Indochina Tour | Laos - Cambodia - Vietnam 12D

Itinerary

1. Day 01

   SIEM REAP ARRIVAL @ NOON FLIGHT (D)
   Welcome to Siem Reap, the treasures of the Kingdom of Cambodia. Upon arrival in Siem Reap, pick up by our local tour guide from the airport and transfer to check in hotel.  Afternoon, transfer to visit West Baray Big Pond, a “baray” is a water reservoir built by the ancient Khmer people. Then turn to visit Wat Thmei (Killing Field) contains a unique glass-walled stupa containing the bones of victims of the Khmer Rouge. Some of the bones were recovered from a nearby well while others are the remains of soldiers who died on a nearby battlefield. Continue to visit the "Les Artisans d'Angkor – Chantiers Ecole" the Finest Authentic Khmer Arts and Crafts. End of the day, drive to visit Pre Rup temple for a romantic sunset view. Welcome dinner with local buffet menu and Apsara Dance, the traditional Khmer dance - drama performance, which is not merely dance but also telling a story. Overnight in Siem Reap. Please note: Standard check-in time is 14:00. Early check-in is subject to availability with a surcharge from the hotel.  
2. Day 02

   ANGKOR EXPLORATION (B/-/-)
   After breakfast, visit the ancient capital of Angkor Thom starting with the South Gate of Angkor Thom which is famous for its series of colossal human faces carved in stone. Bayon Temple - unique with its 54 towers decorated with over 200 smiling faces, Baphuon temple located in the North of Bayon represented of holy Mount Meru the residence of the gods in Hindu tradition. Continue the visit to this ancient city by going around The Royal Enclosure, Phimeanakas, the Elephant Terrace and the Terrace of the Leper King. Your lunch will be served after the visit to the jungle covered temple of Ta Prohm. There are enormous fig trees and gigantic creepers which embrace themselves in the stone foundations of the structure giving the impression of man’s creation being reclaimed by the powerful forces of nature. This temple is famous for being chosen for major activities of Tomb Raider acted by Celebrity Angelina Jolie. Afternoon continues to visit at Angkor Wat, highlighted by the longest continuous bas-relief in the world, carved on the walls and tell the stories of Hindu legends. This architectural masterpiece was constructed in the 12th  century and covers an area of about 210 hectares. Strolling around this massive edifice, seeing many galleries with Columns, libraries, pavilions, courtyards, and ponds full of water reflecting the towering temple. Return to Siemreap downtown. Transfer to your hotel for overnight.    
3. Day 10

   HANOI – HALONG - OVERNIGHT CRUISE (B/L/D)
   Upon arrival at Hanoi train station, you will be picked up and transferred to a local restaurant for breakfast.  Breakfast and a short relax before transferring to Halong Bay. At 9 am, head East for nearly 3 hours to Halong Bay, the pride of the Gulf of Tonkin, a Natural World Heritage as designated by UNESCO in 1994 and 2006. Upon arrival in Halong, check in the overnight cruise to discover the magnificent beauty of this “Descending-dragon” bay, created by thousands of odd-shaped limestone rocks and karst grottoes. After lunch on board, we can visit the Grottos, stop for swimming or kayaking, passing floating houses and approach islets to enjoy their beauty in close distance. Back to the cruise, enjoy cooking demonstration before having dinner. Evening attends activities on the boat or relaxes at your own leisure. Overnight on the cruise.  Please note Mini-hotel for refreshment after night train at a surcharge of USD 12/pax.  The cruising program may be little varied upon the cruise you choose. Kayak inclusion is subjected to each cruise program.   
4. Day 12

   HANOI DEPARTURE (B/-/-)
   After breakfast at the hotel; leisure time until transfer to Noi Bai international airport for your departure flight. End of service.  Please note! -    Hotel check-out time is around 12.00.  
5. Day 07

