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Day 4:
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Thai Cultural Heritage
$70 per person
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On this tour, we first journey to Ananta Samakhom Throne Hall (also called Marble Hall), a grandiose Italianate reception hall built of imported white Carrara marble. Originally intended for the use of King Rama V (Prince Chulalongkorn from the King and I), the building wasn't finished until the reign of his son, King Rama VI, in 1915. On June 24, 1932, the plaza in front of the Hall was used by the People's Party to declare the change from an absolute monarchy to a constitutional monarchy, and today the Hall is still used for special events like the state opening of Parliament. After our walking tour inside the Hall, we continue on to the Siam Niramit theater for a dazzling cultural show that highlights Thai history and the Thai belief in karma. The cost of this optional tour includes dinner.
Please note:While visiting the Marble Hall, only certain clothing is permitted. For women, this means you are required to wear skirts and shirts with sleeves. For men, this means you are required to wear long pants (no shorts) and shirts with sleeves.
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Day 18:
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Tho Ha Countryside
$60 per person
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Join us on an optional tour of Tho Ha Village. Twenty miles north of Hanoi, the Nhu Nguyet River surrounds this traditional village. After a drive and brief ferry ride, you’ll discover wonderful architecture and hard-working, friendly people. The main industries here are making rice paper and pig farming. After visiting a local family to see rice paper in the making, we’ll walk the village and mingle with the locals. It’s a great opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of rural life in Vietnam.
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Day 23:
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Countryside Cyclo Tour and Thu Bon River Cruise with Dinner
$50 per person
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Join us this afternoon on optional cyclo-rickshaw ride through a rural area of Hoi An, followed by a Thu Bon River Cruise. We'll travel by cyclo-rickshaw to Cam Nam village, view Hoi An's historic cityscape from a different vantage point during a cruise along the lovely Thu Bon River, and sample a slice of daily life at the central market. We'll dine at a riverside restaurant, enjoying local cuisine with the panorama of the city's eclectic architecture before us. The cost of this optional tour includes dinner.
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Day 27:
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Dalat Agricultural
$60 per person
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This morning, join us for an optional tour that focuses on Dalat's agricultural production and includes coffee plantations, farmers' markets, a tea factory, winery and silk factory. We'll also visit the isolated village of the Chil people, a hill tribe that practices subsistence farming. We'll return to Dalat in time for lunch, which we’ll enjoy at a local restaurant. The cost of this optional tour includes lunch.
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Day 29:
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Cu Chi Tunnels
$60 per person
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Join us on our optional tour of the Cu Chi Tunnels. On our way, we stop at a rice paper-making factory, to see how this ancient process has adapted to the modern era. We reach the Cu Chi tunnels by mid-morning and spend some time examining this 75-mile-long underground maze where thousands of fighters and villagers hid and fought during the Vietnam War. The North Vietnamese communists, or Vietcong, built this vast network of tunnels in and around the village of Cu Chi and worked continually over 25 years to expand the three-level network, which includes mess halls, meeting rooms, an operating theater, a tiny cinema, small factories and vast ammunition stores. The Cu Chi Tunnels allowed the Vietcong to control large areas near Ho Chi Minh City. The tunnels are one of the more famous sites from that war, and a prime tourist attraction. We return to Ho Chi Minh City in time for an included lunch at a local restaurant.
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