Bryn Mawr College

Your Indochina journey begins with a (suggested) late evening departure from Los Angeles aboard Cathay Pacific (CX). Fly to Hong Kong, connecting to Bangkok and Luang Prabang.

Please Note: This is an early AM departure on your flight out. While this flight is scheduled to depart October 31st, it may be useful to think of it as taking off during the night of October 30th.

For frequent flyer miles and self-booking, pax will be departing Oct. 31, which is also the technical start date of the journey

Meals Provided: (Aloft)

Fly Los Angeles to Hong Kong on CX #881 (01:20 - 07:45)(+1)
NOTE: Suggested Flight Only.

Meals Provided: D (Aloft)
Arrive Bangkok, Thailand/Luang Prabang, Laos
Arrive Hong Kong at 7:45 AM and connect to the (suggested) Bangkok flight and Luang Prabang flight.

Fly Hong Kong to Bangkok on CX #713 (09:05 - 10:50)
Fly Bangkok to Luang Prabang on PG #945 (12:40 - 14:40)
Please Note: If you choose a different international flight which may not connect properly to Luang Prabang then Asia Transpacific can arrange overnight accommodations at the Bangkok airport hotel.

Welcome to Laos. Upon arrival, clear Immigration and Customs and meet your tour leader and/or local guide. Transfer to our group hotel for time to check into your room and lunch on your own.

The wonderful town of Luang Prabang is barely starting to wake from a long slumber after years of isolation. With its delightful mountain-encircled setting on the Mekong river, the mix of gleaming temple roofs, crumbling French provincial architecture, and multi-ethnic population the town tends to enthrall even the most jaded traveler.

This afternoon, convene for a group orientation meeting followed by a light dinner at our hotel. Then, early to bed for a well deserved sleep.

Dinner and overnight Villa Maly Luang Prabang.

Villa Maly is aptly situated in the heart of historic Luang Prabang and within walking distance from the main attractions and places of interest. The hotel itself is set amidst tranquil gardens, a true luxurious haven to unwind and relax in, with its natural surroundings.Residence of former nobility, the central building still showcases its original splendor of the 1920's, evoking a sense of the glorious French past. Having 33 exceptionally outstanding guest rooms, each is subtly created to incorporate the time-honored Laotian architecture with an essence of the Colonial past.

Meals Provided: B L D

After breakfast, explore this beautiful town on foot, visiting Wat Visounalat, known as "the Watermelon Stupa." Also visit the ornate Wat Mai, and Wat Xieng Thong, an exquisite 400 year old royal monastery complex.

After lunch at a popular restaurant, visit the National Museum, with its fascinating and unusual collection including a replica of the Prabang, a golden Buddha from Cambodia for which the town is named; lovely murals of Lao life in mosaics and in oils; as well as gifts from heads of state, including a moon rock presented in 1972 by President Richard Nixon.

At dusk, climb Phousi Hill, with its derelict anti-aircraft gun and revered shrine, to view the sunset over the Mekong and mountains beyond. Alternatively, visit the Caruso handicraft gallery for some of the finest crafts and textiles in Laos.

This evening, enjoy a traditional Baci ceremony, in which villagers tie sacred strings of friendship and good fortune around the wrists of visitors, combining Lao beliefs in Buddhism and animism (spirit worship). A classical dance performance and dinner follow the ceremony.

Overnight Villa Maly Luang Prabang.

Meals Provided: B L

This morning, travel up the Mekong River by motor boat to the Pak Ou Caves, a mystical pilgrimage site above the river. Through the past five centuries, kings, princes, merchants, and peasants have come here to worship, leaving behind more than 3,000 statues of the Buddha in homage!

Returning to Luang Prabang, drive through lush and hilly countryside. Visit the village of Ban Xienglek which is famous for its silk textiles and handmade mulberry paper. Lunch will be at L'Elephant Restaurant.

This afternoon, visit a tranquil hamlet inhabited by Khmu people, an ancient Mon-Khmer ethnic group whose way of life has remained largely unchanged over time. The evening is at leisure to relax, dine and explore on your own. Enjoy a stroll through the town's thriving night market which offers an excellent array of handicrafts.

Overnight Villa Maly Luang Prabang.

Meals Provided: B D

Early risers have the opportunity to view long lines of barefoot monks in procession through the streets at dawn.

After breakfast, reconvene for a talk on textiles and the deep rooted traditions of weaving in Laos from renowned experts at a weaving center located on the Mekong River.

