Thailand's cultural and social roots are firmly set in the countryside, in fact, when Mahatma Gandhi said of his home country "... the real India is in the villages". He could just as easily have been referring to Thailand, a country whose political and cultural birth was in the "million rice fields" of the ancient Lanna Thai Kingdom.

Gently cruise the River of Kings, the Chao Phraya, between Bangkok and Ayutthaya, Thailand's former capital, aboard a beautifully converted teakwood rice barge, and watch history unfold.

In a country that still has little infrastructure except in the main collecting points of Siem Reap, Phnom Penh and Sihanoukville, there can be no better way to explore the Jungle Temples than by taking your own accommodation along with you... in style!

Mai Chau is located 135 km south-west of Hanoi in the Northern province of Hoa Binh which is bordered by Son La in the West, Phu Tho and Ha Tay in the North, Ha Nam and Ninh Binh in the East, and Thanh Hoa in the South.