Vietnam and Cambodia - via Bangkok

Apologies in advance for a longish report, but there is no way to keep this one simple.

This was a highly customised trip, with the majority of flights, accommodation and trips organised through Trailfinders (who were absolutely excellent) and Diethelm travel (both via Trailfinders and privately).

We flew to Bangkok, EVA Business Class, at an extremely good price, organised by Trailfinders. The Flight was on schedule and the seating, food and service were excellent. The arrival in Bangkok was surprising. On our many visits to the city we have never seen the airport so quiet - we retrieved our bags and were in the taxi queue within 25 minutes of touchdown! Bangkok, possibly due to the recent unrest coupled with the economic downturn, was extremely quiet.

We stayed at the Shangri-La, compliments of the management, following some problems on an previous visit. We should have had Horizon Club rooms, but were further upgraded to the Krungthep wing with full benefits, including butler service! The room and facilities were outstanding with excellent views of the river from the large balcony. A good English breakfast was included and we ate in the hotel on the second night. The restaurant service at dinner with Thai dance entertainment was excellent at the newly enhanced Salathip restaurant, next to the river. Nothing could be faulted and my thanks go to the management of the hotel. The staff at the Shangri-La are excellent.

Special Note for Sunbear - yes, there was a copy of Lost Horizon in the room with bookmark quotations provided daily.

We also took the opportunity to look up an old colleague and had a meal at the Landmark which was extremely good - although it was an Australian steak in The Huntsman (my friend has been living in Thailand for several years and was desperate for Western food).

As our time was limited to 2 nights, and by meeting up with friends, we only went around Bangkok briefly, taking the chance to visit the Flower Market and Chinatown.
The Flower market was interesting (we had not been there previously), both from the volume and colour of the flowers being bought and sold, but Chinatown seemed to be a rather run down version of other parts of Bangkok.

We next flew to Ho Chi Minh (Saigon), with Bangkok Airways (PG), economy. The PG international lounge was most welcome at the airport with the usual complImentary drinks and snacks. We have always liked Bangkok Airways, but this was our first international flight with them. Plenty of leg room, good service and they even served a 3 course hot meal on a flight of about 1 hour! Entry into Vietnam was straightforward and there were no real hold ups - even the baggage arrived promptly. We had pre-arranged transfers to the Majestic Hotel, next to the river, where we spent two nights.

Here we met our first minor disappointment. (but see comments later regarding our second stay at this hotel - much more favourable!). We had not booked river view rooms as the view of the Saigon river can hardly be described as picturesque and the traffic noise (the hotel has only 4 floors of accommodation) could have presented a problem. The room we were allocated (121) was probably the most bare and unappealing 4 * (claiming to be 5 *) room in which we have ever stayed. All the facilities including tea / coffee / hairdryer / mini-bar / soaps / TV / Phone, etc., etc were provided but it was a cold, unwelcoming environment. The bedroom (and worst of all shower area) faced out onto a bare wall and staircase within the enclosed pool area. The shower was over the bath with only an opaque window between you and pool deck. After dark (I checked) from the outside it was like watching a shadow puppet show - try to hold your stomach in and worry about which "bits" are profiled whilst having a "relaxing" shower. It is an interesting experience! Fortunately the pool area was so minute (only about 10 or 12 beds - we never managed to capture one despite our close proximity) - far too small for a hotel of this size.

Now to the good side of the hotel. The staff and service were excellent. Breakfast was particularly good with a full range of oriental, Japanese, European and most importantly good English breakfast items. There were a couple of other restaurants, which we were assured were very good, but we ate other meals out of the hotel on all occasions.

Ho Chi Minh - Saigon - was a bit of an anti climax. We decided against any guided tour, as we wanted to wander leisurely around the city. The central district, where our hotel was located, has all the big name shops and appeared to be a bit of a mini Oxford Street / Regent Street, not what we expected or wanted. We did the usual tourist things, visiting City Hall, Reunification Palace, War Remnants Museum, Notre Dame Cathedral, Ben Thanh Market, Cholon (Chinatown) etc. We ate out in the evening, but cannot recommend any particular restaurant. We had a very indifferent meal in Chinatown and would advise against the large French restaurant (the name escapes me) opposite the Sheraton - especially as my "boef bourguignon" appeared to be ox-tail (bone-in) in some sort of white sauce!

After a couple of days at the Majestic it was up sticks and away on a Mekong Delta trip for 3 days. This was also pre-arranged through Trailfinders / Diethelm, before leaving UK. This was very interesting and comprised an English speaking guide, driver & car and whilst on the Mekong a boat (or boats) to ourselves

We drove down what appeared to be a main highway for an hour and a half or so before arriving in the delta area. The drive was fairly uninteresting as there was the usual clutter of shops and businesses immediately adjacent to the road for the majority of the journey, with only brief glimpses of open countryside and rice paddy fields.

