Vietnam / Cambodia / Thailand next year

bylromarha

PompeyPete wrote: »

We've stayed in loads of hotels in Bangkok, but our favourite mid-range hotel right on the Chao Phraya River with swimming pool, and excellent buffet breakfast is the New Siam Riverside....

http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Hotel_Review-g293916-d1763955-Reviews-New_Siam_Riverside_Guest_House-Bangkok.html

We paid £35 a night earlier this year for an excellent standard double with breakfast, and were completely satisfied with the vfm. Obviously a swimming pool isn't a necessity, but at the end of a long day on your feet you're glad of a dip.

We stayed at New Siam Riverside last summer. Didn't rate it TBH. Useful place to lay your head, and location was okay, but room was meh. Hardly room to swing a cat. Wasn't worth paying the extra for the riverside location IMHO.

Leanne1812

maggiesoop wrote: »

Hi, I'm turning 60 next year and have never visited any of these places and would dearly loved to. We'd like the weather to be warm (preferably around 25 degrees) and not over run with tourists. Can anyone advise best time / best places / any recommendations, we'll take 3 weeks off work so plenty of time to explore hopefully. Thanks so much in advance.

I've been to all of them and prefer Vietnam & Cambodia over Thailand. I wouldn't do all three in just 3 weeks. Possibly 2 and only if you feel you may never return and would like to see as much as you can.

I'm returning to Cambodia in February to see a bit more of the country but love both Phnom Penh & Siem Reap. They both offer lots of sightseeing albeit some is quite harrowing. You have the killing fields in Phnom Penh & S21, the prison where many were tortured & killed. Almost every Cambodian you meet will have been directly affected by the Khmer Rouge and are keen to share their stories.

Angkor Wat is breathtaking, the scale is immense & the renovation work is quite amazing. Siem Reap itself is a lovely town. Unfortunately if you want to experience the sights you will see plenty of other tourists.

Vietnam has lots to offer too, 2 great cities both with lots of sightseeing plus Halong Bay( a must do!) and some great beach resorts. We loved Hoi An, I'd go back in an instant.

Travel is very easy, we are independent travellers and plan and book everything ourselves. It is easy provided you do plenty of research. We mostly fly internally to save time but have taken a long distance train in Vietnam ( I hated it) and cab from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap, it's about maybe 200 Km and cost £40!

We went in October which is rainy season. It was pretty wet at night and Siem Reap had some flooding but it didn't spoil our holiday. The sun still came out and we swam in the pool. It was very hot and humid.

We were happy with all our accommodation, ranging from £40-60 a night including breakfast. I can give you the names if you'd like.

Anything else I could help with please ask.

Hope his helps a wee bit

PompeyPete

bylromarha wrote: »

We stayed at New Siam Riverside last summer. Didn't rate it TBH. Useful place to lay your head, and location was okay, but room was meh. Hardly room to swing a cat. Wasn't worth paying the extra for the riverside location IMHO.

205 out of 246 reviews on TA rate the New Siam as VG or Excellent, me being one of them.

You must have got the broom cupboard;). The riverside location, riverside terrace restaurant, riverside swimming pool, and excellent buffet breakfast make the hotel IMHO real vfm, especially for a final chill-out after a few weeks D-i-Y'ing it around Thailand and Cambodia.

Doshwaster

Leanne1812 wrote: »

We were happy with all our accommodation, ranging from £40-60 a night including breakfast. I can give you the names if you'd like.

At the £40-60/night level you should get some excellent hotels. Personally, I usually look in the £30-40 price range. For me, location is the most important thing. As long as the room is clean, I'm not too bothered about facilities as I tend to only use the hotel for sleeping. The last time I was in Bangkok, I was literally in a windowless broom cupboard but the location was perfect and I only wanted somewhere to crash.

However, if you do look around then you can find some great places for a lot less. I once had a beachside air-con bungalow with wi-fi and breakfast for £15 a night.

PompeyPete

Leanne1812 wrote: »

I'm returning to Cambodia in February to see a bit more of the country but love both Phnom Penh & Siem Reap.

Battambang is worth at least 3 nights, as is Kampot and Kep. It's easy to exit Cambodia from Battambang, just over an hour by taxi to the Poipet border (easy enough providing you remain alert to scams).

Leanne1812 wrote: »

Angkor Wat is breathtaking, the scale is immense & the renovation work is quite amazing. Siem Reap itself is a lovely town. Unfortunately if you want to experience the sights you will see plenty of other tourists.

Yep, too many ill mannered and disrespectful tour groups, especially Koreans! The place being overrun completed spoiled the main sights for us, so we spent too much time hitting the Happy Hours down Pub Street.

