Happy memories of Vietnam

Hi Mr. Tuan,

We have now settled back into life in Melbourne with many happy memories of Vietnam. Firstly I would like to thank you for your professionalism and all round help to us, the organisation that went into our trip was teriffic, our thanks to you personally. As an aside we did speak to a number of tourists who used Vietnamese tour companies and I formed the impression that you were one of the best if not the best.

On arrival from Singapore we were met at Saigon airport and taken to the Duxton Hotel which we loved, very comfortable and friendly staff. We enjoyed wandering round Saigon visiting markets and trying the local food. From Saigon we went to the Mekong Delta and spent 2 days and 1 night. I am very happy I took your advice and did not have just one day on the Mekong. We loved observing life on the river as well as the markets and also learning a little about what people do for a living. The Victoria Hotel was magnificent, again very comfortable with friendly professional staff, this was all just what we were looking for. The flight to Hoi An was convenient and the Palm Gardens Resort ideal for our needs. With the guide we arranged to have clothes made and his recommendation proved to be a good one and we may well have more clothes made and sent to Australia. We took a bicycle tour with one of the resort staff and saw a number of vegetable gardens which we found most interesting.

From Hoi An we went to Hanoi and the puppet show which was quite clever but not really of huge interest to us, maybe if we had the story line explained to us beforehand we might have understood better. The train trip to Sapa was not a pleasure but we realised that was likely to be the most comfortable way to travel so had no real reason to complain. Sapa we found to be very interesting and again learned how people make a living and we were most interested in the scenery. The Victoria Hotel was not the same standard as the Mekong Delta, the staff looked sullen and disinterested plus the food was not as good as in the other hotels. I realise this hotel is in the same group as other hotels but frankly feel the management need to look at how to improve customer service. On to Halong Bay where we were happy to have 2 nights and 3 days on the Emotion boat, the staff and crew were well organised and very helpful and obviously have a lot of experience dealing with tourists. The activities and tours they organised were very good and most interesting.

Again many thanks for your wonderful organisation and we hope to return to Vietnam and will of course use the services of your company.

Thanks

Roger and Lorraine Sowerby

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