JMJD's BKK, Hanoi, Siem Reap Trip Report!
Feb 27th, 2008, 04:24 AM
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JMJD's BKK, Hanoi, Siem Reap Trip Report!
Thanks for all your helpful advice over the past months! My husband and I just returned from a fabulous trip.
PART 1: BKK- Second time's a charm!
I was last in BKK 6 years ago and to be quite honest, I didn't love it. Interesting, yes, but the pollution was unbearable for me and the stifling June heat left me feeling as if the oxygen had been sucked out of the air. I didn't have high hopes for this visit. In fact, my initial plan was to spend a night at the airport hotel and fly out to hanoi the next morning. However, we were fortunate enough to be able to use miles for two business class tickets on Thai for the JFK - BKK flight and it left us with one extra night. Since my husband has never been to Asia, I decided that I shouldn't deprive him the opportunity of seeing BKK and so we had two nights and one full day there. Yes, I know that one full day is not nearly enough time for such a large city. But sonsidering that we only had 12ish days for our trip altogether, it was the best we could do.
Our flight in business on Thai was good. The seats are called "lie flat" but have are slightly angled, which my husband found more uncomfortable than I did. The food was pretty good and the flight went by pretty fast considering that it was 17 hrs.
We stayed at the Peninsula and splurged on the hotel car service. It was really nice having someone from the hotel waiting for us after such a long flight. Traffic was bad at that time of day so the driver dropped us off at the Pen Pier so we could get to the hotel faster and our luggage followed by car. We thought the hotel was gorgeous. Truly 5 star and one of the nicest we've ever stayed in. We had a balcony room with a beautiful view. Our 1st night there was Valentine's Day. We were exhausted and decided to forgo a fancy expensive dinner so followed your recommendations and went to Harmonique. We thought the food was excellent (don't miss the coconut sticky rice!) And the restaurant was quite lovely with it's gardeny look. On our way back to the Pen there were a lot of police on the street and they made us stop and the King passed by in his motorcade!!! It was a very rxciting introduction to the city. Back at the Pen we had a chocolate buffet for desert (a special offering for Valentine's Day).
The next morning we woke up early to make the most of our day. Had breakfast at the hotel and took a water taxi from the Oriental pier to the Grand Palace (pier). We got a bit confused with which white boat we were looking for and mistakenly got on a tourist water taxi which charged more for the tickets, but it wasn't a huge price difference and still got us to the right pier. We spent a few hours in the grand palace complex and loved it. After, we went over to the Amulet Market, which is filled with stall after stall of amulets. It was an amazing experience to walk through this market, probably one of our favorites of the trip. It seemd as if we were definitely among the few, possibly the only farangs there.
After the market, we walked to Wat Pho where we saw the reclining Buddha and walked the temple complex, which was really pretty peaceful. Somehow I missed Wat Pho on my first BKk trip and its really a magnificant sight that I do not think should be missed. We returned to our hotel for lunch and had dim sum at the Chinese Restaurant, which was quite good. After lunch we took a taxi to Wat Arun, which we loved and also don't think should be missed. We got back to the Pen in the early evening and spent an hour at the pool (too cold to swim in for us) and had dinner at Thiptara at the Pen. Ambience was great but food imo was just so-so. Would have loved to go to a night market but it was late and we needed to leave at 5 am the next morning for our flt to Hanoi.
We LOVED bkk!! What a difference from my first time there. The weather was warm and not humid, the pollution didn't seem nearly as bad, the hotel was wonderful, etc. For anyone who is worried about the Pen being on the "wrong side" of the river, I would not be concerned. We liked that the hotel looked out onto the city and found it quite nice to take the Pen boat the short ride across the river to pick up the other water taxis or to go out for dinner, etc. If you have more than one day to spend it would be great, but I really do think that even one full day is worth doing. We had a great day and didn't feel too exhausted or rushed at the end. Can't wait to go back one day and spend more time!
More to come over the weekend... Stay tuned for Part 2: Is the weather ever just right in Hanoi?
PART 1: BKK- Second time's a charm!
I was last in BKK 6 years ago and to be quite honest, I didn't love it. Interesting, yes, but the pollution was unbearable for me and the stifling June heat left me feeling as if the oxygen had been sucked out of the air. I didn't have high hopes for this visit. In fact, my initial plan was to spend a night at the airport hotel and fly out to hanoi the next morning. However, we were fortunate enough to be able to use miles for two business class tickets on Thai for the JFK - BKK flight and it left us with one extra night. Since my husband has never been to Asia, I decided that I shouldn't deprive him the opportunity of seeing BKK and so we had two nights and one full day there. Yes, I know that one full day is not nearly enough time for such a large city. But sonsidering that we only had 12ish days for our trip altogether, it was the best we could do.
