Inspiration for your own tailor-made trip
A Cultural Immersion in Vietnam, Laos & Cambodia Temples, Traditions & Creative Discoveries
Vietnam – Laos – Cambodia
This two-week adventure kicks off in Hanoi, in Vietnam. Here, a local guide will lead the charge through mural-emblazoned streets, which are so dizzyingly busy that navigating them is something of an art form in itself. Then, duck into a contemporary gallery and admire Vietnamese artworks (tempting souvenir alert...)
After a whirlwind stop in Hanoi, Bai Tu Long Bay provides a change of tempo. Spend the night aboard a traditional junk boat amid emerald waters and empty horizons, with sunset snaps blissfully devoid of photobombs by passing boats.
Then it’s wheels up to Luang Prabang, in Laos, where you’ll have time to embrace its meditative state with a leisurely wander. And as dawn breaks over the gilded rooftops, rise early for the Tak Bat ceremony, starting the day on an auspicious high with a blessing from the monks. You’ll also roll up your sleeves for a saa papermaking workshop, before raising a teacup to your handiwork during a tasting of locally grown teas.
Next up is Cambodia, another country and a fun new passport stamp. Here, kick things off with a bang – or rather, a hush – as you roam the awe-inspiring Angkor Wat, a bucket-list temple complex known to leave even the chattiest travellers momentarily speechless...
But Cambodia’s far from a one-hit wonder. Discover its artsy side at a local gallery in Siem Reap and, because good old art appreciation is thirsty work, enjoy a few drinks along the way. Round off the trip by seeking out Angkor’s unsung gems with a guide, and by the end, you’ll have earned your stripes as quite the temple connoisseur...
Itinerary
100% customisable for you
After plenty of daydreaming and eagerly counting down the sleeps, your Southeast Asia adventure officially starts today.
Head to the airport, breeze through security, then celebrate accordingly with a tipple in the lounge before boarding. It’s a 17-hour overnight flight to Hanoi (with a quick stop at an Asian hub along the way), so queue up the films, fluff up your neck pillow and try to catch some shut-eye before landing the next day.
When you touch down in the Vietnamese capital, you’ll be privately transferred to your guesthouse in the heart of the city – your base for two nights.
Battling a bout of jet lag? We prescribe whizzing skywards to a rooftop bar, where a spritzy cocktail and glittering city views are bound to work wonders...
Spirits suitably lifted, dive into the whirlwind streets of your neighbourhood, perhaps looping around Hoan Kiem Lake before polishing off a bowl of pho (noodle soup). Then, retreat for an early night – tomorrow promises plenty more excitement.
Art aficionados will be in their element today, as a contemporary art tour is on the agenda. Meet your local guide and admire the cultural murals splashed across the city, learning about Vietnam’s avant-garde scene, born in the ‘90s and booming today.
Next, explore the Manzi Art Space, a gallery championing Vietnam’s emerging artists, whose thought-provoking paintings and experimental installations explore identity and culture. And for those pieces that prompt a slightly puzzled head tilt? Cue lots of pointing and explaining from your guide. Then, mooch around the boutique and scout out a potential addition to the wall back home...
Masterpiece marvelling complete, settle into the café inside the gallery's restored French colonial villa. Prepare to be spoilt for choice by a line-up of ingenious coffee concoctions, from egg and salt to bac xiu (classic iced coffee sweetened with condensed milk).
Fancy putting that caffeine kick to good use? We can arrange a tai chi session, where you’ll learn the basics of this ancient martial art.
Bid a warm farewell to Hanoi this morning and hit the road (with a local driver at the wheel) for the two-and-a-half-hour journey to Hon Gai Port.
Here, don your seafaring caps and board a traditional wooden junk boat for a cruise through Bai Tu long Bay, where you’ll be staying overnight.
Ha Long Bay may hog the limelight, but this lesser-known, and UNESCO-listed, seascape is every bit as dazzling, with thousands of limestone karsts rising from azure waters, just with a far smaller flotilla of tourist boats on the horizon (phew). As your captain charts a course through the bay, nab a prime spot on deck as sea caves, sleepy villages and fishing boats drift by.
Round off the day sun-kissed and salt-speckled, clinking glasses of rice wine as the setting sun casts the bay aglow. Then, sink your teeth into some fresh seafood before the lull of a day on the water has you succumbing to the allure of your cosy cabin...
Morning, sailors – your wake-up call serves up sparkling sunrise views across Bai Tu Long Bay. Head up to the deck and dig into some breakfast as you set sail back towards Hon Gai Port.
Back on dry land, grab one last Vietnamese coffee fix (perhaps it’s time to give the coconut variation a whirl?) before your four-hour private transfer to Hanoi Airport. And for your final unofficial challenge in Vietnam, spend the journey playing ‘spot the most improbably overloaded motorbike’ and prepare to question the laws of physics...
