Light Adventure Indochina

Xin chào! 
Welcome to Hanoi, the capital city of Vietnam, the city of peace. Our guide and private car will pickup us promptly to transfer to Hanoi to check-in hotel in the center. Afternoon is the time for us getting familiar with Vietnamese, when we will learn some friendly and necessary words with our local teacher, understanding the history of Viet languages and its Latin origin. Have dinner at “Mam” restaurant on Hang Mam street,  or ‘’the road of fish sauce’’, well-known for fish oil trade and fish sauce since French time. Evening will be our “show time”! We will have a chance to discover Vietnamese culture with the farming life, traditional costumes, iconic bamboo, etc. at  “My Village” or “The Mist” show at Hanoi Opera House, an outstanding construction by the Red River since 1911 during the French colonial period.
•    Our note: The show is nearly daily; schedule checking is still needed. 
 

Wake up and start our adventure day in the morning! Take a private car with our Guide straight to Quynh Son village, Lang Son province (about 3hrs traveling to the North from Hanoi) where we will spend today at a stilt house homestay instead of hotel. Take a walk around the village to enjoy natural, peaceful landscape and interact with very friendly local people here. We will also have to visit local ovens to see how people make traditional yin and yang roof tiles, a traditional job of Quynh Son village. The special feature of this roof’s material comes from the high thermal insulation so that it can keep an optimal condition for the houses against the weather. From the ovens’ site, go on to another attraction here – the buckwheat fields, where we can relax ourselves with an endless pink farm under sunlight. After a delicious local lunch, we will visit a historical place of architectural style combining communal house design of the plain land with the mountainside architecture – Nong Luc Communal House. The place is a stilt house with the area of 180 sq. meter. Around 03.00 in the afternoon, we can choose to bike around with our tourguide, or climb up to see the sunset. The chosen place is the top of Na Lay Mount on the altitude of 600m above the sea level, where we can be surrounded by clouds and enjoy a breathtaking panorama of the village, fields and greenery underneath. Finish our day with traditional Nung people’s foods for dinner. 
•    Our note: the climbing road is not safe during the rain and is not encouraged upon this condition
 

Village life starts early, so with early wake-up we can visit the local market where people come for the greenest and freshest food for each day. Hang around the village before back to our houses for local breakfast and return to Hanoi by car. Light lunch with famous Hanoi’s noodle soup (“pho”) and coffee / tea before visit Hanoi today. Together with our Guide, we will walk from the area of the St. Joseph Church, not only a notable French religious architectural site of all Catholic festive days in the city, but a hub of young people to hang around in any season, toward the Sword Lake; about 700m from the graceful church is Ngoc Son Taoist temple with a charming red bridge that symbolized to Hanoi since its very first presence. From Ngoc Son, go thru old streets of Hanoi till we reach Kim Ngan Communal House, the worshipping place of silversmith gild located on the Silver street (“pho Hang Bac”). Late afternoon we will return to our hotel to checkin and rest. Overnight in Hanoi.

From Hanoi, let’s go to Cat Ba island, an area about 160km to the East of and normally takes us 4 to 5 hours to arrive. Cat Ba is known as the cleanest island in the North of Vietnam which attracts tourists for clean beaches. In the afternoon, start our journey by visiting a historical fortress – Highland 177. Built on the mountain peak, the army area nowadays still completely remains after war with two super cannons, an observation system and a complex tunnel. Leave the fortress to go and see Trung Trang cave, where to explore a mysterious ecosystem in darkness with many kinds of bats, birds and insects.  Close our day with special evening yoga on a wonderful and quite beach. Just imagine how chilling when listen to the gentle sounds of waves, close your tired eyes and freely, slowly transfer your mind into a comfortable space than ever! If you have never done a yoga section, the coach will help you familiarize with it from the beginning level. Overnight in Cat Ba resort. 

A cruise will take us today to Lan Ha bay, a natural and quite place. Go through the jungle, we will collect kayaks from a fish farm then paddle into lagoons, feel fresh air and let our eyes covered by green color of tree and water surface before return to our boat. Have a traditional Vietnamese lunch on the boat. Spend the afternoon for go hiking near the sea then arrive in our rendezvous to here the guideline and safety instruction before we put on our gears for climbing up to enjoy adrenaline moments while seeing blue beaches and green jungle from the height. Get back to the hotel  late afternoon, dinner and overnight in Cat Ba resort.    