Our flight in business on Thai was good. The seats are called "lie flat" but have are slightly angled, which my husband found more uncomfortable than I did. The food was pretty good and the flight went by pretty fast considering that it was 17 hrs.
We stayed at the Peninsula and splurged on the hotel car service. It was really nice having someone from the hotel waiting for us after such a long flight. Traffic was bad at that time of day so the driver dropped us off at the Pen Pier so we could get to the hotel faster and our luggage followed by car. We thought the hotel was gorgeous. Truly 5 star and one of the nicest we've ever stayed in. We had a balcony room with a beautiful view. Our 1st night there was Valentine's Day. We were exhausted and decided to forgo a fancy expensive dinner so followed your recommendations and went to Harmonique. We thought the food was excellent (don't miss the coconut sticky rice!) And the restaurant was quite lovely with it's gardeny look. On our way back to the Pen there were a lot of police on the street and they made us stop and the King passed by in his motorcade!!! It was a very rxciting introduction to the city. Back at the Pen we had a chocolate buffet for desert (a special offering for Valentine's Day).
The next morning we woke up early to make the most of our day. Had breakfast at the hotel and took a water taxi from the Oriental pier to the Grand Palace (pier). We got a bit confused with which white boat we were looking for and mistakenly got on a tourist water taxi which charged more for the tickets, but it wasn't a huge price difference and still got us to the right pier. We spent a few hours in the grand palace complex and loved it. After, we went over to the Amulet Market, which is filled with stall after stall of amulets. It was an amazing experience to walk through this market, probably one of our favorites of the trip. It seemd as if we were definitely among the few, possibly the only farangs there.
After the market, we walked to Wat Pho where we saw the reclining Buddha and walked the temple complex, which was really pretty peaceful. Somehow I missed Wat Pho on my first BKk trip and its really a magnificant sight that I do not think should be missed. We returned to our hotel for lunch and had dim sum at the Chinese Restaurant, which was quite good. After lunch we took a taxi to Wat Arun, which we loved and also don't think should be missed. We got back to the Pen in the early evening and spent an hour at the pool (too cold to swim in for us) and had dinner at Thiptara at the Pen. Ambience was great but food imo was just so-so. Would have loved to go to a night market but it was late and we needed to leave at 5 am the next morning for our flt to Hanoi.
We LOVED bkk!! What a difference from my first time there. The weather was warm and not humid, the pollution didn't seem nearly as bad, the hotel was wonderful, etc. For anyone who is worried about the Pen being on the "wrong side" of the river, I would not be concerned. We liked that the hotel looked out onto the city and found it quite nice to take the Pen boat the short ride across the river to pick up the other water taxis or to go out for dinner, etc. If you have more than one day to spend it would be great, but I really do think that even one full day is worth doing. We had a great day and didn't feel too exhausted or rushed at the end. Can't wait to go back one day and spend more time!
More to come over the weekend... Stay tuned for Part 2: Is the weather ever just right in Hanoi?
Feb 27th, 2008, 05:30 AM
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You flew into BKK the same day that I left there at 6 in the morning. Valentines Day is a HUGE event in Bangkok. You probably could not have gotten into a really first-class restaurant at the last minute so glad Harmonique worked out.
The Pen is my favorite river hotel as well.
If you are like most of the rest of us here, you'll be back to BKK for a much longer stay!
Thanks for the start of your report.
Carol
The Pen is my favorite river hotel as well.
If you are like most of the rest of us here, you'll be back to BKK for a much longer stay!
Thanks for the start of your report.
Carol
Feb 27th, 2008, 06:39 AM
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glad it worked out and now you have the bkk bug....go back and really enjoy the city, its great restaurants and sites....
also glad you liked harmonique...its quirky but i find the food delicious
also glad you liked harmonique...its quirky but i find the food delicious
Feb 27th, 2008, 07:14 AM
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Great start. BKK has worked its magic on another Fodorite. Big surprise.
We also really liked the amulate market. It is so different from the usual markets.
Unless the Valentine's Day to which you refered was not in 2008, the report is very prompt and no penalty applies.
Keep it coming.
We also really liked the amulate market. It is so different from the usual markets.
Unless the Valentine's Day to which you refered was not in 2008, the report is very prompt and no penalty applies.
Keep it coming.
Mar 1st, 2008, 11:43 AM
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PART 2- Is the weather ever "just right" in Hanoi??!!
Sorry for the delay...
We left the Peninsula at 5 a.m. for our 8 a.m. Thai Airways flight to Hanoi. It left us with more than enough time to get to the airport (my husband likes to get to the airport early). Our plane boarded a little late and we took our seats expecting to take off shortly thereafter. However, we waited for an infuriating additional 45 minutes because some passengers were running late. These late passengers appeared to be part of a tour group and even once they boarded the plane, they took their good old time strolling down the aisle to find their seats and store their luggage.
