"the unfortunate word connotation" - you've been hanging around dogster too much, gertie!

BTW, I'd be happy to travel with you or dogster - for a few days at least. (Although I think dogster mostly travels above our level - shiny suitcases and escapes to posh hotels - maybe he'd have sprung for the Sheraton in Amman...)

March 10
SAIGON
What a joy to be here. It's like paradise after Delhi. Have been zooming around on the back of my daughter’s scooter like an old Asia hand. Fantastic market, flowers everywhere, smiley people, posh drinks on posh hotel roofs, the best coffee since Italy last year. I'm on a roll! Breakfast of fresh fruit and yogurt, pavement cafes to hang out in. I think I've died and gone to heaven. Like someone said, it depends where you're coming from!

Have been seeing the sights (War Remnants Museum is gruesome, I'm so glad I protested 40+ years ago, we didn't know the half of it). Bits of left-over French stuff, 70s era Reunification Palace, Post Office to die for.

Have booked onward travel and already don't have enough time so will have to come again.

March 12

Meanwhile, did a day trip to the Tunnels. It was the usual kind of group tour with stops for handicraft centres and shopping. The Tunnels Tour is a well-trodden path with guides who have done it all for years. Still, it was interesting and I got to go down into a tunnel through a tiny trap-door and crawl through another one for 20 metres or so! Came back on a speedboat all the way along the river into downtown Saigon again.
Drinking on posh rooftop bars with music among the beautiful people. Eating pho on the street among everyone else.
Cambodia at the weekend.

March 13

PHNOM PENH
Not even sure how to spell this but I know there are a lot of Hs around in funny places.
Got here by bus today and found the riverfront for hanging around and beers. Lovely Cambodian temples and palaces but alas all closed by the time I got here. At least, they were supposed to be open until 5pm and I got there at 3.45 but what do I know?
Bus journey was not a lot of fun, 7 hours altogether with a long session at the border. Lots of construction work along the way and rural areas had a distinct niff of India which I thought I had left behind. PP is different altogether though, French and wide boulevards, nice restaurants but the inevitable hassle from drivers who want to take me all over the place.

Not enough time, I go to Sien Riep tomorrow. Must come back.

March 15
SIEN RIEP
Guess where I've been today? Had a driver and was at Angkor before 7am. The sun was already blazing in the sky and it was boiling hot. You lot in Europe don't know what it's like. Angkor is apparently best at sunset as the light is in the wrong place in the morning. Nice to know. Did lots of other wats, the ones with the tree roots embedded in the structures. Very picturesque but I had a hard time dodging the huge tour groups. The Asian ones are the worst, they are very big and very noisy. Hard for the solo traveller to keep her head above water.
By 2pm I was completely watted out and came back to the hotel to get over it.

Hotel is a bit spooky: I booked it through a travel agent in Saigon and it's brand-new, very posh, but apart from me, completely deserted! It's also a good way out of town, necessitating a jump on the back of a motorbike to get to the action.

I have another day here tomorrow to try to catch up with wat I missed today. We shall see. Then an unenviable 6am start all the way back to Saigon, 12 hours on these roads. Oh well, the choice was the bus at $12 or the flight at $800. Wat do you think?

I think I'd have taken the bus (or a car) to PP, and the boat from there. But you'd still have to take another bus or car to get all the way back to Saigon. And I think you had more time constraints than I did. Did you know about talesofasia.com?

much nicer that you have continued along here....thanks

Thanks for the link Thursday. Looks like there is a lot of reading there.
Also what a compliment that you would be happy to travel with me and Dogster. Could be an interesting combination. I bet we would all be storming off on our own a lot of the time!

More Vietnam

March 17
Back to Saigon on a 12 hour bus journey. It was mainly comfortable and OK to my surprise though there was an unexpected wait at PP. Collapsed into Allez Boo bar straight from my bus and Saigon Green and dinner.

March 19
Mekong Delta trip. Another efficient way to see a lot hassle-free. We were taken on a series of boats, large and small, to sample various local products and listen to music and dancing. There was even a bike-ride for the hardy and well-balanced. If I had done a 2 day trip I would have seen the floating markets, pity I didn’t have time.


March20
I flew with JetStar SGN to Danang. The plan was to meet up with my friend coming from Osaka at the airport. And it worked!

Here are the e mails:

HOI AN
Lovely olde worlde Vietnamese/Chinese/Japanese trading post from the 16-19 century. Think Takayama. Houses, temples, open-fronted shops. Lots of wood, all by the river and on the beach (where we haven't been yet). Gorgeous.

We have been hitting the tailors' shops and having stuff made.... we move on to Hue in a few days' time and bad weather is forecast. I've entirely forgotten what rain is like, haven't had any since London in January!

This bit of the trip is fancy hotels with swimming pools. We have been hanging out in nice restaurants and drinking posh drinks too.

Have today just run into 2 girls from one of my India trips...amazing what happens eh? That's after I met someone in Saigon I used to know in Kobe c 1976!

Love Vietnam, already must come back soon.

March 25
HUE
Here we are in Hue after a very interesting train ride yesterday. Beautiful scenery all along the coast but mist and drizzle. Very atmospheric. I think my friend was a bit freaked out by the train: we had 'soft class' but even so it was crowded, smelly, and the seats weren't very soft. It was also about 2 hours late!

