Dreaming's Trip Report: Bangkok, Siem Reap, Phnom Penh, HCMC & Narita

Looking forward to hearing your report.

Good start. Keep it coming...

Thanks dgungub and Craig! It helps to know that someone is looking!

Hotel and Flight Booking Details:

Bangkok - the Peninsula. Booked on gtahotels.com for $186 –$220 with taxes and service charges and including breakfast.
BKK to REP was on Bangkok Air, booked on Expedia for $235 each.

Siem Reap - the Hotel Be Angkor, booked via e-mail (hotelbeangkor.com)

Phnom Penh – The Pavilion, booked via e-mail (thepavilion.asia)

PNH to SGN on Vietnam Airlines booked with Vietnamstay.com. $135, but there’s a story here.

Ho Chi Minh City – The Caravelle booked via e-mail (Caravellehotel.com) $169 ex tax/service/breakfast per night. $338 ex tax/service for two night weekend package inc. breakfast & 6 pm checkout.

Guides:

Tong – tourwithtong.com - One day in Bangkok

Saron Soeun – Sarontours.com – 3 days in Siem Reap

Choosing a guide was tough. There’s just no way to know in advance how you’re going to get along with this person – regardless of how much positive or negative feedback is on the boards. So, I couldn’t wholly throw all of my eggs into the Fodor’s basket. I booked Tong and Saron way back in February via e-mail.

Preparation and Packing:

I know there’s always a question on this board about immunizations. I get them. For this trip I needed a typhoid shot, malaria prescription and then the doc recommended I get a new MMR. That MMR hurt like a son of a gun.

We got the eVisa for Cambodia. For Vietnam, we got the Visa Approval letter through Vietnamstay.com. Both worked out great.

I usually pack carry-on only, but TC travels with a slightly bigger bag, so we planned to check. I went wild with the extra space and way overpacked. I took stacks of T-shirts thinking I’d be changing them all the time. As it turned out, I had one “magic shirt” that could stand up to the humidity and could be hand washed and dry over night. (I'm going back to the store this week to see if they have any more!) I probably wore it half the trip. I had some stacks of colored pencils and markers to leave in Siem Reap and I thought with those gone I’d have tons of extra space for anything I might buy. At the last minute I threw in an extra duffle – “just in case”.

Just before we let, Amazing Race showed episodes in Saigon, on the Bassac III on the Mekong Delta and in Phnom Penh. Saigon had just had monsoon rains and the streets were flooded – so I dashed out and got a pair of Keen water shoes. So, for shoes I had black walking shoes - nice enough for wearing out at night, tennis shoes, water shoes and a pair of flip flops.

Please let me know what wonderful shirt you found that helped with the heat! We leave for Vietnam in May and it is sure to be steamy.

dgunbug - it was the Columbia Sportswear Floral Tease Tunic. You can see it here - http://www.backpackers.com/travel-gear/index.php/P-63383/Columbia_Womens_Floral_Tease_Tunic.html The cut and color weren't the most flattering on me, but the ability to wick and hide sweat was fantastic.

Outbound Flights

I was flying JAL 61 LAX to NRT; while TC was flying an AA flight at a similar time. DH gave us a ride to the airport and TC and I parted ways, as JAL is in the international terminal and AA is in the next terminal over. This worked out well for me, as I could go to the lounge. The JAL lounge in LAX was small, quiet and had a nice selection of beverages and food. The sushi seemed to go as quickly as they laid it out.

I was in a window seat on the upper deck. I love the upper deck, it’s always a touch quieter, less busy, not as much walking through. I heard later that there was a group in business class downstairs that were having a jolly time, so I was glad to be upstairs. JAL had a nice selection of amenities, including ear plugs, face mask, toothbrush & toothpaste and slippers. The slippers were wonderful for those trips to the bathroom. Although the bathroom floor never did seem to get covered with those liquid drops I usually expect. There were noise cancelling headphones for use on the flight.

My seat was slightly odd. Right in the middle of the seat bottom there seemed to be a slight incline. I scooted around trying to find a comfortable spot for the incline, but it just wasn’t comfortable. I poked around on the seat and couldn’t find anything odd about it – perhaps it’s me? Once we were able to recline our seats after take off, that issue went away. But, once I reclined the seat completely to nap, it was as though I was on a handtruck that had been tilted back. The footrest was out to keep me from sliding off, but I found that every time I dozed off, I crumpled up toward the bottom.

I had the Japanese meal for dinner and the Western meal for lunch. Both were good, but I can’t remember what they were. By the time we arrived in Tokyo, there was a distinct smell of fish in the cabin. Overall, service was terrific and thoughtful.

Transfer in Narita

Upon arrival in Narita, the airport was clearly sign-posted and I wasn’t confused about where to go. I did have to go through a security check point to transfer to a new international flight. The line for the security point was ½ hour long and was slightly unruly – some people loudly commenting on the inconvenience, others outright trying to jump the line. In looking at the lines for those entering Japan, they had to pass through a thermoscan and complete a health info form to enter Japan.

I met TC by the new gate and we milled around the terminal for a bit. TC got some Yen from an ATM and we sat in massage chairs and got 10 minute massages for 200 yen each… and it was fantastic after the flight.

Flight to BKK

We flew JAL 707 NRT to BKK, arriving BKK at 11:25 pm. All of the amenities were the same – still loved the slippers. Still good service. The seat was a business class seat without a full recline.

Arrival in BKK

Immigration went very quickly and TC and I met up again in baggage claim. No problems in getting our bags, but JAL had done a doozy on my suitcase. At the airport I noticed some scuff marks on the suitcase. It wasn’t until I was at the hotel that I found a razor like tear on one corner of the suitcase and the two main zipper pulls had been totally pulled off of the bag. This trip overall was rough on my suitcase and it had more trauma to come! (Remind me about carry on next time.)

Once we got through customs, we set about looking for the DTAC store to rent a mobile phone. Unfortunately, we walked for a bit after coming out of arrivals and then we funneled onto a down escalator. Oops. As soon as we went down to the 1st floor, we were out of the arrivals hall – and the arrivals hall is where there is a DTAC, AIS and True store – all of which rent cell phones. We tried elevators, stairs and escalators, but there’s no way back… We finally pleaded our case to a security guard who let us back in. And after all of that, DTAC was out of rental phones and we found that the deposit required for the phone, about 17000 Thai Baht or 500 USD was too high (what if we dropped it?!) One of these days I really will get an unlocked phone.

Finally, we got some baht from the ATM, made our way to the metered taxis and got a cab to the Peninsula. It was the middle of the night, so traffic was quite light, but we still had to come to a stop and wait for an escorted motorcade on the way in.

TC had wanted to stay at the Mandarin Oriental; despite watching their rates for months, I could never do any better than $300/night. I was really hankering for the Royal Orchid Sheraton at $94/night; but had some trouble convincing TC when her heart was on the Oriental. The Peninsula was an acceptable substitute at $186/night (including breakfast). I had booked for the first time with gtahotels.com, so I nervously presented my gta voucher at check-in. As it turned out, they didn’t need the voucher and we had a lovely twin bedded non-smoking room (just what I had asked for) on the 9th floor (with remote control curtains).

It was now about 2 am, so after a quick shower, we called it a night.

Coming Up – Day 1 in Bangkok

Thanks Dreaming for your great report. We're not leaving home until Nov, so just keep sharing your experience.

Cheers

I am enjoying this...

Me too! Keep it coming!

Thank you so much for the feedback! It's very motivational!

Before I forget, the taxi from the airport to the Peninsula with the meter on was 300 baht, plus tolls, which were about 90. When we got in the cab the meter wasn’t on, we asked for it and the driver turned it on – no problem at all.

I didn’t take notes on vacation, so I’ll be a bit vague about specific meals and prices. Where I remember the prices or general pricing, I’ll be sure to let you know.

T C and I are usually go-go-go on vacation… there’s no lying around by the pool when there are sites to be seen. Unusually for us, I have nothing planned for our first day in Bangkok. Partly because I was worried we would have flight delays, partly because of TC’s tailoring plans. Before we left home, TC said one of her primary goals on the trip was to buy silk in Bangkok and have some clothes made while we were in Vietnam. TC was going to do some research about where to buy silk, and came away with the impression that you could get silk all over the place. TC also wanted to buy a Buddha amulet as a gift.

