southeast asia in 5 weeks - if I only had wings

Forty-five days: Vietnam, Cambodia and a few side trips Singapore, Bali and Japan

• Question: How is it to be on 10 flight segments and on vacations during the same 5 week period?

• Accommodations: 50% Hotels 5 and 4 star,ecolodge, homestay pre-booked. government hotels in route. 
• Activities: Ten days of activities with guides pre-booked, 7 days guides, booked on site
• Transport: International flight, Victoria Orient Express, speed boat, junk boat cruise pre-booked, domestic flights in route Vietnam Airlines, Bangkok Air,

My Experiences:  Fun meter: learned how to meditate and breathe as I crossed traffic in Hanoi. - too fast and I'm a goner. Took a polaroid with me and showed up at the local market in Sapa, Vietnam. I became a celebrity for an Andy Warhol 15 minutes. Almost mobbed. Loved playing in the mud of the delta for 5 days in the almost bugless, dry season. Tried a milk apple and a few other forgetable fruits. Meeting 10 Vietnamese artists on a motorbike trip up to Sapa and spending a couple of days with them. Loved the standing elephant fish dish. Cyclo crazy Phnom Pehn. Angkor Wat, a place where people rule and the Gods have left. Get up early. The FCC was pleasantly placed next to the Royal Residence and out of the way of the dusty market area. One detour due to central coast flooding. . . Hoi An next time.

• $$-Highs- $150 to send $40 souvenir to the USA, arriving at 7 am in the morning at the Soffitel and having them Charge me 1/2 the room rate so for a 24hr use I paid 1.5x the amount. What? . . . but the Marina Mandarin in Singapore, not only let me sleep on arrival at 7 a.m., but since my executive room wasn't ready, they upgraded me to a suite ($1500 room) and gave me 9 chocolate covered strawberries and some wine, no EXTRA CHARGE. Guess when there's little to no competition, not as much leverage. Lunch of a bottle of champagne and eurasian food in Seim Reap dusty, Hotel de la Paix $220.
• $$- Lows- Junk Boat Cruise with 3 friend, coulda, woulda stayed an extra day. Same with Sapa. Loved the constant interaction with the local "saleswomen" That's the Black Hmong and Red Tao Tribes women, and It really had me think back to my sales days and what it takes. You buy from me? You buy from me too? Hey that's what I used to do so don't knock it. Hey, the ATMs in Cambodia spit out US dollars. . . no conversion charge, yeah! The hospitality industry sponsored, learn and work restaurants/hotels, especially the organic restaurants are worth a visit in Vietnam and Cambodia.

Bottomline: Vietnam and Cambodia are developing tourist areas and not a lot of 5 star accommodations, so minimal, if any discounts. The word "luxury" has a broad meaning. Internet planning, still in the fax your payment information mode for many hotels, guides, tour agencies etc. In route lots of government hotels to choose from. For first time, low budget travelers, either take an open ended wandering trip or try ubiquitous Intrepid Group Travel. Those with time constraints and no budget concerns, take a Abercrombie and Kent or Butterfield and Robinson. They know how to do it in the developed countries, so they are good at sourcing the best. If you want to shop, have a layover in the Singapore or better yet, the Bangkok Suvarnabhumi airport where the 6 international terminals are filled with up market and fine design shops.

Answer: Well it was 12 flight segments, and next time with the one and only flight that I booked with a ticket consolidator, I need to BE CLEAR, that on an overnight flight, it shouldn't start at 3:00 a.m. from Bangkok and be with gum chewing passengers on a flight, that doesn't ever shut off the overhead lights! I have a tolerance limit.  Note to self: Next time bring less technology and bring more film for the polaroid. Learn with a capital L, the only commitment I have to souvenirs is to BUY THEM, not to lug around, nor to ship. Finally, ask what I am eating before diving in. . . Vietnamese eat a broad range of swimming, flying, crawling, walking, climbing, galloping, yes. . . . galloping things.  so travel happy -senses wide open.

Comments

[Villas in Bali]

Oh god.. you can't even believe that so much I have enjoyed wid my hubby.. It was really a great fun.

[tracy]

can't believe no one comments on this! I did have a great time planning, and doing this trip! what an adventure! and take a look at the art I made from my photos!