Does travel, traditional dress, textiles and tribes sound like the fashionable adventure you’ve been dreaming of?? Well dream no more because Haute Culture’s Textile Tours are here! Haute Culture Textile Tours aim to provide creative, hands-on, cultural experiences for women who love to learn all things fashion and textiles, in a time when traditional identities are being rapidly assimilated by modern civilisation.

● Are you passionate/obsessed about fashion, textiles, traditional dress,

colours and patterns from foreign lands? ● Have you longed to travel off the beaten path to experience the real

culture of a country? ● Does learning directly from hill tribe artisans excite the living bejesus

out of you? ● Do you want to expand your textile skills to design and make more

unique projects for yourself or your business? If you answered a big fat YES to 1 or more of these questions then Haute Culture Textile Tours are probably the unicorn of experiences you’re going to want to come on!

Visualize yourself traveling to remote mountainous villages to learn colourful textile techniques from women whose traditional dress is still used as a tool to communicate their cultural identity, social status and stories from their hill tribes history. Our textile tours are designed to immerse you into the culture of their cloth. Not only will you have one of the best adventures of your life, you will finish your Haute Culture Textile Tour with a bag full of handmade projects, fingers full of new found skills, and a camera bursting with memories created with some of the most endangered artisans on the planet.

Starting and concluding in Hanoi, this 12 day fashion and textile tour of Vietnam will take you and our group on a once in a lifetime adventure.

Traveling through the country's magnificent mountainous regions, you will visit hill tribe artisans to learn about, and participate in traditional textile workshops such as; making jewelry and weaving with the Lao Lu, embroidery and embellishments with the Red Dao, sewing with the Ha Nhi, and batiking your own bag with the Black Hmong. This tour includes rural home stays and shopping excursions to remote hill tribe markets for an all encompassing experience you’ll never forget.

Vietnam is one of the most unique and authentic countries in South-East

Asia, with over 54 ethnic minority groups, the beauty and diversity of

Vietnam’s culture and landscape won’t fail to astound you. However

Vietnam is rapidly changing and so are it’s people.

Increased access to technology, media and mass produced goods is making

the world a smaller, more generic place. Younger generations of indigenous

ethnic groups are now exposed to a new way of life and opportunities

previously unknown to their elders. In a world where first impressions

count, some of these people strive to fit in in order to earn their place in the

new world.

As a result, traditional visual identities through dress are beginning to

evolve or become extinct. This makes Vietnam a priority destination for

anyone passionate about textiles and ethnology before these unique people

start to dress like everyone else .

Originally from the UK, Donna has lived all over the world and worked in the fashion and textiles industry since the age of 15. Obsessed with all things colorful and unique, Donna moved to South East Asia in 2013 after selling her vintage textiles business to work as a full time fashion lecturer in Vietnam. Her

curiosity, adventurous spirit and passion for cultural fashion led her to travel Myanmar, Indonesia, Thailand, Japan, Philippines, Taiwan, South Korea, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam in search of sewing stories to share with her readers at Hauteculturefashion.com. Donna has no fixed address but considers Vietnam her home when she is not on one of her fashionable adventures around the world.

Donna will lead all Haute Culture group tours alongside representatives and tour guides from our partnering tour companies.

HANOI – MU CANG CHAI – SIN HO – TAM DUONG – Y TI – SA PA – BAC HA – HANOI

Day 1 Wednesday 20th September: Welcome to Hanoi – Hanoi (Meals provided:

Dinner)

● Arrive in Hanoi after international flight, pick up and private transfer from the airport to your hotel.

● Afternoon visit to the celebrated Vietnamese Womens Museum ● Welcome dinner and introduction to the itinerary.

Day 2 Thursday: Experience Vietnamese Culture – Hanoi (B, D)

● Breakfast at the hotel followed by a tour of the outstanding Vietnam Museum of Ethnology .

● Free time or optional walking and shopping tour of Hanoi’s historic old quarter and Hoan Kiem lake.

● Group dinner followed by a performance of a Mother Goddess ceremony. Recognised as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO in 2017, Mother Goddess worship is a colourful cultural fusion of religion, myth and legend. Spirit mediums embody the ancestors through dance, song and elaborate costumes hoping to bring good luck, health and success to devotees.

Day 3 Friday: Mu Chang Chai with the Hmong- 276km (B, L, D)

● Breakfast at the hotel followed by a scenic drive into the mountain range of Mu Chang Chai.

