Hello again

As promised, my impressions. This is not criticism, as on the whole we enjoyed the experience. But I think your agency could perhaps look into some aspects.

hotels:  in general, all were good...some more than others.

Medallion...comfortable, clean, very good food (we had a lovely free dinner on Christmas Eve), and it had a  central location. Staff was polite, friendly and generally helpful But the room was a bit noisy from a bar/restaurant at the back and from the non- stop traffic. Also, there was no internet access for much of the time; smoking was allowed in the corridors, the stairs and the lobby; for handicapped/old clients please note there is no wheelchair access.

Halong Bay....boat was very comfortable. The experience was good overall, even if the drinks were over-priced. The mini-birthday cake for my wife was spot-on!! That was very thoughtful.

Le Vang Bua....this was the worst of the lot for many reasons. To start with, its location is miles away from town centre. If one misses the shuttle, one has to get a taxi. Mosquitoes invaded everywhere. The hotel rooms have no insect screens, no shutters and no blackout curtains. The hot water system was erratic. There was no internet access. Roosters crowed all day and all night (we got very little sleep!). The hotel sits in next to a shanty town with lots of stagnant pools. We had cockroaches in the bathroom. Staff was polite, and the food was good.

Central Boutique Angkor....excellent hotel all round. The only comment is that it is situated down a pitch-dark alley, and a bit daunting if one is walking back after dark.

                Classy Hotel...also excellent

                Le Gran Palais...also excellent

                Chau Pho Hotel...good, but internet access very poor.

                Kim Tho Hotel...excellent

                Sunland Hotel...excellent

Lunches: where these were provided by your agency\guides, they were very good and provided a variety of food.

Breakfast: all the hotels offered excellent and varied food. Indochinese coffee is very different from European coffee, but quite good. I soon got used to it.

Tours: all were very interesting; some were indeed fascinating and offered a good overview of culture and history. There was a slight mix-up over the elephant experience, but we did the elephant ride/swim etc the following day. May I suggest cutting back on the lengthy car-rides, and the speedboat connections, especially where one can get from one place to another by air. 3 or 4 hours or more in a car/boat eventually gets tiring and  the scenery boring. One falls asleep.

Guides: all were very knowledgeable and answered our many questions. However, their command of English syntax, vocabulary and pronunciation needs an upgrade, especially pronunciation. We had quite a few problems understanding them, but eventually we got there. The outstanding exception was Bun Lem whose English was very good and he spoke clearly. As for Doh, I have already commented in an earlier e-mail.

Many thanks again for the overall experience. I will most certainly recommend your agency.

Regards
Henry Schembri