ICS Encounters Experiences that are off the beaten path and provide close cultural interaction and deep immersion for an authentic and memorable experience in our destinations VIETNAM Walk the Rail Tracks of Hanoi Hanoi Start your tour between the rails a few meters north of Hanoi’s main train station. Walk along the very narrow streets hosting the rails sometimes not even a meter away from the entrance door of the houses! Enjoy this original and photogenic scene walking along the street until 153 Phung Hung where you go back down to the road and follow the street’s sidewalk. Walk past the funeral home where you will probably see a group of people mourning and wearing the traditional white fabric around the forehead, which is equivalent to the western tradition of wearing black clothes. Continue walking toward Long Bien train station. From Long Bien train station start to cross the bridge and stop half way to go down the stairs onto the urban island. Have a rest and visit the orchards. Continue crossing the bridge and meet the car which will transfer you to Gia Lam train station. Take your train ticket and jump in to cross the bridge the other way, riding with the Highlights locals in the hard seater wagon. On week days you will stop • Ride a local train over the bridge to the other side of at Long Bien as the final station and on Saturday and Hanoi. Sunday you will stop at Hanoi Station. Meet the car when • Walk along tracks where trains pass right next to disembarking and transfer back to your hotel. people’s doors. • Get a glimpse into a unique railside funeral home. Hidden Saigon at Night Saigon Transfer to the Saigon Opera House, the city’s cultural and architectural icon, built by the French in 1898. Sit back in your seat in the oval auditorium and get ready to watch a fascinating cultural show depicting Vietnamese village life. The show is an energetic mix of contemporary dance, traditional folk music and breathtaking acrobatic acts using long bamboo poles. The performance has generated so much enthusiasm that part of the crew is currently on a tour of Europe. After the show take a walk to a restaurant popular with the locals. Soak up the lively atmosphere as you sample some delicious Vietnamese street food. The evening ends in a hidden coffee shop where you can sit back with a drink and listen to talented local musicians perform Vietnamese and Western songs. Highlights • Watch a spectacular acrobatic show in the iconic Saigon Opera House. • Sit among the locals and sample delicious and authentic street food. • Experience the vibrant Vietnamese nightlife in a hidden bar. Cholon – A Photogenic Experience Saigon Transfer from your hotel to District 5, the Chinese quarter also known as Cho Lon. The photo tour starts at Binh Tay Market, the bulk goods market used by Saigon’s smaller market and street vendors. Stop at the photogenic Thien Hau Pagoda. With hundreds of smoking incense sticks, the Pagoda offers excellent opportunities for photos. Explore the small hidden alleys and capture the lively local street life. Away from the tourist trail, pass by different themed streets and narrow alleys, home to a diverse array of goods grouped by theme such as fabrics, housewares, and apothecary street stalls, to name a few. Highlights • Visit the historic district of Cho Lon on a different angle: get the chance to see the backstreets and local life. • For all photography aficionados. Beginner level or advanced photographer: we will bring you to the best spots at the right time of the day for you to take the best shot. Beginners will learn how to get the most out of their camera. It is also possible to join the tour without taking pictures as there is plenty to see and experience. • A selection of the photographers’ best pictures taken during the tour will be sent to participants. Bamboo Artisanry of Hoi An by Bike & Boat Hoi An Combine an off-the-beaten-track bicycle ride with a glimpse into the traditional arts of Hoi An. The town of Hoi An has a reputation for its distinctive arts and crafts. It is home to many factories and workshops where the ancient techniques first introduced by the ancestors of the town’s families are still being followed to this day. These exquisite handicrafts are produced using local materials such as bamboo, wood and Vietnamese fabrics. Hop on your bike and cycle to the pier. Then, along with your bicycle, board a boat for a cruise to Cam Kim Island. Ride through the lush surroundings stopping at some of the authentic workshops to see how wooden boats, traditional basket boats, and beautiful carpets are made. From here take another cruise to the east of Hoi An and visit Cam Thanh village