hours While today’s drive is longer culture, the small town is In the morning you will have itself is a transport hub for trucks delivering goods than yesterday’s, you will be encircled by mountains and Elevation time to wander around old to Vietnam, China, Thailand Elevation rewarded with more beautiful lies at the confluence of the Highest Daytime: 400m Luang Prabang, which has and Myanmar. We will pass Highest Daytime: 350m scenery and a glimpse of Nam Khan and Mekong Rivers. Overnight: 400m rightfully gained a reputation Lao village life. The roads in Relax at the hotel pool or enjoy as one of the most alluring through the town and continue Overnight: 400m to a more remote area where northern Laos are winding a walk through the town’s spots in Southeast Asia. Hotel a small, luxurious hotel stands and bumpy, so we will take charming streets before we Nowhere else can lay claim to Hotel Mekong Riverview, Luang – almost in the middle of the journey at a leisurely pace, meet for dinner. the town’s old-world romance Prabang (****) nowhere… The resort’s design Namkat Yorlapa Resort, giving you plenty of time to of 33 gilded wats, saffron-clad draws heavily on the region’s Muang Xay (****) soak up your surroundings. monks, faded Indochinese architectural and cultural Much of the route is lined with villas and delicious local traditions, with beautiful, wooden village houses and cuisine. spacious rooms in an area of wonderful combination of local market stalls, and all the life protected forest along the Nam flavours, cooked using organic that goes with them. Women After lunch we continue our drive on the winding roads that Kat River. Enjoy the peaceful vegetables and herbs from sell products from their farms, lead north. Our first destination scenery while taking a dip in the hotel garden, along with children play in the dust at is Muang Xay, also known the pool or lay back with a seafood and organic poultry. the roadside, chasing plump as Oudomxai, the capital of book. Tonight’s dinner will be a puppies or harassed chickens.

Maybe a little dusty from this road adventure, we will eventually arrive in Luang Prabang. This northern town was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1995, due to its many gold-roofed wats and French colonial architecture. Considered by many to be the heart of Lao p35 Day 5 overnight stop for today is a charming inn that consists Continue through of small bungalows built in the hills the traditional style of this region. It is peaceful and calm, Today’s drive will take you to reminiscent of a simpler life. Luang Namtha, a small town nestled in the hills of northern Before dinner, why not try one Laos – despite its diminutive of the bar’s delicious drinks, size, this quiet little place is an icy mint-spiked cocktail, among Laos’ most important. perhaps? Very refreshing! Luang Nam Tha Province is Driving Distance & Duration home to more than 20 ethnic The cooking is fabulous, and groups, making it the most many dishes will be familiar Distance: 130 km to fans of northern Thai food, diverse province in Laos. The Duration: 3 hours drive to Luang Namtha will but presented here with a distinct local twist. After take you on country roads Elevation through stretches of rainforest dinner, continue with another and palm-thatched villages. drink and relax to the sound of Highest Daytime: 400m crickets in the gardens – the Overnight: 300m The Boat Landing, the perfect way to ease into the most basic accommodation relaxed rhythms of South-East Hotel along this route and your Asia… The Boat Landing, Luang Namtha (**)

p37 Day 6 where life continues relatively Day 7 untouched by modernity. Into the Golden Relax at the Anantara After lunch in Houay Xai, on Driving Distance & Duration Driving Distance & Duration Triangle... the Lao bank of the Mekong, Distance: 240 km or explore the Depending on your chosen you will cross the river on Myanmar border area activity This morning you will drive a newly built bridge; the Duration: 4-5 hours across beautiful northern Laos border crossing is quite You may want to take a break and macadamia nuts are also Elevation to the Thai border, crossing the uncomplicated. While you eat Elevation Nam Ha Eco-Park, a region of from the road today – make an grown locally! Highest Daytime:400m lunch, our team will take care Highest Daytime: 600m excursion into the rainforest on Overnight: 400m tiny villages and rolling, thickly of the formalities. forested hills. As you drive, Overnight: 400m elephant-back, eat a leisurely Today’s breakfast is included in you might feel as if you have Once in Thailand, you will have lunch at a riverside restaurant, the tour price, dinner, lunch and Hotel activities are as per your own gone back in time – the road a short drive along the Mekong Hotel lounge by the hotel pool or Anantara Golden Triangle dates from 2008, but life in the to the Golden Triangle and the visit the splendid Grand Hall arrangement. Anantara Golden Triangle Elephant Camp & Resort surrounding villages seems to luxurious Anantara Golden of Opium, a modern museum (*****) have continued unchanged for Triangle Hotel which is a gem Elephant Camp & Resort where you can learn all about the centuries. This feeling will be in this part of the world – a (*****) poppies and opium for which the re-enforced during a visit to a hotel in the finest tradition of Golden Triangle gained notoriety Thai hospitality and service. small village, just off the road, in the past.

