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Rousing Mekong Tour
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Code: |
IDCN38 |
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Routes: |
Bangkok - Thonburi - Siem
Reap - Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City) - Tay
Ninh - My Tho - Ben Tre Province -
Cholon |
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Duration: |
11 Days |
Itinerary in brief
Day 01: Bangkok - Arrival
Day 02: Bangkok - Floating Market & Rose Garden
Day 03: Bangkok - Canal & Temple Tour
Day 04: Bangkok - Siem Reap - Rolous Temples
Day 05: Angkor Thom & Ta Prohm
Day 06: Banteay Srei - Kbal Spean - Angkor Wat
Day 07: Siem Reap - Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City)
Day 08: Ho Chi Minh City
Day 09: Ho Chi Minh City - Tay Ninh - Cu Chi
Tunnel
Day 10: Ho Chi Minh City - Mekong Delta
Day 11: Saigon - Departure
Detail Itinerary
Places
Covered: City Centre,
Floating Market, Marketplace, Rose Garden,
Patpong Night Market, Canals, Night Bazaar, Wat
Sai, Temple of the Dawn, Emerald Buddha Temple,
Grand Palace, Old Market, the Royal Residence of
the present King, Siem Reap River, Psar Thmei,
the workshop and showroom of Les Chantiers
Ecoles Artisans d'Angkor, Rolous group temples
of Lolei, Bakong & Preah Ko, Angkor Thom, Bayon,
Phimeanakas, Elephant Terrace, Terrace of the
Leper King, Preah Khan, Neak Pean, Ta Prohm,
Ta Keo, Prasat Kravan, Banteay Kdei, Banteay
Srei, Kbal Spean (the "River of a Thousand
Lingas"), Kulen Mountain, Angkor Wat, Bakheng
Temple, Demolished Wartime American Embassy,
Reunification Palace, Notre Dame Cathedral,
Old Saigon Post Office, Jade Emperor Pagoda, War
Remnant Museum, Ben Thanh Market, the
Headquarters of the Cao Dai sect, Cao Dai
Temple, Cu Chi Tunnels, Mekong Delta, Unicorn
Island, Ving Trang Pagoda, Chinatown.
Day 01:
Bangkok - Arrival (Dinner)
Arrive in Bangkok airport meet and transfer to
hotel for check-in.
Have an orientation walk-about in the vicinity
of your hotel which is in the city centre to see
for yourself what makes this eclectic city throb
with vibrancy of life, traffic, smells of
pungent foods and roasting meats and contrast
this hurly-burly world with the serenity of its
temples where time seems rooted within their
walls. Find out what Thai health and foot
massage is, drink coffee in a coffee café and
watch the human stream flow pass, walk the
lively streets to come at close quarters with
the Thai living and working in their city
environment.
Overnight at Tawana Ramada Hotel (4-star) or
hotel of your choice (see hotel list ), Bangkok.
Day 02: Bangkok - Floating Market & Rose
Garden (Breakfast/ Lunch)
Buffet breakfast at the hotel. Rise early to
take a trip to Bangkok’s largest and most
authentic floating market 80km southwest of the
city where a flotilla of sampans loaded with
local produce glide among boats of shoppers
buying their daily sustenance in a large canal
that is the marketplace. The sight of so many
sampans and rowboats milling around is
startlingly picturesque. We will row right up
next to these sampans and you can buy a comb of
bananas or a papaya or a bowl of hot steaming
noodles. And as the sampans and other boats
glide away for home, we too leave the floating
market to go and see a folk show and an elephant
show in the well-landscaped Rose Garden at
Samphran. Lunch at the Rose Garden restaurant.
It would be about 5.30pm before you arrive back
in the comfort of your hotel for a dip in the
pool. In the evening as the hundreds of stalls
selling all kinds of Thai and imported products
lit up and open for business, stroll in the
Patpong night market near your hotel.
Overnight at Tawana Ramada Hotel (4-star) or
similar, in Bangkok.
Day 03: Bangkok - Canal & Temple Tour
(Breakfast/ Lunch)
Breakfast at the hotel. Morning tour of the
canals of the Chao Phraya River and Thonburi to
see life in the maze of canals. Visit Wat Sai to
make a brief stop for refreshments and toilet
before gliding off to feed the giant catfish in
the klong to gain merit. We then visit the
Temple of the Dawn that was built by King Taksin
on the Thonburi side before Bangkok was founded
(in 1782). Cross the river to the Bangkok side
to visit the Emerald Buddha Temple and the
adjacent Grand Palace, both built and used by
the Chakri kings until recently. Foreign
ambassadors and Heads of States are received in
the throne hall of the Grand Palace today.
