Vietnam, Cambodia, and Thailand - topside advice?

Hey guys. This is for a good friend of mine. I was hoping some of your Vietnam / Cambodia / Thailand experts might have some advice...

1. Siem Reap - Does anyone have a contact for a great English-speaking guide for Angkor Wat, Angkor Thom, etc.? We will be in Siem Reap for 3 days.

2. Ha Long Bay - We booked an overnight boat trip through Inserimex Travel, who we were referred to by John Gray's Sea Canoe. As far as I can understand, the boat is not the most luxurious and we will be the only passengers on it, but it is the only option that takes people kayaking deep into the caves. I would prefer a bigger, air conditioned boat with other tourists on it, but don't want to sacrifice the opportunity to kayak into the caves. Thoughts? Recommendations?

3. Chiang Mai - I've heard that the Four Seasons arranges wonderful hikes in the area. We are not staying at the Four Seasons. : ) I've also heard that visits to towns around Chiang Mai seem staged (because they are). Any recommendations for good guided tours or hikes in the area?

Thank you!

Don't pass up John Gray's tour. Boat is a little rustic but the trip was great. John actually went on our trip and they talked about a night tour as well. Food on the boat was fresh prepared and fantastic.

John

Hmm, can't help you with specific tour guide recommendations.

1. Siem Reap - I don't think you have to worry. Your hotel or the travel agent inside the hotel can arrange private tour guides/ transportation. There are plenty of good maps of the area and it's easy to get around (good road signs to the attractions). Consider renting scooters to explore on your own (but it can get hot n sweaty). Depending on skies, do try to get up Bakeng Hill for some amazing sunsets over Ankor Wat. Just try to get there early as it can be a zoo during peak tourist season.

2. Chiang Mai - ah, one of my favorite cities. Hopefully someone can give you some advice on a good tour. The trips to the hilltribes around Chiang Rai can be disappointing as a lot of what's shown to the tourists are staged. Still good photo ops of the hilltribes with their neckgear, especially the adorable kids.

If you're up for it and have the time, maybe try one of the mountain biking tours around the region.

3. Halong Bay - sorry, haven't been there since 95... Didn't have time to sneak out there during my biz trip to Hanoi last month. Well at least I hear the highway from Hanoi has been improved...

1. Siem Reap - Absolutely love Siem Reap. Just hanging out in the city and catching the buzz from the people is better than the temples. Such a dynamic place. For a guide, you could call Sophoan Sanh at +85512689428. She great. Knows all the history and religious symbolism, etc. On top of that, she's a trained ornithologist, and will take you birding if you like. Anyway, she's very charming and knowledgeable.

2. Chiang Mai - Was dirt biking north of there two weekends ago, it was AWESOME. The weather was perfect and not a cloud in the sky. If you like to ride, you can do nice day and overnight trips out of CM. Check out the forum for N. Thailand here. There is a good recent post called "In Chiang Mai for Loy Kratong" you could check out. Anyway, my friend who lives there and led our off road trip is also a big mountain biker, so I will see what advice he has for that.

Sounds like a great trip!

Mike

eric, how's your french? i ask because i have many recommendations from good friend of mine who has been there extensively.

if you want i can either put the recommendations here (in french) or just email you with them.

when i have time i'll try and translate them for the rest of us

My French is .. non-existent. Will google translate work?

Regarding Mountain Biking in Chiang Mai, my friend suggested Chiang Mai Mountain Biking Adventure

You ought to be able to book them at any agent and its about 1,500 for a day. They pick you up, drive you to the top, stop for coffee in a village then take you down for lunch. Its OK, but the bike are beaters. Its O because its the only option if you don't know the trails. There's lots of dead ends up there that suck to ride up and out of.

You can also just rent a decent bike and head up Doi Suthep and come down the back side. A nice one day ride.

My French is .. non-existent. Will google translate work?

ok here goes with some fixing of google translate.

the recommendations were an answer for trip to northern thailand:

So in my opinion the route that you should advise your friends from Bangkok:

 

Since BKK, they can go to Ayutthaya and back in one day, the former imperial city so full of old temples, even in BKK I like the flower market in Chinatown, very early in the morning, a place really genuine.

