Tour: Vietnam and Cambodia Holiday 15 Days

Number of clients: 02

Nationality: USA and Philippines

Name list: Mr. Robert Elliot Lohr and Mr. Rodolfo Millar Padillo, Jr. 

1. Guides:

In the North: Mr. Tuan –  Mr. Tuan was a real pleasure to have as a tour guide.  His personality, compassion and knowledge were outstanding.  He really looked out for us and cared for our safety and made sure we were enjoying ourselves.  He was one of our most favoured guides and we really were sad to say good bye to him.  
 

In the Centre: Mr. Quoc - Mr. Quoc was also very enjoyable.  He was very enthusiastic, helpful and very accommodating to our needs.  He also has a vast amount of knowledge and we learned a lot from him.

In the South: Mr. Van - Mr. Van was my favourite guide.  During our trips out of Saigon, I had become very ill from a stomach ailment, and he was like my family for me.  He offered the best service of any guide I have ever experienced.  We really miss him and we are so grateful to him for his services and compassion! 
 

In Siem Reap: Mr. Heng Kim Has - Mr. Kim Has was charming, knowledgable and went over and above what was expected for touring with us.  We enjoyed the temples without crowds due to early morning starts and he added a trip to the lake to see the floating villages.  Cambodia was a wonderful place to visit and he was one big reason for that! 

+NOTE: ALL GUIDES SPOKE VERY GOOD ENGLISH AND THAT WAS AN ADDED “PLUS”!!! 

2. Accommodation:

In Hanoi: Quoc Hoa hotel –  I did not really like that hotel.  The location was fair, but the hotel and room very plain and ordinary. The food was the same. The service for breakfast was not too good. I would have preferred something a bit more stylish. I know location was important, but being a bit further for a better hotel would have been a better choice.   

In Ha Long: Indochina Sail –  We loved the boat, even if the ceiling leaked on to the bed the following morning.  Very beautifully done – construction and upscale nature of the accommodations. We loved the food and service on the boat.  We were so pleased that Tuan was able to be with us during our short time aboard.  Halong Bay was beautiful indeed.  

In Hue: Saigon Morin hotel  - A great hotel! Very nice room, good service and very good food.  Would have enjoyed more time there if not for our shortened itinerary. 

In Hoi An: Life resort –  A wonderful choice!  Our favourite hotel!  Great location, great landscape, great room.  Breakfast food not too good, even if the presentation was nice.  Pho was terrible!  Great service – very memorable! 

In Ho Chi Minh City: Grand hotel –  A beautiful hotel with a great room.  Very nostalgic and classy.  Easy walk to everywhere we went.  Street construction at night was a bit distracting though.

In Siem Reap: Angkor Village resort – We loved staying here!  A great room, great pool, good service and very native but classy.  Only disappointment was the last breakfast – they had no eggs at 6:30AM!!  Oh well, other choices were good.  Very relaxing and very memorable.  Would love to stay there more days if our itinerary would have allowed.  
 

3. Transport (Land, water and air):

In Vietnam: Airline was perfect.  No major delays or concerns.  Paying for excess luggage weight was a nuisance with all the flights.  $60.00 was paid for just luggage to go from Saigon to Siem Reap!!  We were impressed with Vietnam Airlines.  All boats were fine, except the leaky one in Halong Bay.  Cars and drivers were excellent.  I gave good tips to all the drivers.  Always helpful and especially with the heat.   I was so happy with their services.  They were all admirable.   
 

In Cambodia:  Same answers as above.   
 

4. Restaurants:

In Vietnam: - All restaurants were very good.  Only Club Garden was just fair, nothing really flavourful there.  Bobby Chinn’s is way overpriced, but good food for one time only, it was a fun experience.  Loved our first dinner in Hanoi – Ly Club.  Y Thao Garden House was very enjoyable and romantic.   Full Moon was memorable and very beautiful.  Cargo Room was the best in Hoian.  Tam Tam was fair, nothing great, but nice atmosphere.  I was too sick to enjoy lunch at Mekong and Cu Chi, but Rodolfo enjoyed the restaurants.    Overall, we had good food and really got more familiar with Vietnamese food and learned much from the experiences.   
 

In Cambodia: - Nothing special about the food in Cambodia.  Tried Amok – fair, but not much other Cambodian food.  The places we ate had a good variety of Asian and Western food.  No disappointments in Cambodia with the food or services.  
 

5. Places you visited:

Hanoi – enjoyed learning more about Ho Chi Minh – tomb, house, museum.  Temples were very beautiful and much appreciated.  Puppet show was just ok, not really as special as I expected.  We loved riding the cyclos!!

Halong Bay – We loved the place, even if we had a couple of negative experiences there.  We hope to go back there some day. Nice drive to and from Hanoi as well.

Hue – So much to see and learn there.  All the sights were wonderful.  Love the tomb of Tu Duc, The palace with all the porcelain and the Citadel.  Great city.

Danang – We loved the drive through the mountains, the stop at the top of the pass, the Cham museum in Danang and seeing all the sights in that area.

Hoian – Absolutely loved this town!!  Small, easy and fun.  One of the best memories of Vietnam.  If not for our short itinerary, we could have stayed at the Life Resort for many more days!!

Saigon – Very big city, but not much to see.  The Reunification Hall was memorable as was the War Remnants museum.  Saw a concert at the Opera House – beautiful.  Went in to a few shopping malls – so modern!  Experienced the back seat of a motorbike a few times – very exciting!  Tried lots of different restaurants and coffee shops due to our meeting up with friends there.

Siem Reap/Angkor Wat – The highlight of our journey.  We loved all the locations there.  So many great temples and ruins, especially enjoyed Ta Prohm and Bantay Srei.  The town of Siem Reap was just ok, but the sights in Angkor are overwhelmingly beautiful and spectacular.   
  

6. Design and management of your tour:

The design was perfect with the short period we had.  We maximized our visits to all the places and we have almost 4,000 pictures to enjoy our memories with.  You did a fantastic job with our tour and we are grateful for your services.  I have no regrets about using your services and paying what we paid.  You planned everything just right and offered us great guides and drivers.  The weather was great – only 1 or 2 days of rain the whole time.  The heat and humidity do take some enjoyment away from our experiences, but that can’t be helped.  We never mixed with groups and the private nature of our trip made it that much more special thanks to you and your staff.  One of the best adventures of our lives!!  Great working with all of you!   
 

7. Are there any recommendations or criticisms of services, restaurants, shops, visit sites and so on that you’ve visited on your own?

Not much to critisize.  We don’t like the pushiness of some sales people and the hawking of stuff at various sites, but I know that can’t be helped.  We know how to ignore, but it does get tiring sometimes.  Overall, the restaurants did a fine job and were most accommodating.  The prices were fair and the quantity and quality were excellent.  Shopping was more fun in the public markets, even though we did not purchase much.  Did not like the sales tactics at a family home in Hoian, or the silk factory.  These are minor complaints since 98% over everything was wonderful.  
 
 Please send us an email if you wish to have the itinerary of Mr. Robert Elliot Lohr & Mr. Rodolfo Millar Padillo, Jr. for reference.