Trip Report: Timeless Wonders of Vietnam, Cambodia & the Mekong (Uniworld) 12/20/15

[AweighToSea]

We're on almost the same itinerary with AMA Waterways in March 2017. I have a sun umbrella which provided much needed shade in Egypt several years ago. Sounds like this might be a good thing to take to Vietnam and Cambodia too?? Are there things you didn't need to pack? What has come in really handy? (Or did you cover this in your packing list in an earlier post?)

Hi, we too are considering AMA for this trip March next year. We have never taken a river cruise. Have you toured with AMA before?

[AweighToSea]

Thank-you for sharing your trip and taking the time for the excellent write-ups. Very nice indeed! Enjoyable and useful those taking such a trip and a great Virtual Travel-along for those who aren't

[Mark_T]

Would still like your opinion on the sun umbrella though.:)

Thanks!

 

Just a thought, but you may want to check with AMA to see what is provided on the ship.

 

On Viking they provided hats in the Cambodian style for that part of the trip and then Vietnamese style hats for the Vietnam part of the cruise, also umbrellas were theoretically available to use but I didn't see anyone doing that.

 

The hats were, as you might expect, very useful for shade, but there was one place we visited, a monastery where hats were not allowed and a parasol would have been useful there.

 

If it is easy for you to pack it then I'd say bring it anyway, but it is also something you could buy very cheaply there is needed.

[OBX Cruisers]

AweighToSea - This will be our first AMA Waterways cruise/tour. Have been to Egypt and China with Viking but no European river cruises yet.

Compared the "biggies" with lots of research here on CC and the individual websites. We liked that the AmaDara is brand new and has a central hallway so stateroom balconies are more private. Almost went with Avalon but thought we'd enjoy a little bit bigger ship with pool and more room to "wander." Itineraries on river seem similar but we wanted to start in Hanoi and end up in HCM City so we could go on to Bangkok (arranged on own with Kensington Tours). Checked out hotels on TripAdvisor and AMA had a slight edge. Overnight on junk in Ha Long Bay, a big must for us, included with AMA. Price was "right" and, in December, they were offering a small discount for early booking.

We'll be starting in Hanoi March 7 and traveling with 3 other couples. Come join us:)

[Floridiana]

Ooops - just found your excellent packing list posted on January 10. Would still like your opinion on the sun umbrella though.:)

Thanks!

 

The AmaLotus on the Mekong has umbrellas for guest use.

[jklc123]

Ewizabeff, what a fabulous first day in Siem Reap! We still remember fondly visiting schools in China and Russia.

[ewizabeff]

Would still like your opinion on the sun umbrella though.:)

Thanks!

 

While we were at the temples in Cambodia, the buses had umbrellas on them that we could take with us. You'll notice in one of my photos on my last post that I was using one on the gondola. I am very sensitive to sun and I appreciated having access to the umbrellas even though I had SPF 70 sunscreen and a baseball hat.

[ewizabeff]

Uniworld packs an awful lot of temple sight seeing into two full days in Siem Reap! Here's the write-up of Day 2 in Siem Reap, which included 4 (!) temples. It also happened to be Christmas Eve, and the day before we would board our boat to cruise the Mekong!

 

Christmas Even in Cambodia: Temples and Sunshine

[Floridiana]

I was waiting for your next blog installment! Great again!

 

The heat got to us, too. We skipped the excursion on the morning when we flew out at noon and one of the men in our group told us his wife had fainted on the early morning excursion. February is not even the hottest time of the year.

[Mark_T]

That really is a lot of temples in a short space of time...

 

I can't imagine doing the jungle temple in only an hour though, would have been good to get a bit more time there, but hopefully the time of day gave you some interesting lighting for your photos.

[ewizabeff]

That really is a lot of temples in a short space of time...

 

I can't imagine doing the jungle temple in only an hour though, would have been good to get a bit more time there, but hopefully the time of day gave you some interesting lighting for your photos.

 

It was enough for us. We'd sort of had our fill of temples at this point.

[ewizabeff]

Next post is up, but it's short and sweet. Still have 6 days of river and 2 days in Saigon to post about! (and the ship review, and posting the daily agendas, and our days in Hong Kong and Narita). I leave for England on May 21, so hopefully I can motor through by then!

