AMA Vietnam

[Denmom]

Further to the flooding problem on Tonle Sap we recently did the cruise on the Jayavarman ( Heritage Line) from Ho Chi Minh to Siem Reap departing on July 30. We were the first trip for Heritage to go through the lake this season thanks to the higher levels of the Mekong ( last year the first one was early September)

 

We were told that as we entered the narrow channel to get into the lake we needed a draft clearance of 1.7 metres. At one stage we were at 2.3 so we were really lucky to go via the lake rather than the bus trip.

The trip across the lake was great and the journey in via the floating villages in the smaller boats was really interesting, as was the whole cruise.

 

I'm sure whatever way you go you will find life on the Mekong a fascinating experience. We certainly did.

 

June

 

 

So is the Heritage line boats the same size as the AMA boats? Because we are schedule next summer on July 2nd to do Siem Reap to Ho Chi Minh?????? Sure hope we aren't spending our days via bus rather than boat?????? Is the only place that is a problem is the narrow channel at the lake opening?

[Jun0]

Not sure on the comparative size of the boats but think that if anything the Jayavarman is slightly smaller - advertises 65 passengers. You will find whoever you cruise with they will be governed by the level of the Mekong at the time to do the back fill of the Tonle sap lake. Both lines advertise the difference in their itinerary depending on low or high water over which they have no control. We were expecting the bus trip and I had in fact emailed Heritage a few weeks earlier to confirm and at that stage it was to be the bus. However the huge amounts of rainfall they have had this year meant we were able to go across the lake.

 

We found that once on the lake you were just in the middle of a vast expanse of water but either end with the villages and floating villages was really interesting. If you have to go on the bus its only a very small part of the journey on one day (about 5 hours from memory) and you do stop at places that you would otherwise not see.

[2Fltravelers]

From everything I have read on this thread and elsewhere there should be absolutely no problem with food etc on the ship. Everything is made and prepared with bottled water. Enjoy the food with no worries - we certainly shall.

 

Just want to mention that on our cruise on La Marguerite in February at least a third of the passengers had intestinal illnesses midway. We narrowed it down to a noro-type virus that lasted 2-3 days. So as far as safety precautions, wash your hands! The illness spread from people touching the serving pieces on the buffet and then eating. If you wash your hands before you enter the dining room (watch out for the door handles and stair railings) and then use hand sanitizer after you serve yourself but before you eat you should be able to reduce the risk. There was no one on our trip that became sick from what they ate but from germs passed hand to hand. To be safe, bring Imodium and peptones bismol chewable tablets and you should be fine.

[rosiefinch]

Thank you for passing on that valuable advice, Mr. Mojo!

[freddie]

2Flt - Upon my 4th (or is it 5th?) reading of your excellent review of your trip, I have discovered another question which I've not (as far as I can recall, but that is not the most reliable recollection in the world...) yet asked you.

 

You mentioned that you bought some very nice silver serving pieces in PP. Can you tell us which shop you used for that purchase? We are hoping to find a couple of "special" souvenirs of the trip. As we like to entertain, nice serving pieces would be an ideal remembrance of the trip.

 

Today I bought a load of pencils, pencil sharpeners, and pens to bring along on the trip. Is there any particular etiquette connected with giving them to the kids? I don't want to breach courtesy.

 

As for the condition of the rivers, the threads on TripAdvisor are encouraging. We are keeping our fingers & toes crossed that we will be able to board La Marguerite on Tonle Sap Lake on 28 November.

 

Cheers, Fred

Edited November 1, 2011 by freddie

[2Fltravelers]

Hi Freddie:

 

So glad that my review has been so helpful to so many.

 

About the silver serving pieces: I went back and looked at my pictures since I took one of the shop owner from our tuk tuk and it had the name of the shop and the address. It's right on the main street where the boat docks--Sinnowath Quay. The shop name is Sothea Khmer Sil ER Crafts @ No. 401 T.V. Preach Sisowat (different spelling of street name). Tel. # (855) 23 218 905. The shop is down (left from the pier) about 3/4 mile across the street from the massive western hotels and casinos past the Imperial Palace on the same side of the street. If I can figure out how to do it I'll upload the picture from my computer tomorrow as I only have my iPad now.

 

As for giving out the pencils, I would suggest doing it in an organized group, such as a school where there is a person of authority such as a teacher or principal. Discuss this with your tour manager so it can be arranged in advance. Otherwise you will be swarmed by the kids. I did have them with me while riding in the oxcart and was able to hand them to the kids running or biking along the side of the road.