The Angkor site has also been heavily plundered over the years by corrupt government officials, and thieving-to-order racketeers.

We've done the Temples of Bagan in Myanmar, which we enjoyed a lot more, although a couple of days of it leaves you with temple fatigue!

Leanne1812 wrote: »

Travel is very easy, we are independent travellers and plan and book everything ourselves. It is easy provided you do plenty of research. We mostly fly internally to save time but have taken a long distance train in Vietnam ( I hated it) and cab from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap, it's about maybe 200 Km and cost £40!

I hate internal flights in beautiful countries where there is so much to be seen on the ground...

http://www.canbypublications.com/

It's a 199 miles (not Kms) from PP to SR. The Giant Ibis bus costs $13, and is a very comfortable ride, and now that road has been improved and is now like a speed track, the bigger the vehicle the safer you feel. Here's the Giant Ibis website...

http://www.giantibis.com/

You got a good deal though as a taxi btween PP and SR is normally a least $75.

PompeyPete

Doshwaster wrote: »

At the £40-60/night level you should get some excellent hotels. Personally, I usually look in the £30-40 price range. For me, location is the most important thing. As long as the room is clean, I'm not too bothered about facilities as I tend to only use the hotel for sleeping.

Same as us. £40 would be for the odd splurge only, but if you're on the road for several weeks you need a few days of relative comfort

bylromarha

PompeyPete wrote: »

205 out of 246 reviews on TA rate the New Siam as VG or Excellent, me being one of them.

You must have got the broom cupboard;). The riverside location, riverside terrace restaurant, riverside swimming pool, and excellent buffet breakfast make the hotel IMHO real vfm, especially for a final chill-out after a few weeks D-i-Y'ing it around Thailand and Cambodia.

I didn't review them - I always figured if you can't say nothing nice, say nothing at all

Unless the place is terrible, I rarely leave bad reviews on TA. New Siam - meh. Might go and leave a review now and say it was meh. Nothing to write home about. If people want to waste money on a riverside location, then fair dos. If they want to get a better room with same hotel facilities with their money, then there are those options in Bangkok. Wished we had.

Thankfully we were only there 2 nights before we continued on our Asia travels.

PompeyPete

bylromarha wrote: »

If people want to waste money on a riverside location, then fair dos.

So why did you stay there?:D

The Chao Phraya flows through the heart of Bangkok and staying by the river is a great place to be...

http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Attraction_Review-g293916-d450968-Reviews-Chao_Phraya_River-Bangkok.html

bylromarha wrote: »

If they want to get a better room with same hotel facilities with their money, then there are those options in Bangkok. Wished we had.

We've stayed in what appear to be decent mid-range hotels in Sukhumvit, only to discover they rented most of their rooms out on an hourly rate to fat-bellied western men to have a quick jiggy-jiggy. Quite a few places like that!

bylromarha wrote: »

Thankfully we were only there 2 nights before we continued on our Asia travels.

I'd love to read your trip report;).

Doshwaster

PompeyPete wrote: »

We've stayed in what appear to be decent mid-range hotels in Sukhumvit, only to discover they rented most of their rooms out on an hourly rate to fat-bellied western men to have a quick jiggy-jiggy. Quite a few places like that!

Speaking as a (fairly) fat-bellied Western man, I resent that stereotype

Yes, a lot of that goes on but it is easy to ignore. I prefer the Sukhumvit area as it is right in the centre of everything. I have stopped around the Riverside/Banglamphu before (the Navali is excellent, if a little budget-busting) but it's a little too quiet for me, especially at night. The great thing about Bangkok, however, is that there is somewhere for all tastes and budgets.

PompeyPete

Doshwaster wrote: »

Speaking as a (fairly) fat-bellied Western man, I resent that stereotype

I just had a look at my belly too!:o

Doshwaster wrote: »

Yes, a lot of that goes on but it is easy to ignore. I prefer the Sukhumvit area as it is right in the centre of everything. I have stopped around the Riverside/Banglamphu before (the Navali is excellent, if a little budget-busting) but it's a little too quiet for me, especially at night. The great thing about Bangkok, however, is that there is somewhere for all tastes and budgets.

It ain't that easy to ignore if it's going on in the rooms either side and directly opposite the corridor, and witnessing daft sights warming up in the hotel foyer! We dislike some areas (eg Sukhumvit) for the same reasons why a lot of people like them. And as you say there is somewhere for everybody, but it's important to make the right choice.

Another reason we like the New Siam [and Navalai] is it's only a couple of minutes walk from the Khao San area, which as well as having many bars and restaurants is also a vibrant area and great for travellers to meet, swap stories, recent travel experiences and travel tips. But Banglamphu riverside is still far enough away from Khao San to be able to get a good nights kip before kicking off another exciting day.