Our travel agent pre arranged transfers for us, so once we arrived in Hanoi, we were greeted by our "guide" and driver and taken to the Sofitel Metropole. After reading numerous posts on this forum and trip adviser about the construction noise, I was extremely concerned about staying at this hotel. In fact, on our own we made a back up reservation at the Hilton in case the noise was a problem. We booked a room in the Opera (new) wing and, upon arriving, asked whether we could upgrade to the old wing (supposedly farther away from the construction). We didn't try to do this earlier because the work was scheduled to be completed by the end of January. In any case, the hotel was booked solid and they didn't have any rooms available in the old wing. Our room in the Opera Wing was all the way in the back. Although it didn't have any view, the room itself was lovely. We were concerned that it would be missing the charm of the old wing, but we thought it had a charm and style of its own. We were very concerned by a note in our room from management alerting us to the fact that construction was being done on the hotel and that they apologize for any noise, but for the entire three nights/4 days of our stay we didn't hear any noise in our room. We would occasionally hear noise in the hallway, closer to the elevators, but thankfully the noise never reached our room.
By the time we were settled in, we were hungry for lunch but also eager to start sightseeing. We grabbed a quick lunch at the noodle soup chain "Pho 24", which we thought was quite good and very cheap (yes, I know it's not what the locals eat!). We walked around the French Quarter for a short time and then walked to the Museum of the Vietnamese Revolution, which (according to the Lonely Planet) picks up where the History museum leaves off. We thought the museum was interesting and worth seeing. By the time we were done with the museum, it was time to get ready for dinner because we were meeting friends. As you may know from previous posts, I was in Hanoi once before, 6 years ago. During that trip, I met a girl around my age who was studying to be a tour guide and working as a waitress in the cafe that I often frequented. We've remained friends and have kept in touch all of these years and had plans to take her and her boyfriend out for dinner on our first night. My friend is originally from a town outside of Hanoi, but she now leaves in the city, where she attends university. We met my friend and her boyfriend (whom I had never met before) at Restaurant Bobby Chinn. The restaurant is very "cool" and would fit right in in NY... as would the prices! At the end of the night our bill was basically the same as a NY restaurant. Although we had a great time together, the food wasn't as good as my husband and I were expecting for those prices. The fois gras springroll was outstanding however.
The next day we went to the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum early in the morning. It was just as incredible being there the second time around and my husband was equally amazed being a first timer. After the mausoleum, we went to the One Pillar Pagoda and then spent an hour or so in the Ho Chi Minh Museum. We then spent the next hour and a half searching for the Presidential Palace and House on Stilts. We had a map. We had a book. I've been there once before! But we couldn't find it! Which leads me to a short digression...the WEATHER.
It was COLD. And rainy. Much colder than we anticipated (despite my obessive weather.com visits in the weeks leading up to our trip). Maybe we were in denial. But the entire 4 days that we were in Hanoi, we didn't see the sun. And the rain was a non stop mist that just made us feel colder, no matter how many layers we had on. My husband and I both tried to pack light(er) for this trip. We left our heavier jackets at home, reasoning that the weather would have to be better by the time we arrived. I was so cold, however, that at night I was having dreams about the jacket sitting in my closet at home! Last visit to Hanoi was in the middle of the summer and it was so uncomfortably hot that I had a pair of pants made for me on my first day in the city because my jeans were sticking to me and I was having trouble walking. The pants weren't from a fancy tailor- they were rust red and ugly and the button broke shortly after I purchased them so I ended up safety pinning them closed every day (yes, I wore them, without fail, every single day for the duration of my stay in Vietnam). This time around I was longing for the opressive heat. Which leads me to my next question- is the weather ever "just right" in Hanoi???
We never did find the House on Stilts, although we saw the Presidential Palace from a distance. Because most sights and museums close in the middle of the day, we spent the next two hours at the Temple of Literature. It was a really great time to be visiting, as it was just after Tet. People from all over the country were visiting because (according to our friends) it brings good luck for the new year. We returned to the hotel for lunch and had brunch at the French restaurant (can't remember the name). The brunch was fabulous and a nice respite from the hustle and bustle (and weather) outside. It was, however, very expensive. In our opinion, it was worth the splurge. In the afternoon we visited the Hoa Lao prison. It had been updated since my last trip there which made it equally interesting for me. That evening, after a quick dinner at none other than Pho 24, we saw a Water Puppet show. I remembered it being (dare I say) boring when I saw it on my last trip, but perhaps I have a greater appreciation for the arts now that I'm 6 years older
and I really enjoyed it. My husband loved it! We were supposed to go to a night market with our friends afterwords, but they met us at our hotel and said that it was closed due to the rain.
