Thailand expedition overview

An expedition to Thailand is a rich experience combining tours of grand palaces, serene temples, bustling markets and remote hill tribe villages with deep and remote jungle trekking, elephant riding and relaxing on picture perfect beaches. A true feast for the senses!

Thailand forms the heart of South-East Asia, bordered by Malaysia to the south, Cambodia to the south-east and Myanmar (Burma) and Laos to the north. The topography varies from high mountains in the north, which are part of a series of ranges that extend across northern Myanmar to the south-eastern edges of the Tibet plateau, to tropical islands in the south that make up a portion of the Malay archipelago.

Although Thailand has long been a popular destination for travellers, this expedition will spend only a fraction of the time visiting popular tourist sites, instead teams will head into areas that are rarely accessed and visit some remote hill-tribe villages. The benefit of going to a country with a tourism infrastructure is that the transport will be quick and efficient and at the end of the month away teams can relax on exotic beaches.

Expedition highlights

• Stand by for sensory overload exploring the hustle and bustle of Bangkok.
• Barter hard for a bargain in Chiang Mai's renowned Night Bazaar; make sure you pick up a few words in Thai to get the best deals!
• Sample Thailand's legendary cuisine by visiting one of the many street vendors selling cheap and delicious food cooked before your very eyes.
• Pick up a fleet of tuk-tuks to take the team around town, and remember, there is always room for negotiation on the fare!
• Explore traditional villages in some of the most remote parts of Thailand's jungle and hill tribe regions.

Things to know

• Tiger Balm works wonders for soothing itchy bites, removing leeches and also keeping the little suckers off in the first place!
• The Thai Royal Family is deeply loved and respected. It is prohibited by law to criticize anything they do and is even a bad idea to step on a coin, which features an image of the King!
• The Thais believe that the soul resides in the head and is extremely sacred, so try to avoid touching people anywhere above their shoulders.
• The Thai greeting "sawasdee" only came into common usage during the Second World War. Before that, people greeted each other by asking if they had eaten yet.
• Thailand is the only country in South East Asia that has never been subject to foreign rule.
• Thailand is the top rice exporter in the world.