In the morning, the view from the hotel was wonderful – the Oriental across the river with a great view up river. Water hyacinth drift down river and a number of long tail boats dash about. I made a stop to the business center to use one of their computers for internet access to send some e-mails. It was a few dollars for 15 minutes. Don’t you ever wonder why the lower range hotels offer free business services, but the upper range charge?

We had a late and leisurely breakfast buffet at the Peninsula. Lots of lovely fruit and a wide selection of breads and hot food. TC loves her pot of hot tea in the morning and after being poured a cup of lukewarm tea, she requested a pot of steaming hot tea. Afterwards they brought her a pot of hot tea when she came in – without being asked.

It was sporadically raining, so we ate inside with a window view of the river. We then bought a day pass for the sky train from the concierge (somehow they sell it for slightly less than the skytrain? About 10 baht less.) We also talked to the concierge about calling home and determined that getting a calling card from a mini mart such as 7/11 would be the way to go.

We took the Peninsula boat over to the skytrain, had our day passes validated at the ticket booth and headed over to Sukhumvit Road to wander. We stopped into a store here and there, not really being moved to buy anything, other than a 300 baht international calling card from a 7/11 (which turned out to be about 6 hours worth of calling the US), and then decided to pop over to the Jim Thompson main store to look at silk. Back on the skytrain to Saladaeng.

By this time, lunch was calling, so we ate in the café at the Jim Thompson store. I had fresh spring rolls and chicken in a soup with coconut milk. The soup was good, the spring rolls were very good. After lunch, we wandered through the fabrics, not finding anything compelling. TC is more a fan of raw silk, which they had, but with a limited color selection. The pricing varied, but for what she was looking for, it was in the $30/meter range.

Since we were now so close to Patpong, we walked through. At 2:30 pm everything was locked up tight and the area was quite quiet. We walked into a couple of the shops selling knock-off designer purses to browse. I’m a purse fan, but not a designer purse fan and these seemed to me to be obviously not the real thing. Remember how I didn’t plan anything for the day? Well, we then walked over to the Banyan Tree to check out Vertigo. Which was also closed.

Back to the Skytrain where we ended up at the Silom Complex hiding from the rain. We found a jeweler here for the Buddha amulet, an ATM, and a foot massage. We were walking past Massage for Health (4th floor) and looked in – it was busy, which seemed a good sign. We each had an incredible 1 hour foot massage for 250 baht. Did I mention it was incredible? OMG.

From here we headed to the Mandarin Oriental for drinks at the Elephant Bar. TC had wanted to stay here and couldn’t pass up the chance to look around. The public spaces were much more interesting and impressive than the Peninsula. From here we took the Oriental boat over to Sala Rim Naam for dinner. The service was impressive – a bit hovering. I believe our waiter stood at a spot about 6 feet from our table and simply stood there waiting in case we needed anything. I had chicken in a coconut curry sauce. It was good, but I think they toned down the spices for the foreign palate. There was a floor show while we were there – a Thai dancing performance – beautiful costumes.

Once we finished, the Oriental boats took us back across the river to the Oriental, then directly back to the Peninsula.

Up Next: Bangkok, Day 2, Day with Tong

We never take notes either. Stream of consciousness is a good way to go. Timely report, no penalty.

Panda - I'm hoping to continue to duck the penalty by finishing this in a timely manner. I have an unfinished Panama trip report in my history that occasionally weighs on my mind!

Bangkok Day Two

We had plans to meet with Tong at 7 am in the lobby of the Peninsula. Sure enough, she’s there bright and early waiting for us.

There are some strong feelings about Tong on the board, so I’ll just say right up front, we liked her. She was personable, chatty, engaging and a little goofy. Her English wasn’t quite as good as I had anticipated. Particularly when saying a historical name or place, she spoke really fast and I just couldn’t catch it. Didn’t bother me though, since I was more interested in getting a feel for Bangkok in the short time we were there, rather than the historical context.

Our general plan for the day was the Floating Market in the morning, then highlights of Bangkok in the afternoon. We drove out to the Floating Market and on the way we stopped at the Railway Market – where the market is set up right up to the railway tracks – buyers walk down the tracks through the middle of the market. When the train comes, the awnings get pulled in; rolling tables get pushed in – but quite a lot of produce is left on the group right up to the train tracks. When the train comes through, it passes over the remaining produce. Once it’s though, out come the rolling bins, out come the awnings and business starts again. The train comes by 8 times a day, so there’s a very efficient system in place for packing up and replacing. The market seemed to be a local market, selling produce, meats, seafood (and skewered frogs), but there were a ton of tourists there for the train event.

We got our first food treat with Tong driving into the Railway Market. Driving down the road, she pulled by a vendor and conducted a very quick transaction for coconut puffs. Little puffy hot treats. Arriving into the Railway, she got some popcorn with a sweet coating. I was already liking the food! TC, who doesn’t have a sweet tooth wasn’t quite as enthusiastic.

There was a decent “Happy Room” (Tong speak for the restroom) at the Railway, then we were off to the Floating Market. On the way we stopped at a local temple so we could get a feel for a non-touristy temple.

The Floating Market was also packed with tourists. We were on a small rowing boat, and for me, it was all about the food. I liked seeing the vendors cooking on their boats, maneuvering up to other boats to conduct a transaction. Tong filled us up with coconut water, fried bananas, iced sweet coffee (in a bag – which was fun). We pulled up to one boat and got our main lunch – noodles and pork with broth dish. So incredibly good, although I was using the metal spoon to get the last little bit of broth out of the bowl and cut my lip on the spoon. Once we got off the boat, we wandered through the vendors for a few minutes. I bought a couple of small purses with elephants in sequins (hmm, looks better than it sounds?) for about $2 each. There’s no bargaining from this vendor, the price is firm, but the price seems good so they’re mine.

After the market it was time for the ride back to Bangkok. On the way we stopped at a wood carving Handicrafts store to use the Happy Room.

Once in Bangkok it was off to a khlong tour in a long tailed boat. The river water level was apparently quite high and to get back to the residential canals we had to go through a lock. Waiting for the lock was a hot, sweaty business on both ends, which was a little disappointing as we had thought of the khlong tour as being relief from the worst heat of the day. The canals were intriguing. Dilapidated shacks all in a row, followed by a tidy mansion, followed by a small business. A few kids splash in the water. Outside of a temple a monk was throwing food to fish in the water and the fish were thrashing at the surface.

The boat dropped us off at by the Grand Palace (Tong having arranged for her car to be picked up and moved). Once at the Grand Palace, we were surrounded by incredible gorgeous craftsmanship of many kinds. The gold leaf is eye-catching, particularly in the sunlight, but the ceramics were astonishing as well. The Temple of the Emerald Buddha resounded with the chanting of monks- sitting off to one side. The Emerald Buddha is small and far away, but beautifully dressed.

The reclining Buddha at Wat Pho was partially hidden behind pillars, which made for interesting peek a boo views at the expanse of him. Now I can understand why all of the pictures are from his head toward his feet or at his feet toward his head. In the background, coins tink into prayer bowls. We deposited our own coins and hope that our own wishes come true.

Tong suggests a dinner stop before heading back to the hotel, but it’s a little early for dinner and we’re too tired for anything else. So, Tong drives us back to the hotel and we say goodbye, but not before getting her suggestions for a foot massage place. Once back at the hotel we collapse on the beds and before long our plans of going out and about are gone. We have a simple dinner of sandwiches and drinks in the lobby restaurant at the Peninsula. The bill is not quite as simple at 2400 baht.

We leave for Siem Reap tomorrow so it’s back to the room to try to pack our belongings back into our bags.

Up next: Knock, Knock. Bangkok’s nightlife comes calling?

Oh, good. Happy to still be along for the ride with you...

So off we went for our restless jet lagged sleep. In the middle of the night I vaguely hear a tap, tap. Can’t be our room, we’re tucked in tight for the night and it’s now 1:30 am. But the tapping continues so I haul myself out of bed and open the internal door to our entry foyer. Yes, it’s our door and it’s now pretty insistent tapping. I look out the peep hole and there are two young ladies outside of the door. I call out, “who is it” and they answer, but I don’t understand. Since they don’t look threatening, it’s 1:30 in the morning, and I’m not thinking, I open the door.

Outside of the door are two very nice looking young, but not too young, ladies. Nicely made up, dressed in tight small tops, short skirts, but classy, not tacky. Long, long hair, beautifully cut.

They take one look at me, wearing my Talbot’s PJs, my hair messy, my face imprinted with pillow wrinkles and they say, “oh, sorry”. They chatter back and forth, look at my room number, giggle and start tapping on the door opposite. The next morning the do not disturb is lit on the opposite room.

