Following the 2010 conference in Singapore, the International Communication Association is offering two special postconference tours in Southeast Asia. These include a 5-day, 4-night excursion in Bangkok, Thailand, and an extended 9-day, 8-night option that passes through both Bangkok and Angkor Wat, Cambodia.
The 5-day tour of Bangkok will take place from Sunday, 27 June, to Thursday, 1 July; the Amari Watergate Hotel will provide accommodations. This tour of the capital of Thailand includes a boat ride on the Chao Praya River and the khlongs (canals) that have earned Bangkok the nickname "Venice of the East"; a tour of the Golden Palace; lunch at the famous Supatra House Restaurant; a visit to the Damnoen Saduak floating market; and dinner at the Bangkok Seafood Market, among others. See why Bangkok is the second most important tourist destination in the world.
The cost for tour and accommodations is $584.00 USD per person for a twin-share, or $270.00 USD for a single supplement. You will need to make your reservations home from Bangkok on 1 July.
The 9-day extended tour package includes the same Bangkok touring schedule and accommodations as the shorter tour; however, instead of flying home on 1 July, you will board travel to Siem Reap-a Cambodian city on the shores of Tonle Sap Lake and the gateway to Angkor Wat. Accommodations in Siem Reap are provided by the Royal Angkor Resort.
The first day (1 July) is, after arrival, a leisure day that allows participants to explore Siem Reap on their own. On 2 July is a guided tour of Angkor Thom, the 12th-century fortified capital of the Khmer Empire. The tour includes the city's South Gate; the Terrace of the Elephants and Terrace of the Leper Kings; the Baphuon and the Royal Enclosure; the Bayon Temple, featuring galleries of preserved 900-year-old bas-reliefs; the Prasat Kravan towers; and much more.
On 3 July, the tour progresses first to the Roulous Group, An early set of pre-Angkorian monuments located away from the main Angkor Wat complex-and finally to Angkor Wat, the temple-palace complex and jewel of Khmer architecture whose construction was completed ca. 1150. The largest, best preserved, and most religiously significant of the Angkor temples, Angkor impresses visitors both by its sheer scale and beautifully proportioned layout, as well as the delicate artistry of its carvings that adorn nearly every surface, with some 1,700 Apsaras, or celestial dancers, sculpted into the walls. Along the outer gallery walls run the longest continuous bas-relief in the world, which narrates stories from Hindu mythology, including the famous Churning of the Ocean of Milk.
Registration for the postconference tours begins 15 January and ends 15 April 2010. Don't miss these irreplaceable opportunities to view the grandeur of Southeast Asia firsthand. You can find more information and reservations for the postconference tours on the ICA website, http://www.icahdq.org.
