 Day 1 – Thursday
USA/INTERNATIONAL DATE LINE
Depart on regularly scheduled flight from USA to Vietnam.
Day 2 – Friday
INTERNATIONAL DATE LINE
Cross International Date Line.
Day 3 – Saturday (D)
HANOI
Arrival in Hanoi, Vietnam’s fascinating capital city of lakes, shaded boulevards, and public parks stretching along the banks of the Red River. Check into your hotel.
Visit the Home and Mausoleum of Ho Chi Minh, the founding father of modern Vietnam. Take an afternoon walking tour of the lively Old Quarter, a fascinating area of narrow alleys and shop houses, also called “36 streets” most of which are named after the crafts or merchandise traditionally sold there. Also view scenic Hoan Kiem Lake, containing an islet with the tiny Tortoise Pagoda, topped with a red star and the Ngoc Son Pagoda on its northern shores. Following dinner at a local restaurant, enjoy a performance of the world-famous Water Puppet Theatre, a traditional art form that originated in Vietnam over 1,000 years ago. Watch Doll-sized puppets, operated by invisible strings, ride in boats, catch fish, and chase ducks across a pool of water.
Sofitel Plaza Hanoi
Day 4 – Sunday (B, L)
HANOI
Hear a specially arranged lecture, “The History and Culture of Vietnam”, by a renown scholar of Vietnamese History and Literature and visit the Museum of Ethnology to learn about the astonishing ethnic diversity in Vietnam reflected in the art and artifacts from the 54 different ethnic groups that inhabit the country. Also visit the Temple of Literature, a compound of temples, pavilions, and courtyards which is not only a place of worship but an expression of the Vietnamese esteem for education and literature in general and Confucianism is particular.
After lunch tour different villages surrounding Hanoi that specialize in certain handicrafts including Bat Trang, a pottery village that has been in production for 500 years (known for its blue-and-white bowls and incense pots in dragon and peony motifs);
Dong Ho, a center for traditional painting; and Dong Cao, which manufactures Rhamnoneuron paper.
Sofitel Plaza Hanoi Hotel
Day 5 – Monday (B, L, D)
HANOI / HALONG
Travel by motor coach through the countryside dotted with rice paddies to one of the most scenic areas in the world - Halong Bay, the Emerald Bay of Vietnam, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. This vast bay, which was the inspiration for generations of Vietnamese poets, is filled with more than 3,000 limestone “peaks” or karsts that jut from the deep blue water as far as the eye can see. Board a comfortable traditional Vietnamese boat (“junk”) with air conditioned cabins, private bath, hand-crafted wooden interiors and view this overwhelming seascape and the daily life of Vietnamese fishermen and their families from the large sun deck area on the boat. Lunch on board the boat and continue to explore the many caves and islets and glide by the floating villages of the fishermen and pearl farmers who live on the bay. Dinner and overnight aboard your boat.
Bai Tho Junk Boat
 Day 6 – Tuesday (B, D)
HALONG/DANANG/HOI AN
After breakfast aboard your boat, continue your cruise around the waters of the various bays, visiting Man’s Head Island, Tortoise Island, and Lion Cave. After lunch, travel to Hanoi Airport for your flight to Danang. Travel by motor coach south past the Marble Mountains and small villages to Hoi An a picturesque riverside town and UNESCO World Heritage Site. Known as Faifo to early western traders, it was one of South East Asia’s major international ports from the 17th to the 19th century
Life Heritage Resort
Day 7 – Wednesday (B, L)
HOI AN
Enjoy an early morning coffee at the Hai Scout Café and then proceed to Hoi An Market to purchase ingredients for cooking, chatting with the local vendors and experiencing the sights, smells, and action in this colorful market. After visiting the market you will enjoy a leisurely twenty-minute boat cruise up the Perfume River to reach the Red Bridge Restaurant and Cooking School, where you will see a demonstration of fruit and vegetable carving and also help prepare five traditional dishes to enjoy for lunch.
As this beautifully preserved historic city is best seen on foot, your afternoon walking tour will include the Tran Family Chapel built more than 200 years ago, Quan Thang House, one of the town’s oldest homes, Phung Hung House, where one family has resided for more than eight generations and much more.
Life Heritage Resort
Day 8 – Thursday (B)
HOI AN / HUE
Journey by motor coach along Highway 1 past Danang and Lang Co, a pretty, island-like stretch of palm-shaded sand with a crystal-clear lagoon on one side and many miles of beachfront facing the South China Sea. Take the Hai Van Pass over a spur of the Truong Son Mountain Range that juts into the South China Sea. This incredible mountainous stretch of highway provides spectacular views. Arrive in Hue, which was established in the 17the century and served as the capital of Vietnam for more than 140 years. Visit the Old Imperial City, which was built in the early 19th century and modeled, in part, on the Forbidden City in Beijing. Within its walls you can view numerous palaces and temples as well as a library and museum.
Saigon Morin Hotel
Day 9 – Friday (B, D)
HUE
Take a boat excursion on the Perfume River to visit the Thien Mu Pagoda, with its gardens scented with orchids, frangipani, and jackfruit and alive with the flutter of white and crimson butterflies on the bank of the Perfume River just outside of Hue. This was focal point of the Buddhist opposition to the Diem regime in the early Sixties. Behind the main sanctuary of the pagoda is the Austin motorcar which transported the Monk Thich Quang Duc to the site of his 1963 self-immolation. Continue on by boat and take a tour of the Tomb of Emperor Minh Mang. Built in 1840 by King Minh Mang it is considered to be the most beautiful of Hue’s many pagodas and tombs. Visit Y Thao Garden House, one of the traditional aristocratic homes that were a reflection of the Vietnamese sensibility of living space. Enjoy the creative gardens, fine ceramics and art collection and have a specially arranged dinner with a local family.