● Lunch on route. ● Arrive in Mu Chang Chai, meet with our Hmong hosts who will introduce and

explain their traditional dress and textiles techniques.

● Hmong batik lesson, where you will decorate a canvas tote bag with Hmong motifs using natural bee’s wax, before dyeing your fabric with homemade indigo paste.

● Dinner at our homestay, where we will spend the night.

Day 4 Saturday: Sin Ho – 210km (B, L, D)

● Breakfast at our homestay. ● Spend the morning seeing the results from the previous days Hmong Batik

lesson. ● Take a short trek around the village’s stunning rice terraces, meeting more

Hmong locals and seeing their way of life. ● Lunch with our hosts. ● Travel to the township of Sin Ho, arriving in the evening in time for dinner at

the hotel.

Day 5 Sunday : Sin Ho Market – 85km (L, D)

● 8am start to visit the local hill tribe market, where you can shop for fabrics, yarns, trimmings and pig trotters. This promises to be a fantastic photographic opportunity for you to capture the White and Red Hmong, and Black Dao people selling their weekly wares.

● Lunch on route. ● Drive to Tam Duong where you will quickly check in to your hotel before going

to meet with Kieng in the Lao Lu village. Kieng will introduce and explain her traditional dress and textile techniques to you before giving you the opportunity to try supplementary weft weaving and teach you how to make your own Lao Lu jewellery!

● Return to hotel for dinner.

Day 6 Monday : Tam Duong with the Lao Lu – 103km (B, L, D)

● Breakfast at the hotel. ● Return to Kieng’s house to continue textile/jewellery making workshops.

● Take a walk around the charming Lao Lu village, meeting the locals and seeing their traditional wooden stilt houses.

● Lunch with our host. ● Drive to the frontier town of Y Ti via Vietnam’s highest road highway 4, giving

you breathtaking views over the clouds as we pass waterfalls, tea plantations and pretty hill tribe hamlets.

● Check into our dormitory guest house (the only accommodation available in the remote part of Vietnam) before having dinner in the local restaurant.

Day 7 Tuesday: Y Ti with the Ha Nhi – (B, L)

● Breakfast at the guest house. ● Optional 1 hour nature walk through the rice paddies and across the river, or

take a 15 minute motorbike taxi to the Ha Nhi village. ● Meet the elusive Ha Nhi women who will share with us the spiritual significance

of their children’s hats, before letting us study their traditional dress and elaborate hair pieces.

● Lunch with our hosts. ● Participate in a Ha Nhi textiles workshop using their traditional cording and

couching technique. ● Drive to Sa Pa through the national park enjoying more spectacular views. We

will make regular stops on route for photo opportunities. ● Check into our hotel in Sa Pa town where you can enjoy a spot of luxury and

some home comforts for 2 nights.

Day 8 Wednesday : Sa Pa town (B, D)

● Breakfast at the hotel. ● Enjoy a free day to walk, shop, relax and indulge in some much welcome

Vietnamese/European comforts in this former french colonial hill station town, also home to the enterprising Black Hmong and Red Dao hill tribes.

● Enjoy a traditional Sapa BBQ for dinner.

Day 9 & 10 Thursday & Friday – Ta phin (B,L,D)

● 7:30am departure to Ta Phin Red Dao Village 10 km outside of Sa Pa town. ● Check into Red Dao homestay ● Meet Ta May, San May and friends, who will be your embroidery teachers for 2

days. ● Take a 1 hour hike up to Tamay’s house, enjoying the magnificent views as you

go. Tamay’s house can only be reached by foot as the road is to rocky to carry passengers on a motorbike.

● Make your own Red Dao inspired purse by combining designs from the traditional dress and childrens hats. Purses have been pre-sewn by Tamays mum, so all you have to do is sit and stitch with the help of our teachers.

● Lunch with our hosts. ● Walk back to our homestay in Ta Phin village. ● Enjoy the famous healing Red dao herbal bath (optional). ● Enjoy a traditional Red Dao dinner and some rice wine with our hosts. ● The following morning you can repeat activities from the previous day, or you

can have free time to explore the village yourself and relax.

Day 11 Saturday : Ta Van (B)

● Breakfast at our homestay in Ta Phin Village. ● 20km drive to Ta Van village in Muong Hoa valley where we will learn about

traditional hemp weaving process used by the Black Hmong hill tribe. ● Free time to explore Ta Van and have lunch. ● Drive to Bac Ha town where we will arrive the night before the famous Flower

Hmong market. ● Check into hotel. Free evening.

