terry&mike

My opinion is that Tonle Sap Lake is interesting, but not worth you paying extra or expending the energy for it. At the end of the day, it is a very large body of water that has been overfished and polluted with a declining fish population, and shores lined with trash. The floating communities are interesting to see a different lifestyle, but I don’t think they’ll stay with you in the long run. I do hate to write that, because someone may have seen this as a highlight, but it’s my thoughts. In Bangkok, we enjoyed a food tour by Tuk Tuk a lot, by Hidden Bangkok. We also enjoyed going up to Sky Bar to watch the sunset over the city, and sipping on overpriced cocktails - the photos are worth it!

Busy day today. I may be brief as we have an early wake up tomorrow. We went on the excursion Tonle Sap floating village. It ended up being 3 of us on this tour. We left at 9a, back at 1p, and it included lunch. The tour was a boat ride to see how families who live on the lake have their homes and lives. It was culturally interesting. Then we had a few minutes at the Old Market. Next we were taken to a very nice place for lunch, we was a course by course served meal. We had just over an hour rest at the hotel, and then visited Angkor Wat Temple. We departed the hotel at 2:30p and returned st 5:10p. The tour was very interesting and informative. We met in the lobby again at 7:30p and went to the Cambodian Phare Circus. The show was an hour and was delightful. Very entertaining. Back to hotel for 9:30p. We have an early wake up tomorrow as we leave at 5:00a for a sunrise at Angkor Wat.

Okay, Wow! That’s ‘wow’ as in amazing, as Scenic has started off fabulously. We moved over to the Raffles Grand D’Angkor yesterday afternoon, and the hotel is wonderful. A classic beauty dating back to 1932, which has been cared for in the highest manner. Beautiful grounds, pool, gardens. Lovely rooms, first rate staff. Not everyone will have our program, as we are over New Years here, but if you can book that timeframe, then do so! We met our guide, Hoan, at 6p for an orientation meeting. Looks like he will be excellent. We then were escorted to a botanical garden for live jazz music and an hour of drinks, to start our New Years Eve celebration. At 8p, we were lead by local dancers to the huge pool area of the hotel. The entire area had been decorated for an elegant dinner, show and party. White table cloths, candles, China, all around the pool. Flowers and lights everywhere. We had live entertainers all evening, local dancers and cultural performances, live band with incredible singer performing classics and modern songs. Wonderful. Dinner was served course by course with white glove service and was caviar with melon gazpacho, trio of foie gras, seafood tower of lobster, crab, oysters, scallop, prawn, asparagus veloute’, black angus beef Wellington. Followed by a dessert and cheese buffet that went for tables and tables. The wine was delicious and never ending. Everything was beyond delicious. Then there was a DJ with fun dancing for a bit. At midnight, there was a champagne countdown and toast, and a huge fireworks display. Probably the best New Year’s party I’ve ever attended. Magical. Today we are up, have had a delicious included breakfast at the hotel, although we were both still full, and are headed out on our excursion to Tonle Sap lake. There will be 4 of us on this excursion, as there were several excursions to select. Most people chose the tether balloon. As for counts, there are 20 of us on this portion of the itinerary, 6 US, 6 Australian, some Britain, some Canada, some Germany. On the ship we will be a total of 32 guests on our sailing (the ship can hold 66). There will be 45 crew onboard. 2 couples were late joining the group yesterday due to flights, but made it to the dinner and party. 1 couple is without their luggage yet.

Our flight to Siem Reap was uneventful and took just at an hour. We had applied for and received eVisas for Cambodia, and were able to clear Immigration in about 15 minutes. We were picked up and driven to our hotel, the HARI Residence and Spa, about 20 minutes away. We booked in here for 1 night on our own at $65 for a suite including breakfast for 2, and airport pickup. Tomorrow we will transfer up the street to the Raffles Grand Hotel D’Angkor, for 3 nights, to join the start of the Scenic program ‘Temple Discovery & Luxury Mekong Cruise 7 Night’. We chose to stay at the HARI for our extra night before the start of the tour as the rate for an extra night at Raffles was very high comparably. It was a good choice as this is a lovely and welcoming property.

