Ancient Wonders of Yunan & Vietnam

Depart from the U. S. on your flights to China, “lose” a day crossing the International Dateline, and arrive on Day 3. Your guide will meet you at the airport and accompany you to your hotel. Have the rest of the day at leisure in this city famous for its climate, which is spring-like throughout the year. Enjoy your Welcome Dinner with entertainment that will introduce you to the music and colorful dances of Yunan’s peoples. D Harbour Plaza Hotel, Kunming (5-star) or similar

Depart from the U. S. on your flights to China, “lose” a day crossing the International Dateline, and arrive on Day 3. Your guide will meet you at the airport and accompany you to your hotel. Have the rest of the day at leisure in this city famous for its climate, which is spring-like throughout the year. Enjoy your Welcome Dinner with entertainment that will introduce you to the music and colorful dances of Yunan’s peoples. D Harbour Plaza Hotel, Kunming (5-star) or similar

Depart from the U. S. on your flights to China, “lose” a day crossing the International Dateline, and arrive on Day 3. Your guide will meet you at the airport and accompany you to your hotel. Have the rest of the day at leisure in this city famous for its climate, which is spring-like throughout the year. Enjoy your Welcome Dinner with entertainment that will introduce you to the music and colorful dances of Yunan’s peoples. D Harbour Plaza Hotel, Kunming (5-star) or similar

After an early breakfast, return to the airport for the flight to Lijiang, an old city through which three rivers flow. When we arrive, we will stroll through the famous Black Dragon Pond Park, taking in the willows, arbors and gardens. Admire the graceful curves of the Wufeng (Five-Phoenix) Pavilion, whose beauty is doubled as the jade-green water reflects it, and the Moon-Embracing Pavilion. We will also visit the Dongba Cultural Museum, which provides insights into the art, astronomy, religious practices and elaborate hieroglyphic system of the Naxi, one of the many ethnic minorities in this region.

After lunch at a local restaurant, enjoy a guided walking tour of Lijiang’s Old Town,* a city built under the Southern Song Dynasty that remains a magical world of historic buildings, narrow cobblestone streets, picturesque canals and arched bridges. Dinner at a restaurant in the Old Town

This morning we will take a short drive to the Naxi village of Yuhu, which lies at the foot of the Snow Mountains. There we will visit the former residence of Dr. Joseph Rock, who came to the area in 1922 to study its plants and remained fascinated for 27 years, producing the definitive study of Naxi culture and a dictionary of their complex language. We will also see Yufeng Monastery, a small Lamasery famous for its 500-year-old Camellia that puts forth about 10,000 enormous blossoms each spring.

After lunch, attend “Impression Lijiang,” an open-air show resented against the backdrop of the snow-covered Yulong Mountains. We will then travel to the historic town of Shuhe to enjoy its lovely atmosphere compounded of tea houses, art galleries and traditional homes. Ride through the Old Town by horse cart, and take some time afterwards for your own explorations. If you would like to visit another Naxi village in the later afternoon, your guide will be happy to take you to one near Lashi Lake. We will return to the hotel for dinner and the night. B/L/D Wang Fu Hotel, Lijiang (4-star)

Our overland drive to Zhongdian takes us along the Yunnan-Tibet Road past breathtaking formations. These are the mountains from which both the Yangtze and the Mekong flow. First we will drive to the Tiger Leaping Gorge,* where the Yangtze flows through one of the world’s deepest canyons. The cliffs on either side wedge the Yangtze so tightly here that, according to legend, a hunted tiger made his escape across the river in a single leap. We will continue our drive through the land of the Lisu and Yi peoples, where horses roam freely, young men herd goats and wildflowers line the roadsides.

