Vietnam & Cambodia Tour October/November 2024
Graham & Elaine
Last updated 11th Decemner 2024
Photo's can be viewed here
Vietnam & Cambodia October/November 2024
Well folks, we’re off again and this time we’re travelling with APT Travelmarvel who we used for our river cruise in Myanmar a few years ago. They we’re very good then, so we’re hoping this will also be a good, well-organized tour.
Sunday October 27th – Home to Holiday Inn Express Heathrow T4
We were picked up at 11:30 this morning (thank you Pol’s taxis) and took an uneventful drive down to Heathrow. As we were flying from T4 we had booked in to a hotel we’ve not used before although it is part of the same group as the one we usually use. We arrived safely at around 15:15 and discovered when we tried to check-in that there had been some confusion and they didn’t have a booking for us but, fortunately, they were able to sort it pretty quickly and offered us free coffees by way of an apology.
We ate in the in-house restaurant this evening and then had a reasonably early night as we needed to be up quite early to get to the terminal and check in as we hadn’t been able to get Vietnam airlines app to work for us.
Monday October 28th – Heathrow to Vietnam airlines flight VN50
What we hadn’t realised when we booked last nights hotel was that it had a covered walkway directly in to the terminal and it was just four-minute walk to get there (also helped by the fact that someone had abandoned an airport luggage trolley inside the hotel which we nabbed). We located the assistance desk very easily and they quickly helped us check-in and then escorted us through security and to a separate lounge to await our flight.
As it turned out the lounge was right next door to the gate for our aircraft so we boarded very quickly and found our seats which were surprisingly comfortable for economy class which was just as well as this was a twelve-hour flight.
Once we were airborne and we’d been fed we settled ourselves in and watched a few films as neither of us was able to sleep for more than an hour or two.
Tuesday October 29th – Flight VN50 to Hanoi via Ho Chi Mihn airport
Our first flight was as uneventful as it was long and we arrived at Ho Chi Mihn airport on time but this still only gave us a couple of hours to get to our connecting flight which would have been fine except that the assistance service was chaotic at best. It turned out that we had not arrived at an air bridge so once all the able bodied passengers had disembarked those of us that remained boarded the ambilift that was already waiting for us. Sounds good so far BUT there were around twelve people who needed wheelchairs and only two wheelchairs. The rest were loaded on to the vehicle some on seats others not and some of them really shouldn’t have been expected to stand! We eventually got to the terminal where wheelchairs were provided but with only half the number of pushers so each of them had two to look after which wasn’t ideal especially as a number, like us, had connecting flights and they weren’t all going to the same place!! Also, as this was our point of entry to Vietnam we had to go through immigration, collect our luggage and then get across to the domestic terminal to check-in again We eventually got to our departure gate with around 15 minutes to spare.
Our second flight was just under two hours and we arrived in Hanoi where a wheelchair was waiting for us, yippee. Once out of the airport we and one another couple were picked up by mini bus and driven to the Movenpick Hotel, our home for the next two nights. After a much-needed shower, we took a brief wander around the hotel.
This evening we joined our fellow travelers at a welcome meeting and dinner, all very pleasant and it was great to find out that they had received the information about my onion and garlic intolerance and had catered for me accordingly (I did get some slightly different dishes to the rest but that was fine by me). After a quick coffee in the lobby bar we called it a night as, by now, we’d been up for well over 24 hours.
Wednesday 30th October – Hanoi, Vietnam
We both slept pretty well last night but were up fairly early as we were to join an included tour at 08:00 so, after a slightly hurried breakfast we were ready to go on time.
Our tour started with a short bus ride around some of the city’s sights before we were dropped off to take a cyclo ride through the old quarter which was definitely interesting. We were each allocated a separate bike and rider and we set off through the mayhem that is Hanoi traffic. There are simply thousands of mopeds and scooters everywhere and they don’t take much notice of the rules of the road either (we were told last night that to cross the road you should just wait for a gap and once you start walking you don’t stop and the bikes and cars will go around you which fortunately turned out to be true).
Our next stop was to visit the Temple of Literature which was both interesting and pretty. Next, we were due to visit Ho Chi Minh’s mausoleum and we had been warned that there would be a lot of and standing so Graham (and on or two others) opted to sit it out and go for coffee instead. The queueing rest of us followed our guide to the entrance only to find that it had been locked (we later found out that there was a Venezuelan dignitary visiting and it had been shut for their visit). A few telephone calls later it was decided that plan B would be implemented so it was back to the bus for a short drive back to the old quarter where we took a walk through a local market which, to my mind, was much more interesting than queueing to see a dead body anyway! After our walk we were treated to a beer in a local coffee shop by way of compensation for our missed visit.
