Spend 14 Days Exploring the Heritage of Indochina

14 Day Indochina Heritage Adventure

Our 14 Day Heritage sites of Indochina tour begins in the UNESCO World Heritage City of Luang Prabang, Laos and then travels east to Vientiane the capital of Laos and onwards to Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam. Nestling up in the northern reaches of Vietnam the heritage tour turns south following the Vietnamese coastline along the South China Sea to visit Hoi An and Hue before reaching the bustling metropolis of Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) in the South.

Whilst in Ho Chi Minh City, the tour includes a Mekong Delta river cruise exploring the Mekong Delta’s fronds of creeks and waterways to visit fruit orchards and floating markets in its ultra fertile land. Then its onwards to Siem Reap to see the magnificent Angkor Wat Temple, Asia’s best known and most celebrated World Heritage Site. On the two day tour of Angkor World Heritage Site, established by UNESCO in 1992, you will have the opportunity to explore many of the Angkor temples and learn more about the history Angkor Wat.

This is a journey through Indochina; Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia. Steeped in a rich culture and bitter sweet history, the countries of Indochina are distinctly disparate from the rest of Southeast Asia. They are timeless, exotic, mysterious and romantic. Their natural beauty is breathtaking but each has a tragic humanitarian legacy. They are home to some of the oldest temples and heritage sites in the world and while Vietnam hurtles with a palpable energy into the 21st century, little changed Laos is more demure and sedate.

In Luang Prabang you take a Mekong River cruise aboard the Nava Mekong to visit the Pak Ou Caves inhabited by thousands of golden Buddha statues; a testament to this Buddhist-bathed city perched at the confluence of the Nam Khan and Mekong Rivers. Whilst in Luang Prabang you will also have an opportunity to visit three of the finest temples in Laos before migrating eastwards to the tiny capital of Vientiane. Dotted with temples and many fading remnants of French Indochina, Vientiane is as charming now as it was before.

In the colonial days of French Indochina they used to say that “The Vietnamese plant the rice, the Cambodians watch the rice, and the Lao listen to the rice grow…” and so from laid-back Laos the journey takes us the Hanoi in the north of Vietnam who plays older sister to her more wayward sibling in the south. A day is spent delving into Hanoi’s past and present with museums, markets and colourful culture. But Hoi An and Hue are the cultural heartland of Vietnam and here you will encounter and unchanged land or ancient temples and historic monuments.

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) in the south of Vietnam is where old and new, ancient and modern clamour for space in this neo-colonial Southeast Asian metropolis. The mansions, villas and civic buildings of French Indochina are juxtaposed against towering skyscrapers or steel and shimmering glass. Explore the stately elegance of French Indochina and the narrow, jostling alleys of China Town. Debunk for a day for a Mekong Delta river cruise and visit the Cu Chi Tunnels of the Vietnam War.

The final chapter of this journey through Indochina takes you to Siem Reap, a town sprung-up from dust to play host to worldwide visitors journeying to Cambodia to experience the magnificence and splendour of Angkor Wat Temple and the Angkor World Heritage Site. Witness the sun setting over Angkor Wat Temple, the bucolic allure of Ta Phrom and the awe-inspiring beauty of the Angkor temples that date back to the 10th century.

On the 14th and final day of the Indochina Heritage Tour we offer something slightly different. You can visit the floating villages on the Tonle Sap lake, the Landmine Museum and Artisans d’Angkor where artists and craftsmen use traditional techniques to create works of art; an Aladdin’s cave of souvenirs!

Indochina Destinations

Focusing on heritage sites in Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia, the countries of Indochina, this tour commences in Luang Prabang, a UNESCO World Heritage City and ends at Siem Reap, the doorway to Angkor Wat Temple and the 12th century remains of the most powerful city of the Khmer empire.

In between the tour visits many cities whizzing back and forth through time. Vientiane is noted for its ancient temples and French Indochina architecture. The ancient Vietnamese capital of Hanoi hosts important monuments through the ages which visually document her ancestry. The cities of Hoi An and Hue are both steeped in history providing glimpses of imperialism, timeless Buddhism, former trading prowess and splashes of colonial architecture left over from the era of French Indochina.

Onwards to Ho Chi Minh City, formerly Saigon, where old is colliding with new; the graceful yellows and saffrons of French Indochina staunchly defending their right to be against the ever threatening steel and concrete onslaught. See the architecture of Saigon, old and new. Spend a day exploring the Mekong Delta a little further south and see the Cu Chi Tunnels that were used during the Vietnam war.

Then follow the course of the Mekong River upstream to Siem Reap in the northwest of Cambodia and the doorway to Angkor Wat Temple and the magnificent remains of countless other temples hewn from stone that dot the plain of Angkor.

Sleeping Arrangements

Our 14 Day Heritage of Indochina Holiday is a private tour which can be customised until you are entirely satisfied with the itinerary and trip plan. Taken as a Private Tour we offer a shortlist of hotels in Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia consisting of three categories: Luxury, Superior and Travel.

Taken as a Tailor Made Holiday we can alter the itinerary until it is entirely as you want it and in every destination you have carte blanche on hotels. If you tell us your preferred hotel style we will make recommendations and suggestions based on firsthand, up-to-date knowledge. Based in Bangkok we frequently travel to each of the destinations featured in this itinerary and can provide detailed advise as and when required.

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