18 DAYS VIETNAM & CAMBODIA DELIGHT

DAY 01: Hanoi

Welcome to Hanoi! Our representative will be at the airport to make sure you’re headed for the right direction! Check in at your hotel and get your bearings before you meet your tour leader at 6 pm. Get the inside scoop on the tour during the meeting and then get to know your travel companions, over a welcome dinner.

DAY 02: Ha Long

Don’t trip over yourself at breakfast this morning in anticipation of the drive to Halong Bay complex, one of Vietnam’s most enduring natural attractions. Step on board your cruiser, once you’re done with your drive and get an eyeful of the thousands of towering limestone pillars that rise imperiously from an emerald sea. Depending on the weather, take a plunge in the gentle waters or kayak through some of the hollowed out Karsts Mountain. Hunker down for some delicious food on board and let the day take its gentle course as you hit the beaches, caves and perhaps a secret treat from the floating market.

DAY 03: Hanoi-Hue

Wake up to the buoyant rhythms of the sea this morning and open your eyes to the giant like Karst Mountains that still keep sentinel over the sampans and junks that float with increasing ardour as they go about making their first catch of the day. Plunge and indeed soak yourself brain deep in these idyllic locales until the clock urges you to head back to Hanoi. Browse through the streets of Noi, sampling the food as you do so before catching the overnight train to Hue.

DAY 04: Hue

Dust yourself off on arrival at Hue in the morning. Leave your bags at the hotel and immediately attend to your stomach over a local breakfast. Make your way to the Imperial Citadel where further exploration takes you to the threshold of the Forbidden Purple City, so called because, no one apart from the royals were allowed to enter its precincts. Walk through some of the ruins here that were razed to the ground during the American War, since renovated – and deconstruct the life of the emperors and their entourage that housed them during the 1800s. Visit the Dong Ba Market if you’re up to it after the tour and sample some locally made goods, fresh produce and some good old lip smacking street food.

DAY 05: Hue

Ride out on cycles to the 18th century Thanh Toan Bridge that straddles a canal midst the lush green Vietnamese countryside and then walk through a local market nearby. Get a sense of Vietnam’s history as you walk along the vast grounds of Tu Duc Tomb that houses among other things a temple where the emperor and empress were worshiped, the oldest theatre in Vietnam and a lake fringed with a reception area. All harking back to a time of excesses practiced by the ruler, as his country stepped unaware into an impending storm with the approach of the French at Da Nang in the south.

DAY 06: Hoi An

Follow the scenic coastal route to Hoi An (approximately 5 hours) halting briefly at the Lang Co fishing village and then going over the dramatic Hai Van pass. Breeze through the old town with your tour leader in the afternoon, slack jawed, eye in the sky and not worrying about having to fling yourself to the sidewalk to dodge a wayward vehicle-because none are allowed entry here! Plenty of time then to discover the makings of this 16th century port town that stopped being one when the river silted. Yet, despite running out of favour with the merchants, Hoi An is one of the most loved destinations of Vietnam with its weathered yellow buildings that used to be shop houses in the past but have now transitioned comfortably in their contemporary role of cafes and coffee shops. Submit to the amalgam of European, Chinese and Japanese architecture that defines the buildings and temples here along with a street grid system that hasn’t changed even with the encroachment of modernity. Communal houses, assembly halls, trading centres each wait patiently -waiting for their stories to be heard . Once you’re done with this cultural scene, perhaps head out to the beach for some R&R.

DAY 07: Hoi An

You’ve got a free day at your disposal to take time out and wander off on your own through the Old Quarter. Between strolling through the street corners, consider approaching some of the tailoring shops that are a quintessential part of the Old Quarter scenery. Get some advice on the cut of a suit or the nuances of different fabrics and have it ready to don your back in just a couple of hours. Alternatively, swing up and on that saddle and bike your way to An Bang beach or wind your way through the rural areas of Hoi An, making way for the occasional buffalo or reaching out to some school kids ready to practice their language skills on you. Later in the afternoon, float down the Thu Bon River on board a local boat and make the most of a barbecue on its lazy banks.

DAY 08: Ho Chi Minh

We take a short flight to Ho Chi Minh City early this afternoon to avoid the hectic morning commute. Head off for an orientation walk around the vicinity with your tour leader and if you’ve got time, flip a coin between a visit to the War Remnants Museum or the Reunification Palace. Later in the evening, morph into the skin of a true Vietnamese as you swing by the Saigon nightlife on board a scooter and join its inhabitants on a street food tour.

DAY 09: Ho Chi Minh

Travel approximately 40 km northwest this morning to discover the Cu Chi Tunnels, a living reminder of the country’s fractious relation with France and later, America. Lower yourself under the surface and get a first hand experience of how the Viet Cong personnel flitted in and out of these warren like passages, building an underground city and working out ingenious ways and means to paralyze an enemy that was far more well equipped. Drive back to Ho Chi Minh City and wander around the city centre to get a last sense of the city and as the evening closes in, gather along with your travel companions for a final dinner together.

DAY 10: Ho Chi Minh

Today's a free day, wake up at your own leisure to say good bye to some of your new friends and tour leader . As some people leave and new travel companions and tour leader join we kick start this section of the tour with a group meeting at 6 pm and then proceed to familiarize yourself with some authentic Vietnamese fare over an included dinner.

