South East Asia (Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia) May 2022

[bjlcmiller]

We took a chance and booked this trip! Feeling good about the possibility of open travel a year from now. This will be our 2nd ABD trip. Family of 4 with two grown kids 20 & 23. Who is going with us?

 

[bjlcmiller]

We took a chance and booked this trip! Feeling good about the possibility of open travel a year from now. This will be our 2nd ABD trip. Family of 4 with two grown kids 20 & 23. Who is going with us?

 

[cschaaf]

Congratulations - we loved this trip! We went a few days early and went to Ninh Binh and Ha Long Bay - both were great... particularly Ninh Binh. Our trip report is here.

Some quick, off the top of my head tips/suggestions:

• Add days before and/or after the trip if you can - it's relatively inexpensive once you are over there. (If you take this option, I'd also recommend getting a data SIM card for your cell phone. Also pretty cheap and well worth it.
  • Pre trip you could
    • Hang out in HCMC - Grab rides are cheap and easy (see above about getting a SIM card). We didn't see much in HCMC that we felt we needed to add, so we chose another option
    • Fly into another city - plenty of options
      • Da Nang (maybe to see My Son or Hue) or
      • Hanoi (for Ha Long Bay or Ning Binh. This option will cost you more (you'll need another flight to get you from there to the HCMC start point, but inter Vietnam flights were ~$100). You may also need a driver to get you to the sights (like we did for Ha Long (the cruises can be expensive) and Ninh Binh)
  • Post trip - see more temples in Siem Reap. There was a bit of free time in Siem Reap, but not enough to go out and explore. Plus, we had a very early flight out on the last day (if we chose anything later, it added 10+ hours to our travel day - which was already something like 30 hours).
• So much good food - the only 'disappointing' meal we had was at the nice restaurant in the hotel in Hanoi. It wasn't bad at all, but we could have easily found better food for less. Some of the 'on your own' favorites were: in Hanoi, the "Obama Bun Cha" place; in Hoi An, Morning Glory; in Luang Prabang, Mande de Laos (our favorite of the trip, highly recommended)
• Laundry is inexpensive and can be done in a few of the stops - for our group, just about everyone sent out laundry in Hoi An. Others did some in Luang Prabang, and we did some at the last stop in Siem Reap. We did that through the hotel and probably paid a lot more than if we would have asked the ABD guides to help, but it was nice to get home and unpack clean clothes
• Not sure of the processes now (or when you'll be ready for this step), but we found the evisa to be easy - even though the website looks very sketchy.
• There wasn't a lot of 'on your own' time. A few meals here and there and a short afternoon in Hoi An (but not really long enough to adventure out). We still planned some things that we wanted to see just in case, but didn't get to do any of them.
• Market tour in Hoi An - get as close to the guide as you can at the start. The market is narrow and you are close to single file a lot of the way. Those in the back were WAY in the back and probably had no idea what the guide was pointing out. We just happened to be in the right spot. I assume the ABD guides were doing their best to help the folks further back in the line.
• Hoi An Marble Mountain excursion - might just be me, but I didn't find this excursion worth the time (my wife skipped this completely and just hung out at the hotel). The mountain was okay but then it was followed by a long stop at a marble shop. If I had to do it over again, I might have gone to the mountain with the group, then took a Grab back to the hotel and skipped the marble shop. Again, it wouldn't have added enough time to go explore, but personally, I would have rather spent the time at the pool or even staring at the walls of my hotel room than marble shop. YMMV
• Tipping the guides at the last stop (Siem Reap) is pretty easy if you have an ATM card with no international fees. There is an ATM across the street from the hotel and USD are the common currency there.

 

[AquaDame]

Congratulations - we loved this trip! We went a few days early and went to Ninh Binh and Ha Long Bay - both were great... particularly Ninh Binh. Our trip report is here.

