Deborah Kramer from USA

1. Guide (s):

Mr. Luong (Guide in the North):Mr. Luong was wonderful in providing much information about Vietnam.  He also was very kind and helpful to all of us.  He was especially kind to me by providing a wonderful birthday experience for me on Ha Long Bay.  I will never forget the flaming banana Fosters, the beautiful Birthday cake, and singing along to Karoake.  It was an awesome experience.  Mr. Luong was a perfect gentleman and was someone that I felt very close to by the end of the trip.  I hope that I may be able to see him again.  I have recommended a trip to Vietnam and the expertise of Mr. Luong to all my friends.  It was a joy to be in Vietnam and to have such a wonderful guide helping me understand the country

Mr. Co (Guide in the Centre)  Mr. Co was also a very knowledgeable guide.  He treated us with much kindness and respect.  I hope that I will be able to visit Vietnam again and have him as a guide

Mr. Tung (Guide in the South)  Mr. Tung was wonderful and very knowledgeable about the area.  His English was very good and we all learned so much from him.  He is certainly an expert in South Vietnam.  I enjoyed him and his expertise very much.  I hope I can return someday with my husband and have Mr. Tung as our guide

Mr. Sovan (Guide in Siem Reap)  Mr. Sovan was a very good tour guide.  He was very kind and helpful for us.  I wish there was a way that he could have stopped the mobs of children from trying to sell their wares, but I assume it would be impossible.  I enjoyed my time in Cambodia very much and I hope to return sometime to see more of the country

2. Accommodation:

Sofitel Plaza Hotel (In Hanoi)  Sofitel was wonderful. I felt very lucky to be in such a nice hotel.  I

Imperial Hotel (in Hue)  The Imperial Hotel was very beautiful and a nice place to stay.  I enjoyed the kind consideration of the staff.

Golden Sand Resort (In Hoi An)  Golden Sand Resort was fantastic.  I only wish I had more time there to enjoy its beauty and nice accomadations.  I would like to return here.

Equatorial Hotel (in Ho Chi Minh City)  I truly loved this hotel.  The staff was wonderful and very kind to me.  I enjoyed returning to it after our trip to Cambodia.  It was like coming home.   I loved the buffet at dinner in the Internet Café.  Very nice wait-staff in the café and I especially like the nice tradition dress of the employees.

Victoria Hotel (In Can Tho)  Victoria Hotel was very beautiful and very accommodating.  Our stay was only too short  in such a beautiful location.  The Food was excellent.

Angkor Palace Resort (in Siem Reap)  A very nice hotel.  I would stay there again.

3. Transport (Land, water and air):

All transportation was done very well.  I especially enjoyed the air conditioned buses.  It would have been very hard for us to have travelled without air conditioning since we are such spoiled Americans.  The boat trips were extremely fun—especially the junk in Ha Long Bay.  What a beautiful place and the best way to see it is by boat.  Thanks again for the fantastic birthday surprise on the boat.  Airlines within the country were very nice and served good food for us.  Thank you for all the special treatment we received.

4. Restaurants:

In the North:  All the food in Vietnam was fantastic.  I can’t even remember any difference between the North, Center, or South.  It was the best food of our trip.  I love Vietnamese food.  In fact, when I returned to the US, I made my husband take me to a Vietnamese restaurant for Pho!!  I really missed it!  Breakfasts were just awesome.  The variety was wonderful and more than I would have ever expected. 

In the Centre:  Fantastic

In the South:  Totally Fantastic.

In Siem Reap:  Very nice but not as good a Vietnam.

5. Places you visited:

We visited places that I have only read about and many places that I never knew about before.  I loved Ha Long Bay, the floating market, the beautiful gardens, the Temple of Literature, the Cultural Museum.  In addition to the places visited, I enjoyed the beautiful countryside.  Thank you also for the trip to see the village.  I really thought it was special to see how people live.  I also found the temple in Siem Reap enthralling.  I never thought I would see these beautiful temples and sights. 

6. Design and management of your tour:

Our tour in Vietnam was wonderful.  It was nice that Mr. Loung would tailor our tour to what we wanted to see.  He would also give us time to shop, which was very kind since I am sure we messed up the schedule.  I do wish we had had more time to relax at the beautiful hotels but I would not want to give up any of the things we saw for this.  Next time, we need more time in each of the cities of Vietnam..

7. Are there any recommendations or criticisms of services, restaurants, shops, visit sites and so on that you’ve visited on your own?

I loved the Lemongrass restaurant in Vietnam (I think it was Ho Chi Minh City).  We took our tour guide’s advice and I am glad we did.  It was wonderful.  

I would love to provide anyone with a recommendation. My trip was excellent and a dream come true.  Thank you for making this trip so wonderful for me.