Journey Through Vietnam
February 22-March 9, 2006

A land of breathtaking natural beauty, abiding tradition and profoundly hospitable people

Tour Highlights

• Unique small group itinerary
• Hanoi sightseeing
• Excursion to Ha Long Bay
• Imperial capital of Hue
• Charming Hoi An
• Acclaimed Cham Museum
• Visit to farming settlement of Hoa Chau
• Extensive Mekong Delta touring
• Floating markets at Cai Be and Cai Rang
• Saigon touring: Reunification Palace, History Museum, Cu Chi Tunnels
• Traditional Water Puppet performance

 
Itinerary

Days 1-2: Depart U.S.

Day 3: Arrive in Hanoi, the Vietnamese capital, and transfer to our hotel. The remainder of the day is at leisure; in the evening gather at a local restaurant for a welcome dinner and traditional water puppet performance.

Day 4: Take a guided walking tour of Ba Dinh Square, a popular complex of cultural and historic sites, including the marble and granite mausoleum of Ho Chi Minh, the Presidential Palace, and the thousand-year-old One Pillar Pagoda. On an orientation tour of this French-accented city with broad tree-lined boulevards and colonial architecture, pass Hoan Kiem Lake and the marvelous Temple of Literature (c. 1070). Later walk the narrow streets of the Ancient Quarter, where historic homes and temples sit side by side with small shops.

Day 5: Depart for a full-day excursion to Ha Long Bay, a breathtaking waterway sprinkled with 3,000 islands and islets and surrounded by a fairytale landscape of limestone cliffs, secret grottoes and hidden caves.

Day 6: Fly to Hue, the ancient imperial capital, whose ruins evoke its past grandeur as home to emperors and mandarins. Visit the Imperial Citadel, housing the Forbidden Purple City where the emperors lived with their families, and the Central Market where locals buy produce, fish and sundry items. Enjoy traditional music in the evening.

Day 7: Cruise along Hue's Perfume River to peaceful Thien Mu Pagoda, a Buddhist monastery that counts among the city's most important monuments. Visit the palatial Tomb of Minh Mang, with its pavilions and courtyards modeled after the Ming Tombs of China. Visit the tombs of two more emperors: Tu Doc, with its own lake and lovely grounds; and colorful Khai Dinh.

Day 8: Encounter the spectacular scenery of Cloudy Pass on this morning's journey south to Da Nang. Tour the renowned Cham Museum celebrating the Cham peoples' Hindu legacy with a fine collection of sculpture and artifacts dating from the 7th to 15th centuries. After checking in at your hotel overlooking China Beach, head for nearby Hoi An, where a succession of Dutch, Chinese, Portuguese, and Japanese traders helped to build an architecturally diverse and colorful village where many ancient traditions still hold sway. Because no cars are allowed in town, the streets belong to pedestrians and bicyclists, making it perfect for walking and exploring.

Day 9: Travel to the small settlement of Hoa Chau, nestled amidst seemingly endless rice paddies in rural Da Nang to witness the daily life of a local farming community. This is the Vietnam of legend and film; where rice paddies occupy every spare patch of ground, water buffaloes plow the fields, and villagers ride to market with produce piled high on their bicycles.

Day 10: Fly to Saigon and travel by coach south to the Mekong River town of Cai Be. Board a motorized sampan for an introduction to river life, including a close-up look at the floating market where farmers display their goods from bamboo poles suspended over their boats. Cruise along the upper reaches of the Mekong, exploring the maze of tributaries and inlets that lead to tiny settlements and villages. Lunch at a local farm, then continue cruising to the beautiful and lush island of Vinh Long.

Day 11: Journey by boat to the bustling floating market at Cai Rang on the Mekong's lower reaches. After this scenic excursion, visit the excellent Mekong Museum, which chronicles the river's vital role in local life. Take an optional excursion to the Thot Nhot Bird Sanctuary, home to thousands of wild storks.

Day 12: Travel by coach to Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City is used interchangeably) and dine at the popular Mandarin restaurant.

Day 13: Tour the former Presidential Palace, which served as the South Vietnamese government's wartime headquarters. Now called Reunification Palace, it was here that the first communist tanks rolled into Saigon on April 30, 1975; it remains preserved as a museum almost exactly as it was on that day. Visit the History Museum, with an excellent display on the indigenous people of Vietnam.

Day 14: Visit Saigon's Cu Chi Tunnels, the infamous underground network from which North Vietnamese forces operated in wartime. Explore these ingenious mazes below ground or view excavated areas from above.

Day 15: Explore Saigon on your own; the city is noted for its Asian-influenced French character, spirited street life, cosmopolitan cuisine and unforgettable people, then gather for a farewell dinner.

Day 16: Depart for U.S.

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HOLAC (My Hamilton)

REGIONAL EVENTS

ARIZONA
Nov. 24
Q&A with the Governor

BOSTON
Dec. 16 - SOLD OUT
Boston Pops

CHICAGO
Dec. 18
Holiday Party

DALLAS
Dec. 5
Holiday Party

NEW YORK CITY
Nov. 20
Wall Street Association

Dec. 6
Holiday Open House

Dec. 13
Trans-Siberian Orchestra

Jan. 10
Three Kings Day

WASHINGTON, D.C.
Dec. 9
Holiday Party