   HANOI CITY TOUR – OVERNIGHT TRAIN TO LAO CAI (B/-/-)
   Today, we will start our city tour from the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, his simple house-on-stilts and the One-Pillar pagoda near Ba Dinh Square, where the most solemn ceremonies of Hanoi take place. Go on to the Temple of Literature, the very first high school of Vietnam Scholars and a temple dedicated Confucious. Have lunch at KOTO Van Mieu restaurant where provides hospitality and life skills to disadvantaged youth in Vietnam.  In the afternoon, we will move on to the Museum of Ethnology, where you can find an excellent full collection of 54 ethnic groups living in Vietnam and wonderful implications of artifacts and patterns from their traditional handicrafts and clothes. Late afternoon, have an overall view of the capital by a “cyclo” visit, which will go through the fascinating network of narrow alleys and shop houses also known as ‘The 36 Streets’ – each street being named after the merchandise traditionally sold there, ranging from fabrics to crafts and from medicines to tombstones. Drop by at Ngoc Son Temple located on the Hoan Kiem Lake. End of the day, we will enjoy a unique fascinating show of Water Puppetry, a traditional stage art of Northern Vietnam.  Dinner at your own for more flexibility, then we depart to Hanoi train station for night train to Lao Cai. Overnight on train. Please note:  The city tour program is flexible. Our guide will be more than happy to adjust the tour itinerary to suit you. You can skip one site or add another as you wish.  
6. Day 08

   SIGHTSEEING IN SAPA (B/-/-)
   Upon arrival at the train station, you will be picked up by a local tour guide and drive to Sapa. Have breakfast at a local restaurant. You will commence your short journey by driving south toward Muong Hoa valley. You will then start your walk by descending into the valley, which is the largest rice paddy terraced among Sapa area. The guide can provide you interesting information about rice. If you visit the valley sometime between May and October, you will be able to observe and experience how the local do planting and harvesting, one of the most important activities in daily life. The walk takes you from Lao Chai village of Black Hmong minority to Ta Van village of Giay minority including a visit to the local Catholic Church. After visiting Ta Van the car will return you to Sapa. The rest of the day is at your leisure. Overnight in Sapa.   
7. Day 09

   SAPA - WEEKLY MARKET – OVERNIGHT TRAIN TO HANOI (B/-/-)
   If today is Saturday, Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday,  nothing will be better than driving overland to a market of the hill tribal people, mainly from Flower Hmong ethnical group. Depending on the day, you can choose either Can Cau (Sat), Bac Ha (Sun) or Coc Ly (Tues), Cao Son (Wednesday), Lung Khau Nhin (Thursday).  Early morning we will drive toward Bac Ha, about 110km from Sapa. With a dozen of tribes living in the surroundings, including Flower Hmong, Chinese, Nhang, Dzao, Nung, Phu La, Thai and King (or Viet), the market is extremely exciting esp. in the early morning. The winding road to Bac Ha helps maintain the colors (in both literal and figurative sense) of the area. The distance to Can Cau and Coc Ly from Bac Ha is 30 – 50km. In all these markets, we can meet hundreds of beautiful women from Flower Hmong tribe, who are famous for their wonderful craft and hand-made flowering clothes and textile fabrics, or intermingle with people from Black Hmong, Dzay, Dzao, and other ethnic groups coming to the market not for purchasing stuff, but for meeting and chatting – just once a week - like in a real cultural center. After lunchtime, we can hike around, following the mountain people to their villages for a visit, or take our car heading to further hamlets in Ban Pho, Trieu Cai, or Na Hoi. Back to Lao Cai Station later afternoon for dinner (at your own cost) and take the night train from Lao Cai to Hanoi. 
8. Day 11

   HALONG – HANOI (B/Brunch/-)
   You should wake up early to enjoy the dawn on the sea in the early morning. The Vietnamese call the "East Sea" by a point-oriented name "Eastern Sea", so you may guess how miraculous seeing the sunrise over the islets of the Bay. After breakfast our boat will continue to cruise in marvelous areas, where almost every islet has its own name, adopting its shape or reminiscent like Sail Island, Fisherman’s head rock, Butterfly rock or Turtle islet, etc. Check out your room and have brunch on board while the cruise coming back the pier.  Return your Hanoi hotel for re-check-in. The rest of the day is at leisure. Overnight in Hanoi.   
9. Day 03

