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Xin chao! Welcome to Hanoi, Vietnam's vibrant capital city. You'll be met on arrival at the airport and transferred to your hotel. Your adventure begins with a welcome meeting at 6pm where you'll meet your tour leader and fellow travellers. If you arrive early, Hanoi offers plenty of enticing experiences. Perhaps head to the city's colourful old quarter and explore the charming jumble of shops and cafés, or check out the Vietnam National Fine Arts Museum, showcasing ancient through to contemporary Vietnamese art. This evening, join your leader and small group for a welcome dinner at a beautifully decorated restaurant resembling an old-fashioned Vietnamese house. Dive into the exciting world of Vietnamese cuisine as your leader introduces you to a range of classic dishes made with the freshest local ingredients.

Depart Hanoi and travel to Halong Bay, one of the great natural treasures of Vietnam. Board your Feature Stay accommodation for the evening, a gloriously beautiful and traditionally decorated junk-style boat featuring modern conveniences. Set sail in total comfort as unforgettable views of scattered islands and towering limestone outcrops slowly unfold in front of you. Explore the bay while enjoying a pleasant seafood lunch onboard. Learn about the fascinating geography of the region and its importance to the Vietnamese people, visit Surprise Cave where your leader will point out interesting rock formations, and in the warmer months you can choose a swim from Ti Top Island Beach or take an optional kayaking tour. Sit back with a drink on the upper deck and face out to the spirit-lifting view that will be stamped on your memory of Vietnam. Soak in the stunning surroundings with a candlelit seafood dinner on deck before settling in for a night of stargazing and swapping stories.

Start your day with a peaceful breakfast and perhaps take part in some Tai Chi on board the boat before returning to Hanoi. This afternoon you'll take part in a once-in-a-lifetime experience and sit down to a soul-stirring traditional Hat Xam performance. Hat Xam is an art form of Northern Vietnam dating back to the Tran Dynasty. Originally, this was performed by blind performers, and was enjoyed by local working-class audiences, right up until the late 1950s, when a wave of communism deemed all art forms to be corrupting influences. Today these performances are rare, but you and your group will be taken to a private club house and treated to an exclusive performance in one of the few places where artists still sing acoustically. The performance takes around 90 minutes, and includes possible interaction with guests, so be ready to get involved!

This morning you'll get to know Hanoi's charms on a half-day tour with your leader. Discover a captivating city where traditional and modern sit side by side as your leader shares knowledge on the Temple of Literature, One Pillar Pagoda, and the former residence of Vietnam's most famous revolutionary, Ho Chi Minh. Today's lunch is extra special as you will visit the fantastic KOTO café, a social enterprise that provides hospitality training and experience while empowering at-risk and disadvantaged youth in Vietnam – not to mention a creative menu of food made with local ingredients. This afternoon you'll say goodbye to Hanoi and fly south to Danang. Drive on to Hoi An and take in views of lush scenery along the way. Arrive in Hoi An in the late afternoon and check into your boutique accommodation. The rest of the day is yours – maybe make the most of your hotel's fabulous pool.

Set off on a tour of Hoi An's Old Town and discover a blend of traditional treasures and cultural influences from historical traders. Your leader will discuss the city's history as you wander the pagoda lined streets, visit a Chinese assembly hall, cross the Japanese Covered Bridge, enter the ornately decorated historic house of a former trader and check out a local museum. Hoi An was once a great trading port for pottery, and centuries-old pottery villages still exist to this day. This afternoon, head out to the Thanh Ha Pottery Village – dating back to the 16th century, this is one of the oldest pottery villages in Vietnam. Stop by the home of an artisan couple. Now both in their 90s, they were once the only artisans in the village and have passed down traditional techniques and practices. Continue your explorations of the village, meet descendants of the artisan couple and find out how traditional pieces are made. Finally, sit down with a cup of tea and perhaps take the chance to test out your own skills and paint on a traditional pottery mask. Return to Hoi An for an evening at leisure.

The morning is free for you to enjoy more of delightful Hoi An and the surrounding area. Perhaps browse the market for silk and other materials or collect any garments that you might have had crafted by the efficient tailors, or hire a bicycle and ride along the lanes and out to a nice nearby beach. Your leader will have great recommendations for places to eat and drink. In the afternoon, transfer back to Danang and fly to Ho Chi Minh City. Check into your hotel and enjoy a free evening – the bustling food stalls at Cho Ben Thanh market might beckon you over with the sweet and savoury aromas of pho and bun mam. Delicious!

