Indochina learning and exploring 18-day astounding tour

You hop on a Tuk Tuk and ride to Angkor Thom, which was the masterpiece of King Jayavarman VII. Following the occupation of Angkor by the Chams from 1177 to 1181, the new king decided to build an impregnable fortress at the heart of his empire. You begin to visit Bayon Temple. At the exact center of Angkor Thom, this is an eccentric expression of the creative genius and inflated ego of Cambodia’s most celebrated king. From there, you walk to Baphuon, one of the most beautiful temples at Angkor, dating from the reign of Uditayavarman 1 in the 11th century.

You continue to visit the Terrace of the Leper King. Along the Terrace of Elephants, was originally used as a viewing gallery for the king to preside over parades, performances, and traditional sports. You continue to achieve Ta Prohm “Tomb Raider” fame. Ta Prohm has been abandoned to the elements, a reminder that while empires rise and fall, the riotous power of nature marches on, oblivious to the dramas of human history. Your journey out to the mother of all temples, Angkor Wat. Believed to be the world’s largest religious building, this temple is the perfect fusion of symbolism and symmetry and a source of pride and strength for all Khmers.

Overnight in Siem Reap.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch.

Siem Reap Bayon temple

After breakfast, continue your journey to the local Village. With a warm welcome from the village guide, you will be given an introduction to the geography of the community while riding on an oxcart along the way. You see the organic vegetable farm, local activities, typical stilt houses, and authentic Cambodian living style, learning about Khmer culture, customs, and tradition. The Oxcart Tour will end at a nearby local pagoda.

You will go to the local pagoda, where you should change into clothes you can get wet in, as here you will experience the ceremony “SrouchTeok”, which roughly translates into “Water Blessing.” A monk will chant in ancient Pali as he splashes water over you, washing away your sins and bad luck so you can start fresh, and being a good person can increase your good luck.

Depart for the Tonlé Sap. You enjoy a boat ride on Tonle Sap Lake. This is the largest permanent freshwater lake in Southeast Asia and flows into the Tonle Sap River, joining the Mekong in Phnom Penh. You see a fishermen’s “floating village” with floating schools, a floating police station, etc. It is the same as a big village floating on the lake, and the “village” moves from place to place following water levels and currents. You go beyond the temple area to explore the real countryside for sunset on the quad bike for an hour. A fun way to admire the places, the sounds, and the smells of the countryside, watching villages, the rice fields, and the wet area.

Overnight in Siem Reap.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch.

Siem Reap Quad Bike tour

After lunch, you are transferred to Siem Reap International Airport. Today, you fly to Luang Prabang.

Hello Laos! Upon arrival, be greeted by the guide and transferred to the hotel. Please look for the Asia Pathfinders welcome sign in the arrivals hall.

Overnight in Luang Prabang.

Meals: Breakfast.

Luang Prabang Nam Ou River viewpoint

Wake up as the sun rises, and you prepare to join the most sacred tradition of Laos, the daily morning alms giving, which dates to the 14th century. More than 200 Buddhist monks depart from various temples to gather their daily meals from the faithful residents sitting quietly on the streets. Next, you will visit the temporary morning market near the former Royal Palace. Just set on the ground, the local people come here to barter their day’s catch with rice for vegetables, fish, or chicken. It is the best chance to experience the flavor of local life.

Leave the city behind and head to the peaceful countryside. The beautiful drive ends at the Kuang Si Waterfalls; which are a series of cascading turquoise pools surrounded by lush forests. You spend time exploring the falls and enjoying the pristine nature. For further insight into the Natural Wonders of Laos, you can stop at the Asiatic Black Bear Sanctuary nearby the waterfalls. The sanctuary houses endangered bears rescued from poachers, showing the efforts of passionate animal lovers; who are working to stop the poachers and preserve the Bear’s natural living environment.

Next, you pay a visit to the unique Lao Buffalo Dairy Farm, a social enterprise that produces sustainable and delicious cheese while giving back to the community and environment. While the buffalo may be the stars here, there are also playful pigs, cheeky chickens, and rollicking rabbits that are just as fun to interact with for the young and the young at heart. Enjoy a homemade ice cream at the cafe before saying goodbye to the buffaloes and the team.