Buffet lunch in the Emerald Hotel restaurant
before returning to your hotel and be free at
leisure for the rest of the day.
Overnight at Tawana Ramada Hotel (4-star) or
similar, in Bangkok.
Day 04: Bangkok - Siem Reap - Rolous Temples
(Breakfast/ Lunch/ Dinner)
Breakfast at the hotel. Morning transfer to the
airport for the flight to Siem Reap, the world
heritage site of Cambodia that has thrilled the
world since its discovery in the mid-19th
century. We take an orientation tour of the city
to get to know it, visiting the Old Market where
Khmer handicrafts and souvenirs can be bargained
for, the royal residence of the present King
Sihanouk, Siem Reap River, Psar Thmei and other
sights including a look at Khmer artisans
working away on stone and wood to produce the
artwork for sale in the showroom of Les
Chantiers Ecoles Artisans d’Angkor. Lunch at
Angkor Reach Restaurant. Tour to the Rolous
group temples of Lolei, Bakong and Preah Ko all
built in the pre-Angkor period (850-893) to see
the precedents of the great Angkor period
temples. These temples will establish in your
mind the chronology of temple architecture in
Angkor as temple-building developed and declined
over a period of 600 years. Dinner at Sampheap
Restaurant.
Overnight at hotel, Siem Reap.
Day 05: Angkor Thom & Ta Prohm (Breakfast/
Lunch/ Dinner)
Breakfast at the hotel. Morning tour of Angkor
Thom, the great city located next to Angkor Wat.
Angkor Thom was the greatest achievement of King
Jayavarman VII. Built in the late 12th century,
it extends almost 4 square miles and is enclosed
by a wall 26 feet high, 7.5 miles long and
surrounded by an originally crocodile-infested
moat. This great city contains many structures
built to honour the Buddha and amenities for the
king and people to enjoy. The area is surrounded
by five monumental gates more than 65 feet high,
each dominated by 5 huge carved faces of the
king himself represented as the Buddha
Avalokitesvara, facing north, south, east, west
and centre. In front of the south gate are giant
statues of 54 gods on the left, 54 demons on the
right. In the centre is the Bayon, a massive
cluster of towers carved with 216 faces of the
king. More great carvings are found on the 4000
feet of interior walls that are covered with
bas-reliefs showing 11,000 figures engaged in
battles, ceremonial pageants and everyday life
of 12th century Angkor. Visit Phimeanakas, a
10th century temple built by Jayavarman V; the
Elephant Terrace, a viewing platform from which
the kings of Angkor watched military
processions; Terrace of the Leper King,
supposedly named after the builder of Angkor
Thom whom legend says was afflicted with
leprosy. Visit also Preah Khan dedicated to
Buddhism and Neak Pean, both built by Jayavarman
VII, the latter a healing place. Lunch at
Jasmine Angkor restaurant. Afternoon sightseeing
of Ta Prohm which is not restored and left to
the elements with giant trees embracing its
stone works, giving Ta Prohm its unique
character. We are able to visualize and perhaps
feel how Henri Mouhot the Frenchman who
discovered Angkor must have experienced when he
stumbled upon the jungle covered ruins of Angkor
in the mid-19thcentury. If there is still time
we visit also Ta Keo, an 11th century sandstone
temple dedicated to Shiva, Prasat Kravan,
Banteay Kdei, and others. Return to your hotel
to refresh yourself.
Dinner at New Bayon Restaurant.
Overnight at hotel, Siem Reap.
Day 06: Banteay Srei - Kbal Spean - Angkor
Wat (Breakfast/ Lunch/ Dinner)
Breakfast at the hotel. Morning departure at
8.30am to tour Banteay Srei and Kbal Spean in
the Kulen Mountains. The temple of Banteay Srei,
38 km from Siem Reap, is the only pink sandstone
temple exquisitely carved dated before Angkor
Wat. Its apsaras on the walls are regarded as
the best in the whole Angkor temple complex.
Venture out farther into the Kulen Mountain area
to Kbal Spean, which was the first capital of
the pre-Angkor Khmer period. There are over 20
ruined temples here, but the marvellous carvings
are of huge Hindu gods and the hundreds of
carved lingas in the riverbed that you get to
with a half-hour trek along a shady jungle path.
