21-Day Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand and Laos Tour with Angkor Wat

• Meet the tour leader and your fellow travel companions at the agreed meeting time in Ho Chi Minh at 6 pm.
• Then, get acquainted over an included dinner featuring some authentic Vietnamese fare.

• Explore Ho Chi Minh City. Its pulse and character reflect a bewildering mix of cultural influences and classes that have shaped its history through the ages. Trade relations with the Chinese, French, Malay, Thai, and Indians enriched its own Khmer customs, creating a cultural crucible that becomes immediately noticeable as you step out for a city tour this morning.
• Start at the General Post Office, tinged with a Gothic and Renaissance flavour.
• Walk past some of the elegant colonial buildings around Paris Square, then enter the Reunification Palace, which feels eerily like a slice of history arrested in time, with its tunnels, war rooms, radio transmitters, and card tables sitting mutely as if waiting for the clock to start ticking again.
• Follow this with a visit to the War Remnants Museum to gain a more personal understanding of the Vietnam War and the First Indo-China War through exhibits, photographs, documents, and much more.
• In the evening, go on a street food tour, where a variety of local dishes sizzle, pop, and crackle, making almost as much noise as the vendors vying for your attention. Afterwards, return to the accommodation.

• Buckle up for a 6-hour journey by public bus to Phnom Penh as you leave Vietnam and enter Cambodia's capital. If you've got some time on your hands this evening and you're itching to get a taste of the city, hop aboard the eco-friendly cyclo - a remnant of a colonial past - as it gently negotiates Phnom Penh's roads and allows you to breeze through some of the city's most popular landmarks.

• Spend the day in remembrance and reflection. After breakfast, cycle to S-21 and then to Choeung Ek, two sites that chronicle a grim past. Yet as grim as it is, these are stories that need to be told, heard, and preserved for generations to come because they serve as a reminder and a testament to Cambodia's brutal past. Tuol Sleng, code-named S-21, was originally a school that was converted into an interrogation centre where no fewer than 12,000 people were tortured and murdered on the orders of Pol Pot when his Khmer Rouge movement took control of Cambodia in April 1975. Sometimes graphic and almost always heartbreaking, the museum hosts photos, accounts, and tools that were used to torture detainees here.
• Visit the Choeung Ek Genocidal Centre, or the Killing Fields, where prisoners from S-21 and elsewhere were taken to be exterminated. Rows of bones and human skulls feature in this surprisingly well-kept field, underscoring the irony of all human intentions.

• Board a private vehicle to bridge the journey between Phnom Penh and Siem Reap this morning. Although the journey typically takes 6 hours, you'll make several pit stops along the way for a wide variety of experiences to keep things interesting.
• Stop by the Skun Spider Market, right at the intersection of two highways, where local delicacies include locusts, tarantulas, and other creepy crawlies.
• Make a bet or two with your travel companions by testing your squeamish quotient, then wheeze your way up the 809 steps to Phnom Santuk, where images of reclining Buddhas, pagodas, and recalcitrant monkeys survey a kingdom of exposed boulders and green forest cover.
• Kick up some dust as you walk across the Dragon Bridge hanging over the muddy Kampong Kdei River - your next and last stop before reaching Siem Reap. Marvel at the 12th-century engineering that has kept it standing through rough wars and weather.

• Learn about Angkor Wat. If there is a single memory that lodges itself in the minds of people travelling through Cambodia, it is the sight of the sun crawling cat-like upon the ancient stones of Angkor Wat, breathing life into them once again just as it has done for centuries.
• Rise in the early morning hours to catch this brilliant spectacle and sink deeper into the historical, religious, and cultural associations of this monument that has come to define Cambodia more than anything else. Though gigantic in scale, walk through this fascinating complex while also taking in the little details that warrant pride of place in the Cambodian heart.
• Finish the tour with a picnic lunch, then return to the city centre to do as you please for the rest of the day.

• Spend another day exploring the surrounding sites. As impressive as Angkor Wat is, the other places around the Angkor complex are equally remarkable.
• Weave your way through the giant silk cotton trees that wrap themselves around Ta Phrom temple like constrictors reluctant to let go of their prey, as well as Angkor Thom, lined with busts of gods, bas reliefs, and a stone tower, discovering their independent architectural details and history as you go.
• Take a guided quad bike tour just outside Siem Reap and catch impressions of daily life beyond the cities.

