Draft itinerary and costs for 50th anniversary program in Indochina



(revised 2/12/25)     

A Unique Opportunity to Personally Witness Consequences of Conflict, Achievements of Peace and Regional Challenges.


April 30, 2025 is the 50th anniversary of the end of the US war with Vietnam, an historic event for a generation in both countries. The Fund for Reconciliation and Development is facilitating a two week travel program for Americans that engages Vietnam's history, culture, cuisine and current challenges. It offers insights, experiences and people to people meetings unavailable on commercial tours.


We will visit the encampment in Tan Trao where personnel of the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) worked with Ho Chi Minh in 1945 and conclude with ceremonies in the city carrying his name (formerly Saigon) celebrating half a century of peace and reunification since 1975.


We will learn about ongoing efforts to heal the wounds of war from land mines, unexploded ordnance and Agent Orange.


We will update ourselves about the strong economic, political and educational ties that constitute a comprehensive strategic partnership between the US and Viet Nam, despite (or because of) the danger of conflict with China.


The group will travel by plane and tour bus from Ha Noi to Quang Tri, Hue, Da Nang, Hoi An, My Lai, Con Dao Island, Ho Chi Minh City and Ben Tre in the Mekong Delta hosted by the Viet Nam - USA Society, Click here for the itinerary and registration information.


The Fund for Reconciliation and Development (FFRD) has coordinated more than twenty educational tours in Indochina led by founder John McAuliff since 1985 and anticipates this is the final such program.



Below is the current version of the itinerary of the program in Viet Nam hosted by the Viet Nam - USA Society (VUS) for people who participated in the antiwar movement, worked on normalization of relations, or have addressed war legacies, plus family members and friends.  Persons with a professional or collegial interest are also welcome.  There is personal flexibility at the beginning and the end, including the option to add a visit to Cambodia and Laos.

Participants will be responsible for international travel and for domestic costs of a fifteen day guided program in Viet Nam .  The estimated domestic cost for sharing a room is $2,950 each.   A single room is $3,450.  Costs may be adjusted by number of participants.  Payment is in cash (USD or Vietnamese dong) on April 15th in Ha Noi. 

Breakfast, lunch and two dinners are included.  All other dinners are on our own.  FRD/VUS will suggest locations and we often will invite guests.  Participation in group dinners will be at an equal share cost.  Some menus will be pre-set and others a la carte.  

The maximum size group is 25.  

For planning purposes, expressions of individual, family and organizational interest are appreciated as soon as convenient.  No committment is required prior to February 28, 2025.  Write to jmcauliff@gmail.com

If you are ready to commit, please complete a registration form and donate for FRD organizing costs at least $200 per person.  We are facilitating this trip but are not a travel agent or tour operator.  FRD is not legally liable for trip cancellation, transit or in-country illness or accidents.  We strongly recommend obtaining travel insurance when you book your flight.  International flight costs are usually less expensive if booked sooner.  Transit destinations include Thailand, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Malaysia, Korea, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and the Philippines.  You may be able to use airline milage for the transpacific flight to one of those locations in premium economy or business and then buy a ticket in economy for the shorter final leg.


Registration forms are available by clicking here  https://form.jotform.com/73274097780970  Return it with the administrative support contribution and a copy of your passport page as soon as possible.


 

Itinerary of FRD’s delegation to visit Viet Nam

From 15  April - 1 May, 2025

 

 

Sunday, April 13-15, 2025:     

Arrive in Noi Bai Airport

[option for jet lag recovery pre-program tourism April 14-15:  overnight in Ha Long Bay/ Ninh Binh/ visit to pottery village, etc. to be arranged by VUS on request] 

 

Tuesday April 15, 2025: HA NOI


arrivals for program

08:00pm  orientation meeting at hotel


Wednesday, April 16, 2025: HA NOI


08:00am       Visit Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, his House and Museum, Literature Temple


02:00pm      Visit Ethnology Museum, Hoa Lo Prison

06:30pm      Water Puppet Show

07:30pm       Welcoming dinner with VUS/VUFO

 

Thursday, April 17, 2025: HA NOI


08:30am       Presentation “Viet Nam: 40 years of Construction and Development” by

                     President of the Viet Nam Union of Friendship Organizations

10:00am       Meeting with current officials on US-Viet Nam relations


02:30pm      Visit Women’s Museum


04:00pm    Conversations with retirees from the war and pre-normalization era (with option to continue the conversation over bia hoi or dinner)

 

Friday, April 18, 2025: HA NOI


09:00am       Visit Garco 10 equitized garment factory 

     

11:15am       Meet with US Embassy

03:00pm      Diplomatic Academy (exchange with students)

          

05:30 pm     Optional visit to 54 Traditions Gallery


07:30 pm    Dinner with members of US business community


Saturday, April 19, 2025: HA NOI - TUYEN QUANG – HA NOI


08:00am       Travel by bus to Tuyen Quang

Visit Tan Trao where OSS assisted Ho Chi Minh 

04:00pm      Travel back to Ha Noi

 

Sunday, April 20, 2025: HUE

08:00am       Check out of Hotel.

Flight to Hue. Check in Hotel

02:00pm      Visit Khai Dinh Tomb & Hat Village

 

 

Monday, April 21, 2025:


08:00am       Visit Thien Mu Pagoda & Hue Imperial Citadel

02:00pm      Meeting with VUFO of Thua Thien Hue province

03:00 pm     Visit Hue National University

 

Tuesday, April 22, 2025: QUANG TRI 


08:00am       Check out of hotel.

