Thailand and Vietnam - February 2017

Old Aug 4th, 2016, 10:15 PM
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Thailand and Vietnam - February 2017

Got a month in Malta [November] to enjoy first, but our next trip to Thailand and Vietnam in February is coming along nicely.

Flights with Emirates from Gatwick to/from Bangkok booked, as are flights from Bangkok to/from Hanoi with NOK Air.

Itinerary [all times local]...

2 Feb - Fly Emirates from LGW @ 1335. Arrive Dubai 0035.

3 Feb - Fly Emirates from Dubai @ 0330. Arrive Bangkok 1235.

3 to 5 Feb [3 nights] - Bangkok [New Siam Palace View]. The hotel is close to the Chao Phraya in Bangalamphu, within walking distance all the major sights in that area.

6 Feb - Taxi to Thonburi train station to catch the 0745 train to Kanchanaburi. Great little journey in a 3rd Class only train.

6 Feb - Arrive Kanchanaburi @ 1030. We've been to Kanchanaburi before, and visited all the major WWII memorials and museums. But it's such a scenically beautiful and atmospheric part of Thailand that we're looking forward again to visiting at our own pace.

6 to 8 Feb [3 nights] - Kanchanaburi [Sky Resort].

9 Feb - Train back to Bangkok. Stay overnight [New Siam Riverside]. We've stayed here before, it's in Banglamphu on Phra Athit, and sits next to the Chao Phraya v.close to Pier 13. Outdoor swimming pool, stonking buffet breakfast, at a fraction of the cost of the big hotels close to Central Pier.

10 Feb - Fly NOK Air to Hanoi @ 1820. Arrive Hanoi @ 2005. We've got 5 nights in Hanoi, and then another 4 before we return to Bangkok on 24 February. We're not bothered about following the tourist masses to Sapa or Halong Bay. We just want to enjoy Hanoi, enjoy the sights, get lost in the maze of streets,people watch, and sup lots of fresh bia hoi. We'll probably take a couple of day trips, but will wait until we get there before organising.

10 to 14 Feb [5 nights] - Hanoi 3B Homestay in Hanoi Old Quarter.

15 Feb - Fly Vietjet to Quy Nhon

15 to 19 Feb [5 nights] - Quy Nhon [accom tbc]. Quy Nhon is one of the lesser visited coastal towns.

20 Feb - Fly Vietjet to Hanoi.

20 to 23 Feb [4 nights] - Hanoi [accom tbc].

24 Feb - Fly NOK Air to Bangkok @ 0905. Arrive Bangkok @ 1055.

24 to 26 Feb [3 nights] -Bangkok [probably New Siam Riverside]. Might take the train to Ayutthaya and stay overnight.

27 Feb - Fly Emirates from Bangkok @ 2035. Arrive Dubai @ 0050

28 Feb - Fly Emirates from Dubai @ 0250. Arrive LGW @ 0640
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Old Aug 5th, 2016, 07:55 AM
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Thanks for this info. Looks like a great trip. I'm currently looking at hotels in Bangkok and the New Siam Riverside looks good. I'm also looking at Adelphi 49 or Centre Pointe Sukhumvit. Any thoughts on these?
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Old Aug 5th, 2016, 09:51 AM
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Adelphi 49 would be too far away from lower Sukhumvit for me. On the other hand, Adelphi Suites, on soi 8, is in a great location. Centre Pointe has locations throughout the city, with Sukhumvit having multiple choices. Soi 10 is good, in my opinion. Grande Centre Pointe at Terminal 21 is really an excellent place, but priced higher than their normal locations. I am not familiar with Siam Riverside. I no longer stay along the river. Sukhumvit is always my choice.
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Old Aug 5th, 2016, 07:37 PM
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Thank you so much for sharing
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Old Aug 5th, 2016, 10:35 PM
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@ginger50>>

Your main considerations for accommodation apart from budget are...

- Is the hotel close to where you want to be.

