Cambodia and Vietnam

claire16c

I'd rather get to the place I want to visit and explore the area, not explore stinky toilets and cramped carriages lol

Plus me and DH get travel sick so no way where we going on an overnight bus - and again the toilet situation.

We could be somewhere in a couple of hours that would have taken half a day by train or bus.

3 hours was enough for me!

totallybored

The trains aren't too bad. I enjoyed them in a strange way and I normally shudder at the thought of staying anywhere that's not a Four Seasons. Mine ran on time with no delays and I was lucky though. The section into Danang from the north is absolutely stunning. My first train had no air con for most of the journey and the toilet wasn't great but I survived.

I would definitely recommend the train, not sure I'd do it again after doing the whole length of Vietnam but it was a great experience. For anyone thinking of taking the train make sure you buy sleeping bag liners in Hanoi!

Party_Animal

We've done Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam as well as Thailand many times. In Vietnam we flew to Hanoi from Laos. The Hanoi kids do a great tour. We saw all the main sites. We then had a 2 day Halong bay tour which I would recommend, flew to Hue ( worth a visit) then apart from a detour by bus to Dalat ( again worth a visit) we went the whole way to HCMC by train. No night trains though and we loved the trains. Sometimes difficult to climb on with your bags. We took our own food on the trains but did buy a few beers on them. An experience. We were lucky to be in HCMC for Chinese New Year. We also did the tunnels, and I managed to squeeze through and a trip to the Mekong Delta was enjoyable. I agree with what people have said about Hoi Ann, lovely place. I also enjoyed Siem Reap. One way of doing it, as we did is to fly to Bangkok, then up to Changrai and take a 2 day boat trip to Luang Prabang in Laos. This is one of my favourite place and you can fly to Hanoi from there.

Leanne1812

I guess you're right Pompeypete. An experience I never want to repeat!

PompeyPete

Leanne1812 wrote: »

I guess you're right Pompeypete. An experience I never want to repeat!

But you need to try it to find out.;)

PompeyPete

Party_Animal wrote: »

One way of doing it, as we did is to fly to Bangkok, then up to Changrai and take a 2 day boat trip to Luang Prabang in Laos.

Or Bangkok to Nong Khai by overnight train.
A night or three in Nong Khai.
Across the Friendship Bridge into Laos.
Vientiane [the Capital City] is a short tuk tuk or taxi ride.
A couple of nights in Vientiane.
Bus [4 hours] to Vang Vieng.
Take in the scenery, and chill for a few days.
Bus [6 hours] to Luang Prabang.