Day 1: HA NOI
Arriving at Noi Bai airport. Transfer to hotel. Visit Hanoi "The city situated on the side of Red river." Walk in the residential district where was the Presidential Palace, the house and the mausoleum of Ho Chi Minh, the One-Pillar pagoda. Next, we will visit the museum of ethnology, Quan Thanh temple and Tran Quoc pagoda established by the West lake, the temple of literature (the first university of Vietnam in the 11th century) and Ngoc Son temple. In the late afternoon, we go by cyclo in the old quarter. Have lunch and dinner in city. In the evening: water puppet show. Night at hotel.

Day 2: HA NOI - PERFUME PAGODA - HOA BINH
Departure for the Perfume pagoda, one of the most beautiful sites of Vietnam. The pagodas and temples are perched on the flank of chalky mountain whose architecture integrates perfectly with a very lush nature. Take a sampan which drive you on the Yen river to the root of the Perfume mountain, but according to the rules of pilgrimage, a stopover should be made at the Trinh temple to ask the Genius -guardian permission to pursue our journey. Then you will need a 3 hours round-trip to climb up to the Huong Tich pagoda, an immense cave where stalactites and stalagmites form candelabra and altars. Have lunch there. We leave for Hoa Binh, crossing the superb landscapes of mountain filled with tea trees. Dinner and night at stilt- house.

Day 3: HOA BINH - MAI CHAU
Departure for Mai Chau valley, a short stop at the Muong village in Cho Bo. We leave the flat country for the mountainous region. The first rice fields in terraces appear, bordered by the groves of banana. The country is sprinkled by thatched cottages, among which the houses of Muong recognise themselves with their roofs on low stilts. Then we arrive in Mai Chau valley at noon. Visit two villages Van and Lac. The skilled fingers of the White Thai women mastering all kinds of textures which are based on combinations of lozenges or variations on wild silks. Dinner and night at the inhabitant. In the evening: a show of traditional dances with folk music.

Day 4: MAI CHAU - SON LA- DIEN BIEN
Departure to Dien Bien. Stop in Son La for lunch. Then, set off to the West enjoying the superb landscapes of the Tay Bac mountains, the green valleys of rice fields and the villages of the Thai black minority. Indeed, the women and the little girls Thai working in the rice field or on the way to at the school- wear their traditional clothes. Have diner and overnight at a local hotel.

Day 5: DIEN BIEN- LAI CHAU
Dien Bien Phu, the symbol of the French defeat in Indochina, is also a very beautiful valley. Visit the former field of battle, hills, museum and the PC of De Castrie General . Have lunch in city. After- noon : depart for Lai Chau. Stop at villages of the H'mong and the Meos. Have diner and overnight night at a local hotel

OPTION 2: For those that don't wish to visit Dien Phu, they may select to join Lai Chau directly from Tuan Giao.

Day 4: MAI CHAU - SON LA
Journey to Son La. Visit superb landscapes of mountains, of the greenish valleys of rice fields and the villages of the Thai black minority. Have diner and overnight at a local hotel.

Day 5: SON LA- TUAN GIAO - LAI CHAU
Tuan Giao is a small chief district with a path leading to Dien Bien Phu on the South West and another to Lai Chau on the North West. As leaving Tuan Giao, the path leads you to continued valleys with rice fields, bananas and other agricultural plants around all the way. You will discover villages of Red Hmong in the Sin Chai Plateau, and some of Kho Mu, a minority with few people residing along this path. Of a strict aesthetic and ethnological viewpoint, this journey to reach Lai Chau is shorter and more interesting than the one via Dien Bien Phu. Have diner and overnight at hotel.

Day 6: LAI CHAU- SIN HO- PHONG THO
Visit Sin Chai in Ta Phinh Plateau, about thirty kilometers in the North of Lai Chau. On the way, stop at Chieng Chan where there is a small path on our right to a small valley. Though short, this path is not in a good state and thus, a 4WD is required. However, the scenery here is so panoramic. You can see far to the mountains bordering China on North East. Then, complete the final part of the journey to the 1500 metre high Sin Ho Plateau for a complete view of the area noting other mountains nearby is only 1000 - 1200 metre high. Then, back to the old path to Lai Chau and Phong Tho. Have diner and overnight at a local hotel.