It may have been a couple of friends visiting their friend from out of town…. But that’s not where my mind went.

So these "young" women were not the foot massage recommendations of Tong?

Ha! No, No. Tong had recommended Healthland for the foot massage. With the "young" I was trying to indicate that these weren't little girls, but were perhaps early 20s.

To many of us early 20's is very young. However, I do get your distinction. It's another example of a great story being generated by a small risk, i.e., answering your door at 1:30 am. You can live on this story for years.

Panda - I got my first change to tell the story just a few hours later when TC woke up! TC was kicking herself the next morning for not having been the person to wake up and get the door in the night. She was appalled that I had no recollection at all of their shoes, but could describe their haircuts!

Siem Reap Day 1 (Overall Trip Day 4)

We picked the Bangkok Air flight from BKK to REP at 11:25. There was a flight closer to 8am, but we chose the later flight for a more relax schedule. I had tried to book the flight through Bangkok Air online, but could never complete the transaction online; so I finally booked through Expedia.

We weren’t sure what time to leave for the airport, so spoke to the concierge. He suggested that if we used the hotel car, we would take the boat across the river, the car would pick us up on the other side and we’d skip the bridge traffic and save time. In this case we should leave at 8:30. If we were going to take a taxi, we’d need to sit through the bridge traffic, but 8:30 should work as well. We left a little confused, as one was faster, but we’d still leave at the same time?

We chose the taxi from the hotel, risking the bridge traffic. We caught a taxi from the hotel, confirming that it was a metered taxi before getting in. As soon as we got started and I asked for the meter the story changed. He charged a fixed rate of 500 baht, including tolls. After some discussion we decided that wasn’t too bad and went with it.

Traffic on the bridge was indeed bad, but it wasn’t more than 15 minutes before we were through it and had a clear drive to the airport. At the airport we browsed with our remaining baht, buying a variety of face blotting papers (much cheaper then at home), tiger balm and other drugstore goodies. We also bought some food for lunch prior to boarding.

On the 55 minute flight, the airline managed to provide cool hand wipes, food and a drink. Upon landing in Siem Reap we all crowded around outside of the customs and immigration building while we received – one at a time- a health inspection form. Once the form was completed and handed in and we had passed through the thermoscan we entered the immigration area. Those with eVisa went straight to immigration, while those applying for a visa on arrival lined up (line was short). We got our luggage (and again, my bag had taken a pretty good scuffing but no additional tears or missing pieces), passed through the unmanned customs point and out to the arrivals hall. Our guide, Saron, was waiting with a sign and we went directly out to our car, a van, and our driver, Mr. Lee.

As arranged, Saron took us directly to our hotel, the Hotel Be Angkor, where Martin and his team were waiting for our arrival. We checked into Saffron (me) and Sepia (TC). My initial impression of Saffron was that it was a little musty, but once the AC was on and I was in and out of the room, I didn’t get that impression at all again – so it may just have needed a little airing. The Hotel Be Angkor has a personality all of its own. It’s not that of a 5 star hotel and it’s not a B&B, but it’s friendly, comfortable and wonderfully located by the old market. They’ll exert themselves on your behalf, finding you whatever it is you’re wanting, but it runs to slightly different beat. We liked it and liked it a lot.

After getting settled, I walked around the old market area, noting the fish foot baths in kiddie wading pools, the very close internet café with VOIP telephone service. Lots of boutiques, lots of massage places, lots of restaurants. Not a lot of tourists. I think in the middle of the day, people are back to their hotels, to the pools, to the restaurants, but not out on the streets. A lot of the spas were offering discounts from 12 – 3 to lure people in.

Saron picked us up at 3 and we were finally off to the temples. We were relieved that the worst heat of the day had dropped off by 3. The first stop was to get our 3 day temple pass ($40, no photo required, they take the photo there.) Then it was Angkor Thom starting with the gates. I had to keep reminding myself that I was really, really there. We went to the Bayon. Saron was terrific for guiding around crowds or in the opposite direction of the crowds and finding us interesting viewpoints for photos. What an experience. All of those four-sided faces everywhere. We spent quite a while exploring here and then back to the car (heaven. Cold water, cold wipes. Ahhh…). Then we were off for the Elephant Terrace and the Terrace of the Leper King. The Elephant Terrace was fronted by water and I gather that it was remaining from Typhoon Ketsana, just about 2 weeks before. There was a good deal of standing water left along roads, at the bus station and by the temples.

Eventually we returned to our hotel and made arrangements with Saron to start at 8 am the next day. We went to the old market for a bit of a browse. TC found a silk scarf – really more of a wrap that she was taken with, but not quite enough to buy. After we left Siem Reap and it was too late to buy it, it became the scarf that got away. Dinner was at Khmer Kitchen and we had an amazing Khmer soup – lemongrass, lime and chicken in a broth. The flavors were intense and tart and so good. I scooped mine over rice and ate it up. The entrees were about 3 dollars each.

By this time we were looking for a foot massage, so it was off to Bodia Spa for a foot massage. The foot massage was 22 or 24 dollars and it was sheer pain. The building was lovely, the foot massage was painful. My masseuse kept looking at TC’s masseuse as though she didn’t know what to do next. The pain wasn’t specific to my masseuse though. TC wasn’t faring any better. We both kept asking for less pain, more gentle, softer, “owie”, “oh no”…. They'd back off for a bit, but their knuckles would not be denied. We both had bruised feet in the am – mine on the arch, TCs on the foot pad.

It was off to the Linga Bar for martinis and recovery… Bean from the Hotel Be found us at the Linga Bar (just steps away from the hotel) and gave us our order forms for breakfast the next morning. There were several choices, including chocolate croissants, muesli, fruit and yogurt, eggs and ham(?), etc. They were pretty flexible on the choices and let me pick muesli, fruit, yogurt AND a chocolate croissant.

Coming Up: Siem Reap Day 2 (Overall Trip Day 5)

Thanks for the recom about your magic shirt. I just ordered one for our trip next April.

dreaming, Thanks for this report. DH is going to Siem Reap to visit his daughter and I was wondering how long was the ride from the airport to town.

great reporting

Wow! I get so excited when someone replies to this trip report.

Barefootbeach - I hope the shirt works out for you. I just went to my local REI and they had one (in my size) on the clearance racks, so I bought a second one!

LizQ - It seemed like it was about 15 minutes from the airport to the old market section of town. There are hotels on the airport road though, so he may be closer or further away.

Rhkkmk - Thank you!

Siem Reap Day 2 (Overall Trip Day 5)

As planned, Saron picked us up at 8. Prompt, professional, informative, interesting – Saron was a great guide. He answered a wide range of questions ranging from specifics about the temples to queries about political party signs to questions about advertising signage.

This morning we went to Ta Prohm (of Lara Croft fame). Ta Prohm offered a glimpse of what discovering these overgrown temples must have felt like. Coming around every corner and finding a new carving, a new building even more amazing than what you’ve seen before. The tree roots overgrowing the stones and clinging to the sides and tops of walls seem like they’ve been there forever and have become part of the building itself. From the Lara Croft movie perspective, there was quite a different sense of space – much less open – then it had appeared in the movie. It was here that we found a tarantula clinging to the underside of a lintel. I did some definite ducking and covering as we walked through the doorway.

From Ta Prohm we had a few minutes of AC in the car then it was Angkor Wat. The size of Angkor Wat is daunting and impressive. We spent a fair amount of time looking at the bas reliefs circling the walls of Angkor Wat with Saron telling the stories. Every once in a while a whiff of breeze would brush past and we’d gasp with relief. Going inside Angkor Wat, we were limited to the second level, as the third level was closed (for repairs? Can’t remember) at the beginning of October. Once we were actually inside, any breeze that existed was gone. Yet there was still so much to see, so much detailed carving.

We exited through the front of Angkor Wat, looking out at the pools and the libraries. Once we looked back at Angkor Wat, we could see the scaffolding on the front. We used tree placement to try to obscure the scaffolding in some of our photos.

As it was past noon, Saron and Mr. Lee took us to one of the restaurants across from Angkor Wat for lunch, Angkor Reach. Fortunately, we were seated under a fan. I’ve never sweat as much as I was sweating in Siem Reap. At one point I inhaled through my nose and inhaled sweat. Gag. Ick.

After lunch it was back to the Hotel for a bit of a rest. When Saron picked us up again, we swung by the offices for the Mekong Express and bought our outbound tickets for the Siem Reap to Phnom Penh 8:30am bus ($11). Seats were assigned in advance and we chose our seats there in the office.

