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FROM AU LAC TO VIETNAM
2000
years of arts, crafts and architecture
with
an extension to the Temples of Angkor
with
Dr Donald Wood
The
Virginia and William M. Spencer III Curator of Asian Art
Birmingham
Museum of Art
October
2011
You
are invited to accompany Dr Donald Wood on
our tour to Vietnam, a country well known in name and recent history,
but little known otherwise. Vietnam has a wealth of art, history,
scenery and architecture, and we will be focusing on these aspects
during the tour. Dr Wood, curator of the Southeast's finest collection
of Asian Art, will certainly add to our appreciation of what we
see and experience. In addition to Dr Wood we will have expert local
guides, adding their special knowledge to our understanding of what
we see and experience.
Day
1: Birmingham/Gateway/In Flight
Fly today from Birmingham to our gateway city for our flight to
Saigon. Depending on our flight we may leave a little
after midnight on Day 2.
Day
2: In flight/Ho Chi Minh City
Up on arrival at Tan Son Nhat airport, Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)
we are met and transferred to hotel for check in for the next three
nights. Arrival time will depend on our airline and flight.
(*M)
Day
3: Ho Chi Minh City
This morning we visit the Vietnam History Museum, covering Vietnam
from Bronze Age Dong Son culture (over 80 bronze pieces excavated
since 1985 are exhibited here) to the present. We’ll also
visit the Fine Art Museum and see the historical influence on today’s
modern Vietnamese artists. This afternoon we visit the Cu Chi tunnels,
the amazing labyrinth of tunnels used by the guerrillas during the
war. We also have the opportunity to witness how rice paper is made
(nowadays not from rice). (B,L,D)
Day
4: Ho Chi Minh City/ Tay Ninh / Ho Chi Minh City
After breakfast at the hotel we travel to Tay Ninh, the birthplace
of the unique Cao Dai religion, a fusion of Buddhism, Confucianism,
Taoism, Christianity, Islam and native Vietnamese spiritual beliefs.
Every day at noon, worshippers garbed in colorful robes flock to
the Cao Dai Great Temple to participate in the daily prayer sessions,
which we respectfully observe from the upper balconies. We return
to Ho Chi Minh City in the afternoon, where we focus on the colonial
aspects of Saigon, including Reunification Palace, the Central Post
Office and Notre Dame Cathedral. (B,L,D)
Day
5: Ho Chi Minh City/ Danang/ Hoi An
After breakfast we have a little free time before transferring to
the airport for our flight to Danang, from where we travel by road
to Hoi An, our home for the next three nights. Hoi An is a old port
town, whose unique architecture has been formed over hundreds of
years by Chinese, Japanese, French and European influences. There’s
a 400 year old Japanese covered bridge, and Phuc Kien Assembly Hall
and Phung Hung House are of particular interest. There’s a
thriving art culture here, shown by the numerous art galleries.
A walk along a small street may reveal traditional 300 year old
buildings, art galleries showcasing tradition-inspired new Vietnamese
artists, local shops and restaurants featuring Hoi An signature
dishes such as dumplings, Paris-inspired silk fashions, and the
handmade silk/paper lanterns for which the town is known. This afternoon
we visit the Sa Huynh Culture Museum and the Museum of History and
Culture. The Sa Huynh culture was dominant around Hoi An between
the 2nd century BCE and the 2nd century CE, at the same time as
the Dong Son culture further north.