Day 7: PHONG THO- SA PA
The first interest of Phong Tho is the Tam Duong weekly fair. This is one of the most beautiful markets in the north of Viet Nam. Sellers and purchasers come there from all surrounding, the most faraway villages are more of one day of trek. Departure to Sapa, road Follows the throats of Nam Na river after having crossed the Black river. The road, sometimes track, is rather good, merely jolting in acceptable proportions. Meeting the Dao women who wear the tunics and the covered black or blue pants of embroideries and thick black turbans on a skull of which the part before being shaved from the moment they are married; they also carry a lot of woods, that they descend from the mountains by trails, until the new retail outlets installed along the road, held by Thai or the Viet. Around the new houses some terraces have been arranged for the culture of rice, corns and vegetables. Have diner in city and overnight at hotel.

Day 8: SA PA - LAO CAI - BAC HA- SA PA
Being attracted by the climate and the beauty of the landscapes, the French colonists had made Sapa an ideal place for relaxation and holiday. The city is located at 1650m, at roof of Fanxipan, the highest mount of Viet Nam. Depart to Bac Ha, one of the most picturesque fairs of this region that gather on every Sunday morning. From 7 AM to 9 AM, roads and tracks in this region are very busy. There, a peasant pulls a dunce which doesn't want to advance. Here others are more prudent who prefer to transport the small pigs on the levers in order to prevent them from losing weight on the path to the fair . Some go by couple, the woman carrying on back the hoods that she plaited, the men take the corn alcohol that he distilled. The girls are in their most beautiful short skirts that oscillate right and left following every their step. The sellers present some essential products such as grocery store, books and school supplies. Some peasants come to sell their production (vegetables, raising and handicraft). Finally the women calculate the profit of the day or compare the goods, the girls make up to be more beautiful, the men enjoy the rice alcohol while discussing about horses and land. Then we return to Sapa. Dinner and night at hotel.

Day 9: SA PA
We depart for a 4 hours trek to Tavan village of Giay ethnic via Lao Chai village of the black H'Mong groups. During the whole trek, there are many superb rice fields in terrace to see. Lunch in town. In the afternoon, take a walk to Cat Cat valley, an H'mong village which is situated about 2,5 km from Sapa by a track that descends wrap-around through a cultivated zone. Transfers to Lao Cai railway station for a night train to Hanoi. (TULICO Train). Night on board.

Day 10: HA NOI - HA LONG
Departure for Ha Long. A short stop en route at But Thap pagoda which was constructed in 17th century on a levee of land in the middle of the rice field. On arrival in Halong, check in Tuan Chau bungalow. Have lunch with fresh seafood. Tuan Chau island has a surface of 3 square km and populated by 1200 fishers. At an ideal location, the hotel is composed of three villas that were constructed during the year of 1960s to receive Ho Chi Minh. Today, the High Dignitary Families of the Communist Party often come again to spend their weekends and vacation there. The hotel has a very beautiful view on the bay. It is really a privileged place that doesn't normally available for tourists, my personal relations with the Director Board of hotel, will enable you to enjoy it. In the afternoon, take a walk to a fishing village. Dinner and night in bungalow

Day 11: HA LONG - CAT BA
If Hanoi was Thang Long, "Ascending Dragon", the Halong bay, "Descending Dragon". This name is originated from a legend explaining the present of its rocky peaks that are the remains from a fierce battle of a great dragon. The fantastic peaks cutting the horizon in bluish teeth or sunken mountains which emerge only their summits, caves and grottoes where the streams disappear, game of mists and clouds. The most typical is that these peaks with the strange shapes seem floating on the surface of water and here the silence of this spreads sea dominates everywhere, sometimes broken by the scream of a sea bird. Take a private boat, and cruise to Cat Ba island. You will discover Cat Ba national park that includes humid forests, inshore mangrove swamps, numerous small fresh water lakes, sandy beaches and reefs of beautiful coral. It is the home for 28 pieces of mammal, 37 pieces of bird, 20 pieces of reptile and 200 pieces of fish. There you will find a rare tree "stick tree". It is named following its wood, which is reactive with the poisonous foods and often used to manufacture the sticks utilized in the court. Lunch and dinner with fresh seafood. Night at hotel

Day 12: CAT BA - HAI PHONG - HA NOI
You can visit a fishing village, the market of fish. But especially, you will have an impressive memory of Cat Ba with the lifestyle of its local fishers and the magnificent sites. Embarking on a hydroplane for one hour journey to Hai Phong. Discover Hai Phong, the city with French colonial style is very famous for its streets and avenues edged by flaming. Then we visit Du Hang pagoda, Hang Kenh Communal House. Return to Ha Noi. Night at hotel

DAY 13: HA NOI
Free at leisure until tranferring to Noibai airport for onward flight. End of tour.

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Northeast frontier and RC / Northeast Adventure