   TONLE SAP – SIEM REAP – LUANG PRABANG (B/-/-)
   Late afternoon flightThis morning, we visit Kampong Pluk Floating Village. Kampong Pluk is about 20 Km from Siem Reap Town. Arrival at the dock, take a boat trip along a small stream to the village. Over 3000 inhabitants are real Khmers, their households made of wood and bamboo built on stilts of about 6m to 7m high. During the dry season when the lake is low and lack of water those buildings look like the skyscrapers. At this time of the year, many villagers move out onto the lake and build provisional stilted houses. In a wet season, while the water level rises up again, the dwellers move back to their permanent houses on the flood plain, the stilts now hidden under the water. People made a living by catching fishes produce as well as smelly fish paste, fermented fish, smoked fish, dried fish, dried prawn, etc. Last we will visit Puok, the real and original place of the Artisans d’Angkor silk, where you will see the full process of silk-producing, from the silkworms munch on the Mulberry leaves to spin their cocoons which used to make silk warp. You, of course, will see the weaving work and purchase the high-quality silk products as a beautiful Cambodia souvenir. Straight to Siemreap airport for your departure to Luang Prabang.  Upon arrival, you will be transferred to your hotel.  The rest of the day is at leisure to explore the city or simply relax. Overnight in Luang Prabang.  
10. Day 06

    LUANG PRABANG – KUANGSI WATER FALL – HANOI (B/-/-)
    - Evening flightToday we visit the morning Phousi Market, where you will see such diverse offerings as dried buffalo skin, local tea and saltpeter among the chickens, vegetables and hill-tribe weavings. Laos is also known for its traditional crafts, and today you will visit local villages of Lao ethnic minority groups at Ban Ouay, a Hmong village, Ban Ou a Laoloum village and Ban Thapene, a Khmu village. This then takes us to the beautiful Khuang Si Waterfall where you can cool off with a refreshing swim in the pools or walk along the forest trails. We then return to Luang Prabang. Transfer to the airport for boarding the flight to Hanoi.  Welcome to Hanoi – the Capital City of Vietnam! The tour guide & driver will be welcoming you at Noi Bai airport; it takes us 35 minutes driving to the center of Hanoi then check-in at the hotel. Your time at leisure. Overnight in Hanoi. Night activities suggestion: enjoy local beer at Ta Hien Streets, experience the ambiance of sleepless street with life music, the young people of Hanoi and also foreign tourists. Hundred of bars and pubs in the Old Quarter are also at your disposal. Or just simply spend your time at shopping malls or various boutique Shops.  
11. Day 04

    LUANG PRABANG – CITY TOUR (B/-/-)
    It is worth a visit to the National Museum at the former Royal Palace, which displays a collection of artifacts reflecting the richness of Lao culture dating from the days of the early kings right through to the last sovereign. Today we explore some of the major sights in this fabulous city, including the impressive stupa of Wat Visoun, the shrine of Wat Aham, the city’s oldest temple of Wat Sene and Wat Mai. We also visit these sights as well as the magnificent Wat Xiengthong, its exterior architecture is remarkable with decorated gilded stuccoes and doorways, a “tree of life” mosaic pattern set in colored glass on the back wall and its three-tiered roofs sweeping low to the ground representing classical Laotian architecture. A visit to Luang Prabang would be incomplete without ascending 329 steps to the top of Mount Phousi for an enjoyable exploration of the sacred, gilded stupa and to enjoy a beautiful sunset view of the city and its glowing reflection on the Mekong River. From there, we explore the Night Market, where you can find a lovely selection of handmade textile made by local and hill tribe people surrounding Luang Prabang. Overnight in Luang Prabang.
12. Day 05

    LUANG PRABANG – ELEPHANT RIDE - DEPART (B/L/-)
    – PRIVATE •    8:00 am – 8:30 am:  Pick up by our English speaking guide from your hotel lobby •    Arrival at the Elephant Village Camp: Welcome greeting by our camp manager and participate in a short briefing about elephants •    Ride the Elephant: Enjoy the impressive experience of a 3 km elephant ride on the howdah (elephant seat) or on your elephant’s neck! 2 per elephant •    Boat trip to the Tad Sae Waterfall: Ride in a traditional Lao longboat to the Tad Sae Waterfall and relax or swim in the clear water (swimsuit recommended!) •    Lunch: Dine at our Elephant Camp restaurant.  Buffet lunch served with coffee/tea and drinking water (vegetarian options are available) •    Depart: Transfer back to your Hotel in Luang Prabang around 1:00 pm Note: Elephant ride without How Dah ( elephant’s seat)  Transfer to hotel.  Overnight in Luang Prabang.

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