We spent the afternoon at Banteay Srei. On the way to Banteay Srei we could see a storm off in the distance, looked like it was dumping a fair amount of rain. But it was clear up to Banteay Srei. Banteay Srei was a gorgeous jewel. Saron told us that it was also called the jewel in the jungle. The carvings were scrolling, detailed and deeply carved into the rose and gold hued stone. Breathtaking. A breeze came up that made leaves suddenly swirl from the trees and all at once Saron was rushing us to the car. We made it there just before the sky started dumping rain.

We stopped at Preah Rup for the sunset. There were a few other people there, but not a crowd. The views from the top were good – people herding water buffalo, views over the trees. Apparently Angkor Wat used to be visible in the distance, but the trees have grown taller and it can’t really be seen anymore. The sunset didn’t quite work out for us as the sun stayed behind the clouds. Eventually it was back once more to the hotel.

We had dinner at Soup Dragon on Pub Street; which was excellent for watching the activity on Pub street. It wasn’t jammed packed, but seemed to have most of the activity in town concentrated here. Tourist police and tuk tuk drivers lined the ends of the street. We had fresh spring rolls, and I had some kind of chicken in a coconut sauce (again!). This was served very attractively in a leaf folded into a square bowl and stapled shut. The sauce was so mild as to be bland and I had to track down some chili sauce for flavor.

After dinner we had a foot massage at Islands across from the Old Market. This was an $8 massage in more basic surroundings than Bodia Spa. And a much better massage than Bodia (but not as good as Massage for Health in Bangkok). Back once more to the Linga Bar for a martini or two to cap the day.

Coming Up: Siem Reap Day 3 (Overall Trip Day 6)

Thanks for such a detailed report on Siem Reap, absolutly fantastic, i am heading there from the 20th-27th of November and cannot wait.
We are staying at the Angkoriana Hotel also near the old markets.

Thanks so much for your most interesting report. How and where did you get Saron, your guide?? I am going to be in Cambodia from 28th Feb to 8th March - I have ONLY booked a flight so far - into Phnom Penh and then (after 2 days in PP) hope take a bus to Siem Reap. Have not booked any accomm. yet (need advice on where to stay) budget of $25 per night - intend to stay 3 full days in Siem Reap - is this enough? Then fly to Luang Prabang for 5 nights. Would be very grateful for any advice/help with trip.

And I plan to be in Siem Reep a few days earlier since I need to be in Bangkok on March 1. I, too, would like to contact your guide. He sounds wonderful.

Please give us contact info. Also, your trip report is great..thanks for the input

Firemansam - Thank you! I'm quite jealous of your trip. Hope you have a wonderful time!

SandraJoy - You can reach Saron at saron AT sarontours dot com. He also has a website http://www.sarontours.com.

Wonkyknee - I found Saron's name listed a few places online and I e-mailed him directly several months before we went and booked him. The bus from PP to Siem Reap will be easy - we took the Siem Reap to PP bus on the Mekong Express (there are other buses that run the same route)-it was $11 and overall a good trip. (AC and a bathroom on the bus.) I've got a card with a schedule on it. It on the card it says it leaves PP for Siem Reap at 7:30, 8:30, 12:30 and 14:00. I can't help much with the accommodations at that price point. There are several B&Bs listed on tripadvisor in that price range that seem to get good reviews - if people here can't help, you might try the Lonely Planet thorn tree.

In Phnom Penh we stayed at the Pavilion, which is closer to your price point, but I think their cheapest room is 40 or 50... It was really nicely located though.

Is three full days enough? I would have loved to stay longer and wish I had at least one more day there. But it really comes down to the balance of the rest of your trip...

Coming Up: Siem Reap Day 3 (Overall Trip Day 6)

I started the day at about 6:50am at the internet café around the corner from the hotel. The café seemed to officially open at 7, but by 6:45 the doors were open and they were setting up for business. Phone calls to the States ran about $1.50 6 or 7 minutes. The internet was inexpensive too – about 50 cents for 30 minutes. I sat next to a young man who was actively typing away sending lots of e-mail. When I got up to leave I couldn’t help but glance at his e-mail, “I love you. I miss you. I want to kiss you.”

Once again pick-up was at 8am. Saron had given us a few choices for our day and we had decided to make the trip out to Beng Mealea. There was an additional car and driver charge because of the distance, but when we read about Beng Mealea it appealed to both of us (or at least the Indiana Jones in both of us).

Driving out to Benh Mealea we passed a few villages, a few markets and the usual roadside commerce. We asked to pull over to get a better picture of a motorcycle fill-up station – the liter bottles of gas displayed by the side of the road. We noticed that roadside commerce was grouped by type – the sticky rice section of road, the dried fish section of road, etc. The drive was about 1 ½ hours and fortunately, there was a bathroom at the entrance for Beng Mealea. Beng Mealea has a separate entrance charge of $5 per person. We entered the temple through a lesser used side gate, climbing and scampering over fallen piles of moss covered stone. There was no one else in sight, and mosquitoes buzzed around us. It had a similar look to Ta Phrom, but the distance away from Siem Reap, the larger size and the damper stones made it feel incredibly remote and mysterious. It had the sense of space that Ta Phrom lacked. Once inside the temple, we found the usual tour groups, but Beng Mealea was still a little harder to get around, with standing water requiring hopping from stone to stone.

Returning from Beng Mealea we stopped at the Rolous Group, going to Preah Ko and Bakong. These were the oldest temples we saw and we were particularly interested in the brickwork and the inscriptions.

By this time it was after lunch and we were hungry and flagging. As much as we would have liked several more days in Siem Reap (and we weren’t templed out either!) we needed a breather. So, we let Saron and Mr. Lee know we were done for the day; we planned to go to the market and to, what else, the spa!

We had lunch at Khmer Kitchen so we could get some of that yummy Khmer soup again. Then we meandered through the market, TC looking for silk yardage and me just browsing. I might have been just browsing, but I ended up with quite a stack of scarves to take home as gifts. Bargaining was interesting. No one seemed to go down as much as 50% on their price, but each vendor’s starting prices varied widely for the same type of scarf. So, if I had a favorable starting price then I could negotiate to buy 3 or 5 and everyone was happy. TC found that a lot of the scarf shops had cases at the back with silk by the meter, so she was able to buy her raw silk by the meter. (And I got some too.)

Once we wrapped up at the market and took our things back to the hotel we went looking for a tuk-tuk. We had heard a lot of “tuk tuk lady?” and “tuk tuk?” over the past few days, after a couple of days of saying no, we finally did need a tuk tuk. The drivers all crowded around our chosen tuk tuk with our map to see if they could help figure out where we were going…. Our driver seemed keen to take us to his massage place, but we were set on Frangipani. We didn’t make reservations; we thought we’d just drop by and see what we could get. Once there I decided on the “After Angkor” package – a 60 minute aromatherapy massage and a 50 minute foot massage for $40. This was a real spa setting, with the massage and the foot massage done in a third floor treatment room that also had an incredibly long tub (8 foot?) and an outdoor rain shower on the balcony. The masseuse went straight from the massage right into the foot massage, so there wasn’t any transition time or waiting for a different person for the treatment. The whole thing was wonderful.

By the time we left Frangipani, it had gotten dark and Frangipani is on a very quiet street so we wandered over a few streets to a busier street and then had no problems catching another tuk tuk. We had dinner that night at Viroth’s. It was a fancier setting than the other restaurants we had been to in Siem Reap, but the food was just ok.

Finally it was back to the Linga Bar to our now regular chairs to end the evening with a martini. Bean from the Hotel Be Angkor came over for a chat and we settled our bill for our morning check-out from our bar stools. While we were at the bar there was a sudden down pour of rain and we were able to sit inside nice and dry while rain filled up and overflowed the gutter down the passage.

Coming Up: Siem Reap to Phnom Penh (Overall Trip Day 7)

>>>It may have been a couple of friends visiting their friend from out of town…. But that’s not where my mind went.<<<


Beautiful writing and thanks for taking the time to post, 'dreaming'. (Right up there, almost, with certain, all-time cherished SQTalk, 'TRs'.)

