Tonight you will feel like a local as we enjoy our foodie tour.
This evening we will enjoy a scenic rickshaw ride through the streets of the old city. Day 5: Hanoi to HueĮnjoy a relaxing breakfast and morning before we head to the airport for an afternoon flight to Hue, where we will transfer to our lovely colonial-era riverside hotel for a two-night stay. On arrival back to Hanoi, we will attend Hanoi’s famous water puppet theater and a fabulous dinner. We will enjoy lunch at a local restaurant and then visit DongHo painting village, which is considered a fine reflection of the traditional aesthetic values and humanitarian desires. Once back on dry land, we’ll drive to Hanoi, making a stop in Yen Duc Village to visit the pagoda and walk around the village. Our junk will resume course this morning and we will be lucky enough to stop and visit a natural cave. In the morning you can awaken with a Tai Chi session on the deck of our boat in the dawn’s early light. We’ll spend tonight being pampered by our crew.
Those who want to get a different perspective on Vietnamese cuisine can join the chef’s cooking demonstration. Let’s pause to explore some of the smaller islands by swimming, kayaking, or walking, and enjoy our meals onboard.
We’ll spend the afternoon and overnight in a traditional Chinese junk to cruise the bay. This morning we will drive four hours east from Hanoi to Halong Bay, where thousands of huge limestone outcroppings jut above the water creating a serene and surreal world of water and stone. We will then return to our hotel for a short rest then meet up again to have our welcome dinner. Lunch will be at a unique Hanoi restaurant.Īfter lunch, we will ride by Vespa through the small city streets of Hanoi’s Old Quarter to the Ngoc Son Temple on a small island in picturesque Hoan Kiem Lake. We will also leave the bustle of the city to visit West Lake and see the gentle lines of the Tran Quoc Buddhist Pagoda, a 1,400-year-old pagoda that was moved to this location over a century ago when the terrain of its original location became unstable. We will visit Ho Chi Minh’s Mausoleum, where lines of respectful admirers and curious visitors wait to view his remains. The Paris-inspired gem of Hanoi is resplendent with classic French colonial architecture, lovely city parks, art studios, and fine cuisine.ĭuring our tour, we will visit the Temple of Literature, dedicated to Confucious and scholarly study. This feast will then be our lunch! Day 2: Hanoi TouringĪfter breakfast, we will devote the day to touring the city and learning about Ho Chi Minh’s heritage. We then return to the restaurant kitchen to see how all of these fruits, vegetables, meat, and spices come together to create the special dishes for which Vietnam is known. This is a special treat as we join one of Hanoi’s accomplished chefs for a visit to the nearby market to select items for the day’s meals.
If you arrive early enough for dinner, you will find a wide selection of cuisines available in this cosmopolitan capital city.įor anyone who arrives for the gay Vietnam tour a day or two early, we will arrange an optional cooking class that includes lunch. This distinctive hotel, well situated in the heart of the city, was renovated in 2001 to celebrate its 100th anniversary. In Hanoi, we will stay at the Hotel Sofitel Legend Metropole. Many flights arrive in Hanoi in the late evening, so nothing is planned for Day 1 other than a good night’s sleep at our grand hotel. North American travelers will cross the International Dateline, so will need to leave home one or two days before the first tour day.