Vietnam a Symphony of Nature

Here we will spend a day exploring enchanting Hanoi.

• Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum is situated on Hung Vuong Street, right in front of Ba Dinh square, the historic place where Uncle Ho read the Declaration of Independence on September 2nd, 1945.
• The impressive One Pillar Pagoda, formally Diên Hựu Tự is a historic Buddhist temple. According to the court records, Ly Thai Tong King was childless and dreamt that he met the Bodhisattva who handed him a baby son while seated on a lotus flower. Ly Thai Tong then married a peasant girl that he had met and she bore him a son. The emperor constructed the temple in gratitude for this in 1049 having been told by a monk named Thiền Tuệ to build the temple, by erecting a pillar in the middle of a lotus pond, similar to the one he saw in the dream.
• Temple Literature: Vietnam’s first university, the Quốc Tử Giám or National University, was established within the temple to educate Vietnam’s bureaucrat, royalty and other members of the elite.
• Ethnological Museum, the most interesting museum in Hanoi with many exhibits, pictures and displays of the 54 ethnic peoples of Vietnam
• Then we take an hour Cyclo tour viewing the charming French colonial architecture of the bustling Old Quarter. The Old Quarter, near Hoan Kiem Lake, has the original street layout and architecture of old Hanoi. At the beginning of the 20th century the city consisted of only about 36 streets, most of which are now part of the old quarter. Each street then comprised of merchants and households specialized in a particular trade, such as silk traders, jewelry, etc. The street names nowadays still reflect these specializations, although few of them remain exclusively in their original commerce. The area is famous for its small artisans and merchants, including many silk shops.
• The Quintessence of Tonkin: Trailer https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZMQBWPsFUFo&t=4s

This morning we transfer to Sapa by road, following the new Highways. Arriving at around 13.00 and check-in hotel

• Leave the busy life behind to enjoy a nice walk in an quiet area. Inhabited by the Red Dao and Hmong peoples. This valley is quiet and non touristic
• Driver for a short road transfer heading northwards of Sapa along national road 4C to O Quy Ho with several stops for magnificent landscapes of Fansipan, Sin Chai valley and especially amazing flower and vegetable farms . Then turn right to follow a narrow road for half an hour getting through the wild region with thick rain forest covering walled-up mountains, passing several waterfalls before arriving to Ban Khoang, a village of the Red Zao ethnic peoples who live their unique way of life and well maintain their traditional values. The village looks prosperous thanks to the combination of wet rice cultivation on the terraced fields with cardamom farming under the shade of trees in thick forest. Spend over an hour walking to explore this remote village for a brief understanding of local life
• Back to Sapa for accommodation

Locating just at the south-eastern side of Ham Rong mountain and just close to Sapa town but this valley seems to be unknown by most of the tour operators as well as visitors. Inhabited by the Hmong peoples, this narrow valley is quiet and non touristic which is quite different from Ta Phin or Muong Hoa valleys where the local peoples have changed much because of the strong influence of tourism.

• Met up at your hotel in Sapa by local guide and driver for a short road transfer along the national road 4D northeastwards to the trekking point. Trekking uphill on a large and rocky path for 2 hours along the narrow valley which runs between two high mountains passing two hamlets of the Black H’mong of Sa Pa Commune: Sau Chua and Sa Seng. The H’mong peoples here have just recently change their living way from sifting style into the sedentary one. So there are still a lot traces of the past time can be seen: rudimentary houses, stone wall around homes…
• Lunch break in the village.
• After Lunch, continue along the same trail gradually uphill the Den Thang mountain for an hour to Hang Da Village of the H’mong which sits at 1,800m height and over looking down the Muong Hoa Valley. Paying visit to several local homes.

Leaving Hang Da and enjoy easy walk on high elevation for half an hour which offers great view of Muong Hoa Valley until arriving to Thao Hong Den, another village of the Black H’mong. Paying visiting to several local homes. This portion of the trek offers chances for taking the best photos of landscapes

Getting downhill for another hour along a dirt track to Pho Village at the center of Hau Thao Commune. Picked up and transfer back to Sapa for overnight.