Keep up the good work, please kindly consider a certain Singaporean airline for your future flying needs (and a productive week of Asia business travel for all of you), and 'btw', any chance your 'nocturnal' Bangkok Peninsula moment occurred on floors 32 or 35? (All-time beloved Bangkok Peninsula business travel floors -- and deepest apologies for not revealing 'our' all-time favourite P floor.)

macintosh (robert)


but it ain't me babe/

(b. dylan)

for 13 days or so.. u did the touch and go, but
wow, you pulled it off it seems.

too quick and head spins, eh ?

ya, biz trips are like this too.

at least you did it, congrats and enjoyed all this...

so nice.

Macintosh - Thank you... And thanks to a Singapore Air promotion from LAX to Tokyo that tempted me into a previously unplanned trip, I'll be flying Singapore air (sadly, in coach) in February. We were on the 9th floor...

PassionSpirit - Thank you, the touch and go did work out for us. If we hadn't had the tailoring plans in HCMC I would have liked one more day in Siem Reap or on the Mekong and one fewer in HCMC.

With apologies for the delay. I've been sidetracked with an especially busy work week.

Siem Reap to Phnom Penh (Overall Trip Day 7)

We were booked on the 8:30 am bus from Siem Reap to Phnom Penh. Mr. Lee came and picked us up from Hotel Be at 8 to take us to the bus station. Parts of the bus station were still flooded from Typhoon Ketsana, but fortunately the Mekong Express was parked in a dry spot. Checking into the bus was like checking into a plane. They gave us claim checks for our luggage. Took our bus tickets and gave us the stubs, we got on the bus and the attendant showed us to our seats. The seats were somewhat narrow and there wasn’t much leg room at all. Not great, not horrible. For a little extra excitement though, my seat bottom wasn't fastened to any supports, so as we vibrated our way down the road the seat would occasionally slip off of the support and slide out from under me.

We were served water and a “snack hamper”, a small box with a “peanut cookie” and a “moncristo”, which seemed to be fried bread. The attendant made announcements throughout the trip in Cambodian and in English about items of interest we passed on the road.

The bus trip was interesting, seeing the countryside along the road. We saw more of the ongoing roadside commerce and were particularly interested by the stone carving vendors. Some were doing very sizable Buddhas. Homes varied from small wooden shacks on stilts to more sturdy looking brick and stucco homes. Once the bus trip started up, the TV screen started up, showing Cambodian Karaoke, lots of elaborately costumed women with men watching them, somewhat disturbingly more like stalking, from afar. It seemed like it was going to be terrible to listen to the whole time, but we were soon engrossed in watching a series that was telling the story of a girl, torn between two men. The story seemed to be told from the point of the view of one of the men and from the time jumping sequences, we knew it was going to end with a wedding, but not to which man. To our dismay, the DVD stopped working before we found out who she married… After that, they put on a movie.

TC tried out the restroom on the bus and said it was acceptable in appearance, but really hard to use as the bus swayed and bumped down the road. After a couple of hours, we had a rest stop in Kompong Thom. The roadside vendors at the side of the bus stop were the first vendors we found in Cambodia who weren’t willing to take dollars.

At the rest stop, the bus emptied out and flowed into the nearest large restaurant. We followed the flow and I joined the queue of women lining up for the restroom in the back of the restaurant. The line was long, but there was a way that the more savvy (or sneaky) were able to handle the line. It was middle ageish looking women and they’d sneak to the front of the line, indicating to anyone who protested that they were going to wash their hands at the sink. They’d wash their hands, when a stall opened up right behind them, they’d slide in. I finally got into a stall, used the restroom, then flushed and a gush of water flowed out of the back of the toilet onto the floor.

Back in the restaurant TC had gotten a table and the restaurant had gone from empty to completely full as the contents of another bus had emptied into the room. The waiters brought another woman, travelling alone, to join us at our table. Apparently we looked like we belonged together, as they also brought our check combined. TC, being braver or hungrier than I, ordered lunch and I got a coke. In a burst of activity, the restaurant turned everyone over in the ½ hour we had and we all flowed back out to the buses.

The next couple of hours disappeared in a blur of roadside until we arrived in Phnom Penh. Rain was pouring in Phnom Penh and there was a crowd of shouting tuk tuk drivers. We collected our bags (and needed to show our baggage claim tags). We popped into a travel agency at the bus stop thinking we’d try to order a taxi, as our bags were big and the tuk tuks small, but the agency recommended using the tuk tuks. Once we emerged, there was only one tuk tuk left. He charged $2 to take us to the Pavilion.

We had separate rooms again in the Pavilion; mine was directly above the lobby, looking out at the pool. I was a little concerned about noise from the lobby, but never heard anything. The room was airy and big. The bed had mosquito netting, but as some sort of crud dropped out of the folds when I put it down, I don’t think people used it often. I only saw one mosquito in the room, of course it was inside of the netting. He was slow moving and easily dispatched.

There was a safe and a blow dryer in the room, but there was no phone in the room and as they wouldn’t take a message when DH called, I gather they don’t take messages. There were 4 computers in the lobby with internet access for guest use (free).

We settled in and then headed out in the rain to see the Royal Palace, the Silver Pagoda and the temple of the Emerald Buddha. The silver pagoda was breathtaking with jeweled and decorated pieces. I don’t think we saw any of the silver floor. Most was covered with rugs, but wherever the floor was exposed it was silver tiles. Could that have been real silver? I had the impression of something underneath the tiles, as the tiles shifted and tilted underfoot. Perhaps the real silver was an underlayer?

Then we were off to the FCC for a couple of drinks and then dinner while watching the geckos eat and fight on the wall. Crossing the street on the way to the FCC was a scary experience after the relative quiet of Siem Reap. But it was only a warm up for HCMC.

We caught a tuk tuk outside of the FCC on the way back to the Pavilion. The driver lowered the side shades to keep the rain from getting in – fortunately because as we were driving down the street a man reached into grabbing toward TC. Perhaps her bag? And then we were past.

Coming Up: Phnom Penh (Overall Trip Day 8)

I'm really enjoying your report, sounds like a great trip, including the foot massages and the food.

Did I miss the date that you went? Your first post was Oct 29, had you just returned?

Looking forward to more of Phnom Penh.

Luisah - Thank you. We departed on Oct 12 and returned on the 26th...

Phnom Penh (Overall Trip Day 8)

We had breakfast at the Pavilion (included in the room rate) and mapped out our day. We were flying out on a 6:50 pm flight, needed to check out of the Pavilion by 11 and wanted to go to Tuol Sleng, Choeung Ek, and the Russian Market. The Pavilion front desk staffed suggested that we book a taxi for the day and they called and ordered one for us.

We checked out of the hotel, leaving our luggage for us to pick up later in the day. Our taxi arrived, but as our driver didn’t speak English, the dispatcher? coordinator? came as well. Narit went over our plan for the day with us, adding Friends Restaurant for lunch and then told the driver the outline of the day’s plan. If we had any difficulties or needed to change anything, we could ask the driver to call Narit and he would be the intermediary for us.

Our first stop was Tuol Sleng. We paid the entry fee and went in, paying an additional $6 for a guide. Tuol Sleng was heartbreaking. The stark black and white photos, so many children, all so young. Our guide had family who had been here and she told us their story. From Tuol Sleng, we drove out to the Choeung Ek Memorial, visited the memorial stupa, the grounds and watched the film.

We drove back into Phnom Penh and went to Friends Restaurant for lunch. Our driver called Narit and Narit let us know that the driver would pick us up a 2 in front of the National Museum – just a block down from Friends. I had tacos for lunch. I had been craving Mexican food for days and couldn’t pass up the tacos on the menu! The shell was a little stale, but otherwise, they were very yummy. From our window we could see kids playing at the Mith Samlanh center behind the restaurant.

From Friends we wandered next door to Friends n Stuff – the associated shop. Both Friends and Friends n Stuff benefit Mith Samlanh, a program for street kids. I bought a bunch of things at Friends n Stuff. Pencil cases and change purses made from rows of zippers sewn together, necklaces made from paper, etc. The zipper bags were a HUGE hit at home with the kids and were only a few dollars each.

We walked down to the National Museum and paid the admission and wandered through. Seeing statues and carvings from Angkor Thom and Banreay Srei was oddly unmoving, pulled from their natural environment, but at least they were safe at the museum.

Our driver picked us up promptly at 2 and we drove over to get our bags from the Pavilion. And to get our last look at the mini-frogs found on the walkways around the Pavilion pool. The frogs seemed like large dots, the size perhaps of an eraser on the end of a pencil. Then they’d jump and you’d realize it was a frog.

The Russian market was stifling hot and a maze of tight rows. We again found a few scarves to bargain over and I found some small embroidered silk purses to bring home. From the Russian market, we were off to the airport. Our driver dropped us off and we paid ($25 for the day was the prearranged price).