• Leave Cambodia today and catch a flight to Bangkok. Before you've even had time to settle your hair in place, you'll be sitting on the super-efficient sky train and heading straight to the Bangkok Grand Palace, the number one site to visit in the country's capital. A stunning amalgam of Thai and European architecture, the palace dazzles with its beautiful grounds, gilded buildings, detailed murals, and the crowning glory, Wat Phra Kaew, or the Emerald Temple.
• Take time to soak in the palace complex, and once you're done, head to your hotel.
• Follow your tour guide around the riverside enclave of the Rattanakosin district, or old quarter, where side streets lined with weathered buildings and 16th-century temples still recall a time when the first monarch of Thailand's present ruling dynasty founded the kingdom in 1782.
• Flit through the ghosts of colonial buildings and open your senses to the smell of flowers, fruits, and incense as street vendors sell their wares through holes-in-the-wall cubicles.
• Raise your glasses and settle in for one final meal with your tour leader and fellow travel companions, as some will leave tomorrow.

• Enjoy a free day, so wake up at your leisure and then say goodbye to some of your new friends and your tour leader. The day is yours to explore the city, or perhaps try your hand at a cooking class. Your new travel companions and tour leader will join you at 6 pm for a group meeting, followed by an included dinner featuring some authentic Thai food.

Make use of the morning to explore Bangkok. A good starting point would be the Royal Palace, Bangkok's biggest attraction, with the Temple of the Emerald Buddha as its centrepiece. Just a 10-minute walk from the palace is Wat Po, which houses the famous reclining Buddha.

Or

• Take a quick spin on a bike to see what the city has to offer, or try the longboats that glide through the man-made canals, their waters washing the walls of houses lined up along their banks.
• Get a taste of an alternative lifestyle here - a complete antithesis to the noise and neon often associated with Bangkok. Whatever you choose to do, make sure you've worked up an appetite because you'll regroup in the afternoon and go all out on a street food tour. Round off the day by boarding an overnight train to Chiang Mai.

Arrive early in the morning in Chiang Mai. Dust yourself off from the remnants of last night's travel and freshen up at the hotel.

• Follow your tour leader to the old city to get your bearings and appease your stomach with a local breakfast. There's much in Chiang Mai that will get your heart rate shifting up a gear or two. Chief among these is the Muay Thai experience. Find out what all the fuss is about - these boxing tournaments draw thousands to the ring, and don't say you weren't warned about shouting yourself hoarse along with the locals.
• Spend the rest of your day between zip lining, abseiling, or white-water rafting, while also keeping an eye out for Elephant Nature Park or checking into a cooking class if you'd prefer something a bit more steady and sedate.

Or

• You can explore the ancient walled city, drop in to admire the 19th-century wall paintings at Wat Phra Singh, or wander through some of the typically Thai open markets that come especially alive in the evening.
• Feel free to pick your tour leader's brain so you get the very best out of Chiang Mai.

• Saddle up for some rural experiences as you pedal out of town and into the swaying fields of rice paddies, orchards, and gurgling streams that adorn the backdrop of local villages. Lift your hands in greeting and stretch your lips into a smile as the locals greet and engage with you as well.
• Drop by a local restaurant for lunch, then hit your stride again as you wander through the grounds of an old temple and discover the ruins of an old city.
• Head back to town after this and, as the day wears on, make your way to the 14th-century Phra That Doi Suthep Temple, which keeps a watchful eye on the city from its elevated height.

• Leave for Laos today. However, you're not quite done with Thailand, as you'll make a pit stop at Wat Rung Khun, a temple that is as visually startling as the contemporary twist its maker gives to ancient philosophy. Although not very old, the temple is remarkable in terms of its design and concept and increasingly earns its place on any list of architectural wonders worth their salt in Thailand.
• Arrive at the Laos border - linked to Thailand by a bridge over the Mekong River - around mid-afternoon. After all the paperwork is done, continue to Houay Xai, where you'll spend the night. While Houay Xai is a small town and the nightlife requires a little imagination, it may be a good idea to trudge down to one of the restaurants by the waterfront to get your first taste of Beer Lao and watch the sun leave its mark on the river as it too settles in for the night.

