Indochina Holiday 20 Days

After the breakfast at your hotel, taking speed boat to Phnom Penh. Upon arrival, our tour guide is waiting you and transfer to the hotel. The rest of day is free at leisure after the long flight.

Accommodation: Hotel in Phnom Penh

Meals: None

BBQ Khmer – Phnom Penh

Start to visit the Royal Palace, built by King Norodom in 1866 on the site of the old town, and the Silver Pagoda. Located within the grounds of the Royal Palace, the Silver Pagoda is so named because of its floor, which is made up of 5000 silver tiles. The treasures found inside include a solid gold Buddha encrusted and weighing 90 kilograms and a small 17th century emerald and baccarat crystal Buddha.

Then, let’s step out to a local market, try some tropical fruits, interesting desserts and maybe even some creepy crawlies. We then head to a delicious, traditional Khmer BBQ where we will eat dinner as the locals eat, washed down with the national beverage – Angkor beer! Be sure to come hungry and don’t forget your camera.

Accommodation: Hotel in Phnom Penh

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

A bicycle rickshaw is parked in front of Phnom Penh Royal Palace in Cambodia capital city. The traffic is captured with long exposure to give contrast with the immobile vehicule.

You will be picked up at your hotel and taken to Urban Forage’s favorite local market! During the morning you will have Cambodian cuisine explained, you will get to sample some delicious treats as well as have a traditional breakfast. Then, drive to the airport for the flight to Siem Reap. Upon arrival, meet up with the guide and transfer to the hotel for check-in.

Accommodation: Hotel in Siem Reap

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

Flight: Phnom Penh – Siem Reap (excluded tickets – on request)

In the morning you may wish to wake up early and set out for Angkor Wat, in front of the water lily pond, enjoying the temple’s reflection and the sunrise over the complex. Then, back to the hotel for breakfast. After breakfast, enjoy an elephant ride from the south gate of Angkor Thom and all the way to Bayon and circle around the Bayon temple (unique for its 54 towers decorated with over 200 smiling faces of Avolokitesvara). Continue, exploring the walled city of Angkor Thom, the royal city itself, covering four square miles and located in the complex’s geographic center. Its 50-tower temple is an awesome sight. At first glance it seems a shapeless mass of stone, but further scrutiny reveals a face and then another and another until suddenly you are engulfed by the silent, heavy, enigmatic and silent gaze through half-closed eyes, staring out from a former time which now seems so remote. We then go on to the surroundings of the complex including the Baphou, Elephant Terraces, King’s Terrace and Royal Palace area.

The rest of day is free at leisure.

Accommodation: Hotel in Siem Reap

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

Luang Prabang – Asia Unique Travel

Take morning flight to Luang Prabang. Upon arrival your guide will meet you at the airport and bring you to your hotel. Then enjoy a half -day spin around Luang Prabang… and you will understand why it deserves the World Heritage title! Visit WatVisoun, the site of impressive Thad Makmo stupa. The rounded dome is stylistically more Sinhalese than Lao. Continue to visit Wat Mai. Built in 1796, the five-tiered roof of the wooden Sim (chapel) epitomizes the graceful LuangPrabang architectural style. Visit Wat Xieng Thong further emphasizes the uniqueness of LuangPrabang, its several roofs sweeping low to the ground. See also the impressive “tree of life” mosaic here. The gilt panel on the exterior of the chapel depicts semi-erotic episodes from the Ramayana.

Phou Si hill stands right in the center of this small city. Climb its 350 steps to enjoy commanding views for many miles in each direction. Wat Phou Si sits atop the mountain, alongside the skeletons of Indochina war anti-aircraft guns! Shopping night market, where hundreds of Hmong vendors display their handmade handicraft. Diner tonight on your own but our guide can recommend the nice restaurants in town for you. As the day draws to a close, it’s time to polish it all off with something sweet. Let make your way over to Sisavangvong Road, where the local night market will be in full effect and crepe and fruit stands abound. In March, when mangoes are in season, try them over sticky rice topped with coconut cream or a freshly squeezed jujube and hibiscus flower smoothie. Khao gam, a Laotian specialty of purple sticky rice is served up with slices of fresh fruit.

Accommodation: Hotel in Luang Prabang

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

Flight: Siem Reap – Luang Prabang  (excluded ticket – on request)

This morning, ready with your guide to walk the nearby morning market, where locals from the countryside around LuangPrabang sell their goods. You will discover different meats, fruits, vegetables, herbs and spices. Some of them might be unknown to you and your guide will explain how they are used in Lao kitchen. We will sample a few local delicacies as well. We then walk to the most famous Lao coffee shop where we can sit by the Mekong River enjoying coffee and a local Lao pastry (Khanom). Then, take your cycle and ride a short way to the area of Ban Mano where we sit at a local restaurant and try a variety of food including NeamKhao (a rice noodle crepe, filled with minced meat and mushrooms and assorted herbs. It is cut in little pieces and comes with a dipping sauce containing minced nuts, lemon, chili, coriander and sweet fish sauce) and KhaoPiakKhao (a local rice soup, that is usually eaten in the morning, slowly cooked with pork meat and meat broth, rounded with crushed black pepper and chopped coriander. Depending on your taste, an egg and / or fresh chili can be added to this meal).

