What Is Trails of Indochina?
Trails of Indochina is not a tour operator. It is a cultural program by Indochine Chic — a Luxury Travel Designer & Indochina Travel Publisher — preserving the colonial old style of French travel across Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, and Myanmar.
Indochine Chic designs bespoke luxury journeys and publishes trail maps, historical research, and manifestos. We operate each program fully or partly. This is not nostalgia nor a defense of colonialism. It is aesthetic preservation: architecture, gastronomy, manners, and deep curiosity for French-Southeast Asian fusion.
Who Is It For?
The Trails of Indochina traveler is comfortable with ambiguity, reads history without needing to agree with it, wears linen without irony, can sit in silence watching a river, and understands that “luxury” means time, not marble.
How Much Does It Cost?
Bespoke pricing: $450–$1,200 per day depending on itinerary length, accommodation choice, private guides, and exclusivity. A typical 14-day journey ranges from $6,300–$16,800 per person.
Best Time to Travel
October–April: Ideal for most of Indochina. May–September: Excellent for northern Vietnam and Laos.
“The art of French Indochinese travel — slow, beautiful, timeless. Not efficiency, but essence.”
The Art of Travel Philosophy: Five Rituals
Ritual One: La Lenteur (The Art of Slowness)
Multi-day river journeys, overnight trains, extended stays. The journey itself becomes the destination. No “five countries in ten days.”
Ritual Two: Le Déjeuner sur l’Herbe (The Picnic as Ceremony)
Vintage wicker hampers, period menus, a checkered cloth laid on temple ruins or rice-field dikes. A meal that is also a meditation.
Ritual Three: La Garde-Robe Tropicale (The Tropical Wardrobe)
Linen, silk, Panama hats. A packing list based on 1930s colonial catalogs. Style in the tropics is not vanity — it is survival and grace.
Ritual Four: L’Heure Bleue (The Twilight Aperitif)
Between 5:30 and 6:30 PM, the day stops. Pastis, vermouth, or a dry gin and tonic. A view of a river, a temple, or a boulevard of tamarind trees. Conversation or silence. Both are sacred.
Ritual Five: L’Hybridité (Gastronomic & Architectural Fusion)
French wrought iron with Vietnamese shutters; pot-au-feu with nước mắm; a Buddhist temple with a European organ. The beauty of cross-cultural creation.
SIGNATURE EXPERIENCE
“Sunset on the Mekong — colonial villas casting long shadows. A private riverboat with pastis reveals Indochina’s most romantic skyline.”
The Trails – Following Colonial Routes
Le Fleuve Royale – Saigon to Luang Prabang Water Route
Preserves colonial river piers, vintage sampans, restored rest houses. 6:00 AM wooden riverboat, Phong Dien floating market, picnic on sandbar, twilight aperitif reading from a 1922 travelogue.
La Ligne Mandarine – Hanoi to Saigon Railway Journey
Reunification Express private compartments + The Vietage luxury carriage. Future: restored 1930s teak carriage. Signature experience: Dinner on Platform 3 (Da Nang) with string quartet.
La Route des Postes – Phnom Penh to Battambang Overland
Vintage Citroën Traction Avant transfer, colonial postal relay stations, reproduction postcards, and Battambang bamboo train with historical context.
Material Culture & Gastronomic Preservation
Colonial Architecture Certification: Catégorie 1 (Intact: Saigon Post Office), Catégorie 2 (Adapted), Catégorie 3 (Ruins: Bokor).
Endangered Dishes: Seven recipes from pâté aux épices to sorbet longane-champagne. Digital recipe book included.
21-Day Indochina Trails Guided Itinerary
Week One (Vietnam): Hanoi (Metropole, 3 nights) – Huế (La Résidence) – Hội An (3 nights).
Week Two (Mekong Descent): Saigon – Mekong Delta 2D/1N – Phnom Penh (Raffles Le Royal).
Week Three (Cambodia to Laos): Siem Reap (Angkor Wat sunset) – Luang Prabang (Satri House, Pak Ou caves, Baci ceremony).
Minimum 3 nights per location — “time is timeless.”
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Trails of Indochina?
A cultural program by Indochine Chic preserving French colonial travel style across Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, Myanmar.
Who is it for?
Luxury travelers, cultural enthusiasts, architecture lovers, gastronomes seeking slow, authentic immersion.
How much does it cost?
Bespoke pricing from $450–$1,200 per day depending on length, accommodation, and exclusivity.
Best time to travel?
October–April for most of Indochina; May–September for northern Vietnam and Laos.
Can I book a partial journey?
Yes. We operate fully or partly — you choose the level of involvement.
Are the guides local?
Yes. All guides are Vietnamese, Khmer, Lao, or Thai — historians, former monks, chefs, architects.
The A–Z Art of Travel Guide
A –
Patina of teakwood, whiteness of linen, harmony of East and West.
B –
Luxury Travel Designer & Indochina Travel Publisher. Vetted local partners.
C –
Separating aesthetic preservation from political nostalgia.
D –
Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Myanmar. Hanoi, Hue, Saigon, Angkor.
E –
No orphanage visits, fair wages, photo ethics, reinvestment.
F –
Restored 1930s colonial carriage (future project).
G –
Seven endangered dishes. Gourmet Trails with local families.
H –
Self-guided, direct design, vetted partners, Annual Convoy.
I –
21-day guided itinerary: Hanoi to Luang Prabang.
J –
Arrival, deep exploration, unstructured second twilight.
K –
Traveler’s library: Duras, Greene, Lewis, film Indochine.
L –
28+ independent professionals across 5 countries.
M –
Colonial architecture registry Cat.1/2/3. Self-guided PDFs.
N –
Optional 3-night coastal stopover in Nha Trang.
O –
Gourmet Trails, Indochine Colonial Trails, multi-country tours.
P –
White linen, Panama hat, silk scarf, leather journal.
Q –
Intake form: colonial perspective, twilight ritual preference.
R –
Reunification Express + The Vietage luxury carriage.
S –
Unstructured days, hammock naps, returning to same river bar.
T –
Co-creator: patience, curiosity, presence, generosity.
U –
Preservation serves local communities first. Reinvestment fund.
V –
Citroën Traction Avant, Peugeot 404, wooden sampans.
W –
Leather journal, printed map, reproduction postcards.
X –
French-milled soap, frangipani on pillow, linen pillowcases.
Y –
Comfortable with ambiguity, wears linen without irony.
Z –
5:30–6:30 PM: a chair, a drink, a view. The sacred ritual.
