For a contrast in pace and scenery, drive by private transfer to Mai Chau, made up of verdant valleys, rice terraces and plenty of rural charm. On your first day, dive into the pristine landscapes with a trek to a waterfall and have a memorable dinner served by the cascades. Over the next few days, explore this bucolic scenery, filled with local colour and natural beauty. Trek through rice paddies to small villages or cycle to peaceful Pom Coong village to have a glimpse of ethnic culture – admire stilted houses wrapped around paddy fields and take tea with the inhabitants.

Have a privileged encounter with an ethnic shaman in his village with time to talk and hear about traditional practices before an offering-giving celebration process at the village temple. For a thrilling afternoon, take to the river on a bamboo raft to experience the adventure on water, watching riverside life flow by.

Reach Hoi An by road from Hue along a scenic coastal route that runs through the Annamite Mountains and beside the sea. Welcome to this charming central Vietnamese city, dissected by the Thu Bon River and known for its enchanting Ancient Town, dotted with pagodas, ancestral homes, 200-year-old merchant houses and the ornate Japanese Bridge, constructed in the 1600s.

Explore all this and more, discovering Hoi An’s particular culinary perspective – enjoy a farm-to-table dinner with a private chef in his home and join a culinary masterclass at Hoi An’s colourful central market, tasting homegrown produce before creating Vietnamese dishes as part of a live cooking demonstration. Take time to uncover the charms of Hoi An discovering ancient bridges and atmospheric temples and for your final dinner, board a traditional bamboo raft that cruises gently past the lanterns that twinkle on the Thu Bon River.

Transfer directly by short flight from Ho Chi Minh City to Siem Reap, Cambodia’s cultural heart and home to one of the world’s largest and most astounding temple complexes: Angkor Wat. In recent years, Siem Reap has morphed from simply being a ‘temple-downtime’ town, to a cultural destination in its own right with plenty of artisan shops, culinary opportunities and the acrobatic skill of the Phare Circus.

Of course, Angkor Wat will be your first priority – take the temples at different times of day, avoiding crowds and making the most of the ancient monuments constructed in 1150 CE. Explore the mysterious faces of Bayon at sunset and enjoy a boat trip with sundowner drinks. Be guided to the perfect spot at sunrise to watch the fingers of dawn illuminate the main temple complex with a picnic breakfast before discovering the vine-covered Ta Phrom, shrouded in greenery. For a change of scene, head to the countryside for a jaunt by ox-cart to visit a family-run farm to sample fruit straight from the tree, admire rice paddies and ancient reservoirs and listen to traditional Khmer music.