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LAOS & NORTH VIETNAM October 29-November 20, 2010
FRI, OCT 29 - DEPART LOS ANGELES Our adventure begins this evening as we depart Los Angeles on Thai Airways, bound for Bangkok. SAT, OCT 30 - ENROUTE A day is lost crossing the International Date Line. SUN, OCT 31 - BANGKOK-LUANG PRABANG We arrive in Bangkok early this morning and connect with a flight to Luang Prabang, a small, charming city in northern Laos known for its old architecture and easygoing culture. The former royal capital is now listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. After lunch in a local restaurant, the remainder of the day is at leisure to rest up or explore on your own before we visit Wat Prabat to photograph the Mekong River at sunset. Sala Luang Prabang (LD) MON, NOV 1 - LUANG PRABANG A morning cruise on the Mekong takes us to the PakOu caves, filled with thousands of gold and wood Buddha statues. After lunch in a riverside restaurant, we return to Luang Prabang. The afternoon is for temple (wat) visits. Wat Xieng Thong, the country's most treasured temple, was built in 1559 on the banks of the Mekong and contains a reclining Buddha as well as some lovely glass mosaics. The chapel near the Royal Palace Museum is a repository for some of the most important and revered Buddha images in Laos. We also see Wat Mai (noted for its gilded terrace) and That Makmo (sometimes called the Watermelon Stupa). Wat Visoun, built in 1515, is the oldest operating temple in the city. In addition to the temples themselves, monks in colorful orange robes are nice photographic subjects. Sala Luang Prabang (BLD) TUE, NOV 2 - LUANG PRABANG We rise early this morning for a pre-breakfast excursion to see Buddhist monks leaving Wat Visoun with their alms bowls, making the rounds of the local neighborhood. After breakfast, we visit Phosy Market. The remainder of the day is free for you to enjoy the ambience of Luang Prabang at your own pace. Sala Luang Prabang (BLD) WED, NOV 3 - LUANG PRABANG-VANG VIENG Today we head south through a dramatically mountainous landscape dotted with small Hmong villages and lush rice fields to Vang Vieng, nestled along a scenic bend in the Song River. The town itself is not without charm, but the main attraction is the karst topography lining the west bank of the river. Honeycombed with unexplored tunnels and caverns, the limestone cliffs here are a spelunker's heaven. Several of the caves are named and play small roles in local mythology, and all are said to be inhabited by spirits. Hmong villages are found in this area, and we'll have an opportunity to visit one. Vansana Vang Vieng Hotel (BLD) THU, NOV 4 - VANG VIENG-VIENTIANE Time to enjoy Vang Vieng this morning before our departure for the capital city of Vientiane. Founded some 1200 years ago, Vientiane was formerly an important religious, cultural, and economic link with India, China, and other nations in Southeast Asia. Late this afternoon we visit Phra That Luang, the Lao national symbol, when the sun turns the stupa an electric shade of gold. Green Park Boutique Hotel (BLD) FRI, NOV 5 - VIENTIANE-HANOI We visit Talaat Sao morning market today, then head for Wat Xieng Khuan (Spirit City Temple) a few miles south of the town center. Locals often call it "Buddha Park" since it's a collection of very photogenic Buddhist and Hindu sculptures in a meadow alongside the Mekong River. Wat Si Muang was originally built in 1566 by King Setthathirat when he moved the capital from Luang Prabang. Wat Sisaket, a traditional Lao monastery, is the only temple in the Vientiane to have survived destruction by the Siamese in 1828. From the top of Patuxai (Victory Monument), we have an impressive view of the city, the Mekong River, and Thailand beyond. Late this afternoon we transfer to the airport for an evening flight to Hanoi. Hanoi Elegance Hotel (BLD) SAT, NOV 6 - HANOI This morning we take an orientation drive through Hanoi and the French Quarter, then visit Quan Thanh Temple and Tran Quoc Pagoda at West Lake. This is a good place to rest, photograph, and soak up the atmosphere of vendors