- Guide (s):
Mr. Luong (Guide in the North): Mr. Luong was an excellent guide. The professional dress and welcome at the airport led me to feel that we were going to be very well cared for—right at the start. I appreciated Mr. Luong’s and the other guides’ willingness to answer questions and to accommodate our varying needs, especially with a group so large and so diverse, in terms of age. Dropping Eugene off at the snake village and helping Mike rearrange flights were two examples of this.
Mr. Co (Guide in the Centre) Mr. Co was a great guide whose distinct personality—his love for English idioms, his willingness to tell his own story, and his respect for the differences and similarities of people as citizens of the world—made this portion of the trip very special—truly different and unexpected. I felt Mr. Co gave us great advice—about shopping, taxis, etc.—but never did so to profit himself. He never told us with whom to do business, just what he felt was fair to expect. (This was so different from what we experienced with our guides in China with a different agency.)
Mr. Tung (Guide in the South) Mr. Tung, also, was a very good guide. He was very knowledgeable. He seemed wiser than his years.
Mr. Sovan (Guide in Siem Reap) Mr. Sovan, also, was a very good guide. He was receptive to arranging activities that were not originally part of our tour, and to rearranging the itinerary because of heat, weather, or even to get the best light. He arranged transportation for three of us to Angkor Wat on the morning we were leaving so that we could see the sun rise. He could have told us no. He didn’t, and he succeeded in arranging it. These things are what make going with a travel agency worth it even if it were not necessary because of a language barrier.
- Accommodation:
Sofitel Plaza Hotel (In Hanoi) Excellent accommodations. Great location. We could explore the city quite a lot on foot from here. Very helpful staff.
Imperial Hotel (in Hue) Beautiful interior, beautiful pool.
Golden Sand Resort (In Hoi An) I wish we could have stayed another day here and in Hoi An. I would stay here again. I do wish the pool were open a little later, but I realize we were not in Hoi An for the pool.
Equatorial Hotel (in Ho Chi Minh City) This is the only hotel with which I was less pleased. There was no gift shop to pick up incidental items and there was loud construction going on while we were there. The location didn’t lend itself to our walking around too much in the evening.
Victoria Hotel (In Can Tho) Wow. Arriving here was like arriving on Fantasy Island (the setting of an old U.S. TV show) Beautiful, exotic.
Angkor Palace Resort (in Siem Reap) This hotel was like the Victoria, only larger. I do wish there were an ATM on site though our guide made sure that we got to one every day.
- Transport (Land, water and air):
No complaints at all.
- Restaurants:
In the North: I liked the buffet restaurant less well than the others, but the food and the settings were some of the best I have ever enjoyed in my life.
In the Centre: Excellent. The Fullmoon Restaurant was such a nice, surprising first stop in Hoi An
In the South: Great, all of them.
In Siem Reap: Excellent. The food at the buffet restaurant, where the show was held, wasn’t as good as the others; but I think that is the way it is with dinner theatres everywhere.
- Places you visited:
I have no criticisms. Only praise. In Hanoi, I could have spent another hour in the Museum of Ethnology.
- Design and management of your tour:
I can’t think of anything that was missing. It was a great tour. I would have liked to stay longer, and I hope to return with my family. I intend to contact this agency when we do.
- Are there any recommendations or criticisms of services, restaurants, shops, visit sites and so on that you’ve visited on your own?
I have no criticisms regarding anything. I would not have wanted each place to be exactly the same.
I would be glad to post on your Web site and have already posted regarding your agency on Trip Advisor’s Web site.