•    Our note. Place for climbing and accurate activities will be detailed upon the confirmation.
 

Enjoy the dawn while we’re surrounded slight sounds of waves and have breakfast to charge energy for a long day ahead. Our Tour guide will pick up us back to Hanoi and be ready for a flight to Da Nang. Upon arrival, welcomed by another friendly local Guide and go about 35 minutes to reach Hoi An. This place originally is a wealthy trade harbor city since the 17th century, remaining ancient features in its Vietnam - Japan - China architecture today. Walk around the town, we can observe every busy movements, meet and talk to local people to feel this lovely ancient city and be a true “Hoian-an”. We will also visit the small city museum, Trade House of Quang Dong and Phuc kien Chinese community, enjoy street food and walk around long streets of red lanterns, buy some local crafts and stopover at the famous Bridge Pagoda. Dinner and overnight in Hoian.             

•    Our note. Flight can be from Haiphong to Danang directly, but not on daily basis.
 

Begin our day by a short trip to My Son (about 1 hour traveling to the West). From the bird’s eyes view, the land is covered by the green of natural jungle with the area of 2km wide. My Son was an Hindu holyland of the Cham Pa Kingdom and recognized by UNESCO as the World’s Cultural Heritage in 1999. Hundreds of towers with miracle architecture are protected here. After the visit, spend our afternoon in Tra Que vegetable village where we can learn from the farmer the way they plant organic veggies, and enjoy some food massage before having a delicious lunch with local ingredients. Close our day with the special show of “Palao” – a Cham word means “go with the flow” and “moving forward”. The one-hour show is an emotional art performance, a story about ancient Cham with the high cultural value. Evening go back to stay overnight in Hoian. 

Our Guide will escort us to have a poetic morning boat trip on poetic Thu Bon river in Hoian with a short stop at a small, tranquil village making terracotta miniatures in Thanh Ha and visit Hoian the last time. Afterwards, back to Danang airport and say goodbye to our Vietnam guide to take a late flight straight to Siem Reap. 
Welcomed to Cambodia, the land of towers, the land of Angkor!
Upon arrival, our Representative in Siem Reap will meet and transfer us to the hotel to check-in. overnight in Siemreap. 

     Our note: dinner is not inclusive for guests’ flexible arrangement.

Spend our whole day today biking into two marvelous ancient, unique attractions – the sacred Ta Prohm winded by the roots of giant big trees and creepers, and Angkor Thom. Ta Prohm is famous by being chosen for major activities of “Tomb Raider” acted by celebrity Angelina Jolie. From here, we  continue to Prasat Kravan with its unique brick sculptures, Srah Srang - “The Royal Baths" was once used for ritual bathing, Banteay Kdei surrounded by four concentric walls and finally finish with Thommanon and Chaosay Tevorda temple before heading back to Angkor Thom, the “citadel” where was a palace and military area of the Khmer Empire had been built. Visit the Gates of Angkor Thom and  Bayon Temple – an unique shrine with 54 towers decorated with over 200 faces, Baphuon temple to the North of Bayon, represented holy Mount Meru, the residence of the gods in Hindu belief. We will go around The Royal land, the Elephant Terrace and the Terrace of the Leper King. Stop at the less-traveled West gate of Angkor Thom before  return to Siem reap downtown for dinner, enjoy one-hour foot massage and have funny time at bars and pubs at Angkor night market.

Today we will go by car with our Guide into quite far temple in the middle of villages, where we can not only visit vestige but meet the locals. Morning visit Bakong Temple – a temple built in 881 by King Indravarman I. The area nowadays is not completely reserved but remains the main parts: King’s state temple, moats and a pyramid-shaped temple. Preah Koh is a temple area which is built in 879 with quite the same architecture as Bakong. In the afternoon, we will fly by balloon for a quarter to enjoy a breathtaking panorama view of the temple area from above. Dinner and overnight in Siem reap.

At leisure until our Guide come and pickup us to the airport. 
Wishing you further good trips.