Head out of the city to the nearby Cu Chi Tunnels, an extensive underground network dug by the Viet Minh and later expanded by the Viet Cong. Enter a widened section of the tunnels with your leader who will help you imagine what life underground must have been like and explain how the tunnels contained hospitals, accommodation and schools, and were used for refuge, storage and as a military base for the Viet Cong. Return to Ho Chi Minh City for a tour of the dynamic city where daily life plays out on the streets. Your leader will take you to the Reunification Palace, formally the Presidential Palace and the site of South Vietnam's surrender in 1975, before visiting the War Remnants Museum. In the evening, perhaps spend some time with your fellow travellers and enjoy a final dinner at a local restaurant. Your leader will know of some wonderful options.

Today you will say goodbye to Vietnam and catch a flight to Phnom Penh, Cambodia's lively capital city. A meeting will take place at your hotel at 6pm to welcome any new travellers joining you for the Cambodian portion of your trip. After your meeting, join your leader and small group for dinner at the wonderful Khéma La Poste. This delightful French restaurant is located in the center of the old colonial quarter next to the Phnom Penh Post Office built in 1890. After dinner perhaps cap off the night with a cocktail at the Le Moon Rooftop at Amanjaya Pancam Hotel.

Today your leader will introduce you to the sights of Phnom Penh during a full day city tour. The private quarters of the Royal Palace are home to King Sihamoni and closed off to the public, but you will be able to visit the sacred Silver Pagoda that lies in the palace complex. Your included visits to the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum and the Killing Fields of Choeung Ek will tell the story of the tragic legacy of the Khmer Rouge. There is an optional visit to Wat Phnom, the temple that gave rise to the foundation of the city in the 15th century.

After breakfast, embark on a journey of discovery from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap in a comfortable private vehicle. Discover traditional Cambodian life at Skun Village and learn about the town's deep fried tarantulas and other insects which the locals consume daily. You'll also visit Santuk Silk Farm to learn about silk production and its work as a social enterprise, employing local women as artisan weavers. Share a simple, rustic local lunch prepared by the weavers before you continue to Siem Reap, stopping to see historic bridges along the way, before arriving at your hotel at approximately 5pm. This tropical oasis boasts three pools and an excellent restaurant with a focus on wellness. Bright and spacious rooms are in harmony with the lush grounds, and feature a veranda, private garden and rain showers. Tonight, you'll enjoy delicious home-style Cambodian dishes.

After breakfast, you'll spend the day discovering the amazing temples of Angkor. The memories of seeing some of the world's most important ancient sites are ones you're going to want to preserve forever, so for the first half of the day you will also be accompanied by a private photography coach who will teach you how to take that one-in-a-million shot. Begin at Angkor Wat, the largest and most complete structure, and the only one of Angkor's temples that has its entrance facing west – the others face east. For lunch you'll visit the Sala Bai Hotel School where underprivileged local youths learn skills that enable them to find gainful employment in the hospitality industry. Here you can enjoy a meal prepared by students at the school. After lunch, visit Angkor Thom, the 'Great Royal City', a temple famous for its series of colossal human faces carved in stone. Of all the temples visited today, Bayon temple is the centrepiece, with over 200 smiling carved faces and more than 50 gothic towers. Your leader will let you in on the secrets of the temples and share their remarkable stories. From here, you will head out of town to an ancient working monastery to gain a special insight into the life of a monk and Theravada Buddhism. You will get to meet the monks, enjoy a sacred water blessing for good luck and prosperity and have a red band tied around your wrist to keep you safe in your travels. The rest of the evening can be spent exploring the bars of Siem Reap, or relaxing in laidback luxury at your resort.

Embrace a very early start today to experience a sunrise visit to the Angkor complex. After sunrise, head to the shores of the Srah Srang Lake. Here you will be treated to an incredible private catered breakfast – take a moment to soak in your stunning surroundings and enjoy a meal as wonderful as the landscape itself. After breakfast, it's off to the Ta Prohm temple, which has large trees embedded in the stone foundations of the structure – powerful symbols of nature. Next, visit Banteay Srei to snap some enviable pictures of the temple's intricate stone carvings. You can head back to the resort or use your ticket for the Angkor ruins to continue exploring the site and try out your new photography skills. The vaulted corridors of Preah Khan are well worth a visit, or you may prefer to spend the afternoon getting to know the town. Tonight, enjoy a final dinner at Lum Orng Cambodia's first Farm to Table restaurant and raise a glass to toast your Cambodia adventure with free flow pre-dinner cocktails and canapes before dining on delicious new Mekong cuisine. The restaurant is run by a talented local chef with a passion for sharing sustainable and seasonal food using organic ingredients grown on site.

Your adventure comes to an end after breakfast this morning. If you would like to expend your stay in Siem Reap, additional accommodation can be arranged in advance (subject to availability).