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Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand blog
I just returned from Tauck's Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand tour. I blogged it, as I do all of our travel. Here's a link to the blog
https://www.mikeandjudytravel.com/2024-1Vietnam-01.htm
I think this will be of most value to those who have not taken this tour and are considering it. The blog will show you what you do every day. I also include comments about the activities, and links to additional information.
It will be of less value to those who have already taken the tour, except to help time organize your pictures.
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Comments
MikeHenderson Thanks for sharing. I am looking forward to reading your blog and taking this tour...albeit 2025. I will also share with the solo traveler I met on the Portrait of India Tour. We met up again (planned) on the recent India-Nepal trip and have reserved spots on the Vietnam-Cambodia-Thailand tour. Another Solo Tauck traveler we met on the India-Nepal tour also has paid the deposit for the same Vietnam tour...You meet such great like-minded people on Tauck Tours.The three of us claimed all the solo rooms allocated to this tour. I shared your previous link and they thoroughly enjoyed reading it.
Laizzez Les Bon Temps Rouler! (It's THAT time of the year in New Orleans)--Happy Mardi Gras!
Mike - Loved your blog. It was fun revisiting. We did this tour in 2017. Looks like the tour is still about 80% the same. I found it pretty funny that we had so many identical photos. We didn't do a Ha Long Bay tour. From your photos I was surprised by the number of boats. It almost looked like you were on the Grand Canal in China or Venice.
In discussions with another traveler who also did this tour earlier this year it appears that the major differences in the tours in 2017 vs 2024 are:
2024's tour added a food tour on scooters in Ho Chi Minh City; the Elephant Camps in Chiang Mai were much different (in 2017 it included elephant rides, and several demonstrations by the elephants); the time and sights in Bangkok were laid out much differently (in 2017 there was a police escorted motorized tuk-tuk caravan from a temple by the river to the Jim Thompson house).
Great job on the blog, Mike. Thanks so much for sharing, I always enjoy reading about your travels. The pics were also great. Looks like this was a very active tour but very interesting. I toured Thailand, Laos and Myanmar back in 2004 with a different Tour Company and it is a most fascinating part of the world.
Spent two hours from 6am reading your blog Mike. I especially liked the photos of Thailand because I haven’t been there. I would like to look for a tour of Thailand on its own.
Our Tauck Viet Nam Cambodia and Laos tour included an overnight Halong Bay tour.. From you pictures and descriptions Mike, I think you got a sub par overview of Halong Bay. I have lots of fantastic photos. We went to a small floating fishing village, very quiet and also into a grotto with a collapsed roof where we saw lot of monkeys. I think I recognize your photo of the beach, we passed by that and I think they said it was a spot where most tourists went. We had no steps to climb anywhere but used little boats to get from place to place off the bigger boat. Our boat was apparently not the one Tauck usually had, but a superior one with nice cabins, great staff and food. I believe our road trip took almost three to four hours but I guess it included a rest stop and I understand the road is better now. I also have some great photos of sites along the way,, family of four on a scooter, a car driving by with live chickens strung upside down form the trunk, rice fields galore, things like that.
We were there in Feb/March and it certainly was not cold in Hanoi. I was shocked to see people wearing jeans and coats in your photos we are going to Vietnam and Cambodia in April this time and know it will be hot, I’m taking lots of linen clothing to wear.
I do go crazy with photos in my photo books, sometimes I include my diary, sometimes just minimal text because I have the Tauck green book to refer to. Of course no green books anymore.
We did use Asiana Air like Mike, businesses class and were very pleased with it.
Like British, I did the Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos itinerary. Loved it!! The Vietnam portion has changed: doesn’t include Ha Ling Bay and doesn’t stay in Hoi An (I loved spending time here!) and doesn’t include Laos (*correction added) but the current tour does include Hue and Da Nang. After my trip to Japan with Tayck, I traveled to Thailand independently. I toured Bangkok and Chang Mai for 10 days, using private guides. I particularly loved Bangkok - so much to see! I need to find a cooler time to go - it was extraordinarily hot in April!
Mike, your blogs are so helpful. And I love that you always have the biggest grin on your face!
Nancy, I don’t see that they have brought the tour back with Laos.
You’re right. The current tour has Thailand
Nancy - I did VCT recently and it did include Hoi An. As a non-shopper, I thought the "2 hours of free time to shop" was a waste, however, I did find something interesting to do (actually, it found me). I was sitting in the "square" near where our bus pickup would be. A local woman with an 8 year old kid asked where I was from and I said the US. She then asked if I'd mind talking to her son so he could practice his English. I chatted with him for about 45 minutes. Very smart kid! The funniest thing was another guy from our group was sitting near me and the kid asked me if he was my father. He was about 10 years older than me.
Barry - I too had a unique experience in Hoi An. I found a small art studio with interesting paintings. We met the artist and he took us into his work space, explaining as best he could his technique and vision and his life. We even met his family! We bought several. A beautiful memory of a special afternoon.
We did this trip in 2019. The Hoi An part was one of our favorites. My husband and I didn't want to leave, as it was such a cute village and loved the shops. The rest of the group chose to go back, so our guide, Larry, had someone come back for us. It was memorable and we appreciated the effort they made for us. This was not a shopping group at all and some of the travelers reminded us of this. This was one of our favorite trips.
Mike--We finished the tour a week before you did, and it was great "revisiting" it!
Great blog and pictures Mike. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you for the post, Mike. We finished the tour on 1/31/24; one of our favorite trips. The other guests were a fun group, and we met very interesting/nice people. We loved the sights, the local guides were excellent as was our very organized and accommodating TD. Yes, it was hot and humid, and we had to stay hydrated, especially in Angkor Wat and other temples in Cambodia. We thought it was a great idea for Tauck to provide “assistants” to the group as climbing some of those structures was a challenge, especially for my husband who sprained his ankle a few days pre-trip. The young guys were wonderful, very attentive—I have a great photo of my husband’s assistant fanning him when he finally walked down one of the temples. The trip exceeded our expectations, and I can’t wait to start editing my hundreds of photos and creating my photo book. Thank you again.