Enjoy an afternoon at leisure before transferring to the airport for the flight to Hanoi.

Fly Luang Prabang to Hanoi on VN #868 (15:00 - 15:50)

Welcome to Vietnam.

Upon arrival, clear Immigration and Customs and transfer to our historic hotel in the heart of Hanoi. This evening, dinner will be at the nearby Press Club.

Overnight Sofitel Metropole Hotel.

Meals Provided: B L D

This morning, our tour of Hanoi examines the influence of Ho Chi Minh with visits to his mausoleum and simple stilted home. Tour the Temple of Literature - a fascinating 900-year-old structure dedicated to Confucius and the site of Vietnam's first university. We also stop at the One Pillar Pagoda and the beaux-arts style Opera House.

Lunch will be at the Hoa Sua Restaurant, a training school where disadvantaged Vietnamese children and teens are educated in cooking and restaurant skills that will enable them to have successful careers in the hotel and restaurant industry.

After lunch, tour the city's Old Quarter aboard bicycle rickshaws called cyclos. In this part of town we'll find each colorful street devoted to a particular craft or ware. We'll be pedaled amongst the quaint French buildings along Shoe Street, Silk Street and Banner Street (to name just a few), ending at historic Hoan Kiem Lake, the social center of Hanoi.

The remainder of the afternoon will be open to explore the city independently. Perhaps hire a cyclo from the hotel and tour the diplomatic neighborhoods with their tree-lined avenues and grand French architecture. Wander through the maze like Old Quarter, with its variety of shops, or visit the contemporary art galleries that line nearby Hoan Kiem Lake.

Early evening, before dinner at the Indochine Restaurant, attend a water puppet performance. Water puppets are an ancient form of entertainment which enables the puppeteers to control their active marionettes by levers hidden under the water.

Overnight Sofitel Metropole Hotel - Hanoi.

Meals Provided: B L

This morning, a tour of the recently opened Ethnology Museum provides an overview of the cultural and historical heritage of Vietnam's minority ethnic groups.

Returning to the city center, tour what remains of Maison Centrale (known infamously as the 'Hanoi Hilton' by former U.S. P.O.W.s). Next, enjoy late morning tea at the gallery of an American art critic who specializes in Vietnamese contemporary art.

After lunch at Wild Rice Restaurant, make an optional visit to Craft Link, an organization that works with women's groups, including various minorities, to promote and teach traditional skills and to market their products directly.

The evening is at leisure to relax, dine and explore on your own.

Overnight Sofitel Metropole Hotel - Hanoi.

Meals Provided: B D

After breakfast, transfer to the airport for our flight to Central Vietnam. Fly Hanoi to Hué on VN #245 (10:10 - 11:20)

Upon arrival in Hué, transfer to our hotel for check-in and lunch on your own. Next, travel by road to visit the Royal Tombs, with their vast impeccably-tended botanical gardens, beautiful open-air pavilions and numerous shrines. These mausoleums were designed to assure the seven Nguyen Emperors noble burials and commodious after lives.Returning to Hué by boat, visit Thien Mu Pagoda, one of Vietnam's oldest andmost famous Buddhist temples. An aged pale-blue Morris automobile sits hereas a reminder of the local monk who, in 1963, drove to Saigon and immolatedhimself to protest the anti-Buddhist laws of the Ngo Dinh Diem regime.

This evening we'll dine as we receive a lecture on UNESCO restoration efforts in Hué by a renowned Hué historian at his lovely private estate (once a royal villa for the emperor Dong Khanh's princess).

Overnight La Résidence Hotel - Hué.

Meals Provided: B L D

This morning, visit the ancient Citadel and the Forbidden Purple City, once the seat of Vietnam's emperors. For this tour we'll be accompanied by the Director of the Hué Restoration Committee.

Next, drive south past fishing villages and rice fields set between the rugged Annamese mountains and the Gulf of Tonkin. Stops en route include Danang's Cham Museum, to view a collection of artifacts from the former Hindu kingdom of Champa, and a short visit to China Beach, the famed R&R site for US soldiers.

Our destination, Hoi An, was a once-flourishing port that now has the feeling of a place set back in time.After a sunset boat cruise, dine at the popular Cargo Club, before a free evening for independent exploration.

Overnight Life Resort Hoi An.

Meals Provided: B L

After breakfast, enjoy a walking tour which includes the Japanese covered-bridge, Phuong Huong House, and the Phuoc Kien Pagoda ¬ all fine examples of the stylistic syncretism of this vibrant community.

