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Asian Capitals & Vietnam 1/3/09

floridaphilly

By floridaphilly,
in Seabourn Cruise Line

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floridaphilly

floridaphilly

Posted
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We have just received our documents and voyage information and are excited but a little unsure as to which excursions to book.

We are strongly considering booking the Angkor Wat excursion but are concerned that we will miss all the rest of Bangkok. It is our first trip to the area so please give me some opinions.

In Vietnam, is it worth it to take the 10.5 hour tour of Hanoi? The description says the travel time is 3 hours each way and there is a stop for lunch, so it seems like we will only be in Hanoi for a short time with a lot of travel. Opinion please.

Is it worth it to take the 3 hour drive to Hue or is there enough to see in Da Nang?

Also we would love to hear if anyone else is on this cruise. We usually travel with another couple, but they are unable to join us this time.

Thanks in advance for any guidance and help.

 

Phyllis

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jagi

jagi

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Two years ago we took the Spirit from Singapore to Dubai. We arrived a week early in Singapore and went to Angkor Wat by ourselves. It is spectacular--but Bangkok is also wonderful. If you're adventurous you might do an independent to Angkor Wat at the end. On the other hand, having everything planned out for you as the ship's excursion will do, also has much to recommend it. Hope this helps.

 

 

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wripro

wripro

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Hi Phyllis,

 

Nice to see your post. As you know Steve and I are doing the 22 day Asian trip on February 14 and I have done some extensive research. If this is your first time to Bangkok, as interesting as Angor Wat may be I personally would not give up the chance to explore this fascinating city. Luckily, Seabourn docks very near the center of town so you can make full use of your two days there. Since we have already been to Thailand we are planning on spending one day going to the River Kwai and elephant camp, one of the excursions. I have always wanted to ride an elephant. That night we plan to have dinner at either the Oriental or Peninsula. Both have great restaurants right on the Chao Praya River. The second day we'll just meander around the city, boat ride along the klongs (which you should not miss), shopping etc.

 

In Viet Nam we have hired a private car and driver for all four days in all three stops. I strongly recommend this and can give you the name of you are interested. They'll design the tours according to your desire and it winds up costing less than taking ship's tours. If you are more comfortable with ships's tours in Danang be sre to take the tour that goes to Hoi An, a world heritage sight.

 

Hope this info helps. Send our best to Ed.

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Tony & Trevor

Tony & Trevor

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We are departing on March 8th from Shangai and have booked for Angkor Wat. As jagi mentioned Bangkok is really wonderfull-so much to do and see. A fascinating culture.

We have booked all our excursions on line. Might change one or two on the Spirit.

We looked at the one you mentioned but a lot of travelling. We have booked for the

Saigon City Orientation and the evening excursion. We will do our own thing in the afternoon. The following day we are undertaking the Mekong River ( 8 hours )

 

Kind regards

 

Tony.

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newsmike48

newsmike48

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Hi Phyllis

 

We are on this cruise, no-one replied to my roll call earlier in the month so we assumed we were on our own :-(

 

We have just received our documents and voyage information and are excited but a little unsure as to which excursions to book.

We are strongly considering booking the Angkor Wat excursion but are concerned that we will miss all the rest of Bangkok. In Vietnam, is it worth it to take the 10.5 hour tour of Hanoi? The description says the travel time is 3 hours each way and there is a stop for lunch, so it seems like we will only be in Hanoi for a short time with a lot of travel. Opinion please. Phyllis

 

The dilemma between Bangkok and Angkor Wat is a tricky one . We were on the last Seabourn trip on Spirit into Myanmar (Burma) and my wife has had enough of temples and pagodas ,so she is going to stay in Bangkok.

On the other hand Angkor Wat is supposed to be a magnificent site so I am probably doing that solo on the official excursion.

Re Vietnam, I picked up a guidebook yesterday but have not yet studied it to decide on the other excursions , although I get the imprssion the river kayaking is good tour.

 

Look forward to meeting you :-)

 

Mike

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jagi

jagi

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I'm also on your cruise. Thought I was going alone. Might be interested in sharing private tour in Vietnam. Ankgor Wat IS spectacular and not like anything you've seen anywhere else. If you can get the time, I think you should do it from Singapore.

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wripro

wripro

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You are welcome, Jagi.

 

Jagi and Phyllis, be sure and mention my name when you contact Tony. He is very nice and accommodating and will structure tours according to what is most important to you to see. Since this is the height of the tourist season in Viet Nam I'd get in touch with him as soon as possible. If you all get together and tour together it will save you money as I'm sure you are well aware.

 

Let me know what happens.

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floridaphilly

floridaphilly

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Jagi and Mike;

 

I am glad there will be at least 6 of us on the cruise. Look forward to meeting you.

I have contacted Tony and he sent me a tentative itinerary for the 3 stops in Vietnam. If you send me your email addresses I can share with you.

I guess we do need to find out if the Visa the ship obtains, covers us on a private tour.

We chose to arrive in Singapore the 28th and see Singapore for 2 days, then fly to Hong Kong on the 31st and spend 3 days there before boarding the ship. We are tight on our schedules at the end so we decided to come a few days early. Perhaps we will save Angkor Wat for the next time.

 

Phyllis

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  • 2 weeks later...
shautz

shautz

Posted
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My husband and I will be on the Seabourn January 3

sailing so are interested

in learning what are best side trips and tours.

We're flying into Hong Kong a couple of days early, arriving the

morning of Jan 1 and staying 3 extra days in Singapore.

We have a hotel with Northwest World Vacations in

Hong Kong, but need one in Singapore. Any recommendations?

 

Shautz

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shautz

shautz

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We are on the Jan 3-17 Asian Spirit sailing. I'm checking options for

tours. What have you found so are. We would be interested in joining

a private tour on any of the stops. We haven't been in this part of the

world so everything is new.

Shautz

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