On arrival at the airport, our flight wasn’t checking in yet, but when we asked at one of the other counters they said it would start checking in soon. We spent $3 per bag to have our checked luggage wrapped in plastic wrap. The wrappers wrapped the entire bag and then used a box cutter to cautiously yet speedily cut out slots for handles, wheels, etc. Perhaps a flight where my bag wouldn’t take a beating!?

I had tried to book the Vietnam Airlines flight online, but kept having trouble with the website. So, I booked the flight through VietnamStay way back in February or so when I booked the Mekong cruise. I had checked back in with VietnamStay just prior to leaving home just to confirm payment details (paying in cash on arrival in HCMC), but I hadn’t asked them to confirm our flight.

When the counter opened for check in, we were first in line. And nearly the first words we heard were, “there’s a problem”. We had an itinerary with a confirmation code from the local agent’s office, but we didn’t have printed electronic tickets and the confirmation code wasn’t one recognized by the airline. And we weren’t on the passenger list for the flight. And the flight wasn’t on Vietnam Airways, that flight had been cancelled and passengers re-booked onto Cambodian Angkor Air.
The check-in staff tried a number of ways to find our booking, but couldn’t find us. We asked if there were seats available and yea! there were, but we’d need to buy a ticket for $110 each. US Dollars cash only. We were carrying cash to pay the travel agency, so we both had the money ready to go. When we asked for a receipt, they had to call a supervisor over. The supervisor kindly spent 40 minutes with us starting from the beginning, trying to find a record of us, looking to see if we might have been booked on a different day, etc.

Finally, we were on the short flight to HCMC. When we arrived in HCMC, we went to the Visa counter with our visa on arrival paperwork, our photos and our money. There were four of us from the flight getting on visas on arrival and it took a while (20 minutes?) to fill out new forms, wait for the paperwork to be processed before going through immigration and customs. By the time we were through, the terminal was virtually deserted. We found an ATM in the terminal and got some dong – we could only get the equivalent of about $70 USD from the ATM, the machine wouldn’t allow any more. The exchange places let us break a couple of larger dong bills into smaller bills with them.

From there we went outside and got a metered cab to take us to the Caravelle. We got in the cab and requested that he turn the meter on. He pressed a few buttons, making a few reassuring sounding beeps, but ending up with a starting balance on the meter. We were confused by the dong exchange rate and it took us a while to figure out the meter…. But he had left 108000 on the meter at the start. The total on arrival at the Caravelle was 184000, or about 10 dollars.

We checked into the Caravelle and got our room – a twin bedded room on the 20th floor with a river view – partially blocked by adjacent hotels, but still nice. The bellman seemed used to the wrapped luggage and quickly cut it off for us.

As it was late, we went to the Saigon Saigon bar on top of the old wing of the Caravelle for drinks and snacks for dinner. Drinks seemed expensive – 165000 for a cosmo martini. There was live music and the play was somewhat crowded for a Tuesday night. The band sang Spanish and American songs and had two female singers swishing their hips in skimpy catholic schoolgirl outfits. Neither the band nor the drink was great; but the window view and being in Saigon made up for it.

Coming Up: HCMC (Overall Trip Day 9)

Tuol Sleng sounds so grim but I think one has to visit such places to honor the victims.

I'm supposed to be in Phnom Penh next year so will make notes on your shopping (like the zipper change purses) at Friends and the taxi for a day for $25, that's seems very reasonable.

Will be watching for more on Saigon.

Hi,

May I know how much you paid for your Vietnam visa? Also, how much was that for Cambodia?

Thank you

Scomars - I paid a $22 to a travel agent to arrange for the visa on arrival letter. On arrival in HCMC I paid $25 for the visa. For Cambodia I got an eVisa through the Kingdom of Cambodia website (http://evisa.mfaic.gov.kh/index.php), which was $25 - $20 for the visa and $5 for the processing fee.

Thanks Dreaming for your reply and the link.

Oops! The link doesn't seem to work properly!

If you take off the ")" at the end of the link it should work. I meant to mention that the fees I paid were for single entry 30 day stays. Fees vary based on single vs multi entry and length of stay.

Dreamin - agree about the bar at the top of the Caravalle its a tad depressing but the view is ok. Did you make it to the top of the Rex? that bar made me feel sad that it could be so utterly awful

Thanks again, Dreaming.

Dreaming - we are considering changing our travel plans to include Phenom Phen. Did you think it was worth it for only two days? Did you feel you got in everything you had hoped to see? If we add Phenom Phen that would mean less time for Saigon and the Delta. Wondering how much time you think should be devoted to those areas.
Looking forward to the rest of your report!

anxious for more

Smeagol - I didn't make it to the Rex. TC made it there while I lay in bed with a cold and she was pretty low key about it when she came back.

Dgunbug - I saw on another post that you're have a full Vietnam itinerary. I'm not sure if I'd make the trip over to Phnom Penh just for PP. It's a pretty sobering place, but well worth a visit if you can fit it in. I was there for less than 30 hours, which isn't long to spend if you're going out of the way to get there. If you do add PP, you might consider going to PP, then taking the Victoria Hotel boat to Chau Doc (I think you need to stay at the hotel to use the boat though) and picking up your Mekong cruise from there. (I think you've already got the Mekong on your itinerary?)

So I'm falling behind with updating the Vietnam portion of this report... I did post a link to some of my Mekong photos on another thread and thought I'd add it here:

Some of my photos from the Bassac II are at this link: http://www.kodakgallery.com/gallery/creativeapps/slideShow/Main.jsp?token=723521800803%3A855959717

Includes a selection of photos of the boat, bedroom and bathroom, food, photos on the Mekong, etc.

Dreaming - we will probably forgo Phnom Penh and opt for an extra day in the Mekong Delta to further explore that area. We are also considering revising the travel plans to allow us to be in Hoi An during the lantern festival, although we are having great difficulty figuring out the date. I'm anxiously awaiting your report! Did you get to Chau Doc and if so, is it worth going that far coming from Saigon?

I didn't get to Chau Doc. We went from Phnom Penh to HCMC to the Mekong, back to HCMC and then home via Narita.

I wouldn't make any travel plans around this, but I found a Gregorian/Lunar conversion for 2010 here: http://www.hko.gov.hk/gts/time/calendar/pdf/2010e.pdf Which makes it appear that the 14th day of the 4th lunar month would be the 27th of May?

Dreaming - thanks for the calendar. Now we just have to figure out if the festival falls on the 14th or 15th day. We've read conflicting info.

Coming Up: HCMC (Overall Trip Day 9)

Trying to remember where I left off! Some of my info is going to get pretty sketchy, as I've let some time slip by and the details have drifted away.

We had some business to take care of on our first day in HCMC. We needed to go to Vietnamstay (aka Aurora Travel) and pay for our travel plans. You might remember that I booked our flight from Phnom Penh to HCMC as well as our Mekong Delta cruise through VietnamStay. We also wanted to find a tailor, as TC had some tunics and I had a couple of blouses we wanted copied.

We didn't have breakfast included in our room rate, so we went out looking for breakfast. We found breakfast directly catty corner the Caravelle... Lost in translation I order what I thought was a cheese and egg omelet, but turned out to be an egg and onion omelet. That was a strike out, but I fell for the cafe sua da.... Yum Yum!

Next we walked up to the Post Office & made some phone calls from little air conditioned booths, bought a phone card and noted that there were a bunch of different bank ATMS in other air conditioned booths.

We found our way to the VietnamStay offices - just a few blocks away. I was concerned that they would want to charge us for the flight that we had ended up paying cash for the night before. I think it was a good thing that I had gotten a receipt from the airlines for our payment. We ended up waiting - very comfortably and with a guest computer with internet access - for about 45 minutes while they researched what had happened with our flight. Once they determined what had happened (and that it was the airlines fault and not theirs) all was well, and we paid the remaining balance due. We also booked a Cu Chi trip for after our Mekong cruise.

We had two possible tailors. The concierge had suggested LaBella and the NY Times 36 hours in HCMC had suggested Tricia & Verona on Dong Du Street - one street over from the hotel. We stopped by Tricia & Verona and were happy with what we found, so didn't go any further. We handed over blouses that we wanted copied, spent some time finding fabric that we'd like and placed our orders. They took our measurements, deposits and scheduled our fittings for after our return from the Mekong and we were done. Their shop was modern looking (although orders were manually recorded in a large ledger and a client asking them to copy something off the internet was asked to print out a copy and bring it back) and busy - with men and women coming in - seemed to be mostly expat type business people? They had some lovely shirt materials for button down shirts.

