Dear Kim

 

Well, we are back home and getting our clocks back adjusted to this side of the world. I wanted to take a minute and THANK YOU FOR EVERYTHING! We had a wonderful time in Cambodia and Vietnam. Thank you so much for such a pleasant experience.

We were very happy with your service and support from the planning to the finish of our trip. The transportation, guides support and hotel accommodations were wonderful. The services were first class all the way and everything we expected and more. The people in Cambodia and Vietnam were friendly and welcoming.

I will highly recommend your services to my colleagues in the future and also on the trip advisor.

 

Best Regards
Sivakumar (Traveled in May 2014)

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TOUR NAME: CAMBODIA & VIETNAM HIGHLIGHTS TOUR ON MAY FOR MS PARAMASIVAM SIVAKUMAR PARTY

DESTINATIONS: SIEM REAP – PHNOM PENH – CHAU DOC – MEKONG DELTA – CU CHI TUNNELS – HANOI – HALONG BAY – HUE – HOI AN – DANANG

GUEST’S NAME: MS PARAMASIVA SIVAKUMAR
NUMBER OF PERSON: 04

 

ITINERARY

 

Day 1        Siem Reap arrival
Meals: None
+ Guide

Upon arrival at Siem Reap airport, pick up and transfer to hotel for checking in.

17:00    Pick up at your hotel and transfer to Tigre De Papier for cooking class.

Visit the market (01 hour)
You will discover Psa Chas market with our Chef and you will buy vegetables, fruits and spices to prepare your lunch.

Preparation (2 Hours) - 1 starter, 1 main course, 1 dessert
You will prepare your meal using our own recipes. Learning how to cut vegetables and how to make nice presentation of the dishes.

Overnight in Siem Reap.

Accommodation: Tara Angkor Hotel / Deluxe

Day 2        Siem Reap - Angkor Thom - Angkor Wat - Siem Reap
Meals: Breakfast
+ Guide

After breakfast, visit the antique capital of Angkor Thom: the South Gate, the Bayon with 54 towers, each carved with four faces of the compassionate Boddhisattva, the nearby temple-mountain of Baphuon, the Royal Enclosure with the Phimeanakas temple, the Elephants Terrace and the Terrace of the Leper King.
 
Afternoon, transfer to visit Angkor Vat (early-mid 12th century) dedicated to the Hindu god Vishnu. This huge temple-mountain, built by King Suryavarman II, is considered as the masterpiece of Khmer architecture and art. Sunset from Phnom Bakeng Hill, offering an outstanding view over Angkor.
 
Overnight in Siem Reap.

Accommodation: Tara Angkor Hotel / Deluxe

Day 3        Siem Reap - Banteay Srei - Kbal Spean - Siem Reap
Meals: Breakfast
+ Guide

In the morning, drive through the lovely countryside to visit Banteay Srei and Banteay Samre, which many consider Bantaey Srei to be the prettiest temple was built with pink sand stone.
 
In the afternoon, visit Thommanon, Chau Say Teveda, Ta Keo, Banteay Kdei, Sras Sarng en Ta Promh.
 
Overnight in Siem Reap.

Accommodation: Tara Angkor Hotel / Deluxe

Day 4        Siem Reap - Flight to Phnom Penh - Killing Field
Meals: Breakfast
+ Guide

Free at leisure until we pick you up and transfer to the airport for flight to Phnom Penh K6100 10:15 11:00. Pick up upon arrival and transfer to visit The Choeung Ek Killing Field – where the Khmer Rouge regime executed about 17,000 people between 1975 and 1979. And continue to Toul Sleng was a high school, When the Khmer Rouge came to power it was converted into the S-21 prison.

Overnight in Phnom Penh.

Accommodation: Villa Langka Hotel / Superior

Day 5        Phnom Penh half day city tour - Speed boat to Chau Doc
Meals: Breakfast
+ Guide

After having breakfast, we visit to the Royal Palace and Silver Pagoda: the Royal Palace compound build in 1866 by the Predecessors of King Norodom, is the most conspicuous feature and also one of impressive colorful Khmer-style Palaces. Nearside the Royal Palace is Silver Pagoda (The Emerald Buddha temple), display plenty of Buddha Statues that were decorated and made by diamond, emerald, gold and silver. Then we continue to National Museum and continue to Wat Phnom - the birthplace of the capital.

Then continue transfer to the pier for speed boat to Chau Doc.

Upon arrival at chau Doc pier, pick up and transfer to hotel for checking in.

Accommodation: Victoria Chau Doc / Deluxe River View

Day 6        Chau Doc - Can Tho - Embark Bassac Cruise
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
+ Guide

After having breakfast, pick up and transfer to Ninh Kieu pier for embark the Bassac Cruise.

Upon arrival, welcome drink, introduction to the ship and crew, check into the cabins. Departure downstream of the Hau river. Lunch on board while en route.