Yesterday was another day of rain on and off in Hoi An. The good news is that if you download the app Grab, it is easy to call a car to take you where you want to go, and very cheap. Most of our rides were $1.27, as it got dinner time, dark, and the rain was heavy, the rates moved into their ‘higher tier’ which got up to $1.56 for our most expensive ride. Works like Uber, simple and efficient, and charged your stored credit card. We picked up all 9 pieces of clothes from the 2 tailors, and love them all. Very happy with the outcome. We also got massages again, and I had a manicure. Good rainy day stuff. It’s Friday morning here, and we will be flying from DaNang, Vietnam to Siem Reap, Cambodia this afternoon. It’s a 1 hour flight on Cambodia Angkor Air.

Rainy on and off in Hoi An yesterday, but warm at around 78 F. Went for fittings on the clothes we ordered, and will pick them up today. Photo of Mike and tailor Dong.

We join Scenic in Siem Reap on December 31, with a 3 night hotel stay at the Raffles Grand D’Angkor. Scenic also offers itineraries that include Hanoi, Ha Long Bay, Hoi An, and Ho Chi Minh City, but we decided to do those on our own.

We had previously visited Hoi An in January 2020 for 1 day, while on a port stop for an ocean cruise, and were looking forward to returning. Our second visit confirms our thoughts that this is one of the prettiest of most charming towns in Asia. We were booked to stay for 5 nights, but a flight change has us being here for 4 nights. Yesterday, the temperature was a high of around 76 and partly cloudy. Gorgeous day, and we made the most of it. We already had a plan that we hoped to have some custom clothes made while in Hoi An. There are literally hundreds of custom tailors here. We both had given some thought as to what we wanted, and had some some research as to what shops to focus on. At Bao Diep, we ordered hubby a classic black tuxedo, plus an extra jacket in a beautiful silk print, and 3 dress shirts. For me a long, flowy silk dress. $500. A bit later in the day, a dress caught my eye at another tailor we strolled by, Lua Viet Nam Vi Ana Silk, and I ordered another long dress, as well as a shirt. $70. We go back to both tailors today for our first fitting of our purchases, and they should be ready for pick up tomorrow. We also stopped for coconut coffee. In the afternoon we stopped in a spa for 60 minute massages, 2 for $35. We spent most of the day just strolling around this beautiful city. We ate fresh spring rolls, Cao Lau noodles, and enjoyed a Vietnamese red wine that was fairly decent. When we returned to our room, the laundry I had given to our hotel at breakfast was waiting for us.

Our driver was waiting for us at the DAD DaNang airport and drive us 50 minutes to our hotel in HoiAn. We are staying at the Villa Orchid Garden Riverside, a small, casual hotel about a 15 minute walk from Old Town. We have a large room with separate living area and kitchenette, and 2 bathrooms. We booked 5 nights with breakfast for $213 total; we booked this quite a bit back and rates are higher now. It rained last night. The weather report for today is a high of 76 F and partly cloudy. We are headed to breakfast, and to give our hotel our laundry for the past 2.5 weeks to have done.

Apologies, I noticed a typo in my last post. It is about 50 minutes from Hai Phong pier to HPH Hai Phong Cat Bi airport, not 20 minutes as my post says.

No, we didn’t have that. Last night was a lovely dinner, and afterwards was Squid Fishing. I picked this ship because of the activities of biking and kayaking. When I picked it, I looked at a few different ships and they all had similar itineraries with some differences in activities. It’s good you bring up this point, as some people might not realize they have a choice or options. This morning is kayaking, tea service, and brunch, then we disembark at 11:30a. Hubby and I will head to the nearby HPH HaiPhong Cat Bi airport, about 20 minutes away, by private transfer, $45. We will then fly direct 1 hour 15 minutes on Vietnam Airlines to DaNang, Vietnam. We will transfer to HoiAn, about 50 minutes away, by private car, $18, booked through the owner of the next place we are staying.

Today was a full day in the Ha Long Bay area. We spent it in the less crowded areas of Lan Ha Bay and Cat Ba Island. Breakfast was at 7am, with a buffet and eggs cooked to order and pho. All good. At 8a, we were transferred to a smaller day boat that could get into smaller bays. We spent the day with activities and returned to our main boat at 4:20p. We had a scenic sailing for about 2 hours, then took a bike ride to a small village, about 30 minutes each way. This was fun. Those not up to it could ride on the back of a scooter with a driver. Afterwards we had a multi course lunch served in the day boat of local cuisine, all excellent. Next, we went to a lovely bay for kayaking and swimming. We then had a scenic sailing of about an hour back to our main boat. Stunning scenery, fun activities, very nice day.

