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We are a couple in our fifties, well travelled in the Carribean, Central America and Europe. We decided to take a five week adventure and chose Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos. We ended in Hong Kong for 3 days to ease our re-entry. We are not backpackers and chose 3-4 start hotels. We used a great Hanoi based travel agency (Tonkin Travel) and we were very satisfied with their service. We were also grateful to those on Fodor who shared their experiences, which made our trip planning easier. Overall the trip was quite reasonably priced; and yet we had private drivers and guides throughout our stay and NEVER travelled with any groups.
Please see our extensive blog at: http://monicaandjoesworldtravels.blogspot.com
(Be sure to click on "older posts" at the bottom of each page to see all the pictures and narratives). We welcome enquires.
This was a fabulous trip filled with food and cultural experiences.
Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos - Extended Trip Report Five Weeks
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Enjoyed your blog! we are currently at the end of our nine week trip and shared some of the same experiences. We really didn't like the Kool Hotel and completely agree with your advice to stay elsewhere. we also loved the Apsara. and we used Tonkin Tours for the VN portion of our trip which so far has gone very well.
We are impressed - 9 weeks. Are you going up to Sapa? If so we advise going to the Flower People Market which is about a 3-4 hour drive thru fog. Great local cultural expereince. But don't drink the local alchohol
We did sort of a circle starting in Hanoi, then Mai Chau, thru the mountains and villages to Son La, then Dien Bien Phu and Lai Chau and finally Sapa. Sapa was sunny when we arrived and then we got socked in with the fog, so very glad we experienced lots of markets and villages in the five day drive. We actually dropped in at a wedding somewhere along the way and were offered the local rice wine. I didn't drink, but my husband did. two thimble full.
And where are you off to now?
I know the answer - they're in Hue!
If your in Hue have dinner at the Saigon Morin hotel. We had two of our best meals there
Sf wins a scarf or maybe a marble statue from Marble Mtn. from Hue we go to HCMC, then the Mekong Delta and then home.
Travels Monica, thanks for the dinner tip.
We started in HCMC and then the Mekong. It was a wonderful part of the trip. The floating markets were colourful and surreal. Worth getting up early for.
Which country did you enjoy the most?
Each country offered something and was enjoyable in its own right. That said, I enjoyed Thailand the most which surprised me. I had not expected that. Thought VN would be the favorite.
Nice blog Thanks for posting!
What country did we like the most. Well probably Luang Prabang in Laos although we were there only for 3 days. The peaceful vibe of the monks insinuated itself into the fabric of the town. In Vietnam we enjoyed 4 areas the most: Mekong Delta in the South for its beauty and fascinating life on the river; Sapa in the north for its tribal people and rolling hills; Halong Bay for its prehistoric splendor and floating vilages and Hoi an for its food and colour.
Did you use Tonkin travel to plan the entire trip or just in Vietnam?
We used Tonkin for Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos. We arranged our travel form Canada to Vietnam and back ourselves. We also booked Hong Kong ourselves. Tonkin was great at arranging hotels, in region transfers, ground transportation and guides. They also listened well and were responsive to our trip preference requests.