The last stop on this tour was to a restaurant run by and for a community project. It’s called KOTO (know one, teach one) which provides hospitality training to under-privileged youngsters and it seemed to us like they were doing a good job (once again they had prepared food separately for me which was great).
There were a number of optional tours to choose from for this afternoon but Graham and I decided not to join any of them so, after a brief rest back at the hotel we took a fairly short walk to visit the ‘Hanoi Hilton’ which is a notorious prison known for its dreadful treatment of political prisoners and then the internment of American pilots in what they call here “the American war”. It proved to be an interesting visit which was conducted at our own pace using a self-guided audio tour.
As we had eaten big meal at lunchtime, we didn’t want much this evening so, on our way back to the hotel we tried to find somewhere suitable but without success (largely as I’d no idea how to explain my onion/garlic issues) so we went back to the hotel bar and had a light meal in there before retiring for the night.
Thursday 31st October – Hanoi to Ha Long Bay, Vietnam
We were up early this morning as our bags had to be outside our room by 07:00 as we were leaving for our journey to Ha Long Bay at 08:00.
The journey, by bus, lasted around 5 hours with a stop en-route at a project which employs disabled people who are incredibly skilled in a variety of handicrafts (in particular embroidery). Not surprisingly there were lots of goodies on sale and we had a good hunt around before deciding to invest in a bamboo shirt for Graham and a rather nice top for me.
We arrived at Ha Long Bay around lunchtime and checked in to our cabin which was a little small with slightly awkward bathroom facilities (for Graham at least) before having a very nice lunch (and the crew weren’t a bit phased by my inability to eat onion or garlic).
This afternoon we joined the included tour to a beach on one of the many islands in the bay. We had been warned that there were quite few steps but Graham decided he wanted to give it a try. First, we had to take a small tender boat to the island which dropped us off right next to a set of steps which had no hand rail and were wet! Fortunately, the staff were excellent and provided the reassurance we needed. Once on the island itself the had to climb up and down a total of 70 steps which led through an interesting cave to the beach. Can’t remember why but I’d decided not to swim this time so simply went for a paddle leaving Graham to sit and chat to our tour manager Tim. What we hadn’t realised until just about then was that we had to make to make the same return journey so another 70 steps up and down which was, in some places, pretty dodgy for Graham.
Once back on board we sat on the outer deck enjoying a happy hour drink before enjoying another very good meal before bed.
1st November – Ha Long Bay, Vietnam
We both woke very early this morning so decided to go up to the open deck and have coffee before having breakfast. We then chilled out on deck for a while whilst the majority went ashore to another cave walk; this one was apparently more strenuous and involved around 700 steps so it was definitely the right decision for us. A little later we boarded the tender boats and headed across to Tivov island for another beach visit (with the option of a short but steep hike to the mountain top which we didn’t take). This time I had come prepared and had a good swim in the bay which was interesting as it is obviously very salty. It proved hard to put your feet down; every time you moved your feet floated towards the surface!
Once back on board we sat down to a very nice five-course lunch before getting back on the tenders to take us to visit a floating village. To do this we had to leave the tenders and join a small ‘rowing’ boat which with four of us aboard was propelled by a very small Vietnamese lady using two very long standing oars. It was an interesting visit not least because the village is under reconstruction following the recent super typhoon which damaged much of the area. We were also given a short presentation about the pearl farm they run.
It was then back to the ship where we had time to repack, have a shower and a refreshing drink before yet another five-course meal. This was followed by another drink out on deck before we retired for the night.
2nd November - Ha Long Bay to Siem Reap, Cambodia
We were up early again this morning and after a light breakfast we joined a Sampan tour to a “wet cave”. This involved another tender journey to climb aboard the sampan (which was interesting in itself) which was then manoeuvered us through a fairly low cave entrance and into what looked like a very large lake in a volcano caldera (it wasn’t, it was simply the way the limestone had been shaped). There were quite a few small boats in there as well as kayaks so it got a little hectic at times. It was here that we saw the only real wildlife we’ve seen on this trip; there were a number of monkeys who have become used to being fed bananas by the tourist boats. All in all it was another worthwhile trip.
We then returned to the boat for breakfast round two before checking out and returning to the dock where we boarded another bus which was to take us to Hanoi airport. We had been promised that a wheelchair would be waiting for Graham and it was which was great. We were pretty quickly whisked through to our gate where we boarded our internal flight. This flight was around two hours long and once airborne we were fed although we hadn’t expected to be!
We arrived in Siem Reap to find another very good wheelchair service which delivered us to the bus which was waiting to take us to a very nice hotel close to the town centre. It was pretty late by the time we checked in so once we were settled in to our (very nice) room we found our way to one of the bars which was serving light meals. As there was some very loud live music playing inside (and it was pretty crowded) we sat outside and shared a charcuterie and cheese platter with a glass of wine before we called it a night.