 

FYI-I saw a show a few days ago discussing the problem of child sex slaves right outside of PP and in the countryside. Many of the floating villages sell their young girls for sex with westerners. The brothels are the nice looking 3-4 story cement buildings that look quite out of place on the land along the shoreline. All the while we just thought they belonged to wealthy landowners but it's much more nefarious and disturbing than that. It's important to know just how important the right kind of tourism can be for these countries. Education and economic opportunity are the keys to ending this horrific practice. We can be and should be the change we want to see in the world.

 

Glad to answer any more questions.

[Island Cruiser]

There has been an itinerary change for the 11/28 sailing of La Marguerite. Due to high water levels, she will sail from Kampong Cham rather that Tonle Sap lake near Siem Reap. Embarkation time remains the same. So it looks like those of us who are on that sailing will enjoy a long bus ride from Siem Reap to Kampong Cham. We are looking forward to this trip no less!

[doreen22]

There has been an itinerary change for the 11/28 sailing of La Marguerite. Due to high water levels, she will sail from Kampong Cham rather that Tonle Sap lake near Siem Reap. Embarkation time remains the same. So it looks like those of us who are on that sailing will enjoy a long bus ride from Siem Reap to Kampong Cham. We are looking forward to this trip no less!

 

Hi

We are on Amalotus sailing Nov 21st so I assume the change must apply to us as well...we haven't been advised but we are on the land package too, so not so important to let us know in adance.

A little disappointing- watching the river levels go down, I had thought we would be ok but not a big deal.

Susan

[Island Cruiser]

We haven't been notified either but a friend (Mr. Mojo) of ours in England who is on the 11/28 sailing received his cruise documents yesterday and they included a letter stipulating the change in itinerary. We've contacted our TA. She had not been notified of the change but has made inquiries of AMA. Guess we'll know for sure soon enough.

[doreen22]

We haven't been notified either but a friend (Mr. Mojo) of ours in England who is on the 11/28 sailing received his cruise documents yesterday and they included a letter stipulating the change in itinerary. We've contacted our TA. She had not been notified of the change but has made inquiries of AMA. Guess we'll know for sure soon enough.

 

Thanks, I looked on google earth, doesn't look that far-is on the other side of the lake-would have been interesting to see the lake though, but a very small disappointment.

I am happily crossing things off my "to do" list today:D. We fly out next Saturday:D.

[freddie]

Doreen -

 

Kampong Cham is about 300 km (180 miles) from Siem Reap and north of Phnom Penh on the Mekong.

 

We find it strange that our friends in the UK received the form letter (which was not dated or specific to our particular cruise) while neither you nor we, nor our TA's here in North America, have been notified of an itinerary change. Therefore, we are holding out some hope that the UK letter was sent in error. We may be able to get some clarification of the matter on Monday, when the Mekong expert at AMA is back in the office. I will, of course, post as soon as I learn anything.

 

Thus, we should not start counting our Kampong Cham spiders before they're fried, right?

 

Cheers, Fred (still optomistic and still not a fan of grilled arachnids)

Edited November 5, 2011 by freddie

[2Fltravelers]

We also could not board on the lake due to LOW water levels and took the 4 hour bus ride. Yes, it was disappointing but we still enjoyed the scenery from the bus and experienced the local market with fried crickets, etc.

[ReturnCruiser]

Greetings,

We're currently on the land portion of our AMALotus trip. We will board tomorrow at Kampong Cham instead of Siem Reap. I asked and was informed that the following AMA trips will leave from Siem Reap as the water levels will have receded to a safe point for the boats.

My understanding is that typically boarding in Siem Reap begins at 11:30am and the boat reaches the Kampong Cham area around 1pm. With the revised schedule, we board a motorcoach at 8:30am and will reach Kampong Cham around 1:30pm. This includes a stop along the way via the motorcoach.

 

In Hanoi, we tried the Green Tangerine and Verticale for dinner on our own. Both are recommended. We also had lunch at Quan An Ngon (#2 on Tripadvisor). We also used Hanoikids as tour guides. The club members were extremely helpful describing life in Hanoi, guiding us when crossing streets with heavy traffic, getting cabs, recommending lunch spots, purchasing entry tickets and negotiating lunch selections at local restaurants (particularly at Quan An Ngon).

 

Bob

 

 

 

[PhillyGirl2]

Now that I have read about the problems associated with boarding in Siem Reap due to river problems, I'm thinking that our trip this past July/August wasn't such a bad idea. We really were concerned about stories of torrential rain every day, etc. We experience heat, but not hotter than Philly in the summer and, perhaps, less so; it only rained one day and that was for 1/2 hour and then maybe for an hour on another day. The rest of the trip was rain free. Perhaps, we were just lucky but I wouldn't discourage anyone from taking the trip in July/early August.

[Island Cruiser]

We are taking encouragement from ReturnCruiser's post. But we recognize travel is an adventure. We are always at the mercy of weather conditions and other things we can't control like mechanical failures, strikes, and people who insist we eat roasted spiders for their photo shoot.

