Cambodia and Vietnam

elantan

Hi everyone, sorry I haven't got back at all, was working a crazy shift pattern there for a while, those 15 hour work days don't really allow for much else other than eating and sleeping

Am currently on holiday just now in Turkey, it's making us more determined to go Far East ... So am sitting here with my phone getting sporadic Internet connection and trying to get some sort of plan together for Cambodia and Vietnam

My friend contracted dengue whilst in Nicaragua a few years ago and has been ill due to it a few times since, I suffer really bad with bites, I have yet to find something that helps me not get bitten, I imagine we will need to get some malerone tablets ( or the anti malarial a for the area we go to )

Will try and get some pen and paper and take note of all the places recommended here an do a wee bit of research on each, when I get home I will deff get myself the lonely planet books ( had hoped to have them already but didn't get the chance with work)

Thanks again for all your help

garybarlowsbeard

It depends very much where you are going within the countries, certainly for some areas it is recommended. Malaria is very underestimated and it's not worth the risk to save a few quid IMO.

PompeyPete

If you go onto the Trip Advisor discussion forums for Cambodia and Thailand, Dengue Fever is a subject that's been discussed in depth more than once recently.

When you get onto the forum just type 'Dengue' in the Search box, and when you press <<Return>> all will be revealed. The Search results will be in random order, so to get them into a much more useful date order with the most recent at the the top, change the drop-down box at the right hand side of the results page from 'Relevance' to 'Date'.

PompeyPete

It's also v.important that you make an appointment with your local GP Travel Clinic for a few weeks before you travel.

You can discuss all your medical concerns at the appointment. At the end of it as well as getting a personalised MASTA Health Brief, you'll feel reassured that the 30 minutes or so that you had on a one-2-one briefing was 30 minutes well spent.

totallybored

elantan wrote: »

when I get home I will deff get myself the lonely planet books ( had hoped to have them already but didn't get the chance with work)

I wouldn't bother, buy a cheap knock off one when you get there if you really want one. I had the Lonely Planet one that covers Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and North Thailand but I stopped trusting it after it described Nha Trang as one of the best places to visit in Vietnam.

Trip advisor forums and tripadvisor plus a smart phone so you can use wifi when you get there are much more useful.

claire16c

elantan wrote: »

Hi again everyone, thanks for contributing its appreciated

Have been working silly shifts again so all my reading has been done via phone ... Will read in depth everything you have all shared and get back with responses once I am on the laptop again, have been doing some reading and slight bit of planning, slowly we are getting an inkling into what we want to do etc, I am liking the idea of not taking any official tour guide but getting a local English spoken ( as I am useless at languages ... Can't even manage English correctly sometimes) guide a that should help the locals a wee bit.

So far were thinking Bangkok (2 nights to get over jet lag )

Transfer to Siam Reap for 5-7 days with 3 days done at Angkor etc $40 for a three day ticket, bus to Phnom phen stay 3-4 days fly to Hanoi for 3 nights then train to HCMC for 4 nights ( although I quite fancied Nah Trang but its kinda out the way... Then a beach place for a week or so, trying to pick a good beach area tbh Nah Trang looked good but I read that there is a Russian !!!!! type issue ... I also fancied Phu Quoc but then there was a beach area in Cambodia that looked ok ( began with an S but can't remember it) ... I seem to keep going back to Phu Quoc but am not entirely sure.

I'm a bit concerned as I feel we may still be missing out on things Hoi An for eg ... I still have a long way to go but slowly with your help we are getting there

Thanks again

Please don't miss hoi an! You can see everyone on this thread mentions it, it's great, you can not go to Vietnam & miss it!

I didn't like nha trang that much , we said if we want a beach area in Vietnam again wed stay at the beach part in hoi an. Spend a couple of days there & then maybe 3 in the town.

You can fly to da nang & then get the bus to hoi an.

It's part way between Hanoi & hcmc so then you wouldn't need to take a horribly long train ride you can work your way down the country. I'd fly so much quicker.

Obviously_the_best

Just to make doubly trebly post this

On landing in Hanoi you will need to have a visa pre-authorisation letter from someone like https://www.cheapvietnamvisa.net and you'll have to pay a 45USD stamping fee, or for slightly more you can get a visa from the embassy before you leave.

beckysbobbles1

I've just came back from a tour of Vietnam and Cambodia, ending in Bangkok.

It was a tour booked with G Adventures called Essential Vietnam and Cambodia. It's a great way of travelling. The company organises all the transport, accommadation and some meals are included. It cost me £1059 for a 17 day tour.

Vietnam is a beautiful country. I didn't like Hanoi as I found it far too crazy! Ha Long Bay was beauty but I was so disappointed with the pollution in the water. Hoi An was a great place to visit. Lovely countryside and also the beach.

Cambodia is a very sad country. The poverty compared to Vietnam is terrible. Many children begging. The countryside wasn't as nice but that's because it wasn't well kept. And of course the history of the country is awful. However Angkor Wat was amazing!

PompeyPete

totallybored wrote: »

I wouldn't bother, buy a cheap knock off one when you get there if you really want one. I had the Lonely Planet one that covers Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and North Thailand but I stopped trusting it after it described Nha Trang as one of the best places to visit in Vietnam.

I think it's a trap many people fall into.
Personally, I think all the resources that are available have their pros and cons, and some have more cons than others.

LP has got loads and loads of useful information, but like you say some of the facts don't live up to expectation, ditto with a lot of their accommodation recommendations.

I wouldn't bother to buy a copy of LP or RG either. Borrow one from your local library. If they haven't got a copy they should be able to order you one from a nearby library.

Doshwaster

PompeyPete wrote: »

LP has got loads and loads of useful information, but like you say some of the facts don't live up to expectation, ditto with a lot of their accommodation recommendations.

I find the LP and RG are useful for background information (and some of the Time Out series are good too) and for deciding where to go but I wouldn't rely on them for accommodation. There is a "guide book effect" where that wonderful cheap and quaint guest house gets into one of the big guides and then suddenly becomes a charmless expensive tourist ripoff within a few years as it gets too popular. The other problem with is that some of them are just so big and you only need a small percentage of the book while on your travels. In the past I've just photocopied the pages I'm interested in and left the book at home.

These days just about everywhere has free wi-fi so it's easy to do research as you go.