Bryn Mawr College

On Day 1 you’ll depart the U.S. for Vietnam, spending Day 2 in transit.

Mid-morning today we arrive in the Vietnamese capital of Hanoi and transfer to our hotel. The remainder of the day is at leisure; dinner tonight is on your own.

Accommodations: InterContinental Hanoi Westlake

After an informative briefing about the journey ahead, this morning we set off on a walking tour of Ba Dinh Square, a popular complex of cultural and historic sites, including the marble and granite mausoleum of Ho Chi Minh. Ironically, Ho Chi Minh wished to be cremated, but the nation so mourned him that it chose to construct this massive edifice of natural materials collected from across Vietnam. Inside Ho Chi Minh rests in a glass sarcophagus, visible to onlookers (his corpse is sent to Russia annually during October and November for “upkeep;” during this time we will not be able to pay an inside visit). For this visit, please dress respectfully and do not bring your camera inside – photos are strictly prohibited (your tour director will hold all cameras and cell phones outside the mausoleum). We also see the bright-mustard French colonial Presidential Palace, and 1,000-year-old One Pillar Pagoda, built on a single stone pillar to resemble a lotus blossom.

Following lunch on your own we embark on an orientation tour of this French-accented city with broad tree-lined boulevards and colonial architecture. We pass Hoan Kiem Lake in the heart of the city, where legend has it that in the mid-15th century Heaven gave Emperor Ly Thai To a sword to drive the Chinese out of Vietnam. We also see the marvelous Temple of Literature, founded in 1070 and dedicated to Confucius – it later became Vietnam’s first university and today remains an active place of worship. Our next stop brings us to Hao Lo Prison, also known as “Hanoi Hilton.” Throughout the Vietnam War, and for many years thereafter, the North Vietnamese Army controlled the prison and held American soldiers captive in order to torture and interrogate them. After this sobering visit, we walk through the narrow streets of the Ancient Quarter (more commonly called the “36 Streets District”), where goods of all types are bought and sold, alongside houses and temples. There are so many shops, in fact, that each has its own separate street – Shoe Street, Sugar Street, Paper Street – to help direct customers to their desired product. This is also one of the city’s most popular gastronomic areas, with dozens of excellent restaurants. Before dining here tonight, we enjoy a traditional cyclo ride followed by a water puppet performance.

Accommodations: InterContinental Hanoi Westlake
Meals: Breakfast, Dinner

We depart early this morning for a full-day excursion by coach to Ha Long Bay (“Bay of the Descending Dragon”), Vietnam’s legendary and beautiful waterway sprinkled with some 3,000 islands and islets, and surrounded by a fairytale landscape of limestone cliffs, secret grottoes, and hidden caves. A UNESCO World Heritage site, Ha Long Bay was the home of ancient cultures dating back 25,000 years. Our tour here includes a boat ride on the placid waters and a lunch of local seafood specialties. We return to our hotel in Hanoi early this evening; dinner tonight is on your own.

Accommodations: InterContinental Hanoi Westlake
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

We fly this morning to Da Nang, Vietnam’s third largest city situated on the south central coast. We tour the acclaimed Cham Museum, which celebrates the Cham peoples’ Hindu legacy with a fine collection of sculptures and artifacts dating from the 7th to 15th centuries. Built in 1915, the museum is constructed, like the art inside, in Cham style, with simple lines, smooth corners, and windows open to the sea air. After arriving mid-morning at our beachfront hotel, the remainder of the day and evening is at leisure. Dinner tonight is at our hotel.

Accommodations: Furama Resort Da Nang
Meals: Breakfast, Dinner

Early today we travel to the nearby town of Hoi An, where a succession of Dutch, Chinese, Portuguese, and Japanese traders all contributed to the building of an architecturally diverse and colorful village (and now a UNESCO World Heritage site) where many ancient traditions still hold sway. Because no cars are allowed here, the streets belong to pedestrians (and bicyclists), making it perfect for exploring. We take a walking tour past the low, tile-roofed houses lining narrow streets; the Japanese covered bridge, and the Chinese communal house. The rest of the day is at leisure to either remain in Hoi An and explore on your own (the town boasts numerous art galleries, shops, and tailors), or to return to our beachside resort for a relaxing afternoon. Dinner is on your own tonight.

Accommodations: Furama Resort Da Nang
Meals: Breakfast

This morning we visit a neighboring village, nestled amidst seemingly endless rice paddies. Here we gain a special insight into the everyday life of a local farming community as we walk through the village past modest homes, gardens of vegetables and fruit, the village temple, and husking mill. We see into the living rooms of homes open to the street, many with their pictures of Ho Chi Minh, shrines, and television sets connoting a certain level of prosperity. Depending on the season, we may see the villagers engaged in threshing and harvesting. Next we enjoy a cooking lesson and lunch in Hoi An. The remainder of the afternoon is at leisure; dinner tonight is on your own.

