Travel Review: Cambodia & Vietnam tailor-made holiday 14 days

Day 1 (Friday 21 November 2008): Siem Reap arrival (GP)
Arriving at Siem Reap airport, you’ll be met and driven to your hotel. You'll have time to relax after your journey. Your overnight stay will be in Siem Reap.

Day 2 (Saturday 22 November 2008): Siem Reap (B, L, G)
This day and the next will be devoted to the Temple complex, of which Angkor Wat is a key element.
You’ll begin with a visit to Angkor Thom, starting with the Bayon, a bizarre structure of several architectural changes reflecting a switch from Hinduism (the foundations) to Buddhism (the superstructure). Your next visit will be to the Phimean Akas Temple, Elephants and Leper King Terraces, followed by the Baphoun Temple, which is now nearing the end of an eight-year multi-million dollar restoration programme.
After lunch, you’ll explore Angkor Wat itself, the largest, and for most people, the most impressive temple in the complex. As dusk draws near, a walk to the summit of Phnom Bakheng Hill will afford a panoramic view of the whole complex lit by the rays of the setting sun, weather permitting of course. You’ll spend the night in Siem Reap.

Day 3 (Sunday 23 November 2008): Siem Reap (B, L, G)
The morning’s activities will be devoted to the ‘Grand Circuit’, the outer ring of smaller temples such as Pre Rup and East Mebon, both built in the tenth century, and Ta Som, a temple that has not yet been restored. You’ll then visit Ta Prohm, strangled by massive tree roots and typical of the condition of the whole complex when it was discovered in 1860 by French naturalist Henri Mouhot, and Neak Pean - a Himalayan-style lake and sanctuary and Preah Khan Temple. You’ll spend the night in Siem Reap.

Day 4 (Monday 24 November 2008): Siem Reap/Ho Chi Minh City (B, L, G)
After breakfast, you’ll be driven to Siem Reap River and Wat Athovea. There, you’ll embark for a boat trip on Tonle Sap Lake, a natural reservoir that partly controls the level of floods in the Mekong Delta, and visit a floating fishing village en-route.
After lunch, you’ll be transferred to the airport for the afternoon flight to Ho Chi Minh City. You’ll spend the night in Ho Chi Minh City.

Day 5 (Tuesday 25 November 2008): Ho Chi Minh City orientation (B, L, G)
After breakfast, your guide will arrive to show you around Ho Chi Minh City. You’ll visit the History Museum where there is a special exhibition of the 5th century ‘Oc Eo’ civilisation. The Museum of War Remnants provides a very partial, but riveting, perspective of the ‘American War’: not for the squeamish! The huge Ben Thanh market, one of the liveliest areas of Ho Chi Minh City, is packed with every conceivable commodity.
You’ll also call in at the Jade Emperor Temple. It’s one of the best Taoist temples in Vietnam, with superb effigies, remarkable carved panels of the descent to Hell and somewhat incongruous terrapin and tortoise sanctuaries. You’ll finish your day with a visit to a lacquer workshop to see
the complex processes and meticulous workmanship involved in this traditional Vietnamese craft product. You’ll spend the night in Ho Chi Minh City.

Day 6 (Wednesday 26 November 2008): Ho Chi Minh City/Vinh Long/Ho Chi Minh City (B, L, G)
After escaping from Ho Chi Minh City’s urban sprawl, you’ll travel to Vinh Long. There, you’ll cruise on the Mekong River, visit Cai Be floating market, fruit orchards, a traditional family-run brick kiln, and drop in to look at some traditional cottage industries - a workshop making the huge coffins unique to the Mekong is particularly interesting. In the afternoon, you’ll return to Ho Chi Minh City where you’ll spend the night.

Day 7 (Thursday 27 November 2008): Ho Chi Minh City/Danang/Hoi An (B, DP in Ho Chi Minh, G in Danang)
Your time will be your own until your car arrives at the hotel to take you to the airport for your flight to Danang. Upon arriving in Danang, you’ll have a brief look at the remarkable Hindu statuary in the Cham Museum before leaving for Hoi An.
In the afternoon, you’ll have a guided visit to the Ancient Town of Hoi An. You’ll spend the night in Hoi An.

Hoi An town is a UNESCO World Heritage area. An ancient trading port, once the largest in Indochina, Hoi An was a meeting point for many cultures that left their mark in the different architectural features of its wooden buildings. The original traditional street pattern still exists, as does the quay that once welcomed ships from all over East Asia and beyond. Many remained there for months at a time, waiting for favourable trade winds to carry them home.

There are plenty of good restaurants offering a variety of cuisines and price levels. The town is also a good place for shopping for silk. You can have your clothes tailor-made within a day or two at reasonable cost.
Hoi An town is three kilometres from Cua Dai Beach - part of what was once known as China Beach and used for rest and recreation by American GIs during the Vietnam War. The beach is composed of white sand fringed with palm trees and overlooks the South China Sea.