Done with business, we were off to the market (could we possibly need another scarf?). We walked from Tricia & Veronas over to the Ben Thanh Market, risking life and limb crossing the crazy streets. Total strangers stopped to give me advice about crossing. Number one rule is never step backwards. We wandered the market looking at gaudy hair accessories, more scarfs, purses, shoes, etc. Turns out that I did indeed need more silk purses.

We had lunch at a stall in the center of the market. We looked for one that seemed busy and picked it - Ba Tam. I order Tam Bi Banh (25,000 dong) From the English translation, I was ordering shredded pork on special noodles with coconut creme. What came looked like big fat worm noodles with a gelatinous glop on the top. I pushed it to TC insisting it was hers, but alas, no suckers here. But, it was FABULOUS. And with the hot sauce, just incredible.

I bought some weasel coffee as a gift. The smell was surprisingly rich and promising. I vaguely noticed that they handed me a pre-packaged container - not a scoop from the small bin. In hindsight I probably should have asked to see them package it, as my brother gave both the smell and the final coffee a big thumbs down.

We wandered the streets from Ben Thanh, working our way to the Reunification Palace, got tickets and went through the security screening (please note, no bombs allowed). At this point it's seriously hot and I'm wilting. We made our way to the exhibit of photos in the basement where there is actually an air conditioner and I stood in front of it cooling down.

After the Palace we headed back toward the hotel, deciding to go for a massage. We had been handed flyers for massages all day, so we picked one near the hotel and found it. Senses Story Spa 54/1 Dong Du St. It was off of Dong Du down a short little alley. I got a 1 1/2 hour long foot massage while TC got a foot massage and a pedicure. The first sign that things might not be quite what we were expecting was when they had us change into shorts and t-shirts for the massage. It started off like a regular foot massage, but veered off sharply into sort of a push me pull you Gumby massage, where my masseuse was using his feet on the side of the chair to gain leverage to pull my body this way and that. At one point I was lying on my stomach and he was kneeling on the back of my thighs pulling back on my arms like I was Superman. Then, when TC starting getting a pedicure, I got a hot stone back massage. Not what I expected, but I melted into a relaxed puddle...

For dinner we set off looking for a place in one of the guidebooks. We didn't find it and ended up at a Pho 24 (again just around the corner from the Caravelle). Dinner was just ok - a little greasy, but filling and inexpensive.

Coming Up: Mekong Delta (Overall Trip Day 10)

So glad to see you back to finishing your report!

Hi Dreaming:

I'm off to BKK and Siem Reap on Feb 23..Thanks for all your info. My husband and I will be using Saron (sp?) as our guide in Anghor Watt, but we never connected with Tong for BKK. So we'll be using Ratt there....

I see you ended up buying phone cards. Did you need different ones for each country? And how many foot massages are too many? I take it you could still walk after the painful ones...Right?

We also go to HCMC, Hoi An and Hanoi...so looking forward to your next post.

i'm enjoying this

Thanks for continuing

Thanks to dgunbug, rhkkmk, Sandra and Leslie. I'm so glad someone is reading this!

Sandra - We needed different phone cards for Thailand and Vietnam. We were told we couldn't buy phone cards in Cambodia and used a phone/internet center to make calls. When my family called me from home, they used Skype.

As far as foot massages, I think you can tell from my report that I'd have one every day if I could! I don't like really painful massages, so I'd ask for gentle or "no pain" before they even started. It was still firm, just trying to avoid sheer pain. The massage at Bodia Spa was just bad and the next day was uncomfortable, but I was still able to walk.

I hope you enjoy Saron as much as we did. Please let us know how it went when you come back!

Mekong Delta (Overall Trip Day 10)

I've already given something of a run-down on the Mekong Delta cruise as a response to another post, so I'm cheating a bit and doing some copying and pasting with some modifications.

We booked the Bassac 1 night cruise through VietnamStay. They have on their website a 1 night cruise on the Mekong Eyes, but after I looked online at a number of the companies, I liked the Bassac better solely because it seemed like it had fewer cabins. Our itinerary departed Can Tho and ended in Cai Be on the Bassac II. Vietnamstay.com arranged for transport from the Caravelle Hotel to the boat in Can Tho and then for pick up in Cai Be returning to our hotel in HCMC.

We ate breakfast directly across from the Caravelle in an outdoor patio cafe and then went to meet our transport in the lobby of the Caravelle. And walked into chaos. The lobby was packed with all sorts of groups meeting busses, work groups, taxis, etc. It took us a while to find our driver, as he had been sent around the block while the hotel found us. Actually they didn't find us. After waiting, we went to the concierge and discovered him with a note with my name on it. Once we met up with our driver, all was well; but those 20 minutes or so we lost would have been nice to have later on.

It was about 4 hours to Can Tho in with a short restroom/ coffee stop on the way. A little more cafe sua da was just the ticket for me! We arrived in Can Tho and waited in some crazy back up for the ferry crossing. It went surprisingly fast. We arrive at the dock just past noon and departed on the Bassac II immediately. This was where I would have liked a few minutes to have a drink at the restaurant on the dock, or browse the shops, or just to breathe, but it was straight onto the boat - which was waiting for us to depart.

The boat was made of a beautiful wood and was quite sturdy. The rooms were small, but with adequate space for two people plus luggage. Twin beds were comfortable, could have used a blanket, but that's because we were blasting the AC! AC was a wall unit in each room with controls in the room. The bathroom was small, shower was a handheld faucet from the sink that could mount on the wall in between the sink and the toilet. I used it and it worked out fine, my travel companion decided to wait for our return to the hotel in HCMC. The shared spaces had comfortable lounge chairs.

The food was quite good. Some of the more notable were some incredible prawns in coconut milk at our first lunch; sauted pumpkin (?) flowers; jack fruit. The food was plentiful and good. Alcoholic drinks were extra and there was a full bar although the selection wasn't extensive. The food was served on the upper deck in a covered outdoor area. At night there were quite a few bugs swarming around the lights on the boat, but the tables were moved away from the lights that were on. I wore insect repellant and only got 1 bite on the boat... My travel companion didn't get any bites on the boat.

In the evening we visited a local village and sampled some of the local fruit. It was a small group from the boat - an English couple, a French family and us, with the boat manager, Ann, serving as our tour guide.

We anchored in the night and didn't have any issues with noise, although I should mention that I had earplugs in when I first just to bed just in case.

Mekong Delta (Overall Trip Day 11)

In the morning we transfered to a smaller boat, visited a floating market - which really didn't have much activity going on. It wasn't a tourist market though, and it was interesting to see the trade and life on the delta. We then went to Cai Be and visit a number of local industries - candy, rice crackers, fish sauce, etc. Very interesting to see the methods of production and get a feel for the area. We were picked up for our trip back to HCMC around 10 or 10:30 - I had originally thought the trip was longer and that we'd be returning to HCMC in the early evening.

If you're in the US and watched the Amazing Race this season, they had a stop on the Mekong - they stopped on the Bassac III, so you can get a glimpse of it on the show.

Up thread I posted a link to a couple of pictures from the cruise.

Enjoying your report!

I'm enjoying it also! Would you stay at the Caravelle again? What about the Pavillion in PP?

Do you think if time is short a one-day tour from HCMC to the Mekong Delta could be worthwhile?

Thanks for any advice.

I'm still reading as well and I have been looking forward to reading this account of your Mekong Delta overnight trip.

Leslie_S, we did the one-day trip from HCMC and found it...er...cheesy.

Yeah, I know that is probably mostly the case. I wonder if there are some versions that aren't so much so. I've read some good things about trips through Come & Go Vietnam - could be done for just the 2 of us and slightly off the beaten path. Maybe in that case it would be ok.

Marya - if not a one day trip any other thoughts? Would you have wanted to spend the night on a boat like dreaming did?

Leslie - you do not have to spend the night on a boat. You can stay in Can Tho at either the Victoria Can Tho if you want luxury or any number of other hotels. The boat idea certainly sounds like fun though.

Thanks. Looking forward to reading the rest of your report.

Cheers

Dreaming - Where's the last two days? You left us hanging!

My apologies for leaving you hanging dgunbug! I was trying to finish the report before my trip to Japan, but just couldn't make it happen. So, now I'm back from Japan and will try to wrap it up.

