Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia trip report 2013

[Cousin Orville]

Day 4 Hoi An

Today began with a tour through the market followed by a cooking class. We made spring rolls, Vietnamese pancakes, and Eggplant cooked in a clay pot. I think I did well. Everything was very tasty. Afterwards we walked the town, and I stepped into the tailors ABD recommended and had a couple of shirts and some pants made. We constructed paper lanterns after that. (I'm back home and thankfully they survived the trip.) Then back to the resort we went for pool and relaxation time.

That evening we were on our own and headed back into town for dinner. We ate at the Cargo Club which was nice as you can request a table on the balcony overlooking the river. They have lanterns lighting the balcony. All very picturesque. We walked around town a bit more. The streets beyond the Cargo Club are all decorated with hanging lanterns. All very pretty. I had never heard of Hoi An before planning this trip and I'm very glad we went. It's a nice change of pace between Saigon and Hanoi.

 

[DisFan10]

The Sofitel in Siem Reap is maybe 5 min from the city center. I don't recall pho on the menus in Laos or Cambodia as it is really a Vietnamese dish, but I bet you still see it around if you're specifically looking for it.

I really enjoyed the food throughout the trip including Laos and Cambodian. In Siem Reap we had a chance to go to The Sugar Palm for lunch which is a well know restaurant specializing in traditional Khmer food. I ended up learning about it from a Gordon Ramsay show on discovering SE Asian cuisine. We also ate dinner at Cuisine Wat Damnak which also focuses on local Cambodian cuisine but with a fine dining approach. (Relaxed atmosphere; don't dress up) The food was ridiculously good. Easily Michelin star level quality, and at $26 pp a crazy bargain. I highly recommend it. Email for reservations to be safe.

Yes, the breakfast buffets all had Asian and Western selections.

Hi Cousin Orville, thanks so much for the good info and recommendations. We are really looking forward to visiting those countries with AbD.

Are you still in Cambodia or on your way home?

 

[OKW Lover]

Thanks for the review of Hoi An. I spent the better part of 1971 just a short distance away from there.

 

[Cousin Orville]

Hi Cousin Orville, thanks so much for the good info and recommendations. We are really looking forward to visiting those countries with AbD.

Are you still in Cambodia or on your way home?

Happy to be back home now. Time to start planning ABD China for next yr. Very addictive.

 

[sayhello]

Happy to be back home now. Time to start planning ABD China for next yr. Very addictive.

Wow! Hoi An looks amazing! I've never heard of it. Great pictures, and your springroll looks yummy!

So when are you planning to do China? I'm toying with the idea of doing China, but I want to do one of the off-season dates to avoid the heat. I don't know if I'm up to that far of a trip. How were the flights?

And yes, ABDs are *highly* addictive!

Looking forward to more report!

Sayhello

 

[wiigirl]

Great pics!!

 

[WDWMaggie]

Thanks so much for posting this report!

I'm debating between this trip and Peru coming up this September or October. I'm torn between which one, especially after reading this! The trips are so different and I know we'll have a blast either way!

 

[Cousin Orville]

Thanks for the review of Hoi An. I spent the better part of 1971 just a short distance away from there.

They had mentioned Da Nang had the busiest airport/air base in the world around 1971. A very different world now, I'm sure.

 

[Cousin Orville]

Wow! Hoi An looks amazing! I've never heard of it. Great pictures, and your springroll looks yummy!

So when are you planning to do China? I'm toying with the idea of doing China, but I want to do one of the off-season dates to avoid the heat. I don't know if I'm up to that far of a trip. How were the flights?

And yes, ABDs are *highly* addictive!

Looking forward to more report!

Sayhello

My ds and I are doing China in June 2014. Christmas time would be nice for the weather, but usually my family has other plans around that time. The flights are long for sure. No getting around that. My son and I do fairly well on long flights, but I'm sure it depends on the individual. China is a few hours closer (than Vietnam) so that's a plus.

 

[Cousin Orville]

Thanks so much for posting this report!

I'm debating between this trip and Peru coming up this September or October. I'm torn between which one, especially after reading this! The trips are so different and I know we'll have a blast either way!

Yeah, Peru has been pretty high up on my list as well. I'd like to do that in the next couple years if possible. One thing the SE Asia ABD has going for it is a lot of variety in what you see and do and where you stay. All the locations in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia are so different from one another.

 

[DisFan10]

Happy to be back home now. Time to start planning ABD China for next yr. Very addictive.

Great choice! We did the China AbD in 2008 and we wouldn't mind doing it again. I would avoid any departures during late Sept/early October to avoid their national holiday period which can get crazy crowded everywhere.

 

[Cousin Orville]

Day 5 - Hoi An

Today was mostly on our own. About half the group wanted to go to Marble Mountain about 20 minutes away. Henry arranged for transportation and he led us there. We took the optional elevator up the mountain, but there was still quite a bit of climbing. They have a number of caves and pagodas in the mountain, and it's worth the trip. Afterwards we had lunch on our own by the pool. They had all the fish tanks right by the kitchen where you could go up and take a look at what was fresh on the menu. We spend the afternoon by the pool, and for dinner they arranged a nice buffet outside.

As an aside, there's a gentleman who combs the beach with his water buffalo early in the morning. He's happy to have kids pose with his buffalo for small tip. He was really a nice guy. I took one picture, but he insisted on an entire photo shoot with different angles and poses. Fun way to start the morning.

