Dear Hue & Dieu –
Hello from Canada again!! It was very wonderful to meet you in your office after our many emails to coordinate the trip!! That really added a personal touch to everything. After this email I plan to write a good Trip Advisor report about Asiatica (my name there is “Beenaroundlots” J
We were very pleased that everything worked very smoothly as planned in the itinerary. Your guides were punctual and courteous (though of course some spoke better English than others), we were usually able to understand! We were especially happy to have the lady guide in Cambodia and are now friends on Facebook!
Here are some helpful ideas for your consideration and also some of my feedback (I am not putting anything negative on Trip Advisor. I just want to offer help for future……
1. Itinerary -- It would be very helpful on arrival that you would include an itinerary for each person. I like the compact format I made for myself (see attached; in colour double-sided). One reason I picked Asiatica was because you included the kms and hours of driving daily. That is VERY nice. Thank you. It always gave us a good idea. Another suggestion is to add the hotel name each day. The maps were wonderful – we really were happy for them! Thank you.
2. One of the U.S. gals had the old letter for Vietnam visa and they made her pay the $135 fee. Sadly I didn’t realize why at the time, or she could have used the correct letter that the other 2 had.
3. Mai Chau – very lovely area – wished we had 2 nights here J The Eco lodge was very lovely and was an excellent choice! The Emeralda Resort in Tam Coc (which I had chosen), was disappointing after being at Mai Chau. I would not recommend this place. I believe it was over-rated in what I had read.
4. Ha Long bay – very nice despite the rain. Good choice of boat -- La Fairy Sails. Regretfully we hadn’t told you we weren’t too fond of sea food, but they were very accommodating and we did enjoy the food!! The guys/staff were very personable & we had fun!!
5. The itinerary timing was difficult on Day 5 because we only took one small pc luggage on the boat and we had an awkward time repacking another small bag for Sapa, leaving our large suitcase at Coscina hotel (I think it was) – the 6 of us trying to do this in the hotel reception area – it was not very nice to do there. However, it was VERY nice to come back from the train and they gave us 3 rooms to change and shower. I would have done Ha Long bay before Mai Chai possible to avoid this.
6. Sapa – one of our big hi-lites! Lan was an excellent guide and he was flexible when we found the pace rather heavy on the 3rd day of trekking. We are so happy he was able to cut it a little short. Going through the villages was so amazing and seeing the terraces!! Wow!! Loved this!!
a. Overnight train – was a great experience to add variety of transportation. Some of the group thought one way would have been better so the scenery could have been enjoyed (by bus one way).
b. Hotel Ngan Nga – was a super good location, and I knew it was a 2-star hotel. Two rooms were fine, but my room was very musty and cool and no hot water. Also, we came back in the afternoon and they could not find our room key. I did get in with the cleaning lady’s help. I would stay here again – the room just was disappointing but I didn’t mention anything to them.
c. Bac Ha market – wonderful!! Loved it!!
d. Day 9 – flight to Hue – we were SO VERY pleased this guide came in with us to get boarding passes. We needed him!! One of the gals had to remove an electronic device from her suitcase that was checked through. When doing this she put her passport and boarding pass inside the suitcase and the guy there hurried her to close it, and so she could not board of course!! With the guide’s help I went to cargo and retrieved the passport!! It was scary for a little, but we were all happy in the end!! One other guide left us once and our flight was cancelled but we did manage. A good suggestion that they come in with the guests!!
7. Guide in Hue/Hoi Anh – he was OK but spoke very quietly; we were not sure why he spoke rather guardedly sometimes and seemed to be cautious of who might be hearing him. He was good though and flexible with our time.
8. Day 10- another hi-lite – we loved the boat trip and eco-village; cooking class and massage. We even had time to swim in the pool which was wonderful!!
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9. Day 11 - Originally I had asked to not go to many temples and pagodas – so if we didn’t go to them it is because we advised the guide. Just so you know. We rather shopped in Hoi Anh and each had clothes made there!!
10. Saigon – I wish now we had more time for shopping or to see the Cu Chi tunnels, but I understand they were outside of the city. The places we went to were not that much interest to us, but we were amazed and enjoyed the crazy traffic and motos there!! J J It was a short time there, as planned. Did not like Sonnet hotel – I gave them an unfavourable review on T.Advisor – they were not friendly at all and slow with lunch (guide was waiting). I ordered a sandwich and the chicken was raw inside and I told the waitress and showed her, but she did made me pay for the entire meal. Later two of us that had that sandwich were sick the next day – we believe from this. Also, our room had some bugs in it (nothing major), but added to our disappointment.
11. Cambodia – we enjoyed our speed boat ride – it would have been helpful to know we were exiting the boat from Vietnam and again later to enter Cambodia.
a. The lady guide was super!! It was unusual and we enjoyed her a lot! She was also knowledgeable! We loved the Skun market & tried tarantulas!! J
b. Silk village was wonderful & the boat ride there!! Thanks too for the driver & guide taking us to orphanage Day 16 …. It was so nice and they also stayed with us and we had dinner there at our friend, the founder’s house. Thank you for making this work!
c. The next male guide was very knowledgeable however he gave so many details, and did not “read us” well. It was an EXTREMELY hot day for us at Angkor Wat and we really didn’t want to hear all the details of the carvings, etc. , and also asked not to stay until sunset as planned, but rather to have some free time at our nice pool hotel. He granted that wish but said to tell you we changed that. No problem! So we didn’t go to Pre Rup temple. I asked to see the one with all the tree roots (Ta Brehm?) and he did that instead …. I was disappointed or surprised that this temple was not included in the itinerary. Ta Brehm ended up being a hi-lite of the day!
d. Also appreciated the driver taking us to my friend’s place Day 20. It would have been a long day with nothing to do 12:00-11:30 flight. If we didn’t have this to do, I would have suggested something added to the itinerary!!
So again, THANK YOU, for a well-planned itinerary and professional guides and drivers. We always felt very safe and the vehicles were good quality and we appreciated the cold water provided too!! Now we are in Canada / USA again and appreciate clean water a lot more!! We loved the tour and hope someday to maybe go with you to Laos / Myannmar!!! Next time I will overnite enroute to make the flights shorter!! It was a long time flying!
Regards,
Linda Roth (for the rest of us!!)
P.S. I wrote a blog if you want to read it, let me know J