Day 12 Sunday : Bac Ha market (L)

● 8am visit to the famous Bac Ha market, 2 hours before the tourists from Sa Pa arrive. Enjoy your final shopping spree alongside the kaleidoscopic, bead encrusted, Flower Hmong ladies.

● Lunch on route. ● Drive back to Hanoi. ● Check into hotel.

Day 13 Monday : Hanoi (B)

● Farewell breakfast at hotel. ● Option to extend your stay or check out (must be booked in advance). ● Transfer to airport. ● End of tour.

All items listed in the itinerary are subject to change.

The concept is simple, social, inspiring and important. 1: To provide Haute Culture’s creative readers with the opportunity to travel with Donna to learn unique textile techniques from some of the world’s most fashionable artisans. 2: To operate as a social enterprise by providing mentorship, employment opportunities and financial investment to the artisans we work with to encourage and support the continuation of their beautiful crafts. Haute Culture Textile Tours commit to investing 50% of our profits into our social enterprise programs.

Tour Cost: US$2240 Introduction price in 2017 (Regular price US$2400pp in 2018). Tour leader: Donna Bramhall Tour operator: Asia Plus Tours Tour Guide: Tho Nguyen Dates: September 20th – 1st October 2017 Starting & Ending Point: Hanoi

★ 5% discount for being a Haute Culture Email Subscriber.

★ 5% extra discount if you book your tour by June 29th 2017.

★ 5% extra discount based on couples sharing a twin or double room.

The maximum discount available per person is 15% off the total price per

tour.

The price includes;

● Local English/Vietnamese speaking guide. ● All transport, permits, sightseeing entrance fees, workshops, materials, textile

equipment and excursions listed in itinerary. ● Accommodation as per the itinerary (8 nights in single room and 4 nights in

shared room at homestay). If you want to share a twin room and save 5% off the total cost of the tour please state on your booking form. However this option is only available if we have a equal number of participants also looking to share.

● Meals as per the itinerary (10 breakfasts, 8 lunches, 8 dinners). ● Drinking water. ● Airport transfers in Hanoi.

Not included in the price;

● International/domestic flights. ● Travel insurance (compulsory). ● Vietnamese visa. ● Early check in or late check out at the hotel. ● Meals and drinks not included not listed. ● Alcohol. ● Spending money.

● Tips. ● Extra activities.

Arrival/Departure Details

You need to arrive into Hanoi on the 20th of September or earlier. The tour will

properly start at 1:30pm on the 20th when we head to the Vietnamese Women’s

Museum, so you will need to be well rested and ready to enjoy the day’s activities. If

you do arrive early, we can arrange additional accommodation for you in Hanoi

depending on your budget and we will also be able to organize a private pickup from

the airport for a basic fee. Donna will be in Hanoi 1 week in advance and will be on

hand to give suggestions on what to and where to go. For those who wish to remain in

Vietnam once the tour is over, please let us know if you need any assistance

whatsoever in terms of travel ideas and/or planning and we would be more than happy

to help you organize the remainder of your stay!

Transportation

Private transportation in a mini bus will be provided throughout the duration of the

tour unless otherwise stated in the itinerary.

Equipment

No fancy equipment is necessary. We will send out a packing list and some suggestions

to all participants in the coming weeks. Waterproof jacket, comfortable walking shoes,

small back pack, sleeping bag liner, reusable water bottle and head torch are

recommended.

Visas

Your visa must be organised in advance of your departure to Vietnam. Most airline

operators require to see a Vietnamese visa in your passport (obtained by your

countries local Vietnamese embassy) or an acceptance letter before they let you board

the flight. This process can be done online and is relatively easy depending on your

nationality. We can provide advice on this.

Insurance

Travel insurance is compulsory. Participants must purchase insurance before the tour

starts. Participants will not be allowed to participate of any of our tours without

providing us with their policy details. We will provide recommendations in advance of

the departure date.

1. Complete the booking form attached and email it to donna@hauteculturefashion.com with the subject “Booking Vietnam” as the title.

2. A non-refundable deposit of $500.00 is required to secure your place. Payments can be made via Paypal using Donna@hauteculturefashion.com email address, clicking the “add to cart” button at the bottom of the tours individual web page (CLICK HERE), or via bank transfer upon request.