 

[sayhello]

Great choice! We did the China AbD in 2008 and we wouldn't mind doing it again. I would avoid any departures during late Sept/early October to avoid their national holiday period which can get crazy crowded everywhere.

Oh, thanks for that info. I wouldn't have known that.

My ds and I are doing China in June 2014. Christmas time would be nice for the weather, but usually my family has other plans around that time. The flights are long for sure. No getting around that. My son and I do fairly well on long flights, but I'm sure it depends on the individual. China is a few hours closer (than Vietnam) so that's a plus.

That's an interesting perspective, that China is *closer* than Vietnam! I just can't make up my mind!

More great photos! Pretty great for a "day on your own"!

Sayhello

 

[Cousin Orville]

Day 6 Hanoi

This morning we said goodbye to our beautiful beach resort in Hoi An and flew up to Hanoi. Back to the big city. Hanoi has a very different feel from Saigon even though both are big cities. Saigon feels and is more business oriented and capitalistic. You'll see more businessmen walking the downtown streets including European/American businessmen. Hanoi feels older and more relaxed. There seems to be more people enjoying parks, dancing, practicing Tai Chi, and playing sports. I loved them both, and I plan to go back some day with my wife (who couldn't make it this time). I'll likely spend more time in Hanoi.

We ate at KOTO for lunch, and the food was very good as usual. It is still such a nice contrast from my France ABD where most of the food provided was mediocre (and I love French food). Here ABD really hit it out of the park with their selection of restaurants.

We headed to the Museum of Ethnology which was very interesting. They have a lot of traditional buildings on stilts outside that are cool to walk up and explore. They have a neat shop where handmade crafts are sold. We also did mask painting here.

After the Musuem was the Water Puppet Theater. Very cool. I was a bit worried for my 8 yo DS as it was 45 min and once seated there is virtually no escape. But he loved it! He was glue to it the entire time.

We headed to the Sofitel Metropole. Amazing hotel. One of my favorites (although they're all excellent in very different ways). This hotel is the most famous in Hanoi and one of only three hotels in its class (5 Star Palace or Legend?) in SE Asia. Absolutely Beautiful. Rooms were a bit smaller and of the European size. They gave us the option of dining in any of the hotel's restaurants off the regular menu. We decided to do French. Food was great. My son was a bit worried when they came by to do table side cooking, but ultimately he loved it too. This hotel also does awesome ice cream by the pool (or anywhere). I liked chocolate and cinnamon. My DS recommends strawberry.

My DS and I are big Amazing Race fans and recognized these bikes from a few seasons ago.

 

[DisFan10]

Hi Cousin Orville, you take great photos. What type of camera did you use?

While at the Metropole, did you take a tour of the Vietnam War-era bunker where people like Jane Fonda, Joan Baez & others took refuge during bombing runs? I read that the hotel just recently started allowing guests to see the bunker.

Did you try any street vendor food in Hanoi? Or take one of those pedicabs through the Old Quarter? We did and it was a death-defying experience!

Looking forward to your next installment...

 

[Cousin Orville]

Hi Cousin Orville, you take great photos. What type of camera did you use?

While at the Metropole, did you take a tour of the Vietnam War-era bunker where people like Jane Fonda, Joan Baez & others took refuge during bombing runs? I read that the hotel just recently started allowing guests to see the bunker.

Did you try any street vendor food in Hanoi? Or take one of those pedicabs through the Old Quarter? We did and it was a death-defying experience!

Looking forward to your next installment...

Thanks. I primarily use a Sony DSC RX100 - a nice point and shoot.

We did do the Metropole bunker tour, and I'm glad I did it. Otherwise, I'd probably always wonder about it. But really it was kind of boring. The tour is 1 hr. The first 50 min of it is discussing the hotel's history. It's interesting but could be easily summarized in 15-20 min. We stood in front of a display case with a Baez record, some original silverware, etc for about 30 min. The payoff for sitting through the rest of the tour is the bunker itself. That was neat, but it's a bunker. Imagine a concrete rectangular box about 6'x6'x18'. A very unique tour, and only hotel guests are allowed, but I couldn't recommend it.

We ate out a couple of restaurants in Hanoi, but no street vendor food. Did do the pedicab over to the lake. I think I have pics. It was definitely funny crossing multiple lanes of traffic...

 

[lrweaver]

Thank you for all of this great info. My daughter and I leave Houston next week on this trip and we can't wait!

 

[patsal]

Thanks for sharing, this is on my bucket list. My Dad was killed in Vietnam a few days before I was born and I would like to see it for myself.

 

[Judyat]

Thanks for writing about your trip Cousin Orville. Your pictures reminded me of my trip last year in April. While in Hanoi we also took in the water puppets, the museum of ethnology and the Hanoi Hilton where John McCain spent his years in prison. It was very interesting and I would recommend it for anyone contemplating a trip to Hanoi. Our guide who is from Vietnam shared a lot with us about living in Vietnam now. He also took us to a special place to get jasmine tea and another for their wonderful coffee. Southeast Asia is a wonderful place to visit and I'd love to go back.

 

[Cousin Orville]

Thanks everyone. Vietnam is really one of my favorite places I've been now. Everyone is so kind and helpful there. The culture is so beautiful. The food is awesome. Everyone in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia are glad you came to visit. Vietnam's recent history is of course very powerful at times, but you can tell they live in the present and they're excited to see and speak with you. I just wish it was closer. I would absolutely go more often.