After that you will drive across the “old” bridge to the other side of the Nam Khan River and stop at a local rice noodle factory to learn about the manufacturing process and continue back via the “new” bridge to the city center to visit a local “ Kaw Chi “ bakery, that supplies many street stalls and restaurants in town with their baguettes, a leftover of the French colonialism days. If the time is right, you may witness the bread being taken out of gigantic wood fired ovens.

It is then a ten minute drive to enjoy a game of “ Petanque” or “Boulle”, another French relict, that is quite popular amongst locals. You can try their menu, here yourself (not included in price). A chilled bottle of “Beer lao” goes good with both, the game and the food. But be aware that you have to cycle back after that. The tour ends with you returning the bicycles around 2pm.

The rest of day is free at leisure.

Accommodation: Hotel in Luang Prabang

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

Take the flight to Vietnam. Upon arrival, your guide will be waiting to transfer you to your hotel.

Refresh until the sunset time. We transfer to Long Bien bridge for capturing and watching the sunset on the Red river peaceful countryside and the historical and legendary Long Bien bridge.

Then your guide will take you on a culinary as well as local life adventure in the Old Quarter.  Let’s stop at Bia Hoi corner to try the local brew, a draft beer that traces its roots to Eastern Europe. Do as the locals do and pull up a stool and enjoy a drink while watching the world go by. You will also have opportunity to see the busiest time of local life here.

Then, walking through the maze of bustling streets that make up Hanoi’s Old Quarter, we tempt our taste buds with the famed Hanoi dish BanhCuon at a local eatery. Watch in awe as the skilled chefs demonstrate for you how this tasty dish is put together. Continuing into the atmospheric heart of the Old Quarter, we wander past street stalls and quiet residential lanes where you can observe local life that has changed little since Hanoi was founded over 1000 years ago. Our next two snack stops are at outdoor barbecue stalls. We sit down with the Hanoi locals and sample various meat, vegetable and bread specialties that are flame grilled over hot coals for extra flavor.It’s then time for dessert as we venture down a small alley to join in the local tradition of feasting on fresh fruit served in a cup and smothered with crushed iced and condensed milk (To Tich)– this specialty is one not to be missed

Accommodation: Hotel in Hanoi

Meals: Breakfast, Dinner

Flight: Luang Prabang – Hanoi (excluded ticket – on request)

Don’t just eat Vietnamese food, learn to cook classic dishes yourself during a cooking class in Hanoi. In a small group limited to 10, you’ll receive personalized attention from your guide as you buy ingredients from a local market and create traditional Vietnamese dishes. Plus, a morning or afternoon class lets you slot this into any schedule, and hotel pickup and drop-off make things extra convenient.

Depending on the departure time selected at checkout, your guide collects you from your hotel in the morning or afternoon. Head straight to a local market to purchase ingredients for the class and learn about produce integral to Vietnamese cuisine.

In the kitchen, you’ll prepare and cook authentic dishes, such as spring rolls, a salad of banana flowers, and barbecue pork with noodles and fish sauce. Once you’ve finished cooking, you’ll sit down to feast on the fruit of your labors, accompanied by unlimited beer and wine. Once you’ve eaten your fill, your class concludes with hotel drop-off.

After lunch, get the cyclo through the Quarter’s 36 streets named for the products historically sold here. Stop at some of the only remaining streets that continue selling the goods of their namesake, including Tin and Bamboo Street. Continue by strolling your walk to HoanKiemlake. Sitting down and sipping on delicious egg coffee. It is made with rich Vietnamese coffee and whipped egg yolk tastes just like liquid tiramisu. End the day, enjoy a water puppet show for a look at traditional performance art in Vietnam before heading back to your hotel.

Accommodation: Hotel in Hanoi

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

09:30 – 10:00 Pick-up at your hotel near by the Old Quarter in Hanoi by luxury shuttle bus.

12:00 – 12:30 Embark on the Perla Dawn Sails, enjoy a welcome drink and cruise briefing.

13:00 – 14:00 Asplendid lunch is served while cruising into the primitive Lan Ha Bay.

15:15 – 17:15: Experience kayaking through the poetically beautiful Tra Bau area. Then enjoy swimming in the emerald water. Visiting a fish farm and socialize with the resident fishermen to learn more about local life and how the people work every day.

17:00 – 18:45 Return to the Perla Dawn Sails, enjoy “Happy Hour” drink time while taking part in the cooking demonstration.

19:00 Delight in the shimmering atmosphere of thousands of stars while eating a fantastic, expertly prepared dinner on top deck of your boat, all while floating in the center of the serene Lan Ha Bay.