selling incense and flowers, see students picnicking and practicing their English, and watch Vietnamese families paddling around the lake in boats shaped like ducks and dragons. We return to our hotel where the afternoon is free to visit nearby Hoan Kiem Lake and the Old Quarter before a water puppet show this evening. Hanoi Elegance Hotel (BD) SUN, NOV 7 - HANOI The entire day is at leisure to pursue your own particular interests. There are plenty of museums to visit, including the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum and Museum. You might want to check out the Old Quarter of Hanoi, a maze of narrow back alleys with shops selling antiques, flowers, and handicrafts. To this day the streets are named after the crafts practiced by the original guilds, and they maintain their individual character despite the encroachment of more modern lifestyles. The French Quarter combines wide tree-lined boulevards with the majesty of Parisian-style villas and the shuttered elegance of government buildings, where more than a dozen embassies occupy renovated villas and the Opera House is one of the grandest buildings in the city. Hanoi Elegance Hotel (B) MON, NOV 8 - HANOI-NINH BINH Just 60 miles south of Hanoi and poetically called "Halong Bay on the rice paddies," the extraordinary area around Tam Coc boasts stunning scenery. While Halong Bay has huge rock formations jutting out of the sea, at Tam Coc they soar skyward from a sea of green, reminiscent of the classic landscapes around Guilin in China. The ideal way to see Tam Coc is by rowboat on the Ngo Dong River. Nearby, Van Lan village is famous for it embroidery. A scenic road winds through rice fields hemmed in by karsts and ends in a dusty village where Bich Dong Pagoda, cut into the caves of a karst, is a holy site of pilgrimage for Vietnamese. The ancient capital of Hoa Lu (968-1009) is impressively atmospheric, with its remaining two magnificent temples strategically set amid a dramatic landscape of limestone cliffs and rice paddies. The floating village of Kenh Ga (Chicken Canal), where the people row boats with their feet, gives a glimpse of life on the water. The road passes through beautiful areas of lush lowland rice fields and past many lesser cathedrals and Christian burial sites. Ton Dao Church, just outside the town of Phat Diem, is a particularly imposing edifice with high stone spires, intricate carvings on lintels and facade, and reliefs of St. Francis ministering to the sick and impoverished. The cathedral at Phat Diem brings European and Vietnamese religious architecture together in a unique blend. Thuy Anh Hotel (BLD) TUE, NOV 9 - NIN BINH-HANOI Continued sightseeing from the previous day before returning to Hanoi, where the remainder of the day is at leisure. Hanoi Elegance Hotel (BL) WED, NOV 10 - HANOI-DIEN BIEN PHU This morning we fly to Dien Bien Phu. The dream of reestablishing colonial rule throughout Indochina turned into an all-too-vivid nightmare for the French at Dien Bien Phu. A 57-day siege culminated in the surrender of the French garrison on May 7, 1954, effectively ending the Indochina empire. A museum has been built on the site of the battle, with a section dedicated to the region's ethnic minority communities, though French ignominy and Vietnamese glory are the main topics. Across the street is a memorial cemetery, the final resting place for many unknown Vietminh soldiers, with bas reliefs of scenes from the battle depicted in near life-size realism. Some of the battle's most intense combat took place at nearby A1 Hill, where a monument to Vietnminh troops now stands. Dien Bien Phu Hanoi Hotel (BLD) THU, NOV 11 - DIEN BIEN PHU-SAPA The road from Dien Bien Phu to Sapa is one of the most beautiful drives in Vietnam, particularly the final climb up over the Tram Ton Pass on the northern side of Mt. Fansipan, which at 6,233 feet is the highest in Vietnam. Sapa, the premier destination of northwest Vietnam, is a former hill station built in 1922. Ringed by Vietnam's tallest peaks, nestled in a beautiful valley close to the Chinese border, the lovely scenery that surrounds Sapa includes