 

Obviously, there is Wat Pho (buddha prone) and the royal palace when one goes there for the first time, fewer tourists, I also like the market for amulets, which is not far from the Royal Palace but that one only really appreciates after having spent a few days already in thailand to assess the intensity of religion in daily thai life. O

 

f course the evening, Patpong can not be missed nor the resto "banyan tree" in Patpong precisely. Or the Somboon side Silom, which proposes a crab curry delirious (but REALLY spicy).

 

Once you have done a little BKK, we can either go in the north, or go through Sukhothai, another imperial city and even monuments.

Otherwise we can go to Chiang Rai (city not very interesting but a practical departure for the North) and find a car and a driver to go to Mae Salong, the Chinese city of the former Kuomintang who exchanged their opium crops against that of tea.

 

We must spend a night (Mae Salong Villa hotel in the best location, or Khum Nai Pol which is more intimate ) for the atmosphere of Chinese village that can be drawn, the women who deliver their crop of the day at sunset…

 

some images here:

http://www.trekearth.com/gallery/Asia/Thai...photo153508.htm http://www.trekearth.com/gallery/Asia/Thai...photo156054.htm.

 

I really discourages "golden triangle", which is a major tourist scam, nothing to see but a lot of shops. We must also be careful oftravel agents and guides: it ranges from very good to the unbearable, in Chiang Mai I strongly advised Fortune travel north star, "i use them each time, always very nice and much cheaper that agencies,

Chiang Rai I had a very bad experience with an a....e who spoke french but did not want to show it, which is located just next to the hotel Wiang Inn. In general, you have to avoid the bus tours. to see the tribes truly authentic requires a driver with a car or stay in ecolodges.

 

Moving from Chiang Mai, they can also stop at Tha Ton or fork to Angkang which is a very nice mountainous corner (it's called the Swiss Thailand) with Palang tribe villages. Then they go down again on Chiang Mai: it's best to sleep in the ancient city to fill the evening walking around to visit the temples around: http://www.trekearth.com/gallery/Asia/Thai...photo161378.htm

 

 

From chiang May , we still need to take a driver to go discover the tribes Lisu, Lahu, Karen, or Akha Palang to Chiang Dao

www.trekearth.com/gallery/Asia/Thailand/photo97719.htm and also see performances snakes in northern Chiang Mai (we tell ourselves that we are a real boy again, but it's up to scream of fear! a try imperative).

 

 

Then, it is imperative to do the Chiang Mai / Mae Hong Son loop. This is where the most beautiful scenery of Thailand and the tribes arethe most interesting.

Doablein 3 days, we can stay much longer, according to its own pace. From Chiang Mai goes to Mae Hong Son where there is a magnificent temple on the heights http://www.trekearth.com/gallery/Asia/Thai...photo161844.htm

and tribes Padaung woman "giraffe" http://www.trekearth.com/gallery/Asia/Thai...photo170243.htm

then continuing to Pai, landscapes become truly magical http://www.trekearth.com/workshops/167248/photo31399.htm

and tribes most authentic http://www.trekearth.com/gallery/photo167248.htm.

 

 

Pai is a paradise for baba cool and smoke, on the door of the guesthouse, there are marked please do not smoke joints in bed… what is pathetic is the horde of tourists it attracts and that from 11 am in the morning you see that there is no longer anyone to cross the street without being nearly killed. Nevertheless, there are some interesting eco lodges in the area that can share the life of the villagers (I think the next time I go is what I would do) I do not remember the names but it in the region between Chiang Mai and Pai.

 

 

A friend who knows much better than I Thailand (been three times a year over the past five, six years to make the picture) said that the area of Mae Sot is even more authetique but I do not know .. Same for the Issan very rural region of Thailand ...

 

But I hope nevertheless that it will give a first indication of things to do in North Thailand.

 

But I have been locked up by the Thai context, and I realize that it is INDIPENSABLE to spend time in Luang Prabang in Laos, impressive city of zénitude with thousands of temples and a little more monks. Faith is palpable, especially in the morning when they charity in the streets.

hope you find this useful