Cambodia, Vietnam, and China by train Travel

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A long stay in Siem Reap to enjoy the sites by day and the city by night. We will spend several days exploring Angkor Wat and the Angkor Complex. Highlights: Yoga, nightlife, renting a tuk tuk, day trip to see the stilt houses on the Tonle Sap lake, and beach time at the Wake Park.

An off-the-beaten-path city in Cambodia known for well-preserved French colonial architecture. This is a UNESCO World Heritage destination, noted for being a Creative City of Gastronomy. We will be spending this period of time here, which includdes Chinese New Year and the Vietnamese holiday of Tet, to avoid the larger crowds at Angkor Wat and overcrowded public transport. This is not a tourist town but the key attractions here are the food, the Bamboo Train, and seeing the bats emerge from the cave of  Phnom Sampeau.

After an overnight in Phnom Penh on the 8th, then we will catch a train south to the beach destination of Kep. Staying in an airbnb, we plan to spend a week in this Cambodian beach town, away from the main tourist scene. Our plans are to hang out at the beach and explore the surrounding towns, ruins, etc.  (option to spend a couple nights Kampot at the end of the week) Probably renting a scooter.

Taking the train from Kep to Phnom Penh for  four nights to explore the city. Staying in a Home Exchange.  Restaurants: Biopha Phnom Penh - Titanic Restaurant for dinner, La Crosiette for breakfast or lunch, and On the Corner, for casual with a nice outdoor area

We will fly to Ho Chi Minh and take a train to Mui Ne (May spend one night in the city) . In Mui Ne we will have some beach time and Mike will do some kitesurfing. Possibly meeting up with kiting friends.

We will be taking the train from Mui Ne north, stopping to see the beaches around Nha Trang,  exploring the old city of Hoi An while staying in a home exchange. After, we will take the scenic train from Da Nang (near Hoi An) to Hue,  and then spending a few days in Hue to see the imperial city and possibly Tu Hieu Pagoda, where Thich Nhat Hanh practiced.

Taking the train to Ninh Bin for a few days to go cycling through the karst landscape and rice paddies, take a boat tour down the river and through caves (Tam Coc tour), and general relaxing at a peaceful riverside hotel.

Wander the streets of Hanoi to see places like Train Street and the old town, and then do a three-day cruise in the Halong Bay area. We may head north to Sapa if time allows.

Take trains from either Hanoi or Sapa to near the Tibetan border in the foothills of the Himilaya Mountains. We will spend two nights at a guesthouse in Walnut Garden Village along the gorge and visit  visitTiger Leaping Gorge. We'll also spend two or three nights in Lijiang to visit Jade Dragon Snow Mountain (5,596 meters), and Shuhe Old Town.  Jade Dragon Snow Mountain has several areas to visit, including a cable car that takes you to 4506 (meters) - buy tickets one week in advance. 

After we have acclimatized to this elevation for a couple days we'll take a high-speed train to Shangri-La (3,352 meters elevation) to see the restored ancient city and  famous Ganden Sumtseling Monastery.

We will spend a full day on the train to Chengdu (9.5 hours). The next day, we'll visit the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding to see giant pandas and red pandas on a Morning Walk with Pandas. The next day we will do a day trip to Leshan to see the 71 meter giant stone buddha. 

The train to Zhangjiajie take about 5.5 hours. Here, we'll see Tianmen Mountain (cable car, glass walkway on cliff side) and enjoy the nighttime light show on the mountain. Spend two days exploring  Zhangjiajie National Park, the inspiration for the Avatar movie setting (elevator on side of mountain, lookouts, walking trails).  Day trip to Furong Ancient Town and have dinner looking over the waterfalls and old town. This is probably more time than needed but will allow us a flex day in case we are behind schedule.

Take a morning train from  Zhangjiajie to Yichang to catch the cruise ship. Spend four nights on board Victory Cruise Ship and disembark in Chongquing  

Take the train to Xi'an. See the Terracotta Warriors, bike along the top of the ancient city walls, explore the muslim quarter, and take a 30-minute train ride to Hua Shan (Mount Hua) and a cable car up the mountain, known as the birth of Toaism.

Take the train to Beijing (4.5 hours). Spend three days seeing the sights in Beijing, including the Great Wall of China, the Forbidden City,  and the Temple of Heaven. Fly back to Toronto on April 29.