3rd November – Siem Reap, Cambodia
As we had a free morning this morning we had a slightly later start and after another very good breakfast we took a tuk tuk to the local market to buy a replacement padlock (one of ours had disappeared when our suitcases arrived in Vietnam). Once we’d done our shopping (including some clothing we spotted) the driver offered to give us a tour of the town and a very reasonable fare was agreed. Our tour included a brief stop at a temple where a wedding party was having some photos taken and also took in a number of other sites.
Once back at the hotel I made use of the very nice swimming pool which was right outside our room before we had lunch. We were then collected for a two-part tour; the first call was to another community project called ODA (Opportunities of Development through Art) which provides free education to children who are either orphaned or from very poor rural families. The youngsters are provided a range of educational opportunities including English, Computer studies, Art and dance and they all seemed extremely keen to learn. They are provided with all of their meals and basic accommodation as well as the educational opportunities. We were treated to a dance by some of the older youngsters before being shown around by one of the children (in our case a 12-year-old girl by the name of Seyha).
From there we were taken to visit Ta Phrom temple which includes what is known as the “tomb Raider temple” as it featured in the film of that name. As there was a lot of walking involved and the ground was very uneven and, in places, slippery Graham made the decision to sit much of this one out and it’s as well that he did as it wasn’t an easy walk and was extremely hot and sticky. The weather then got even more sticky after we had around 90 minutes of torrential rain, fortunately we were back at the hotel for most of that time so it didn’t impact us too much. Later this evening we were treated to an Apsara dance (a traditional Cambodian dance) whilst we had dinner.
4th November 2024 – Siem Reap, Cambodia
We were up early again today as we had a very busy day ahead. After breakfast we were taken by bus to a parking area close to the famous Angkor Wat temple complex. As there were a number of people who were not able to walk the vast distances involved in this visit arrangements had been made for them (including us) to be taken to an alternative entrance by tuk tuk. We were dropped off very close to the main temple and the “slow walking group” then took a more leisurely tour of the site (there was still a lot of walking and step climbing involved and Graham did really well).
From there we were taken to another temple complex, Bayon Temple, which is famed for the huge number of Buddha faces included in the architecture. All of this was encompassed in a very busy morning following which we returned to our hotel for lunch.
There were no included tours scheduled for this afternoon but we had chosen to take an optional tour to visit the “Hero Rats” at the APOPO centre. For me, this was one of the highlights of our visit as we were able to see the African pouch rats that have been trained to search out the landmines that are still a scourge on the land and still responsible for many deaths and injuries. The rats work wearing a harness attached to a cable which is, in turn, attached to two handlers. They can, we’re told sniff out miniscule amounts of TNT and once a mine has been found the rat scratches the ground to show what it has found before receiving a reward, it then moves on to the next small area. The rats are apparently able to clear an area the size of a tennis court in around an hour where a person using a metal detector could take up to three or four days depending how much metal debris is in the area. We were also given the opportunity to handle one of the rats which was really rather nice.
There had been a further tour planned for early evening which was to return to Angkor Wat to watch the sunset but as it had decided to bucket with rain again we decided to give that a miss so after a light meal we readied ourselves for the evenings entertainment which was a visit to the Cambodian Phare circus. This is similar (but less professional looking) to Cirque du Soleil and took place in a form of big top. The show was pretty good and it finished to evening off well.
5th November 2024 – Siem Reap to RV Amalotus River cruise
Unfortunately, I had a rotten night last night with my digestive system kicking off so I wasn’t feeling much like making the very early start we had. As we were due to join our river cruise today we had to be on the road early so it was bags out at 06:30 followed by a busier than usual breakfast not helped by the fact that it was pouring with rain again meaning that there were no outside seats available. We boarded our bus at around 07:30 for a 5 ½ hour ride (with 2 shortish stops) to the river cruise ship.
The boat was a little bigger than we had expected/hoped and also a little tired in places. The cabin was okay although, in our opinion, they have tried to cram a little too much in (it had a very small outside balcony and an inside balcony neither of which was really that usable). Once we’d checked in, we headed for lunch in the restaurant where I was able to have a chat with both the Maitre D and the chef. It appears they were already aware of my eating difficulties and, from then on, I was to be provided with a menu each morning so I could make my selections for both lunch and dinner, excellent service.
