News
09 May 2019, 09:06
Try tai chi for breakfast & spend night on a junk
Tunnels of war and temples of peace explored on NEW Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia adventure
- Cruise on River Mekong and Tonle Sap Lake
- Join jungle trip to Angkor Wat
Awe-inspiring jungle temples, floating villages and the aftermath of modern warfare are revealed on an extraordinary 17-night exploration of Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. Includes VIP door-to-door travel service, optional travel insurance and dedicated tour manager available throughout!
Saga’s Into the Heart of Indochina adventure ncludes tours of Ho Chi Minh City – formerly Saigon – and Hanoi, visits to the temple sites of Angkor Wat and Angkor Thom, and cruises on the River Mekong and Tonle Sap Lake, as well as horse and cart rides and a night on a junk with the chance to snorkel, go squid fishing and practise morning tai chi on deck.
The bitter legacy of the Vietnam War is revealed in sometimes harrowing displays in Ho Chi Minh City’s War Remnants Museum, and the secret 250-kilometre Cu Chi guerrilla tunnels, which included kitchens, field hospitals, weapons factories and booby traps.
Religious heritage includes the decorative Wat Xieng Thong temple, in Laos, with its golden gates, ornaments and colourful murals; the Pak Ou Caves, where pilgrims for centuries have placed thousands of Buddha figures; 12th-century Angkor Wat temple, in the Cambodian jungle, where carvings depict Hindu mythology; crumbling Ta Prohm temple, Angkor Thom’s 54-towered Bayon Temple, and Notre Dame cathedral in Ho Chi Minh City.
In mountain-ringed UNESCO-listed Luang Prabang, the former royal capital of Laos, there are 33 temples to discover, including the temple-monastery complexes, the beautifully decorated Buddhist temple, Wat Xieng Thong, and Wat Mai, home to the small gilded statue of Buddha, Phra Bang, the emblem of Laos and thought to protect the town.
Among the cultural highlights are a dinner cruise on the Saigon river, a boat tour of the fish markets on the Mekong Delta; horse and cart and rowing boat journeys through rural Vietnam; the bridge linking the Japanese and Chinese communities of Hoi An, where yellow and green roof tiles are designed to look like moving water; visiting villagers of a 500-year-old Tra Que vegetable-growing commune, and Ho Chi Minh City’s Opera House and Reunification Palace.
The region’s natural wonders are also explored with the cruise on Tonle Sap Lake, a UNESCO biosphere which supports up to one million people, hundreds of varieties of water birds and fish, along with crocodiles, turtles and macaques, a visit to Kuang Si Waterfalls and a rescue centre for Asiatic black, or ‘moon’, bears.
Accommodation is in locally-rated four and five star hotels, some with spa facilities.
For details call free on 0800 056 0464 or visit saga.co.uk/holidays/asia
17 nights including 2nts abroad aircraft from £3,299 per person, departing Heathrow on October 6, 2020 with Singapore Airlines. Other departures available on Nov 5, 2019, Jan 7 and Mar 10, 2020.
Price includes VIP door-to-door chauffeur service, return flights, airport taxes, accommodation, most meals, porterage, tour manager, optional travel insurance and additional cancellation rights, or a discount if passenger has own insurance.
Notes to editors
Saga is a specialist in the provision of products and services for life after 50. The Saga brand is one of the most recognised and trusted brands in the UK and is known for its high level of customer service and its high quality, award winning products and services including cruises and holidays, insurance, personal finance and publishing. Visit saga.co.uk