Textile Treasures of Vietnam

On arrival at the airport, we’ll meet our guide and transfer to the hotel. Check in is available from 2pm.

After some time to unpack and freshen up, we’ll experience the life of an Hanoian in the 1950s as we travel through the Old Quarter by cycle rickshaw. During the tour, we’ll visit the bustling streets of the ‘District of the 36 Guilds’ where we’ll see artisans such as tinsmiths, jewellers, calligraphers, and carpenters selling their wares.

Our tour ends with an incense burning ceremony. Vietnamese people believe that when incense is burnt, the smoke from it will create a bridge to connect them to family members who have passed away into the spirit world. This experience will help us understand the importance of incense as we visit temples and pagodas during our time here.

After dinner at a local restaurant, we transfer back to our hotel.

Established in 2000, the Indigo Store applies original indigo designs to natural materials such as organic cotton and hemp which are made by ethnic minorities in the mountainous regions of Northern Vietnam. Here we’ll enjoy an indigo dyeing class, before transferring to a local restaurant for lunch.

This afternoon, we’ll get an interesting introduction to Vietnamese culture as we visit the Ethnology Museum and learn about the 54 ethnic groups that can be found across Vietnam. We’ll see an impressive collection of traditional costumes, musical instruments, and jewellery and illustrations of various customs.

Van Phuc Silk Village, the ‘cradle of Vietnamese silk’ is located on the Nhue Thi River, about 8km southwest of Hanoi. The village is well known for its traditional sericulture, weaving and silk products. The silk is made on very simple looms; the traditional Vietnamese way of making silk. As we walk through the village, you’ll notice that most of the houses have been turned into shops selling silk products; of the 1,280 households in the village, 90% are involved in silk production. The village makes more than 2 million meters of silk per year.

Founded in 2017, Vun Art is a social enterprise that trains people with disabilities to make handicrafts and apparel using discarded fragments of Van Phuc silk. It’s estimated that the village discards around 10,000 kilos of silk scraps each month. The signature Vun Art style sees Vietnamese folk-painting designs reimagined and repurposed with silk fragments using collage techniques. The artists make handicrafts, postcards, paintings, t-shirts, wallets, purses and more. The staff here will tell us the story of this traditional handicraft community, their mission and the products they make. We’ll then try our hand at some fabric painting with the help of a local artisan.

Return to Hanoi to visit the Woman’s Museum. Established in 1995, this remarkable museum contains about 28,000 objects, photos, costumes, books and letters highlighting the history of women in Vietnam. It not only exhibits the costumes and traditions of various ethnic groups, but also pays tribute to the courage and great sacrifice of women during the wars.

This afternoon we return to our hotel for our first workshop. Tea/coffee will be served part way through. Lunch is included today.

This morning, we leave Hanoi and travel by road to Mai Chau. This rural district is home to the Ban Lac people, descended from two Thai tribes that settled here. Our route ascends through the mountains, passing charming villages. We’ll have lunch in Lac village before taking a walk around the village, taking in the rural scenery of mountains, streams and paddy fields and shopping for handmade products from the residents. Each family in Mai Chau has a loom where the women work, producing brocade fabrics known for their rich colours and raised patterns.

Transfer to our hotel. Dinner is included this evening.

Our excursion today takes us to the small village of Pa Co. The village is home to the ethnic Hmong people, known for their distinctive culture and handicrafts. Today is market day and will be packed with Thai and Hmong minorities wearing their beautiful costumes. Vegetables, fruits and meat will be on sale, but also Hmong fabrics. We’ll also discover an ancient method of making the iconic Hmong indigo fabric with a villager.

Return to our hotel in Mai Chau. Lunch and dinner are included today.

This morning is at leisure. Transfer to Mai Hich for lunch with a local ethnic Thai family. Continue to Buoc village, where we’ll be warmly welcomed into a stilt house for a Thai weaving workshop.

Return to our hotel in Mai Chau. Dinner is included this evening.

Transfer to Hanoi airport for our fight to Hue. Hue was the capital of Vietnam during the Nguyen dynasty from 1802 to 1945. Its leafy streets are lined with pagodas, art déco mansions, and markets. Through the whole scene flows the Perfume River, setting a languid pace the rest of the city is happy to follow. On arrival we will be met by our local guide and driver and transfer to our hotel.

The Imperial City of Hue is a walled enclosure within the citadel. It contains the palaces that housed the imperial family, as well as shrines, gardens, and villas. Constructed in 1803 under Emperor Gia Long as a new capital, it mostly served a ceremonial function during the French colonial period. After the end of the monarchy in 1945, it suffered heavy damage and was neglected during the Indochina Wars through the 1980s.

