Hello dear Laura
AS promised here is a review of our trip. Hopefully the feedback will be useful for you.
– Firstly – your organisation/ itinerary. It was very thorough and worked well. AT EVERY city the guide was there with a sign on time. We didn’t have to wait anytime. The itinerary was pretty full, but it did have a few breaks with some afternoons available to do our own exploring. A couple of times it would have been nice to finish about an hour earlier to relax in the pool. Obviously it would best at hotels that had pools.
– Guides – They were all on time, all the time! We found each guide was very knowledgeable and accommodating and most of the time they took us or recommended good restaurants for us. Each guide (with driver) made sure we were on the next mode of transport before leaving.
– The hotels used were all good with adequate facilities and services. The Sengtawan Riverside Hotel in Vientiane which I must say that the location of this hotel was very good.– Maison Dalabua, Luang Prabang had great atmosphere and was very relaxing and the service was very efficient. Location was good. – Steung Reap Hotel was very centrally located and service and friendliness were first rate. – Classy Hotel and Spa, Battembang had very good rooms and the staff was very friendly. – the Authentic Hanoi hotel was very good all round with a very helpful and friendly staff. – The Sapa Lodge was in a great location and the reception staff was very helpful and friendly. – The Glory Cruise was a nice boat and rooms were fine. – The Thuy Duong Hotel in Hoi An was in a great location and facilities were first rate. Again all workers from the hotel were accommodating making our stay a happy one.
At the Silverland Central Hotel in Ho Chi Min City we had an issue with the rooms smelling of smokers but the night manager went out of his way to try and make our stay as comfortable as possible. We let him know how much we appreciated his efforts. – The Ninh Kieu Riverside Hotel in Can Tho wasn’t fantastic or as good as some of the other hotels but it was satisfactory. Overall the hotels were good quality with helpful people working in them. Having breakfast each morning in the hotels was the best way of starting the day.
– Transport was reliable and varied. Our day to day vans were excellent with enough room in them. The overnight train trips were good experiences and were pretty well what I expected. They were comfortable and okay because there were only three of them. The domestic plane flights work well and saved us from some long, arduous train trips or long times in the van. For six of us the vans were an ideal size.
– The Highlights for me. This is hard because there were so many things that I enjoyed. But anyway here goes:
1. Jack Tran’s Eco Tour in Hoi An.
2. Ha Long Bay – the boat trip and the spectacular scenery.
3. Hanoi’s Old Quarter and its crazy traffic.
4. The villages and rice terraces outside Sa Pa.
5. Hoi An- The lanterns and Riverside at night.
6. Cu Chi Tunnels
7. Angkor Wat – One of the
8. Wonders of the World.
9. The Killing Fields- Tuol Sleng Museum. It was chilling.
10. The Floating Village of Kompong Luang. This was amazing to see a whole village all living on the water.
11. Khouangsi Waterfall. Great walk to the top waterfall.
12. Vietnam’s food including Pho Bo, Chicken salad, baguettes, spring rolls.
13. Some of the restaurants, particularly the Blue Whale at Danang. We ate literally on the beach.
14. Pub Street in Siem Reap.
15. Pak Ou Caves. Amazing location.
16. All the weddings we saw in Laos, Cambodia. They literally have the wedding set up on the main road – stopped in at one and had a look.
17. The Bamboo Train.
18. Luang Prabang – a lovely town and included offering of alms to the monks.
19.Cruising up the Mekong River and of course number
20. Meeting you in person- it made my trip!!
– The Lowlights: There weren’t any lowlights that come to mind.
We all had a wonderful trip and we were saying it is a pity you can’t book a trip to South America or wherever else we decide to go. We have considered Burma, that I think you could book if we decided to go to.
I hope this review of our trip will be of some use to you. Let me know if there is anything else about the trip you would like to have. You are now on Skype so we can contact on that. What time is the best time to speak to you on Skype. For me I can skype at many different times.
I see you have seen some of our pictures on Facebook. It shows that we have had a good time. I am sending you pictures we took at your office. Looking forward to catching up with you on skype and/ or facebook
Cheers
Colin
