Authentic Vietnam

Saigon, Vietnam’s biggest city with  almost 10 millions inhabitants and 2,5 millions motobikes is full of life. Colors, ordors, and bursting energie of youth will not fail to awaken your senses as soon as you get out of the airport. For your discovery of the city, we will take you to the War Museum, where tanks and aircraft wreckage still breathe the destruction of the war, while the final message as we go through it is one of peace. At Kim Lien Pagoda, you will be allured by the serene athmosphere in the small room of a Buddhist nun, who uses calligraphy as a means to express inner beauty and harmony. She will guide you in how to write your own calligraphy. A nice piece of calligraphy will be presented to you as a souvenir.

You will spend your entire day exploring the nature and people of the Mekong delta. Discover the languid charm of the fabled Mekong River as you explore the quaint byways and Cai Be floating market. Be impressed by the vastness of the river and the diversity of the vegetation on the islands formed by alluvial deposits over hundreds years. A stop in a orchid garden for a rural yet tasty lunch will allow you to observe the lifestyle of local residents. Owing to the generous nature of the Mekong delta, their inhabitants are usually very simple people, warm and gentle in their heart.

Boarding the Mystic Mekong for a cruise to the lively, colourful floating market of Cai Rang. On the way, the crew will serve a breakfast with coffee, tea and fruit juice. Is there any better way to make your breakfast more abundant than with fresh fruits purchased directly from the market, while surrounded by a crowd of busy traders and brim-full boats engrossed in their business? You will be surprised by the huge variety of products sold at the market, from well-known fruits like mangos and bananas, to exotic ones like mangosteens, star apples. the sweetened longans and the very odorous durians. Once satisfied with the fruity flavours of the market, you will enter the labyrinth of the channels and streams surrounding Can Tho. From the Mystic you can observe daily life on the river, catch the simple happiness in a sitting grand-father’s eyes and join in the laughter of children swimming in the clear-brown water.

Hue is a world heritage city: aristocratic, poetic and proud. In the morning, be mingled with graceful students in long white dress as you cycle  to Thien Mu Pagoda. Have a nice stroll through this interesting place and learn something about Buddhist monastics’life before boarding a traditional sampan for a cruise up the placid Pefume river to the peaceful yet majestic Tomb of Emperor Minh Mang.  In the afternoon, continue to be imprenated with the athmosphere of  the Royal Court of the Nguyen Dynasty by visiting the vast Imperial Citadel and the Tomb of Tu Duc. You will also get a better idea of the historical setting of the French involvement in Indochina.

Today, we will travel to Hoi An on one of the most scenic portions of the Mandarin road. The sights of rice fields, water buffalo and mountains along the way is appeasing. Stop at Lang Co Beach to take some photos and also possibly a swim, depending on the season. From the summit of Hai Van pass, weather permitting, we will enjoy a spectacular panorama of the central coasline.  At Danang, we will visit the Cham Museum - a testimony of the once-glorious Champa civilization before heading to Hoi an ancient town.

In the morning, visit Hoi An, recognized by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site because of its unusually well-preserved ancient streets and homes. Set out to explore the quaint cobblestone streets of the town with more than 2-century-old
Chinese houses. Sites include the Japanese Bridge, the Chinese Temple, and Phung Hung Chinese-style trading house.

Then cycle through the rural scenery of Hoi An to a small vegetable planting village located on the banks of Tra Que lagoon, about a 15-minute ride. Tra Que village is  known for its special aromatic herbs, mint and basil; although the leaves of those plants are smaller than usual, they have a very particular aroma. Join with local people in their daily work of planting and watering vegetables. Then learn to cook some local specialities, for example Tam Huu – shrimp, pork and aromatic herbs -- and enjoy what you have prepared. Return to Hoi An in the afternoon. The rest of the day is free at leisure in the old streets of Hoi An for shopping or a last visit to town.

 

Hanoi celebrated its millenium in 2010. Your visit of Vietnam’s capital will start with Ho Chi Minh’s Mausoleum, followed by a stroll in the green park and the traditional stilt house where he used to live. Then we will  take you to the 1000-year-old Temple of Literature – also known as the first university of Vietnam, where you  will  learn about the educational system in ancient Vietnam and its importance  in defining the country’s culture and values. In the afternoon, you will be introduced to the diversity and richness of the hill tribes at the Ethnology Museum (closed  Monday), and at the end of the day, have your soul soothed at Tao Sach Pagoda nearby the West lake.

This morning we head northwest of Hanoi for Mai Chau on a picturesque road through mountains and  valleys. Located in a beautiful valley, Mai Chau has been populated by  White Thai tribe for several centuries. The Thais are known for their harmonious community life and many lovely age-old traditions.  They live on stilt houses, close to rice fields and streams. You will share the life of local people  in one of those stilt houses of the Poom Coong village during your stay in the area.  In the afternoon, we start trekking through terraced rice paddies and mountains. After about a three-hour walk, we arrive at the villages of Nhot and Na Phon to meet local people and observe their daily activities. Then it’s back to your home-stay place for relaxation and dinner.

Today, we will discover another part of the mountains and meet another hill tribe. The first part of the trek, starting from Long Luong, is a pleasant three-hour walk to Pa Ko II village of the H’Mong people, who are famous for their agility, as well as their attachment to old roots and traditions. Your lunch will be served at a local traditional house in the village, allowing you to interact with villagers. In the afternoon, visit a bee farm before continuing the trek toward Pa Ko I. After a two-and-a-half-hour, trek through a large karst landscape and green valleys, we will meet local people in their beautiful traditional costumes. Afterward, take a private vehicle to Xa Linh village before returning to Mai Chau.
 

Your today’s journey from Mai Chau to Ninh Binh offers one of the most picturesque countryside landscapes of Vietnam, passing plains, sugar land and waterfalls. On the way, we stop at a village in Nho Quan, where you will enjoy your lunch with the locals. In the early afternoon, you will be transferred to Gia Hung village, where you can take a pleasant bicycle ride (10 km) on the dike along the Boi River to discover the villages of the delta and their inhabitants. Upon arrival at Van Long, embark a small rowing boat for a 1.5 hour cruise through rice paddies and spectacular rocky peaks, canals and vegetation. You will arrive to Ninh Binh in late afternoon, full of experiences and memories.

After breakfast we’ll leave for Ha Long Bay, where we will arrive around noon. Ha Long bay is another World Heritage, covering a huge area of 1500 km2. Board a beautiful wooden junk for a 24-hour cruise on Ha Long Bay with an excellent menu of fresh seafood.In the afternoon, enjoy the stunning beauty of thousands of lime stone mountains emerging from the emerald water and see floating fishing villages as the junk is cruising through the bay. Overnight onboard among imposing rocks and the gentle murmurs of the sea.

You are advised to put on the alarm clock to enjoy a spectacular dawn over the bay (providing the sky is clear). After a morning swim (depending on the season), enjoy breakfast onboard as the junk weighs anchor and head  back to the pier . Return to Hanoi on the new road, passing vast expanses of rice fields of the Red River Delta. You will see scenes of farmers working in the fields, children going to school, and even little pigs transported on motobikes.

Free day at leisure for shopping and your own exploration of the city until departure time to the airport.