Trip Report - Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia - 2019

[cschaaf]

Thanks so much - amazingly helpful. I did remember one more...laundry. Did you do laundry on the trip? What are options for that?

Yes, we did laundry in Hoi An and Siem Reap.


I think everyone did some laundry in Hoi An. It was inexpensive - a few dollars per pound (or Kg I don’t remember). The lady came to the lobby at a certain time and everyone brought their stuff down, got it weighed, and paid her.

When we returned from an excursion, she had everything back and bundled up by room. Everything was washed, ironed, folded, and wrapped in paper.

There was a similar opportunity in Laos, I think. We didn’t do that one.

In Siem Reap, we used the hotel service. It was a lot more expensive, but we did it anyway. We probably could have asked the guides to help set something up, but we didn’t feel like bothering them. The hotel’s was one price for all you could stuff in a bag they gave you. We stuffed quite a bit in there.

I was nice packing up clean clothes for the return trip. We got home and unloaded the luggage right into our dressers. The last thing we wanted to do after a 37 hour travel day was laundry.

 

[cschaaf]

Thanks for the report...we are going on this trip with dec 22 start. Anything suggestions beyond what you've written? We will have a day in Ho Chi Minh City before the ABD trip begins. Thanks!!

Did you do this trip? If so, how was it?

 

[Mrs. Ciz]

OP I love your pictures!!! I think a trip like this just got added to my bucket list!

 

[RebelHawk]

Cschaaf, thanks for the trip report, we just booked our trip for Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia Oct 2021 and are already counting down the days. Did you get any travel visas for the trip? Any inoculations that were recommended or that you got before travel? Any travel books or guides you read before your trip? I'm going to look at getting a couple of the standard guides (Eyewitness and Fodor) to track down anything we might want to do for our "on our own time" during the trips. Thanks in advance.

 

[cschaaf]

Cschaaf, thanks for the trip report, we just booked our trip for Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia Oct 2021 and are already counting down the days. Did you get any travel visas for the trip? Any inoculations that were recommended or that you got before travel? Any travel books or guides you read before your trip? I'm going to look at getting a couple of the standard guides (Eyewitness and Fodor) to track down anything we might want to do for our "on our own time" during the trips. Thanks in advance.

Sorry, just saw this!

So exciting! We loved this trip so much!

The only visa we got ahead of time was for Vietnam. ABD takes care of the others while you travel; the guides took a picture of each of us, then filled out all of the paperwork on the plane.

For Vietnam, we used the e-visa and it was simple. You get your pictures, fill out the online form, upload your pictures, and pay. Within a few days, you get an email back with the approval. Print out that approval and take it with you.

ETA: I thought about this more. They don't send an email when it's approved. When you submit, you will get a code. Save that code - you'll need it to check your visa status. I checked for a few days and when it showed as approved, there was a link to download your e-visa. Print that out and take it with you.

I can't really remember what happened when we got there - but that should tell you it was uneventful. We probably just followed any signs that said e-visa.

ETA: I talked to my wife about this one - we just went straight to border control, there was no special line for the e-visa users. Simple.

(Note, this is a different process than Visa on Arrival. For VoA, there was a separate area that you had to go to once you landed to pick up your visa. Seemed like an extra hassle and would have only been necessary if you needed multiple entry or more than 30 days).

We got the Hep A shots (well, we ran out of time and only got 1 or 2... still need to get that 2nd one) and Typhoid. We also did a round of the malaria pills.

The only guide I remember reading was for the Siem Reap temples - we had hoped there would be time to do some exploring on our own, but our only good option for flights was early on the last morning. I'll look around here and see if I can find it.

Please feel free to ask any other questions - I'll also run these past my wife, to see if she remembers some details I haven't.

ETA - here is the Angkor book we got Ancient Angkor

There wasn’t a ton of down time - the longest down time I rememberwas an afternoon in Hoi An. Adults had free time, kids had an activity with the guides (played on the beach - I don’t know How they managed that, it was BLAZING hot that day). I’m not sure there was enough time to do something other than rest or hang at the pool.

That said, I’d still recommend doing some research just in case!

 

[cschaaf]

Adding - the whole time, the e-visa thing feels pretty sketchy. The website doesn't look very official and the actual e-visa document you print looks even less official. But it all worked out fine.

I remember reading a lot of sites at the the time that had all these warnings about people getting there and having issues with their e-visa. If you read them all deep enough, you got to the part where they said things like, "I got one number wrong on my date or birth" or something. then they'd warn, "Make sure you double check before you submit your application!"

Double check? I check them like 15 times before I submit!