We had our last day in Hoi An at My Son which I was rather underwhelmed about, could be because it was so hot and crowded.... Did a bus tour and we had a guide but it was perfectly possible to get away from the herd.

Now in Hue and have just done a day in the old citadel and the forbidden city. Fantastic. Lots of it is just green fields and the rest is under reconstruction. Lots of space. It is raining pretty steadily today so that made it more scenic especially as there were fewer tourists.

We are hoping to get to the Royal tombs tomorrow then we go our separate ways. I have another day in Hue because there is a firework competition in Danang and no hotel rooms.


This posh hotel (La Residence) is a joy, spa and pool (too cold and wet) and every possible amenity. I could easily get used to it.

From Hue I ended up going back by train to Danang (don't ask) where I had time to jump on the back of a motorbike and see the Cham Museum. Very good indeed and put My Son into a perspective which had been lacking at the time.
Flew Danang to Hanoi. One night in the Noi Bai Airport Hotel (totally unreconstructed communist era) then Vietnam Air flight to:

"I bet we would all be storming off on our own a lot of the time!" - I think the trick to companion travel (something I admit I hardly ever do) is an up-front agreement that it's always fine to go off on your own (no storming required). Except I do figure that if I'm traveling with someone, unless it's clear it's just a "let's share a car to the next place" deal, we should get together for dinner.

Sorry you were underwhelmed by My Son, which I loved. I think the trick there is to have your own car and driver, rather than taking a bus tour, and get there early or late so you have it pretty much to yourself.

"Vietnam Air flight to:" - where, where? Only one night in Hanoi?

Yes, I'd go along with your comments! What I especially like about solo travel is that I'm not responsible for anyone else's happiness. And times I do travel with someone, the upfront agreement is certainly the way to go.

No, not only one night in Hanoi. This was just a transit stop.

Enjoyed reading your India report, Gertie.

Very interesting, the difference in the two tours. I had, for a moment, considered Intrepid for my first visit to India, until I decided I'm going solo. Never considered hiring driver, not sure I'd like being in a car for long stretches with only the driver as company. Although lately I've been waking up in a cold sweat after nightmares concerning train stations and crowds and luggage and porters...

Yes, Nutella, all that! The luggage and porters thing is OK. They will find you and tell you how much.
I decided I couldn't face the hassle of queueing for tickets at stations. There are experts on here who will reassure you I'm sure.

Nutella - how much luggage? The trick is to travel light... There will be no shortage of porters at an Indian train station. I prefer to carry my own - no issue about how much to pay/tip then (you should not accept the first amount asked).

Tickets - I think you can now book your tickets online - check out http://seat61.com/India.htm for info on that (and lots of other useful info.) Plus major cities like Delhi and Kolkata and Mumbai have foreigners' ticket offices with AC (do NOT believe a local who tells you it's closed!). Another option is a local travel agency, which will charge you a small amount to go down the station for you. I used an Indrail pass, with most of my reservations made ahead of time.

Congratulations on going solo! BTW, an occasional car and driver booked locally (maybe through your hotel if you don't want to go to a local travel agency) isn't a bad idea.

Gertie, Thanks for your amazing trip report and it’s very helpful for the travellers. We are also thinking to go to South India and add more days in our travel plan, but it will hard to travel with 3 years old baby to travel for more then 3 weeks. Can you give us an idea where you stayed in Udaipur, because in Udaipur all hotels seems very expensive and we are thinking to stay in a small hotel near the lake, but must be neat and clean. Our travel agent suggest us the few hotels, Jagat Niwa palace, udai kothi and amet haveli, please do help us to choose the best one?

I've stayed at Jagat Niwas, John. That's perfectly fine and right in the middle of things. Very easy to wander of with a stroller from there. The others get good reviews, too. You'll help by telling us what you'd like to spend... hotels in Udaipur seem to go from $1000 a night to about $10. Travelling IN season is, of course, way more expensive than going just out of season.

Excellent trip reports. I enjoyed reading them. Please continue.

Like to read your detailed trip report. At that age still traveling solo. Nice...really!

"At that age still traveling solo." - oh please. Reaching 60 doesn't mean you suddenly become decrepit.

john_francis: We also stayed at Jagat Niwas last fall and it's a pleasant hotel. It did not, however, have an elevator that I could see which might be a problem with a stroller and a three-year-old. There are plenty of staff to tote things up and down the stairs, but the dining areas are on the top floor and the roof.

Dogster, do you know of secret elevator a JN?

Ahhh, I forgot about the stairs, indiana. You can tell Dog is child-free. lol. Nope - the only secret elevator is called Raj and needs a tip.

John_Francis
In Udaipur I can't remember the hotel name (something haveli) but it was up a lot of steps and wouldn't be suitable for you with a pushchair. It was nice, clean, airy, a heritage property I think. Had a restaurant on the roof, but lots of hotels in Udaipur do. Udaipur wasn't looking at its best as the lake had largely dried up due to lack of rain.

Leobroces, you sound like my kids.

Don't worry Thursday, I'm used to it. A you know, we have to cram it in while we still can!