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Trip Overview
Travel the length of Vietnam on this weeklong tour, stopping in Saigon (in the south), Hanoi (in the north), and the beaches and small towns of the central coast in between. Begin in dynamic Saigon, the countrys commercial center and home to a growing number of upscale restaurants and shops. Visit Chinatown, the Thien Hau Pagoda, the Reunification Palace, the Opera House and Hotel de Ville. If desired, also visit the powerful War Remnants Museum. Explore colorful outdoor markets and Dong Khoi Street, the city's main shopping boulevard with shops selling clothes and accessories by new Vietnamese designers, hill tribe crafts, high quality linens and housewares. Try Saigons strong Vietnamese iced coffee and a banh mi (baguette sandwich). Take a day trip to the Cu Chi Tunnels and watch an eccentric religious ceremony at the main temple of Cao Daism, a unique fusion of world religions, in Tay Ninh. Alternatively, spend the day cruising the narrow canals of the Mekong Delta. Next, fly to Danang and stay several days at the luxurious beachfront Furama Resort. Nearby, see ancient sculpture in the Cham Museum, and tour Buddhist cave temples in the Marble Mountains. Visit atmospheric Hoi An, a UNESCO-listed riverfront port town crammed with historic homes, tiny museums, cafes, and bustling silk and fish markets. Wrap up in Hanoi, Vietnams artistic and intellectual capital. Explore the fascinating Old Quarter and its hundreds of specialty shops selling silk clothing, lacquerware, embroidered linens, furniture, bamboo, cooking utensils, ceremonial objects and more. Walk around Hoan Kiem Lake, ride a cyclo to dinner, and watch a performance of water puppet theater. Dine in French colonial villas converted into gourmet restaurants. Enjoy people watching at stylish cafes. Shop for impressive modern art in the citys many galleries. Also visit Hanois main cultural attractions, including the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, his House on Stilts, the One Pillar Pagoda, the Fine Arts Museum and the Temple of Literature.
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