Thailand tailor made holiday, history & culture

Planet

This holiday includes a visit to Elephant Nature Camp, a renowned elephant rescue and rehabilitation centre near Chiang Mai. This chain-free elephant sanctuary, near Chiang Mai, puts great emphasis on ethical practices and conservation and offers visitors the opportunity to see ex-working elephants up close without exploiting them. Although visitors are no longer permitted to bathe or touch the elephants, there are still but there are still plenty of opportunities to interact with them, including feeding them! Your visit to the Elephant Nature Park helps to improve the lives and conditions of elephants.

On this holiday you’ll spend two nights at Lanjia Lodge, an eco-friendly community-based lodge in the mountainous Chiang Rai Province. The design of this traditional Hmong-style lodge incorporates architectural features that reflect the rich traditions of the local hill tribe communities and the lodge was constructed using natural materials ensuring that it blends in with the surrounding environment. The lodge has four guest cottages with a total of 16 guest rooms and each house is built on stilts with a high roof which allows air to flow freely throughout the day – this means that air conditioning is not required which helps to minimise their carbon footprint. A solar-power system generates hot water at Lanija Lodge and other eco-friendly projects include an installation of wind turbines to generate electricity and a biogas production. You can read more about how Lanjia Lodge promotes sustainable and environmentally-friendly tourism in the section below.

People

Your Thailand adventure starts in Bangkok where you’ll have a chance to discover the city’s temples and palaces, including the Grand Palace and The Temple of the Emerald Buddha, two of Thailand’s most sacred sites. We ask our clients to be mindful of Thailand’s culture, customs and religion, and always respect the local etiquette, particularly when visiting sacred sites. Our detailed pre-departure notes will give you tips about visiting religious sites in Thailand and our local guides will give you more information about the simple rules regarding the proper behaviour for Buddhist temples.

This holiday includes a stay at Lisu Lodge in Chiang Mai, Lanjia Lodge in Chiang Rai Province and Hmong Hilltribe Lodge in Mae Rim district - we have chosen to feature these specific lodges because they are committed to sustainable tourism and supporting their local communities.

Lisu Lodge and Lanjia Lodge are operated by travel company Asian Oasis who work closely with local communities to create community-based tourism while conserving the natural surroundings. The lodges are located in local communities mostly made up of hill tribe minorities and these communities have been involved with the development and operations of the lodges from the beginning. All of the activities offered to guests at are operated by people from the local communities and during your stay you’ll have a chance to visit Hmong and Lahu hill tribe villages where you’ll learn about Hmong and Lahu culture. Contributions from your stay at these lodges are used to support community projects that will improve their living conditions and help to preserve their customs and traditions.

We fully support community-based tourism as it allows travellers to immerse themselves in another culture and it offers a more meaningful travel experience, plus of course it helps to support the local cultures and adds another source of income to the community.