The next day was a Monday. I didn't know this until a few days before we arrived in Hanoi and I looked at our guide book to see about openings and closings, but it seems that most museums and other sights are closed on Mondays. Because of this, we decided to save our shopping, Hoan Kiem Lake and Old Quarter day for Monday. We spent the morning walking through the Old Quarter. After reading our guidebook, we circled the streets that we wanted to see on a map from the hotel and it was quite an adventure to find them all. It was a lot of fun, both seeing the streets on our "tour" as well as discovering new, interesting ones. We also made it to the Don (forgetting the rest of the name) market. We had lunch at the Green Tangerine and thought the restaurant and the food was lovely. After lunch we walked around Hoan Kiem Lake and also crossed the bridge to the temple. In the afternoon, we walked around the French Quarter for a while and went to a store that we visited on our first day with propaganda posters, because I had decided to purchase one. In the early evening we met our friends, who took us back to some of their favorite parts of the Old Quarter, so that we could see it at night and so that my husband could purchase gifts for his employees. They also took us to the West Lake area to an ice cream shop famous for coconut ice cream and great views of the Lake. Even though it felt like sub zero temperature, we sat at the very top of the buiding, outside, eating our ice cream and looking out at the Lakes. It was COLD but so much fun and definitely not the type of place that we'd ever find in our guide book. I can't imagine what it must be like in the warmer weather.
The next day we were picked up early in the morning and driven to the Halong Bay area. We were staying on the Emeraude and, a few weeks before our trip, decided to upgrade to a suite. This was definitely the way to go. Our suite was much bigger than the other rooms on the boat and we had a private deck at the very front of the boat (i.e. we had a totally unobstructed view off the front of the boat). Although the sun never came out while we were in Halong Bay, it wasn't overly misty, so we had very clear (albeit gray) views of the grottos, etc. The food on the boat was quite good. We had a nice lunch, followed by a stop at/excursion to the surprise cave. In the later afternoon, the boat offered kayaking, a cooking class, massages and manicures/pedicures. We opted for the massages and had a couples massage in an unoccupied room. Even though the girls who were massaging us were tiny, they were strong, and both my husband and I found the massage to be quite painful. In fact, the next day, we both woke up feeling as if we had run a marathon and this feeling lasted for an additional day or two! After dinner that evening, they offered the movie "Indochine" on the main deck, but we passed on it. The boat was anchored in a really quiet spot, with no other boats in sight. The last time I was in Halong Bay I remember swimming at night in the water with the Phosphorescent (sp?) algae. Of course, this time around, it was too cold to swim (and, being 6 years wiser, I'm not sure I could see past the pollution as easily as I did the first time around). I was concerned that we would be missing out on the "junk" experience not being on a junk, but we really enjoyed the Emeraude and I didn't feel as if we were missing anything by not being on a junk. The next morning our boat passed a few more floating villages and famous rock formations (i.e. kissing chickens). We were met by our guide and driver at the Emeraude dock and driven back to Hanoi, where we had about an hour and half for lunch before departing for our flight to Siem Reap. Our travel agent made us a reservation at the restaurant Le Verticale. As you may know from another post, my brother was traveling in SE Asia at the same time and our trips overlapped only once, for this hour and a half while we were in Hanoi for lunch. We invited my brother and his friend, along with my friend and her boyfriend to lunch. Unfortunately, my friend was in class, but her boyfriend joined us briefly for tea (he was on a break from work) and we had a really nice lunch together with my brother and his friend. The food was phenomenal! Probably our best meal in Hanoi. We were slightly embarrassed at how we were dressed (we didn't realize that it was quite formal, even for lunch, and were still in our schlumpy boat attire), but we got over that fast and enjoyed the delicious meal and wonderful company. After saying our goodbyes, we were met by our guide and taken to the airport for our afternoon flight on Vietnam Airlines to Siem Reap.
Stay tuned for Part 3- Siem Reap (including our day with Ponheary and visit to the Knar School)...
Sorry for the delay...
We left the Peninsula at 5 a.m. for our 8 a.m. Thai Airways flight to Hanoi. It left us with more than enough time to get to the airport (my husband likes to get to the airport early). Our plane boarded a little late and we took our seats expecting to take off shortly thereafter. However, we waited for an infuriating additional 45 minutes because some passengers were running late. These late passengers appeared to be part of a tour group and even once they boarded the plane, they took their good old time strolling down the aisle to find their seats and store their luggage.