• Step onto your slow boat after breakfast and drift down the Mekong as the mountains recede and the breeze gently worries your hair like a constant companion.
• Snuggle back into your seat, pull out that book you've been carrying around, and relax, because the journey to Pakbeng will take approximately 7 hours.

• Continue your journey down the Mekong as you head for Luang Prabang this morning. Keep an eye out for the tiny villages dotting the riverbanks as you pass by, and for the landscape that changes with every bend in the river.
• Stop by the Pak Ou Caves, their entrance marked by steps that look like a giant white tongue from afar, rolling out from the yawning limestone cliffs.
• Explore a thousand Buddha statues, each with its own minor imperfections, that call these caves home, and take away with you the feeling of reverence that the locals have for the place.

• Make for Kuang Si Falls this morning and fall headfirst into this idyll. With turquoise waters gently slipping over tiers of terraced outcrops carved over centuries, and with the constant gurgle of a watery conversation to keep you company, it's easy to spend hours here.
• Slip into your bathers and lower yourself into the clear pool at the base of the falls, or go higher up where the upper falls reveal themselves in different dimensions to the faithful. Try to tear yourself away from this piece of heaven, and when you've succeeded...
• Visit a local organic farm on your way back for some lunch and perhaps chug a cold, refreshing Beer Lao while you're at it.

• Enjoy a free day, as there are no planned activities. However, your choices are as varied as the lines on your palm.
• Try your hand at being a rice farmer for a few hours as you share the paddy fields with water buffaloes, or simply enjoy the setting of terraced fields cradled by mountains and lush forests on all sides. Go biking, visit some of the temples around the city and learn the stories associated with them, hit the waters on a kayak, or simply relax by the pool. In the evening, test your cardio as you make your way up more than 300 steps to Mount Phou Si, where a spectacular sunset waits over the Luang Prabang skyline.
• End your stay in this laid-back town by ducking under the overhanging canopies draping its night market stalls. Browse through the varied offerings and gorge on the food while watching tourists and locals alike mirror your motions.

• Leave Luang Prabang early in the morning and journey onwards to Vang Vieng through snaking roads and past rugged mountains that stand as custodians of the little villages nestled in their lap.
• Take a moment to pull out your camera and keep your finger ready on the shutter, because there will be more than one photo you'll want to frame on this route. Vang Vieng is a small town that is as laid-back as any, but what sets it apart is the spectacular scenery and the number of adventure activities designed to make your eyes open wider.
• Consult your tour leader about what's available and the logistics of doing it, because you've only got until the next afternoon to indulge your options.

• Make the most of your morning by kayaking down the Nam Song River and skimming through the waters as it parts the jungle-clad landscape in two. If you've still got some time on your hands, spend it across vistas of rice fields or along the many trekking routes that cut through the karst landscape.
• Alternatively, combine some zip lining, chase waterfalls, or swim in the Blue Lagoon. While it may not be possible to do all of these, never say never. Afterwards, catch a short ride to Vientiane during the latter half of the day.

• Spend the last day of the tour getting your head around the country's capital. Although the typical noise and bustle of a "truly Asian" city are markedly absent in Vientiane, the city is not without its charms.
• Start by ascending the viewing platform of Patuxai, a war memorial influenced by French architecture but with a distinctly Laotian twist in its details.
• Drop in at the COPE Centre to learn about the "Secret War," whose devastating effects still play a part in modern Laos. Bear witness to the alms-giving ceremony at the 200-year-old Wat Si Saket, and later in the evening, hunker down at Chao Anouvong Park to watch and enjoy the shades of pink and orange as the sun sets over distant Thailand.
• Gather round for the last dinner with your fellow travellers and, after the final farewells have been said, amble down along the riverfront to the inevitable night market to make your journey last just that bit longer.

• Bid farewell to your tour leader and new friends, but not without a backpack full of memories. Departure transfers are included on this day. Please consult your tour leader or the hotel desk to confirm the check-out time.