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Our friendly gay group will visit several regions of lush and historic Vietnam, as well as Cambodia’s mystical Angkor Wat. Explore the Paris-inspired architecture of Hanoi, sail in a junk on Halong Bay, relax on a tour of the Mekong River delta, and wander among ancient temples and ruins reclaimed by the jungle, all while lodging in deluxe hotels that reflect the character of their surroundings. Join our optional extension to beautiful Luang Prabang, Laos.
Explore Two Fascinating Cultures When you join our Splendors of Southeast Asia tour, you are embarking on a journey of the spirit. It is a personal discovery of a diverse and culturally rich area of the world. Fascinating religious artworks, regional customs distilled from centuries-old traditions, as well as exotic music and dance will spark your imagination. Step inside ancient stone temples and luxurious, colorful palaces. The natural spires of Halong Bay and the rambling jungles of Cambodia will remind you how far you’ve traveled. We’ll feast on French-inspired Vietnamese cuisine in Hanoi, relax on China Beach, meet friendly locals in Cambodian villages, and spend our nights in some of the finest accommodations in the region. This is the perfect journey for anyone who wishes to explore the diverse cultures of Southeast Asia and rejuvenate. For those with extra time to spend in Asia, we offer a four-day post-tour extension to Luang Prabang, Laos – see Extension tab for details.
North American travelers will cross the International Dateline, so will need to leave home one or two days before the first tour day. Many flights arrive in Hanoi in the late evening, so nothing is planned for Day 1 other than a good night’s sleep at our grand hotel. In Hanoi we will stay at the Hotel Sofitel Legend Metropole. This distinctive hotel, well situated in the heart of the city, was renovated in 2001 to celebrate its 100th anniversary. If you arrive early enough for dinner, you will find a wide selection of cuisines available in this cosmopolitan capital city. For anyone who arrives for the gay Vietnam tour a day or two early, we will arrange an optional cooking class. This is a special treat as we join one of Hanoi’s accomplished chefs for a visit to the nearby market to select items for the day’s meals. We then return to the restaurant kitchen to see how all of these fruits, vegetables, meat and spices come together to create the special dishes for which Vietnam is known. This feast will then be our lunch!
After breakfast, we will devote the day to touring the city and learning of Ho Chi Minh’s heritage. The Paris-inspired gem of Hanoi is resplendent with classic French colonial architecture, lovely city parks, art studios and fine cuisine. During our tour we will visit the Temple of Literature, dedicated to Confucious and scholarly study. We will visit Ho Chi Minh’s Mausoleum, where lines of respectful admirers and curious visitors wait to view his remains. We will also leave the bustle of the city to visit West Lake and see the gentle lines of the Tran Quoc Buddhist Pagoda, a 1,400-year-old pagoda that was moved to this location over a century ago when the terrain of its original location became unstable. Lunch will be at a unique Hanoi restaurant. After lunch we will ride by Vespa through the small city streets of Hanoi’s Old Quarter to the Ngoc Son Temple on a small island in picturesque Hoan Kiem Lake. We will then return to our hotel for a short rest then meet up again to attend Hanoi’s famous water puppet theater and have our welcome dinner.
This morning we will drive four hours east from Hanoi to Halong Bay, where thousands of huge limestone outcroppings jut above the water creating a serene and surreal world of water and stone. We’ll spend the afternoon and overnight in a traditional Chinese junk to cruise the bay. Let’s pause to explore some of the smaller islands by swimming, kayaking or walking, and enjoy our meals on board. Those who want to get a different perspective on Vietnamese cuisine can join the chef’s cooking demonstration. We’ll spend tonight being pampered by our crew.
In the morning you can awaken with a Tai Chi session on the deck of our boat in the dawn’s early light. After a leisurely morning, we will disembark. We’ll transfer to Hanoi then enjoy lunch at a local restaurant before heading to the airport for an early evening flight to Hue, where we will transfer to our lovely colonial-era riverside hotel for a two-night stay. Dinner will be on your own tonight.
We start our day with a short bike ride (with cyclo taxi ride available for those prefer it) to Kim Long Village, 4 miles from the center of Hue. Here we will see the traditional houses and gardens that reflect an ancient way of life in this community, and have lunch in one of the homes. In the afternoon we will pause for a tea break then visit the Thien Mu Pagoda. Food will continue to be a theme of the day as we close out the day with dinner at a Vietnamese-French restaurant in an historic building near the Forbidden City.
Before departing Hue we will explore the Citadel from which the Nguyen Dynasty (1802-1945) emperors once ruled a large empire, along with mausoleums honoring two of the emperors. After lunch we will drive south to Danang via the scenic Hai Van Pass of the coastal mountains, with tremendous views up and down the coast. In Danang we will make a short visit to the Cham Museum showcasing 1000-year-old sculptures from the Hindu Champa Kingdom. We finish the day in Hoi An, where we check into our beachfront hotel and have dinner at a nearby restaurant with a peaceful garden setting.
This morning we will drive about an hour inland to the My Son Sanctuary to explore the remains of the Hindu Temples of the Champa Kingdom that have survived a millennium. Some have been partially restored, but unfortunately others were sad casualties of the 1970s war when Viet Cong soldiers hid among the irreplaceable monuments of the past – and American planes bombed the Viet Cong positions. We will return to Hoi An for lunch will be in a restored colonial building along the riverside. After lunch we will tour Hoi An’s Old Quarter to see some of the 850 well-preserved buildings from this historic mercantile town where traders from as far as China, Japan, India and Europe once exchanged goods. One stop will be at a lantern-making cottage where we will even learn how to make our own lanterns. We return to our hotel in the late afternoon, with the evening and dinner on your own to explore our resort.
