KAT’S TAILOR-MADE ASIA
May 9 - 19, 2017
Let Kattrax Take You On An Unforgettable Journey!
Day 1
Depart on your overnight international flight to Tokyo.
Day 2
Tokyo
Arrive at Narita Airport. After clearing customs, you will be met and assisted to your transfer to your hotel. Transfer is by coach and will take between 60 and 90 minutes.
After being assisted with your check in, the rest of the day is at your leisure. This evening, enjoy a Japanese cuisine dinner at Nadaman restaurant in Shangri-La hotel.
One of the World’s most cutting-edge capitals, Tokyo is a city of contrasts. Famous for its cutting edge modernity, neon-lit landscape and towering skyscrapers, it is also home to sprawling parkland, peaceful shrines and temples and lovingly tended gardens. Despite its love affair with manga pop culture, fashion, high-tech trends and conspicuous consumption, below the surface is a city that has its roots in an ancient heritage. Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples stand close to skyscrapers as a reminder of a more contemplative time and at the heart of the hyperactive centre lies the serene Imperial Palace, the home of the ruling emperor that provides a tangible link to the city’s historical past.
Behind the shopping, entertainment and commercial emporia can be found quaint wooden houses, private gardens with meticulously clipped bonsai trees and the Zen-like calm of the Hamarikyu Gardens. The city’s reputation as a mega-expensive metropolis is ill conceived and visitors can take advantage of inexpensive izakaya bars and neighborhood cafes that serve delicious noodles and rice dishes.
Complete with a business center, free wifi, several restaurants/bars/lounges, concierge, 24-hour room service, fitness center, indoor pool and much more. The Capitol Hotel offer exceptional views of the Tokyo skyline, housing over 200 spacious and elegantly furnished rooms and suites. These include 13 luxurious suites with magnificent views of downtown Tokyo.
Day 3
Tokyo Highlights Day Tour
After breakfast, you will be collected and taken on a private full day tour of this fascinating city.
The day begins with a visit to Meiji Shrine, a shrine dedicated to the deified spirit of Emperor Meiji and a popular place for traditional Japanese weddings. Next is Harajuku, and the famous Takeshita dori (Cat Street). Whether you are a goth, punk or anything in between, there is a shop in Harajuku that caters for you.
After a buffet lunch in the elegant neighborhood of Aoyama, you will go across town to Asakusa, Tokyo’s old town where you can soak in the atmosphere of the Tokyo of old. Visit Sensoji, Tokyo’s oldest temple and wander down Nakamise, a shopping street that has been providing temple visitors with a variety of traditional, local snacks and tourist souvenirs for centuries.
This evening you will take dinner river cruise on the Sumida River on board the Yakatabune. Enjoy dinner while taking in Tokyo’s spectacular night scenery. After your cruise, you will be returned to your hotel.
Day 4
TOKYO
Enjoy a day at leisure.
In the evening, you will be escorted by your private guide to dinner at Blue Note jazz club. Enjoy live music and fine dining. After dinner you will be returned to your hotel.
*Note: Please notice the availability of the Blue Note cannot be confirmed so far in advance. We might substitute another Jazz Club such as the Cotton Club or the JZ Brat when the schedules come out if the Blue Note does not have concerts on the requested day. Thank you for your understanding
Day 5
Tokyo/Saigon/Nha Trang
After breakfast, you will be assisted with checking out of your hotel and transferred by coach to the airport for your departing flight to Saigon and onward to Nha Trang. Upon arrival you will be met and transferred to your hotel. The rest of the day is at your leisure to relax on the beach or enjoy the hotel facilities.
This afternoon, you will be collected from your hotel and transferred to the Cai River Pier. Depart on a for a 4 hour private river excursion on the Cai River. The cruise includes stops at Champa Kinglodm (7th -12th Century), Coco Palm Island and the mineral water health spa. At the spa, you will have the opportunity to immerse your body in a mud bath and mineral water soaking that will recharge you. Continue onto your riverside restaurant for dinner enjoying the spectacular views of the setting sun on the surrounding hills under a mild tropical breeze. After dinner, you will be returned to your hotel.
Evason Ana Mandara is Nha Trang’s only beachfront resort. Its 74 semi-detached garden villas, many with breathtaking views across the bay, offer classic Vietnamese touches. Dining choices include local, regional and international cuisine, presented using the freshest of ingredients. The Six Senses Spa presents Vietnamese specialty treatments in addition to the Six Senses Spa signature menu. The resort also offers tennis, beach volleyball, and a water-activity center, plus a PADI Dive Centre and a range of excursions.
Garden View Rooms are 48 sqm, some with connecting doors to Deluxe Sea View Rooms and either king-sized or twin beds with full-sized bath, rain shower and private covered terrace. The style incorporates delightful Vietnamese touches. There is individually controlled air-conditioning and a ceiling fan, writing desk, IDD telephone, in-room safe and hairdryer, satellite television with international channels, DVD player, free internet access, 24-hour in villa dining, minibar and coffee/tea making facilities, and daily newspaper on request.
Day 6
Nha Trang
After breakfast, you will be taken on a half day (5 hours) Bay and Boats tour with lunch. Enjoy a relaxing cruise on the turquoise waters of the Eastern sea. Your craft is a simple (but safe and comfortable!) reconverted fishing boat.
