Asian Landscapes

This trip is a must for travellers keen to explore the great cultural legacies and colonial pasts of two of South East Asia's most important countries. The Vietnam section takes in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh's Mausoleum, overnights on a traditional junk on Halong Bay and then visits Hue, the former capital and seat of the Nguyen Dynasty, with its emperors' mausoleums and a trip on the Perfume River. We stay in the picturesque town of Hoi An, before
flying to Nha Trang, with its miles of white sandy beaches, and then inland to Dalat in the Central Highlands. Next stop Ho Chi Minh City - formerly Saigon - a dynamic and energetic city with a visit to the Vietcong armies wartime tunnels and an optional trip to the Mekong Delta. We begin the Cambodian leg in the capital Phnom Penh, once considered one of the most beautiful cities of the Orient, but with reminders of Cambodia's violent past. We visit the Tuol Sleng Museum, a testament to the horrific crimes of the Khmer Rouge, before moving on to the killing fields of Choeung Ek. The tour ends in the fabled city of Angkor, the spectacular ancient capital of the powerful Khmer Dynasty and home to the greatest number of religious monuments in the world.