- Is it close to either a Skytrain [BTS] station, or Underground [MRT] station, or a Public Ferry pier.

- Avoid Tour Group hotels.

We like Banglamphu, and being close to river.

The New Siam group of hotels and guest houses are all in the area. And as the New Siam Riverside is right next to the Chao Phraya river, has a swimming pool, river terrace restaurant, dozens of places to eat and drink close-by,and only a 100 metres from Pier 13 [for the ferry], then it suits us. It's as easy as anywhere else to reach by taxi from the airport[s].

For our first 3 nights we're staying at New Siam Place View as it's their latest guest house, and we want to see what it's like.

It's a lot less expensive to stay by the river in Banglamphu as well, and imo the New Siam Riverside offers fantastic vfm.
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Old Aug 6th, 2016, 07:56 AM
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5 days in Hanoi for walking around on your own is great, but I don't support the idea for Quy Nhon. The view in Quy Nhon will be not much diversifed and this makes you boring. The interesting daily life is not much shown either.

In stead I recommend to have 5 days in Hue city where you can have more flights per day from Hanoi. Don't join tourist trails but visit pagodas, cycling on your own along citadels and canals, have coffee with local on the Perfume river bank, cycling to countryside of rice farms. Even in this cicty you walk 5 days and you can't stop feeling new angles of beauty.
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Old Feb 1st, 2017, 01:18 AM
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Our trip starts in a couple of hours. Staying overnight at the Premier Inn at Gatwick Airport North Terminal.

The itinerary is basically as per my opening posting.

I might post a brief 'Here Now Report' as we go along, particularly anything interesting.

Anyone got any questions then fire away at your leisure.

Happy travels.
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Old Feb 1st, 2017, 02:49 AM
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Sounds like a good plan. We loved Hanoi and there is a wealth of stuff to discover just wandering. If I went back I would eat more bahn mi, spend more time in the jewellery quarter, and also look for the crashed B52 that's still visible sticking out of one of the lakes. Have an extra iced coffee for me please!
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Old Feb 1st, 2017, 04:04 AM
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Have a fantastic time LL. looking forward to hearing about your trip, especially quy nhon. It is possibly on my list for our visit in May/June. Where are you staying there?
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Old Feb 1st, 2017, 04:10 AM
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Have a great trip! We're right behind you!
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Old Feb 1st, 2017, 04:58 AM
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I am following along as well, keenly interested to hear your thoughts on a variety of topics, including the New Siam RIverside. To find a riverside hotel with a terrace restaurant, swimming pool, access to water transport AND reasonable prices would be great.

Second the opinion that there is much to see and savor in Hue. The historic sights are compelling given the city's standing as former capital. The tombs are so different from each other so not a cookie cutter experience. One of my favorite Hue memories is of a cyclo tour out into the countryside for a few hours on a beautiful sunny day, stopping at villages, rice fields, etc.

Bon voyage and we look forward to hearing your thoughts.
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Old Feb 26th, 2017, 08:31 PM
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Hello.....where's my day-by-day trip report?

A couple of days before we set off I started to go down with man-flu. It quickly turned into a triple dose, and I felt too rough for the first couple of weeks to be bothered scribing anything on a temperamental tablet.

Then traffic pollution in Hanoi started a continual runny nose.

So not had the best of trips, but still enjoyed ourselves.

Fly home tonight, so once I get on a proper PC I'll knock a few thousand words out.
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Old Mar 8th, 2017, 08:22 PM
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Please do LL, currently I'm considering where to next.
Vietnam could be in the plan. This would be the fourth time, so I need the details of lesser known areas.
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Old Mar 8th, 2017, 11:05 PM
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Here we go. I'm going to do this in no particular chronological order.....starting with our 6 night trip from Hanoi to Quy Nhon, which is situated on the South-Central Coast.

