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Day 1
The trip begins at 5 a.m. The route from Pattaya to the west of Thailand lies through Bangkok. The bus moves over the King Rama IX bridge which overlooks the splendid Chao Phraya river, on whose banks the Thai capital is situated. On passing Bangkok, at about 7.20 a.m., the bus makes the first stop at a filling station where tourists may have breakfast in a cafe, if they have failed to take hotel breakfast boxes along. After breakfast the bus is bound for Damnyn Sadhuak where Thailand’s most famous floating market can be found. The next on the route is the administrative centre of Samut Songkhram province. Within the precincts of the town there is the Meklong river estuary, which is the result of confluence of the Big Kwai and Little Kwai rivers. On the way, the guide tells about the geographical location and landscapes of Thailand, its history and political order. On reaching the floating market, tourists change for motorboats and make a twenty minutes’ trip along the canals to enjoy the sight of fruit plantations, a Buddhist monastery, and Thai traditional dwellings on the banks. Twenty minutes are spared for tourists to go around the market on their own and to buy souvenirs or fruit. The next station is The Royal Centre of Trades. It takes less than 15 minutes to reach the Centre from the market. In the Centre, tourists can watch Thai masters of wood carving working and admire the products, the most beautiful furniture of teak in particular. The furniture is exhibited and sold here. Having acquainted themselves with the trades, tourists get on the bus and ride towards the famous bridge over the Kwai river, built by European and American prisoners of war. The story was screened in 1957 and was awarded 7 Oscars. Now the film “The Bridge over the Kwai River” is acclaimed American cinematographic classics. The guide tells about Thailand’s role in World War II. At the bridge, there is a scheduled stop for dinner in a restaurant on the water. Dinner time – 13.00-14.00. The after-dinner drive will only take half an hour. Taking a side track from the highway, the bus enters the territory of a unique forest monastery. Its unique character is due to the monks’ skill to tame tigers. On the territory there was founded a centre to rescue animals suffering violence on the part of poachers. After signing the required receipt and paying the entrance fee of 300 baht, tourists may take photos and even approach tigers that rest in the afternoon sun. Leaving the “tiger” monastery behind, the bus goes on, and the tourists may try their luck to see and to “communicate” with a pack of wild monkeys. The next stop is due at the waterfall of Sai Yok Noi (Little Sai Yok), where one can get refreshed in the jets. A 15 minutes’ trip will take one to the pier on the Kwai Noi (Little Kwai) river. At about 6 p.m. tourists change for Thai long boats equipped with powerful diesel engines and go up the river passing the most picturesque sights in the mountains and gorges. Tourists are put up for the night at a hotel constructed on rafts at the river bank. At night, the hotel rooms are lit with oil lamps, but the rest of public conveniences are available. Tourists are accommodated in double rooms. Single rooms, if available, are extra 400 baht. The accommodation time over, tourists enjoy supper and after-supper meeting up the river.

Day 2
On the second day of the tour breakfast is to be taken at 7.30 a.m. After breakfast tourists are on the move again. The destination can be reached within two hours and a half by an excellent road which will take tourists up and up in the mountains, along the artificial lake formed due to installation of a dam across the Kwai. The dam is named after Crown prince Wachiralongkhorn. At noon, tourists arrive at Sangkhlaburi, a centre in the province of Kanchanaburi. It is a veritable Thai periphery inhabited by Thais as well as the national minorities of Mons and Kharens. Tourists are accommodated in a new comfortable hotel constructed right on the bank of the lake. Tourists are placed in ventilated double rooms, which open on to the lake glass. One can step out of the room to immediately dive and start swimming in the lake. Such unusual rooms are five in number. The deficit of romanticism can be compensated by accommodation in conditioned hotel rooms equipped with TV and a fridge. After dinner, tourists are supposed to take a trip towards the Thai-Burma border to the famous Three Pagodas. From time immemorial the place is known to bare the name and to be the cross point for the armies of the Burmese kings on their move towards the Thai ancient capital of Ayutthaya. To accelerate the pace, the armies rafted by the Kwai river. During World War II, a strategic railroad to connect Thailand and Burma was constructed in the locality. About 16 000 military prisoners and 80 000 civil people died on the constructions sight. The very railway draws over the bridge across the Kwai river. The border post is literally several meters away from Three Pagodas. If a tourist can produce a passport, nothing will prevent him from crossing the border and visiting Burma. The procedure of filling in the forms takes 20 minutes. No notes are made in the passport, it is simply given for a store to the Thai border-guard. Border-crossing dues are 500 baht. It is advisable to have two photos of oneself to avoid any checks and delays. The settlement on the Burmese side is Pyatonsu. Here is a picturesque local market and a Burmese Buddhist temple to visit. According to the rules tourists are to return to Thailand by 18.00 of the very day. Tourists usually return earlier and, after a short rest in a hotel, take motorboats and make a trip on the lake glass towards the submerged temple which comes out to the surface depending on the water level in the reservoir. Long before the construction, there was a settlement there. In the evening, a walking trip is made along Thailand’s longest wooden bridge to a Mon village on the opposite side of the lake. This is the reason why local residents call the bridge the Mon one. Supper follows the walk. After supper one can roam the sleepy streets of the town or take “water treatment” since the water is a pace away.

Day 3
Awakening is scheduled for 6 a.m. After breakfast, having paid 800 baht each, lovers of elephants and rafting set off for a big adventure: they are to take up elephant tracking through the jungle and rafting down a source of the Kwai river. To succeed in the sports one should be fit. Unlike other routes, this one offers getting on an elephant not from a special platform but from the ground. The drover orders the elephant to its knees for the tourists climb up the animal. There is bound to be forcing of water barriers during the elephant rides. The path in the jungle is far from smooth, and the drover often makes use of a Thai machete to clear the way. When rafting and taking rapids, one runs a risk of falling into the water. The adventure lasts for three hours and a half or so. Dinner and a rest at the hotel are followed by a car ride to the opposite side of the lake in order to visit Wangvivekharam monastery and the Golden Pagoda (Chedi Phutthakhaya). The Superior of the monastery is Luang Pho Uttama, a patriarch of Thai Buddhism, a Mon by origin and a refugee from Burma. With regard to his just and piety His Majesty King Rama IX granted him the status of a subject of the Kingdom of Thailand. In the monastery, the guide tells about the history of Buddhism. On arrival at the hotel, tourists pack for the return trip. On the way back the first stop is made at hot water springs. On the edge of a cold stream, there are two baths with hot mineral water coming simply from under the ground. The water temperature in the baths is 40-41 degrees Centigrade. The springs were discovered by Japanese soldiers during World War II. Since that time they have been used for recuperation and rejuvenation. After an hour-long stay at the springs, tourists get on the bus and go in the direction of Pattaya. On the way to Bangkok the bus makes a stop so that the tourists could have supper (at their expense) in a cafe. The approximate time of return to Pattaya  - 23.00.
Note: depending on the weather and number of participants, the order of the second and third days’ programs may vary.

The tour starts on Monday.