Our travel agent pre arranged transfers for us, so once we arrived in Hanoi, we were greeted by our "guide" and driver and taken to the Sofitel Metropole. After reading numerous posts on this forum and trip adviser about the construction noise, I was extremely concerned about staying at this hotel. In fact, on our own we made a back up reservation at the Hilton in case the noise was a problem. We booked a room in the Opera (new) wing and, upon arriving, asked whether we could upgrade to the old wing (supposedly farther away from the construction). We didn't try to do this earlier because the work was scheduled to be completed by the end of January. In any case, the hotel was booked solid and they didn't have any rooms available in the old wing. Our room in the Opera Wing was all the way in the back. Although it didn't have any view, the room itself was lovely. We were concerned that it would be missing the charm of the old wing, but we thought it had a charm and style of its own. We were very concerned by a note in our room from management alerting us to the fact that construction was being done on the hotel and that they apologize for any noise, but for the entire three nights/4 days of our stay we didn't hear any noise in our room. We would occasionally hear noise in the hallway, closer to the elevators, but thankfully the noise never reached our room.
By the time we were settled in, we were hungry for lunch but also eager to start sightseeing. We grabbed a quick lunch at the noodle soup chain "Pho 24", which we thought was quite good and very cheap (yes, I know it's not what the locals eat!). We walked around the French Quarter for a short time and then walked to the Museum of the Vietnamese Revolution, which (according to the Lonely Planet) picks up where the History museum leaves off. We thought the museum was interesting and worth seeing. By the time we were done with the museum, it was time to get ready for dinner because we were meeting friends. As you may know from previous posts, I was in Hanoi once before, 6 years ago. During that trip, I met a girl around my age who was studying to be a tour guide and working as a waitress in the cafe that I often frequented. We've remained friends and have kept in touch all of these years and had plans to take her and her boyfriend out for dinner on our first night. My friend is originally from a town outside of Hanoi, but she now leaves in the city, where she attends university. We met my friend and her boyfriend (whom I had never met before) at Restaurant Bobby Chinn. The restaurant is very "cool" and would fit right in in NY... as would the prices! At the end of the night our bill was basically the same as a NY restaurant. Although we had a great time together, the food wasn't as good as my husband and I were expecting for those prices. The fois gras springroll was outstanding however.
The next day we went to the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum early in the morning. It was just as incredible being there the second time around and my husband was equally amazed being a first timer. After the mausoleum, we went to the One Pillar Pagoda and then spent an hour or so in the Ho Chi Minh Museum. We then spent the next hour and a half searching for the Presidential Palace and House on Stilts. We had a map. We had a book. I've been there once before! But we couldn't find it! Which leads me to a short digression...the WEATHER.
It was COLD. And rainy. Much colder than we anticipated (despite my obessive weather.com visits in the weeks leading up to our trip). Maybe we were in denial. But the entire 4 days that we were in Hanoi, we didn't see the sun. And the rain was a non stop mist that just made us feel colder, no matter how many layers we had on. My husband and I both tried to pack light(er) for this trip. We left our heavier jackets at home, reasoning that the weather would have to be better by the time we arrived. I was so cold, however, that at night I was having dreams about the jacket sitting in my closet at home! Last visit to Hanoi was in the middle of the summer and it was so uncomfortably hot that I had a pair of pants made for me on my first day in the city because my jeans were sticking to me and I was having trouble walking. The pants weren't from a fancy tailor- they were rust red and ugly and the button broke shortly after I purchased them so I ended up safety pinning them closed every day (yes, I wore them, without fail, every single day for the duration of my stay in Vietnam). This time around I was longing for the opressive heat. Which leads me to my next question- is the weather ever "just right" in Hanoi???
We never did find the House on Stilts, although we saw the Presidential Palace from a distance. Because most sights and museums close in the middle of the day, we spent the next two hours at the Temple of Literature. It was a really great time to be visiting, as it was just after Tet. People from all over the country were visiting because (according to our friends) it brings good luck for the new year. We returned to the hotel for lunch and had brunch at the French restaurant (can't remember the name). The brunch was fabulous and a nice respite from the hustle and bustle (and weather) outside. It was, however, very expensive. In our opinion, it was worth the splurge. In the afternoon we visited the Hoa Lao prison. It had been updated since my last trip there which made it equally interesting for me. That evening, after a quick dinner at none other than Pho 24, we saw a Water Puppet show. I remembered it being (dare I say) boring when I saw it on my last trip, but perhaps I have a greater appreciation for the arts now that I'm 6 years older
and I really enjoyed it. My husband loved it! We were supposed to go to a night market with our friends afterwords, but they met us at our hotel and said that it was closed due to the rain. The next day was a Monday. I didn't know this until a few days before we arrived in Hanoi and I looked at our guide book to see about openings and closings, but it seems that most museums and other sights are closed on Mondays. Because of this, we decided to save our shopping, Hoan Kiem Lake and Old Quarter day for Monday. We spent the morning walking through the Old Quarter. After reading our guidebook, we circled the streets that we wanted to see on a map from the hotel and it was quite an adventure to find them all. It was a lot of fun, both seeing the streets on our "tour" as well as discovering new, interesting ones. We also made it to the Don (forgetting the rest of the name) market. We had lunch at the Green Tangerine and thought the restaurant and the food was lovely. After lunch we walked around Hoan Kiem Lake and also crossed the bridge to the temple. In the afternoon, we walked around the French Quarter for a while and went to a store that we visited on our first day with propaganda posters, because I had decided to purchase one. In the early evening we met our friends, who took us back to some of their favorite parts of the Old Quarter, so that we could see it at night and so that my husband could purchase gifts for his employees. They also took us to the West Lake area to an ice cream shop famous for coconut ice cream and great views of the Lake. Even though it felt like sub zero temperature, we sat at the very top of the buiding, outside, eating our ice cream and looking out at the Lakes. It was COLD but so much fun and definitely not the type of place that we'd ever find in our guide book. I can't imagine what it must be like in the warmer weather.
