I absolutely loved my tour of Vietnam and Cambodia. I loved all the sites we visited, all the information we got, all the food, the people and the experiences. Tuan in Vietnam is an incredible guide, he really has a passion for teaching others about his country. He explained statistics, percentages, economy, agriculture, the people, the war, the cities, and the sites we went to. He was very knowledgeable and cleared cared about the people on the tour. One of the gentlemen from Australia was celebrating his 70th birthday on the tour, and Tuan said he when he saw his passport he realized this, and arranged for a cake to be delivered on the boat we had planned for the day of this birthday. So as a huge surprise to not only him and his wife, but also to the entire tour as well, the dragon boat we took had the hostess of the boat light candles as we sang to him for his birthday. The cake was delicious as well. We became friends with Tuan and he took us to special places for dinner, he gave us good recommendations, and he also took a ton of pictures of us on the tour. At the end of the tour, he even invited us to go back to his home and meet his family and his wife arranged for a home cooked meal which was delicious. Not only was the guide amazing in Vietnam, but also the things we did, I loved the ricksaw ride through Hanoi, we had a good few days in Hoi An, we had an excellent room and food on Haloong Bay, the Surprise Cave in the bay, the shopping, the river boat rides, the temples and the food. Even the sleeper train wasn't that great but it was a good experience (no more dead cockroaches in my bed please). I really feel like I got to know the people and the culture of Vietnam and I loved it.
Tuan stayed with us all the way to the border of Cambodia and waved us all good bye until he couldn't see us anymore even though we were with our guide for Phnom Phen. Our guide for the capital of Cambodia was so good with his knowledge of the city and the palace and the Khmer Rouge that it was incredibly touching. He had personal family experiences related to the killing fields and the school prison we went to that it made the visits more real. He even stopped to talk to a few kids on a school trip to the palace and we found out they want to be future doctors and nurses and he even took a picture of me with them, because I am a nurse. He did this as well with a few older women that were at the killing fields who managed to survive the massacre and he tried to set us up to talk with a survivor of the prison, although we didn't get to meet him. Mr. Long's sharing of his stories with us really gave us a good experience in the capital, even tho he encouraged us to eat fried insects like tarantula!.
Mr Vannak met us at the airport in Siem Riep and we immediately started our day with Angkor Thom and Angkor Wat. I loved all of the ruins of the Angkor region and Mr. Vannak knew all the little secrets. He knew where to take the best pictures, how to do it, like extra carvings that were found all over the buildings, extra stories, and explained what the monks we saw were doing. He gave so much information about each ruin, he was very knowledgeable about how they were built, when they were built, their history and how they were found. Vannak also took us to the sunrise, took a bunch of pictures at the sunrise, and of all of us doing silly things. He also gave us really great recommendations for dinner, and I think that was one of the best meals we had in Cambodia. Vannak clearly cares about his job as well, and he is very good at it. I don't have any complaints about any part of my trip to Vietnam or Cambodia, I loved the experiences, and the food, and the people and all the information I was given. The guides were excellent and helped a lot with crossing the border and stuck with us every step of the way. The only thing I wish I could have done differently, was ensure I had a visa to get into Vietnam before my flight left so I wouldn't have had to stress as much about getting to my tour, but then the tour made every bit of the stress of getting there worth it. ”