DAY 11: Ho Chi Minh

Ho Chi Minh City’s pulse and character reflects the bewildering mix of cultural influence and class that has brushed its history through the ages. Trade relations with the Chinese, French, Malay, Thai and Indians enriched its own Khmer customs and thus sprouted a cultural crucible that’s immediately noticeable as you step out for a tour of the city this morning. Start from the General Post Office that’s tinged with a Gothic and renaissance flavor. Walk through some of the elegant colonial buildings past the Paris Square and then enter the Reunification Palace that seems eerily like a slice of history arrested in time with its tunnels, war rooms, radio transmitters and card tables sitting mutely as if waiting for the clock to start ticking again. Follow this up with a visit to the War Remnants Museum to get a more personal understanding of the Vietnam War as well as the First Indo China War through exhibits, photographs, documents and so much more. Later in the evening, strike out for a street food tour where a variety of local dishes sizzle, pop, crackle and make as much noise as the vendors trying to vie for your attention.

DAY 12: Phnom Penh

Buckle up for a 6 hours journey by public bus to Phnom Penh as we leave Vietnam to enter Cambodia’s capital. If you’ve got some time on your hands this evening and you’re itching to get a taste of the city, hop on board the eco-friendly cyclo – a remnant of a colonial past – as it gently negotiates Phnom Pehn’s roads and allows you to breeze through some of the city’s most popular landmarks.

DAY 13: Phnom Penh

Today is a day for remembrance and reflection. After breakfast we will be cycling to and thereafter, to Choeung Ek, two sites that chronicle a grim past. Yet as grim as it is, these are stories that need to be told, heard and preserved for generations to come because, they serve as a reminder and a testament to Cambodia’s brutal past. Tuol Sleng, code named S-21, was originally a school that was converted to an interrogation centre where not less than 12,000 people were tortured and murdered on the orders of Pol Pot when his Khmer Rouge movement took control of Cambodia in April 1975. Sometimes graphic and almost always heart breaking the museum hosts photos, accounts and tools that were used to torture the detainees here. Much of that dark history follows you as you head for the Choeung Ek Genocidal Centre or the Killing Fields where prisoners from S-21 and elsewhere were taken to be exterminated. Rows of bones and human skulls feature in this surprisingly well kept field underscoring the irony of all human intentions.

DAY 14: Siem Reap

We board a private vehicle to bridge the journey between Phnom Penh and Siem Reap this morning. Although the journey is typically 6 hours, we’ll be making several pit stops in between to get a wide variety of experiences just to keep things interesting. Stop by the Skun Spider Market, plonked right in the intersection of two highways playing host to local delicacies that includes locusts, tarantulas and other creepy crawlies! Make a bet or two with your travel companions by testing your squeamish quotient and then wheeze your way up the 809 steps to Phnom Santuk where images of reclining Buddhas, pagodas and recalcitrant monkeys survey a kingdom of exposed boulders and a green forest cover. Kick some dust as you walk across the Dragon Bridge that hangs over a muddy Kampong Kdei River, your next and last stop before reaching Siem Reap. Marvel at the 12th century engineering that still keeps it standing over rough wars and weather.

DAY 15: Siem Reap

If ever there is a single memory that lodges itself on the mind of people travelling through Cambodia, it is the one of the sun crawling cat-like upon the ancient stones of Angkor Wat, breathing life yet again upon it just as it has done centuries and centuries ago. Rise in the early hours of the morning to catch this brilliant spectacle and then sink deeper into the historical, religious and cultural associations of this monument that has come to define Cambodia more than anything else. Though gigantic in aspect, walk through this fascinating complex taking in the little details as well that warrant a pride of place in the Cambodian heart. Finish the tour with a picnic lunch and then return to the city centre to do as you please for the rest of the day.

DAY 16: Siem Reap

As impressive as the Angkor Wat is, the other sites around the Angkor complex are equally as impressive. Weave your way through the giant silk cotton trees that wrap themselves around the Ta Phrom temple like constrictors reluctant to let go of their prey as well as the Angkor Thom lined with busts of Gods, bas reliefs and a stone tower. Discovering as you do so, their own independent architectural details and history. Later during the day take a guided quad bike tour just outside of Siem Reap and snatch impressions of daily life that resides out of the cities.

DAY 17: Bangkok

We leave Cambodia today and catch a flight to Bangkok. Before you’ve got time to settle your hair in its place you’ll be sitting in the super efficient sky train and heading straight to the Bangkok Grand Palace, the number one site to visit while you’re in the country’s capital. A stunning amalgam of Thai and European architecture, the palace dazzles with its beautiful grounds, gilded buildings, detailed murals and its crowning glory, the Wat Phra Kaew or the Emerald Temple. Take time to soak in the palace complex and after you’re done head for your hotel. For the latter half of the day, follow your tour guide around the riverside enclave of Rattanakosin district or the old quarter where the side streets lined by weathered buildings and 16th century temples still recall a time when the first monarch of Thailand’s present ruling dynasty, founded the kingdom in 1782. Flit through the ghosts of colonial buildings and open your senses to the smell of flowers, fruits and incense as street vendors sell their wares through holes in the wall cubicles. Later in the evening, raise your glasses and settle in for one final meal with your tour leader and other travel companions as the tour comes to an end.

DAY 18: Bangkok

It’s time now to bid farewell to your tour leader and new friends but not without a backpack full of memories. Departure Transfers are included on the day. Please consult with your tour leader or the hotel desk to confirm the check-out time. Looking to extend your trip check out our 13 Days Discover Thailand Laos trips.