Vietnam, Laos & Cambodia

Day 1: Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City)

We meet in Saigon. It’s a lively, high-energy metropolis where new construction and technology constantly bump up against the traditional and the historic. To get started, we stroll to a local tea bar with our local guide, Mai. Her family was among the boat people who were once forced from the country, and during our time together she’ll offer plenty of insight on the country then and now. Here we board cyclos – think bike-powered rickshaws – to go exploring. It’s a great way to see, hear and soak up the action, and it’s an efficient way to get to key sites like City Hall, Notre Dame Cathedral and Dong Khoi Street, the city’s premier shopping district for custom-made silk garments, embroidery and more. We’ll also visit the former Presidential Palace, where news photos captured the Viet Cong flag unfurled from the balcony on April 30, 1975.

The afternoon is full of fascinating juxtapositions, too. We lunch on impeccable Vietnamese dishes in a stunning French villa. Then, we drive just beyond the city limits to explore the Cu Chi Tunnels, a remarkable underground complex that served as a refuge for thousands of Viet Cong during the war. For years the American military had no idea that the enemy lived literally beneath their feet. Now we can climb down to experience some of the 125 miles of tunnels, staging camps, hospitals and bunkers. Tonight we can unwind after an amazing day over dinner at La Camargue, the city’s finest French restaurant. Overnight: Saigon (Park Hyatt) Meals: L, D

Day 2: Mekong River Delta

Southern Vietnam is the classic landscape you’ve imagined. Today will provide our first glimpse of the lush, tropical landscape, carpeted with rice fields that produce three or four crops a year. Brightly dressed workers bend to their work, forming a line of the conical straw hats we’ll see throughout the trip. The all-purpose hats protect fair skin from the sun and shed rain too. Fuel yourself with what you’ll soon see is a series of exceptional breakfasts. (You’ll have many choices from typical western to Vietnamese specialties, but please try the traditional pho soup; it’s delicious.) Then we enjoy a drive to Cai Lay, a small town on the banks of the Mekong River. At the local pier, we board a long-tail boat to weave among the many craft that rely on the river and its tributaries for transportation and commerce.

At Cam Son bridge, we disembark to start an ultra-leisurely bike ride into the heart of the Mekong Delta. (The bikes are perfect even if you’re not a regular biker, with cushy saddles and high handlebars. The roads are flat and free of traffic – and our pace is easy. Of course, if you prefer, you can hop onto one of the local mini-carriages known as “xe loi.”) We see no tourists as we follow narrow country roads that curve over tiny canals and past fruit gardens and sleepy villages. Kids will greet us with a big smile and “xin chao!” And we’re likely to trade nods and smiles with a woman in the traditional ao dai as she pedals (and sings) her way to the local market. Along the way, we’ll visit a fish farm, rice paddies and a tropical fruit orchard. Mr. Hai Cu, the owner, is always good for a friendly chat and a taste of his fruits, fresh from the tree. Back on the river, a sampan ride lands us at a 100-year-old house, where the owner and his wife treat us to a lunch of local specialties.

An evening flight takes us to Danang where we transfer to the spectacular Furama Resort, which sits on the pristine stretch of sand known as China Beach. The evening is yours to dine early or linger at the beach or pool so you’re at your table for the tropical sunset. Overnight: Danang (Furama Resort) Meals: B, L

Day 3: Hoi An / Danang

After breakfast at the resort overlooking the spectacular negative edge pools and white sands, we journey along the beachfront road to Hoi An. Against all odds, this extraordinary village was untouched by the war and offers a glimpse of a Vietnam that exists almost nowhere else. As we wander the completely traffic-free streets of this seaport, it’s not hard to imagine it in the 18th Century, when Hoi An was one of the busiest trading ports in Asia. Along its cobbled streets, we’ll see Chinese, Japanese and European architecture. At the riverfront, there’s a scene of boats brimming with people and wares. With a hand from our guide, you’ll also get a chance to shop the local market where the wares range from incense to flowers to betel nuts. You’ll have to be sure not to let the shops with fresh baguettes and sugar cane juice spoil your appetite for our fine lunch.