WEDNESDAY 15 FEBRUARY...Up before the larks @ 0445, leaving the excellent Hanoi 3B Homestay @ 0530. Our pre-booked taxi [US$18] took 30 minutes to get us to Hanoi Airport Domestic terminal, for the 0740 Vietnam Airlines flight to Phu Cat Airport about 40km north of Quy Nhon.

The flight, an Airbus 321 was almost full, left on time, and arrived at the tiny Phu Cat airport 80 minutes later. I left my wife [Rosemary] to retrieve our bags while I went to find out the best [most economical] way to get to Quy Nhon. I soon found the Vietnam Airlines shuttle bus right outside the Terminal main door and returned to help Rosemary with our bags.

We had to show our luggage receipts to prove ownership as we left the Terminal.

The temperature was a pleasant 23c, and that was about the mean for the rest of our stay in Quy Nhon.

The bus wasn't full, but was showing a loud rubbish music video. A ticket cost 50k dong each [US$ = 22.5k dong]. The bus set-off @ 0940 [30 minutes after hitting the tarmac], the drive to Quy Nhon took 40 minutes passing through lovely green paddy fields and small villages.

The bus terminated at the Vietnam Airlines office in Quy Nhon. From there we took a Sun Taxi to our guesthouse. The driver used the meter without prompting, took just over 5 minutes and cost 30k dong.

Our guesthouse, the Ngoc Anh was situated just off the southern side of the seafront. Our room was on the 5th floor, was large and very clean, balcony and north-east facing window toward the perimeter hills. We were on room only @ US$12 a night.....a bargain. The guesthouse had been recommended by trusted folk on Trip Advisor.

Quicky unpacked, and time to explore.

Quy Nhon has a long, beautifully landscaped promenade with shaded parks, and stetches north to south for about 5 miles. The beach is golden sand, very very clean, and wider towards the north where the Municipal Beach is located. During our time in Quy Nhon the beach was practically deserted during the day. At dusk the beach was lit up by regularly spaced spotlights and the local came out to enjoy the cool of the evening, play all sorts of ball games all along the length of the beach.....very civilised.

The promenade and seafront parks were busy after dark with families, courting couples, the ish. There's a small fun fair, and also mid-way a massive communist inspired square, used more for recreation these days.

Eating out in Quy Nhon requires a bit of homework [or bravery] to get a little familiar with what's on offer. No signs in English, no english menus, very little english spoken, but the choice of fresh seafood is bewildering, and it's cheap a fraction of what you'd pay in Hanoi or Saigon. There's also a KFC, and a Jollibee, which I shamefully admit to using more than we ought..... but the chicken was good and the a/c very welcome

During our time in Quy Nhon we walked miles and miles. We enjoy the back streets, the markets, mixing with the real people, and the atmosphere of these lesser visited places. We weren't disappointed, although Quy Nhon is a lot bigger and spread out than we'd expected.

In an evening we found a couple of bar/restaurants, where we were the only non-locals, and enjoyed the vibe and the excellent Qui Nhon Lager @ 6k dong for a 33cl bottle. Ice came free in a bucket and was perfectly safe to drink.

Rather than bore the pants off with what we did, here's the Wikivoyage pages about the area and what's on offer in the area...

https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Quy_Nhon

Quy Nhon is starting to be discovered and is destined to be the next Nha Trang [not been there], so get there quickly before it's too late.

Would I recommend the Ngoc Anh guesthouse? No I wouldn't.....as only yards away work has begun on a massive 5* Accor Resort, the foundations are in place as is the nearby infrastucture, and the noise is set to be 24/7. Damn shame, as we thoroughly enjoyed staying at the immaculate family run guesthouse.

I'll recommend the Seagull Hotel, which is in a prime position right on the seafront with superb views, but I think it'd be out of our budget. There are plenty of other accommodation options, but stay towards the north or central seafront area which looked to be to be more settled.

