AMAlotus review anyone??

[mlk58]

Today's super important update: For the second day of temple visiting in Siem Reap, note that shoulders and knees must be covered. By clothing. One of the ladies in our group pulled out a scarf to cover her shoulders and was told that was not adequate, and she was not permitted to climb up to the topmost part of Angkor Wat. If you wear a tank top or other sleeveless garment, you will need a t-shirt or other shirt with sleeves to cover it to go inside the temple.

[amyr]

Goodness, how did she miss that? They told us over and over about the dress, and even mentioned that scarves don't count.

 

We're having our last breakfast aboard AMALotus, heading out for Saigon. We haven't shopped there yet, of course, but so far the best souvenir shopping we've seen for Vietnam has been at that stop on the way to Halong Bay, and the best in Cambodia was in Siem Reap.

[freddie]

amyr - On our trip last year (La Marguerite), we found a shop in Saigon that was without even a close peer the best place for lacquerware that we'd found anywhere in Vietnam. Their products were stunning and, unlike most of the lacquerware available for purchase in other shops, did not look like they should be displayed next to velvet paintings of Elvis in a toreador outfit playing at The Last Supper which was being served by little kids with large eyes. (For those who are reading this and are aghast, that is my description of the ultimate velvet painting.)

 

In any velvet event, the shop is Saigon Craft, in District 1, at 74 Dong Khoi St., just a couple of short blocks towards the river from the Opera House and Caravelle Hotel.

 

Here is their website: http://www.saigoncrafts.com/index.htm

 

The shop is not large; but the staff does not harangue the customers at all. The quality of the the products is remarkable; and the unique designs are quite beautiful. Well worth a visit. We bought quite a lot of items, then returned home wishing that we'd purchased more, as the ones we bought get constant comments of amazement from guests in our house.

 

Happy shopping.

 

Cheers, Fred

 

PS - If you're feeling a bit peckish and in the mood for some very nice French pastry, there is a wonderful little shop on Hai Ba Trung St., across from the Park Hyatt.

[mlk58]

In Siem Reap by all means go to Artisans Angkor: http://www.artisansdangkor.com/. Beautiful, beautiful items and they also give you a tour of the workshop and you can see and photograph the artists at work. Prices considerably higher than the "one dolla" in the markets, but, as I said, beautiful, beautiful items.

 

The Night Market is fun, too, and the bar at the back plays fantastic western music ranging from blues to Bob Marley to hip-hop!

 

For lunch or dinner I recommend the Angkor Palm restaurant, which is close to the Night Market. Ask a tuk-tuk driver to take you there.

[Memsahib27]

We were there 2011 - Our hints for visitors to Saigon. If you wear spectacles we had a great experience at Ngoc Toan Optic - 106 and 128 (two shops) Le Thanh Ton Street, District 1 Phone: 08 38232059 - ask for Huang, owner dispenser. They stock quality brands and the price was fantastic - and our eyewear is still going strong. I was in the optical industry so quite fussy. We bought beautiful handicrafts using eggshells that were made by mine survivors, from the actual sheltered workshop, can't remember the name, but someone will know. We had a wonderful , inexpensive meal at KOTO (Know One Teach One) http://www.koto.com.au/saigon-restaurants an Australian initiative where young men and women are rescued from the street and a life of crime and taught the various skills associated with the restaurant business. Great food. Great cause! We also enjoyed the markets - great for cheap watches - all still going! :D

[Robb]

Love reading all these comments. We will be doing the AMALotus trip in November, 2014. Sounds wonderful, looking forward to more tips and photos. Love the BLOG as well.

[amyr]

Well, we're back - wow, that was a long trip! Absolutely amazing, though, and my little group agreed that it exceeded expectations. I'm happy to answer any questions. I thought it was a good time of year to go - while it was certainly hot, it wasn't too hot to sit out on our little balcony as long as we were under way, and it was comfortable up on the deck - in fact, it was often cooler out there than in the Saigon Lounge where you had to ask for the a/c to be turned on.

