Custom Tour: Classic Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam for Leslie
19 Jan 11 Bangkok - Arrival
Arrive in Bangkok where you will be met by your guide and transferred to your hotel.
Meals Included: None
Overnight at Sofitel Silom Hotel - 2Double Luxury Room
20 Jan 11 Bangkok - Public Transport Tour with Klong trip
You will be met by your guide at your hotel at 9am and set off on the Skytrain. Enjoy the elevated view of central Bangkok as you speed across town to the river where you will board a river express boat to the Flower Market. Take in the sights and smells as you wander past stalls piled with flowers and then head off on an exciting tuk tuk ride to Wat Pho to see the famous Reclining Buddha.
Enjoy a thirty minute massage at the temple’s traditional Thai massage school followed by lunch at a local restaurant, and then head to the pride of Thailand, the Grand Palace and Wat Phra Kaew housing the Emerald Buddha. Take a stroll down the street to a local Buddhist amulet market before heading off along the klongs (canals) finally boarding a river express boat to the Skytrain station and returning to your hotel.
Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch
Overnight at Sofitel Silom Hotel - 2Double Luxury Room
21 Jan 11 Bangkok - Floating Market and Jim Thompson House
Get an early start, with your guide meeting you at 7am, and head out of town to the famous Damnorn Saduak Floating Market, an hour and a half outside Bangkok. Enjoy being on the river in a longtail boat while it is still cool and watching the colorful fruits, vegetables and goods being sold from boats as you go by.
Your guide will meet you and take you to Jim Thompson’s House. Now a museum this traditional teakwood house is just as Jim Thompson left it before he mysteriously disappeared in the Cameron Highlands of Western Malaysia. After your tour enjoy lunch at the Jim Thompson's House restaurant.
Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch
Overnight at Sofitel Silom Hotel - 2Double Luxury Room
22 Jan 11 Siem Reap - Arrival
You will be transferred to Bangkok Airport for your flight - Bangkok Airways PG905 departing at 11:35 & arriving at 12:35. You will be met by a Journeys Within representative and taken to Journeys Within Bed & Breakfast.
Spend the afternoon relaxing in the garden, cool off in the swimming pool or if you have the energy, take a trip down town and walk around the local market. Head into town to enjoy a traditional buffet dinner and dance show in the evening.
Meals included: Breakfast, Dinner
Overnight at Journeys Within B&B
23 Jan 11 Siem Reap - Angkor Wat
This morning head to Angkor Wat in an air-conditioned car, or if you choose by bike, with your guide. Explore this majestic temple throughout the morning while it is still cool and has fewer tourists. Return to Journeys Within for lunch and a nap or refresh with a swim. In the afternoon head to Angkor Thom, the famous walled city and see the many temples within its borders, including the fascinating Bayon temple with its many magnificent faces smiling out. There are several beautiful spots from which to watch the sunset. Discuss with your guide where you would like to be and then relax and enjoy a memorable end to your day at the temples.
Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch
Overnight at Journeys Within B&B
24 Jan 11 Siem Reap - Banteay Srei and Tonle Sap
This morning set off with your guide to Banteay Srei, the intricately carved temple just 30 km beyond Angkor Wat. On your way back to town stop at the Land Mine Museum, a rather humble look at the land mine problem, past and present, in Cambodia.
After a rest or swim drive through rural Cambodia to the Tonle Sap Lake where you will take a boat ride to visit the floating village and a Cambodian fish farm. As the day ends choose to climb Phnom Krom and see the ancient ruins high on the hill and watch the sun set over the lake and rice fields below or relax and watch the sun disappear below the horizon from your boat on the lake.
Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch
Overnight at Journeys Within B&B
25 Jan 11 Phnom Penh - The Killing Fields
Transfer to the airport in time to catch your flight - Vietnam AirlineVN1100 departing at 11:10 & arriving at 12:00. Arrive in Phnom Penh where you will be met by an air conditioned car and driver.
Head to the Tuol Sleng Prison Museum where your guide will explain the history of the Khmer Rouge and walk you through the different museum displays. After watching the movie they show every day, head out to the Killing Fields, where a memorial stupa and shallow pits remind visitors of the thousands killed under the Pol Pot Regime.