The delta area is very much a working area these days and it was fascinating to observe the to-ing and fro-ing of various craft. These ranged from sampans rowed in the traditional standing position, usually by a woman wearing typical Vietnamese "pyjama" clothing and conical hats, through medium sized fruit and vegetable boats to large craft and barges.

We proceeded, over the next 2 days, to see a variety of local scenes and crafts, ferried everywhere by private boat. This included the manufacture of rice pancakes, sweets, bricks and traditional dance and song and, of course, the houses villages and people of the region. The interesting thing is that we were never put under any pressure to purchase anything - indeed we were provided with samples of everything from puffed rice (popped in heated sand!) through spring rolls (steamed) and sweets to the local rice "whisky" served from bottles containing snakes, scorpions and birds!

On our first night we were ferried by sampan to a local "home stay", apparently "Mr. Bay Thoi's", which we had expected to be in basic accommodation. The basic accommodation was about all that was correct in our expectation. There appeared to be no element of "home" in this stay - merely a very basic room with a bed and a fan in what appeared to be a downmarket hostel. There was no family or interaction and we were served with a dinner (soup, fish, vegetables etc.) to eat alone - nothing to drink. Admittedly the food was very good. There were beers and soft drinks available from a fridge, so we helped ourselves to these and were charged the following morning. We walked into the local village (about 1000m) and had a couple of Lipton Iced teas near the local market. Breakfast was again provided to us the following morning (strangely enough, I have forgotten what was provided - except that the sweetened Vietnamese coffee with milk was excellent).

As we had our own boat, guide and car, we were able to cut the second day rather short, opting to go to our hotel early - a good choice. We stayed at the 4* Hotel Victoria at Can Tho and were very impressed. The rooms are roomy, well air conditioned and the services and pool are very good. We were allocated a room on the top floor with a nice balcony, overlooking the pool and the river - a great location and view.

On arrival at the pool, we were offered a free 10 minute massage which was greatly appreciated after the "home stay" and travelling. Their cunning plan obviously worked as we booked a massage package for that evening before our dinner. The spa area was very pleasant and whilst I do not remember the cost, I do remember that we thought it was reasonable. We ate dinner in the hotel - an excellent meal - and were once again surprised by the variety and quality of the breakfast provided.

Following an early(ish) breakfast we proceeded by boat to the Cai Be floating market. This is very much a working, rather than tourist market, and unlike the Damnoen Saduak floating market in Thailand we were not pestered to purchase anything. It appeared to be mainly fruit and vegetables, brought to wholesalers by local farmers. The wholesalers then sold on larger lots that were in turn despatched by larger boats. Interesting and sometimes colourful.

After the market it was back to the hotel to freshen up and then check-out before returning to Saigon via a stork sanctuary.

Would we recommend this trip? Yes very much, but try to avoid a home stay. Our guide "Twee" was excellent, the driver and boatman very friendly and obliging. Trailfinders and Diethelm did a good job putting this together.

On arrival in Saigon, in the afternoon, we returned to the Majestic Hotel. This time we were offered a room on the 4th floor, toward the rear of the building. This was in excellent restored French Colonial style, well decorated and very comfortable, once again with all facilities. Such a shame that the first room will always be remembered!
One final word of warning. There is a cocktail bar located at the top of the hotel. I am convinced that their cocktails (which are by no means cheap) contain little or no alcohol!

The following morning it was off to the airport to take the first Vietnam Airlines flight to the island of Phu Quoc. Not a bad flight by ATR72, but this was no Bangkok Airways flight. The accommodation we had chosen, La Veranda, was not available directly through Trailfinders, so they went "off piste" on our behalf and booked the La Veranda through Diethelm. Thank goodness they did. The hotel, island and beach are absolute gems.

This was always intended to be the chill part of the holiday and we were delighted by the restful almost "spa" décor of the large rooms. The array and quality of soaps and lotions provided in the room was excellent and scented oils were burned in your room - perhaps partly to dissuade mosquitoes - but also providing a very special atmosphere. The gardens of this hotel are also a special feature. Whilst being on a small plot, the variety of trees and plants is quite extraordinary,

The beach was very pleasant and was a "working" though by no means crowded or dirty beach. The sand was light in colour and texture and the sea warm and blue - what more could you want? We had a daily massage on the beach (approx 3 USD against 58 USD in the hotel). We spent a very relaxing seven days at La Veranda, only venturing into town twice and eating out twice. The food is excellent, the management and staff were particularly friendly and helpful. The pool area is very pleasant and not overcrowded (the hotel was full unlike all others on this trip). From our passports they must have realised that it was my birthday during our visit. We were surprised by an exceptional display of flowers, with a birthday greeting, appearing in our room and a birthday cake after dinner.