Once you are back in town, hop on the luxurious cruiser Monsoon for a breathtaking sunset cruise on the Mekong river. Tonight, enjoy your time at leisure in the historical center or at your hotel.

Overnight in Luang Prabang.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch.

Luang Prabang temporary morning market

After having breakfast, you drive 15 kilometers out of the town to see elephants in the Elephant Village Camp. Upon arrival, you receive a warm greeting from the local tour guide. He provides you with a short briefing about Laos Elephants and their special herd. Then you meet up with your own elephants and do the following things to take care of them:

• Elephant Feeding:Get up close and personal with elephants
• Explore Elephant Village: Visit our elephant hospital, museum, gallery, and dung paper-making facility!
• One-on-One Experience: Enjoy the impressive experience of being a Mahout! 1 person per elephant
• Trail of Falls Trek: Enjoy a 2 km trek on foot through the diverse jungle landscape of our exclusive Trail of Falls.
• Lunch: Enjoy a freshly prepared picnic lunch in the forest. Vegetarian options are available.
• Continue on the Trail of Falls: Walk another 1 km along our exclusive Trail of Falls to get to Tad Sae Waterfalls, where you can relax or swim in its natural pools (water levels change with the seasons).
• Ride a traditional long tail boat from the waterfall back to the Elephant Camp, giving you a chance to observe the traditional fishing, and the local river life.

In the mid-afternoon, you travel back to your hotel in downtown. The rest of the day is free for leisure.

Overnight in Luang Prabang.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch.

Luang Prabang elephant camp

After breakfast, enjoy free time at leisure before transferring to the airport. Arrive in Hanoi and be met by the guide. You will take a short drive to visit the house of the most famous and experienced water puppet artisan, who:

• devoted more than 20 years of his life to water puppets.
• changed 10 square meters on his 4th floor into a “mini-home theater” to introduce the unique traditional art form of Vietnamese water puppetry to friends worldwide.

After a short tea break with the host, we will watch his own water puppet plays, telling both ancient and modern stories of traditions and normal daily, and learn how the water puppet show performed in a “mini-home theater” is different from that performed on the traditional stage. When the show ends, you spend some more time trying to play with the puppets. The behind-the-scenes experience will be a unique and unforgettable memory in your life. You have an hour and a half to enjoy the water puppet show before transferring back to the hotel.

Overnight in Hanoi.

Meals: Breakfast.

Ha Noi street artists

Kickstart your new day with tasty foods for better stamina and more energy. A daily hot breakfast is prepared and served at the hotel’s restaurant.

At 8:30, meet up with your tour guide in the lobby for a full-day city tour of Hanoi. On this tour, you will explore many ancient architectures, delectable cuisine, and picturesque natural landscapes.

The first attraction is Ba Dinh Square, where Uncle Ho read the Declaration of Independence, declaring the birth of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. To learn more about Vietnamese history, you will visit some of the architecture in this area, such as the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, Uncle Ho’s stilt house, and the one-pillar pagoda. Next, you take a short drive to the outskirts of Hanoi to visit the fascinating Museum of Ethnology. From the outside, you will be attracted by the presentation and layout, from the form to the displayed content, which is very scientific and logical. It involves grasping the cultural colors of each ethnic group.

Lunchtime is coming! You will enjoy Chả Cá Lã Vọng, the perfect combination of fresh noodles, grilled fish, sweet and sour sauce, and fresh vegetables, known as the Hanoian specialty since 1871. Following Lunch, you visit Hidden Gem Coffee Shop, 95% of the items in the shop are recycled furniture to protect the environment. A cup of traditional Vietnamese coffee, especially coffee with eggs, is highly recommended there.

Continue to visit the Temple of Literature, the first university in Vietnam, famous for its beautiful architecture, and provide further information about the Vietnamese education system. Another exciting activity awaits you! Our guide and driver will take you to Long Bien Bridge to admire the panorama river view. While walking on the 120-year-old bridge, your tour guide will tell you some stories about history, Red River Delta culture, and local daily life; the walking tour also includes a discovery of Banana Island right at the foot of the bridge.

Embark on a fun cyclo to explore 36 streets in Hanoi Old Quarter. While swaying on a Cyclo, you can enjoy the cool air, admire the Old French-style villas, observe locals’ activities, and listen to the sounds of vehicles. All create a unique experience in the journey to Vietnam.