Stick to the well-trodden paths as there are
still unexploded mines lying around. Return to
Siem Reap to lunch at Angkor Cafe. In the
afternoon we visit Angkor Wat, the great temple
built before Angkor Thom. Angkor Wat represents
the spiritual and mystical grandeur of the Khmer
people. The kingdom was founded in the early 9th
century by King Suryavarman II as a microcosm of
the mythical world in which he identified
himself with the god Vishnu. At the heart of the
city was a mountain temple - traditional home of
the Hindu gods and also the centre of an earthly
kingdom in which the king was regarded as
sacred. The temple also served as a mausoleum
for the dead kings and was in use until 1431
when the Siamese eliminated the kingdom. The
lost city was re-discovered by western
archaeologists in the late 19th century. The
temple complex of Angkor covers 200 acres,
enclosed by a massive rectangular-shaped wall
and surrounded by a moat. The wall contains
gates on all four sides, with the main entrance
richly decorated with carvings and sculptures.
The temple comprises five distinctive towers
with 72 major monuments and an irrigation
system, which together portrayed the
harmonization of Indian roots in a Cambodian
context – which was the very foundation of Khmer
art and architecture. This place is probably the
largest religious monument ever built on earth,
and is considered one of the most inspiring.
Angkor Wat was declared a world heritage site by
the United Nations, and is regarded as one of
the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. As the
sun lowers itself beneath the horizon, climb up
to the Bakheng Temple ruins to see the sunset on
Angkor Wat. Dinner at Tonle Sap Restaurant with
cultural show.
Overnight in hotel, Siem Reap.
Day 07: Siem Reap - Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City)
(Breakfast)
Breakfast at the hotel. Free until time to
transfer to the airport for your departure
flight from Siem Reap to Saigon. Your guide will
assist you at checking-in at the airport. Upon
arrival in Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City) Tan Son
Nhat airport, meet your guide who will welcome
you and transfer you to your city hotel. Ho Chi
Minh City is a center of commerce, finance,
culture and tourism in Vietnam. This bustling
metropolis is a stark contrast with its northern
counterpart, Hanoi. It is crowded with bikes and
motorbikes, exciting shopping areas and sidewalk
cafés. (If time permits we stroll around the
downtown to experience the local way of life).
Overnight in hotel, Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City).
Day 08: Ho Chi Minh City (Breakfast/ Lunch)
Breakfast at the hotel. Today we spend a
half-day seeing some major sights of the city.
We pass the now-demolished wartime American
Embassy before we visit the Reunification Palace
which was the former residence of the President
of South Vietnam until mid-April 1975, and some
French colonial structures including the Notre
Dame Cathedral and the old Saigon Post Office.
After seeing the Jade Emperor Pagoda and the War
Remnant Museum, we continue our trip to the
bustling Ben Thanh Market where anything and
everything is for sale. Lunch in a restaurant
before returning to the hotel, and be free at
leisure.
Overnight in hotel, Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City).
Day 09: Ho Chi Minh City - Tay Ninh - Cu Chi
Tunnel (Breakfast/ Lunch)
Breakfast at the hotel. The headquarters of the
Cao Dai sect is located in Tay Ninh. This
religious group was founded in 1923 and now
numbers over 2 million members. It is a mixture
of Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism and
superstition. After breakfast we travel by road
to Tay Ninh to see the ornate Cao Dai temple and
attend the fantastic mid-day service when the
followers fill the hall wearing coloured robes,
a symbol of the curious combination of the marks
of Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism. Afterwards
we continue to the famous Cu Chi Tunnels, which
are an incredible underground network
constructed by Vietnamese fighters during the
long struggle for independence. The tunnels
contained hospitals, accommodation, schools and
other useful construction. They were used as a
military base for the Vietcong in the American
War. Lunch in a restaurant before returning to
HCMC.
Overnight in hotel, Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City).
Day 10: Ho Chi Minh City - Mekong Delta
(Breakfast/ Lunch)
Breakfast at the hotel. Heading out of town, we
travel by road to the Mekong delta, Vietnam's
largest rice bowl. On arrival in My Tho we
embark on a boat navigating around the intricate
small canals in the delta region, which is a
great way to observe the local lifestyle
close-up and catch a view dotted by many
islands. The exciting excursion will pass the
lush green vegetation before arriving at the
famous Unicorn Island. Here we have
opportunities to stroll about in an orchard,
taste many seasonal fruits and enjoy wonderful
traditional music. The next stop of our trip is
Ben Tre province to visit some fascinating local
industries. After lunch we return to Ho Chi Minh
City, stopping off along the way to see the
beautiful Ving Trang Pagoda and Cholon, Saigon’s
Chinatown, which is crammed with sacred temples
and mysterious, narrow lanes. Free at leisure
for the rest of the day.
Overnight in hotel, Ho Chi Minh City.
Day 11: Saigon - Departure (Breakfast)
Breakfast at the hotel. Free until time to
transfer to the airport for your departure
flight.
End of Tour & Services
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