Grand Indochina Journey

Overnight on board the flight

Arriving at Noi Bai International airport, you will be welcomed by your tour guide and driver, and then transferred to your hotel. 

The 1000 years old city has countless fascinating cultural and historic sites and the city tour will take in the highlights: Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, historic Ba Dinh square where Ho Chi Minh declared independence for Vietnam in 1945, the famous One-Pillar Pagoda, Temple of Literature-Vietnam’s first university dating from the 11th century; Hoan Kiem Lake. One of today’s highlights is an interesting and very exciting tour on the back of vintage motorbikes where you will be taken (as passengers) to visit hidden corners of Hanoi. The motorbike tour will take you through labyrinth of Hanoi traffic and to many different alleyways to show  you the daily life not only from main streets but also from different corners where few tourists would know of. The 3h tailored made tour is a great way to capture the panoramic views of “ the good, the bad and the weird” of this city.

Today you will overland to the famous Ha Long Bay which means “Descending Dragon Bay”. Located in the Gulf of Tonkin, this is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and an area of great natural beauty, with some 2,000 limestone islands rising dramatically out of the emerald water. Board the elegant classic junk, and then start cruising the bay. On board activities in the afternoon include an exploration to the well- hidden Thien Canh Son Cave and enjoy a sandy beach at Hon Co Island, swimming or kayaking. Sumptuous seafood on board is one of the highlights beside the scenery. 

(The program details may vary from one junk fleet to the other as they operate in different areas of the bay. By choosing a boat, you also choose the program operated by the boat, available on its website. This program is a sample only)

Continue cruising in the less visited area of Halong bay and enjoy the magnificent landscape. A visit to a floating fishing village by a rustic row-boat, operated by the fishermen, pass by the floating school and fish farms is surely one of the day’s highlights. The cruise ends after lunch

Drive back to Hanoi airport for a flight to Danang. Upon arrival, meet your tour guide and driver, then transfer to Hoi An.

We start the day with a two-hour bike ride along the bank of the Thu Bon river. This scenic route will take you through lush green fields and gardens and different villages, giving you a great view of the daily life activities. Next, you will visit the fishing villages, trying the interesting ride on ‘ thuyen thung” or basket-shaped boat made by bamboo before returning to town for lunch at a local restaurant. The rest of the day is free for relaxation at beautiful beach or further exploration of the town.

This morning, you will take a walking tour around this delightful UNESCO World Heritage town, visiting the Japanese Covered Bridge, the local market, Tan Ky House and the Phuc Kien Assembly Hall. The town is very charming with traditional old houses, mixing well among Vietnamese, Chinese and Japanese architecture. Hoi An is also particularly well known for its expert tailors where you can have a suite made to measure within a day or two. You will leave Hoi An for Hue, a World Heritage recognized city, formerly the seat of the last dynasty in the history of Vietnam from 1802-1945. You will stop in Danang for a visit to the Cham Museum and the handicraft villages at the foot of Marble Mountain. Once in Hue, you will check into your hotel and free at leisure 

A full day touring the former royal capital starts with a visit to the Imperial City, a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage site. The Imperial city is a walled fortress and palace, dividing into three parts – the first layer is the Citadel, the second layer is the Imperial City, and the last one is Forbidden City. Next, will be a visit to the most beautiful Tu Duc Mausoleum- an excellent harmony of sophisticated architecture and charming nature. Enjoy a delicious vegetarian lunch at a Buddhist convent. This will be a great chance to learn about the daily life of the nuns, as well as the most popular religion in Vietnam. In the afternoon, onto the tranquil 17 th century Thien Mu Pagoda before return to hotel by boat along the Perfume River. In the evening, you will enjoy a Royal Banquet style featuring dishes once eaten only by the Royal family. 

In the morning, transfer to Phu Bai Airport for a short flight to Sai Gon. Upon arriving Sai Gon city, you will enjoy a brief city tour of the biggest city in Vietnam, including the Reunification Palace – the former Independence Palace; the War Remnants Museum, Notre Dame Cathedral and the City Post Office. The tour will end with a walk along major landmark buildings during war time such as City’ opera house, Rex hotel, former CIA office building from which the picture of the chopper evacuating people on the rooftop after the collapse of Saigon was taken

Check in at the hotel. The rest of the day is at leisure. 