The next day we were picked up early in the morning and driven to the Halong Bay area. We were staying on the Emeraude and, a few weeks before our trip, decided to upgrade to a suite. This was definitely the way to go. Our suite was much bigger than the other rooms on the boat and we had a private deck at the very front of the boat (i.e. we had a totally unobstructed view off the front of the boat). Although the sun never came out while we were in Halong Bay, it wasn't overly misty, so we had very clear (albeit gray) views of the grottos, etc. The food on the boat was quite good. We had a nice lunch, followed by a stop at/excursion to the surprise cave. In the later afternoon, the boat offered kayaking, a cooking class, massages and manicures/pedicures. We opted for the massages and had a couples massage in an unoccupied room. Even though the girls who were massaging us were tiny, they were strong, and both my husband and I found the massage to be quite painful. In fact, the next day, we both woke up feeling as if we had run a marathon and this feeling lasted for an additional day or two! After dinner that evening, they offered the movie "Indochine" on the main deck, but we passed on it. The boat was anchored in a really quiet spot, with no other boats in sight. The last time I was in Halong Bay I remember swimming at night in the water with the Phosphorescent (sp?) algae. Of course, this time around, it was too cold to swim (and, being 6 years wiser, I'm not sure I could see past the pollution as easily as I did the first time around). I was concerned that we would be missing out on the "junk" experience not being on a junk, but we really enjoyed the Emeraude and I didn't feel as if we were missing anything by not being on a junk. The next morning our boat passed a few more floating villages and famous rock formations (i.e. kissing chickens). We were met by our guide and driver at the Emeraude dock and driven back to Hanoi, where we had about an hour and half for lunch before departing for our flight to Siem Reap. Our travel agent made us a reservation at the restaurant Le Verticale. As you may know from another post, my brother was traveling in SE Asia at the same time and our trips overlapped only once, for this hour and a half while we were in Hanoi for lunch. We invited my brother and his friend, along with my friend and her boyfriend to lunch. Unfortunately, my friend was in class, but her boyfriend joined us briefly for tea (he was on a break from work) and we had a really nice lunch together with my brother and his friend. The food was phenomenal! Probably our best meal in Hanoi. We were slightly embarrassed at how we were dressed (we didn't realize that it was quite formal, even for lunch, and were still in our schlumpy boat attire), but we got over that fast and enjoyed the delicious meal and wonderful company. After saying our goodbyes, we were met by our guide and taken to the airport for our afternoon flight on Vietnam Airlines to Siem Reap.
Stay tuned for Part 3- Siem Reap (including our day with Ponheary and visit to the Knar School)...
Mar 1st, 2008, 01:30 PM
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Rhkkmk: We thought about buying coats, we really did. But we kept assuring ourselves that the weather would get better and we just couldn't justify buying heavier coats when we have a closetfull at home and when our next stop was Siem Reap!
Jan 10th, 2009, 12:16 PM
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I recently referred a friend to my old trip report to help her plan her own trip and she kindly pointed out that I never completed it! How embarrassing! I guess we had so much going on in the last year that I never got around to it and eventually forgot all about it! We had such a great time in Siem Reap that even though we're coming up on the one year anniversary of our trip, I am hoping that others may find some of the information helpful (better late than never?!).... We're heading off to Costa Rica and Panama this Feb. but SE Asia is never far from my thoughts and I hope that when we plan our next trip there you'll all keep the great advice coming (despite my super late final installment of this trip report)!
We spent 4 nights in Siem Reap. This gave us enough time to visit many of the major sights we wanted to experience as well as two more remote temples and spend a morning with Ponheary at the Knar School. That being said, we were not at all "templed out" and could easily have found things to do if we stayed longer!