The city was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1993 and is undergoing restoration. We’ll visit the citadel before continuing to the tomb of emperor Minh Mang, who ruled between 1820 and 1840. It is perhaps the finest of all imperial tombs in Hue. Built between 1841-43 it is surrounded by peaceful ponds, gardens, pavilions and temples.

After lunch at a local restaurant, we continue to the house of Ton Nu Tri Hue, the only family in Hue who has inherited the technique for making handmade royal pillows. Her mother was born into a family of royal origin and at the age of 17 learned sewing and embroidery at the royal palace. She also learned about the royal multiple-fold pillow, which supports the head, back, and arms while reading, reciting poetry, or drinking. With the last king of Vietnam ruling until 1945, the family now replace pillows found at historical sites as well as making pillows for longevity ceremonies, for decoration and for film sets.

During the Nguyen Dynasty, skilled artisans travelled to Hue to serve the royal family’s demands. These artisans founded various handicraft villages and we will visit some of these today. A 30-minute boat trip up the Perfume River will take us to Thanh Tien village, famous for its 400-year-old paper-making craft. Mr Huy will welcome us into his home to share his knowledge and skill on paper flowers, often used as decoration and for ceremonies. We’ll try our hand at making a lotus flower, the symbol of Vietnam, a perfect memento of our visit here.

Return to our hotel for our second workshop. Tea/coffee will be served part way through.

Later this afternoon, a private wooden boat will take us on a journey down the Perfume River as the sun slowly sets. A refreshing cocktail and snacks will be served as we take in the scenery and enjoy an Ao Dai show on the boat, a traditional Vietnamese cultural show.

Lunch is included today.

We depart Hue this morning to travel to Danang by road along the spectacular Hai Van Pass. The beauty of the landscape on show as we drive over the pass cannot be understated. The road snakes its way up through steep hills, surrounded by lush tropical jungle and offers views out over the ocean and white sand beaches. We’ll make several stops along the way, including one at the Paradise beach of Lang Co. Continue to Hoi An. Hoi An was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1999. Old Town Hoi An, the city's historic district, is recognized as an exceptionally well-preserved example of a Southeast Asian trading port dating from the 15th to the 19th century.

Today we’ll explore the history of sericulture and silk weaving, as well as the history of the Cham people, a Muslim community in Vietnam. At a traditional Vietnamese mulberry garden, we’ll learn how to get the best mulberry leaves, visit the silkworm breeding house and learn about the life cycle of a silkworm.

Our visit will continue to the Unravelling House, where we’ll understand how to get silk thread from the cocoon, Cuu Dien House, where we’ll discover what happens to the silk thread once it is extracted from the cocoon. At the Cham Textile House, we’ll learn about the weaving process of the Cham people on short and long looms. The local artisans will teach us how to weave the brocade and move the silk thread to create different patterns. At the Hoi An Silk Village exhibition we’ll learn to tell the difference between pure and non-pure silks and have some time for shopping.

Lunch at the Silk Village Restaurant is included today.

This morning we’ll enjoy a walking tour of Hoi An ancient town. Cars and motorbikes are forbidden here, so we will be able to enjoy the small streets on foot and take in the Chinese temples, traditional houses and the daily life of local people.

We will stop at Quan Thang ancient house, one of the most beautiful ancient houses in Hoi An town. At over 300 years old, it is home to three generations who continue the tradition of making White Roses (dumplings stuffed with shrimp or pork), a well-known speciality of Hoi An. We will be warmly welcomed by the family and learn about their ancestors, who were Chinese merchants, as well as the history and architecture of the house. Under the guidance of our host, we’ll try our hand at making our own White Roses. Lunch at a local restaurant is included.

This afternoon we’ll join a lantern workshop at Ha Linh Lantern Factory. Introduced to Vietnam hundreds of years ago by the Chinese, the crafting of silk lanterns has become a speciality in Hoi An. We will be guided by local craftsmen to make our own lantern, a perfect souvenir of our time here.

The Precious Heritage Museum and Art Gallery is home to the permanent exhibition of Réhahn’s Precious Heritage Collection. The collection will transport us to the further reaches of Vietnam and unveil the rich tapestry of the country’s ethnic tribes. We’ll discover striking portraits, stories, and heirlooms that can’t be found anywhere else in the world. Five rooms in a 19th century French house present hundreds of portraits, over 60 costumes and tribal songs. As we visit each room, we’ll follow Réhahn on his nearly decade-long journey to document the 54 ethnic groups and subgroups left in the country.

Return to our hotel for our third workshop. Tea/coffee will be served part way through.

This evening we’ll head to Tra Que village for countryside dinner. We’ll be welcomed by a member of the family before diving into a feast of the best local cuisine made from local ingredients picked just that afternoon from nearby farms.