Indochina Overture

(Tour code: Classic - 20)

Meals: one dinner
Escort/guide: transfer to hotel and evening

Six days in Vietnam's cultural heartland
Imperial Hue, the power base of the Nguyen Kings, is an archive of the rise and fall of an Empire. The ruins of its massive Citadel dominate the modern city on the opposite bank of the Perfume River. The Mausoleums of a succession of Emperors straddle the landscape, each an individual palace reflecting the personality, accomplishments and foibles of its occupant.

The influence of Hue's Imperial legacy pervades the area. Its architecture, music, cuisine - even its garden designs, reflect the Imperial style. All these elements combine in the city's unique 'garden houses' - it's a royal feast of history and culture.

Hoi An is at the opposite extreme. A small riverside town of richly-decorated wooden buildings that was once one of SE Asia's trading ports, it's compact, unnassuming and beguiling. Most of our customers describe it as 'charming', a term we use rarely, but in this case it's appropriate. It's a short distance from Cua Dai, one of the best beaches in Vietnam's Central area, so we've left you a free day to relax.

The My Son Sanctuary, once the spiritual heart of the ancient Empire of Champa, is an echo from a vanished culture. Little remains apart from the intricately-wrought brick towers that dot the landscape and some remarkable statuary. Set in a deserted verdant valley, it's redolent of a forgotten civilisation, a place for contemplation and reverence as its makers intended.

Meals: six breakfasts, four lunches and one dinner
Guide: two and a half days in Hue and half a day in My Son

Three days in Siem Reap - gateway to the Angkor Wat Temple Complex
After the the fall of the once-mighty Kh'mer Empire in the 12th century, its capital was slowly swallowed by luxuriant jungle, its majestic shrines slowly crumbling in the stranglehold of roots and creepers. When a young French naturalist stumbled upon the huge compex of temples in 1860, he was stunned by its scale and grandeur.

Since then, visitors to Angkor have the same reaction. The vast complex is a monument to a race of masterbuilders whose unique knowledge and skills created one of the world's greatest cultural treasures. It defies description - you have to see it yourself to appreciate its glory.

Meals: three breakfasts, three lunches and three dinners
Guide: two days

Three days and your departure day in Luang Prabang
Transiting via Vientiane, Laos' sleepy capital, you'll arrive at the country's ancient capital with the rest of the day to relax and stroll around. Described as the 'best-preserved example of an ancient city', it's a compact treasury of temples, palaces and other architectural gems tucked away on a small peninsula jutting into the river. You'll have a day in the city itself, and another on the Mekong River exploring other temples and caves on the opposite bank, visiting villages and sampling the local liquor.

In the evening, a stroll up Phu Si hill provides an excellent view of the city and river with the lights flickering below and the stars above - a fitting end for your tour and your departure on the
following day.

Meals: four breakfasts, two lunches and two dinners
Guide: two days

Accommodation

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