VIETNAM 7 DAYS PROGRAM

Vietnam is a relatively new destination and something of a revelation. Sealed off for decades by war and then political isolation, the last 10 years has seen an opening up that has revealed a variety of topography, cuisine, customs and practices. Its beaches are long and legendary, its jungles are deep, its mountains grand and misty. Its cuisine is subtle and has enjoyed and international rush of enthusiasm. Its people, from poets to peasants, have a style and sophistication which is quite distinct.

We invite guests to visit Vietnam's two most important cities; its capital Hanoi, characterized by lakes, tree shaded boulevards and architecture of grace and flavour and the larger, commercial capital Ho Chi Minh City - formerly Saigon - with its wheeler-dealer élan, five star hotels, bustling street markets, pagodas and cafes, artists and businessmen.

Day 1. Arrival

	Guests arrive in Ho Chi Minh City in the afternoon and be welcomed by hostesses in traditional Vietnamese costume with flower garlands. PC Tours Representatives will transfer them to the hotel by luxury air conditioned coach.
	There will be a Welcome dinner at Nam Kha Restaurant a luxurious Vietnamese restaurant in the heart of Saigon decorated with Cham statues, ornamental pool and falling water to evoke the interior of a Vietnamese imperial palace as a setting for its Royal Vietnamese cuisine. Pre dinner cocktails will be served around the illuminated pool.

Day 2. Giac Lam Pagoda, Notre Dame Cathedral, Street Market, Dinner Cruise

Breakfast will be taken at the hotel

The first visit is to Giac Lam Pagoda in the city suburbs, built in 1744 and the oldest pagoda in the city. Its architecture and ornamentation are very original, particularly the blue and white tiles used for roof decoration. There is a Bodhi tree in the courtyard you can sit under and talk to the monks who still live and worship there and are very friendly and informative. On return to the city, guests will visit the 19th century Cathedral of Notre Dame whose 40m iron spires dominate the city skyline. Down the

boulevard from the cathedral, is the Reunification Palace, formerly the presidential palace of South Vietnam. The interior has been kept intact, as a museum, since the last president surrendered from there to North Vietnamese forces in 1975. In the same district, very close to the Cathdedral, is the People's Committee Building, one of the most elegant and photogenic buildings in the city, formerly the Hotel de Ville, and built during the French colonial period. Access is not permitted but one impressive European style building you can enter is the nearby Central Post Office, an imposing busy place, built in 1890.

Lunch will be taken at the 'Blue Ginger' restaurant, one of the best restaurants in Ho Chi Minh City and famous for delicious Vietnamese dishes in a stylish surrounding.

The party will take a post luncheon stroll through one of Ho Chi Minh famous street markets where Vietnamese buyers, bargaining in earnest are as interesting as the variety of products on sale. There will be a return to the hotel at this point for a short break during the afternoon heat.

Guests will depart the hotel for an evening dinner cruise along the busy Saigon River on the 'Bonsai 1' a two decked wooden replica of an imperial dragon boat. On the one and a half hour cruise , guests will enjoy pre dinner drinks, an Asian and European buffet dinner and a Vietnamese orchestra as accompaniment. There is a complimentary head and shoulders massage along the way too if you wish.

Day 3. My Tho

Breakfast will be taken at the hotel

The day will begin with a journey to the delta of the Mekong River and the small city of My Tho. There is the unusually beautiful Vinh Trang Pagoda, built in 1849, which combines traditional Chinese and Vietnamese elements in a European architectural style. Guests will then enjoy a highlight of My Tho, a cruise on the Mekong river where there will be a stop at a place know as Unicorn Island where a visit to a local farmer's house will have been arranged. The boat then returns to My Tho.

Lunch will be served in a local restaurant in My Tho.

The party will return to the hotel in Ho Chi Minh City in the later afternoon.

Dinner will be served in the 'Indochine Restaurant' where guests can enjoy northern Vietnamese specialties in a beautiful French colonial setting among photographs of old Hanoi and Saigon. The menu is shaped like a Vietnamese cone hat and carries items like Bo Nuong Sot Mot Ong, beef stewed with honey, and Muc Nhoi Thit Chien, baby squid stuffed with minced pork.

Day 4. Cu Chi Tunnels, flight to Hanoi

Breakfast will be taken at the hotel

This will be devoted to a visit to Cu Chi where there is an extensive example of the tunnels system that was built by the Viet Cong guerrilla fighters during what is described in Vietnam as the American War. They were used for hiding and moving men, women and materials as well providing back up facilities from kitchens to surgical units. There is a network of 250kms of tunnels in the Cu Chi area and part of this is now open to visitors.