where endless nipa palm forests cover hectares of land. These abundant forests provide the locals Highlights with bamboo, an essential raw material from which they build houses as well as producing beautiful handicrafts and • Exploring traditional arts of Hoi An by cycling. even sturdy bamboo bicycles. • Cruising to Cam Kim Island and riding through the lush beautiful surrounding. Visit a bamboo workshop and try your hand at this popular • Visiting the east of Hoi An and taking a boat through the craft before cycling back to the old town. endless nipa palm forest. • Joining the Bamboo Workshop and learning how to make crafts with bamboo. Folk Art of Hue with an Artist Hue Take a peek into the stunning home of a professional artist and try your hand at producing Vietnamese folk art under the guidance of the expert himself. Visit the house of Nguyen Van Tan, an artist who studied at the College of Arts in Hue and whose work has been exhibited throughout Vietnam and Thailand. He generously opens the doors to his beautiful residence and invites visitors in to see his home and art. Everything in his house and garden, from the artworks to the plants and rocks, has been arranged in an artistic way in order to fuse art and nature. Browse through his paintings and wander through the beautiful garden to see the water features and enjoy the peace and serenity. Mr. Tan will take you through the history of Vietnamese art, and will personally teach you how to produce some traditional folk art of your own. Highlights • Visit Nguyen Van Tan an artist who studied at the College of Arts in Hue and whose work has been exhibited throughout Vietnam and Thailand. • On this tour you will talk more in-depth about Vietnamese Art and your host will personally teach you how to produce some of the traditional folk art which you can bring home as a memory. CAMBODIA The Animist of Cambodian’s Ethnic Minority Banlung Spend the day discovering the natural beauty of the jungle, glorious waterways, and meeting indigenous tribes. Close to the Sesan River is a small cluster of villages home to Khmer and other ethnic minorities. We will take a boat along the tranquil river passing fishermen casting their lines, farmers at work in the fields, and villagers setting out in their small boats. Back on dry land, a two-hour trek will take us through the beautiful forest to the O Ahchah Waterfall for lunch and a refreshing dip in the cool water. At Koh Peik Village we will visit the cemetery of the KaChork families, a remote minority tribe. The tribe bury their dead in the forest and in front of each grave two statues are erected. After the funeral ceremony the graves are left to decay and become part of the forest. We will spend time chatting with the KaChork villagers and learn more about their culture. Highlights • Take a boat trip passing riverside scenes untouched by tourism. • Trek through the forest and cool off under a beautiful waterfall. • Visit the forest cemetery of the KaChork, a remote minority tribe. Snaps in Phnom Penh Phnom Penh Set out on foot and explore a photogenic local community and discover how the work of street artists has transformed this central urban neighborhood. Experience the wildly diverse murals lining the walls of the community, from the intricate work of Cambodia’s first female urban street artist, Lisa Mam, to the large format, pop art style paintings of gesturing hands by Chifumi, a French artist who is also a co-founder and organizer of the annual Cambodian Urban Art Festival. While snapping photos of the talented artist’s concrete canvases, learn more about the community and the locals that call it home. Highlights • Explore a rarely visited area of Phnom Penh on foot. • Take photos of the community, along with the wonderful street art and murals created by Cambodian and international artists. Local Life Discovery on Sangker and Tonle Battambang – Siem Reap V.V In the morning board the private traditional wooden boat for the cruise along the Sangker River from Battambang to Siem Reap. The journey takes you through the lush scenery of protected wetlands. Watch the fishermen as they throw their nets into the rust brown water. As the boat navigates its way through wide waterways and narrow canals get a glimpse of daily life on the riverbank. Women washing their clothes in the water, and children splashing in their watery playground. Stop for a short time at Bak Preah boat station. Back on board enjoy a picnic lunch as you relax and take in the picturesque views. You will pass by villages where the buildings are balanced on long wooden poles in the river, and others where the houses float on rafts on top of the water.