Great start. I look forward to reading more as you go along, especially since we leave for china in 1 week.

DAY 2 Shanghai
Visited Tian Zi Fang. It is a cute market area formed by small alleys in the middle of old buildings, lots of little cute shops and cafes. My favorite place in the city. In here we found th ebest burger in Shanghai called - New York Style Burger. really good! it's located in the end of a tiny little alley... good luck in finding it.

that is all i got for china, we are in Siem Reap right now!! amazed on how warm people are. it's night time, so exploring will start tomorrow.
HOTEL : Golden Temple.

can you tell us anything more about china eastern...? i wondered why they offered cheaper flts to china from nyc.

i am flying them from HK-Xian-shanghai-bkk

Glad that you share your China experiences here, looking forward to visit the place too thanks for making some introductions about the place.

Glad that you are enjoying your SE Asia trip! Thank you for posting your report. We will be staying at the Golden Temple in Siem Reap in January. What can you report about the hotel? Is there anything we should know or request in advance? Continue to enjoy every day of your exciting travels. Again, many thanks for your report.

@rhkkmk china eastern flight from NYC-Shanghai is with an old Airbus... the ones with no TV..
i guess hence the cheaper rate. food was ok, so was the service.

Golden Temple Hotel has been very nice. The people here are soooo sweet! They sent a driver to pick us up at airport, and welcomed us in the hotel with cold wet towels, ice lemon tea and snacks. They also offer complementary massages... and are ready to make any tours reservations you might need. The hotel itself is cute, comfortable, not luxury. but good value for price. forgot to mention 1hour massage = $5 dollars!!! wow!

DAY 3
Today we took 2 tuk tuk (we are a group of 4) and a guide to visit Angkor. all promptly arranged by the hotel. Angkor is beautiful. we spend all day visiting the various temples (definitely crowded, but you just have to deal with it).
back to hotel by 5pm, then pool, massage, and off to the old market for some dinner( Angkor Palm restaurant) shopping (flowy pants $6) and the amusing FISH pedicure! must do, so fun!

hope you r enjoying reading... i like to keep it brief.

QUESTION??
i want to visi a floating village tomorrow..
Kompong Khleang or Kompong Pluk?

DAY 4
Kompong Pluk

So I tried to get more opinions on which of the 3 floating villages was the best to visit. In the end we were very happy we chose Kompong Pluk.

We brought our tour guide from yesterday with us! He is so funny, and sweet, such a nice person, he made our day that much more unforgettable.
After 25 min CAR drive, and some dirt roads, we arrived at a small village where we jumped in our mode of exploration for the day - a boat. There are many boats waiting for tourists here.. which worried me at first.. but we really didn't feet the tourits at all.

As the boat sails up the flooded fields, about 4 meters deep, crossing other boats going to and coming back from the floating village, we watch all the cute kids so free playing with their siblings, cousins, friends, mostly naked ,like they don't even know the difference.

Its truly entertaining and we took some great photos as the houses on stilts started to show up. then we exchange our big boat for 2 small boats, and local ladys helped us row thru and between the village and thru the flooded forest.

Back to the big boat, and a visit to Tonle Sap lake.. we adventure ourselves to lunch at one of the three restaurants on stilts in the village. what can i say? The best Fish Amok I ever had!! WOW!
it was such a Lucky Find!!

It sounds like you are having a great time!

There are about 8 tables in the restaurant, and we were the only ones there, which made it all just more personal. I tiptoed inside the "kitchen" and watched the older lady kill the fish, clean it, pick the herbs and cook the tastiest meal.

RICE FIELDS

The plan was to stop at Roulous Group temples on our way back to the hotel... but instead we asked the guide if we could go inside a rice filed plantation and see how it is.. he did better than that..
Off to an even smaller dirt road, we almost got stuck! haha.. expected with all the mud underneath us... Then we see a group of people working at a rice field, we stop the car and offer ourselves to help. The best Idea ever!

The locals ( grandparents, parents, kids, neighbors ) were all working together and laughing at us, amused with our clubbiness! And sure happy to have got some free extra help.
It was so much fun!! We learned how to pick the crops, and got all muddy! It felt sooo good!

I must say, this is NOT part of any tour... but we were so happy, i think the guide will start adding this experience to his tours..

Wow...sounds like a great trip...your adventures sounded wonderful.

Sounds like you've started a trend! We will now see all sorts of rice harvesting tours.