Along the way through this stunning Himalayan region, the model for the fictional “Shangri-la” in Lost Horizons, we will make a stop for lunch. We will also before visiting the White Water Terrace, a gleaming white karst formation that the Naxi consider sacred. Its Naxi name is translated as “the growing-up flower.” We will continue to Zhongdian and check in at the hotel, where we will have dinner. B/L/D Songtsam Inn, Zhongdian (3-star)

Visit Ganden Sumsanling Monastery, where over 700 Buddhist monks spend their days in meditation and learning. Built in the 17th century by the fifth Dalai Lama, the monastery is a living museum of Tibetan culture, filled with chapels, woodcarving and painting. We will visit the old town of Gyalthang, which in earlier times was a center for caravans arriving from the south with brick tea, copper and brassware and continuing along the Silk Road. We will take a leisurely walk there and stop at an old house for tea. Later, have lunch at a restaurant in the old town.

This afternoon we will take another walk, this time to the home of a farmer. You will see the chalet-like adobe farmhouses built by the Tibetan people of this region, and spot sheep and cattle mingling with yak in the grasslands. Meet the family and learn about their way of life in this southernmost Tibetan region. We will visit the Temple of the Five Wisdom Buddha, now partially rebuilt after its near-destruction during China’s Cultural Revolution, and walk to the Temple of Ringha, a pilgrimage site where hundreds of prayer flags remain planted on the hillside. If you like, you may take an hour to walk the pilgrim path around the hill. Later we will have dinner and drive to the airport for our evening flight to Kunming. B/L/D Harbor Plaza Hotel, Kunming (5-star) or similar

Leaving Kunming, visit the Stone Forest,* one of China’s most amazing natural phenomena. Its innumerable strangely-shaped limestone cliffs and peaks were created by wind and water erosion some 270 million years ago. Its 96,000 acres hold large and small forests of stone, their massive pillars may suggest elephants, gigantic birds, snakes and dragons. About 50 miles away are the ancient Alu Caves which housed the Alu, or Yi, people in ancient times. On this wonderfully scenic route through southeast Yunnan, we will stop for lunch and dinner at restaurants. When we arrive in Mile and check in at the hotel, you may enjoy the hotel spa or an optional forest spa nearby. B/L/D Huquan Hotel, Mile (5-star)

Today we will see more of this spectacular region, driving to Hekou through subtropical landscapes of deep ravines, terraced rice paddies and banana and pineapple groves. Reaching Yuangyang, we will visit a market where people from a half-dozen ethnic groups, such as the Dai, Yao, Miao, Hani and Yi, wearing their traditional costume, come to buy and sell produce and other items. People with different speech, clothing and customs inhabit neighboring villages. Most widely known and visually stunning are the terraced fields of green tea, built by the Hani several thousand years ago. Stretching up the mountainside, they hold pools of water that reflect a ethereal silver light in both sun and mist. We will have lunch en route to Yuangyang, and dinner after our arrival at the hotel. B/L/D Yunti Hotel, Yuanyang (3-star)

Today you will cross the border to Vietnam and arrive at Sapa, or Sa Pa. We will first travel to Hekou, the Chinese border town, and cross by foot to Lao Cai, Vietnam. After the formalities, you and your Vietnamese guide will drive up a winding road surrounded by steep mountains and terraced rice fields, arriving in Sapa, less than an hour away. You will have the rest of the day at leisure in this growing town set on a high plateau facing Fan Si Pan, Vietnam’s highest mountain. For European visitors, the surroundings have recalled the Alps. The town itself is a center for people of numerous hill tribes or Montagnards, including the H’mong and Dzao, who live in the surrounding villages. Later we will have dinner at a local restaurant. B/D Victoria Sapa Hotel (4-star) or similar