In the afternoon we venture into the very heart of rural Danang for a special insight into the everyday life of a local village community. Our guide leads us along footpaths to the small settlement of Hoa Chau, nestled among endless rice fields, where we experience firsthand the very backbone of Vietnam's rural culture. Depending on the season we see the fields being ploughed by buffalo, rice planted by women, or harvested by the men. And we’ll visit a mill to see how the rice is dried and husked. This unique glimpse into the rural lives of the villagers is a sight that very few other visitors see and will be one of the highlights of our time in Vietnam. Overnight: Danang (Furama Resort) Meals: B, L, D

Day 4: Hue / Hanoi

After breakfast at the resort, we journey overland via the Hai Van tunnels to the former Imperial capital of Hué. One of the country’s foremost cultural, religious, and educational centers, the city began its existence as the citadel of Phu Xuan in 1687. Hué suffered some of the bloodiest battles of the 1968 Tet Offensive. By the 1970s, much of the old city was decaying, but the local government recognized its value, and in 1993 UNESCO declared it a World Heritage site. Restoration and preservation work continues.

A local friend joins us to show off the Imperial City, an amazing complex of museums, lakes, and lovely gardens, laid out in concentric circles. Our visit also includes the Forbidden Purple City, built in the early 1800s for the emperor’s personal use and staffed by eunuchs who posed no threat to the royal concubines. Today, the ruins house the Royal Library and the grounds flourish with mimosa plants and vegetable plots. Midday, our friend, Phan Thuan An, an historian and vice president of the Hué Monuments Preservation Center, invites us to be his guests for a traditional lunch and the special opportunity to meet descendants of King Khai Dinh.

An afternoon flight takes us to Hanoi. Vietnam's capital is an old-fashioned city with sidewalk cafes and pavement barbers. There are wide boulevards, lined with trees and filled with bicycles. Great mansions give way to crowded alleyways like Silk Street and Fried Fish Street. Our guided visit also includes Hoa Lo Prison, the notorious “Hanoi Hilton.” After a busy day, we check in to the Metropole, the city’s most elegant and historic hotel. You’ll want to make time for a drink under the thatched roof of the poolside bar before we sit down to a traditional Vietnamese dinner at Wild Rice Restaurant, popular with the locals and in-the-know visitors alike. Overnight: Hanoi (Metropole Hotel) Meals: B, L, D

Day 5: Hanoi + Countryside

After another amazing breakfast, we head into the countryside. Northern Vietnam is home to the country's most colorful and revered pagodas and temples. (A Buddhist vocabulary note: a temple is a place to worship the dead; a pagoda is a place to worship the Lord Buddha.) We’ll have a chance to roam through Tay Phuong Pagoda, famous for its vast display of finely carved wooden statues of 18 th -century monks. From here, we start a scenic walk among rice fields and through bamboo groves to a local village. We have a standing invitation to the small local school where we’ll interact with the children bedecked in their blue and white uniforms and their teacher. It’s another fine insight into authentic daily life that has hardly changed in centuries and where foreign visitors are rare exceptions.

Following our walk, we freshen up and continue by minivan to Thay Pagoda. The famed site is widely known for its finely carved statues in lacquer and gold of Buddha in his past and present form and for its colorful Buddhist ceremonies performed here during auspicious dates of the lunar calendar.

Back in Hanoi, we’ll stroll in the city’s lovely French Quarter and get a real feel for Vietnam’s colonial past. We’ll also catch a water puppet performance. The art of water puppetry began a thousand years ago, possibly in the flooded rice fields. Puppeteers today stand in waist-high water and manipulate their charges in such a way that you can’t help but be swept up in the legend being told. Music accompanies the action (be sure to listen for the haunting sounds of the dan bau, an instrument made from a dried watermelon rind). After some time to relax back at the hotel, get ready for a truly memorable experience: cocktails and dinner at the Press Club, a true local institution. Overnight: Hanoi (Metropole Hotel) Meals: B, L, D

Day 6: Halong Bay

Leaving Hanoi behind, we head for one of our all-time favorite travel experiences – Halong Bay. The bay is considered Vietnam’s eighth wonder of the world and it’s easy to see why. Three thousand spectacular chalk and limestone outcroppings, cliffs, arches, and coves form a dragon’s tail of islands across the bay. Traditional sailing junks and local fishing boats glide by selling their latest catch.