The markets are always the colorful meeting places for the hill tribes of Vietnam. Minorities come down from the mountains to sell their produce. Sometimes it is a long hike for the tribes to come to sell or exchange their goods. Others may simply come in order to catch up on the latest news or gossip. With the various tribes in their colorful traditional dress, the smell of exotic herbs and spices, abundant rice wine and food stalls - you can be assured that market day in Vietnam is truly an unforgettable experience

• SUNDAY: Bac Ha market, the different and colorful ethnic minority come all here to sell their homemade products or buy something for the family. They are Hmong, Phu La, Back Dzao, Tay or Nung minorities. Some of these ethnic minorities can’t be met in any other areas.

The highlights of this trip is to live yourself in Bac Ha colorful market that happens only on Sunday and also to take a wonderful boat trip upstream Chay River, to have some pleasant walks through Tay village

• TUESDAY: Coc Ly market This is a unique market, which takes place only on Tuesday. Coc Ly is a very small market where you can meet several ethnic minorities such as Flower Hmong, Black Zao, Phu La, Nung and Tay. The trip offers you a one-way boat ride along Chay River and a short walk to Trung Do village of Tay minority. Every Tuesday morning, minorities from surrounding villages such as Flower Hmong, Black Zao and Tay, gather to sell and buy their products. After visiting the market, you travel by boat downstream. Along the ride, you can enjoy magnificent sight of the beautiful caves and life on the riverbank. You will have lunch on a beach or later in a village. The trip will also offers you a visit to Trung Do village of Tay minority, where you can stop by a traditional Tay house for a cup of tea. You will go further downstream until you arrive to Bao Nhai Bridge

Then we drive back to Hanoi for accommodation

• Watch the sunrise with a Tai Chi session on L’Odyssée Sundeck, followed by a light breakfast in Le Piano Bar
• You will visit popular Soi Sim Island, where you can go swimming or hike to the top for another stunning, panoramic view of the Bay
• Back on board, a buffet breakfast will be served as we once again cruise past Thien Cung and Dau Go Caves and Fighting Cocks Islet before your bill settlement, check-out and return to Tuan Chau Island.
• Disembarking from Paradise Elegance Cruise. Return to Hanoi

We will then take a flight to Hue, originally called Phu Xuan, was built in 1687, and became the cultural, religious and economic capital of the Nguyen Dynasty from 1744 to 1945. The actual name of the city was a corruption of the name Than Hoa, where Hoa signified “peace” or “harmony” in Vietnamese.

Accommodation in Hue.

• Watch the sunrise with a Tai Chi session on L’Odyssée Sundeck, followed by a light breakfast in Le Piano Bar
• You will visit popular Soi Sim Island, where you can go swimming or hike to the top for another stunning, panoramic view of the Bay
• Back on board, a buffet breakfast will be served as we once again cruise past Thien Cung and Dau Go Caves and Fighting Cocks Islet before your bill settlement, check-out and return to Tuan Chau Island.
• Disembarking from Paradise Elegance Cruise. Return to Hanoi

We will then take a flight to Hue, originally called Phu Xuan, was built in 1687, and became the cultural, religious and economic capital of the Nguyen Dynasty from 1744 to 1945. The actual name of the city was a corruption of the name Than Hoa, where Hoa signified “peace” or “harmony” in Vietnamese.

Accommodation in Hue.

Merely 5 km from Hue centre, Thuy Bieu village is a hidden gem of untouched nature and culture. The village features the unique housing style of Hue, a “garden home” with small cottages hidden in luxuriant gardens, long gates and fences carved out of ornamental trees. Thuy Bieu Eco-village day tour offers an enchanting opportunity to see Hue in depth.

• Depart from Toa Kham Wharf to Thien Mu Pagoda the first stop of the day. This historic temple in the city, located near Perfume River, is a symbol of Hue and wonderful place for you to relax and refresh
• Jump back to the boat for a scenic cruise to Hue Ecolodge where our local guide are ready to wait and welcome you to visit Thuy Bieu  Eco-village, an authentically village representing  the country side of Hue with the  clear notion "garden -home"
• Spend 2 hours to stroll or bike around quiet Thuy Bieu Eco-village

Visit local garden, an old ancestral temple and meet local people.

Visit handicraft families such as the incense making family, the joss paper making family and the paper painting family, to discover the daily life of local people. Be welcomed into their workplace and experience the joy and enthusiasm.