DAY 5
Today we decided to make it a easy day... starting with a cooking class in the hotel. My mom, sister and I made a variety of local food from scratch - including the paste for the Amok! came out delicious.
The afternoon we spent wondering, shopping thru the various markets. we hired a Tuk Tuk driver to take us around from one market to the next. Fun.

in regards to food. if you are looking for a western option, i suggest Cafe Central and Blue pumpkin... as many of the ones in previous cited lists and reviews are closed, or not really happening anymore.... those options are safe and good bets.

DAY 6

SUNRISE at Angkor Wat
My sister and I were the only ones willing to wake up at 4am for the "extra" photo.
By 5:30am we had found a good spot to photograph the magnificent Angkor Wat. Don't fool yourself.. it was soooooo full of tourists!! everybody wants this beautiful shot.. and it can get a little nasty.. people pushing for a good spot.. not so nice to deal with that early nor in such peaceful place... however, everyone seemed happy in the end, despite the clouds that hid the sun.

This was our last day in SR... I will specially miss all the sweet people in this country.

Our next stop: LUANG PRABANG
Hotel: Le Palais Juliana

Still reading along and enjoying.

thank you @dgunbug.

DAY 7
INTRO to LP

coming from cambodida, i could quickly notice Luang prabang is a mre developed city... there is more money here, better education and less poverty. The scenery is beautiful, it reminded me of a country side town up on the hills near home in Brazil.
A little cooler then SR.. and less chaotic.

Le Palas Juliana is a beautiful hotel, tucked away in the nature. Beautiful rooms! its a peaceful retreat.
However you need a 5 tuk tuk to get to the main street, where all the action is happening.

We chose to spend our first day here exploring the town... such a charming place! the mix of beautiful Buddhist architecture, monks and novices, with cute french cafes, and so many arts and crafts makes this place truly special. We spent all day walking around, talking to locals, eating , shopping, taking beatific photos.. and we planning the upcoming day tours!

RESTAURANTS i suggest:
L'Elephant
Tamnak Lao

Glad to hear you are enjoying LP.

DAY 8
SWIMMING with ELEPHANTS.

We booked 2 tours with a company in the main street. And def got a very good price for that!
Today's tour included: tuk tuk ride to Tad Se Waterfall, 40 min elephant riding, 20 min elephant bathing ,plus a few add ons.

And my biggest advise is, SKIP the elephant ride. It's just not pleasurable, uncomfortable, the elephant seemed unhappy, i felt guilty the whole time..
Swimming on the other hand was a great experience, the elephants were free in the waterfall pool, and we just holding on to them.
It was an unforgettable experience. Another tip: make sure you get an elephant for yourself to swim with... you have a chance to connect w this friendly playful sweet animal.
I personally payed and went for a second swim, because the first time i shared with my boyfriend.

On the way back Tuk Tuk driver took us to Ban Phanon, a villade devoted to creating textiles like the ones you see at the night market. Great place to buy gifts.
We also drove to Ban Had Hian, a blacksmith village. However there was nothing to see... the villagers claimed they had stopped working.

Dinner at the main street.. and a good night of sleep.

DAY 9
BUDDHA CAVE & WHISKEY VILLAGE

Today's tour included a slow boat 2 hour ride until the Pak au Caves, plus a stop at the Whiskey village on the way back.
I'm so glad I woke up with with the urge to find out if there was a fast boat. It was the best decision i made so far; a fast 30 min fun boat ride saved the day. I worn you: The Buddha cave ca be disappointing, specially after a 2 hour boat ride.
The whiskey village was not what i expected... the village today is more about the weaving and selling of beautiful scarfs then about the whiskey.

The afternoon we spent having lunch in town, getting a massage and shopping at the night market. All gifts - checked!!! I love this market!

DAY 10

MONK PROCESSION + fly to Bangkok.

Last day, you gotta do this. Wake up at 5am, choose a spot on the main street, buy offerings, sit down, and wait for the endless line of monks and novices pass by.
A women must be sited to offer food, a man can stand. I wonder if I could have given something else besides sticky rice and fruits... Would they have liked to received chocolate bars??
An interesting thing i noticed: after i filled up the monks "basket" (don't know the official term) he nearly emptied it out by giving it away to some kids who were begging for food.
The entire cycle happens right in front of you. The local women sell you food, you give to the monks, they give to the local kids, who bring back to the home.
Tourists helping the economy I say.. Regardless, its a nice experience, worth doing, and seeing. Got some great photos!
Thank you Luang Prabang for the great time. Would love to come back here.