In time for lunch, we board our luxury junk boat. Our cruise on the emerald green waters of the bay offers us the chance to visit and explore many islands and caves. We’ll pause for a visit to a traditional floating village. On deck, you can join in a cooking demonstration and discover the secrets of spring rolls. As we sail into a pearl farm cove, you can take a swim or go kayaking. Then return to the junk for evening activities from fishing to board games to spa services. Overnight: Halong Bay (Paradise Luxury Junk Boat) Meals: B, L, D

Day 7: Halong Bay / Laos

If more mornings could be like this one. It’s the most serene. The most picturesque. The most romantic. The most of just about everything we travel for. We happily recommend a quiet breakfast as you watch and listen to the world come to life. You can also hop aboard the tender with us to go ashore and explore high-ceiling caverns on a brief walk. You take one of the junk’s kayaks out for a mirror-smooth paddle.

Back ashore, we return to Hanoi for a late afternoon flight to Laos. Serene Luang Prabang sits at the confluence of the Khan and Mekong Rivers and – a hint of events to come – it was once the capital of the “Land of the Million Elephants.” We’ll settle into our gracious and glamorous colonial-style hotel. Dinner is on your own, but be sure to save time to ramble with Toubee, our Laotian guide, through the town’s night market, known especially for fine handicrafts from ethnic villagers. Overnight: Luang Prabang (Maison Souvannaphoum Hotel) Meals: B, L

Day 8: Luang Prabang

Early risers will have a chance to witness a moving ritual as long lines of barefoot monks walk silently along the streets on their morning alms rounds. Because Toubee himself entered the monkhood as a boy, he can arrange for you to be welcomed into the ceremony to offer an allotment of rice to the monks. He’ll also offer special insights on monastery life and the study of Buddhism. Before returning to the hotel for breakfast, we’ll explore the lively morning market, as the locals shop and bargain for the day’s provisions.

Today’s adventure is a visit to a 2,000-acre elephant sanctuary in the beautiful and unspoiled Nam Khan River valley. Lao elephants were traditionally used for logging, but as the forests disappear so have the animals. The project invests in community-based eco-programs and seeks to give elephants a new home in the park. We’ll meet the mahouts that train and care for them. They’ll teach us how to give the elephants commands ourselves, and of course we’ll climb up for truly memorable ride along and right into the river. (Please have your camera ready; the experience and setting is unforgettable.)

After lunch at the sanctuary, you have the option of returning to the hotel for some decadence in the form of optional spa treatments. Or board a long-tail boat to float back downriver to Luang Prabang, hopping off along the way for walks and a chance to chat with the very sweet local Lao people working in their fields. Dinner tonight is at the hotel on the teakwood terrace surrounding the pool. Overnight: Luang Prabang (Maison Souvannaphoum Hotel) Meals: B, L, D

Day 9: Siem Reap - Angkor Thom

For the truly grand finale of a memorable week, we catch a flight to Siem Reap in Cambodia. First, we’ll check into the Raffles Grand Hotel d’Angkor – one of Indochina’s finest properties. You’ll also meet our good friend Roath, one of the country’s first and most experienced guides.

Then our explorations of the region’s awesome Angkor temples begin. In the afternoon, we visit Ta Prohm. One of the largest temples, it was dedicated in 1186, but now its labyrinth of stone hallways is overgrown with massive banyan trees, which envelop the stone like tentacles. Later, we enter the ancient walled city of Angkor Thom, literally “Great city”. Built in the 12th Century by Jayavarman VII, Angkor Thom contains the famous Bayon Temple with its more than 200 enormous mysterious faces and the Elephant and Leper King Terraces. En route back to the hotel, we stop at Angkor Wat for our first view of the famed temple complex at sunset. Overnight: Siem Reap Meals: B, D

Day 10: Siem Reap / Angkor Wat

Sleep in if you like, but it’s well worth rising before the sun for a visit to Angkor Wat at daybreak. After breakfast, we all return for an in-depth walking tour in the largest temple in the world. Erected at the command of King Suryavarman II, Angkor Wat took an estimated 30 years to build, probably as his funeral temple. Our knowledgeable guide will help you grasp the enormity of the place. You’ll learn about its history, the meanings of features such as the intricate bas-reliefs, and the archeological and restoration efforts that have revealed and seek to preserve these landmarks. After lunch, you’ll have time on your own to re-visit favorite spots or to expand your explorations to new areas of the temple. We’ll also take in the sites of Preah Khan (The Sacred Sword), a huge monastic complex.

Late in the afternoon, we part company at the airport in Siem Reap. From here you can catch flights to Bangkok or other hub cities. Meals: B