Leslie - I would stay at either the Caravelle or the Pavilion again... but I'd be more likely to check for other options in HCMC. The Caravelle was nice and nothing wrong with it, but it was a typical hotel. The Pavilion was a little more unique. Not a 4 star hotel, but a nice, clean place in a good location. I wouldn't hesitate to stay there again.

You've already gotten some feedback on the

Whooops. Don't know what I pressed, but I somehow submitted that too soon! Leslie - you've already gotten some feedback on the 1 day Mekong trip... I wouldn't do it. There would be a lot of time on the road and I don't believe you'd experience what I liked most about the Mekong - which was just watching life go by... Not the tourist stops, but just watching day to day business on the river.

Mekong Delta/HCMC (Overall Trip Day 11)

Our driver from VietnamStay picked us up at the pier in Cai Be. We were able to use a rest room at the pier prior to the drive back, but needed some small change to pay the fee for the toilet. I think it was 1000 or 2000 dong...

The drive back was 1 1/2 to 2 hours to HCMC and we returned back to the Caravelle. We checked in and they even gave us the exact same room that we had before! This time we had gotten a weekend rate that included breakfast and a 6 pm checkout on our last day - which was terrific, as we had a night flight out.

We had a western lunch at Al Fresco's on Du Dong Street, just around the corner from the hotel and just down the street from the tailor. After lunch we stopped by the tailor - they weren't expecting us until the next day as we had thought we were getting back to HCMC in the evening. But they had a tunic for TC to try on & while I was waiting I ended up ordering a couple more shirts.... Like a kid in a candy store, I just couldn't resist.

We rested in the hotel for a bit, then decided to try to see the Puppet Show at the Golden Dragon Puppet Theater (another thing that was shown on The Amazing Race.) We left the hotel around 6 for the 6:30 show... and our taxi driver couldn't find it! TC finally pulled out a map and when we got close we had the driver drop us off. He refused to take the full fee on the meter, which was nice. So, we got to the theater just before showtime and bought our tickets. We were in the next to last row of the theater. The moment the show started, everyone in the seats in front of us lifted their digital cameras to take photos - it was like looking at a sea of digital cameras. Fortunately, no one sat in the last row, so we were able to stand for most of the performance.

It was interesting, but we didn't understand what was happening and we didn't have the best view. In hindsight, had we booked our tickets earlier we could have gotten better seats and if you're interested in watching the show, you can see the program here http://www.goldendragonwaterpuppet.com/Programme.asp which gives some idea of what is going on.

After the show, we walked over to Quan An Ngon. The location had moved from the address listed in the New York Times 36 hours in HCMC and is now on Pasteur in a fabulous airy two story house. There wasn't much of a line when we arrived at we went straight upstairs to a table. It was busy, a little chaotic, but service was pretty quick. I had some sort of chicken pho, which I wasn't crazy about and some sticky rice with shredded pork which was fantastic. With the usual lime soda this was fabulous. We also got the che suong sa hot luu as recommended by the NYTs and enjoyed it as well.

We left to walked back to the hotel and were caught just around the corner from the restaurant in a downpour. One minute there were just a few drops of rain, the next minute the streets were mini rivers! We hid under an awning until we caught a cab and were completely soaked in the few seconds we were lowering the umbrellas to get into the cab!

That was it for the day.

Up Next: Cu Chi Tunnels (Overall Trip Day 12)

Cu Chi Tunnels Day 12

We booked our trip to the Cu Chi tunnels through VietnamStay. We had also checked with our hotel about booking through them. The hotel's price was more than double VietnamStay's - but they would have taken us in a Mercedes! The Mercedes not being important to us, we chose VietnamStay. We had talked to both the hotel and VietnamStay about booking the tour to include the Cao Dai temple. Both suggested not including the temple as they thought the amount of driving involved was too much.

We started off the day with the hotel buffet breakfast - which was excellent. Wide variety of choices, great coffee, etc.

Our guide, Vins, and our driver picked up us in the morning, 8 or 8:30 ish for the drive out to the tunnels. Vins was well spoken, with excellent English, and was a interesting guide for the day. The driver, however, would cyclically press the accelerator so we had a nausea inducing ride.

The tunnels were crowded with tourists, but somehow Vins took us off of the usual pattern and avoided the majority of the crowds. TC actually ran into someone that she knew from work at the tunnels, one of those small world stories.

I had thought that going into the tunnels would be something like going into a cave, with a nice pleasant drop in air temperature. Nothing like it. Not only was it low, narrow, curving and tight, but it was hot and muggy. Hard to imagine just how miserable it would have been during the war. Especially once you had a good look at the variety of traps placed in and around the tunnels.

We did go to the shooting range and fired an AK-47. For ear protection they gave us a pair of headphones, but we had been forewarned and had brought along some earplugs as well. So, if you plan to use the firing range, do bring earplugs.

After the tunnels it was back to HCMC.

We didn't get back to HCMC until 1:30 ish. So, it was back to the tailors for another fitting. A couple of TC's shirts were done and a couple of mine were ready for a fitting. None of mine were ready in the first fitting (they weren't expected to be) - one needed to be let out a bit, the button up shirts needed buttons placed, etc. We arranged to have everything ready for pick up the next day at 3, although we did mention to them that we wouldn't be leaving HCMC until after 8pm.

Since it was late for lunch, we decided to have the Afternoon Tea at the Caravelle. The Caravelle offered an English selection or a Vietnamese selection for the tea - we both decided on the English selection. And it was SO good... a great selection of mini sandwiches and scones and treats. All for about US$10. People watching was quite good in the Lobby Lounge as well, as there are large windows to the street - so you can watch outside and in...

I wasn't feeling well, so I went to rest, which TC went out to the War Remnants Museum.

For dinner we went back to Quan An Ngon. This time we went to the seafood section of the menu and ended up with a number of shrimp items and some fresh spring rolls. This time it was much more crowded. Parties of three were being squeezed into tables clearly meant for two, but no one seemed to mind. The service was off as well, our drinks came near the end of the meal. But all in all, it was a yummy dinner. It rained again the moment we left the restaurant. This time we took a cab right from the start!

Back at the Caravelle we went to the Martini Bar on the third floor. Martinis without the views that Saigon Saigon had, but a better Martini and about 1/2 the price.

Up next Last Day in HCMC (Overall Trip Day 13)

Still loving your report. Glad you enjoyed your time in Vietnam. We will be spending 3 full days in the Mekong on our own, staying in Can Tho the entire time and taking day trips on our own from there. (Hope we are not making a mistake!) I was hoping to hear about the temple as we want to go there on the day of the tunnel tour. Did they tell you how much further the temple is?

Just wondering, now that you are back home, are you enjoying the clothes you had made?

Hope you enjoyed Japan. Was the trip for pleasure or business? I envy all of you that are able to make multiple trips in one year!

Dgunbug - When do you leave? Isn't it soon?

I can't remember just what they said about how far it was, but I think it was 4+ hours to get to the temple. We decided that we didn't want to spend that long in the car. I'll look forward to your feedback if you make it there.

Funny about the clothes. I had 6 blouses made. I've worn 2 of them (same pattern) repeatedly. To the point where I wish I had the same blouse made into a second all black one and another material as well. The other 4 I haven't worn at all. Part of that is that they are really spring/summer blouses and it's cool here - but I'm in So CA, so I could pretty much wear them year round.

Japan was for pleasure! Don't be jealous, I usually can only make one big trip a year, but with the economy work has been very slow. So this year I have more time than usual (and consequently less money!).

Much love your report! I assume the Mekong delta wasn't the last destination in Vietnam? Thank you.

Dreaming - we leave May 6th. Can't wait already. Feels like we've been planning this trip forever. Now we must start thinking about where to go next.

thanks for tieing things up nicely

Thanks for a great, detailed report!

Thanks for the feedback on the Caravelle, dreaming. I'll keep looking for a Saigon hotel.

I know the basic (cheaper) 1-day delta trips are very tourist-trappy and all go to the same area so you have crowds, etc. I've seen a couple of posts on TA about guides who take you to a different location - off the usual path. Might make the 1 day there worthwhile.
I guess the question would be if it's 1 day or nothing would you go?
Also, I've been reading about a new highway that just opened this month that cuts a significant (?) amount of time off travel from Saigon.

Thanks again for your report & advice.

Leslie - Yes, I'd still go even if it's one day trip to the Mekong. I'd want to see what I could even if the trip was a little crazy.

I wonder if the new highway is the bridge that eliminates the need for the ferry in Can Tho?