Arrive at the airport and board your one-hour flight to Luang Prabang in Laos. When you touch down, you’ll be whisked away to your charming guesthouse – your peaceful retreat for the next four nights.
Feeling sleepy after a long day of travel? Well, nothing will wake you up quite like the fiery flavours of Lao cuisine. Follow the irresistible aromas into a nearby street food market and dive in, chopsticks first...
Rise and shine whenever you feel like it this morning; today is all yours to explore laid-back Luang Prabang at your own pace. Enjoy a lazy start to the day before the smell of freshly cooked khao nom kok (bite-sized Lao coconut pancakes) tempts you into town.
Breakfast wolfed down, amble around the city streets, lined with French-colonial era villas embellished with ornate facades. Saffron-robed monks pad barefoot between incense-swirled Buddhist temples for their daily worship, while royal remnants reveal themselves in the former Royal Palace and sacred shrines once frequented by Lao kings. Let the oohing and aahing commence...
Craving a little more insight into this dreamy city? We can also arrange a local tour of Luang Prabang, where your guide will tell you all about everyday life and time-honed traditions.
Early alarm clocks are much easier when there’s a morning of magic ahead. At sunrise, meet your guide and observe the Tak Bat ceremony in Ban Nongxay, a sacred daily ritual, during which Buddhist monks collect offerings from kneeling locals in a hushed procession.
Beside the silent ceremony flows the mighty Mekong, a revered river said to be guarded by nagas (mythical serpent guardians deeply entwined with Lao Buddhist belief).
If you’d like to take part, you’re welcome to offer fruits or flowers to the monks, or buy sticky rice from a vendor for an extra-delicious contribution. In return, you’ll receive a blessing, as monks chant prayers believed to grant merit and good fortune. Suddenly that crack-of-dawn-wake-up feels well worth it...
Good karma bestowed, follow the clamour of pots and pans into the local market. Sample a few Lao specialties with your guide, then grab a cup of coffee overlooking the Mekong, fuelling you up for whatever you decide to do for the rest of the day...
Creative caps at the ready, because today’s activity calls for a little artistic flair...
Make your way to a peaceful local garden, where an expert guide will teach you the lowdown on saa paper – a traditional craft that gives humble mulberry bark a rather artistic makeover.
Now for the crafty bit. Shape your own saa paper and jazz up your creation with pressed petals, leafy patterns or whatever designs take your fancy (your artistic vision, your rules). And the best bit? It’s all yours to take home as a one-of-a-kind reminder of Laos.
Masterpiece complete, it’s time for another Lao specialty: tea. Sample a selection (all grown in the surrounding valleys), as fresh leaves are brewed and fragrant aromas fill the air. Sip the different varieties, discovering their place in Lao culture and the calming qualities of each. Consider those zen levels officially boosted...
And for your last evening in Laos, let our Concierge point you towards the tastiest noodle joint in town.
Excitement levels are bound to be sky-high (literally) this morning as you’re privately transferred to Luang Prabang Airport for your one-and-a-half-hour flight to Siem Reap. Nabbed a window seat? Stick on your headphones and tune into our destination-specific playlist as Cambodia comes into view.
When you touch down in Siem Reap, you’ll be whisked away by private transfer to your charming guesthouse – your home away from home for the next four nights. And after a few jam-packed days, enjoy some well-deserved R&R, making a beeline for the pool... or the bar.
We have also secured you tickets to Angkor Pass?Archaeological Park, whose many treasures include the iconic Preah Khan, Bayon and Ta Phrom sites, so perhaps use your free time to explore at your own pace and channel your inner temple explorer...
When hunger strikes this evening, follow the lantern-lit streets to a local restaurant and feast on amok, a fish curry infused with coconut.
Bucket lists at the ready – it's finally time to tick off Angkor Wat.
After a hearty breakfast, meet your local guide and bundle into the back of their tuk-tuk. Then, zip through the Cambodian forest to Angkor Wat, a labyrinth of deity-embellished walls and lotus-bud spires.
As you roam the ancient passageways, your guide will unravel the complex’s history, from its construction during the Khmer Empire as a Hindu temple to its eventual adoption as a Buddhist place of worship.
Then, hold onto your hats and clamber back into the tuk-tuk for another spin around Angkor Thom, passing the many-faced monoliths of Bayon Temple and the regal Terrace of the Leper King. You’ll also stop at jungle-draped Ta Prohm, whose tangle of roots and ruins earned it a Hollywood cameo in Lara Croft: Tomb Raider.
Back in Siem Reap this evening, dine somewhere local and tuck into some Cambodian fare – a tasty reward after today’s temple exploits.
Another day, another adventure.
You’ll have some free time this morning, so perhaps potter around the city streets, embark on a mini street food crawl or simply soak up the rays by the pool at your guesthouse, making a good dent in your holiday read.