Accommodations: Furama Resort Da Nang
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

We depart this morning by coach for the ancient imperial capital of Hue, whose temples and attractions evoke its past grandeur as home to emperors and mandarins. After checking in at our hotel, this afternoon we tour the Imperial Citadel, housing the Forbidden Purple City where the emperors once lived with their families. A vast complex of palaces, residences, temples, courtyards, and gates, the Imperial Citadel was built in 1804; today it is protected as a UNESCO World Heritage site. We also visit the Dong Ba central market where locals buy their produce, fish, meat, and sundry items such as Vietnam’s ubiquitous conical hats, ironware, jewelry, and tea. Tonight we enjoy a special Hue buffet outdoors at our hotel (weather permitting), accompanied by a performance of traditional music.

Accommodations: Saigon Morin Hotel
Meals: Breakfast, Dinner

This morning we cruise by sampan along Hue’s Perfume River to peaceful Thien Mu Pagoda, a Buddhist monastery that ranks among the city’s oldest and most important monuments. After admiring the seven-story octagonal tower, we visit the palatial Tomb of Minh Mang (c. 1840), with its pavilions, reception hall, summerhouse, lakes, gardens, and courtyards modeled after the Ming Tombs of China. We enjoy lunch at a local restaurant then visit two other tombs: Tu Duc, sitting in a narrow valley in a pine forest and considered one of the most beautiful works of royal architecture from the Nguyen dynasty; and Khai Dinh, an elaborate architectural mélange of European and Asian, ancient and modern styles. Dinner tonight is on your own.

Accommodations: Saigon Morin Hotel
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

Today is a travel day that begins with an early morning departure for the airport, where we board the one-hour flight to Saigon. Upon arrival we transfer to a motorcoach for the three-hour drive south to the Mekong River town of Cai Be. From there we travel by coach to the busy river port of Can Tho, the provincial capital where the various waterways that comprise the Mekong Delta converge – and where we spend the next two nights at a riverside hotel. There’s time to relax and enjoy the hotel’s amenities before we meet for dinner here tonight.

Accommodations: Victoria Can Tho Hotel
Meals: Breakfast, Dinner

We rise early for a tour highlight: today’s excursion by boat to the bustling floating vegetable market at Cai Rang, one of many such markets on the Mekong’s lower reaches. Lifeblood of southern Vietnam, the Mekong region counts as one of the country’s two “rice bowls,” as well as a major producer of vegetables and tropical fruit. It is along the river that locals conduct the business of everyday life, as we see farmers lined up cheek to jowl displaying and selling their goods from bamboo poles suspended over their boats as a form of advertising. After this scenic outing, we enjoy lunch at a local restaurant then return to our hotel late afternoon. The remainder of the day is at leisure, and dinner tonight is on your own.

Accommodations: Victoria Can Tho Hotel
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

An hour-long coach ride this morning brings us to the upper reaches of the Mekong. Here we board motorized sampans for an up-close look at river life as we explore the maze of tributaries and inlets that lead to tiny settlements and villages populated by fishermen and farmers. We stop for lunch at a local restaurant then continue on by coach to Saigon (the name Ho Chi Minh City is used interchangeably). We reach our hotel late this afternoon; dinner tonight is on your own in this vibrant city.

Accommodations: InterContinental Asiana Saigon
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

Once the proud capital of South Vietnam, Saigon was renamed in 1976 by the war’s Communist victors as Ho Chi Minh City and virtually closed to the outside world. Since the institution of economic and political reforms in the mid-1980s and the reentry of a peaceful and united Vietnam into the community of nations several years ago, however, Saigon has once again reclaimed its more cosmopolitan outlook – and its former name, which is used interchangeably with Ho Chi Minh City. We get our first real taste of Saigon on this morning’s tour that includes such highlights as the former Presidential Palace (now called Reunification Palace), the former wartime headquarters that remains preserved just as it was on April 30, 1975, when Communist tanks entered the city; the Historical Museum, housing a fine collection of art and artifacts of Vietnam’s indigenous peoples; the stunning Central Post Office; and Notre Dame Cathedral, built in 1880 with bricks from Marseilles and stained glass windows crafted by artisans from Chartres, France. Lunch today is on your own; this afternoon is free for independent exploration. We dine together tonight at a local restaurant.

Accommodations: InterContinental Asiana Saigon
Meals: Breakfast, Dinner

On this morning’s tour we visit a place of infamy: the Cu Chi Tunnels. Built over a period of 25 years beginning in the 1940s to sabotage the French occupiers, the tunnels are marvels of engineering, stretching from Saigon to the Cambodian border. Parts of the tunnels descend several stories deep, and include living areas, storage facilities, weapons factories, field hospitals, and kitchens. Americans will be most familiar with the tunnels because of the role they played during the war, when these tunnels allowed the North Vietnamese to engage in combat in an area completely surrounded by Americans and South Vietnamese. Those who choose to will have a chance to descend into one of the tunnels. And those who choose to remain outside will have ample opportunities to tour the excavations above. Our guide will tell us about each tunnel’s length and level of difficulty before we enter. If you choose to go underground, you’ll want to wear clothing that you don’t mind getting dirty (you’ll also need a pair of sturdy walking shoes). We return to our hotel in time for lunch on your own then the remainder of the day is free to explore as you wish. Saigon boasts virtually hundreds of pagodas and places of worship worthy of your time, including the Giac Lam Pagoda, the city’s oldest; and the Jade Emperor Pagoda, considered the most colorful temple in Saigon. Or you can just take a walk and enjoy the sight of thousands of bicycles and small motorbikes winding their way through the city streets, shop for fine silks or locally made crafts, or visit one of the city’s colorful free markets. Tonight we gather for a farewell dinner.

