Help with planning Ankor Wat and Vietnam trip
 

Hi Guys

Great Posts from everyone. We're want to do the Cambodia to Vietnam trip in August. We arrive in BKK and I am thinking of taking a tour from BKK to Saigon with Imaginative Traveller and then another tour from Saigon to Hanoi with Intrepid or Gecko. Has anyone used these tour groups before and if so, what are your thoughts?

Many thanks

Eek

in vietnam i have used asian trails...they are head quartered in bkk....we were very pleased with their services and their prices....they are on the web....we customized one of their standard tours....we had a private tour with driver and guide..on halong bay we were the only people on the boat....

i strongly advise having a driver at siem reap (angkor)...also a guide...there is so much to see and time is limited so going directly to the best spots quickly seems to me to warrant paying a professional to assist with this...$20 each per day...

In Siem Reap you don't need a big tour company.

You can hire a private guide once you get there. It is incredibly easy. Just go to a hotel or guest house.

All guides are licensed and must wear the uniform so you won't get ripped off.

my guide did not wear a uniform...is this new?? he wore a shirt and slacks...he may have had a small badge or pin on his shirt however...

Thanks for all your help guys. Will let you know how the trip pans out!

The shirt and slacks was the uniform. And they had to have an ID badge. I went in 2001 and all guides wore a standard tan shirt, the slacks seemed to be whatever color they wanted. But they had their badge on their shirt pocket. He also had a sticker on his car.

Yes, it's the shirt that they wear that is meant to be "uniform". It's a dark cream in colour.

They are meant to wear it at all times when showing people around the temple sites.

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Thailand & Cambodia Travelogue
http://www.colin-julie.com/travel.htm

When I went to Siem Reap, I didn't have any arrangements, except hotel. When I came through customs at the airport, a taxicab driver offered to take me to the hotel. He told me he was a guide also. I agreed to stick with him.

So then he had to go home and get his shirt, so he could be allowed to give the tour :)