Foodie Tour - Vietnam & Cambodia - Best of the best!

The first attraction for the city tour is Ethnology Museum. Then, continue to French quarter for walking tour. Later, we will have lunch at Season of Hanoi Restaurant. Understanding the Asian cuisine and Vietnamese’s delicious dishes, we continue for visiting the revered Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum and the renowned Temple of Literature. Go to the Water Puppet Show to enjoy an exceptional art of Hanoi. Have dinner at Cha Ca La Vong to evaluate the famous fish sausage of the land. Rest of the evening at leisure. Accommodation at your hotel.

Breakfast at hotel. Walk to the local wet market to enjoy the bustling vibe in the morning filled with local activities and fresh ingredients. Continue your walking trip toward the Hanoi Old Quarter to appreciate some of the antique corners of the land where the residents might have breakfast on the pavement, the houses look antique, and the narrow alleys remain peaceful. As you’re in Hanoi, it’s a must to try “Pho Bo” (noodle with beef) at the reliable addresses like Pho Bat Dab or Pho Bo Hang Dong. In the top places for the best “Pho” in Hanoi, be patient to wait in line to get the delectable bowls as they usually get crowded by the patrons. After the delightful breakfast, you are reenergized to discover the Old Quarter more and might love to try some local dishes like “Banh Cuon” (a kind of steamed rice cake rolled with mushroom and minced pork), local coffee, and “Bun Cha” (vermicelli served with grilled pork). Afternoon: Take part in the cooking session at Anh Tuyet Restaurant, and gain the hands-on cooking experiences in the 3 Hanoi traditional dishes namely “Nem” (fried meat rolls), “Nom” (mixed salad), and “Ca Hap” (steamed fish). Before the practices, you enjoy a 1-hour market tour to get to know some Vietnamese ingredients and how to pick up the fresh bits. Then, listen to the short talk of the Hanoi gastronomy, herbs, and spices, their usages, etc. The interest goes on with cooking and cutting techniques in the Vietnamese style. Later, eat supper at the restaurant.

Morning: Drive to Halong Bay through the scenic Red River Delta. Upon your arrival, board the luxury Indochina Sails. Expect the welcome drink as well as the quick talk about boat safety and orientation with the detailed itinerary. After that, check in your cabins and have leisure. Afternoon: Have lunch onboard with the multi-course Vietnamese & Western menus. If you have any dietary needs, feel free to address to be served adequately. Meanwhile, the cruise will run toward the fascinating Bai Tu Long Bay, pass by various beautiful and tranquil corners, and visit the poetic Cua Van Floating Village – one of the best highlights of the UNESCO Bay. Cua Van offers the marvelous settings of 150 floating houses filled with many friendly residents. Around the area, you can enjoy kayaking or use the bamboo boats. Before the cooking session onboard, enjoy your leisure of 1 hour and a half or more. Then, the Chefs will start the Cooking Class for all passengers to learn how to cook Vietnamese traditional food. After the class time, enjoy the happy feast. Evening: The joy is also big with the first Happy Hour program (18:00 – 19:00) when you buy one and get one free drink. The dinner is often served at 19:30 and in the type of buffet including lots of seafood, salad, meat choices, seasonal fruits, and desserts. The night recreational onboard goes on in the dining room, lounge, upper deck, and the second Happy Hour (21:00 – 22:00). Also, relax more with the great board games, cards, massage service, and night squid fishing.

Morning: Start a nice day with morning coffee, tea, and pastries which are available from 6:45. Then, at 7:00, join the Tai Chi practice for positive health effects. After that, be ready for the walking trip to the bewitching Ti Top Island. Around one hour is dedicated to climbing the steps to reach the summit for the 360-degree panorama of the wonderful Bay. What’s more, the happy day tour keeps up by swimming and playing water sports on the beach. After some dynamic activities to start the day, head back to the cruise for breakfast buffet, and “Pho” is included. Next, you’re at leisure to rest on the deck or feast the eyes with the natural beauty. Around 11:00, it’s time for disembarkation. From here, we will transfer to Hipong Airport for your domestic flight to Danang. Arrival at Danang and we transfer to Hue for an hour drive. Arrival at Hue and accommodation at your hotel.