Today we are more than half done with our trip, and we will take our time to rest and relax while enjoying our waterfront hotel. Lunch and Dinner are independent, but we’ll make recommendations for excellent nearby spots where you can enjoy your free time!
After breakfast we will transfer to Danang Airport (affectionately referred to as DAD airport), then board our flight to Ho Chi Minh City, the contemporary name of the historic city that even Vietnamese are again calling Saigon. Upon arrival we’ll transfer to our hotel home for the next two nights in the heart of the city. This afternoon we will explore Saigon’s Colonial Residential Quarter and the Cho Lon district with its Chinese heritage, including the Thien Hau Pagoda and the Binh Tay Market. We’ll enjoy a casual dinner out on the town together.
Today we get an early start and quickly leave behind the urban landscape of Ho Chi Minh City as we drive toward the Mekong Delta city of My Tho. There we will board a boat and cruise past the islands, orchards and villages that have built up over the centuries where the Mekong River flows gently into the sea. Later we switch from boat to horse-drawn cart to visit small villages that feature traditional handicrafts of the region. We’ll also stop at a bee farm and for good measure a coconut candy factory. Lunch will be a special treat today, with a vegetarian meal at the Phuoc Long Pagoda. While there we will also receive an introduction to meditation by a Buddhist monk. The “grand finale” of the Vietnam portion of our tour will be a performance of the A O Acrobats, who mix traditional acrobatics with contemporary design to tell the story of traditional village life in southern Vietnam. Dinner will be on our own tonight, either before or after the show, depending on show time. You can try one of the Italian restaurants for a break from Asian food, or look for one of the fine French Vietnamese cafes popular with locals.
In the morning we transfer to the airport for our flight to Cambodia. After arriving at the Siem Reap airport, we will transfer to our unique hotel that captures the Cambodian spirit. This five-star resort will be our home for the next three days, and offers a variety of services and amenities (including spa treatments) which you may want to indulge in during your stay. In the afternoon we will begin our exploration of the vast Angkor Wat complex of building and temples. We’ll start with Angkor Thom, an imposing stone edifice with fifty-four towers, each carved with the four faces of the Bodhisattva. We’ll tour the Terrace of the Elephants and the Khmer Royal Palace. One highlight will be a visit to Ta Phrom Temple. Virtually untouched by man, it seems to be held hostage by the trees, and is a reminder of the precariousness of nature.
This morning we board remok’s (tuk-tuk’s) and ride to the main temple of Angkor Wat, where we will learn why this is considered one of the most important monuments in the world. We’ll have lunch nearby then visit the Temple of Bantey Srey, “the citadel of women”. During our excursion, we will also visit the center of golden silk production.
On our last day in Cambodia we’ll take a break from temple hopping to visit Lake Tonle Sap, a tributary of the Mekong River. For most of the year, the Tonle Sap flows into the Mekong, but during the larger river’s flood times in the summer, the water of the Tonle Sap actually reverses direction, to absorb some of the floodwaters. And depending on the level of the water, local people live in homes on stilts above the lake or on the ground when the water level is low. The charming lakeside fishing villages such as Kampong Kleang are a bridge between primitive life and modern ways. Peek into one of the boat homes and you may see the blue image of a television screen, blue because the auto batteries on which they run their power may not have enough energy to generate full color! We will see how the villagers live, then take a small boat to view the flooded forest. In the afternoon we will visit the National Museum then stroll through the busy market and see an artists studio. We will finish the day with our Farewell Dinner celebration on our last night in Cambodia.
Those not on our extension will transfer to the Siem Reap airport for flights home or to Bangkok or Hong Kong or elsewhere in the region. Please let us know if you would like assistance for additional travel. If you are joining our Luang Prabang extension, we will fly directly from Siem Reap to Luang Prabang today. This will be either on a non-stop flight or with a change of planes in Bangkok, depending on flights available that day. See the next section for details about our stay in Luang Prabang. Whether you’re joining the extension, flying home, or perhaps taking a few extra days in Asia, wherever you travel next, bon voyage!
Splendors of Southeast Asia Main Tour Price $6998 per person in a shared room. Price includes: All ground transportation within Southeast Asia as outlined in tour itinerary; Three flights (Hanoi-Hue, Danang-Saigon, Saigon-Siem Reap); Airport taxes and service fees for included flights; Transfers between airports and hotels; Deluxe and first-class hotels each night; 13 breakfasts, 10 lunches and 6 dinners, including wine at Welcome and Farewell dinners; Visas for Vietnam and Cambodia; All hotel service charges, government taxes, porterage, and gratuities for drivers and included meals. HE Travel provides complimentary Medical & Evacuation Insurance for every US Resident on our group tours who does not have other coverage. Not included: Transportation to and from starting and ending points; Four passport photos that are required for visas and Angkor Wat permits; Departure tax when traveling independently of the group; Meals not shown as included in program; Gratuities for guides and HE Travel tour director; Personal items including: alcoholic beverages, snacks, laundry, and telephone calls. Optional Tour Choices: $2500 Single Supplement (for solo travelers who wish to enjoy a private bedroom and bathroom) Laos Extension Price $1998 per person in shared room $2448 in single room Price Includes: Flight from Siem Reap, Cambodia, to Luang Prabang, Laos; Airport taxes and service fees for included flight; Transfers between airport and hotel; three hotel nights; and daily guided tours.
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