Colors of Thailand, Cambodia & Vietnam Itinerary

The Emerald Buddha shimmers in an old temple as murals and frescoes shine brightly in the Grand Palace. Sacred Buddha images dot many temples, and then you enter Wat Pho and gaze upon the gold of the Reclining Buddha. Its size is remarkable, over 150 feet reclining beneath marble illustrations and inscriptions. You can spend half of today with Bangkok’s major highlights, and after resting through the afternoon heat, you can head back out to tour a night market with your local guide. Even in artificial light, everything seems brighter than home, such as exuberance to the color of the spices, fruits, trinkets, and treasures. Return to your hotel by tuk-tuk for an unobtrusive look onto life down the city’s lanes.

Temples clamber for attention on dusty plains, the remains of the second Siamese kingdom so suggestive as they glow beneath morning sun and chedis lie in their crumbling state showing what was here some 700 years ago. Ayutthaya is a great introduction to Southeast Asia’s ruined temple complexes and sets you up for Angkor tomorrow. Visit in the morning, and then weave back to central Thailand by boat. Cruise down the back-canals, through rural scenery and neighborhoods, where children play and life continues as it has for centuries. You drift past slowly, then join the Chao Phraya River to re-enter the colorful chaos of central Bangkok. Like the last two days, you will find that the journey provides innumerable new impressions.

Fly direct to Siem Reap, and the temples await with the Angkor archaeological complex stretching out beyond the hotel terrace. Angkor Wat is just one temple, the centerpiece of the kingdom. Angkor is far larger, and you can begin your exploration at the jungle-shrouded temples of Ta Prohm and Takeo. Tree roots dominate moss-covered walls, wrapping themselves around walls like an Olympian wrestler. Nature is winning, and the sight is spectacular, not to mention deeply mysterious. In contrast, at Takeo, the roots have not won, and jungle provides merely the backdrop to Khmer architecture. After some temples, you can cruise alongside the ancient city of Angkor Thom, traveling down the moat as canapes and cocktails are served. Watch the temples change hue in the sunset light, their gold frames a hypnotic memory from this first day in Cambodia.

Wake in time for the sunrise at Angkor Wat, orange and red in the sky with similar colors on monks’ robes. Asparasculptures cover walls, figures with many hands and chedis above their crowns. Inscriptions fill the walls as well, most of them so still lucid after so many centuries. Explore the temple and then visit a nearby pagoda, where monks talk you through modern Angkor life. Next, you can explore Angkor Thom, where Buddha's faces surround the Bayon Temple, and stories emanate from Elephant Terraces. There are countless highlights in this old city, to be expected considering it was once home to a million people. Today’s guided exploration covers the major icons and highlights, as well as providing an understanding of this old civilization.

Rise early and float above Angkor with a hot air balloon ride as the sun starts to travel skywards. Down below the gold and green shine on the sandstone temples amid lush lawns and trees. Temples reflect in the ponds, and the sky makes its shift into morning blue. From the air to the water you will head to a floating village, a small wooden canoe taking you into a local floating community. The houses rise on stilts, and people look out from small bamboo openings while mangrove forests provide a backdrop as locals invite you into their homes. Eat with a family and learn why and how their village is floating, and gain a sense of modern Cambodia’s mysteries.

Seven days in, and you will already be in your third country with a direct flight connecting Siem Reap with Ho Chi Minh City. You may know it by its former name, Saigon, and the Old Quarter certainly feels like Saigon. French colonial buildings age elegantly while traders carry their goods on bamboo poles. Bicycles whizz beneath haphazard electricity wires and local businesses advertise with bright colors, from tailors to tanners all in crumbling colonial buildings. This is an enigmatic space, an evocative piece of history that carries its atmosphere into today. Explore the Old Quarter’s major sights with a guide and feast your eyes on the colors of Ben Thanh Market. Find spices, fruits, rice, bags, tea, leather, toy cars, suitcases, Buddhas, souvenirs, and everything you can think of in one atmospheric place.

