Exploring Indochina's South - 10 Days - IOB03

Upon arrival in Ho Chi Minh City formerly known as Saigon or "Pearl of the Far East", you will be welcomed by our guide and brought to your hotel. The rest of the day is yours to explore the largest city of Vietnam with its wide elegant boulevards and historic French colonial buildings at your leisure. You will have dinner at a local restaurant. Overnight at hotel.

In the morning, we will visit Cho Lon, Vietnam’s largest China Town where you can shop to your hearts content and sample the fabulous cuisine. We then visit Thien Hau Temple, the most lively temple in Ho Chi Minh City, dedicated to the Goddess of the Sea, and Giac Lam Pagoda, the oldest pagoda in the city. Back to downtown Saigon to visit Notre Dame Cathedral (built in 1877) and the Central Post Office. 

In the afternoon, we will visit the Reunification Palace formerly known as Independence Palace. It served as the residence and working place of the President of South Vietnam during the Vietnam War. The tour ends with a visit to Ngoc Hoang Temple dedicated to the Jade Emperor, the supreme deity in Taoism. Overnight at hotel.

Leaving the bustling city of Saigon behind, we depart to the Mekong Delta considered Vietnam’s biggest rice basket. We will arrive at Hung Vuong pier in Ben Tre and embark our boat to cruise along the Bến Tre River, a tributary of the great Mekong, to explore the local lifestyle and the daily hustle and bustle. Stop at the brickfield belonging to Mr. Tu Lo to see how bricks are made by hand in Vietnam and a coconut candy home factory located along the canal to witness the process of making this local candy and other souvenirs.

We will continue the rowing trip through the canals to visit Nhon Thanh village. Her you can stroll around the village to discover the local lifestyle and savor some fresh fruit. We will then cycle along small roads passing green rice paddies and vegetable gardens. We then have lunch at a local house on the riverbank.  Towards the end of the way we will arrive at the homestay, serving as this night’s accommodation. We will then cycle to Mr. Sau Khanh’s house to admire his collection of antiques. You will have the chance to learn a thing or two about farm work while watching the farmers on their field and maybe even lend them a hand. Your dinner will be prepared and devoured at the homestay.

We will start our morning with a visit to the local market and the Phu Nhuan Temple, where an old cycad grows that dates back a hundred years. A rowing boat trip will take us through a labyrinth of canals lined by two rows of palm trees. We will return to the pier, where we disembark and drive to Can Tho. Overnight at hotel.

We will rise at 5 a.m to take a boat trip through the winding waterways of Cai Rang floating market, the biggest and busiest floating market in the Mekong Delta. Here the waterways become a labyrinth of hundreds of motor sampans filled with fruit, vegetables, plants and food, all jostling for a space. This is an opportunity to take photos, communicate with the locals and taste delicious fresh fruit. After disembarking we will drive to Chau Doc, the closet town to the Vietnam Cambodian border in An Giang province. Here we will again take to the water to visit floating houses and fish farms where you can feed the fish and discover life on the river. We will end the day with a visit to a village of the Cham ethnic minority group. Overnight at Chau Doc.

In the morning we will take a speed boat to Phnom Penh and arrive in the city around noon. Time to rest and have lunch. The afternoon will be spent exploring Phnom Penh, the capital city of Cambodia. We commence our tour with a visit to the National Museum, then on to the  Silver Pagoda situated inside the Royal Palace complex and lastly  Wat Phnom Pagoda considered the spiritual heart of the city. Overnight at hotel.

After breakfast we will drive 168km to Kampong Thom, a picturesque town situated on the banks of the Tonle Sap Lake. En route, we will drop by Skun Market, a unique place selling spiders. Passing the beautiful landscape of the Cambodian countryside, we will reach Sambor Prei Kuk which once served as the capital of Chenla and was built in the early 7th century. We will continue our drive for 147 km to reach Siem Reap passing quaint villages and lush rice plains. We will stop at Kompong Kdei to visit an old bridge dating back more than 1000 yearsr and was built under the reign of king Chayravaman VII. Overnight at hotel in Siem Reap.

After breakfast, we will visit the South Gate of Angkor Thom also referred to as "Great City", the famous Bayon Temple built in the late 12th century and the Baphoun Temple dedicated to the Hindu god Shiva, the Terrace of Elephants, the Terrace of the Leper King and Phimean Akas known as "Heavenly Palace".

In the afternoon, we will tour the World Heritage site "Angkor Wat", the world's largest religious building. We continue our day with a visit to Bakheng Hill Temple and watch the sunset from the top of the hill. Back to the hotel. Overnight in Siem Reap

Morning visit to the “Small Circuit” group of temples including Ta Prohm overgrown with the roots of enormous fig trees. This is one of Jayavarman VII's first major temple projects dedicated to his mother, Thommanon built at the same time as Angkor Wat and Chau Say Tevoda Temple, Banteay Kdei surrounded by four concentric walls, Srah Srang or “The Royal Baths" which was used for bathing rituals and Ta Keo known as “The Mountain with Golden Peaks” dedicated to the Hindu god Shiva.

The afternoon will be spent visiting the “Grand Circuit” including Pre Rup, a temple mountain with beautiful bas reliefs and excellent views of the surrounding countryside, East Mebon a large temple mountain dedicated to Shiva in honor of the king’s parents, Tasom the most distant temple of the Grand Circuit, Neak Pean a small island temple originally dedicated to Buddha, it is most photogenic during the wet season and finishing off the tour will be Preah Khan dedicated to Jayavarman VII's father. Overnight at hotel.

In the morning we will explore Tonle Sap Lake, the largest natural lake in Indochina. We will cruise for one to two hours and visit its floating villages and discover life on the water. After disembarking we will drive back to Siem Reap through the peaceful countryside passing quaint villages with lush rice paddies and rows of palm. En route we will visit the Artisans d’Angkor established in 1992 for the purpose of  training young Cambodians in reestablishing the arts of their ancestral heritage and help increass job opportunities. We will drop by some workshops to learn about the process of stone and wood carving. The afternoon will be spent visiting Siem Reap's market for some last minute shopping, then you will be brought to the airport for your departure. You room is available until noon only. Asiatica Travel services end at the airport.