 

I think if I were trying to pick between two closely matched cruises and dates, I would definitely try to work out when the tour will be in Siem Reap/Angkor Wat. Unfortunately we were there on Saturday and Sunday, and it was packed, packed, packed. Our guide told us they get a lot of weekend travelers from Vietnam, Thailand and China, so it's always at least double in tourist population. We also had the misfortune of running up against a half-marathon, so that added to it as well.

[amyr]

Oh, and wanted to add that we found Freddie's lacquerware shop - it was nearly adjacent to the Sheraton. It was very high end, and one of our group bought a beautiful chopsticks set.

[alexandra cruiser]

checked and YES,,,we re they re on weekend too..oh well.Not much you can do.

 

You ll have to write a detailed review and post it.

 

But,since I m now packing.Did anyone have GI problems ??How many shoes did you take(was planning on walking day shoes and sandals for nite)?Did you have laundry done or just wash your own? Any hints about WHAT not to forget?Did bus have emergency bathroom..or will just avoid am coffee,haha.

 

Just anything you WISH you would have known.Thanks:D

[amyr]

Only one person (that I know of) had GI, and it was the last day on the ship, so we didn't have a noro type virus going around, but we did have that bad cold. Our "patient zero" on the trip came in sick and stayed in bed for the Hanoi tour day, so it wasn't anything ship related. Most of us came down with it somewhere between Halong Bay and Siem Reap. It was nasty.

 

As everyone before us has said, make sure you have enough ones and fives. We took $150 worth of each for the two of us, and used every one. We used tens and twenties for tipping some of the guides that we had for multiple days, so that helped save the ones. Everywhere we went it seemed there were women selling canned sodas and beer for $1. My husband was delighted to grab a beer on the way onto the bus at Angkor Thom, and enjoyed the local beer. He drank Tiger and 333 beer in Vietnam and Angkor Beer in Cambodia. Said they weren't as good as Sam Adams or the like but better than Bud Lite.

 

I took two kinds of shoes, my Keen sandals (saw lots of those) and my Merrill Gardena thong sandals, those in two colors. I wore my Keens with little footie socks - your feet are going to be sweatier than you ever dreamed. I had to leave my oldest pair of thong sandals behind because they were just gross.

 

They have a "stuff as much in a bag" laundry deal at the hotel in Siem Reap for $33. It was worth it and then some.

 

If you give me your email, I can go into more packing detail as I doubt it's something folks here want to read.

[amyr]

Oh, forgot to add, as for things I wish I had known - I wish I had known more about the first day in Saigon. We boarded our buses at the ship, and they needed to keep us busy until our 1:00 scheduled buffet lunch at the Sheraton where we received our hotel keys. The tour stopped first at Reunification Palace for a quick tour and then went on to the War Remnants Museum. We only had 30 minutes there, and it's the sort of place that you either don't want to visit at all or need at least an hour. We felt rushed. We left there at 11:30, and for the next hour and a half took a bus tour of Chinatown and stopped at what seemed like our 35th pagoda. It looked exactly like one we had just seen the day before, and it was excruciating. We were over being on the bus as well.

 

If we had our wits about us, we could have arranged with our guide (and given him our final tip) to be left at the War Remnants Museum with promises that we would get ourselves to the hotel in time. It would have been a quick cab ride to the hotel when we were done, and even if we were there before 1:00, they have a nice lobby bar with free wi-fi, and we could have watched the tour buses arrive. If you want to do this, just make sure you don't have too much hand luggage to drag around the museum. That's what I would have done differently, I think. Also, somewhere on that tour we visited the Post Office and Notre Dame cathedral, but they were so close to the hotel we could have done that on our own at any time during the stay (and did).

 

Also, they took those of us who wanted to go to the big market at 3:00. We went, but it was miserably hot and crowded, and we were more worried about being back at door no. 3 for the bus than anything else. We went back again on our own early one morning, and it was much better. Cooler, no crowds, and an easy walk from the hotel.

[alexandra cruiser]

skip that market stop.And good option to stay at Museum.Thanks.Also, good few got GI probs (as in earlier trips).Hope the other bug,GONE>

My email is wmclay@cfl.rr.com..funny.Notice I m also in FL.So know what you mean about hot feet.haha.