Bangkok - off we go!
Hotel: Shangri la
Dinner: Zanotti

DAY 11
Bangkok city

We spent the day visiting palaces and temples plus getting Suit made to measure.
Siam Paragon Mall is a good place for lunch, the selection at the food court is huge! and quality very good too.

At night we had a reservation at the famous SIROCCO at Lebua tower. Def beautiful view, and worth going for a drink.. dinner on the other hand was def overpriced...

Traffic is very BAD in Bangkok, if possible avoid moving around by taxi or tuk tuk, opt for the skytrain.

Nice report. Glad you enjoyed yourself so much. We are in Beijing now, getting ready to go to Great Wall.

DAY 12 Train Market and Floating Market.

Make sure to visit the Train Market at the right time!! The train only passes 2 or 3 times a day. Worth seeing! incredible. i will warn you of the terrible smell in the mkt!

The floating mkt on the other hand was a bit of disappointment, very touristic.. and if you do go, make sure to arrive before 2 pm. by the time we got there, almost everything was closed.

DAY 12 Koh Phi Phi

so happy the day finally arrived. We arrived in Phuket at 2 pm, we rushed to the pier since the last ferry is scheduled to depart at 2:30pm. after the taxi driver made some phone calls, he assured us the ferry would wait. And it did! we disembarked at Ton Say bay, where we took a long tail boat to the hotel - PHI PHI ISLAND VILLAGE RESORT.

Wow! so beautiful, warm welcoming with a virgin pina colada and off to our private bungalow on the beach front! Romantic? Oh Yes!

The ocean is so warm, and quiet, easy night at the hotel.

DAY 13 THANK YOU FODORS!!!
Ton Say village - Yuk!!!

My boyfriend had been to phi phi years ago, and insisted we should stay in the Ton Say Village, however after reading many reviews here in fodors I opposed him and booked us at PPIV. We are both so glad with the outcome, after a 25 min long-tail boat ride to the village, all we found was sooooooo many tourists packed on top of each other in a dirty environment, fogging all the natural beauty of this Island. Lesson learned, back to our side of the island! THANK YOU

We had a great afternoon, by the pool, reading a good book, sipping a magnificent coconut dream cocktail

DAY 14 MAYA bay and snorkeling

We took the hotel's tour: speed boat, with other 3 couples, total of 5 hours. GREAT!
We stopped at several beautiful places, including where "The Beach" was filmed. Some places we snorkeled, other cliff diving, swimming, feeding monkeys, lunch. Nicest day. I recommend.

we still got back to the hotel in time to enjoy the pool, a couple of drinks and a nice couples massage.

I'm glad your stay on PhiPhi worked out so well. Enjoy paradise.

Gabi,

Did you manage to see any Takraw matches? Glad to hear that you had a good trip and look forward to more of your report and perhaps even pictures!

No... unfortunately our days in bangkok were so busy... at night we were exhausted to go look for them... that's one i'll have to come back for.

I'm glad you are enjoying the report. how should i share the pics?

I was just joking knowing that you're a model! But if you don't mind sharing then there are web site such as www.flickr.com or http://picasa.google.com or paid website such as http://www.smugmug.com where you can upload your travel photos to share with other travellers.

DAY 15 PING PONG

Today was a merely transition day, to catch our early flight tomorrow to Hanoi.
We stayed at the Millenium Hotel, near all the mess in Phuket.
What can I say? Phuket is a cheesy town... full of bars, single men, and local women offering themselves.
After we heard so much about the ping pong show, I convinced my bf to watch it with me.. we were taken to this small bar with a stage, and few tables. Hummm.. it's not sexy! I assure you of that. it's more like nasty and awkward. At least now I know.

The more people who go to these places the more unscrupulous business owners are encouraged to seek out desperate women to shame themselves for money. The lesson here is not to attend such shows in the first place.

With three (3) weeks why are you excluding Bali and or Java. Very cdifferent cultures and in Java some of the worlds most phenomenal 8th and 10th Century temples and a sunset and sunset at Mt. Bromo m\that can trump any other I have seen in 45 years of travel.

I think you are lost Stan!

Read this too fast as a plan not as a recent experience. Only question then is why did you preclude Bali or Java when you had 21 days to travel. just curious.