 

Christmas By The Pool & Transfer To The River Orchid

[Floridiana]

Oh goody. I am looking forward to this part of your trip. It is the reverse of ours. We disembarked on the sandy hill to continue by bus to Siem Reap.

[ewizabeff]

I'm still working on this!

 

When I look back on our first full day on the River Orchid, I get tired just thinking about it! This post covers our morning in Kampong Cham, lunch onboard, an afternoon water blessing at Wat Hanchey, dinner onboard, and our fabulous complimentary laundry service.

 

Cruising the Mekong on the River Orchid: Kampong Cham and Wat Hanchey

[jpalbny]

Glad you're keeping this going! I too am having a hard time keeping up the pace with my Danube review. It's hard work...We'll have to see who finishes first. :)

[ewizabeff]

Between going through my notes, writing, organizing photos, and adding the titles and alt tags to images (I want to make sure the photos are accessible), it's taking about two hours per post! And I have a full-time job plus a few side gigs. I'd really like to finish it before we leave for England in 19 days....but I have 10 posts yet!

[Floridiana]

I really appreciate your blog. It's interesting to read that you saw different places from us on the same river, at least in the Cambodia. It's the Tonle Sap, isn't it? Or did you go up the Mekong from Phnom Penh? We were on the Mekong from Vietnam up to Phnom Penh and then the ship continued upstream on the Tonle Sap.

[deec]

We are taking the Vantage version of this trip in November. Your review is wonderful. Thanks for taking the time to share. The steep hillsides for getting on/off the ship are very reminiscent of our Irrawaddy journey. The children on that trip were also very friendly and usually not clamoring for us to "buy" something.

 

Did you take anti-malarial medication?

[ewizabeff]

I really appreciate your blog. It's interesting to read that you saw different places from us on the same river, at least in the Cambodia. It's the Tonle Sap, isn't it? Or did you go up the Mekong from Phnom Penh? We were on the Mekong from Vietnam up to Phnom Penh and then the ship continued upstream on the Tonle Sap.

 

While I saw the Tonle Sap on our itinerary, I'm not sure we actually ever cruised on it because the river was so low. I saved our daily programs so I'll scour them for a mention, but We started at Kampong Cham, went upstream to Wat Hanchey, and then turned around and went downstream towards Phnom Penh.

[ewizabeff]

Did you take anti-malarial medication?

 

We did, starting 3 days before we entered Cambodia. We took it with dinner, but we forgot twice and were delayed taking it. We likely could have gone without it, but we don't have the luxury of taking sick time when we return from vacation, so we wanted to be on the safe side.

[ewizabeff]

Two posts in two days! I'm on a roll!

 

More videos of cute kids in this post!

 

Angkor Ban Village Visit & An Unruly Guest

[Floridiana]

We did not take Malaria pills. It's not really a malaria area, especially in the dry season not many mosquitos. I only noticed one or two at dusk. Because of the potential of dengue fever, we used mosquito sprays.

 

Long sleeved, loose cotton or linen blouses are another protective layer that is also good for visiting temples and as sun protection.

[Floridiana]

Elizabeth,

I love your blog. It looks like you were on the Tonle Sap and again similar experiences but different villages. I especially love that you got to see a traditional home's inside.

 

Our tour in Cambodia started with a visit to one of the actual killing fields and then the notorious prison. This is not how I wanted the country introduced, especially since some of the old guard are still in government and some others are only now in court, and only on international pressure.

 

When doing the itinerary in reverse, like you did, your first impression is Angkor Wat , village temples and children, much, much better.

[deec]

We probably will take Malarone as we have not experienced any side effects from taking it in the past for trips to Africa, Myanmar and the Amazon. We do wear protective clothing and a deet based insect repellent if we are going to be out dawn and dusk.

[Floridiana]

There are areas where mosquitos are plentiful during the day, one was the forest around the cu chi tunnels in South Vietnam. It was an optional tour from Saigon. You stand around a lot listening to the guide and walk through some tunnels if you wish. Dengue mosquitos are day active. However, the excursion was worth while!