Accommodations: InterContinental Asiana Saigon
Meals: Breakfast, Dinner

This afternoon we depart for the airport and our connecting flight to the U.S.

Meals: Breakfast

We fly to Siem Reap, Cambodia, where you meet the Odysseys Unlimited representative and transfer to our hotel, where you have time to freshen up before lunch on your own. We begin exploring the Angkor Wat complex of temples, a UNESCO World Heritage site and one of the three great Buddhist sites of the Eastern world (the others are Borobudur in Java, Indonesia, and Pagan in Burma). For many years, Angkor Wat was rumored to be a lost city, hidden from the world until its discovery by French explorer Henri Moughot in the mid-19th century. In fact, however, it was very much a living city until 1431, when the Thais forced the Khmer court to move southeast. Studies reveal that Angkor Wat was inhabited until recently, a contention proven by the fact that one of its main temples contained Buddhist statuary from every century between the 15th and the 19th. Today the site contains magnificent temples and statuary from the Angkorian Empire, which in its heyday rivaled those of Greece and Egypt; as well as various Hindu and Buddhist imagery. It took more than 500,000 artisans, workers, and slaves some 37 years to complete and comprises five towers, each reaching more than 180 feet high.

Our exploration starts at the 12th-century temple of Ta Prohm, a mystical, decaying Buddhist shrine dedicated to the encroaching jungle. Built in memory of Kong Jayavarman VII’s mother, the ruins here have not been touched – they are exactly as they were when first discovered, with massive tree roots virtually strangling parts of the stone façades. More than 100 temples stand here, struggling to keep the jungle at bay. As the sun sets later today, we enter Ankor Wat Temple, the world’s largest religious building. Here we witness the intricate detail of the bas reliefs and artwork depicting mythological battles and scenes of everyday life. After watching the sun set over the walls of the temple while listening to the sounds of the surrounding jungle, we return to the hotel and enjoy dinner together, followed by a cultural dance show.

Accommodations: Sofitel Angkor Phokeethra Golf and Spa Resort
Meals: Breakfast, Dinner

This morning we visit the South Gate of Angkor Thom, the last capital of the Khmers. Sites here include the Elephants Terrace, Terrace of Leper King, and the stunning Bayon Temple, an imposing stone edifice of 54 towers each carved with four enigmatic faces and decorated with bas reliefs detailing events of the reign of Kong Jayavarman VII (1181-1202). We also visit the temple of Preah Khan, a complex of halls and pavilions, causeways and moats, and sculpted garudas and serpents built by Kong Jayavarman VII in memory of his father and currently being restored by the World Monuments Fund. After returning to the hotel for lunch on your own, this afternoon we pay another visit to the incredible and expansive ruins at Angkor Wat, where we will see more remnants of the sophisticated Khmer culture. Please note that this is instead of the previously published boat ride on Tonle Sap Lake, which has changed significantly in recent months. We feel this minor alteration of your itinerary will enhance your overall travel experience. This evening we gather for dinner together at a local restaurant.

Accommodations: Sofitel Angkor Phokeethra Golf and Spa Resort
Meals: Breakfast, Dinner

We transfer to the airport for our late morning flight to Phnom Penh, the Cambodian capital. Our touring begins at the Royal Palace complex, built in 1866 by King Norodom. Residence of the Cambodian king and ceremonial heart of the government, the palace comprises a number of structures and gardens within a pagoda-style compound and overlooking a riverfront park. As we move through the grounds, we explore the Silver Pagoda, renowned for its collection of Buddha statues and its floor containing more than 5,000 silver tiles; the Napoleon III Pavilion, a gift from Napoleon III to King Norodom and now a museum housing royal memorabilia; and Hor Samrith Phimean, where a collection of royal regalia and costumes are on display. Then we pay a somber visit to Toul Sleng Genocide Museum, the former high school that became Security Prison 21 during the Khmer genocide of 1975 to 1979 and is now a museum memorializing that tragic era. This evening we dine together at a local restaurant.

Accommodations: Sofitel Phnom Penh Phokeethra
Meals: Breakfast, Dinner

This morning we visit a local market, where vendors sell items such as crafts, jewelry, DVDs, and more. Following lunch on your own, we tour the National Museum and its in-depth collection of Khmer cultural material, including sculpture, ceramics, and ethnographic objects from the pre-historic, pre-Angkor, and post-Angkor periods. Late this afternoon we transfer to the airport for our connecting flight to the United States. Please note the flight to Los Angeles arrives late this evening.

Meals: Breakfast