[ReturnCruiser]

The bus ride was about 4.5 hours. One positive of the motorcoach trip was that we were able to see the houses, villages and life along the drive. It was obvious that life is hard for most residents. We could see that many raised houses (perhaps originally for protection from wildlife) are still only accessible by wading or via raised narrow planks. A few sections of the road were muddy and required reduced speeds. If we embarked at Siem Reap, these views would remain somewhat hidden. As to time of year, we understand that when the Mekong River is low, the river tours may be required to make the same adjustment as when the river is too high. This is par for the course when it comes to river cruising.

 

Robert

[Shorex]

The bus ride was about 4.5 hours. One positive of the motorcoach trip was that we were able to see the houses, villages and life along the drive. It was obvious that life is hard for most residents. We could see that many raised houses (perhaps originally for protection from wildlife) are still only accessible by wading or via raised narrow planks. A few sections of the road were muddy and required reduced speeds. If we embarked at Siem Reap, these views would remain somewhat hidden. As to time of year, we understand that when the Mekong River is low, the river tours may be required to make the same adjustment as when the river is too high. This is par for the course when it comes to river cruising.

 

Robert

 

Thank you for your posts. Every bit of information is appreciated. How was the flight from Hanoi to Siem Reap?

[freddie]

AMA HQ in California today confirmed what ReturnCruiser was told in Cambodia. That is, the boats will resume embarkations on Tonle Sap Lake (just south of Siem Reap) as of next Monday, Nov. 14. The form letter indicating an itinerary change for our Nov. 28 cruise departure was sent to our friend, MrMojoRisin, in error by the UK sales rep. of AMA.

 

We are pleased that the itinerary is back to the scheduled one, although now we will have to look for our grilled spiders somewhere other than in Kampong Cham. A poster on TripAdvisor who appears to be quite familiar with Cambodia has advised me that even though the treat is the speciality of the region around Kampong Cham, it is readily available in many other towns. What a relief!

 

I certainly agree with Shorex that we appreciate ReturnCruiser's posts and the information included in them.

Edited November 8, 2011 by freddie

[ReturnCruiser]

The day of the flight from Hanoi to Siem Reap was busy. We disembarked from the Halong Bay junk to motorcoach around 12noon. We then traveled to a private golf course about 90 minutes away for lunch. We had selected lunch from a menu during the previous day's drive and service was quick. We had over an hour for this stop. It took another 90 minutes or so to reach the airport. We were at the airport at 4 for a 5pm flight.

 

As you board the junk with carry-on luggage, your check-in luggage (unless you indicate that you must access it before departing to Siem Reap) is moved from Hanoi to Halong Bay (locked up on bus), and from Halong Bay back to Hanoi. We never accessed our check-in bags until we reached the Sofitel at Siem Reap. I believe you can access your check-in bag at the golf course, if needed.

 

AMA seemed to arrange flight seating for couples so that you had adjoining seats. The flight was only about 75 minutes and the plane was not full. My wife and I had a three seat row to ourselves. The airline served a light meal during the flight. We arrived in Siem Reap about 6:30 (flight delayed a few minutes) and had a buffet dinner at the Sofitel. There were lots of buffet selections. AMA also hosted a second night fixed menu dinner at the Sofitel. Service was very slow that night for some reason and took almost 2.5 hours to get served all courses. On the third night in Siem Reap, we tried the AHA Bar and Restaurant - if you go there try the jasmine encrusted salmon - very tasty. There are many dining options in Siem Reap. We also had lunch at the Blue Pumpkin during our free afternoon.

 

When you depart the flight in Siem Reap, you claim your luggage and drop it at an AMA loading area that is near the spot that the AMA buses pick-up to take you to the Sofitel. Customs was handled by AMA (they collect your passports during the flight) and we didn't have to queue up at the customs counter. This was very convenient.

 

The Sofitel rooms at Siem Reap were very nice. Due to the luck of the draw, a travel partner was assigned a suite, with sitting room and full dressing room (equal to size of the room).

 

Bob

[ReturnCruiser]

AMA HQ in California today confirmed what ReturnCruiser was told in Cambodia. That is, the boats will resume embarkations on Tonle Sap Lake (just south of Siem Reap) as of next Monday, Nov. 14. The form letter indicating an itinerary change for our Nov. 28 cruise departure was sent to our friend, MrMojoRisin, in error by the UK sales rep. of AMA.

 

We are pleased that the itinerary is back to the scheduled one, although now we will have to look for our grilled spiders somewhere other than in Kampong Cham. A poster on TripAdvisor who appears to be quite familiar with Cambodia has advised me that even though the treat is the speciality of the region around Kampong Cham, it is readily available in many other towns. What a relief!