Come afternoon, it’s time to dial up the artsy antics by making your way to a local gallery where, after closing time, this creative enclave is all yours for a private after-hours mooch.
Here, you’ll be welcomed by a local, who’ll show you around their treasure trove of arts and crafts, sharing the stories behind their creations and curious keepsakes collected on travels around the globe.
With drinks poured and snacks on hand, settle in for a good old chinwag, talking all things art, from Monet to modernism and everything in between...
Blockbuster temples ticked off; today is all about Angkor’s more under-the-radar wonders.
Dig into some bai sach chrouk (grilled pork and rice, a Cambodian breakfast classic), then meet your local guide and set off in search of Angkor’s unsung gems.
Decipher the Bayon-style carvings of Krol Ko temple with your guide, then explore Banteay Prei, where worshippers adorn the grounds with offerings of fruit and flowers and cows graze nearby. Next, nose around Prasat Prei, restored by French archaeologists in the 1930s, before stepping inside tranquil Banteay Thom and moss-mottled Ta Nei. Safe to say, your temple tally has officially skyrocketed...
And for your last night of the trip, leave dinner plans in the hands of our local Concierge, who’ll know just the spot for a celebratory final meal.
Time flies when you’re having fun and, sadly, your trip across these three Southeast Asian gems has come to an end.
Tuck into one last Cambodian breakfast, then, however reluctantly, prise yourself off the sun lounger at your guesthouse for your private transfer to Siem Reap Airport.
From here, board your overnight flight back home, stopping at an Asian hub en route – prime time for some last-minute duty-free shopping.
All in all, you’ll spend around 18 hours in the air – plenty of time to flick through your camera roll and relive the highlights. And if you already feel a bad case of the post-holiday blues coming on, nothing lifts the spirits quite like dreaming up your next big adventure...
Suggestions
Everything in this itinerary is entirely customisable, down to the smallest details. Here are some more suggestions of what could be included
MASTER THE BASICS OF TAI CHI
Fancy yourself an aspiring zen master? At dawn, saunter over to a leafy park, where you’ll join a group of residents already well in tune with the art of tai chi. Take a few pointers from the pros, then follow your expert instructor’s lead as you stretch, breath and focus your mind through the slow, flowing movements of this ancient Chinese martial art. It’s all about control, concentration and finding your inner calm – with perfect poise the ultimate goal...LUANG PRABANG LIKE A LOCAL
Lovely Luang Prabang warrants a closer look, so meet a local guide who knows all things Laos. Wander the peaceful streets together, picking up plenty of insider intel on age-old traditions, customs and everyday life. This is very much a go-with-the-flow kind of experience, so explore whatever your heart desires, or, more simply, whatever catches your eye, whether that’s a tucked away temple or independent shop worth ducking into. If food’s on your mind, hop from vendor to vendor at one of the city’s many markets, where chefs splash oil into searing-hot woks and chop ingredients at lightning-fast sped. Your guide will know exactly where the most fiery and flavoursome Laos fare is rustled up, so consider lunch well and truly sorted.
Why visit Cambodia with Original Travel ?
Each of our trips is entirely tailor-made with originality, quality and cultural immersion in mind. Our team of destination specialists will craft itineraries based on your tastes, using their first-hand knowledge and the help of our in-country team of Concierges and guides. All trips are accompanied by a wide range of additional services, including a 24-hour helpline, the Original Travel app, fast-track airport services and much more.
Enquire nowA few of the benefits of travelling with us to Cambodia
- Our local Concierges
- The Original Travel app
- Wi-Fi router and e-Sim
- Destination Dossier
- 24-hour helpline
- Expert guides
- 100% carbon absorption
Why visit Laos with Original Travel ?
Each of our trips is entirely tailor-made with originality, quality and cultural immersion in mind. Our team of destination specialists will craft itineraries based on your tastes, using their first-hand knowledge and the help of our in-country team of Concierges and guides. All trips are accompanied by a wide range of additional services, including a 24-hour helpline, the Original Travel app, fast-track airport services and much more.
Enquire nowA few of the benefits of travelling with us to Laos
- Our local Concierges
- The Original Travel app
- Destination Dossier
- 24-hour helpline
- Expert guides
- 100% carbon absorption
Why visit Vietnam with Original Travel ?
Each of our trips is entirely tailor-made with originality, quality and cultural immersion in mind. Our team of destination specialists will craft itineraries based on your tastes, using their first-hand knowledge and the help of our in-country team of Concierges and guides. All trips are accompanied by a wide range of additional services, including a 24-hour helpline, the Original Travel app, fast-track airport services and much more.
Enquire nowA few of the benefits of travelling with us to Vietnam
- Our local Concierges
- The Original Travel app
- Wi-Fi router and e-Sim
- Destination Dossier
- 24-hour helpline
- Expert guides
- 100% carbon absorption