Tour near Tra On floating market.

Turning into Nicolai canal, towards the Mang Thit and Co Chien rivers. Rest on the upper deck in a scenery of rice fields, sugar cane, woods on the near banks.

By mid-afternoon, the Bassac casts anchor for a visit on shore: past the first tree line, quiet discovery of the peaceful life in the delta's countryside, of rice fields, fruit trees and the welcoming inhabitants.

Boarding back, complimentary drink as a welcome back on board. Rest on the deck or around the bar enjoying the sunset.

The crew will serve dinner while the Bassac is cruising Mang Thit river towards her anchorage point for the night.

The Bassac sets anchor for the night on river Mang Thit.

Accommodation: Bassac Cruise

Day 7        Cai Be floating market - Desembark - Ho Chi Minh
Meals: Breakfast
+ Guide

06:30 Departure towards Cai Be. The passengers take their breakfast while enjoying the scenery on the banks.

The Bassac crosses Co Chien river then branches into Cho Lach canal for 30 minutes through the traffic of sand and rice barges, in a scenery of fruit drying facilities and wooden ship building yards.

Arrival near Cai Be, check-out and transfer to a rowing boat for a quiet visit through a small canal.

Rendez-vous with a local boat, which will take you to shore for a visit of Cai Be's handicraft.

End of services by mid-morning on shore at Cái Bè.

Please note you will leave the Bassac for good upon boarding the small boat for the last visit, typically about 8:30.

The details of the program and the visits may vary depending on logistics or technical constraints.

After disembark, our tour guide & driver will transfer you back to Ho Chi Minh for overnight.

Accommodation: Renaissance Riverside Hotel / Deluxe River View

Day 8        Ho Chi Minh city tour & Cu Chi tunnels
Meals: Breakfast
+ Guide

Ho Chi Minh City, formerly known as Saigon, is the largest and busiest city in Vietnam with a population of 7 million people. Much of the daily life takes place on the streets, which are lined with shops, stalls and vendors with their wares spread out on the footpath. Don't miss the bustling Ben Thanh Market - a fantastic place for bargains of every kind! There are several interesting sights in HCMC. The War Remnants Museum has a wealth of images from the wars, the most moving being a gallery entitled 'Requiem' which is dedicated to Vietnamese and foreign journalists and photographers who perished during the French and American conflicts. The Reunification Palace was the former residence of the President of South Vietnam until April 30, 1975 when the North Vietnamese tanks came crashing through the front gates, bringing the U.S.-Vietnam War to a dramatic end. Close to the palace some of the best examples of French colonial architecture are represented in the forms of Notre Dame Cathedral and the Central Post Office. Notre Dame Cathedral was built between 1877 and 1883 and the stone used to create it was exported in its entirety from France . Next to the cathedral stands the Central Post Office , finished in 1891. It is another fine example of French architecture and is Vietnam 's largest post office. For all its French colonial history though, Ho Chi Minh City is by far and away Vietnam 's most modern city. It has numerous shopping malls, cinemas, discotheques and a bewildering number of bars.

In the afternoon we have an excursion to the famous Cu Chi tunnels. This network of tunnels, which stretched for over 200km, became legendary during the 1960s. The Cu Chi tunnels played a vital part in the U.S.-Vietnam War in that they allowed the Viet Cong to control a large rural area only 30 to 40 km from Saigon . At its height, the tunnel system stretched from Saigon to the Cambodian border. The network, parts of which were several levels deep, included innumerable trap doors, specifically constructed living areas, storage facilities, weapons factories, field hospitals, command centres and kitchens. Today the remaining tunnels have become a major tourist attraction giving the visitor a unique experience and feel of what underground life during the war must have been like. The tunnels have been widened for our benefit (otherwise we would not be able to enter them!). For those interested there's even the opportunity to try an AK47 or MK16 at the nearby rifle range.

Accommodation: Renaissance Riverside Hotel / Deluxe River View

Day 9        Ho Chi Minh – Flight to Hanoi – Half day city tour
Meals: Breakfast
+ Guide

Free at leisure until we pick you up and transfer to the airport for flight to Hanoi VN 234 09:20 11:20. Pick up upon arrival at Noi Bai airport and transfer to hotel for checking in (if rooms available).

In the afternoon, visit to Ho Chi Minh complex including Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, Presidential Palace, House on Stile, One Pillar Pagoda. Then continue to visit the Temple of Literature.

Overnight in Hanoi.

Accommodation: Silk Path Hotel / Deluxe

Day 10        Hanoi - Halong bay - Overnight on board
Meals: Breakfast
+ Guide

Halong tour must be the most beautiful tour in Vietnam for any Vietnam Holidays. We start at 8.00 A.M for the 3 hour drive (170 km) through the Red River Delta, which offers plenty of chances for taking photos of Vietnamese farmers tilling the vast green paddy fields. At half way, we'll have a visit to a handicraft workshop with fine clothes, embroidered paintings, stone statuettes and all kinds of gems mined in Vietnam such as star rubies or sapphires... Our destination is the World Heritage Site of Ha Long Bay. The bay offers some 3000 mountain islands and islets towering in the Gulf of Tonkin in the East Vietnam Sea.

