Very, very preliminary itinerary advice needed...
 

A small group of us did a food trip to Saigon, Nothanburi (north Bangkok) and Bangkok proper last spring. We had a wonderful time and are in the really early stages of planning a repeat next june.

Some places we've considered are Saigon, Hanoi, Hue, Northern Thailand, Singapore, Malayasia, and parts of Indonesia.

This morning it was sugested that sticking to Vietnam (Siagon & Hue or possibly Hanoi?. Our fearless and thoughtful leader doesn't really like the communist vibe in Hanoi, but would consider it), Laos, or the golden triangle area of Thailand, and flying via Bangkok might be a good route as:

-There is good food in all these spots,
-it would keep air travel to short hops,

-for a small group (4-6 of us)with mixed budgets, it would allow a varied trip without huge expense,

-in these spots we would be able to satisfy the adventurers and the hairdryer crowd as well.

We'll be there in late May -early June for about two weeks. We love to eat exotic foods, but want at least mid-spectrum hotels...clean, good beds,hot water and AC are musts.

Ages range from 40-50ish. Not really into nightclubbing or designer shopping. Do like a good dessert shop, and interesting excursions would be nice.

Any thoughts?

Thanks!

Lucy

If you have time, go to Sapa (can take a train from Ha Noi to Lao Cai)

I've never heard that Sapa was a culinary treat...

Lucy, I'm sure the trip will be truly wonderful, and I don't think you could go wrong with any of the options. I would suggest you consider Penang for it's famous hawker food - cheap and absolutely fabulous!

The food is really good in Luang Prabang. A very pleasant four days can be spent there. Don't drink the tap water.

...or brush your teeth with the tap water, eh Gpanda? ;)

Ever so right!

lcuy:

One option you might consider is going down the Mekong by boat to Luang Probang. To do so you would go via BKK to to Chiang Rai (golden triangle area). You could route through Chiang Mai first--there are a lot of cooking classes offered there and good food, but the city is not special; if you go you should get out fast to do some trekking. From Chiang Rai, you cross into Laos at Chiang Khong (not too far from Chiang Rai). Houisay/Houixai is on the Lao side and from there you can pick up a two day Mekong river cruise down to Luang Probang. I have not taken this boat trip but have wanted to (I will paste in contact information below). From Luang Probang, you can now fly directly to Hanoi (less than an hour hop) and continue from there.

For something more straightforward and a money saver, Vietnam Airlines has a Southeast Asia Pass (I used it two years ago, you'll have to check with the airline or your travel agent on current policy). It allows you to fly in a loop (I'm not sure if the starting point has to be Hanoi or HCMC) but it covers Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. I flew Hanoi-Vientiane (back then I had to by a separate ticket from VTE to LPQ but now you may be able to fly straight to Luang Probang from Hanoi)-Phnom Penh (I then took the boat up the river to Siem Reap--I think it's 5-6 hours) and flew Siem Reap-HCMC, then back to Hanoi. The total price was under $300. The SEA pass requires a mininum 2 nights stay at each stop, which you will need anyway.

I'm not a big fan of Cambodian food, but hey, you'd get to see Ankor which can feed the soul. I have a lot of food suggestions for Hanoi and Luang and will post some if you decide you are going there. Tell your fearless leader Hanoi is indeed the capital of a communist country but you'll hardly notice when you are there. The French influence on architecture really survived through the Vietnamese embracing socialism and that puts a kinder lens on everything. And their "market orientation" is very strong.

I posted this elsewhere already, but for Hanoi eating and also for basic Hanoi travel planning (there are some downloadable itineraries), there is a useful site called Savour Asia that introduces street food extensively and also makes some Vietnamese and French restaurant recommendations: http://www.savourasia.com

I noticed a couple comments about the tap water in Luang Probang. I would not drink it, but brushing your teeth with it is fine. I have been to Laos 6 times and have not gotten sick from doing that. This might be different in the countryside. That said, I would suggest your group gets Hepatitis shots, especially if you are adventurous eaters. I spend most of my time grazing on the street when in SEAsia and have luckily not been sick, but it is smart to take that precaution.

Here is the Mekong boat information:
I think there are a lot of classes of boats, and this one is supposed to be nice. I just haven't had the opportunity yet to try it--maybe you can google and look for feedback? Asian Oasis: Mythical Journeys (the boat is the Luang Say (2 days/1 night from Houisay to Luang Probang). No website but my brochure is a couple of years old--Luang Probang tel: +856 (0) 71 252 553; Chiang Mai: +66 (0) 5328 1789.

bk

lcuy,

Here is some info we have been looking at as we wanted to do the river from LP to Gld Triangle next time. Would be nice if you went first ;)

http://tinyurl.com/2cetw4

http://www.asian-oasis.com/Luang.html

http://tinyurl.com/2dv4rg

Aloha!

If you are foodies, Singapore has some of the greatest restaurants & chefs in the world, every spring there is a global food expo where chefs come to cook & hold seminars... A friend is the food editor for the Singapore Times & she has spoken at this expo. Google it.

As far as sticking your toothbrush under the faucet, don't do it. I don't care what anecdotal advise you've been given by other LUCKY travelers... bacteria & parasites are microscopic in size & there are millions in a drop of water, let alone on the head of your toothbrush.

My husband works in biomedical research, so this advice is from a medical professional... bottled water in sealed bottles, no tap water, avoid ice unless you TRUST that whomever is making it is using bottled water... I love Khmer cuisine, it's more subtle than Thai, but I would not go to Cambodia for cuisine... Singapore is definitely for foodies...