3. The final balance minus any discounts you have accrued will be due by the close of business at 23:59 GMT on 9th August 2017.

Be quick because there’s only 8 spaces available per tour!

*Please note: When transferring money via PayPal, kindly select the “I’m sending

money to family or friends” option in order to reduce the fees charged. Thank you! (If

you don’t have a PayPal account, just email Donna on the same address and we can

arrange a bank transfer).

Once we have received your payment and information we will contact you via email to

confirm your place on the tour.

If you have any questions at all about Haute Culture’s Hill Tribe Textile Tour of

Vietnam, please email them to Donna at donna@hauteculturefashion.com or Mr Long

at Longle@asiaplustours.com and we will be more than happy to answer them.

We look forward to hearing from you soon and hopefully having you join us on our

amazing fashionable adventure across Vietnam!

● Loves fashion, textiles, traditional dress, colours, patterns, travel and

culture!

● Wants to learn new things and step outside of their comfort zone.

● Understands that in order to exchange and experience life and skills with remote cultures means that basic accommodation with simple facilities such as single bed, blanket, mosquito net, and even the odd squat toilet will have to be endured from time to time.

● Is open and accepting about the way people live their lives in comparison to how you live yours.

● Does not require constant access to the internet.

Traveling solo? In need of a girl squad? Look no further, because as the saying goes, "A stranger is just a friend you haven't met yet"!

We can promise you that it is far more empowering and inspiring to take a trip by yourself than it is to stay at home waiting for that “someone" to come with you! Haute Culture invites and encourages solo women of all ages and ethnicities to take that step and join us and the 8 other fashion loving, textile buzzin, craft making women who will all be in the same proverbial boat together! On our tour you will get to spend most of your days sharing laughs and stitches with all the other ladies in the group whilst still getting ample opportunity to spend time alone if you wish.

Either way you can feel safe and secure that we are always there to support you. We will create a private Facebook group in advance for participants to get to know each other before you arrive in Vietnam.

The definition of the word “Adventure” means, “An exciting or very unusual experience”. Soft adventure means you will go off the beaten path but you won’t be expected to complete any hardcore hiking for hours on end. Sometimes exciting and unusual experiences do not run as smooth as silk. At times there will be long bus rides along bumpy roads. We might encounter a farmer with 500 goats that block our route forcing us to take an alternative path, or a nature walk might require a unexpected traverse downstream that could result in a muddy bum and wet feet, etc etc. Important notice: All items listed in the itinerary are subject to change, therefore an adventurous spirit, sense of humor, relaxed attitude and basic (ie if Donna can do it, anyone can do it) level of fitness is required for you to get the most out of this tour.

Haute Culture Textile Tours Booking Form

Title / First Name / Surname Nationality

Passport No. Issue Date Exp. Date Date of Birth

1. 2. 3. 4.

Contact Address Emergency Contact Details Known Medical Conditions

Name: (state any non-swimmers here)

Relationship: Address:

Any Medications Required Tel. No. (home): Post/Zip Code:

Tel. No. (Mobile): Tel. No. (home): E-mail: E-mail:

On all of our tours it is compulsory that you have travel insurance. This section can be completed at a later date. Policy Issuer

Policy

Number

Insurance Phone No:

TOUR NAME Start Date Tour Price: No of people: TOTAL (USD):

1 Hill Tribe Tour of Vietnam

20th September 2017 - 1st October 2017

$2240

Deposit: A non-refundable $500 per person is required at the time of booking to secure your place.

Tour cost $2240

All payments must be made via paypal using the email address Donna@hauteculturefashion.com The final balance is due 42 days to be paid to the same account August 9th 2017 (6 weeks) before departure. The full amount is payable immediately if your departure is in less than 56 days.

DEPOSIT (non refundable)

$500

Discounts (Maximum discount per person is 15%, which will be deducted from the final balance))

If yes discount

Discount 5% Haute Culture email subscribers - $112

Discount 5% early bird booking (books before June 30th 2017) - $112

Discount 5% 2 people sharing a room - $112

Total

Special Requests (Diet, Food Allergies etc)

Declaration

………………………………. …….…………… Signature (No.1) Date

I have read, understood, and accept the terms & conditions provided on the Haute Culture Textile Tours, on behalf of all members of my party, by whom I am

authorised to make this agreement. I enclose the deposit (as detailed above), which is non-refundable in the event of my cancellation.

Click here for Terms and Conditions