There are a couple of small restaurants / bars in the immediate area of the hotel, but none were busy. We ate very ordinary meal at a local place "Le Bistrot" (yes that's how it was spelled) which was handy for a cool beer in the evening. We had an absolutely splendid meal at a little restaurant "Ocean Grill" near the night market in the main town of Duong Dong. This restaurant also has a wine store and it was here that we found the cheapest wine and widest selection in the whole of our visit. Whilst not much to look at from the road, I would thoroughly recommend this little restaurant for food, wine and the friendly and helpful nature of the owners. The night market was small and absolutely to my taste. Whilst Janet can spend hours in such places, I can only spend a (very) limited time - a market is a market, is a market"¦"¦ A word of caution should you decide to visit this island - be aware that Taxi Drivers on Phu Quoc seem to have no English (and we speak no Vietnamese). Get your hotel to direct the taxi before you leave!

We particularly enjoyed all elements of our visit to Phu Quoc.

Next, it was off to Siem Reap in Cambodia, via Saigon. Once again the flights were fine, but the transfer from the domestic to the international terminal in Saigon is a good walk and the directions to international departures rather unclear!

Arrival in Siem Reap was interesting. Whilst you can get a Visa on Arrival, we had opted to get e-visas online and this proved to be a blessing. While 95% of the passengers queued for their visa we were right up front for the very slow immigration process, which seems to involve almost as many rubber stamps as getting OUT of India. Once again we had arranged transfers to the Sofitel Phokeethra Angkor and were whisked off, once again by Diethelm, with great efficiency.

We arrived in Siem Reap in the early twilight and on the drive to the hotel had our first sight of Angkor. An unexpected bonus!

As we had not pre-arranged any tours, we arranged with the Diethelm transfer rep for car, driver and English speaking guide for the next couple of days to take us round the temples and to an inland lake Tonle Sap - also a good move.

The Sofitel was splendid and, whilst they made no mention, we were given an upgraded room with a large balcony. The room was large, spacious and immaculately finished with a mahogany floor in which you could see your face. We were once again on the top floor overlooking the pool. We opted to eat in the hotel, after unpacking, and were rewarded with a delicious Khmer meal at a very reasonable price for a hotel of this standard (5*). The following morning, after another wonderful breakfast and spread, we were off to Angkor Wat, Angkor Thom and other temples and ruins. Spectacular is a word that comes to mind, along with Stunning (and hot!).

The history behind this area and the achievements whilst we, in England, were still little short of barbarism (OK I exaggerate) has to be thoroughly chewed over to be fully appreciated. I now wish that we had done a little more (or at least some) background research before we went. This area has to be seen to be appreciated, so I will not even begin to describe it here.

By early afternoon we were hot and becoming overwhelmed, so it was back to the pool in the hotel followed by a trip into Siem Reap town in the evening. We liked this town! A mixture of old and new, colonial and Cambodian, several markets, plenty of restaurants and even a road named "Pub Street". We ate a very good and relatively inexpensive meal, consumed 6 frozen margaritas each (purely to keep cool, of course), visited three markets - all of which catered for the local population as well as the tourist (possibly excepting the night market) and had a thoroughly good evening. Recommended restaurant Khmer Kitchen.

The following day another early start to go to Tonle Sap an inland lake which joins the Mekong and which occupies almost 3,000 sq km in the dry season and 16,000 sq km in the monsoon season when the flow from the Mekong is into, rather than from the lake. Many people live on floating houses and work as fishermen - there are even floating schools and churches. We went out on the lake on a small boat (with an engine!) and whilst it was interesting to see the fish farms and houses, we found this part of the trip to be touristy - visiting a floating souvenir shop, complete with captive catfish and crocodiles for the tourists to look at! The conditions in which these were kept can only be described as less than ideal.

On the way back from the lake we asked our driver to go off the main road and stop in a typical village. We are so glad that we did. Local children playing and bathing in the Siem Reap river, little houses for the local population built of sticks and thatched leaves - all immaculately clean and tidy. Snails, fish and all manner of things drying in the sun gave an insight to the real lives of the local working people. The immense friendliness of all the people, the genuine smiles of the children, came across more here than at any other time. From the village we went to pay our respects at the local "Killing Fields" memorial. Apparently there are over 300 sites that have been discovered across the country - a time to pause for thought!

Back to the hotel, a final visit to Siem Reap town for shopping, a leisurely dip in the pool, another excellent dinner and the visit was almost over. The following morning (after the usual hearty breakfast!), it was off to the airport for a painless trip through immigration and customs (save USD25 each for departure tax) for our Bangkok Airways flight to Bangkok and London. Bangkok Airways checked our cases through to Heathrow so the transit at Bangkok was also painless. Excellent seating, food and service on the EVA flights to London and then back to reality!

In summary: An excellent experience.
Highlights: Siem Reap / Angkor, Phu Quoc and parts of the Mekong Delta trip. Special mention: of "Twee" our Mekong guide, though Diethelm Travel.
Surprises: The "grace" of the Vietnamese women. The excellent bread, croissants and rolls.
Low Points: The home stay
Disappointments: Saigon - so vastly different from expectations
What would we change: Same itinerary but would extend time at all locations, except Saigon. Definitely more time in Cambodia and possibly a couple of days to chill before our return.

Peter