Just read this: "The local women sell you food, you give to the monks, they give to the local kids, who bring back to the home."
No you don't "gotta do this",(sic), at all. The food that is sold is usually of poor quality; further the monks do this to get food. It is not a circus which tourists have turned it into. I would not take part unless you are a Buddhist and it means something to you. by the way, you can see the same in any city in Lao; I pass at least 5 Tak Bats every day on the way to work.

Vientianeboy. I did not mean to offend. The Tak Bats was beautiful to see and photograph. As a first time tourist you do not know what to expect.
I believe you gotta go and see, i agree with you, you don't have to give offerings. I correct myself.
However I don't see any harm done. The monks and novices receive so much food, they share with the local kids, they keep enough for themselves, nothing wrong with that.

I did wonder why everybody gave sticky rice... we took fruits and we had some granola bars... they liked those.

StanKase
Indonesia is definitely high on my list. I have always wanted to visit, hopefully it'll be my next trip destination.

DAY 16 17 18
Originally this was supposed to be the end of our trip, but there was a small change of plans, and we got 3 extra days in Asia.

HANOI
We stayed at Silk Path Hotel, located in the old quartes. I def recommend. its a beautiful boutique hotel, located in the most fun part of Hanoi.
We loved it. This maze of narrow streets, that is just so fun to walk through and get lost. I used my "googlemaps on the iphone a lot!!!"

Each street seems to focus on selling one kind of merchandise, I read that this is actually how the streets were named. the slik street, the metal street...
The facade of the buildings are so narrow, its cute, it seems that this was the way the developers got away with paying less real state tax, as they were charged according to the width of the building facing the streets.

And there are many many little Vietnamese cafes, with their little "child size" style of tables and stools outside. We used to sit down to take a break from the madness and have a a fresh juice or coffee. (if you order coffee with milk, you'll get a strong filter coffee with a litte bit of condensed ilk. Its yummy, and thats hoe mist people drink it, either hot, or iced).

And never the less, its amazing to sit and watch the traffic!!! HA! Countless motorbikes driving in every direction you can think off, mixed with some cars, cyclos, bikes and pedestrians. The traffic is crazy but surprisingly it flows so well, like water.

We rented a scooter ourselves! I give it up to my boyfriend for handling the traffic so well, just like a local. it was a great way to see Hanoi.

I didn't think much of the french quarter... and The Water Pupet Show can be missed.

I do recommend Caphe129 for breakfast, and Green Tangerine for lunch or dinner, Quan An Ngon for lunch.

and try the street food! we had the bbq style, it was delicious i got adventured and tried the frog

And not to forget, the Art! wow... so many beautiful paintings... we have a new addition for our house in NY.

oops... Forgive me for the spelling mistakes..
and be easy on me, since it was my first trip report ever...

The trip was wonderful! I hope the report can help others plan their future trips.
I will be happy to help. Thank you.
Gabi

Great report, what did you do each day in Hanoi? Doesn't need to be detailed, thanks.

shanghainese.

DAY 1 we arrived at hotel in the afternoon, so we just walked around the area (old quarter) found a coffee shop, watched the traffic, and came back to the hotel, later we went for dinner at a restaurant called Cafe de Paris, good food.

DAY 2, we looked for Ahn Hoa bakery and bought breakfast then picked up the scooter we rented thru the hotel, and just drove around. I was co pilot. It was a great way to get a good understanding of the city, the different neighboorhoods.. we found a guide in front of the Palace, who drove in his own scooter leadind the way around town.. we learned a bit more about the history and culture. he took us over the bridge, and back etc.. Lunch at Quan An Ngon.
the afternoon we just walked around the old quarter again, did some souvenir shopping, got a massage, stopped for more coffee.. those fun things. At night we went to the water pupet show, which i would pass, and we had street food for dinner.

DAY 3, breakfast at hotel, and if i remember correctly, we stayed in the old quarter, doing more of the same, shopping for Art, Lunch at Green Tangerine.

DAY 4, we had to leave the hotel at 12:30pm. So we just went for breakfast at Caphe 129. from the outside it looks like every other coffee shop there, but the food is western style, and it was yummy.

Many thanks, really appreciate it, so happy you are having great fun.

you are welcomed. i'm back in NY already... trip was great. are you going to Hanoi?

Would love to, it sounds like great fun, just don't know when.

Are you affected by Sandy?