Last night was Christmas Eve and the crew threw a huge Christmas party. The spread of food was amazing including turkey, lamb chops, shrimp, chicken, pork, squid, Vietnamese dishes, pasta, salads, charcuterie, desserts, on and on. It was amazing. There was also music, a dancing group, and a Santa with a big bag of gifts for the guests. It was a fun night. Today we have an early start, with breakfast at 7a and off the ship by 8a for a full day of activities.

Today starts our Ha Long Bay program. We were picked up at the hotel in Hanoi this morning at 8:20am, and driven to Hai Phong, about 2.5 hours away. There was a bathroom stop along the way, for an extra 35 minutes, at a pearl shop. Our transfer to was a very nice shared mini bus, and there were 7 passengers, $20 pp. We booked this in advance, from HaLongbaytours.com which is owned by Blue Dragon Travel, along with the entire package for the junk boat trip. We arrived in the busy Hai Phong port and were dropped at the pier side waiting lounge for Orchid Cruises. There are hundreds and hundreds of boats, of all sizes and types. We booked onto Orchid Classic, in a Premium Suite Balcony. Our total cost was $850 + $100 holiday surcharge, plus $40 for the shared transfer to the ship from Hanoi, plus $45 for a private transfer from the ship to HPH HaiPhong airport. It is a 2 night itinerary. We had a 45 minute ferry transfer to the ship, boarded, had safety briefing, and then were allowed to access our cabins for 15 minutes before lunch started. Lunch was a sit down, multi course delight of great flavors. Beverages are extra and are a bit on the high side. After lunch we went to our cabin to quickly change for an outing to the Bright Caves. While in our room we were able to buy a bottle of red wine and a large bottle of water from our balcony from a lady in a small boat for a slightly elevated price. The caves excursion was interesting but not awesome. They are setting up the top deck for a BBQ and Christmas party tonight. Our room is very large, and beautiful. The ship is also very nice. The downside is that everything seems rushed, which we were thinking it would be more of relaxed sailing in natural beauty. The guests are from lots of different countries, and interesting and positive. There are 28 guests onboard. We picked this sailing because the itinerary goes to less crowded Lan Ha Bay. After seeing the crowds of people and number of boats, this may be a good idea.

Today we explored Hanoi, our first time in this vibrant city. We walked through the streets of the chaotic Old Quarter. It is bustling, colorful, and full of vendors selling all sorts of wares, and motor scooters zipping around. Vietnam probably does coffee better than most anywhere in the world, and we shopped for some, plus a couple other treasures. We walked around the lake, and through a large holiday market. We attended a water puppet show, and loved it. We bought tickets this morning for an afternoon show, front row seats, about $16 for 2. It’s a heavily cash society, with many vendors (including the ticket office of the water puppets) only accepting VND cash. Beautiful day, clear with a high around 76 degrees F.

Forgot to mention that we purchased Vietnamese Dong at the Hanoi Airport when we landed. We usually order some foreign currency before we depart, so that we hit the ground running with some local cash in our pockets, but were unable to buy VND from our bank, although we were able to buy Thai Baht. There are several desks selling currency once you clear Immigration and Customs. They have their rates on small signs, and all are basically the same. We bought just under 10 Million VND for $400 usd. Cambodia uses the US dollar, so we are good there.

Nice! You are practically up the street from us! I’m happy that you finally get your adventure, and hope it is awesome.

For some reason, my previous post is wanting to post again. Anyhow…. Arrived into Hanoi airport, and were quickly through Immigration. No smiles or conversation, but the eVisa was quickly looked at, and then we were through. That means the first entry (of 2 entries) into Vietnam with the current visa issue was successful. Both bags were out shortly after, and we walked outside to meet our driver. Transfer booked through our hotel and prepaid ($20). We are staying at the elegant La Sinfonia del Rey Hotel for the next 2 nights. We booked a Terrace Suite with breakfast. The room is slightly on the small side, but it is lovely and has a large balcony overlooking the park. I’m a deal hunter, so was able to get 2 nights with breakfast, plus 1 included dinner (tomorrow night) for a grand total of $233.