At 5 pm, you finish the cyclo tour, meet your guide at Dong Xuan Market and start the evening street food tour. The street food tour will be a taste adventure, as Hanoi cuisine is always the kind of dish that surprises every visitor to Vietnam because of its ingredients and prices. After the tour, you will learn that more than just a list of typical Vietnamese meals sold on the streets, they also convey the beauty of the Vietnamese culture, lifestyle, feelings, and thoughts. Any dietary requirements or allergies will be notified to the guide before the tour departs.

Overnight in Hanoi.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Ha Noi Temple of Literature

The scenery of Halong Bay, where thousands of limestone islands jut out of the emerald sea in bizarre shapes, is truly an iconic image for Vietnam. An overnight boat trip is the best way to enjoy this Vietnamese must-see.

Saying goodbye to Hanoi, you drive through the rich farmlands of the Red River Delta to the legendary Halong Bay. It takes you 3 hours, including a 20-minute stop. Arrive at the jetty in Halong City toward noon and proceed with check-in formalities. After a welcome onboard, enjoy a tasty lunch while cruising to the mythical bay. Around mid-afternoon, you participate in some activities to discover every corner of the bay. Each cruise operates a different itinerary, and caving, kayaking, rowing boats, and swimming are the most popular ones. Towards the end of the day, the cruise sets anchor for the night among the karst formations. Dinner is on board, and you will spend the night in Halong Bay.

Overnight cruise on the bay.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner.

Ha Long Bay landscape view in sunset

Get up early and don’t miss the chance to watch the sunrise at one of the most beautiful places on the planet. Participating in a tai chi class on the sundeck is a way to welcome a new day full of energy. At the end of the gentle training session, you move to the restaurant and enjoy a hot breakfast with a cup of fragrant coffee. Some gentle activities on the bay will be arranged and announced by the cruise’s staff.

If you don’t want to participate, you can choose to relax on board: watching movies, reading books, or sightseeing are also attractive options. After all, a buffet brunch is served while sailing slowly back toward the port, where passengers disembark and transfer back to Noi Bai airport. Take a short flight to Danang, and on arrival in Danang, transfer 40 minutes to Hoi An, a major Asian trading port in the 17th and 18th centuries, whose architecture and relaxed lifestyle have changed little over the years.

Overnight in Hoi An.

Meals: Breakfast, Brunch.

Ha Long Bay landscapes

Hoi An offers a respite from the hustle and bustle of Ho Chi Minh City, allowing your family to unwind and slowly absorb the charms of this small town on the coast.

You can experience a slow-paced lifestyle by taking a city tour of UNESCO landmarks. On the walking tour, you will visit original temples, ancient houses, and community halls while fragrant food stalls dot the sidewalks, allowing locals to share their culinary culture. The second part of this morning is learning how to make a colorful lantern. You will visit a family with a tradition of making lanterns. Here, you can see many different types of lanterns, and with the guidance of a lantern craftsman, you will make your favorite lantern.

Enjoy a tasty lunch and walk back to the hotel. It’s time for your children to enjoy the hotel’s swimming pool and relax at the beach while you can try massage packages, which are inexpensive, enjoyable, and relaxing.

Overnight in Hoi An.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch.

Hoi An Sa Huynh Museum

Good morning! Start a day full of energy and joy with hot dishes and a cup of strong coffee. Your guide will be waiting at your hotel lobby at 8:00 am. He will give you a brief of this morning’s activities, help you check your bike’s conditions, put you on a helmet and start the cycling tour right after.

After 10 minutes of pedaling, you will exit the ancient town area and immerse yourself in the poetic scenery of the countryside. While cycling, you can observe the daily activities of locals. Before your eyes is a lush countryside scene with red brick houses, rivers winding around the villages, coconut trees reflecting on the lake, shrimp ponds, green vegetable fields, farmers working in their fields, and buffaloes grazing. You stop at the gate of Cam Thanh village. Take a short break before enjoying a one-hour ride on a traditional wooden boat to explore the water coconut palm forest.

Saying goodbye to Cam Thanh villagers, you get on the bike and pedal to Tra Que – the organic vegetable village. There, you enjoy the rustic village scene and get numerous authentic experiences with farming activities. Visit Kum Quat restaurant and join a cooking class with Thành & his wife. With enthusiastic guidance from the chef, you will cook some traditional Vietnamese dishes. Then, you set the table and enjoy lunch together.

