Vietnam - Myanmar Discovery

Arrive at Tan Son Nhat International airport, welcome by our guide and transfer to hotel for check in. The distance is approximately 30 minutes Your visa should be pre-arranged, or be sure that your visa-on-arrival letter is in your carry-on luggage. Please go to custom desk as your first point of entry into the country and present these documents for visa upon arrival. Ho Chi Minh City formerly named Saigon is the largest city and economic center of Vietnam always bustled with activities of modern life. It is where businesses converge and shoppers indulge themselves into unlimited choices. However the city also carries with it a rich historical legacy in contrast with its dazzling glamor.

Today, meet your guide and transfer about 75 km North-west of downtown Ho Chi Minh City. Discover the famous Cu Chi Tunnels, which were once a major underground hideout and resistance base of Viet Cong forces during the two wars against the French and the Americans. The tunnels, entirely hand-dug, formed a highly intricate network of interlinked multilevel passageways at times stretched as far as the Cambodian border and totaling over 120 km in length. Its complexity was beyond imagination containing meeting rooms, kitchens, wells, clinics, schools, depots, trenches and emergency exits all aimed for guerrilla warfare. The tunnels were deep and strong enough to withstand destructive bombings and self-contained enough to outlast prolonged sieges. Afternoon, city tour with a visit to the Reunification Palace, which was formerly the South Vietnam President’s residence and symbol of the Southern Administration’s reign until end of April 1975. Next, stop at the Notre Dame Cathedral, a neo-Romanesque cathedral constructed between 1877 and 1883 using bricks from Marseilles and stained-glass windows from Chartres. Continue on to the Old Saigon Post Office, former US Embassy and Cholon, the China town with its Quan Am Pagoda and the Emperor Jade Pagoda (Phuoc Hai), one of the most interesting pagodas in Vietnam. It was built in 1909 by the Cantonese community. It’s filled with smoky incense and fantastic carved figurines and still buzzing with worshipers, many lounging in the front gardens.

Morning, you will be picked up and travel past miles of flat rice fields, along a bustling road to the Mekong Delta, the world’s largest delta and Vietnam's largest rice bowl. On arrival in My Tho City, board a motorboat and navigate through intricate canals while observing the local daily life up close as well as the landscape of waterways and lush islands. Land on Thoi Son Island where you can listen to Southern traditional music performed by native artists. Next, you will change to a paddle boat to cruise through the narrow canals and visit households with traditional occupations of home-based coconut candy and rice-wine making. Continue travel by motorized boat to another island to visit a bee farm and taste tea with fresh honey from the beehives and enjoy fresh fruits. On the return to My Tho, stop to visit the Vinh Trang Pagoda, a prominent local Buddhist structure built in 1850 with a unique architectural mixture of Vietnamese, Roman, Chinese and Cambodian styles characterized by a highly ornate façade. You might enjoy a lovely lunch at a local Vietnamese restaurant. At the end of the tour, you will find the way back to Ho Chi Minh.