Cambodia and Vietnam

[ContemporaryTraveler]

I know this is an older thread, but I absolutely enjoyed looking at the photos posted. Everyone's photos were wonderful and I'm actually very interested in going on this cruise in the future.

[ckcruise]

Sorry to take so long to respond to your question about our trip to Vietnam and Cambodia. I just noticed your post yesterday. I did promise a review and here it is. Better late than never!

 

We had a very enjoyable time on our Lindblad Expedition to Vietnam and Cambodia which we did in Jan of 2013 - a great time to go weather-wise by the way. It was our first visit to Asia but certainly won't be our last! The food, the people, the culture, the sights were all wonderful and we learned so much Vietnam and Cambodia's history and present day situation. Our itinerary was done in the reverse so began in Vietnam and finished in Cambodia. We liked this as the busiest part of our expedition was at the beginning and the cruise portion, while still busy, had some time for relaxation. We added the extension so our trip began in Hanoi with visits to Ha Long Bay, Hue and Hoi An then joined the main itinerary in Ho Chi Minh City. It was interesting to see the difference between Northern and Southern Vietnam with Ho Chi Minh City being fairly Americanized compared to Hanoi in the north. Our extension group was small and we had a great local tour guide as well as a Lindblad representative with us for this entire portion. We joined the main tour in Ho Chi Minh City with new guides and Lindblad leaders who were all excellent (as always with Lindblad) and we learned a lot from all of them. We stayed in some beautiful hotels and certainly enjoyed the fantastic service we experienced in this part of the world! The only hotel which was a bit of a let down was the one in Hoi An but it was very well located within walking distance to the centre and I'm sure it was chosen for this reason. The food everywhere was good to excellent. We especially enjoyed the cooking school in Hoi An where we prepared and ate our own lunch.

 

Cruising in the Mekong on the Jahan was truly wonderful! The Jahan is a beautiful ship with a fantastic staff - they really couldn't do enough for us! Every morning there is Tai Chi on the deck at 6:30 and it is worth the early morning start to give it a try! Every evening, a film was shown in the lounge that was relevant to either Vietnam or Cambodia and the lectures in the afternoon on various topics were interesting and informative. We enjoyed watching the many fisherman on the Mekong, visiting the markets both on land and on the river, visiting the villages which included a visit to a local school which Lindblad helps support, meeting the locals, the beautiful sunsets and also a wonderful cocktail party at a sand bar on the river. Our trip finished with visits to some of the temples on Angkor Wat - truly amazing!

 

I would recommend this expedition to anyone who enjoys experiencing different cultures and learning about different countries through travel. I don't think you will be disappointed! Hope this helps and let me know if you have any specific questions. Once again, many apologies for the delay.