INDOCHINA FOCUS

Duration: 10 days Sightseeing tour of Ha Noi includes Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, One Pillar Pagoda, Tran Quoc Pagoda and Quan Thanh Temple. visit Ha Long Bay, listed as a World Heritage Area of outstanding natural beauty. This picturesque “Dragon descending to the sea” Bay ... Day 1: Arrival - Hanoi ( D ) You are met on arrival at Noi Bai Airport & transferred to hotel for check in. In the afternoon, you will be driven to visit the Temple of Literature known as Vietnam’s first university & Museum of Ethnology. And lastly, you will have a chance to take a tour by cyclo around the old quarter streets to discover the local people life. O/N in Ha Noi. Day 2: Hanoi - Halong bay ( B , L , D ) A morning sightseeing tour of Ha Noi includes Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, One Pillar Pagoda, Tran Quoc Pagoda and Quan Thanh Temple. After having lunch at restaurant, we will keep going ahead to Ha Long Bay. O/N in Ha Long. Day 3: Halong bay - Hanoi ( B , L ) Take a 5-hour boat trip to visit Ha Long Bay, listed as a World Heritage Area of outstanding natural beauty. This picturesque “Dragon descending to the sea” Bay has 1,969 limestone islets rising from the sea, many of them containing beautiful grottoes. Visit of a grotto then seafood lunch on board. Drive back to Hanoi. Evening: Water puppets show, the unique Vietnam traditional art. O/N in Ha Noi. Day 4: Hanoi – Luang Prabang  ( B ) After breakfast at hotel, transfer to Noi Bai airport for flight to Luang Prabang, the ancient first capital of Lane Xang kingdom, the center of religious life in Laos and today the World Heritage City. Arrive in Luang Prabang and transfer to our hotel for check-in. In the afternoon, we take a sightseeing tour of the sacred city of temples, of which nearly fifty temples still remain in the town and surrounding areas. Visit Wat Visoun, the 16th century temple served as a small museum for religious artifacts; Wat Aham, the early 19th century temple, whose two guardian figures at the foot of the steps which represent two characters from the Ramayana - Hanuman, the Monkey God and a fierce Yaksa; Wat Xiengthong, the 16th century temple which, more than any temples in Luang Prabang, epitomizes all the elegance and grace of Luang Prabang architecture; Phousi Hill, the 328 steps leads to the summit of Phousi hill that dominates the sky-line of Luang Prabang overlooking the finest panoramic view in the whole Luang Prabang. O/N in Luang Prabang. Day 5: Luang Prabang & Pak Ou cave( B , L ) Following breakfast, we depart hotel to the boat landing, and take an excursion (a few hours) by boat, upstream on the Mekong to visit Pak Ou cave in the side of a lime stone cliff and opposite of the mouth of the Mekong and Ou rivers. The sanctuaries at Pak Ou consist of two large caves, both repositories for thousands of Buddha images, which range from mere centimeter to two meters in height. En route, Lao typical villages are barely visible behind a screen of foliage. Slender canoes bobbing by the shore, bamboo poles and floats mark the location of nets and fish traps. Our first stop will be at Ban Muangkeo, a well-known village for Lao traditional rice whisky, namely Laoh-Khao to be distilled. We are welcome to taste it and also take away. Lunch is served at a riverside restaurant.  We arrive back at Luang Prabang in late afternoon, and continue to drive outskirt of town to visit Ban Xangkhong, a well-known village for its wood paper making and also Lao silk weavings with natural dyes. O/N in Luang Prabang. Day 6: Luang Prabang - Vientiane ( B ) In the morning, visit the National Museum, the former Royal Palace which houses the collection of valuables including the famous Prabang Buddha statue, gifts received from foreign dignitaries…etc. Transfer to Luang Prabang airport for flight Vientiane. Meet on arrival and you are welcome to Vientiane, the city of the moon - an ancient city, situated on the bend on the left bank of the Mekong as the largest city and the capital of Laos. Transfer to hotel for check-in. In the afternoon, we take a sightseeing tour of Vientiane, to visit religious museums of Wat Sisaket, the oldest temple to have been survived from the Siamese war of 1828 and its cloister contains more than 8000 Buddha statues; Wat Ho Prakeo, the former home-temple of the Emerald Buddha statue or Pra Keo, but today it contains a collection of Buddha statues, antiques and all artifacts found in around Vientiane; That Luang Stupa, the single most important monument in Laos, which was built to cover the original small stupa containing a piece of the chest bone of Buddha; Patouxay (Arch de Triumph), built quite recently in commemoration of those who died during the wars in the past and it is today as the land-mark of Vientiane. O/N in Vientiane. Day 7: Vientiane – Phnom Penh ( B ) After breakfast, a short flight to Phnom Penh.Upon arrival at Phnom Penh airport, meets and transfers to hotel Visit the Victory Monument and the National Museum, the Royal Palace, built by the French in 1866 on the site of the old town, and Silver Pagoda, which located within the Royal Palace ground.You will then end your tour with a visit to Wat Phnom Temple, Phnom Penh's namesake, from where you can enjoy views over the tree lined avenues of the city during sunset. O/N at hotel Day 8: Phnom Penh – Siem Reap ( B , D ) Breakfast at hotel .Transfer to Phnom Penh airport for departure to Siem Reap. Upon arrival at Siem Reap airport, meets and transfers to hotel. Visit the ancient capital of Angkor Thom (12th century). See the South Gate (with its huge statues depicting the churning of the ocean of milk), Bayon Temple(unique for its 54 towers decorated with over 200 smiling faces of Avolokitesvara), the Royal Enclosure, Phimeanakas, the Elephant Terrace and the Terrace of the Leper King .In the afternoon, visit the most famous of all the temples on the Angkor plain: Angkor Wat. The temple complex cover 81 hectares and is comparable in size to the Imperial Palace in Beijing. Its distinctive five towers are emblazoned on the Cambodian flag and the 12th century masterpiece is considered by art historians to be the prime example of classical Khmer art and architecture. Angkor Wat's five tower symbolize Meru's five peaks, the enclosed wall represents the mountains at the edge of the world and the surrounding moat symbolizes the ocean beyond Sunset from Phnom Bakheng, one of two hills dominating the plain of Angkor, from where you will have a spectacular view of the Western Baray and Angkor Wat. O/N at hotel Day 9: Siem Reap ( B , L ) Breakfast at hotel ,In the morning, you will continue your temple visits. Included are Prasat Kravan (with its unique brick sculptures), Srah Srang ("The Royal Boths" was once used for ritual bathing), Banteay Kdei (surrounded by four concentric walls), Eastern Mebon (guarded at its corner by stone figures of harnessed elephants, some of which are still in a reasonable state of preservation) and the "Mountain Temple" of Pre Rup. In the afternoon, transfer to the archaeological site and continue to the temple tour. Visit Ta Prohm, one of the most beautiful temples in the area. Ta Prohm has been left relatively untouched since it was discovered and retains much of its mystery  ,Then, visit Takeo, Thommanon and Chau Say Tevoda temples Day 10: Siem Reap - Departure ( B ) Breakfast at hotel. Visit the floating village of the Chong Khneas, located 10 kilometers south of Siem Reap. Take a traditional wooden boat for a ride on the Tonle Sap, the "Great Lake" of Cambodia and the largest in Asia In the afternoon, visit "Les Artisans d'Angkor - Chantiers Ecoles" of Siem Reap and time at leisure at the local market (if time permits) Transfer to Siem Reap airport for departure to the next destination . Source : indochinaholidaytravel.com