I just read from a knew thread from June , that there are flight from Yangoon to SR & return?

Airline I'm booked on, Yangon to Singapore, is Jetstar.

I have to check out Singapore, not sure if that is the best. I am coming from Toronto Canada, and of course have to make a stop somewhere, but I have to check out prices and stuff.

There is a flight on Myanmar Airlines International from Siem Reap to Yangon. It is one of only two flights in existence that allow you to get a visa on arival (because it is the government airline). Generally, Bangkok is the least expensive entry to SE Asia. But there are flights from Singapore on Jetstar and on Silk and there are flights from KL on Air Asia to Yangon.

Kathie, do you have the two email address for Santa Maria Travel?

I am wondering if anyone has the info on Santa Maria Travel Agency, in Burma? i would love to use them because many of you said such good things about them.

This is the one I have - give it a try although I didn't receive a response as I mentioned.
[email protected]

Here are a couple:

[email protected]

[email protected] *they apparently have an easier time with this address

And if you don't receive a response, send it again in a few days.

Thanks for the e-mail address. I am going to get on it right away.

Hi all
Spent the week honing my schedule and contacting Santa Maria . Thanks Kathie , I was persistent and they got back to me. All of your suggestions were as usual very helpful. THis is what I am doing.

Feb.2 BK
Feb. 3 BK
Feb.4 Fly to Yangon
Feb. 5 Yangon
Feb. 6 Yangon
Feb.7 Fly to He Ho. Drive to Inle Lake
Feb. 8 Inle Lake
Feb. 9 Inle Lake
Feb. 10 Inle Lake
Feb. 11 Fly from He Ho to Bagan
Feb. 12 Bagan
Feb. 13 Bagan
Feb. 14 Fly from Bagan to Yangoon Fly from Yangoon to BK if there is a flight same day
Feb. 15 Fly to BK if cannot on the 14th.
.Feb. 16 Fly to SR
Feb. 17 Angkor
Feb. 18 Angkor
Feb. 19 Fly to HCMC. Fly to Danang. Drive to Hoi An
Feb. 20 Hoi An
Feb. 21 Hoi An
Feb. 22 Hoi An
Feb. 23 Drive to Danang. Fly to Hanoi
Feb. 24 Hanoi
Feb. 25 Hanoi
Feb. 26Hanoi
Feb. 27 Fly Hanoi to LP
Feb. 28 LP
Mar. 1. LP
Mar. 2.LP
Mar. 3 Fly to BK.
Mar. 4. BK
Mar 5. Fly BK back home

Now I am starting to make reservations for everything other than Burma. I saw that some of you mentioned a guide in Angkor. Ponheary Ly. How do I contact him? Does he do A/C cars? I am going to contact Minthu for Bagan, How far in advance should I contact him? Any top end accommodations in LP, Hanoi, Hoi An, or Bangkok? Getting around in Bangkok seems crazy, should I have a guide/driver or use the sky trains and water ways? Oh, any hotel suggestions for Siem reap? What is a Bangkok discovery Pass? Has anyone flown from Yangon to Siem Reap? If I can, I might save a day travel.

Ponheary Ly is a she, and any guide in Siem Reap will arrange whatever you want - air-conditioned cars are standard, but some people prefer tuk-tuks. Her brother, Dara is also an excellent guide. Take a look at www.theplf.org

Contact Min Thu now for the dates you want.

Best place in LP is La Residence Phou Vao.

Many wonderful places in Siem Reap. There is a La Residence, and a number of Fodorites have loved the Victoria. Go for a little boutique-type pace rather than the huge Sofitel. Hanoi - The Metropole. In Bangkok there are at least a dozen really top flight places. I prefer to stay along the river - look at the Oriental, the Peninsula, the Shangri-La.

I haven't flown on Myanmar Air International, but if you want to save that day (and get an extra day at Angkor), have Santa Maria book it for you. It doesn't fly every day of the week as I remember.

Getting around Bangkok: I prefer to use water taxis and the skytrain. I do use taxis as needed. I'm not a fan of a car and driver in Bangkok (though many people are). The only time I use a car and driver are for out of the way, difficult to find places such as the Prasart Museum. Staying on the river will mean you can catch a public water taxi to the Grand Palace, Emerald Buddha, Wat Po or Wat Arun. The water taxis are a must-do Bangkok experience, IMO.

You are doing well on your planning. You'll have a wonderful trip!

The Discovery Pass thru BKK Air allows you to book flights at a reduced rate. You need to book 3 segments in order to get the lower air fare. We used it successfully this past winter and saved substantially. Check out this thread for info on the Pass
http://www.fodors.com/community/asia...ry-airpass.cfm

In BKK we booked a tour for half day with Tong Tours. We thought it would be a good way to efficiently see some of the major sites. Other than that we used the Skytrain & waterways which are very easy to use and get around the city.

While not the top hotel in Hanoi, we loved the Elegance Hotel Diamond. They have very nice rooms (suites or jr suites) and terrific service. I believe the HOTEL SOFITEL LEGEND METROPOLE is considered the to hotel there. The Elegance is much smaller than the Sofitel. I preferred the location of the Elegance to the Sofitel.

It's been years (2004) since we were in Viet Nam and Cambodia, but in looking at your schedule, I wonder if you mightn't rethink allocating only two full days to Angkor and three full days and four nights to Hoi An. Hoi An is charming, but doesn't offer that much to see/do unless you're planning on using it for r & r. Getting to the various temples around Siam Reap can take quite a bit of time and you may want to allot some down time to your days there so you're not out temple viewing the entire day.

Just a thought.

(I have ALWAYS regretted not staying at the Metropole in Hanoi; Instead at the strong recommendation of an acquaintance who was living in Hanoi, we stayed at the Sofitel near the lake. It was a large, modern, nondistinctive hotel with fine service, but it could have been anywhere and it turned out the rates were the same! Don't know anything about the Elegance.)

Having just returned from Burma, my rec would be to add one more day in BKK at the beginning and drop one day from Yangon at the beginning, especially if you have to do another overnight in Yangon mid trip because of the connections.

Re Vietnam, drop one day from Hoi Ann and add it to Hanoi so that you can do an overnight in Halong Bay on a junk. It's a wonderful experience. but I also agree that Angkor Wat could use an extra day. It would be worth trying to rearrange things a bit if you could get the Yangon -Siem Reap direct flight.

Have a great time.

Thanks again every one, great suggestions.

We stayed at the Hanoi Elegance Diamond and loved it - a small boutiquey hotel 3* with 5* service. We took a walk through the Sofitel Metropole and there's no comparison - the latter is simply a gorgeous property - a 5* hotel for sure.