You will travel northwest direction on a two hour journey  to see the an amazing underground tunnel network of over 200km, equipped with bunkers, trenches, kitchens, dining rooms, water wells, hospitals and other facilities essential for the guerrillas’ survival. This tunnel system came into being from 1948 and expanded throughout American war. It was the only liberated area in the South Vietnam and adjacent to the capital city Saigon and became a pain in the neck of the Americans and South Vietnam army. A short documentary movie gives you some insightful information about how local guerrillas created weapons, lived and fought during the war. Next, you will walk the ground to get a closer look at the amazing tunnel system and even challenge yourself with a crawl into different levels of the tunnel. There is a shooting range nearby where you can try many kinds of guns available there if time permits (at your own cost). Drive back to Ho Chi Minh city and enjoy a free afternoon. 

Mekong delta is a vast maze of rivers, islands and swamps, home to floating markets, Khmer pagodas, and villages surrounded by rice paddies. You will travel southwest today for almost two hours to reach Cai Be town and board a private motorboat to explore the fertile delta. The boat tour will expose you to the daily life along the river, watching the floating houseboats on the river bank, houses built by the rivers. The walking tour though the lush green island give you up-close look at different small family –run businesses such as coconut candy and crispy rice popcorn, handicraft workshops.. . Next, visit Binh Hoa Phuoc island, the “green pearl” of Vinh Long town, where you can immerse yourself in nature and enjoy a lunch of freshest ingredient grown locally, served in a tropical garden setting while listening to traditional southern Vietnamese folk music. Take a nice walk through the bonsai garden before returning to Vinh Long and bus to Can Tho city.

The watery world of Mekong with numerous rivers and crisscrossing canals has created an ideal environment for transportation by boats among local people. As a result, floating markets are commonly found here. And a tour to visit the Cai Rang floating market early in the morning is a must. You can find all kinds of local produce in the market, from fresh vegetable, fruit, and flowers to cooked food. . . Big vessels are often wholesalers, run by a family. The boats function both as shops and shelters as well. In the meantime, smaller boats are retailers. All of them anchored in the middle of rivers’ intersection so that local buyers can see and get access to them from any directions. Every boat hangs one of each available items for sales on a tall bamboo poll as advertisement for their shop. You can see them from long distance. People still keep the habit of getting up early to go to market so they can go to work later so most markets start at day’ break and finishes around 8am. Cruise around the market, watch the local people trading, take pictures, enjoy the colorful sight and sound before return to hotel for breakfast. 

You can take afternoon easy with a village tour, vising local workshops, encounter friendly local villagers or enjoy the facilities at the resort.

Enjoy a leisure breakfast at hotel and check out at 10 am, transfer by car on a 3 hour journey to Tan Son Nhat airport for afternoon flight to Phnom Penh, the capital city of Cambodia. It is a short flight of 55 minutes, you will meet your Cambodian guide and driver at the airport and transfer to hotel in the downtown.

After breakfast, visit Royal Palace where His Majesty, the King of Cambodia, and the royal families live. First, you will visit the Coronation Hall, admiring the beautiful Khmer architecture and learn about historical stories. Continue to visit the extravagant Silver Pagoda where its floor is inlaid by 5,329 silver tiles, thus acquiring its name. Next, visit the Wat Phnom Temple, built in 1373 on the Hill of Madame Penh, listening to the story where the city’s name derive from. 

In the afternoon, you’ll take a journey back to the dark years in the Cambodian history under Khmer Rough regime by visiting the historical  Khmer Rouge’s sites: Tuol Sleng Museum (S-21 prison) and the “Killing Fields” of Choeng Ek.

Enjoy your free time in the morning until transfer to airport for flight to Siem Reap, one of the major tourist hub in Cambodia and the gateway to the world famous temples of Angkor. Warm welcome by your local guide for transfer to hotel. Free time to relax, then your guide will see you again for a Tuk Tuik ride around the suburb of Siem Reap city followed by a blessing ceremony by Buddhist monks for happiness, prosperity and safety. Tonight you enjoy dinner with Apsara Dance show at the local restaurant.