We stayed at the Hotel de la Paix and LOVED it. The whole hotel smells like jasmine and, even a year later, when my husband and I smell the aroma we feel nostalgic about our stay there. We stayed in a pool suite, but in retrospect we didn't think it was necessary to spend the extra money. We never used the pool because it was not heated and we had no privacy on our "deck" because hotel guests could lounge on seats right across from it. Otherwise, we had no complaints. We ate at the hotel's restaurant (Meric) on two different nights (which is really unusual for us because we love to try new places). We thought the food and ambiance were amazing and loved sitting outside.
For our first two days we used a guide named Sophy (pronounced So-Pee). He is a licensed guide and it was arranged through our New York travel agent's local ground handler, Exotissimo travel. We can't say enough great things about him! He was wonderful in every way. His English was fantastic, his knowledge immense, and he always managed to take us to sights at times where we weren't mobbed by fellow tourists. His driver, whose name I can't recall, was great as well.
On our first day we saw the following temples/sights in the following order (sadly, a year later, I can't remember where we took our lunch break, but it was somewhere in there): Angkor Wat and Ta Prohm, Terrace of Elephants and Leper King, Phimeanakas, Ba Poun (sp?), Bayon, and the South Gate of Angkor Thom City. From what I recall, we visited Angkor Wat in the "reverse" direction (i.e. we saw the iconic Angkor Wat vista on our way out, not in). Incredible day and we wouldn't change a thing!
On our second day we visited Banteay Srei and Banteay Samre in the morning. In the afternoon we went to Tonle Sap Lake. Again, an incredible day and we would not change a thing! At some point during one of our drive, Sophy asked whether we wanted to have a snack at his favorite roadside "restaurant" that he used to frequent with his wife before their baby came along. We happily agreed- it seemed like one of those once in a lifetime opportunities- notwithstanding that the restaurant was actually a longish table in front of someone's house with one pot for cooking and another pot filled with soapy/murky looking water for washing the bowls. I can't remember the name of the dish that was being served, but it was noodles in a "coconutty" broth with a little spice and was actually quite good! I should also mention that at some point during the day we stopped off to try palm sugar candy, palm sugar drinks and see how cashews grow. Lots of fun as well!
We also visited the killing fields memorial in town with Sophy.
That evening we ate dinner at Borey Souvann, which was recommended by Sophy as having very good Amok fish. We had a pretty good meal there.
We had previously arranged to spend our third day with Ponheary in order to deliver breakfast to a school (purchased with a donation that we made to the foundation) as well as to visit Beng Melea and Preah Khan. This was an incredible day and an incredible experience- very different from our previous two days. It was truly amazing to see the work that Ponheary, Lori, etc. are doing through the PLF. Watching the kids being educated in class, handing out the noodle packets, touring the school grounds, I don't really even have words to describe it. We loved Preah Khan and loved loved Beng Melea (where we were really among the only people there- although I am sure this has changed after the recent NYT article about it). In terms of having Ponheary as our guide, versus Sophy, they have very different styles (not to mention, Ponheary was unfortunately under the weather that day). In any case, it was another great day and after spending only a few minutes with Ponheary it is so clear that her passion is these children that she is doing such incredible work for. She is really inspirational.
We spent our last half day in Siem Reap walking around the town on our own, doing a little shopping at Artisans, etc. as well as taking a walk outside of town to just see some of the surrounding areas.
Before we knew it, it was time to head to the airport for our flight to Bkk and then NY. We left Siem Reap with the sense that no matter how hard we try, there is really no way that we could ever adequately describe our experience there to friends and family. It was an incredible few days and we hope that we will be lucky enough to return some day in the near future.
One final thought- After reading the guidebooks and posts on this board and others, I knew that we would be confronted with children trying to sell us items and asking for money. It's so hard- the consensus seems to be that you shouldn't buy/give money because then the parents won't have any incentive to send their children to school, where they belong, if they can make money for them. We were also warned against bringing candy to give out because of the inadequate dental care. Instead, I went to a dollar store before we left and bought a bunch of packages of small toys, stickers, mini coloring books with crayons, etc. (things that could be easily divided up) and I carried them around with me to give to the children. These tiny trinkets went over better than I could have imagined. Everything that I brought along was a novelty for these children and really seemed to be appreciated.
We spent 4 nights in Siem Reap. This gave us enough time to visit many of the major sights we wanted to experience as well as two more remote temples and spend a morning with Ponheary at the Knar School. That being said, we were not at all "templed out" and could easily have found things to do if we stayed longer!
We stayed at the Hotel de la Paix and LOVED it. The whole hotel smells like jasmine and, even a year later, when my husband and I smell the aroma we feel nostalgic about our stay there. We stayed in a pool suite, but in retrospect we didn't think it was necessary to spend the extra money. We never used the pool because it was not heated and we had no privacy on our "deck" because hotel guests could lounge on seats right across from it. Otherwise, we had no complaints. We ate at the hotel's restaurant (Meric) on two different nights (which is really unusual for us because we love to try new places). We thought the food and ambiance were amazing and loved sitting outside.