Some quick, off the top of my head tips/suggestions:

• Add days before and/or after the trip if you can - it's relatively inexpensive once you are over there. (If you take this option, I'd also recommend getting a data SIM card for your cell phone. Also pretty cheap and well worth it.
  • Pre trip you could
    • Hang out in HCMC - Grab rides are cheap and easy (see above about getting a SIM card). We didn't see much in HCMC that we felt we needed to add, so we chose another option
    • Fly into another city - plenty of options
      • Da Nang (maybe to see My Son or Hue) or
      • Hanoi (for Ha Long Bay or Ning Binh. This option will cost you more (you'll need another flight to get you from there to the HCMC start point, but inter Vietnam flights were ~$100). You may also need a driver to get you to the sights (like we did for Ha Long (the cruises can be expensive) and Ninh Binh)
  • Post trip - see more temples in Siem Reap. There was a bit of free time in Siem Reap, but not enough to go out and explore. Plus, we had a very early flight out on the last day (if we chose anything later, it added 10+ hours to our travel day - which was already something like 30 hours).
• So much good food - the only 'disappointing' meal we had was at the nice restaurant in the hotel in Hanoi. It wasn't bad at all, but we could have easily found better food for less. Some of the 'on your own' favorites were: in Hanoi, the "Obama Bun Cha" place; in Hoi An, Morning Glory; in Luang Prabang, Mande de Laos (our favorite of the trip, highly recommended)
• Laundry is inexpensive and can be done in a few of the stops - for our group, just about everyone sent out laundry in Hoi An. Others did some in Luang Prabang, and we did some at the last stop in Siem Reap. We did that through the hotel and probably paid a lot more than if we would have asked the ABD guides to help, but it was nice to get home and unpack clean clothes
• Not sure of the processes now (or when you'll be ready for this step), but we found the evisa to be easy - even though the website looks very sketchy.
• There wasn't a lot of 'on your own' time. A few meals here and there and a short afternoon in Hoi An (but not really long enough to adventure out). We still planned some things that we wanted to see just in case, but didn't get to do any of them.
• Market tour in Hoi An - get as close to the guide as you can at the start. The market is narrow and you are close to single file a lot of the way. Those in the back were WAY in the back and probably had no idea what the guide was pointing out. We just happened to be in the right spot. I assume the ABD guides were doing their best to help the folks further back in the line.
• Hoi An Marble Mountain excursion - might just be me, but I didn't find this excursion worth the time (my wife skipped this completely and just hung out at the hotel). The mountain was okay but then it was followed by a long stop at a marble shop. If I had to do it over again, I might have gone to the mountain with the group, then took a Grab back to the hotel and skipped the marble shop. Again, it wouldn't have added enough time to go explore, but personally, I would have rather spent the time at the pool or even staring at the walls of my hotel room than marble shop. YMMV
• Tipping the guides at the last stop (Siem Reap) is pretty easy if you have an ATM card with no international fees. There is an ATM across the street from the hotel and USD are the common currency there.

Random question but do you remember the carriers Disney used for the included flight segments..? I get a little nervous* when flying so I like to keep it to ones with good safety records...

*this is an understatement....

 

[cschaaf]

Random question but do you remember the carriers Disney used for the included flight segments..? I get a little nervous* when flying so I like to keep it to ones with good safety records...

*this is an understatement....

Sorry, I do not. I just showed up when and where they told me to. That was the part of the trip where I could shut off my 'planning brain'.

 

[anonymousegirl]

Sorry, I do not. I just showed up when and where they told me to. That was the part of the trip where I could shut off my 'planning brain'.

The one of the things I love about ABD. Just show up at an airport and board the plane. No worry about what time to leave the hotel, how to get to the airport, how security works. No worries about getting your boarding pass, or your luggage. Love it!!

 

[MeDisney]

Did this trip every go?
I was wondering if any 2022 trips to SE Asia went.
I had questions about the weather in December and January, if it rained or if you needed a light jacket.
Also for the inter flights with between the countries, what kind of carry on was allowed and if they weighed the carry ons? We don't like to check in bags but we realize that the international flights are sometimes very strict with carry on size and weight vs the US airlines.

 

[sayhello]

I heard from a TA on fb that the trips through July have been cancelled. Nothing beyond that yet.

Sayhello

 

[MeDisney]

It looks like there are Asia trips listed for 2022 but has been more challenging to start than the Europe trips. I wonder if any Asia trips happened at all this year given the current restrictions for visas to Vietnam and Japan, and China with the covid restrictions.