Morning: Have a good morning at Dong Ba Market, the largest-scope wholesale market in Hue to buy food, vegetable, spices, fruits, and herbs. The morning market gives you the authentic experiences in how the residents live in a dynamic way. After minutes, head back to the hotel to have breakfast. Then, proceed to the well-known Thien Mu Pagoda which is the local symbol. Do homage in the pagoda and appreciate its nice architecture as well as mystic tales. Next, come to explore Kim Long Village on foot. The village gives you the warm welcome to experience the local lifestyle which has been preserved for centuries. The next hours are invested in visiting Tu Duc Tomb whose architecture is beautiful and extraordinary and listening to some stories about this great King. Afternoon: Gather at the other recognizable religious venue – Dong Thien Pagoda where to have a vegetarian lunch. The pagoda visit gives the contribution to the kindergarten herein that helps educate the needy children. The hospitable nuns will share with you some intriguing stories about the pagoda. After a short rest at the hotel, be excited for the cooking class in Tha Om Restaurant. The 1-hour cooking practice lets you know the how to cook the royal-style menus including lantern-formed meat rolls and rice steamed cake. Once you’re done, enjoy the feast prepared by yourself as well as the restaurant.

Breakfast at hotel. Today, we experience the exciting cyclo trip to the nice Trang Tien Bridge and age-old Dong Ba Market. Sitting on the cyclo, it seems you’re enjoying the slow-paced journey through some antique streets and shops toward the Hue Citadel. The cyclo ends at the Noon Gate of the Imperial Citadel where you begin walking to discover the interior of the heritage. Expect to learn some facts about the Nguyen Dynasty (1802 – 1945), the Flag Towers, Nine Dynastic Urns, Thai Hoa Palace, Forbidden Purple City, Nine Holy Cannons, etc. Return to hotel for check out. Lunch at local restaurant. Later, we drive to Danang and continue drive to Hoi An Ancient city. The drive may take approximately 1.5-2 hours with stop.

Morning: Get ready to visit the local fish market to buy the fresh fish which later becomes the major ingredients for the cooking session. The nice chefs will teach you the uses of some different kinds of noodles, the ways to select and buy the fresh fish as well as some herbs, and the effects of spices in Vietnamese recipes which might relate to some medicinal benefits. What’s more, it’s good to know about the local rice, grains, and fruits. The practices are done at The Market Restaurant. On the return from the local market to the restaurant, you can expect to see lots of attractive street food carts, offering the live cooking performances, and remember to taste some dishes namely the newly made Vietnamese sandwiches. The other fascinating street food in Hoi An are the rice crepes, rice paper, and dumpling served with Hoi An chili sauce. Furthermore, make sure you know how great the authentic Cao Lau dish (a kind of noodle that is very famous in its homeland). The discovery goes on excitingly with various offers of Vietnamese tea, homemade cupcakes, sweet treats, etc. Then, you arrive at the Restaurant for the cooking class which takes around 2.5 hours. The class starts with the chef’s demonstrations on how to cook each Hoi An dish. After that, it’s time for your hands-on experiences in preparing the food on your own. Once you’re finished, enjoy the self-cooked dishes and have fun. You can bring home a copy of the recipe and a Vietnamese cooking utensil. The popular recipe includes: Broth of shrimp mousse packed with cabbage leaves BBQ chicken served with lime leaves Mango salad with prawns. Crunchy pancakes with prawn, pork, and bean sprouts. Afternoon: It’s time for relaxing at Tra Que Herb Village where gains fame for the organic herbs. The friendly farmers there will introduce a variety of herbs and how the herbs can be grown to you. Take time savoring a cup of organic herbs and refresh! The next activity is the unforgettable cyclo trip to Cam Nam Village, passing by the Cam Nam Bridge. When the view of Thu Bon River is before the eyes, take the photo opportunities to capture the picturesque moments of the local activities and river sceneries. The panorama of the Thu Bon is best for sightseeing from its river bank – the flattering photo shop. The cyclo runs along the stunning riverside and through the idyllic villages, giving you the nice experience. Expect to meet some hospitable residents, view their daily activities, the designs of their houses, and take pictures, of course! The stop point for the cyclo trip is the little canal covered by lots of coconut trees. There you begin a boat trip to Thu Bon River and enjoy sightseeing the captivating sceneries along the river, and local life activities like fishing, catching clam, and more. Around sunset, head back to Hoi An. Accommodation at your hotel.

Breakfast at hotel. Day at leisure. Accommodation at your hotel.

Day at leisure in the morning. Later, we transfer to airport for your flight to Ho Chi Min city. Welcome at Tan Son Nhat Airport and transfer to Saigon center. After you’ve checked in the hotel. Accommodation at your hotel.

