Taste trekking trip in Vietnam

Want a fun and exciting holiday? With her local knowledge and friends, you will enjoy an authentic Vietnamese cuisine trip with Sally Lynch. See the sights and pick up some excellent cooking tips!

Itinerary:

Day one – Hanoi

Arrive into Hanoi. We will pick you up from the airport and transport you to a hotel in the heart of the old quarter – great for taking

in the heaving atmosphere that is Hanoi. Our local guide will offer advice and assistance on local cycle tour if you wish – otherwise take it easy. We will celebrate the first night with drinks and a very special local Hanoi dish of Cha ca Va.

Meals - dinner

Day two – Hanoi

After breakfast at the hotel we will head to the local market with our chef. We will then have a cooking class in the old quarter with the Vietnamese Nigella! We will cook and then feast! The bus will pick us up in the afternoon and take us to the local ceramic village – where some amazing ceramics are on offer (keep some space in your bag!). Then onto But Thap Pagoda – this is one of the most beautiful pagodas in Vietnam. You need to visit one and this is it! We will definitely consume a few snacks in here too, don’t worry! Dinner tonight at a delicious street food cafe. Bia Hoi on a street corner – optional but a lot of fun!

Meals – breakfast, lunch, dinner

Day three - Hanoi - Halong Bay

After breakfast we jump on our bus and go to the gorgeous Halong Bay where we will get on a cruise boat and head to Cua Van floating village. Here we see fishermen living on the water and take a small boat around the village to buy our ingredients that we will cook for our lunch. Our chef will take us through a cooking lesson aboard the boat and then we shall eat whilst we meander back to port to jump on our bus back to Hanoi. Tonight is yours to explore or pass out!

Day four - Hanoi – Danang – Hoi An

An early flight from Hanoi to Danang. On our drive to Hoi an we will explore the Marble Mountains and China Beach. We will check into our hotel and then go and get some lunch at a local cafe. This afternoon we will grab bikes and ride around the old quarter with our local guide – the best way to get around and see the sights.(Drink and snack breaks compulsory!) Tonight dinner is at a local restaurant that trains young people from disadvantaged backgrounds – the food is pretty good too!

Meals – breakfast, lunch, dinner

Day five - Hoi An

After breakfast we will wander down for a tour around the local market in Hoi An – this really is the centre of town and where all the action is. Be careful of ladies abducting you away for threading! This morning will be a cooking class at the gorgeous Morning Glory – cook and then feast. The afternoon is yours to explore, get shoes

made, dresses, suits or to just relax with a book.

Meals – breakfast, lunch

Day six - Hoi An

Today is a day of discovery. We will go on a bike tour to a village through the rice fields to see vegetables and herbs being grown for the markets. We will stop for some lunch and then back on the treadies and we will visit a village on the Thu Bon River where there is 7 acres (yes 7 acres!!) of periwinkles. We will wind our way back to town stopping for a few more little local snacks along the way. Tonight is dinner on the river.

Meals – breakfast, lunch, dinner

Day seven - Hoi An – Saigon

Morning transfer to Danang for flight to Saigon. After check in to The Grand Hotel , we will get some lunch and then we will set off on a half day tour including the Ben Thanh markets, cho lon and the Notre Dame (great Vietnamese coffeee in the park opposite with the students). Dinner tonight is at a traditional BBQ restaurant

with drinks at a local bar. Stop and have a “foot massage “ on the way home – you will never have another like it!

Meals – breakfast, lunch, dinner

Day eight -Saigon – home

This morning we are up and at a hands on cooking class in a private home. This is great as you get to experience a locals cooking techniques in his home. This will include a trip to the local neighborhood market and then lunch. The afternoon is free to pick up any last minute “essentials”. Transfer to the airport to catch

your flight home.

Meals – breakfast, lunch

Included in the price:

Flights within Vietnam specified in tour
accommodation,
private pick up and transfer (A/C Van)

English speaking local trek guides except on free days

Cooking classes and demos

Meals specified in program

All internal/domestic air tickets

All entrance permission and visiting fees,
bikes

Not including

Flights from Australia and Vietnam

Airport taxes

Visa arrangement and visa cost,
travel insurance

Personal expenses (drinks, tips, souvenirs, laundry etc)

Lunches and dinners not specified in itinerary

When: Dates to be announced

Sally grew up in the countryside of North East Victoria on a farm where food was grown and harvested daily. She spent her holidays sitting in mulberry trees eating her fill on the branches and picking fresh almonds from the trees.

She started her journey catering for film crews and production houses in Melbourne's inner South. As her passion and intrigue into the world of ingredients developed (as well as her ticking entrepreneurial brain) she set off to start her first foray into the business world, setting up a couple of small restaurants within existing hotels in South Yarra. This led to “Ridgeydidge” a home delivery meal service where gourmet meals were delievered to your door.

Then with a friend she converted an old butcher's shop in Melbourne's up and coming neighbourhood Bentleigh to a funky café/catering/cooking school called The Spotted Dog.

In 2002, Sally got married, sold her business and moved to Brisbane, and this is where The Loaded Larder was born. The Loaded Larder was initially a production kitchen, developing dips and tapenades for sale in delis, supermarkets and for wholesale to restaurants and caterers nationally. A shop followed naturally enough and developed into another business supplying cafes and coffee shops with wholesale café foods.

Now Sally is pursuing her passion for good food and travel....what fun!