Off shore from Nha Trang lie numerous islands, some inhabited and many dotted with idyllic fishing villages. We pause at one of these villages and you are free to wander at will. The local people are very friendly and hospitable. Young children will ferry you between the boat and shore by coracle, the round bamboo boats so commonly used in coastal Vietnam. Should you wish, there will be opportunity to swim and snorkel in secluded bays. Lunch is a feast of local specialities prepared on board or at a local beach. After lunch, you will be returned to your hotel. The remaining of the day is at your leisure to relax on the beach or enjoy the hotel facilities
Day 7
Nha Trang
Day at leisure to enjoy the beach.
Day 8
Nha Trang/Saigon/Bangkok
After your leisurely breakfast, you will be met and transferred to Nha Trang Airport for the flight back to Saigon, then connect to your flight to Bangkok. (Kindly note check in time for international flight is 2 hours prior the departure time).
Arrive in Bangkok. After clearing customs and immigration, you will be met and transferred to your hotel for check in.
After check-in, enjoy the remainder of the afternoon at leisure.
Well known as the City of Angels, Krungthepmahanakorn (Bangkok) is the present capital city and the focal point of Thailand. It was made the capital of Thailand in 1782, by the first monarch of the present Chakri Dynasty. It is a vibrant, national treasure and Thailand’s spiritual, cultural, political, commercial, educational and diplomatic center. In addition to the many temples and historic buildings, such as The Grand Palace and Wat Arun, it offers endless choices for sightseeing and entertainment. There are numerous canal (klong) networks along the Chaophraya River, giving it the name of “Venice of the East”. You will also find bustling markets, Jim Thompson’s House, Chatuchak Weekend Market, Wat Po, Wat Benjamorpit and Mahboonkrong Shopping Centres.
Bangkok has a wide variety of accommodation options and at various locations. Food and entertainment opportunities in Bangkok are unlimited, varying from international style restaurants to roadside stalls almost 24 hours a day. Bangkok is home to many excellent Spa facilities, both in large hotels and privately run.
This evening you will enjoy a traditional Thai dinner cruise on a beautiful converted antique teakwood rice barge as it travels slowly along the Chao Phraya River, past iconic sights such as the Wat Arun (The Temple of the Dawn) and the glittering illuminated Grand Palace.
offers the ultimate view of the city’s legendary riverside buildings lit up at night. You will enjoy a sumptuous Thai dinner
Siam Kempinski is located in the heart of Bangkok's premier shopping and entertainment district, within easy reach of the BTS Skytrain at the Siam Interchange Station, The Airport Rail Link, public taxis and other transportation networks. The hotel includes on-site restaurants, bars, pool, fitness room, business center, internet, spa, and gift shop.
Make yourself at home in one of Siam Kempinski Hotel Bangkok's 303 rooms (including 42 suites), as well as 98 serviced residences - Bangkok's new measure of opulence in the heart of the city. Lose yourself in luxurious fabrics and furnishings, and experience the latest internet and entertainment technology.
Step outside onto your balcony and become part of a large open air garden, a serene haven surrounded by our Royal and Garden wings. Pools and fountains wind through tropical trees waiting for you to join them.
Day 9
Bangkok
After breakfast, you will be transferred 110 km from Bangkok into the Ratchaburi province, is a Floating market where you will see colorfully clad merchants paddle along congested canals in sturdy canoes laden with fresh fruit, vegetables and other foodstuff to sell to shoppers on the canal banks. This provides the perfect photo opportunity. Afterward, continue to a local market positioned on a train track which has to be seen to be believed. We drive to Maekhlong Station where we will visit the famous railway market. You will be amazed at the sight of a train approaching the market and the vendors frantically packing away their stalls from the tracks as it approaches!
Afterward return to your hotel and spend the rest of your afternoon at leisure.
Day 10
Bangkok
After breakfast, you will be taken to the heart of Bangkok opposite the Surasak Sky train station. The Blue Elephant Cooking School welcomes you to a dazzling century old mansion where you will discover and experience the culinary wonders of Royal Thai Cuisine.
The Blue Elephant Cooking School has fully equipped facilities offering you the chance to put your hand to practicing Thai Cuisine. A typical day will commence with a visit to the morning market. Accompanied by our instructor, you will teach you to select and buy Thai ingredients for your own personal cooking. The class will be followed by a meal in our delightful restaurant sampling your own cooking as well as additional Thai dishes, if you wish to order.
After lunch continue on to Jim Thomson’s House, a collection of beautiful teak Thai houses erected by the famous Jim Thomson, an American pioneer in the Thai Silk industry who disappeared mysteriously in the jungles of Malaysia in 1967. He was posted as a US intelligence agent in Bangkok during the Second World War and collected an impressive range of art collectables. Afterwards, you will visit Vimanmek Palace, the world’s largest golden teak mansion built by King Chulalongkorn (Rama V) in 1900 as his summer palace. After his death, the Vimanmek Mansion had been used as a place of storage by the Bureau of the Royal Household for the past 50 years. However in 1982, the building was officially converted into a museum to honor King Rama V by displaying his photographs, art and collectables picked up on his royal visits to Europe.
Day 11
Bangkok / San Francisco
After your leisurely breakfast, you will be met and transferred to Suvarnabhumi International Airport you’re your departing flight to the US.