Was weather good on Junk,in Hanoi? See its much cooler there.

Now worried about flight to Chicago because see a chance of big storm coming.We leave Mon.am early.

:)

[amyr]

I just sent you an email. I'll keep my fingers crossed for your flight! That's one of the reasons I changed our international flight from DC to out of San Fran via Houston with a stop over the night before. Didn't want to chance the inevitable Thanksgiving weather meltdown. It was a bit of a haul, but we made it.

[alexandra cruiser]

its been a hectic week,but fun. Took a break today in Phnom Penh,,DH having a massage and was tired of another pm of sightseeing.

So far I m enjoying trip,but DH feels its a little "too much" with little time to relax,so we ve been taking similar pm breaks as today.

Hanoi is fantastic .lots to see and feel the 1 day we had was not enough.Should have come a day early,as we arrived at 11pm at nite and just had next day to see it all.

Halong Bay was misty and cool,sort of mystical. Junk was a little less luxurious than expected.Food sort of poor(but realize very subjective).Room on small side.We didnt climb to the top of stairs on island,but it was nice break.

Seim Reip and Anghor wat VERY CROWDED..not like in pictures. Really not a good time to go there..it was weekend and a holiday too.Great,but hard to enjoy.Lines for every thing (sort of DisneyLand thing).Its very hot and do come prepared.Some have been affected by heat and had to miss some things.

One person I know of has had GI problems and had to miss Halong Bay and go to the hospital. Now one else so far. To be on safe side,I ve been on Zithromax and have been eating and drinking very cautiously.

The boat is very nice and food good.Plenty of variety.Staff and guides have been very good.

We have a nice group in our tour bus.Others are Russian,Spanish ,and one other English group.There is a lot of togetherness and it would be difficult (like Amyr said) if not similar and friendly. Most people tend to stick to their own group,even for meals,etc. Can be sort of hard to get alone time for these things,so just make the best of it,and enjoy.And HOPE for cohesive group.

Will post review when I get home.Doubt I ll get back on computer,since only 4 and in use most of time.Many have I pads.etc.but some places have no reception.

[NavCom]

Hi anyone going on Amalotus!

 

We did that cruise October/Nov 2011 and had a wonderful time. The ship was beautiful - cabins a good size (balcony tiny), food was fantastic, staff so friendly, Both the Vietnamese and Cambodian guides so knowledgeable. A small pool on board so take swimsuit for a dip. Very different tours to Europe but very interesting and somewhat humbling. Fascinating villages with amazing markets and hand-made silk. How those people stay so cheerful after so much trauma was beyond belief. I have Picasa slideshows - if anyone would like me to email the links include your email address and I will be happy to do so - Saigon (HCMC) was interesting - great for getting prescription glasses if you have time, Phnom Penh was good for silver jewellery and Siem Reap's temples are mind-boggling. We so enjoyed it we booked with AMA again (Aug 2012) and hopefully will find Russian Waterways as interesting. Be sure to include some long pants and shoes that can get a bit muddy (the ship cleans them for you) and a camera with a big memory card!

Enjoy

Viv :)

 

Greetings Viv,

 

We would love to see your photos. We will be on the AmaLotus in October of this new year. Our e-mail is in our tag line.

[amyr]

Hi Alexandra, yep, agree with everything you said about Angkor Wat. The main problem for AMALotus is that it is always set up to spend the weekend in Siem Reap. Our guide told us they get a lot of weekend trippers from China and Vietnam, and the crowd is double. I think if I had it to do again I might hire a private guide to take us to the temples away from Siem Reap. I've read that they're just as spectacular, if not quite as rebuilt, and you rarely see anyone else there. We also had the added burden of a half-marathon being run and roads around the temples cut off, etc.

 

And yes, it's a good idea to go ahead to Hanoi. We were there for two nights before everyone else showed up, and it made all the difference. If you just arrive as the tour plans, you get in at night, wake up and the very, very long one day of touring begins before you're off to Halong Bay. Not enough time at all.