 

[abdgeek]

Did this trip every go?
I was wondering if any 2022 trips to SE Asia went.
I had questions about the weather in December and January, if it rained or if you needed a light jacket.
Also for the inter flights with between the countries, what kind of carry on was allowed and if they weighed the carry ons? We don't like to check in bags but we realize that the international flights are sometimes very strict with carry on size and weight vs the US airlines.

I called ABD a couple of days ago to check on whether ABDs were actually going and to see whether the current NZ and Danube River Cruise trips were since I have those coming up. The representative said everything was going except some of the Asia ABDs(China, Japan, Vietnam). I know the first NZ trip isn’t until October, but hope the Day 0 & 5 testing requirements will be gone then now that the pre-testing requirement to enter the country will be in July. Fingers crossed.

 

[MeDisney]

I called ABD a couple of days ago to check on whether ABDs were actually going and to see whether the current NZ and Danube River Cruise trips were since I have those coming up. The representative said everything was going except some of the Asia ABDs(China, Japan, Vietnam). I know the first NZ trip isn’t until October, but hope the Day 0 & 5 testing requirements will be gone then now that the pre-testing requirement to enter the country will be in July. Fingers crossed.

Hoping your NZ trips goes and all testing removed. Very sad to hear about Asia trips.

Does anyone know if any other tour company have trips that have successfully gone in Asia?

 

[sayhello]

Hoping your NZ trips goes and all testing removed. Very sad to hear about Asia trips.

Does anyone know if any other tour company have trips that have successfully gone in Asia?

Japan is still not open to tourists and China requires a *minimum* 14 day quarantine upon entering the country. So I really can't imagine that any companies have run trips to either of those countries yet (except for the EXTREMELY limited and controlled tiny state tours that Japan is testing).

It does appear that restrictions for Vietnam, Laos & Cambodia have been loosened since May (although vaccines are still required) so it's hard to say if any companies have started trips there yet or not. I haven't heard of any, but I haven't been monitoring that. ABD currently does not have any Asia Pacific trips besides Australia on it's website's schedule prior to Sep/Oct.

Sayhello

 

[jerrywilliams]

The trip seemed to be awesome. I am planning to do a similar journey and wondering what is the best time visiting Vietnam? Another question is how to choose a website where i apply for my visa? I found this one for example https://vietnamvisa-au.com/, anyone know something of it? How long doesn't it take to have your visa in hands?

 

[cschaaf]

The trip seemed to be awesome. I am planning to do a similar journey and wondering what is the best time visiting Vietnam? Another question is how to choose a website where i apply for my visa? I found this one for example https://vietnamvisa-au.com/, anyone know something of it? How long doesn't it take to have your visa in hands?

It's been a few years and there's been a global pandemic in the mean time, but we did this trip in 2019.

When we went, there was a Visa On Arrival option and an eVisa option. We chose eVisa and it was simple. We used this site to apply - it's the official site: https://evisa.xuatnhapcanh.gov.vn/trang-chu-ttdt

It looks sketchy and we worried about it. Looking back through my emails, it took around 4 or 5 days to get the approval notice. Once you get the notice, it's even sketchier looking. It's a very plan PDF that looked far from official.

Once we got to Vietnam, it was straightforward and quick. We just followed the signs for eVisa and showed the plain PDF and we were right in.

As far as when to visit, we were there in early July and it was hot, very hot. For the most part, ABD did a good job of planning around the hottest parts of the day where possible.

I specifically remember being hot on a few occasions (to be fair, I like hot temperatures): At the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum area (no shade), Hoi An market (cramped and no breeze), and an on-our-own pre-trip day we spent in Ninh Binh (a long, active day much of it without shade (row boat trip at Trang An, climbing Hang Mua)).

Outside of Vietnam, it was also very hot on our Angkor Wat day - once again, not much shade to be found.

 

[pjacobi]

PDF? eVISA?

My visa for Egypt was much simpler. It was simply a clean, crisp, unmutilated $20 US bill, payable upon arrival! That's one way to get hard cash into the country.


-Paul

 

[cschaaf]

PDF? eVISA?

My visa for Egypt was much simpler. It was simply a clean, crisp, unmutilated $20 US bill, payable upon arrival! That's one way to get hard cash into the country.


-Paul

I was happy to pay the extra $5 and know in advance that we’d be allowed in without questions or issues