To pacmom

[H2Otstr]

Welcome home, Pat. Anxious to hear all about your Grand Circle trip (since we are doing the same one in Nov).

 

I read where shoes must be removed once on the ship. What kind of foot coverings does GC provide? Are they always worn while on board? Even to the dining room?

 

Any hints on things that happened that I should be aware of?

 

Anything that you didn't bring that you wished that you would have?

[pacmom]

Sharon,

 

We are back--absolutely fantastic trip from start to finish. As far as Burma part of trip, we were a group of 23, but one woman was sent home from Bangkok. Mark our guide felt she was not able to complete the trip. His was an excellent guide and showed us the sights of Bangkok.

We arrived in Yangon and were met by "Frankie" our Burmese guide--hard to tell his age--maybe late thirties. Our hotel was the Chatrium--very new and so lovely. The hotel in Bangkok was the Montien and very unacceptable--mold, broken a/c and just old and tired.

When visiting temples, etc., one must remove shoes and socks--have a plate in my foot, can't do that. Only got to go into 2 temples--one in a wheelchair and one hobbling with my cane seat. They are very good about giving you wipes for your feet at the end of the visit.

The boat is a lease, so no free drinks with dinner except for first and last nites. The staff knew our names very quickly and are eager to improve their English. They were always smiling and would do anything you ask.

 

We were given sandals to wear on board, but you designate a pair of your shoes for the boat--most of us did that.

 

We had a balcony, so our camping clothesline came in handy for washing socks and undies--dry in an hour.

 

The crew handed out masks for the really dusty tours, they worked just fine.

 

Still trying to finish laundry,so will try to write more tomorrow. Pat

[deec]

Pat,were there any LONG bus rides? I know Viking has one from Yangon to Pyay....

Do you think there are alternatives for the BAD hotel in Bankok?

 

did you do pre-post cruise add-on

 

thanks for your thoughts

[H2Otstr]

Dee, I can't remember, but which trip are you on? Cruise line and date?

[pacmom]

Sharon, there were no long bus rides. We flew from Yangon to Bagan and then boarded the boat.

 

We had a rep from GCT's Bangkok office. We all bent his ear about the hotel Montien. You will be cruising in a new season, hopefully there will be a new Bangkok hotel.

 

One of the women on our trip was taking the post trip. There should have been 2 but one was sent home. Lydia was going to have a private guide for 5 days--our PD, Frankie.

 

Something to consider==all tips are paid in cash. Because the boat is a charter, there is no charging. DH figured it was about $500 and didn't want to carry a lot of money, so we used ATMs. Pat

[deec]

H2O,

we are doing our first river cruise on Viking this fall, Grand European. We would like to do the Irawaddy cruise in 2015 or 2016. Viking has a LONG bus ride and we want to avoid that. GCT and Vantage seem to avoid that. AMA I think just added this destination but no reviews yet.

[jnjcruz]

Sometimes the bus rides are the most interesting part as you get a different view of the countryside. When we did China we were supposed to have a connection by air at the end of river segment. However, they didn't have enough seats so some of us were bused. In the end we loved it. We saw them plowing the fields with water buffalo, planting rice, saw the big duck and chicken farms, fields of lotus. Really had a much broader understanding of China than two weeks of cities, planes and ships had given us.

Don't let the bus ride determine your choice of trips.

Jay

[H2Otstr]

Sometimes the bus rides are the most interesting part as you get a different view of the countryside. When we did China we were supposed to have a connection by air at the end of river segment. However, they didn't have enough seats so some of us were bused. In the end we loved it. We saw them plowing the fields with water buffalo, planting rice, saw the big duck and chicken farms, fields of lotus. Really had a much broader understanding of China than two weeks of cities, planes and ships had given us.

Don't let the bus ride determine your choice of trips.

Jay

 

I think that some bus rides are fine. It just really depends on how long they are and what one's level of comfort is. We had the option of either being bussed or fly from Istanbul to Bucharest on our AMA trip. We chose to fly because my husband did not want to sit on a bus for almost 2 days with his hip (replacement).

[H2Otstr]

What type of meals did you get on board? Was a lot of it Asian style? If so, were there other options available?

 

Did you get muddy getting off the boat for the tours? (Should we take old shoes for this?)

 

Did you get any immunizations for this trip?

 

What restaurants did you eat in for the meals that were not provided? How much did you tip the servers in these restaurants?

 

Thanks so much, Pat.

[pacmom]

Sharon,

 

The buffet meals were a combination of Asian and Western food. There were eggs, pancakes, bacon, sausage(chicken), baked tomatoes and pastries. Also Asian noodle dishes.

 

Lunch had a fabulous cheese plate, salads, a freshly prepared main course--thai soup, spaghetti with choice of sauce, Mongolian hot pot. The buffet had fresh fruit, various Asian noodle dishes--be sure to try the fried noodles--soooo good.

 

Dinner was plated--usually one Asian, one Western and one vegetarian. Ice cream always available. The pastry chef was remarkable, his cakes were wonderful.

 

You will have one pair of shoes that are worn off the boat. They are kept in a basket with your room number attached. These shoes are cleaned after each trip off the boat Because of the plate in my foot I had a pair of SAS sandals that I wore on the boat. We were there in the dry season, so a lot of dusty landings. Only real dock we saw was in Mandalay, otherwise it was steps cut into the riverbank. The crew would line the embankment to help everyone up.

 

That's all for now. Pat

[pacmom]

Sharon,

 

Immunizations---we needed our typhoid updated--this time was in pill form--lasts longer than shot. Our travel doc also gave us malaria med. I stopped taking it at the end of our trip with Avalon in Siem Reap--got a rash and just felt unwell. DH took his with no ill effects. We never saw anything but may flies.

 

Restaurants---the only time we ate on our own was in Yangon, but we ate at the hotel. There are a few restaurants within walking distance, but we didn't go to them. Don't know of anyone on our trip that did. The food at the Chatrium was very good. The meals we ate on our own were at the bar in the lounge--very nice menu. We ate in the main dining room for the included meals. Be sure to find the bar-b-que station at the dinner the first nite. The river prawns were soooo good. Try not to eat beef--usually tough.

 

Also we did not go to the hosted dinner, so five of us ate dinner on board family style--one of the best meals of the trip.

 

Hope this helps. Pat

[H2Otstr]

Thanks, Pat.