Enjoy lunch at a local restaurant. On the way back stop at a local organization that takes at-risk and orphaned children and provides them with education and dance training, sit in on a traditional dance class and be amazed at the grace and persistence of these students.
Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch
Overnight at Amanjaya Hotel - 2Double Junior Suite Room
26 Jan 11 Phnom Penh - City Tour
This morning take a tour of the Royal Palace, still the royal residence. See the amazing royal collection and the beautiful architecture before heading to the National Museum where pre-Angkorean pieces, as well as special pieces from the temples are housed. Take a tour of the museum with a trained museum guide.
Enjoy lunch at Friends, a restaurant benefiting at-risk street children. After lunch your guide will take you to central market, reported to be the biggest domed market in the world, and to the famous Russian Market where everything from souvenirs to car parts is on sale. Enjoy a shopping spree or just browse along with the locals out doing their shopping.
Enjoy dinner at the FCC on the banks of the Mekong.
Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Overnight at Amanjaya Hotel - 2Double Junior Suite Room
27 Jan 11 Phnom Penh to Chou Doc
Have the morning free and then transfer to the dock to catch your boat down the Mekong to Chau Doc. Along the way watch as the pace of life on the river changes from the occasional, peaceful Cambodian fisherman to the busy commercial comings and going of Vietnamese traders. You will be met by your guide for check in to your hotel.
Meals included: Breakfast
Overnight at Victoria Chou Doc - 2Double Superior Room
28 Jan 11 Chau Doc - Saigon
After an early breakfast you will be met by your guide and driven to Vinh Long about 3.5 to 4 hours away. To begin with you will board a private boat to explore Vinh Long where you will cruise to Cai Be along the water system (about 45 minutes) to see local families making popped rice (a favorite of the team!), coconut candies, rice paper, honey bi-products, various local homemade Vietnamese products from the Mekong area. Sample as you go, but remember to leave some room for lunch.
Continue on your boat journey before stepping ashore for lunch in a beautiful traditional garden house and be presented with local dishes such as. Elephant ear fish rolled and wrapped with rice paper, different Vietnamese vegetables and fruits served with tamarind dipping sauce. When ready you will taken for a short walk through the fruit gardens and rowed along the narrow shady canals in a traditional sampan boat. Transfer by boat back to your private transport waiting for you in Cai Be. Relax on your way to Saigon for your dinner and evening at leisure.
Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch
Overnight at Majestic Saigon Hotel - 2Double Colonial Room
29 Jan 11 Saigon - City Tour
Our guides are the experts so we leave you in their hands to discuss and decide what you want to see and do today. There are some great markets if you are in the mood to shop or you can visit some of the museums like the History Museum, or some pagodas, like Thien Hau Lady Goddess Pagoda and Jade Emperor Pagoda. If you are interested in history of the Vietnam War, then we recommend that you take the time to visit the Reunification Hall formerly known as the Presidential Palace, and the War Remnants Museum. Chat with your guide and decide what suits you!
Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch
Overnight at Majestic Saigon Hotel - 2Double Colonial Room
30 Jan 11 Saigon - Cu Chi Tunnels & Dinner with Mr. Nam
Leaving Saigon behind and heading northwest in to Tay Ninh province you will find the Cao Dai Great Temple. Here we will stop for you to see where Cao Daism is practiced and witness the midday mass. Cao Daism is a unique religion worshiping Jesus, Confucius and Buddha! Enjoy lunch at Ngoc Tuyet restaurant in Tay Ninh. After lunch you will be driven back in a southeasterly direction to arrive at the Cu Chi tunnels. Here you will learn about, and be given the opportunity to descend into, the tunnels themselves where the guerilla fighters constructed an amazing underground base and village network during the French Resistance, and the Vitenam War. Finally, to end our trip, you will be taken to the private home of Mr. Nam, a war veteran of the Vietnamese American war. Here you will have the opportunity to meet and chat with him and his family whilst enjoying a delicious home cooked dinner before heading back to Saigon.
Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Overnight at Majestic Saigon Hotel - 2Double Colonial Room
31 Jan 11 HoiAn - Arrival
You will be picked up and taken to the airport for your flight - Vietnam AirlinesVN326 departing at 12:00 & arriving at 13:10. Arrive in Danang where you will be met and transferred to your hotel in Hoi An.
Meals included: Breakfast
Overnight at Victoria HoiAn Hotel - 2Double Superior Room
01 Feb 11 HoiAn - City Tour
After breakfast your guide will meet you and take you on a walking tour of HoiAn. Visit the Ancient Town including the beautiful Chua Cau, or roofed bridge, Hoi Quan, the ancient meeting places, some ancestral family homes and some of the lovely and hidden pagodas. Have lunch at a local restaurant. Spend the afternoon at your leisure.
Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch
Overnight at Victoria HoiAn Hotel - 2Double Superior Room
02 Feb 11 HoiAn - Danang - Hue
You will be picked up at your hotel in Hoi An and driven to Hue, a 3 ½ hour drive crossing over the Hai Van Pass, famous for its breathtaking views up and down the coast. Feel free to ask the driver to stop if you would like to take photos or just to spend a few minutes enjoying the view. Continue on to Hue and have lunch at a local restaurant before visiting the Imperial Citadel. Stop at the Dong Ba Market before being dropped off at your hotel.
Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch
Overnight at Pilgrimage Village - 2Double Villa Deluxe Room
03 Feb 11 Hue - City Tour
With your guide visit the old capital city, a World Cultural Heritage site. Visit the Royal Tombs of Emperor Khai Dinh and Tu Duc. Enjoy lunch at a local restaurant. In the afternoon take a 2 hour dragon boat ride across the triangle of the Perfume River, stop to visit Con Hen Island and Thien Mu Pagoda. Continue to Phu Cat quarter to enjoy the special glutinous cakes of Hue: Banh Me, Banh Nam and Banh Uot.
Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch
Overnight at Pilgrimage Village - 2Double Villa Deluxe Room
04 Feb 11 Hanoi - Arrival
Transfer to Hue airport for your onward flight - Vietnam AirlinesVN244 departing at 14:30 & arriving at 15:40. Arrive at Noibai airport Hanoi, where you will be met by your guide and transferred to your hotel.
Take a one-hour cyclo tour of this charming capital city through the scenic Colonial Quarter, the Old Quarter of “36 streets of 36 wares” and around Restored Sword Lake. Attend a water puppet show to experience a truly traditional Vietnamese evening. Enjoy a relaxing meal sampling the delicious cuisine of Vietnam. Your guide will be on hand to transfer you to and from the restaurant, and to help you select your meal.
Meals included: Breakfast, Dinner
Overnight at Hilton Opera Hotel - 2Double Deluxe Room
05 Feb 11 Hanoi to Sapa
Have the day free to explore Hanoi on your own and then transfer to the train station for a 10pm departure to Sapa.
Overnight on the train.
Meals included: Breakfast
06 Feb 11 Sapa - Topas Ecolodge
You will arrive at Lao Cai train station at 6am where you will be met and driven 90 minutes to Sapa. Your guide will help you to transfer to the Topas Ecolodge, about a 45 minute drive from Sapa Town. Here you can check in and enjoy the amazing scenery. If you want take a walk to nearby villages and see day to day life as it happens. In the evening enjoy the view from your private verandah.
Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch
Overnight at Topas Ecolodge Hotel - 2Double Deluxe Bungalow Room
07 Feb 11 Sapa - Trekking
After having breakfast, you will take a half day walk to visit the Lech village of the Red Dao minority. You will follow the road for a while before descending towards a river. Going through rice paddy terraces you can enjoy the magnificent valley view. Cross the river by a bridge made of stone and then follow a trail going up to the village. You will be able to spend some time at the village to experience daily life, and learn more about the culture. From the village, you head back to the Lodge for lunch.
At 2pm you can return to Sapa for any last minute shopping before driving back to the train station for your return trip to Hanoi.
Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch
08 Feb 11 Hanoi - Arrival
You will arrive early at Hanoi Station where you will be met and transferred to the airport for your flight.
Meals Included: None