Asian Food Tours:
Ayutthaya Food Tour
Nothing says 'Asia' more than a peaceful rice field. View images
A new tour focussing on food culture and heritage.
- Feb. 15th - 18th 2012
- Feb. 21st - 24th 2012
We get so much great feedback from our the Ayuddhaya component of our original food tours so we decided to spend more time in this interesting town exploring the amazing world heritage listed ruins. But we're there for the food and just recently we discovered a fantastic boutique hotel that overlooks a small canal and rice fields. Monks come by each morning to ask for alms and the hotel has fantastic spa facilities plus a restaurant and they've agreed for us to do a cooking class there!
So in this tour we will visit local markets, explore ruins and street food - but this time cooking school chef, Annette Fear, and the hotel chefs will take you to a local market where we will by ingredients for an impromptu cooking class later in the day. In this class we're going to prepare some very different Thai dishes and that's what makes this tour very different to the rest
Here's the itinerary we've planned so far with details still to be confirmed in March:
Where to stay:
The first day of the tour is in Bangkok so make sure you keep your hotel in Bangkok for that night.
Because we meet at the Patumwan Princess Hotel on the first day of the tour, this is the best place to stay for the tour AND shopping. The room rates are great value and the accomodation and facilities are 5 star.
The Novotel Siam Square is the next choice and is just a short walk from the Patumwan Princess hotel. It is also in a central location with plenty of great shops close by. Advantage plus card holders will obviously get a great deal with the Novotel.
Siam at Siam is a funky hotel one street down from Jim Thompson's House. This boutique hotel has great architecture, fantastic pool overlooking the city and easy walking distance to MBK, Siam Square, Patumwan Princess etc. If your agent can't book the hotel check www.planetholiday.com and book online for a cheap deal.
Day 1:
If you've arrived in Bangkok a few days earlier, don't book any sight seeing tours because our food tour is heading to the old part of the city and we're going to take in the major attractions of Bangkok along the way.
Morning
Meet in the lobby of the Patumwan Princess Hotel at 9.00am to start our day. We then make our way to the sky train and head to the river to catch the ferry up to Wat Pho and the temple of the reclining Buddha exploring a hidden seafood market along the way.
Our air-conditioned van will pick us up and whisk us to the 'old city', the original city of Bangkok surrounded by fortified walls which are still preserved in places. We're exploring specialty food stalls and restaurants that have been selling from old shop houses for generations.
Along the way we'll discover streets filled with stores selling huge Buddhas, temple bells and other items for local temples. This morning is a real highlight and something most tourists never see. Over the years we've made friends with many vendors such as the crazy lady who makes traditional candy from recipes hundreds of years old... amazing blends of flavours and textures.
Lunch is at a small 70 year-old restaurant that specialises in duck, or at Chote Chitr (if it's open), a tiny 12 seat restaurant that is world famous for Royal Thai cuisine as generations of the owner's family were chefs in the royal palaces.
Afternoon
A quick visit to the Grand Palace and the Temple of the Emerald Buddha is a must followed by a short Klong boat trip to Jim Thompson's House. This traditional Thai house is a calm oasis in the heart of Bangkok. You can take a tour of the house or chill out in the downstairs coffee shop... comfortable sofas await and this is perfect to just relax and unwind for an hour or so. Your hotel is just a short walk from Jim Thompson's House.
Night
Night time is at your leisure but you will probably find yourself joining other group members for dinner in one of Bangkok's stunning restaurants. We'll probably head to La Na Thai which is set in a beautiful Thai style teak house - a great way to finish a long day exploring Bangkok.
Day 2:
Morning
Check out of your hotel because the next two nights will be spend up country in Ayuddhaya - explore the incredible ruins of this old trading city that dates back 600 years or more. At its peak, Ayuudhaya was larger than London and was a major trading port (even though it is up a river) with England, Japan, China, Japan and Arab nations all having settlements there. The city was destroyed by the Burmese in the 1700s and the ruins are fascinating to explore.
On the way to Ayutthaya we drop in to OR TOR KOR market - a clean and vibarant open air food market where our chefs show you local ingredients, coconut milk pressing and exotic fruits, herbs and spices. A big feature of this market is the huge range of delicious, freshly cooked foods. With that in mind, it's time to stock up for a picnic in the park - you can help us choose our picnic items from the vendors and then we head to a tranquil park to enjoy a picnic before proceeding to Ayutthaya.
Afternoon
Check in to hotel and then a quick tour of the ruins followed by a late lunch at a rustic restaurant on the banks of the river - amazing food with plenty of activity on the river to entertain us.
Drinks! A highlight of the tour is watching the sun set in the grounds of a beautiful 500 year old temple ruin on the banks of a river as the rice barges go by. Dinner is in an open-air night market where we get to watch the food being cooked and sample a huge range of Thai desserts... a fantastic end to the day.
Day 3
We spend the morning walking amongst serene temple ruins as well as looking at an interesting archeological dig of the old Portugese settlement.
The highlight of our food tour in Ayutthaya is Persian fairy floss. We will visit a small shop where they make the fairy floss and learn the techniques to make this delicious dessert by hand. It's a traditional food of Ayuddhaya and dates back 400 years to the time of the Arabic traders that had settlements here.
On a sugar high we spend an hour or two visiting more ruins before heading back to our hotel to relax before heading out to a small restaurant that is a favourite with the locals and has some very esoteric dishes.
Day 4
Breakfast, then one more temple ruin with some amazing Buddha statues before we take a long tail boat down river to Bang Pa In to the King's Summer Palace. An interesting mix of East-meets-West architecture and a delightful Buddhist Monastry on a small island in the river which you access by a monk-driven cable car (it will make sense when you get there).
A quick snack in the local market with some delicious Thai iced coffee or iced tea and we head back to Bangkok arriving around 2.00pm.
Summary
These four days are a great orientational experience for first-time travellers to Thailand. Afterwards you will feel confident in exploring different parts of Thailand with all its diversity. So if you're planning a Thai holiday why not join us for four days?
Here are the essential ingredients for our food trip: You must bring a sense of adventure and be flexible. This is a tag-along tour and you might find we alter the itinerary as we find interesting food or places to explore... this is part of the fun!
Understand we can NOT cater to vegetarians, vegans or people with food allergies or other dietary requirements... this tour is all about adventuring in new foods.
How to Book:
The four day tour costs $800 which includes:
- All tag-along related daily transport (we have our own airconditioned van)
- All street/market food, lunch and snacks (excluding alchohol and Bangkok evening meals)
- Accomodation (two nights) and day-time meals in Ayuddhaya
Book and pay in advance by calling our office on (07) 5446 8977 or .
