Thailand / Vietnam / Cambodia 2009 Travelogue
Trip Summary:
Destination: Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia
Travel Company: Overseas Adventure Travel (OAT)
When: 17 October – 9 November 2009
Duration: 23 Days
Photos taken: Kathy took 5376, Bob took 5840 (total 11216).
Prologue:
Vietnam wasn't my first choice of destinations for this trip. To be honest, I only wanted to see Angkor Wat, the ancient ruins of the Hindu spiritual center of the Khmer people in Cambodia. I've been happy with our previous trips with OAT, Overseas Adventure Travel, and they offered huge discounts for booking the trip early. There were two ways to see Angkor Wat: as a post-trip extension to a Thailand trip and as a post-trip extension to a Vietnam trip. Since Kathy and I had a wonderful trip to Thailand in 1997, with a personal guide (before our digital camera days, so no travelogue—sorry) we opted to see Vietnam instead.
Click on the photos to see comments I wrote and photos we took on each day:
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Day 1 |
10/17/09 |
Minneapolis to Tokyo to Bangkok |
No photos |
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No comments |
Day 2 |
10/18/09 |
In Transit |
No photos |
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Day 3 |
10/19/09 |
Bangkok, Thailand Grand Palace, Reclining Buddha, Wat Arun |
Bob: 347, Kathy: 363 |
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Day 4 |
10/20/09 |
Ayuthaya, Thailand Bang Pa-In Palace, Temple Ruins, Wat Maha That, Wat Ratchaburana |
Bob: 348, Kathy: 322 |
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Day 5 |
10/21/09 |
Hanoi, Vietnam Downtown Hanoi, Orientation walk, Local Market |
Bob: 74, Kathy: 57 |
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Day 6 |
10/22/09 |
Hanoi, Vietnam Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, Museum of Ethnology, Water puppet Show |
Bob: 176, Kathy: 257 |
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Day 7 |
10/23/09 |
Hanoi, Vietnam Tho Ha Village, Hanoi Hilton |
Bob: 213, Kathy: 259 |
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Day 8 |
10/24/09 |
Ha Long Bay, Vietnam Cruise Ha Long Bay in a Junk, Cave Tour |
Bob: 304, Kathy: 255 |
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Day 9 |
10/25/09 |
Hue, Vietnam Temple of Confucius |
Bob: 76, Kathy: 75 |
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Day 10 |
10/26/09 |
Hue, Vietnam Hue Citadel, Orphanage, Emperors tombs, Pagoda |
Bob: 406, Kathy: 263 |
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Day 11 |
10/27/09 |
Hoi An, Vietnam Marble Mountain, China Beach, Old Town, Cooking lesson |
Bob: 285, Kathy: 237 |
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Day 12 |
10/28/09 |
Hoi An, Vietnam My Son Temple |
Bob: 285, Kathy: 293 |
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Day 13 |
10/29/09 |
Nha Trang, Vietnam Dien Phu school, Basket weaving village |
Bob: 196, Kathy: 180 |
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Day 14 |
10/30/09 |
Nha Trang, Vietnam Beach, Mieu Island, Champa Temple, Local market, Pagoda |
Bob: 251, Kathy: 162 |
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Day 15 |
10/31/09 |
Dalat, Vietnam Drive to Dalat, Truc Lam Zer Buddhist Pagoda, Home-hosted dinner |
Bob: 207, Kathy: 186 |
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Day 16 |
11/01/09 |
Dalat City, Vietnam Greenhouse, Silk factory, Banana Village, Dalat market, Dalat University, Lat Village |
Bob: 360, Kathy: 234 |
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Day 17 |
11/02/09 |
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam Saigon / Ho Chi Minh City, War Museum, Church, Post Office |
Bob: 109, Kathy: 86 |
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Day 18 |
11/03/09 |
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam Rubber Tree farm, Cu Chi Tunnels, Buddhist temple |
Bob: 270, Kathy: 186 |
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Day 19 |
11/04/09 |
Mekong Delta, Vietnam Cao Dai temple, Mekong river cruise, Canoe ride, Candy factory |
Bob: 248, Kathy: 240 |
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Day 20 |
11/05/09 |
Siem Reap, Cambodia Local temple, Ox Cart Ride, Cultural show |
Bob: 226, Kathy: 239 |
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Day 21 |
11/06/09 |
Siem Reap, Cambodia Angkor Wat, School, Jungle Temple, Village, Home-hosted lunch, Angkor Thom, Ancient Khmer ruins |
Bob: 643, Kathy: 590 |
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Day 22 |
11/07/09 |
Siem Reap, Cambodia Tonle Sap Lake Village, Banteay Srei temple, Sunset, Puppet Show |
Bob: 614, Kathy: 791 |
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Day 23 |
11/08/09 |
Siem Reap, Cambodia Bangkok, Thailand Killing Fields Memorial, Park in Bangkok |
Bob: 202, Kathy: 101 |
The "Wild OATs"- Click here to see additional photos of this trip's OAT group members.
What we did right:
We estimated the clothes pretty well. I brought two pairs of slacks, two pairs of shorts and one pair of slacks with zip-off legs. Vietnam and Cambodia are extremely hot, even in November, so dress light! We brought a good amount of cash. We brought all the right chargers and cables needed for our portable electronics: the computer, iPhone, mp3 player, cameras.
What we did wrong:
We brought travelers checks. We didn't need them and never cashed a single one: the ATMs worked fine in Vietnam. I brought two books, but should have only brought one. We were just too busy, and when we weren't busy we were too tired.
Notes for travelers thinking about Vietnam and Cambodia:
Cambodia uses the US dollar for most transactions. If you use an ATM, it even dispenses fifty and twenty dollar bills. The electrical outlets were either European or European adapted to accept United States plugs. However, the voltage is 220, so make sure before you go that your chargers and power supplies accept at least 240 volts. It will say so in tiny letters on the power supply. Most laptop chargers and iPhone chargers do accept 240 volts these days.
