CULTURE TOURS
Trip code: VIECUL(Please click trip code to book)
Vietnam’s fascinating culture and history dates back more than 4000 years and can be explored through various special interest programs. Exploring Vietnam’s culinary delights exposes you to the secret ingredients of Vietnamese specialties from the three main regions. Festivals offer an opportunity to participate in colorful local celebrations and to gain an understanding of the importance of traditions in Vietnamese culture.
Culinary Tours
The unique flavors of Vietnamese food with its low fat and healthy ingredients have made it a popular international cuisine. Viet Nam boasts more than 500 different cuisines reflecting the country’s diversity as well as its rich natural resources. In Viet Nam, meals are always prepared fresh and eaten fresh since vegetables, meats, and live seafood are readily available. Dishes vary from region to region with each boasting its own unique specialties. A program can incorporate a culinary theme for a day or for the entire tour traveling north to south sampling local specialties along the way. In major cities such as Ho Chi Minh City, Ha Noi, Hue, Da Nang and Hoi An, a chef from a renowned restaurant or hotel is invited to provide an overview of Vietnamese foods and give a cooking demonstration. The chef can also escort the group to the local market where they learn about the ingredients on the spot as well as try their hand at shopping. The group then participates in preparing the meal which they can sample right afterwards. A culinary tour is not only a savory experience but is also educational providing participants with a unique insight into Vietnamese culture.
Festival Tours
There are many important cultural celebrations that take place throughout the country at different times of the year. These festivals stem from centuries of traditions passed down from generation to generation and are unusually very colorful and elaborate, often lasting for days.
The most celebrated festival in Viet Nam is Tet which marks the Lunar New Year. Tet usually takes place in mid- February through the date varies from year to year based on the lunar calendar. The Tet holiday is actually a quite time where offices and shops are closed and time is spent with close family and friends. Although there are festivals throughout the country, a concentration of them takes place in the northern countryside before and right after Tet.
Besides, there are many festival reflected deeply the folk activities. Ba Chua Xu festival is one from that. This festival takes place every year on Sam Mountain in An Giang from the 23rd to the 27th of the 4th lunar month. To get there, follow the provincial road 10 from Long Xuyen to Chau Doc and travel an extra 7 km to reach Sam Mountain. Sam Mountain can also be reach by boat from Can Tho, Soc Trang and Sai Gon. The ceremony, also called Via Ba ceremony, attracts a great number of tourists who participate in the many folkloric ceremonies. They also take this opportunity to travel and contemplate the breathtaking landscapes of An Giang.