For cooking enthusiasts, there will be a late morning Vietnamese cooking class with one of our favorite friends in Hoi An. She will provide an introduction to traditional methods and ingredients used in Vietnamese dishes. After the class join other group members at the restaurant, The White Lantern, for lunch.

After lunch lunch, visit My Son, Vietnam's most important Cham site that was used as a political and religious capital from the 4th to the 13th century - the longest period of development of any monument in Southeast Asia. The site was devastated during the Vietnam War but almost 20 monuments were spared. This remainder of the day is at leisure to relax, dine and explore on your own. Enjoy the culinary delights of Hoi An at one of the many popular restaurants.

Overnight Life Resort Hoi An.

Meals Provided: B L D

This morning, transfer to the Danang airport for the flight to Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon).

Fly Danang to Saigon on VN #321 (08:15 - 09:25)

Welcome to Saigon - the economic powerhouse of this rapidly developing country. Saigon's grand boulevards, central squares and river fronts are a marked contrast to quaint Hoi An. This is one of the new Asian boomtowns and, with 3.5 million inhabitants, it is Vietnam's largest city. There is still a lot of the old Asia, but it is changing rapidly and becoming modern quite quickly.

Today, we'll view Reunification Hall, the nerve center of the epic Vietnam War, and also see Notre Dame Cathedral and the General Post Office, designed by Gustave Eiffel. There will also be a visit to the War Remnants Museum.

Before dinner at a popular restaurant, relax at the wonderful rooftop bar at our hotel, where the U.S. Military and international press held many wartime gatherings.

Overnight Caravelle Hotel.

Meals Provided: B D

Following breakfast, visit the notorious Cu Chi Tunnels. This massive underground labyrinth once stretched from Saigon to the Cambodian frontier and was an important base of operations for the Viet Cong. Descending into the tunnels, discover firsthand their harsh conditions.

After returning to Saigon, the afternoon is free to relax, lunch and explore Saigon independently. Perhaps take a walk around District One (our hotel location) which includes the Saigon River, the Petit Hotel d'Ville and the art and handicraft shops on Dong Khoi Street. Tonight, enjoy a wonderful dinner at one of Saigon's finest restaurants, The Mandarin.

Overnight Caravelle Hotel.

Meals Provided: B (Aloft)

Following breakfast, say goodbye to group members traveling on to Cambodia and transfer to the airport for your flight to home.

Meals Provided: B L D

Siem Reap (Angkor), Cambodia

Following breakfast, say goodbye to group members traveling home today and transfer to the airport for the short flight to Cambodia. (Boxed lunches will be provided for our flight.) Fly Saigon to Siem Reap on VN #827 (11:15 - 12:40)

The temples of Angkor, built during the height of the Khmer civilization, represent one of humankind's most astonishing and enduring architectural achievements. At Angkor Thom highlights include the Bayon, with its mysterious towers and beautiful bas-reliefs, and the Terrace of the Elephants and the Leper King.

Late afternoon, visit the colossal temple of Angkor Wat, widely regarded as the crowning achievement in Classical Khmer art and architecture. A climb to the top of the central sanctuary reveals fine views of the temple and surrounding jungle.

Overnight Victoria Angkor Resort & Spa.

Meals Provided:B D

Early morning, take an optional, sunrise visit to Angkor Wat. After breakfast, continue exploring the wonders of Angkor. The remarkably preserved relief carvings at Banteay Srei are among the most accomplished Angkor has to offer. Within the jungle-covered ruins of Ta Prohm, immense kapok trees grow through gray sandstone galleries and raucous, green parrots keep watch.

After lunch on your own, visit the temples of the Roulos group which served as the capital of the Khmer empire under Idravarman I, and are some of the oldest temples at Angkor dating from the 9th century. Nearby complexes include Neak Pean, Preah Kahn and Prasat Kravanh.

Finally, visit the workshop of Les Artisans D'Angkor. This is a network of Cambodian craftsmen and women sponsored by the Cambodian government and "REPLIC," a European program. The purpose is to educate young Cambodians in skills (woodcarving, stone carving, lacquerware and silk weaving) and provide them with a livelihood by marketing their products. This visit allows for an insight into present day Cambodia.

Return to our hotel for time to relax before dinner and a spectacle of Khmer classical dances at the Angkor Village Theater.

Overnight Victoria Angkor Resort & Spa.

Meals Provided: B (Aloft)

After breakfast, transfer to the airport for your (suggested) flight home.