On the other hand, if you do feel like a bit more touring, we have an optional half-day driving excursion into the hills that run along the Thailand’s border with Myanmar; you’ll remain on the Thai side, but Myanmar is less than 5m away. From the hill crest you will descend toward a beautiful botanical garden. And then, after lunch, enjoy a beautifully brewed cup of local coffee, which is now grown instead of opium poppies. If you don’t like coffee, excellent tea p39 Day 8 goes that the two trees, Day 9 planted over a century ago, To the heart of the Farewell Thailand, are the symbols of two lovers Driving Distance & Duration whose love was forbidden by Lanna Kingdom Distance: 260 km unless you’re able to their parents. When the hotel This is your last day of driving was built, it was discovered Duration: 6-7 hours stay on? on this journey...and on that the roots of the two trees wonderful roads it will be! Do you have to start your are entwined... Elevation In the morning we drive from journey home today? the Golden Triangle to just In the afternoon you will drive Highest Daytime: 400m south of Chiang Rai for a visit the remaining few hours Overnight: 400m Or will you be tempted to fly to the stunning, vivid white to Chiang Mai where you south to relax on Thailand’s temple of Wat Rong Khun. This will be staying in one of the gorgeous beaches? Or would Hotel is followed by a lovely al fresco town’s finest hotels before you like to stay on in Chiang lunch at the Le Meridien hotel enjoying a farewell dinner Anantara Chiang Mai Resort Mai for a few more days? We in Chiang Rai which is situated in the evening... for which (*****) are happy to assist you with an on the banks of the Mae Kok we have chosen a rather extension of your stay. River, its grounds home to two special location and culinary enormous trees. The story experience for you! Regardless of how your trip ends, we hope that you will leave us refreshed and with many new memories of your exotic journey through South- East Asia...

p41 Choice of Cars

We include in the package price good-and-bad-weather gear. an SUV we procure from Avis Also, they reinforce the feeling or Hertz or another reputable of adventure, exploration and car rental company. Most discovery…which is, in the of the SUVs are Toyotas, but end, the mood of journeys in on occasion Mitsubishis or this region, no matter how other brands may also make comfortable or even luxurious an appearance. For some the night’s hotel may be. itineraries, we are able to offer you an option to upgrade your What’s more, they offer car to the new models from sufficient clearance when Audi. required and thus add a sense of safety and all-round ability. We wish the car rental markets (4-wheel drive capability is of China would be more hardly needed in China these developed and we could give days since all roads are either you more choice, but this is not very well-paved or, with good so: since we want to provide gravel, offer solid support.) well-maintained and well- insured cars, the choice is And so SUVs from reputable rather limited. brands are our car of choice!

But SUVs are in fact the right choice for driving journeys in ANY car, this part of the world because they are spacious enough to as long as accommodate a lot of luggage, photography equipment, and it is an SUV” p42 p43 Adventures and Discoveries in Local Cuisines

While this itinerary is not one of Wine and beer is always our ‘Foodie’-themed journeys, included in our meals for you we do believe that each one of to enjoy. (When we travel into our journeys should introduce high-altitude, we suggest you not only to hidden gems of moderation!) cultural and scenic beauty, but that sampling local cuisines is Finally, if you have special also a must. dietary requirements are particularly interested in the Wherever you travel with us, culinary aspect of one of our we will order, with very few journeys, please let us know. exceptions, dishes fresh and on location with an emphasis For private journeys, we can, on local produce. It is not of course, tailor the meal uncommon for our guides to experience to your taste (and venture into the kitchen to pick budget). this, that or the other vegetable and to ask the cook to prepare them in the finest possible way. (On occasion we do preorder a meal: this will normally be the case only for special occasions!)

p44 What’s Included / Best Months to Go...

Generally speaking, our journey packages and • Travel Insurance – 24-hour medical prices are all-inclusive. Once you’ve paid and assistance, evacuation and repatriation you arrive at the starting point, you really won’t emergency service have to take out your wallet again. • Tips & Entrance Fees – basic tips and • Cars – a modern SUV is provided for all entrance fees for jointly attended activities are driving days, expertly maintained and included serviced by Avis, Hertz, or other reputable car rental companies, and covered by the • Activities, Meals, Transport during ‘free times’ best insurance available, and hire car return as indicated in this Journey Dossier from Chiang Mai to Laos is also included • Top-up Collision Damage Waiver insurance • International Journey Host, Guide and Support Vehicle – you will be accompanied by a registered Chinese tour guide, an On the What’s Not Included Road Experiences host and a fully equipped lead car with a local support driver The only items not included in our prices are your flights to Kunming and back from Chiang • Routes – we provide an extensively researched Mai, your Laos and Thailand visa and personal and carefully designed itinerary and state-of- purchases (e.g., gifts, souvenirs) the-art satellite navigation system with a pre- • Hotels – the best available or five-star • Goodies – you will enjoy an On the Road Home- programmed route for the journey. You will accommodation is included in each overnight Away-from-Home Kit containing wet towels, also receive a detailed pre-departure pack stop anti-bacterial gel and basic toiletries, and a and route book for the journey daily picnic basket containing fresh fruit, fruit • Meals – breakfast (a choice of Western and juice, water, and a mixture of sweets and • Fuel & Tolls – we provide petrol for the car Local is provided), and lunch and dinner are nibbles throughout the journey and pay all tolls included on all driving days, as are drinks. Meals on non-driving days as specified above. • Other Essentials – we provide each car with • Airport Transfers – all airport transfers are Prepare for a culinary adventure! walky-talkies included p46 p47p47 Photo Credits

© Andy – page 49 © Jo James – pages 25, 63 © Luang Say Residence - page 11 © Mel – page 92 © Peter Schindler – Front & back cover, pages 3, 9, 15, 23, 27, 29, 31, 33, 39, 41, 51, 53, 57, 59, 61, 71, 77, 81, 82, 86, 87, 88, 89, 91, 96, 98 © Ron Yue – pages 19, 21, 35, 37, 43, 45, 47, 55, 65, 67, 69, 73, 76, 78, 79, 84, 85, 101 © Secret Retreat Muang La - page 17 © Sofitel Luang Prabang - pages 5, 13, 74, © Songtsam Lodge Deqin – page 83 Unknown - pages 80, 94, 95

p48 p49 Contact Us

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