We will begin today with a short walk to Silver Waterfall. The Tram Tom Pass, or “Heaven’s Gate,” will reward you on a clear day with breathtaking views of the surrounding mountains including Fan Si Pan. While the environs are more limited in mist and fog, they are still hauntingly beautiful. Then take the downhill route to Chu Va, a village of the Flower Hmong, and continue to Binh Lu, where we will have lunch. We will then follow a dirt road that leads to villages set in a beautiful valley of terraced rice paddies. We will stop at Pa Pen, a village of the Lu people, where you are invited to visit their school. (A gift of school supplies would be gracious.) Later we will return to Sapa for dinner and the night. You may choose to bicycle this route, accompanied by a supply car. B/L/D Victoria Sapa Hotel (4-star) or similar

After a morning at leisure in Sapa, we will drive to the rim of a deep valley and walk for about a half-hour to the “rattan bridge” and Ta Van, a village of the Dzay people. We will also visit the nearby village of Cat Cat, hidden among bamboo and fruit trees. You will meet some of the residents and are likely to see pot-bellied pigs, tubs of the indigo dye used in Hmong clothing, and the networks of bamboo pipes that supply water and power. We will return to Sapa, have dinner at a restaurant, and drive to Lao Cai Railway Station to board the overnight train to Hanoi, where you will have a private two-person cabin. B/L/D TSC train (private 2-passenger cabin)

Drive to Halong Bay,* an enchanting archipelago of 3000 small islands jutting up from a deep blue bay surrounded by limestone cliffs and hidden caves. The name Ha Long (Dragon Descending) recalls the legend of celestial dragons who, at the behest of the Emperor, copiously spat pearls that deterred an approaching enemy fleet by filling the bay with islets and surrounding it with jagged mountains. Board the deluxe junk Indochina Sail, newly built on the model of traditional wooden sailing ships, for a two-day cruise. Begin with a lunch of Vietnamese dishes as you cruise through Bai Tu Long Bay. Then go trekking or swimming at Soi Sim Island, and visit the Hang Doi water tunnel by rowboat. Watch the sun set over the bay before enjoying a dinner of delectable fusion cuisine, and a night in one of the ten luxurious sleeping cabins. B/L/D aboard deluxe junk Indochina Sail

If you like, join the T’ai Chi practitioners on the deck at sunrise. At about 8:00, in a part of the bay rich in limestone caves, you have opportunity to visit the splendid Sung Sot grotto. Sung Sot affords a beautiful view of the bay from its steps, and an upper chamber for those who want to explore further. Returning to Indochina Sail, enjoy a lavish buffet breakfast while you cruise back through Ha Long Bay to the pier. In the afternoon drive inland to Hanoi, where we will check in at the hotel and have dinner in one of the city’s many restaurants. B/L/D Melia Hanoi Hotel (5-star) or similar

Take a morning walking tour of Ba Dinh Square, a popular complex of cultural and historic sites including the marble and granite Mausoleum of Ho Chi Minh which opened in 1975, the year Vietnam was reunified. In the tradition of Lenin and Stalin, the final resting place of Ho Chi Minh is a glass sarcophagus set deep within a monumental edifice that has become a site of pilgrimage. See the Presidential Palace and One Pillar Pagoda, or Chua Mot Cot, a miniature pagoda built in 1040 on a pillar made from a single large tree trunk.

After lunch at a restaurant, take a cycle rickshaw tour of some of the city’s highlights, noting the blocks of ochre buildings that retain the air of a provincial French town, and the park around Hoan Kiem Lake, one of the lakes that gives Hanoi a sense of light and space. Later in the afternoon we will visit the Old Quarter and will walk through this lovely park and visit Ngoc Son Temple, set on an island in the lake. We will also see a traditional water puppet show, which developed from folkloric stories traditionally performed outdoors on the surfaces of ponds and rice paddies. Now the artists stand waist-deep in a pool of water to manipulate the puppets that appear to move, speak and dance on its surface.

Enjoy the Farewell Dinner at the elegant flower-decked Ly Club Restaurant, with wine included.
B/L/D Melia Hanoi Hotel (5-star) or similar

After breakfast, have the morning at leisure in Hanoi, and check out. Then you will be accompanied to the airport for your return flight to the U.S.