In the early afternoon, you cycle back to the hotel and relax by the swimming pool or at the beach.

Overnight in Hoi An.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch.

Hoi An Tra Que vegetable village

Following the hotel breakfast, you will be taken to the Da Nang airport for a short flight to Ho Chi Minh City, the country’s commercial center with a bustling population of 10 million.

Upon arrival, your private tour guide and driver will pick you up and take you to visit Cu Chi Tunnels, an incredible underground tunnel network constructed by the Vietnamese resistance fighters during the long struggle for independence. This vast network of tunnels played a huge part in the Viet Cong’s victory over the Americans, allowing them to control a large rural area surrounding HCM City.

At the Cu Chi Tunnels, you will watch a brief introductory video, followed by a walk through the reserve. If you are feeling brave, you can crawl inside the Cu Chi Tunnels to experience how difficult life must have been and discover the three underground levels. There will also be a chilling exhibition of the traps and weapons used against the American GI’s. After the visit to the Cu Chi Tunnels, head back to the city center for check-in. The rest of the day is free for leisure.

Overnight in Ho Chi Minh City.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch.

Ho Chi Minh city Cu Chi tunnel

The “rice bowl of Vietnam,” the Mekong Delta, is essential to Vietnamese agriculture. As the mighty Mekong River approaches the coast at the end of its journey from China, it begins to spread out into a myriad of tributaries that bring life to the whole region. Explore these tributaries, both big and small, and witness a life lived almost entirely on water!

Pick up at the hotel at 8 a.m., leave the busiest city, and start the trip to Ben Tre. On arrival at Ham Luong Pier (Ben Tre town), take a boat on the Ben Tre River – one of the tributaries of the Mekong River, and observe the lively activities along the river, such as fishing and water transfers. Stop at brickwork to see how to make bricks in handy, traditional style by printing and baking. Visit one of the many coconut processing workshops located along the canal.

Turn on the natural scissors creeks where they look smaller and smaller to go to the village. Take a walk to the family workshop to make sleep mats and enjoy some fruits and tea. Take a biking trip on shady paths, pass by green rice fields and vegetable plains to be able to touch real life, and find out about tropical culture from Peasants. Lunch at a local restaurant. Afternoon, take a row boat along Water Palm Creek and cruise back to Hung Vuong Pier. Disembark and return to Ho Chi Minh City.

Overnight in Ho Chi Minh City.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch.

Ben Tre boat trip in palm trees village

After breakfast, let’s start the morning tour in the most dynamic city in Vietnam. You start the city tour to explore great architecture in one of our largest cities in Vietnam.

The architecture of Ho Chi Minh City is a splendid mix of Vietnam’s historical heritage, from French colonial villas to modern steel and glass monuments. The top architectural sights for tourists date back to the time when Saigon, the “Pearl of Indochina,” was the capital of French Indochina. More has been added to the cultural heritage since then, and we see interesting times ahead in terms of modern architecture. Our guide would be more than happy to bring you to the Central Post Office, Notre Dame Cathedral, and the Reunification Palace. If time permits, you also visit the Saigon Opera House, Saigon’s city hall.

Lunch is at a local restaurant. Following the lunch, you depart for Mui Ne. During a six-hour trip by car (about 200 km or 125 miles), you can behold the roadside landscape. Upon arrival, you will go through a scenic road, passing Phan Thiet City before reaching Mui Ne.

Overnight in Mui Ne.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch.

Ho Chi Minh street foods broken rice with ribs

During the two days of this Mui Ne beach tour, you are free to take a rest and discover the surrounding areas by yourself. Some options can be offered during your break in Mui Ne, such as sunbathing, swimming, and joining sporty beach games (windsurfing, kite surfing, or discovering the spectacular sand dunes by Jeep and playing sliding sands as well). Besides, a delicious barbecue party will be served upon your request.

Overnight in Mui Ne.

Meals: Breakfast.

Mui Ne kitesurfing

Our car will pick you up at your resort and depart for Ho Chi Minh City. Tour ends.

Meals: Breakfast.

Mui Ne sand dune