Accommodation: Overnight on cruise 

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

06:00 – 06:30 Begin your new day with a Tai Chi session or a photo hunt.

07:00 – 08:00 Enjoy breakfast in the fresh air and peaceful beauty of the Bay.

08:15 – 08:45 On a bamboo boat, visit Bright Cave and a serene round lake surrounded by rich forest and precipitous stone cliffs.

09:00 – 10:15Pack your luggage and check out of your cabin while cruising towards the port.

10:30 – 11:30Enjoy an extraordinary Buffet lunch.

11:45 – 12:00Disembark the Perla Dawn Sails & Farewell.

14:30 – 15:00Arrive in Noi Bai airport for taking flight to Danang

Being pick up and transfer to Hoi An. This evening, enjoy the romantic dinner on river cruise.

Accommodation: Hotel in Hoian

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

Flight: Hanoi – Danang (excluded ticket – on request)

Pick you up at the appointment by car or cycle  to Tra Que village. Enjoying some traditional tea

Wearing traditional farming shirts, riding and taking photo shooting with buffalo. Joining with local farmers on the field:  soil, harrowing soil, transplanting rice, scooping water with different scoopers (60 minutes). Back to a farming family. Having meal at the farm house with some specialties of the area. Farewell the farm family and leave Tra Que village to Hoi An Ancient town by car with tour guide.

The rest of day is free at leisure and discovery Hoi An ancient town on your own way.

Accommodation: Hotel in Hoian

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

After your flight to Ho Chi Minh City, being pick up and transfer to your hotel and then start a day of exploring at the city’s Central Post Office, next door to the iconic Notre Dame Cathedral.The tour continues with a stop at the Reunification Palace, where a North Vietnamese tank crashed through the gates in 1975 to end a war that killed an estimated 58,000 Americans and three million Vietnamese. Visit the War Remnants Museum for a harrowing look into the wartime hardships and atrocities.

In the evening, we head to the Saigon Opera House, to watch the spectacular A O Show. This performance is a showcase of Vietnamese culture and art, and combines, in beautiful precision, elements of both old and new.After the hour long show, take a short walk through the wide Boulevards of central Saigon to a nice Restaurant which is famous with a real culinary and architectural gem, tucked away from the hustle and bustle of District 1. You will get a memorable night in Saigon at this restaurant for the combination of contemporary Vietnamese cuisine and authentic French colonial architecture.

Accommodation: Hotel in Ho Chi Minh city

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

This morning depart from your hotel and drive approximately two hours to Ben Tre, and a gateway to the delta. Here, you will board a small boat to start your sightseeing around the waterways of Mekong Delta. Known also as the rice bowl of Vietnam because of its large rice production, the area has also diversified into activities related to aquaculture, rearing of animals, cash crops and fruit trees.

Visit brick factory and board a small boat and meander through the canals and waterways and stop at a small homemade coconut processing plant to see how coconuts have been turned into oil, candy and woven mats that are later sold in the market. After the boat trip you will have a short walk to a local village to see mat weavers at work, before jumping on the deltas version of a tuk tuk and travelling down the country roads to the pier. Here you will board the beautiful teak boat Le Jarai to continue your cruise along the river. While onboard join in the demonstration of Vietnamese cooking before sitting down to a sumptuous three-course lunch of Mekong specialities. After lunch relax on the top deck and take in the scenery back to Ben Tre, where on arrival you will transfer to Can Tho in late in the afternoon.

Accommodation: Hotel in Can Tho

Meals: Breakfast. Lunch

Upon arrival, being pick up and transfer to the resort. While you are on the way to your resort, don’t miss the chance to enjoy fresh cool air and very nice landscapes of rubber plantation, pepper farms, palm fringed and white sandy beach. After checking in your resort, you can start your beach break tour by swimming in the blue sea or enjoying fresh seafood.

Accommodation: Resort in Phu Quoc

Meals: Breakfast

Flight: Can Tho – Phu Quoc (excluded ticket – on request)

These days, you are free to enjoy very fresh air and sunbathing on a very nice white sand beach, swimming in a blue sea, and joining a series of sporty activities. Aside from beachside activities, you can also explore traditional villages, expansive nature parks and Buddhist pagodas, all of which are easily accessible via motorcycle, taxi, bus or even daytrips by reputable companies. Catering to just about any budget level and preference, Phu Quoc’s dining scene ranges from local markets selling fresh seafood and Vietnamese street food to expat-owned bistros offering authentic Western and European fare.

Accommodation: Resort in Phu Quoc

Meals: Breakfast

Free at leisure until time to transfer to the airport for flight back to Saigon.

Accommodation: Hotel in Ho Chi Minh city

Meals: Breakfast, 

Flight: Phu Quoc – Ho Chi Minh city (excluded ticket – on request)

After breakfast, relax before you transfer to the airport for your flight back home.

Accommodation: N/A

Meals: Breakfast