We checked in to VietJet Airlines for flight BKK Bangkok to HAN Hanoi, direct, 2 hours. They did ask for our Vietnam visas and spent a good bit of time looking them over at check in. Like us, several people have questions on the visa situation for Vietnam, as many need to enter Vietnam multiple times. Currently, getting a multi -entry visa is difficult and costly. After much research, we went with 2 Vietnam e-visas each, both single entry. Simple to apply online ourselves. Should work, we’ll see.

We used Hua Hin Cab, both directions, booked in advance. Excellent service, on time, clean cars.

Yes, we are at Bangkok airport now headed to Hanoi for 2 nights. We will then board an Orchid Cruise for 2 nights to sail on Lan Ha Bay (this is the bay next to HaLong, just as pretty but less crowded).

I am currently doing a post under River Cruises on our Asia trip. Our trip will involve entering Vietnam on 2 different dates. If anyone wants to read, it’s titled Scenic Mekong Review, December 31, 2022 - January 10, 2023.

I will attempt to post updates as we go along on this journey at regular intervals. A bit of background. My husband and I are traveling on this trip. He is 62, I am 58, we live in the US and are retired. We are frequent travelers, having been fortunate to travel to more than 100 countries, and to all 7 continents. We have been on about 9 river cruises, and have sailed with Scenic in the past. We have also visited Vietnam before. We are doing the Scenic program ‘Temple Discovery & Luxury Mekong Cruise 7 night’, which starts with 3 nights hotel stay in Siem Reap and then sails 7 nights from Siem Reap south towards Ho Chi Minh City. We have added on pre and post touring and stays on our own. This is part of a longer trip of 35 days in Asia. We left home 2 weeks ago. Flying started with Tampa to Toronto on Air Canada. Then Toronto to Munich, also on Air Canada. Next leg was Munich to Bangkok on Thai Air. We were in Business, and made good use of the lie flat seats on the long legs. We loved the layout of the Air Canada Business, lots of space, privacy and storage. The Thai Air Business did not have as much storage, but the service and food were excellent. We are light packers. For my suitcase, I have 1 carry on size piece of luggage (but I do check it as I don’t like to be bothered with it), and I carry a large purse with me while traveling. Inside my large purse is a smaller cross body bag for when I reach my destination for my everyday touring about. Hubby has a 30” duffel style luggage for his suitcase. He has brought this larger bag, which is about 40 percent empty, as we intend to have some custom clothes made in HoiAn. He carries with him a regular size backpack on the plane. Inside his backpack is a lightweight backpack rolled up that he will use for touring about when we reach our destination. Yes, we will need to do laundry at about the half way point, which is HoiAn. We started this trip by flying in to Bangkok, and then took a car and driver 3 hours ($51) out to the beach town of Hua Hin. We spent 3 nights at the colonial style Centara Grand, to relax and recover from jet lag. Lovely hotel, nice area. Had a few massages, visited some markets, chilled. Came back in to Bangkok, where a friend from US had flown in to join us, and we met at the Century Park Hotel. This started as the first night of a Gate 1 tour ‘10 Day Central Thailand with River Kwai and Pattaya’. If you are not familiar with Gate 1, they are a low cost tour company that packs a lot of value and busy itinerary in to a tour. We use them in places that don’t have much in the way of efficient public transportation. We had no scheduled event the first night, so we had booked a Street Food Tour of Bangkok by Tuk Tuk, which was lots of fun. The next morning, we started the busy tour program which covered Bangkok, Kanchanaburi, River Kwai, Ayutthaya, and Pattaya. Floating markets, temples, palaces, jungle hotel, lots of stuff. We are now in Pattaya, back on our own. The Gate 1 tour ended here a couple days ago. We went to the wonderful Elephant Jungle Sanctuary yesterday, and had a great experience at this ethical elephant home. Our friend flew back to the US this morning. We will take a taxi about 2 hours ($36) from here to Bangkok, and then we will fly on to Hanoi, Vietnam this afternoon, about a 2 hour flight. More to come.

Yes, we realize we embark in Colon, but are flying in to Panama City and will enjoy a couple of nights in the old town pre-cruise. NCL does offer transfers from Panama City to Colon on the day of the cruise, but we have arranged an independent transfer on the day of the sailing. I've been to Colon before, it's not very enticing, and is only about 90 minutes away from Panama City.

I hope to!