Leave Hue for Quang Tri by bus

11:00am       Visit war legacies (land mines, UXO)

03:00pm      Meet with VUFO of Quang Tri province

Check in Hotel

 

Wednesday, April 23, 2025: QUANG TRI - DA NANG


                    Check out of hotel

08:00am       Leave Quang Tri for Da Nang by bus


02:30pm      Meet with VUFO of Da Nang city


04:00pm      Visit Da Nang Center Supporting for Victims of Agent Orange/Dioxin

                     Check in hotel in Da Nang or Hoi An

 

Thursday, April 24, 2025: DA NANG


08:00am       Visit Cham Museum

                     Lunch on own, free time at market


02:30pm      Visit East Sea Museum


04:00pm      Meeting at Dong A (private) University


                     Dinner with Da Nang People’s Committee to discuss economic and social

changes since 1975 and Doi Moi.

 

Friday, April 25, 2025: DA NANG - MY LAI - HOI AN - DA NANG


07:30am       Travel by bus to My Lai, Quang Ngai by bus


Visit Son My Village - war legacies (mass atrocity) in Quang Ngai 


Afternoon    Leave Quang Ngai for Hoi An / Da Nang.  Return to hotel

 

Saturday, April 26, 2025: DA NANG – CON DAO*

07:00am       Check out of hotel. Travel to Da Nang Airport

10:00am       Flight to HCMC. Arrive in Tan Son Nhat Airport   11:35 am

12:20 pm    Transit to fly to Con Dao (Luggage checked through)   1:20 pm                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     Check in Hotel, free time or island tour?, volunteer for turtle protection?

            [better connection  Da Nang - HCMC  9-10:30 am, HCMC - Con Dao 12:05-1:05]


Sunday, April 27, 2025:  CON DAO 


Morning      Learn Con Dao history, East Sea issues / Visit Tiger Cage Museum


Afternoon   Free time or island tour >


 

Monday, April 28, 2025:   HO CHI MINH CITY

09:30am      Fly to Ho Chi Minh City, check in hotel

02:30pm      Meetings with current and retired officials & Con Son prisoners


Tuesday, April 29, 2025: HO CHI MINH CITY 

08:00am      Reunification Conference Hall, War Remnants Museum 

01:00pm      Lunch with business community; drive through of export processing zone, container port

04:30pm      Meet with US Consulate

 

Wednesday, April 30, 2025: HO CHI MINH CITY

07:00am       Participate State/official events (parade)

                     [free time or HCMC river cruise lunch?]

                      official reception?  celebration?

      

Thursday, May 01, 2025: HO CHI MINH CITY Options

                     

                     1)  Depart Viet Nam for home or other countries, or

                     2)  Shopping/personal activities, or

                     3)  Cu Chi tunnels/Cao Dai Temple

                      4)  Cu Chi tunnels, Mekong Delta

 

Friday, May 02, 2025:  

.         Depart for home, Cambodia or other countries


Optional additions

Friday, May 2, 2025:  HCMC- Phnom Penh  Limo Minivan $35

Saturday, May 3, 2025 - fly to Siem Reap / Angkor Wat  10 a.m.

Sunday, May 4, 2025 -  fly to Phnom Penh  7:30 p.m.  

Monday, May 5, 2025 -  Tuol Sleng KR prison, meetings

Tuesday, May 6 -- Choeung Ek burial ground, meetings

Wednesday, May 7, 2025 -  Museum of Culture, free time, fly home or to Vientiane, 5:45 p.m.  $208

Thursday - Friday, May 8 - 9,  2025  Vientiane  meetings, market, etc.

Saturday - May 10, 2025   Depart to Bangkok or Ha Noi for flights home or private excursion (Mekong lodge, Luang Prabang, Xien Quang Plain of Jars)


If you are potentially interested in participating, please send a note to jmcauliff@ffrd.org to receive updates.

Registration forms are available by clicking here https://form.jotform.com/73274097780970  

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*  https://vietnamnet.vn/en/visitors-flock-to-con-dao-to-participate-in-sea-turtle-conservation-2327259.html


The history of Con Dao is as turbulent as it is transformative. Once known for its infamous prison system during French colonial rule and later the American presence in Vietnam, Con Dao witnessed the suffering and resilience of thousands of prisoners who were confined on its shores. These prisons have now become places of pilgrimage and remembrance, a somber reminder of the past that shapes the collective memory of the nation.

In a remarkable twist of fate, the very isolation that once made Con Dao an ideal location for a penal colony has today turned it into a sanctuary for biodiversity. The islands have been reborn as a national park, with efforts to preserve their pristine nature and protect the rare species that call it home. Con Dao’s transformation from a place of confinement to a bastion of environmental conservation highlights its unique position in Vietnam’s narrative—a story of redemption and natural splendor that now defines this tranquil tourist destination.

https://asiapioneertravel.com/blog/con-dao/


"U S Navy challenges Vietnamese claims to seas around resort island in South China Sea" 

By CAITLIN DOORNBOS STARS AND STRIPES • December 28, 2020

https://www.stripes.com/theaters/asia_pacific/navy-challenges-vietnamese-claims-to-seas-around-resort-island-in-south-china-sea-1.656609


***********************************

Former Secretary of State and Vietnam Veteran activist John Kerry


"Anniversaries have a value, not in and of themselves, but what they can actually produce. Anniversaries can often be action-oriented events, forcing moments of redefining or improving or readjusting a relationship between countries,” said Secretary Kerry. “So as someone who invested many years in finally making peace, I hope you won't mind if I suggest something unconventional for next year. Next year let's mark those two anniversaries not by looking back, but by making sure that we are looking forward. Ending the war and making peace two decades later were never ends in themselves, they were hard fought openings to put the bitterness behind us and to work together as countries.”


at the Asia Society https://vnpeacecomm.blogspot.com/2024/10/asia-society-hostsviet-nams-president.html

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