• We then enjoy time to relax by stepping your feet into medicinal herb water, a traditional therapeutic practice. Our excellent massages are performed by expert blind masseurs

In the afternoon, we will take time to visit Hue Imperial citadel before heading to Da Nang

Accommodation in Da Nang.

Take the cable car to reach Ba Na Hills and admire the great Golden Bridge – an amazing architecture of the city

• It is located 1,414m above the sea level and stretches about 150m long. In the middle of the air, the bridge looks like a brilliant silk
• The image of a huge couple of ancient hands (which is like hands of the Mountain God) is lifting the bridge as a shining golden silk strip, toward the high blue sky with deeply green forests below, actually is not inferior to any blockbuster’s scenes.

We get back to hotel, register and enjoy the first spa treatment there. The concept behind these hotel is that the spa is all-inclusive. Meaning that every guest gets a spa

Hoi An is an ancient town of meandering narrow streets dating back to the 16th century. Nestled a couple of kilometres inland on Thu Bon river, Hoi An is typified by its rich mix of 16th century Vietnamese, Chinese and Japanese architecture. A full day city tour includes the ancient Japanese Bridge, Phuoc Kien Pagoda, the ancient house Tran Phu and the Hoi An Museum.

In the afternoon, wander the old town and soak in the atmosphere of its original culture, enjoy shopping for tailor made clothing, lanterns, shoes and food, or simply relax on the beach or be tempted to enjoy the local cuisine in one of the many cosy cafes or local restaurants.

Saigon is the biggest and most energetic city in Vietnam, most people in Saigon travel by scooter or vespa, and we would like to share with you the interesting way to explore the Saigon city by night by special vintage vespa it fun and also make you feel back of Saigon in 1950. Vespa after dark food Tour will give you a unique experience in Saigon

• First Our experience driver on a vintage Vespa will pick you up from your hotel, then we will bring you to our Venue, to have a welcome drink at a local bar for you have a free drink and to enjoy the panorama of Saigon
• Then we bring around the City, to enjoy the landmarks of Saigon, to small alley where you see the real life of Saigonese. Our first stop for dinner is a local restaurant where we would life to introduce to you our local specialties like: Vietnamese Pancake, spring rolls...
• After that, we continue our Discovery of Saigon to local Seafood restaurant, another experience for you to taste the seafood with great ambience of the local. The trip is not done yet, the fun things is still waiting for you after.
• We would like to bring to the local acoustic music Cafe to have some desert of drink, to enjoy some music performed by Vietnamese singers
• Our last stop before get back to the hotel will be Bar, where you can enjoy Rock music or Jazz, now you can say you experience the Saigon Night Life

A short 2-hour car transfer delivers you to the pristine natural beauty that is Ben Tre Province. Known as “Coconut Island,” many of its people still rely on tradition and centuries old methods of production. Our program focuses on the Giong Trom and Phong Nam districts, areas untouched by commercial tourism

• On arrival, take a Xe loi ride through the local village to enjoy the green fields and gardens. Continue with a short walk to Huu Phuoc Bridge, where you will start your boat trip through small canals with beautiful tropical scenery.
• The cruise will first stop at a Coconut processing family owned business. Here you will learn what Ben Tre is known for and the hundreds of uses of each single coconut. Then to a brick making factory, where the locals still use centuries-old traditional methods to make the bricks by hand.
• Enjoy a casual cycling trip that will take you to visit a local rice noodle factory which produces Hu Tieu noodles, one of the most popular dishes in the region. Take a short walk to one of our friends, Mrs. Huong, who lives with her 3 children and grandson on fishing, shrimp and fruit orchards. Enjoy fresh fruits and tea and then board a rowing sampan taking you through a lush narrow canal, displaying the tranquil nature of the region.
• Then continue your cycling trip to My Long to visit Mr Sau Tuong, a former Vietcong soldier who survived two years fighting the Khmer Rouge in Phnom Penh. Now he and his wife live on making rice paper which is the most famous specialty of My Long village. Have a chat with him and enjoy the crispy rice paper made by his wife, and see how it is made
• After the visit, the boat will be waiting for you at the pier nearby to bring you back to Ben Tre city where your car will be ready to take you back to Saigon for accommodation.