Day
6: Hoi An
Hoi An has many smaller places of interest, and its culture and
history are deserving of a close look. For this reason we have left
today free to wander this city and discover our own treasures. Hoi
An, and especially the Old Town, with its Chinese shophouses, is
very pedestrian friendly, as cars are not permitted to enter the
winding lanes (sadly the ubiquitous Asian motorbikes are). While
many shops are devoted to tourists, this is still an opportunity
to find worthwhile items for purchase. We have left meals free today,
as with our Vietnamese dining over the last few days we should have
enough experience to find a small local place in the unique atmosphere
of Old Town after dark. To help us out we will have an extra guide
to assist with our wandering, and a central rendezvous for travel
back to the hotel. (B)
Day
7: Hoi An /Danang/ Hue
After breakfast we transfer from Hoi An to Hue, stopping along the
way at Danang to visit the Cham Museum, an elegant colonial building
which now houses the finest collection of Cham sculpture in the
world. After checking in to our hotel in Hue we visit the Imperial
Citadel, a vast complex built in the early 19th century and modeled
after the Forbidden City of Peking. The original walls stretched
for 10 km and were surrounded by a wide moat. Today, most of the
buildings have been destroyed due to bombing during the Vietnam-American
War, but the monuments that remain provide a fascinating glimpse
into the court life of the Nguyen Dynasty. We approach the citadel
past the striking Flag Tower, an early 19th C three-tiered pyramid,
where now a giant Vietnamese flag waves proudly overhead, to the
Ngo Mon Gate, the main entrance to the Imperial Enclosure. Here
we enter into an area of spacious courtyards and serene lotus ponds,
then visit Dien Tho Residence (palace), where the Queen mother lived,
visit Thai Hoa Palace, the magnificently decorated reception hall,
the Halls of the Mandarins, and see the original Nine Dynastic Urns,
the largest urns in Vietnam and symbolizing the sovereignty of the
dynasty. We overnight tonight in Hue. (B,L,D)
Day
8: Hue /Hanoi
After breakfast we once again have a little free time to catch up
on postcards or other necessities until we transfer to the airport
for our flight to Hanoi, where we check in to our hotel, where we
stay for four nights. This evening we enjoy a traditional Water
Puppet Show at the Thang Long theater. (B,L,D)
Day
9: Hanoi
This morning we visit the Temple of Literature, the first university
of Vietnam, where just opposite the Fine Art Museum exhibits approximately
10,000 art works in 16 showrooms, ranging from Primitive Eras, Feudalism
(11th-18th centuries), modern fine art to folk printing. This afternoon
we visit The Hanoi History Museum, is housed in an elegant building
from the 1930s which used to be the museum of the Ecole Francaise
d’Extreme Orient; and include exhibits spanning the entirety
of Vietnam’s history including prehistory, proto-Vietnamese
civilizations, the Dong Son culture, the Oc-Eo culture and the Khmer
Kingdoms. The Museum of Ethnology brings to life the astonishing
ethnic diversity in Vietnam, with art and artifacts from the 54
different ethnic groups that inhabit the country. Inside the museum
are detailed descriptions of minority groups, with examples of their
traditional clothing and way of life. Outside are faithful reconstructions
of traditional longhouses, cemeteries and other distinctive ethnic
buildings. (B,L,D)
Day
10: Hanoi
This morning we visit the Ngoc Son Temple on Hoan Kiem Lake and
the Van Phuc silk making village. After lunch we travel to Quat
Dong, a village about 20 km from Hanoi which specializes in embroidering.
This village is famous due to many International Exhibitions showing
its excellent work. The scenes of villagers through openings to
the home courtyards are reminiscent of much older villages throughout
the world. The embroiderers can make embroidery copies of any image,
and participants may be interested in taking a favorite photo or
piece of artwork to have transformed into a unique souvenir.
(B,L,D)
Day
11: Hanoi
Breakfast at the hotel. Today is free for several organized options,
with some participants expected to return for longer sojourns at
previously visited places, such as the silk or embroidery village,
or for activities of personal interest, such as a day trip to scenic
Ha Long Bay. Tonight we enjoy our special farewell dinner. (B,D)
Day
12: Hanoi / In Flight
Sadly we say farewell to this friendly and special place, and transfer
back to the airport for our flight back to the US, taking with us
many memories, both in our minds and in our bags, of Vietnam. Those
continuing with our Angkor Wat extension will fly to Siem Reap today. (B,*M)
Day 13: In Flight/ Gateway/ Home City
We arrive back in our gateway city today, pass through customs and
immigration, then board our flight for Birmingham.
(*B)
See
our Angkor Wat extension here
Click
here for Tour Information and booking details
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about Dr Wood and the Birmingham Museum of Art