There is not much color beneath the ground, but there is a remarkable city. Welcome to the Cu Chi Tunnels, a vast underground complex of hospitals, sleeping places, and farms. Whole civilizations existed here, hiding from the world during the war. Clamber through the hiding places and explore the interior, crouching down to explore this gloomy yet redolent world. After an underground morning, you will spend the evening high above Vietnam, in the new part of Ho Chi Minh City. A renowned local chef takes you through a culinary masterclass, demonstrating the exotic food that Vietnam is known for. You can dine above the city, comparing today’s experiences and appreciating the transformation that has been made over the last 40 years.

Now a lesser-seen part of Vietnam, your guide will take you westwards towards the Mekong Delta. Travel along the canals of My Tho, comparing local life to what you witnessed in Bangkok and Siem Reap. Take your lunch along the canals, wonderfully fresh fragrances accompanied by rich Vietnamese coffee, and then continue to Can Tho, an enchanting city on the Delta. Not that many tourists make it out here, and the guide shows you around, introducing you to locals and showing what goes on along the waterfront. Your hotel is perched above the water and the guide can take you to an excellent local restaurant this evening.

Cruise the Mekong this morning with the authenticity of Cai Rang Floating Market. Hundreds of boats are loaded with produce, including fruits, fish, vegetables, spices, tea, coffee, sugar, and rice all overflowing from the boat. Traders shout and the atmosphere is intense, this being an intoxicating part of Vietnam to travel. From the market, you can visit a noodle factory, which is far more entertaining than it might initially sound, and then return to Ho Chi Minh City and fly to Hue, the Imperial City, and major US Vietnam War battleground. Make up your own impressions this evening by taking a walk around the hotel, with the scars of history dotted all around.

This morning you will enter the forbidden city, the imperial centerpiece of a former country. Temples stand resplendent, chedis have been restored, and grandeur speaks from the moss-covered facades. This place was off bounds to everyone and it reveals a royal past. The Tomb of King Ming Mang does likewise, showcasing what came long before the war and the French. From here you go cruising again, sailing along the Perfume River in a vessel of centuries past – a royal dragon boat. Hue is a city with many sights and today is pretty packed, so end it with a quiet restaurant beside the Imperial City, trying delicacies like beef vermicelli.

The Hue experience is mostly about sightseeing. Hoi An is a city for the senses, a place to walk around without a plan and inhale the atmosphere. A Chinese temple, a Japanese bridge, and the faded grandeur of French architecture are all yours to take in alongside an aromatic flower market, bullock carts rolling past, and the soft twinkling of bicycle bells. Meet a renowned local guide and take a very slow tour of the city, walking through the history of what most visitors call their favorite place in Vietnam. You’ll find contrasts here, along with the various cultures that have made Hoi An distinct from other places in the country.

Fly to Hanoi then transfer onto a seaplane to see the rice paddies shimmering with green down below and villages appearing ochre red before you land on the purple-blue of the sea. Limestone karst covers the waters, like rugged rocks dropped from the sky. Forests cover their slopes, with trees jumping out at bizarre angles. You will then set off on a luxurious wooden boat and travel slowly, passing the karst islands and islets, heading away from congregations of other boats to a part of Halong Bay that day trips cannot reach. Drift off in nature, or attend a spa treatment on the deck before sunset dining and your first night on board.

Some karsts have beaches with golden stretches of sand to spend an hour while others have caves with narrow entrances that open into vast caverns. You can kayak beneath overhangs or take a small tender boat alongside the dramatic cliff walls. But most of all, you can sail through the landscape and enjoy this time to relax. It will have been a busy two weeks of exploring and your boat provides a chance to reminisce about all the experiences. This time on the water will be a relaxing conclusion to your journey alongside just a handful of other passengers and the majesty of this natural landscape.

Wake up surrounded by karst and sail back to the harbor, where you board a seaplane and fly back to Hanoi. Land at the international airport and a representative will help you transfer onto your international flight.