Upon arrival, you'll be welcomed on board our luxury junk and treated with wine and fresh local seafood. As our junk gliding further into the tranquility of Ha Long Bay amid the towering mountain cliffs and on the emerald green water, you'll have relaxing time combining the fine tastes of the wine and the freshness of Ha Long Bay. During the cruise, we'll stop some times for visiting the amazing Sung Sot cave and the Ti Top white sand beach before anchoring for the night. Overnight on board the junk in the wild of Halong Bay.

Accommodation: Red Dragon Cruise

Day 11        Halong bay – Hanoi – Flight to Hue
Meals: Breakfast
+ Guide

It is said that your Vietnam Tours will not be complete without a tour to Halong Bay and spending one night on romantic Halong Cruise. People describe Halong Bay as majestic and mysterious, inspiring and imperious and words alone cannot do justice to the natural wonder that is Halong Bay, a priceless collection of unfinished sculptures hewn from the hand of nature.

After breakfast, we'll take a little sampan to visit a secret lagoon of Ha Long Bay while the surrounding mountains are just waking up. After that our cruise takes us further into the Bay of Bai Tu Long traveling past the Human Head Island, the Turtle Island, and the Duck Islet... to the studio site where the famous Indochine film was shot. Around noon, our junk travels back to the harbor, pick up and drive back to Hanoi airport for flight to Hue VN 1545 19:15 20:25.

Overnight in Hue.

Accommodation: Imperial Hue Hotel / Deluxe

Day 12        Hue city tour – Drive to Hoi An
Meals: Breakfast
+ Guide

After breakfast, our tour starts with the visit to Imperial Citadel before taking the beautiful boat trip on the romantic Perfume River and visit Hue's best-known religious site-Thien Mu Pagoda and the Mausoleum of former emperor Minh Mang in a tranquil setting of gardens and lakes.

We then continue drive to Hoi An,  a major Asian trading port in the 17th and 18th centuries whose architecture and relaxed lifestyle has changed little over the years and for sure, Hoi An is a wonderful destination for all kinds of Vietnam Tours. This scenic drive passes through the fishing village of Lang Co before climbing over the Pass of Ocean Clouds. Along the way, stop in Danang to visit the Cham Museum which contains the finest collection of Cham sculptures in the world. Upon arrival in Hoi An, free to take walking tour of the Hoi An ancient town centre. Overnight in a Hoi An hotel.

Accommodation: Hoi An Hotel / Deluxe

Day 13        Hoi An cooking class
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
+ Guide

We start the day (8.15am) with a welcome drink at Hai Café

(98 Nguyen Thai Hoc Street, Hoi An Ancient Town, Tel: 863210) – our meeting point.

Visit Hoi An’s colourful market, and experience the amazing sights, sounds and aromas of this busy market. We will have the opportunity to interact with the local sellers and learn about all the ingredients to be used in the cooking lesson later.

We board the Red Bridge boat for a leisurely cruise (25 minutes) along the Hoi An River to the Red Bridge Cooking School. This is a chance to view local river life, so make sure your camera is handy.

On arrival, we explore the cooking school’s herb garden, before learning about some of Hoi An’s and Vietnam’s well-known dishes. The cooking lesson runs for about 2 hours – the Red Bridge chefs first demonstrate each dish before we prepare the same dish ourselves. Included in the class is a brief introduction to Vietnamese food carving (plate decoration). After the lesson, we sit down and eat what we have cooked.

Overnight in a Hoi An hotel.

Accommodation: Hoi An Hotel / Deluxe

Day 14        Hoi An half day tour – Departure
Meals: Breakfast
+ Guide

After having breakfast, enjoy ashort walking tour with discovering the charming, old-world trading port of narrow streets and traditional houses, Hoi An history museum, former merchants' homes, the town's iconic 400-year old Japanese Covered Bridge and the colorful market where an array of fresh ingredients are on offer.

Then continue transfer to Danang airport for flight back home.

 

END OF SERVICES!

SERVICES INCLUSIVE:
-    Economy flight tickets: Siem Reap – Phnom Penh, Ho Chi Minh – Hanoi & Hanoi – Hue  
-    Private transportation as program
-    Speed boat Phnom Penh – Chau Doc with Victoria Express
-    All entrance fees & boat trips to indicated sights
-    English speaking guides (Except for free days)
-    Meals as mentioned
-    Visa on arrival to Vietnam (Except for $45 usd per person as stamping fee at the airport)

 

SERVICES EXCLUSIVE:
-    Tips
-    Drinks
-    Personal expenses
-    Insurance