cascading rice terraces that hug the heights looming over town. The mountains are often cloaked in mist that rolls back and forth along the mountaintops, offering tantalizing glimpses of what lies in wait on a clear day. Victoria Sapa Resort & Spa (BLD) FRI, NOV 12 - SAPA The valleys and villages around Sapa are home to a host of hilltribe people (called Montagnards by the French) who flock to the weekly markets held in various towns. This morning we take a short hike through terraced rice paddies to the charmingly named Cat Cat village. We also visit Ta Phin, where Black Hmong and Red Dao minorities live happily together while maintaining their own traditions. We can differentiate the two groups by their traditional dress and the handicrafts they produce. The remainder of the day is free to explore Sapa on your own. Victoria Sapa Resort & Spa (BLD) SAT, NOV 13 - SAPA-BAC HA The weekly markets attract ethnic minority villagers buying, selling, and trading everything from horses and dogs to medicinal herbs and beautiful handmade tapestries. The villagers are often dressed in their finest: richly embroidered vests and dresses, aqua and black cotton shirts, finely detailed silver necklaces and bracelets, and elaborate headdresses. To see them in their traditional style of dress is to feel yourself caught in a time warp. And talk about photogenic! Early this morning we drive to Can Cau to experience its Saturday market, specializing in livestock. Small, but colorful, it attracts a photogenic collection of Flower Hmong, Nung, and Phu La ethnic minorities. Chinese people also come to trade. We continue on to Bac Ha for lunch, then take a short walk to Trung Do village, which belongs to the Tay minority. Here, we can visit a traditional Tay house before boarding a boat to cruise upstream through picturesque scenery along the Chay River and back down to the Bao Nhai Bridge. We return to Bac Ha for overnight. Sao Mai Hotel (BLD) SUN, NOV 14 - BAC HA Bac Ha’s Sunday market is the largest and most colorful in the area. Every Sunday morning, many different ethnic groups, such as Flower Hmong, Phu La, Black Dao, Tay, and Nung, gather to buy and sell local products that can’t be found elsewhere. Afterward, we drive into the countryside to visit Na Hoi village and the Flower Hmong village of Ban Pho. Sao Mai Hotel (BLD) MON, NOV 15 - BAC HA-HANOI Today we drive down from the mountains and back to Hanoi, with photo stops en route. Hanoi Elegance Hotel (BLD) TUE, NOV 16 - HANOI The entire day is at leisure to explore Hanoi on your own, or to just rest from our sojourn in the mountains. Or maybe even do some shopping. Hanoi Elegance Hotel (B) WED, NOV 17 - HANOI-HALONG BAY Magnificent Halong Bay is undoubtedly the natural wonder of Vietnam, with breathtaking vistas of more than 3,000 incredible islands rising from the emerald waters of the Gulf of Tonkin, a magical landscape of limestone islets dotted with beaches and grottoes created by wind and waves. Beautiful Chinese-type sailing junks dot the waters between the outcroppings. In fact, some have been turned into luxurious tourist junks, and we'll be aboard one of them for two days and two nights, cruising amid the superb scenery of Halong Bay. Bai Tho junk (BLD) THU, NOV 18 - HALONG BAY Full day cruising Halong Bay, exploring its islands and beaches. Bai Tho junk (BLD) FRI, NOV 19 - HALONG BAY-BANGKOK More cruising this morning before we dock in Halong City and drive back to Hanoi, with a stop at Dong Trieu ceramic village en route. This evening we fly to Bangkok and transfer to an airport hotel. Novotel Suvarnabhumi (BLD) SAT, NOV 20 - BANGKOK-LOS ANGELES The entire day is at leisure to rest, repack, or book an optional excursion into the city proper. You might want to visit the Royal Palace or take a longtail boat cruise on the Chao Phraya. Sadly, our Vietnam/Laos adventure comes to an end as we board a flight to Los Angeles, arriving the morning of the same day. Novotel Suvarnabhumi (B)
Note: Included meals are indicated by B, L, and D for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
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