Saigon Morin Hotel
Day 10 – Saturday (B, L)
HUE / HO CHI MINH CITY (formerly SAIGON)
Transfer to the airport for your morning flight to Ho Chi Minh City, which has once again become the effervescent economic center of Vietnam. This former “Paris of the East” with its street markets, sidewalk cafes and sleek new bars is hectic and busy, but it also reflects 300 years of timeless traditions and the beauty of an ancient culture.
Visits to Notre Dame Cathedral, Reunification Palace, called Independence Palace before the fall of Saigon in 1975, Opera House, City Hall, and the Central Post Office will showcase the many architectural, ochre facades with filigree gates in the Parisian style, and the historic highlights of this fascinating and vibrant city. Also visit Ben Thanh Market, one of the city’s liveliest indoor markets, and the War Remnants Museum which memorializes the nation’s struggles against the French and Americans. Late afternoon visit to a local elementary school. An evening walk with illuminated lanterns and oil-lamps along the streets will take you back the Indochina of your dreams. As Ho Chi Minh City has some of Vietnam’s best restaurants and cafes, enjoy dinner on your own or with other members of your group this evening
Sofitel Plaza Saigon
 Day 11 – Sunday (B, D)
HO CHI MINH CITY
After breakfast depart for your boat cruise of the Mekong Delta, the country’s premier rice basket. Explore the narrow, mud brown waterways and fertile islands with fruit orchards and cottage industry manufacturers of honey-flavored sweets. Also witness rice barges, ferries, and sampans as they ply their way on this timeless river. Return to Ho Chin Minh City for a specially arranged Farewell Dinner.
Sofitel Plaza Saigon
Day 12 – Monday (B)
HO CHI MINH CITY/USA OR ANGKOR WAT OPTIONAL EXTENSION
Visit the War Remnants Museum, one of Vietnams most popular museums for western visitors which memorializes the nation’s struggle against the French and Americans. Spend the remainder of the morning and early afternoon in Cholon (Big Market ) or Chinatown, the commercial heart of the city. Visit Binh Tay, another of the city’s lively markets, and also tour Thien Hau, Nghia An Hoi, and Tam Son Hoi Quan Pagodas.
Late afternoon transfer for your flight to USA or Angkor Wat.
ANGKOR WAT EXTENSION 4 DAYS
Day 12 – Monday (B)
Ho Chi Minh City/Siem Reap, Cambodia
Spend the morning and early afternoon in Cholon (Big Market ) or Chinatown, the commercial heart of the city. Visit Binh Tay, another of the city’s lively markets, and also tour Thien Hau, Nghia An Hoi, and Tam Son Hoi Quan Pagodas.
Late afternoon transfer for your flight to Siem Reap in northwest Cambodia and gateway to Angkor Wat, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the most magnificent wonders of the world. Transfer and overnight at Victoria Angkor Resort and Spa.
Day 13 - Tuesday (B)
Angkor Wat and Angkor Thom
Visit Angkor the sophisticated complex led by a succession of kings who held sway over the Khmer people and hundreds of square miles of land studded with beautiful art created for the glory of the gods. Angkor Wat is the jewel of the Angkor complex. Set among green forests and rice paddies, it is the largest, best preserved, and most religiously significant of the Angkor temples. Approach the temple by crossing a vast moat, continuing along a broad causeway with Balustrades carved in the form of nagas or serpents on both sides of the avenue. On the way to the central sanctuary enjoy the intricate stone carvings of hundreds of sensual asparas or celestial dancing girls that adorn nearly every surface. 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.” You will have the opportunity to watch the play of light on this magnificent temple at sunrise and sunset.
Afternoon visit to the fortified city of Angkor Thom which includes many of Angkor’s most popular sites, including the Terrace of Elephants, Terrace of the Leper Kings, the Royal Enclosure, and Phimeakas. Finally, visit the mysterious Bayon Temple, one of the city’s most extraordinary structures. The symbolic temple-mountain features 54 towers bearing more than giant stone faces smiling enigmatically down at you from every angle.
Dinner, stroll the lively streets of Siem Reap.
Victoria Angkor Resort and Spa.
Day 14 - Wednesday (B)
Ta Prohm and Chau Say Tevoda
Visit Ta Prohm one of the most mysterious of all the temple structures at Angkor, as much of the jungle has not been cleared and it looks very much as most of the Angkor monuments would have appeared when European explorers first stumbled across them.
Ta Prohm which means Ancestor of Brahma was originally a Buddhist monastery.
View Chau Say Tevoda a shaded small temple, within the Angkor complex,
dedicated to Shiva and displaying scenes from the Ramayana.
Afternoon visit to Les Chantiers Ecoles (Atisans d’Angkor). This vocational center trains 650 apprentices a year including 160 in fine arts and crafts trades united in the “Artisan d’Angkor production network. A guided tour through the different workshops in stone sculpture, woodcarving, polychromie, will enable you to watch these artisans at work.
Also visit a local art school. Dinner and overnight in Siem Reap
Victoria Angkor Resort and Spa.
Day 15 - Thursday (B)
Siem Reap, Cambodia/USA
After breakfast transfer to airport for return flight to USA. |