Any questions on Quy Nhon.....fire away.
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Old Mar 8th, 2017, 11:09 PM
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@Maryalice>>

The New Siam Riverside is an excellent mid-range choice. We spent our last 3 nights there on a wind-down, and couldn't have been happier.
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Old Mar 8th, 2017, 11:48 PM
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AIRLINES and AIRPORTS.

We flew Emirates [Economy] from London Gatwick to Dubai to Bangkok, and return.

We prefer Gatwick against Heathrow, as it's easier for us to get to, and Gatwick is a lot smaller than Heathrow.

Check-in at Gatwick was easy and quick, but BKK was v.v.busy, with one snake of a queue for all Emirates departures. Fortunately we'd checked-in online and the online/mobile checkers-in had their own much shorter queue. Dubai was a straightforward transfer, but the place is enormous, and if your transfer time in short have your wits about you and don't be distracted by all the shops.

Our outward flight to Dubai, although on time, was late arriving due to congested airspace at Dubai. I think this is quite common, but on the return flight there wasn't any delay.

Our connecting flight from Dubai to BKK left the Gate on time, but the aircraft shunted round the tarmac for a long time before getting clearance.

Emirates cabin staff were excellent, the food pretty good, although they do run out on the food options. Drinks were plentiful, wine came in 187ml bottles, and spirits were in miniature bottles. In Flight Entertainment included watching a live Premier League Football match.....impressed!

We flew from Don Muang Airport to Hanoi and back with NOK Air. NOK Air are excellent, can't say any more about them.....get the chance use them.

From Hanoi to Quy Nhon and return we flew Vietnam Airlines. Excellent, and on time. Used them before on a turboprop from Dalat to Danang, same excellent experience.

Gatwick Airport - Excellent.

Dubai - It's huge, keep an eye on your watch if you get distracted by the shops.

BKK - Our bags took an age to hit the carousel. Don't use the exchange kiosks on the Arrivals Level. The best rates are on the ARL Level [Basement]. We got into town using the ARL, and then metered taxi to Banglamphu, no problem and cheaper than trusting a 'kamikazi' taxi driver.

Don Muang. Fine. Took a bit of working out the place, but soon did.

Hanoi International - Excellent modern terminal, breezed through the formalities. As we were on a 15 day visa exemption we had to prove our onward international travel.....I already knew this and had our printed itinerary to hand. Changed some money to dong immediately after clearing Customs.....the rate was very slightly less than in town.

Hanoi Domestic - It's not as efficient as the International terminal, possibly because most domestic travellers are Vietnamese folk who don't fly very often, and put stupid prohibited things in their bags and slow the queues up. So allow plenty of time.

Phu Cat Airport - Dinky!
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Old Mar 9th, 2017, 04:01 AM
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Sorry to hear of your bout of man flu LL, nothing worse on a long haul flight!

Good to hear that Emirates performed well, we fly out with them out in May (way cheaper than BA).

Did you manage to get anywhere outside of the town? I was thinking of spending a few days in QN (enough to see/do for a few days?) and then a few more on Bai Xep, apparently a nice beach 10k to the south.

Did you book you Vietnam flights direct with VA?
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Old Mar 9th, 2017, 04:28 AM
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Aaargh.....just lost my reply.....it was a long one too! Will try again later on my PC.
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Old Mar 9th, 2017, 09:17 AM
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Hey LL. Thanks for the report.

Starting a trip in not good health is the pits. Assume you are now totally recovered from "man flu"? What is the difference between that and woman flu? Seriously.

Your better half retrieving bags while you too off to search transport? I'm envious! One of the things i miss when traveling solo---an ever-present helper!!

Glad you enjoyed the 3B in Hanoi--i recall it was a very inexpensive place--always good to know about.
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Old Mar 9th, 2017, 01:00 PM
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>>

Just winding down with a glass of the red stuff before bed.....Man flu = loads of love and sympathy, woman flu = tbh she'll never admit it and just gets on with being a caring and devoted wifey.....almost 41 years so far.....bless, I must be doing something right!

More tomorrow.....bon nuit.
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