Cooking Before the class time: visit the famous Ben Thanh Market for around 1 hour. The market tour informs you of the Vietnamese ingredients like meat, seafood, fruit, and vegetables. Expect to learn how to distinguish some different ingredients which are later used for cooking practices. Head back to the Vietnam Cookery Center to be ready for the learning time! After a few hours, you can even bring out the “talent chefs” in you. Besides being about to cook the delectable dishes, you will also learn more about Vietnamese Cuisine Art and get the hands-on experiences for the later practice at home. The popular menu includes a local soup, braised fish or pork. After the class, it’s time to taste your self-cooked food plus some dishes prepared by the restaurant. Afternoon: Begin a city tour to China Town. Spend time doing homage in Thien Hau Pagoda – the local revered religious venue where people come to pray for health and wealth. Remarkably, on the first edition of Lonely Planet of Vietnam, there was the photo of incense burners right in this pagoda. The next minutes are used for sightseeing the extraordinary local cafeterias on the street where the movie “The Lover” had been recorded. Take your time savoring a cup of coffee there. The city tour goes on to some local shops which sell various colorful decorative objects made from paper. Then, you might expect to see the largest wholesale market in the town, Binh Tay Market where to find almost every product. The Binh Tay was erected by Quach Dam, the rich Chinese merchant in the year of 1930. His statue and his tomb are put in the center of the market. The visitors mostly find it interesting to view both the bustling market vibe and the ancient Chinese architecture. At the end of the day tour, have dinner at Indochine Restaurant

Breakfast at hotel. Morning at leisure or visit more places before we transfer to airport in the afternoon. PM flight to Siem Reap. Arrival at Siem Reap and we transfer to your hotel.

Breakfast at hotel. Today, we visit the local market and join the Khmer Cooking session. The class takes approximately 4 hours including lunch at the cooking class. Later, refresh before you start your Angkor Tour. In the afternoon, we will have an orientation tour of Angkor with a visit to conservation D’Angkor is a warehouse of treasures located just a kilometre from the stone temples of Angkor and a short remork ride from town. The Conservation houses more than 6,000 pieces of Khmer art. Despite the thousands of travellers who visit Angkor every year, few visit to Angkor Wat, is the largest religious structure in the form of a temple complex in the world by land area, measuring 162.6 hectares. At the centre of the temple stands a quincunx of four towers surrounding a central spire that rises to a height of 65m above the ground. The temple has three rectangular galleries, each raised above the next. It lies within an outer wall 3.6 kilometres long and a moat more than five kilometres long. Later, return to your hotel.

Leisure at resort Breakfast at hotel. Today, we visit Banteay Srei, a petite pink temple and the jewel in the crown of Angkor-era sculpture. Because of the dense pink sandstone used, the elaborate carvings here are the finest found in Cambodia. Banteay Srei translates as ‘Fortress of the Women’, because of to the intricate carvings which are considered too fine for the hands of a man. Lastly visit the 12th century temple of Banteay Samre. Because of over-quarrying of sandstone, this temple is unique as it uses laterite for the roofed corridors. In addition, the pediments above the inner doors include some of the most accomplished carving from the Angkor period. Return to your hotel for lunch. In the afternoon, we enjoy wellness program at your hotel and enjoy your afternoon. Accommodation at your hotel.

Our Angkor Sunrise combines this magical moment with all of the highlights usually associated with our acclaimed Angkor tour! But in true Vespa Adventure fashion we do things differently to ensure a unique and unforgettable experience that will stay with you forever! Upon entering the archaeological park, we separate ourselves from the other tourists and take you to a hidden and seldom used entrance. There is silence as we cross the lotus filled moat under the moon and the stars. The silence is broken by the early morning chorus of the birds and insects as the sun begins to rise. Still we find ourselves alone until we reach the other side where all the other sunrise visitors are lying in wait with their cameras ready. Your guide will lead you to the best photo spots before retreating once again from the crowds to enjoy what needs to be a peaceful moment of reflection at this World Heritage site. Once the sun has done its thing we then venture into the world’s largest religious building for a guided tour. This is followed by a tasty breakfast (local or western) and a fresh coffee. We then continue to the walled city of Angkor Thom, the Bayon and Ta Prohm (the “Tomb Raider” temple), as well as some lesser known gems. We dodge the big buses by leaving the busy roads behind using hidden trails through the jungle, villages and rice fields – a unique experience that visitors on 4 wheels simply cannot recreate! We then return you to your hotel in time for lunch, with the rest of your day to enjoy!

Breakfast at hotel. Morning at leisure till we transfer to airport for your flight to