VIETNAM & LAOS 2006

(7 – 29 agosto 2006)

Services
Including:

-
Domestic flight in Vietnam with
Vietnam Airlines in economic class.

-       Fly Saigon-Vientaine;  Luang Prabang – BANGKOK.

- Hotel accommodation in twin share basis with breakfast.

- Private transfer with A/C car or van.

- All sightseeing with English, French speaking guide.

NOTE: - During the months of October, November and all Mondays of the year
the Mausoleum Ho Chi Minh in Hanoi will remain closed and will be replaced by a
panoramic visit.

Cities

Hotel

Data (agosto 2006)

VIETNAM

Hanoi

Melìa Hanoi

7 – 10

Halong

Annam Junk

8

Ninh
Binh

Thuy Anh Hotel

9

Hanoi – Lau Cai

Victoria Train

11

Sapa

Chau Long Hotel (new
wing)

12

Lau Cai – Hanoi

Train

13

Hue

La Residence

14

Hoian

Life Resort

15

Ho Chi Minh (Saigon)

Renaissance Hotel

16 – 17
– 18– 21

Phanthiet

Victoria Phan
Thiet Resort

19 – 20

LAOS

Vientiane

Settha
Palace

22

Luang
Prabang

Maison
Souvannaphoum Hotel

23 – 24
– 25

THAILANDIA

Bangkok

Grand China Princess

26 – 27
– 28

VIETNAM

Day 7 Agust 2006. - HANOI
( D) 14:10 VN 830

Greetting at Noi Bai airport and transfer with our guide to your hotel in Ha
Noi . Enjoy the brief excursion to visit the Old
Quarters by Cyclo in one
hour. Dinner at the Hotel, it’s a chance to relax and enjoy your first
evening in The Capital of Vietnam.

Day
8. - HANOI/HALONG (B, L,D)

After
Breakfast, 3 hours driving to Halong Bay then cruising out to the bay
to visit two the most beautiful caves: the heavenly cave & the wooden
stakes cave .Lunch on boat then keep cruising around the Bay.

Throughout the adventurous areas literally hundreds of small & big islands
waiting to be discovered by trevallers. The boat stop is high time for swimming
, snorkelling or do some fishing. Cruising, cruise until the sun set time, stop
in Lan Ha Bay (the most beautiful bay is surrounded by limestone mountains
& grottoes , safe for staying overnight .Swim again and dinner when you
order, enjoying fresh sea food. On-board in the private
“sky-seeing” the moonlight. We will lead you into the cheeful
atmosphere at the middle sea for a peaceful night sleep on-board .

Day 9. – HALONG/NINH BINH

Breakfast, Be sure to be woken up by waves and seabirds but lucky
for you to see the sun rising for a nice day. After breakfast cruising to visit
Hang Sung Sot (surprising cave is the most beautiful one in Ha Long Bay) and Me
Cung cave. You will come to Ha Long city on the way enjoy final swim. Get off
the boat for lunch at a restaurant by the sea. Transfer to Ninh Binh. Visit
Tam Coc

Day 10. – NINH BINH/HANOI

Visit Hoa Lu , Kenh Ga, Van Long.
Transfer to Hanoi in 3
hours on road and overnight in hotel in Hanoi.

Day 11. - HANOI/
LAO CAI ( B,L)

Breakfast and visit the historical city of Hanoi. In the morning
visit Ho Chi Minh's Mausoleum, and his private residence, the One Pillar
Pagoda, Ho Chi Minh's Museum, the Temples of Quanthanh, next to the Lake West,
the Temple of Literature (the first University of Vietnam - built in 1070) and
the Museum of the Army. Lunch in the Forest Restaurant. in the afternoon, Free time to go shopping in Hang Gai street,
famous for its stores of silk. The late afternoon we will attend the
"Water Puppet Show" - a Vietnamese famous traditional art. Take a
train to LaoCai on 22:00 Sleep on train.

Day 12. – LAO CAI/SAPA ( B,L)

Lao Cai transfer to Sapa, at 1650m above
sea level, Sapa, Vietnam's famous alpine town, is misty and beautiful and is
part of the last mountains in the Himalayan chain including Mount Fan Si Pan
3,143 m. The environment here is vastly different than the rest of Vietnam
being very cool at times. Take a day to visit Ham Rong Mountain, The girls of
H''mong is special of Lao Cai. We will visit the cataracts of Silver Hoang Lien
Are, in the province Lai Chau, visiting different minorias ethnic from the
wonderful Zone and enjoying its landscape. Next, we travel to Laochai Village
for an ethnic minority experience to remember. On the weekend, the town comes
alive with a huge market. The market is a weekly tradition for the locals to
gather and exchange wares. The culture here has not yet been spoilt by outside
influences. Fascinating!