 

I certainly agree with Shorex that we appreciate ReturnCruiser's posts and the information included in them.

 

Our local tour guide mentioned that crickets, frog (all parts except stomach) and cobra snake meat are also tasty. Cobra snake blood is added to whiskey for an additional treat.

[freddie]

"Cobra snake blood is added to whiskey for an additional treat."

 

Yikes! I might manage to eat some well-done cobra meat (it will probably taste "like chicken", as does every other odd meat, such as alligator or rattlesnake); but the notion of Scotch & Cobra Blood as a highball is a bit of a stretch. Hmm, after a few Scotches-on-the-Rocks, I might be able to try it (assuming that someone amongst our travel companions will be willing to pay for the cobra blood, which is probably expensive). As far as I can determine, there are no Costco's in Cambodia where one could purchase high-quality cobra blood at a good price. I don't imagine that we will anytime soon see Kirkland brand cobra blood. Rats!

 

Speaking of booze, ReturnCruiser, how is the included hooch on the boat? Thirsty inquiring minds want to know.

 

Cheers, Fred

Edited November 8, 2011 by freddie

[doreen22]

The day of the flight from Hanoi to Siem Reap was busy. We disembarked from the Halong Bay junk to motorcoach around 12noon. We then traveled to a private golf course about 90 minutes away for lunch. We had selected lunch from a menu during the previous day's drive and service was quick. We had over an hour for this stop. It took another 90 minutes or so to reach the airport. We were at the airport at 4 for a 5pm flight.

 

As you board the junk with carry-on luggage, your check-in luggage (unless you indicate that you must access it before departing to Siem Reap) is moved from Hanoi to Halong Bay (locked up on bus), and from Halong Bay back to Hanoi. We never accessed our check-in bags until we reached the Sofitel at Siem Reap. I believe you can access your check-in bag at the golf course, if needed.

 

AMA seemed to arrange flight seating for couples so that you had adjoining seats. The flight was only about 75 minutes and the plane was not full. My wife and I had a three seat row to ourselves. The airline served a light meal during the flight. We arrived in Siem Reap about 6:30 (flight delayed a few minutes) and had a buffet dinner at the Sofitel. There were lots of buffet selections. AMA also hosted a second night fixed menu dinner at the Sofitel. Service was very slow that night for some reason and took almost 2.5 hours to get served all courses. On the third night in Siem Reap, we tried the AHA Bar and Restaurant - if you go there try the jasmine encrusted salmon - very tasty. There are many dining options in Siem Reap. We also had lunch at the Blue Pumpkin during our free afternoon.

 

When you depart the flight in Siem Reap, you claim your luggage and drop it at an AMA loading area that is near the spot that the AMA buses pick-up to take you to the Sofitel. Customs was handled by AMA (they collect your passports during the flight) and we didn't have to queue up at the customs counter. This was very convenient.

 

The Sofitel rooms at Siem Reap were very nice. Due to the luck of the draw, a travel partner was assigned a suite, with sitting room and full dressing room (equal to size of the room).

 

Bob

Hi Bob,

We too are interested in the free flowing liquor, although dh and I have met few beers we didn't like..

on a more serious note, if you didn't access your checked luggage what did you do about liquids i.e. bug spray, sun tan lotion etc....did you just go without?

Sure appreciate your taking the time to post!

Susan

[ReturnCruiser]

As we were leaving Ha Long Bay, our tour director collected in a very large personalized zip lock bags all liquid containers by cabin. This included liquids (deet, etc) that were in large bottles. AMA arranged for the tour director to place all 100 or so bags in a larger bag and pass them through security without problem. This was a nice touch and avoided having to access and repack the check-in bags which would have taken a long time for everyone.

 

Free wine, beer and sodas are available on the AMALotus. Mixed drinks on the AMALotus are about $7.50 each. The wine is ok and you can purchase bottles as well. A fellow traveler picked up a gin bottle and was able to bring it on board.

 

Bob

[ReturnCruiser]

Clarification: I believe the gin bottle was transferred to the tour director for handling and NOT brought on the plane by the passenger.

Bob

[doreen22]

As we were leaving Ha Long Bay, our tour director collected in a very large personalized zip lock bags all liquid containers by cabin. This included liquids (deet, etc) that were in large bottles. AMA arranged for the tour director to place all 100 or so bags in a larger bag and pass them through security without problem. This was a nice touch and avoided having to access and repack the check-in bags which would have taken a long time for everyone.

 

Free wine, beer and sodas are available on the AMALotus. Mixed drinks on the AMALotus are about $7.50 each. The wine is ok and you can purchase bottles as well. A fellow traveler picked up a gin bottle and was able to bring it on board.

 

Bob

 

Thanks so much Bob, you are the best!