Lunch will be taken back in Ho Chi Minh City at Dragon Court Chinese Restaurant Transfer to the aiport for the flight to Hanoi.

Arrival at Hanoi aiport. The group will be welcomed by traditionally costumed hostesses and transferred to the hotel by PC Tours Representatives in air conditioned bus.

A 'Water Puppets Show' will be staged. This 1000 year old art involves decorated wooden puppets and a tank of water acting as their stage. The puppeteers operate the puppets from behind a screen through mechanisms hidden under the water. The effect is of the puppets performing on the water's surface. The dramas are on themes of Vietnamese folklore and accompanied by a trio of traditional instruments.
	Dinner will be taken at the prestigious Press Club, an elegant, French designed semi-private club founded by businessmen, professionals and diplomats in Hanoi society and serving acclaimed contemporary cuisne.

Day 5. Halong Bay

Breakfast will be taken at the hotel

This will be a full day visit, travelling 170 kilometres east of Hanoi to the coast of the Gulf of Tonkin. Halong Bay means 'Descending Dragon' Bay. In a war with the Chinese, it is said, the gods sent a family of dragons to assist the Vietnamese and this is where they landed, spitting jewels which turned into islands. In fact Halong Bay is a body of water 1,500sq kms in size with a dense cluster of monolithic limestone outcrops, tipped with thick jungle vegetation rising spectacularly from the ocean. The party will cruise among them.

Because the limestone is easily eroded, several of the larger islands are almost completely hollow with enormous caves and hugely elaborate stalactites and stalagmites. There will be opportunities to explore the caves. Simply floating through the Bay's serene waters between these weird and wonderfully formed rock statues is idyllic. The Bay is listed as a World heritage sight by UNESCO.

Lunch will be a buffet served in a hotel in Halong City or catered for in one of the caves or on the boat.

The party will return to Hanoi in the evening for dinner at the 'Emperor' restaurant. This is set in a French villa in one of the most beautiful and romantic locations in Hanoi. The room itself is designed after a temple from the old imperial capital of Hue in central Vietnam and among the dishes served are Hue specialties.

Breakfast will be taken at the hotel

The first morning stop is at the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum to see the former leader's remains in their final resting place in a glass sarcophagus.From there, guests move to the One Pillar Pagoda, close by. It was built of wood on a single stone pillar in 1049 to represent a lotus blossom out of devotion by the reigning King Ly who had a dream of a goddess sitting on a lotus blossom promising him a son and heir, later born to him. The Pillar was destroyed in 1954 in the French retreat but fully restored.

The morning concludes with a visit to the Temple of Literature, also from the reign of the same king which was dedicated to Confucius and became Vietnam's and arguably the world's first university. It is a brilliant example of purely Vietnamese architecture and today, throughout its five interconnecting courtyards, there is still an atmosphere of study and academic calm. Stone steles, supported by 82 tortoises record the names of doctorates earned from centuries past.

Lunch will be taken in the Wild Rice restaurant which serves contemporary Vietnamese cusine in a stunningly renovated French villa decorated with some of Hanoi's finest art. The food is innovatively presented and the service is very old world and attentive. After lunch, the party is invited to take a stroll around the Hoan Kiem Lake in the heart of Hanoi. Crossing the red wooden Huc Bridge, it will take a break at the 18th century Ngoc Son Temple.

The lake is close to 36 Old Streets. Since the 13th century, these 36 streets have been occupied by 36 different kinds of handicraft shop. The scheme is not as strictly adhered to today as it was but most shops in one street still sell the same range of products. For the rest of the afternoon guest can explore here through the whole 36 ranges and if they prefer, we can arrange for that to be done by cyclo. The Farewell dinner will be served in one of two locations:

The famous Hanoi Opera House, built in 1911 and ever since one of the most magnificent buildings in Hanoi. It is an imitation of the Paris Opera and, whilst you are eating your excellent dinner, you will appreciate how this very grand building represents the French influence in everything from buildings to beef steak which continues in Vietnam.

Moon River Retreat, 5 kms from Hanoi by boat or car in an old village in the Red River Delta in a setting of lotus ponds, trees and blooms. The architecture is an innovative blend of traditional and contemporary Asian and the atmosphere is one of rural calm and grace.

Entertainment during dinner will be a performance of Vietnamese music and dance.

Day 7. Departure

Breakfast will be taken at the hotel

There will be time at leisure for shopping and optional sightseeing until transfer to the airport for the return flight.