Day 8 (Friday 28 November 2008): Hoi An/My Son/Hoi An (B, G)
After breakfast, your guide will meet you at your hotel to take you to the World Heritage My Son Sanctuary, show you the remains of the remarkable brick towers, and explain their origins and purpose. When you return, the rest of the day will be free. You’ll spend the night in Hoi An.
Once, the My Son Sanctuary was the spiritual capital of the Cham Kingdom that dominated SE Asia for nearly a thousand years. Although My Son was heavily bombed during the American war, its remarkable brick towers are still impressive, as is its remote valley setting in a quiet, richly forested area bisected by a clear stream. However, the tree cover is not complete and the valley acts as suntrap, so good sun protection is important.

Day 9 (Saturday 29 November 2008): Hoi An free (B)
The day will be free for strolling in the town, lazing on the beach, or whatever takes your fancy. You’ll spend the night in Hoi An.

Day 10 (Sunday 30 November 2008): Hoi An/Danang/Hanoi (B, DP in Hoi An, GP in Hanoi)
Your time will be your own until your car arrives at the hotel to take you to Danang airport for your flight to Hanoi. Arriving at Noi Bai airport, you’ll be met and driven to your hotel. The rest of the day will be free. Your overnight stay will be in Hanoi.

Day 11 (Monday 1 December 2008): Hanoi orientation (B, L, G)
You’ll have the whole day to explore Vietnam’s capital city. Your guide will take you to the Temple of Literature, the first university in Vietnam dating back to the 11th century, and a popular attraction, as is Ho Chi Minh’s Mausoleum, his simple stilt house where he lived and worked, and the museum dedicated to his memory.

After lunch, you’ll call in at the serene Tran Quoc Pagoda, the oldest in Hanoi, on the banks of Hanoi’s Ho Tay (West) Lake. The bustling Old Quarter is a magnet for visitors. It’s a maze of shopping streets and restaurants with a hotchpotch of architecture - traditional tube houses, religious buildings, artisans’ workshops and cottages, colonial houses and modern concrete edifices. It’s noisy and hectic, but definitely a ‘must-see’ attraction. You’ll spend the night in Hanoi.

We’ll arrange your programme to avoid the busy times at popular destinations, but if there’s anything you particularly want to see, let us know.
* Ho Chi Minh’s Mausoleum opens in the morning only and closes on Mondays and Fridays. Other museums close on Mondays.

Day 12 (Tuesday 2 December 2008): Hanoi/Ha Long (B, L, D, GP)
After an early breakfast, you’ll leave for Ha Long Bay, one of the most spectacular UNESCO World Heritage Areas and the world’s largest marine limestone ‘karst’ landscape. There you’ll board a wooden junk to take you to the busy World Heritage area and then to an island beach. Weather permitting, you’ll be able to swim, fish, and climb a hill (not a mountain!) for an overview of the Bay’s remarkable seascape. From there, you’ll continue your cruise to visit a fishing village - you’ll also have an opportunity investigate one of the bay’s sea level caves in a small sampan or a kayak. The route is designed to avoid the busy areas and includes a very quiet location for your overnight stay.

For your two-day Ha Long excursion, you'll board the Indochina Sails, one of the best wooden boats on the Bay. It’s a wooden junk based on the model of the old Vietnamese court vessels with two barge sails, a wide transom and rectangular superstructure. The boat has 15 Deluxe cabins, 11 in the lower floor and 4 in the Upper Floor which can accommodate a maximum of 30 people, so you're likely to be joining other travellers for the cruise.
All cabins are air-conditioned and have windows overlooking the bay. The floor area of each of the cabin is 14 m2. Each cabin is furnished with two twin beds or a double queen size bed. The interior panelling, floor and furniture are of hard wood. Each cabin has a wardrobe, desk, pillows, white cotton sheets, and an en-suite toilet and shower with a good selection of high-quality toiletries. All meals, usually based on fresh seafood, will be provided on board. Kayaking is available upon request and at surcharge.

Day 13 (Wednesday 3 December 2008): Ha Long/Hanoi (Brunch, DP)
You’ll wake in fresh air of the bay with a swim and/or a Yoga session on the large sundeck (beginners welcome!). After a light breakfast pastry and tea or coffee, you’ll dock to visit one of the most famous caves in the Bay. You’ll return to the junk for a brunch while cruising back to dock around noon whereupon you’ll leave for Hanoi. Arriving at your hotel in the mid-afternoon, the remainder of the day will be your own. Your overnight accommodation will be in Hanoi.

Day 14 (Thursday 4 December 2008): Hanoi/Hongkong (B, DP)
You’ll be picked up in time to Noi Bai airport for your flight to Hong Kong. Services end.