For our first two days we used a guide named Sophy (pronounced So-Pee). He is a licensed guide and it was arranged through our New York travel agent's local ground handler, Exotissimo travel. We can't say enough great things about him! He was wonderful in every way. His English was fantastic, his knowledge immense, and he always managed to take us to sights at times where we weren't mobbed by fellow tourists. His driver, whose name I can't recall, was great as well.
On our first day we saw the following temples/sights in the following order (sadly, a year later, I can't remember where we took our lunch break, but it was somewhere in there): Angkor Wat and Ta Prohm, Terrace of Elephants and Leper King, Phimeanakas, Ba Poun (sp?), Bayon, and the South Gate of Angkor Thom City. From what I recall, we visited Angkor Wat in the "reverse" direction (i.e. we saw the iconic Angkor Wat vista on our way out, not in). Incredible day and we wouldn't change a thing!
On our second day we visited Banteay Srei and Banteay Samre in the morning. In the afternoon we went to Tonle Sap Lake. Again, an incredible day and we would not change a thing! At some point during one of our drive, Sophy asked whether we wanted to have a snack at his favorite roadside "restaurant" that he used to frequent with his wife before their baby came along. We happily agreed- it seemed like one of those once in a lifetime opportunities- notwithstanding that the restaurant was actually a longish table in front of someone's house with one pot for cooking and another pot filled with soapy/murky looking water for washing the bowls. I can't remember the name of the dish that was being served, but it was noodles in a "coconutty" broth with a little spice and was actually quite good! I should also mention that at some point during the day we stopped off to try palm sugar candy, palm sugar drinks and see how cashews grow. Lots of fun as well!
We also visited the killing fields memorial in town with Sophy.
That evening we ate dinner at Borey Souvann, which was recommended by Sophy as having very good Amok fish. We had a pretty good meal there.
We had previously arranged to spend our third day with Ponheary in order to deliver breakfast to a school (purchased with a donation that we made to the foundation) as well as to visit Beng Melea and Preah Khan. This was an incredible day and an incredible experience- very different from our previous two days. It was truly amazing to see the work that Ponheary, Lori, etc. are doing through the PLF. Watching the kids being educated in class, handing out the noodle packets, touring the school grounds, I don't really even have words to describe it. We loved Preah Khan and loved loved Beng Melea (where we were really among the only people there- although I am sure this has changed after the recent NYT article about it). In terms of having Ponheary as our guide, versus Sophy, they have very different styles (not to mention, Ponheary was unfortunately under the weather that day). In any case, it was another great day and after spending only a few minutes with Ponheary it is so clear that her passion is these children that she is doing such incredible work for. She is really inspirational.
We spent our last half day in Siem Reap walking around the town on our own, doing a little shopping at Artisans, etc. as well as taking a walk outside of town to just see some of the surrounding areas.
Before we knew it, it was time to head to the airport for our flight to Bkk and then NY. We left Siem Reap with the sense that no matter how hard we try, there is really no way that we could ever adequately describe our experience there to friends and family. It was an incredible few days and we hope that we will be lucky enough to return some day in the near future.
One final thought- After reading the guidebooks and posts on this board and others, I knew that we would be confronted with children trying to sell us items and asking for money. It's so hard- the consensus seems to be that you shouldn't buy/give money because then the parents won't have any incentive to send their children to school, where they belong, if they can make money for them. We were also warned against bringing candy to give out because of the inadequate dental care. Instead, I went to a dollar store before we left and bought a bunch of packages of small toys, stickers, mini coloring books with crayons, etc. (things that could be easily divided up) and I carried them around with me to give to the children. These tiny trinkets went over better than I could have imagined. Everything that I brought along was a novelty for these children and really seemed to be appreciated.
Feb 13th, 2009, 06:54 AM
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JMGJD,
It seems in the beginning you were going to have Pheap (Ponheary's friend) be your guide, why the change?
We are going to Siem Reap next month and finalizing agenda. 3 nights, 2.5 days (in our mid-30's, from NYC and all travel a lot). If you would prefer to email me directly, [email protected] Thank you in advance, I just think the guide selection is super important for this part of our trip.
It seems in the beginning you were going to have Pheap (Ponheary's friend) be your guide, why the change?
We are going to Siem Reap next month and finalizing agenda. 3 nights, 2.5 days (in our mid-30's, from NYC and all travel a lot). If you would prefer to email me directly, [email protected] Thank you in advance, I just think the guide selection is super important for this part of our trip.
Oct 16th, 2009, 04:39 PM
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Join Date: Feb 2003
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