Day 13. – LAO CAI / HANOI(B,L) visit Bacha Market

Breakfast Then
visit the market Bacha Market of minorias Giay. Dao, H’Mong. Lunch and
return to laocai. 21:15 take train go back to Hanoi, Sleep
on the train.

Day 14. - HANOI/ HUE (B, L)

In the morning, Breakfast in Hotel, free for visit Hanoi. in the
afternoon fly to Hue.

Day 15 - HUE/DANANG/ HOIAN (B)

Breakfast in hotel, Visit the last imperial
capital of Vietnam from 1524 to 1945 and has recently been recognized by UNESCO
as a World Cultural Heritage Site. A day tour of Hue offers us an opportunity
to explore the "Forbidden City", Imperial Palace. A long boat cruise
on the Huong River to view some fine examples of buddhist architecture and
visit Thien Mu pagoda. This is your chance to explore
the center where the historic, the cultural and the romantic combine. Visit
Khai Dind Tomb and Tu Duc tomb , home to over 140 historic works of
architecture.Departure to Hoian, a small and
charming city, located at border of Thu Bon river. Afternoon we will make a
stroll between the 844 houses and temples in Hoian, including the Tanky's
House, 200 years of antiquity, with Chinese poems written in nacar inlaid, or
even the structure oldest call "The House at Tran Phu St.", made of
carved wood. Visit city's Market, located on the right bank of the river and one
of the most colorful places of the trip. Night at hotel.

Day 16- Hoian / Myson / SAIGON (HO CHI MINH)

Breakfast, visit the old town Myson, 50 km from Hoian town. Return to Hoian
and transfer to airport for take the fly to saigon, Overnight in hotel in Saigon.

Day 17. - SAIGON (HO CHI MINH) (B)

Breakfast. A
morning city tour visits two fine examples of French colonial architecture, the
Notre Dame Cathedral and the Old Saigon Post Office. In the afternoon, Visit Criminal Musem, The market Cho Lon, Ben Thanh.

Day 18. - SAIGON/ VINH LONG (MEKONG
DELTA)/SAIGON (HO CHI MINH) (B, L)

After Breakfast,
Transfer to Vinh Long for 4 hours. full day trip to the watery world of the
Mekong Delta. Take a boat trip along narrow waterways overhung with dense
vegetation and try exotic fruits in one of the many orchards. Enjoy the
landscape of the Mekong delta where we take a boat to visit the floating market
CAIBE. Lunch in the bonsai garden ,for lunch sample the local delicacy,
Elephant's Ear Fish.Return to City HO CHI MINH, and visit Tay Son lacquer ware
factory.Overnight in HCMC.

Day 19: Saigon/ Phanthiet

Breakfast and
transfer to train station for take the SPT 12 to Phanthiet on 6:45 AM and
arrive Phanthiet 11:10. transfer to Hotel and  free days for the beach.

Day 20, 21: Phanthiet / Saigon

Breakfast and free
day for the beach. Transfer to train station for train SPT 11 to Saigon on
13:55 and arrive Saigon on 18:25. transfer to hotel and overnight in Hotel.

LAOS

Day 22- SAIGON (HO CHI MINH)/ Vientiane (B)

Breakfast, transfer
to the airport and take the fly to Vientiane. Upon arrival, you are met and
transferred to your centrally located hotel. After a short rest, we set our
orientation short Walking Tour to
Lao Capital, strolling around the city distance, and observing the sunset by
the Mekong Riverside and late
evening. Seeing the city lifestyle of local Lao people. Overnight in Vientiane
at Settha Palace Hotel.

Day 23.          Vientiane
– Luang Prabang

AM:   Breakfast,
we start to visit the major sights of the capital; including the oldest Wat Sisaket with thousands of miniature
Buddha statues and the former royal temple of Wat Prakeo previously housed the famous Emerald Buddha Image. On
the way to the famous and sacred structure of That Luang Stupa, we stop
to take some pictures of the imposing Patuxay Monument, which is well
known as Vientiane’s own Arc de Triumph. From there, we visit the Central Market call ‘Morning Market’ where you can
find the antique items for collection, well handmade textile and gift away
items.