 

If anyone is interested in my pics, I'll send a link. I know how grateful I was to Viv for sharing hers. There are A LOT of them, though. I couldn't help myself.

[Kelley M]

Thanks for the offer amyr! We would love to see your pictures. We leave for this trip on the 26th. Email is dkmcgue@sbcglobal.net.

 

Thanks again!

[alexandra cruiser]

its been a hectic week,but fun. Took a break today in Phnom Penh,,DH having a massage and was tired of another pm of sightseeing.

So far I m enjoying trip,but DH feels its a little "too much" with little time to relax,so we ve been taking similar pm breaks as today.

Hanoi is fantastic .lots to see and feel the 1 day we had was not enough.Should have come a day early,as we arrived at 11pm at nite and just had next day to see it all.

Halong Bay was misty and cool,sort of mystical. Junk was a little less luxurious than expected.Food sort of poor(but realize very subjective).Room on small side.We didnt climb to the top of stairs on island,but it was nice break.

Seim Reip and Anghor wat VERY CROWDED..not like in pictures. Really not a good time to go there..it was weekend and a holiday too.Great,but hard to enjoy.Lines for every thing (sort of DisneyLand thing).Its very hot and do come prepared.Some have been affected by heat and had to miss some things.

One person I know of has had GI problems and had to miss Halong Bay and go to the hospital. Now one else so far. To be on safe side,I ve been on Zithromax and have been eating and drinking very cautiously.

The boat is very nice and food good.Plenty of variety.Staff and guides have been very good.

We have a nice group in our tour bus.Others are Russian,Spanish ,and one other English group.There is a lot of togetherness and it would be difficult (like Amyr said) if not similar and friendly. Most people tend to stick to their own group,even for meals,etc. Can be sort of hard to get alone time for these things,so just make the best of it,and enjoy.And HOPE for cohesive group.

Will post review when I get home.Doubt I ll get back on computer,since only 4 and in use most of time.Many have I pads.etc.but some places have no reception.

 

 

Got home 2 days ago, what a GREAT TRIP.

Did just post a review,but to sum up.Would recommend the AMA land and river cruise option to see this area of the world.But keep in mind,this is a 3rd world country,NOT EUROPE,so be prepared.Both phyically and mentally,lots of stairs,climbing,uneven surfaces(when they rate it 4 stars,they mean it).Will see begging children,stray dogs,very BASIC toilet facilites,etc...some seemed not to deal with the reality well.

Hotels were 5 star and just wonderful in Hanoi,Seim Reip,and Saigon(which is what everyone there still calls it).

Loved the local village visits,floating village tours, and marketplace visits the best.No matter how much you bring for kids,will never have enough.Ended up taking samples from cabins(a little girl LOVED the hand cream).

I had mentioned about GI problems,well I was fine,but DH got hit with it(and slight cold) as did others in group of 21. Some missed a few excursions and told about 1 fellow going to hospital and missing Halong Bay.So, its up to you ,but I m glad I took the Zithromax to be on safe side.

The big cities like PnomPenh,Saigon,etc. were great to see,but really very hectic with LOADS of traffic(documentaries I ve seen DON T do it justice).We stuck with taxis,tuk tuks,etc and walked around safe areas only.But don t miss the tours,shopping,etc with group.Just go with it and enjoy.

DO TAKE at least $100 in $1s, taken everywhere and can avoid getting dongs etc. There are MANY people to tip(will give you exact info in your packet).Never used my mosquito spray(only bugs were in room if you opened door at nite).Sunscreen and hat a MUST,its very hot and humid ex.in Hanoi where it was cool and rainy most of time.

Any particular questions,will gladly try to answer.:)

[Cruise4Sunshine]

Greetings Viv,

 

We would love to see your photos. We will be on the AmaLotus in October of this new year. Our e-mail is in our tag line.

 

What trip are you on in October? We have a Roll Call going for the Oct. 28 sailing AmaLotus which is actually the Oct 22 tour from Hanoi. So far 6 have signed on the board.

[alexandra cruiser]

hope it helps.I know its long,but take your time.If you still have questions,please ask.:)