Early wake up in the morning for a transfer to enjoy the sunrise over the Angkor Temple. Back to hotel for breakfast then you continue to discover the Angkor Wat, a temple complex built for king Suryavarman II in the early 12th century as his state temple and capital city. After breakfast at hotel you continue to explore the ruins including the South Gate of Angkor Thom, the impressive Bayon Temple, the Royal Enclosure, Phimeanakas, the Elephant Terrace, the Terrace of the Leper King and the Preah Khan temple. In the afternoon you explore the fabulous Ta Prohm temple which embraced by fig and silk-cotton trees puncture the roofs of Ta Prohm’s towers. End of the day you will enjoy the sunset at the Preah Rup temple or Phnom Bakeng mountain. 

After breakfast at the hotel, transfer to Tonle Sap lake where you will board a motorized boat and cruise around the lake, exposed to daily life of fishermen on floating village. Tonle Sap is the biggest lake in Southeast Asia and with some 3 millions people living around and on it. It is a chance to see the huge contrast of what Phnom Penh and Siemreap versus the fishermen here. After a few hours boat tour, continue to international airport for afternoon flight to Luang Prabang, Laos.

Arrival at Luang Prabang international airport, meet your local guide and driver. Then transfer to your hotel for check-in.

An optional early start gives you the fantastic opportunity to participate in the daily morning alms giving ritual to saffron clad monks. This tradition is unique to Laos, being the only Buddhist nation still preserving this procession. Enjoy your UNESCO morning walk to understand insight of this charming toen stop and visit fresh local markets and back to hotel for breakfast

Breakfast is served at the hotel. This morning, visit Wat Visoun, the site of impressive Thad Makmo stupa. The rounded dome is stylistically more Sinhalese than Lao. Continue to visit Wat Aham temple.

Visit to the most photographed temple, WAT XIENGTHONG. Located at the end of peninsular closed to the confluence of Mekong and Khan River. Visit Wat Sene Temple.

Continue to former Royal Palace, now the National Museum. Visit Wat Mai, a temple renowned for its golden bas-relief. During Pimai, the Lao New Year, the Prabang normally housed in the Royal Palace Museum is brought and put on public display in this temple

Breakfast at hotel.

Climb up to Phousi Hill where you enjoy a panoramic view to Luang Prabang town. Next, move to visit grand market Phou Si where you can find a huge number of local product and observe local activities. 

Then, travelling outskirt of Luang Prabang, driving through green rice paddies and farms. On your arrival at the Kuang Sy fall, enjoy short walking on trails of falls to visit the bear rescued centre, then waterfalls with spectacular views and surrounding of orchids inside the park and falls cascade over many calcified tiers and down several hundred feet into a series of cool, turquoise pools where you can cool off with a swim. 

On the way back to Luang Prabang, stop to visit local villages and handicraft center Ok Pop Tok. Back to hotel and time at leisure

This morning, embark on boat for a cruise on Mekong river to Pak Ou cave.

Pak Ou caves is at the confluence of the Mekong and Nam Ou Rivers. In these 2 caves are displayed hundreds of sacred centuries-old Buddha images which are the object of pilgrimages during the Lao New Year festivities around mid-April. Cruise back to Luang Prabang with stop and visit Ban Xangkhong, a weaving village, where you can jump into wooden looms with local expert for practical and experience.

In the afternoon, driving to train station and take train to Vientaine. Welcomed by your local guide and driver and transfer to hotel for check-in.

Breakfast served at hotel.

With local guide, you enjoy a day to discover the capital of Laos:

– Wat Sisaket with its thousands of miniature Buddha statues. 

– Wat Prakeo, which was the original home of the famous Emerald Buddha, which today lives in Bangkok. There are many excellent restaurants in Vientiane, and you will easily find something to suit your taste. 

– The huge golden That Luang monument, where all Lao citizen respect as holy pagoda. 

– Vientiane’s own Victory Monument, which looks like the Arc de Triumph. This was built at the end of the Indochina wars with money rumored to be American, and earmarked for the airport’s new runway. 

In the afternoon, we continue the sightseeing tour to Buddha Park on the Mekong of which Buddha statues in modern style shapes. One of them is the largest Recling Buddha in Laos. They were built by a Lao man in order to teach following generations about religions worldwide after his study in India. A larger park was built in Nong Khai, Thailand and his body has been kept there. We return to Vientiane in the late afternoon.

Check-out time is at noon. Transfer to the airport for flight home