PM: We spend the rest of this day
touring Lao capital, visiting the National Museum (Revolutionary Museum)
where varied antique items and legend of Laos’s history fighters and
leaders displace from the ancient times to new revolution period. We then board
a short flight to Luang Prabang, which is perhaps the best - preserved
traditional city in Southeast Asia. UNESCO registered 1995 as World Cultural
Heritage City. The tranquility and charm of this town with its splendid natural
scenery and cultural sights make it one of the most delightful places to visit
in Asia. On arrival, we transfer you to hotel. After a short rest, we are
strolling around to see the Street Night
Market, where you can find the lovely collection and handmade textile by
local and hill tribe people surrounding Luang Prabang, we then climb up to the
top of Phousi Mount for an enjoyable exploration of the sacred, gilded
stupa as well as viewing a beautiful panorama sunset over this once royal
ancient city and the Mekong River. Overnight in Luang Prabang at Maison
Souvannaphoum Hotel. (B)

Day 24.          Luang
Prabang – Khouangsi
Waterfalls

This
morning you may want to wake up early and participate in the daily early
morning ritual of saffron-clad monks with their black Alms-giving bowls being given offerings from the local people,
including the ubiquitous sticky rice. From there you will visit the morning Phosi Market where you will see such
diverse offerings as dried buffalo skin, local tea and saltpeter among the
chickens, vegetables and hill-tribe weavings. Laos is also known for its
traditional crafts, and today you will visit local village of Lao ethnic
minority groups at Ban Ouay, Hmong
Village, Ban Ou, Laoloum Village and
Ban Thapene, Khmu Village, then
drive to the beautiful Khouangsi
Waterfall where you can splash around in the pools or walk along the forest
paths, return to Luang Prabang by late afternoon and continue to Ban Phanom, a well known weaving
village, return to the city by late evening for observing the sunset at Wat Siphouthabath. Overnight in Luang
Prabang (B)

Day 25.          Luang
Prabang – Pak Ou cave

Breakfast,
we enjoy a short-guided tour seeing the city’s oldest temple of
impressive stupa of Wat Visoun and the shrine of Wat Aham, Wat
Mai, Wat Sene and the magnificent Wat Xiengthong with its roofs
sweeping low to the ground, which represent the classical architecture of Luang
Prabang temple. We then board a boat embarking upstream on the Mekong River,
which also gives us a beautiful view of the tranquil countryside as well as an
interesting visit to the mysterious of Pak Ou Caves, crammed with
thousands of gold lacquered Buddha statues of various shapes and sizes. Along
the way, we stop at the village of Ban Xanghai, where they make the
local rice wine. On return, we overland local
villages at Ban Xiengmene and Ban Chan continue seeing the
royal temple at Wat Longkhoun, which once belongs to royal family
patronage and near by Sackarine Caves. We cross to city and take a short
drive to Ban Phanom, well known for its hand weaving. Overnight in Luang
Prabang at Maison Souvannaphoum Hotel. (B)

Day 26.          Luang
Prabang – Bangkok

Breakfast,
we then visit The National Museum at
the former Royal Palace, which displays a lovely collection of the
artifacts reflecting the richness of Lao culture dating from the days of the
early kings right through the last sovereign. We continue visit the silver
smith’s and Fine Arts School and the Central Market are not to be missed. We visit these sights before
we catch a flight goodbye to this ancient city of Luang Prabang to Angel city
of Bangkok. On arrival at Don Muang Airport, you are met and transferred to
hotel. The glorious history of Thai Capital, Bangkok is much interwoven with
the Chakri dynasty which still reigns but no longer rules Thailand. In the
midst of dynamic modern growth, this bustling metropolis still preserves plenty
of cultural heritages making it the national treasure house. No activities
planned for this afternoon; however our guide is on hand to advise some
available options. Overnight in Bangkok at Grand China Princess. (B)

Day 27.          Bangkok
– City exploration

Today
we commence our tour of Bangkok with a long tail boat trip along the Chao
Phraya River and the many lively inner canals which provide some fantastic
views of the local life close up. Along the way we make stop over at Wat Arum,
the temple of Dawn, before continuing to the Grand Palace, dedicated to the
Thai Royal Family’s ceremony. Nearby is the magnificent Wat Phra Kaew,
which is famous for the Emerald Buddha Image. After seeing this complex we
drive through the many vibrant streets of China Town to some of the most
significant temples in Bangkok. The landmark of Wat Traimit is well known as
the Golden Buddha Temple while Wat Po houses a gigantic Reclining Buddha. We
visit these sights as well as the magnificent Marble Temple. Overnight in
Bangkok at Grand China Princess
(B) (no guide service)

Day 28. Bangkok – Departure  24:00

Breakfast,
free at leisure discovery, transfer to airport in the evening. (Only one double room for all person just for a little rest
all together before leaving).