After lunch we were taken out on a fleet of tuk tuks and we visited a local village and the home of a fruit farmer. Next was the compulsory safety drill before we had a little time to unpack some of our clothing and settle in to our cabin. A welcome drink and briefing for the next day followed in the early evening. This was, unfortunately, somewhat spoiled by a noisy group of Aussie farmers who had joined the tour in Siem Reap. They made listening to the briefing very difficult and showed no respect for either the tour manager Tim or their fellow passengers so once the briefing was over, I approached Tim and asked him to have a word with them which he agreed to do.
Yet another very nice (onion and garlic free!) meal followed before we decided to call it a night as the loud disco music in the bar didn’t appeal to us.
6th November 2024 – River cruise
We both woke early again this morning (it’s becoming a bit of a theme) but had decided not to take part in this morning’s tour as it involved a lot of walking and was also very similar to yesterday’s tour by tuk tuk so we had a lazier start to the day. Breakfast was therefore followed by a relaxing rest on the sun deck chatting to one or two others who had stayed behind.
Later in the morning one of the local guides gave us a talk on Cambodia which was very interesting and gave a bit more of a insight in to the country and it’s people. Yet more food followed before we joined yet another tuk tuk ride to a village famed for its silk weaving. The fabrics and goods on offer were absolutely stunning but we decided not to part with any cash this time.
After a happy hour cocktail on the sun deck, it was time to change for dinner which, this evening, was followed by a film on Pol Pot the dictator who murdered countless numbers of his own people. it couldn’t be described as an entertaining film but it was informative and set the scene for the visits which were scheduled for a few days’ time.
7th November 20224 – Phnom Penh on River cruise
We had another early start this morning and after breakfast we disembarked by crossing the deck of two other river cruise ships which had arrived before us. We were then bussed to a small silversmith’s workshop for a visit before we made our way to the Oudong Temple which is around an hour outside the city. It’s a pretty big complex so Tim had offered to take a wheelchair for Graham and he ended up pushing him around too, that’s what you call good service. Those of us who were prepared to climb the numerous steps to the temple building were encouraged to take part in a Buddist blessing before we walked around the rest of the complex to see where the monks and nuns lived.
A return trip to the boat led to lunch before we disembarked again to join a cyclo tour of the city (it’s rather like being in kiddies seat on the front of a bicycle in the midst of the city traffic!). A return to the boat was followed by yet more food, a drink on the sun deck and a reasonably early night.
8th November 2024 – Phnom Penh on River cruise
We had another fairly early start this morning and another busy day ahead. After breakfast we were bussed to the outskirts of the city to visit one of the infamous “Killing Fields”. These areas have been preserved to provide an insight into the atrocities that went on there with the hope that, by highlighting it, it won’t be allowed to happen again. Pol Pot and his crew certainly had a lot to answer to but, unfortunately, many of them did not! It was a very sobering affair with lots of remnants of the atrocities that went on there; it really beggars belief what humans can do to one another especially their own people and young children too. One of our local guides told us a number of stories from his own past; he had been a child slave under the regime and had lost a total of 65 members of his extended family to Pol Pot including his eldest sister who died of starvation. His mother was apparently the only female member of his family to survive!
From there we moved on to visit the Genocide Museum which is a former school that was turned into a prison by the Khmer Rouge and where thousands of people were tortured and killed simply because they were educated and considered to be spies. The museum chronicled what went on and told stories of some of those who perished there and others (although not many) who survived.
After a very moving morning we returned to the boat for lunch before taking another, much more enjoyable tour this afternoon. First, we visited the Royal Palace which involved a fair bit of walking so Graham walked part and then sat out the climb to the palace entrance etc. Not surprisingly he didn’t visit the Silver Pagoda (which was next on the agenda) as it required shoes to be removed. As the traffic was pretty awful by the time we left there it took us quite a while to get back to the boat so there was just time for a quick cocktail on the sundeck before we readied ourselves for dinner.
This evening, we were visited by a troupe of traditional dancers and musicians who were well worth seeing and hearing. Another drink on the sundeck followed before we called it a night.
9th November 2024 – Border crossing day
Today was a day spent on board as we sailed further down the river to the border crossing from Cambodia into Vietnam. After a more leisurely start and breakfast we took ourselves up to the sundeck where we spent a few hours relaxing and chatting to our fellow passengers. After lunch it was back to the sundeck for further relaxation before getting ourselves ready for dinner. As this evening’s entertainment consisted of a quiz and karaoke, we decided to give that a very wide birth and returned to our cabin early.
10th November 2024 – Mekong Delta
We had yet another early start this morning as we had an 08:00 start with a tour on a small boat through the canals of the delta. Getting onto the boat was err, interesting as we needed to step off of the river cruise boat onto a sloping deck on the smaller boat and there were no handles. Once again, the crew were extremely helpful so we made it without incident. Once on board we were taken through a range of canals so that we could see the daily way of life in the delta area. After a short while we stopped at a very small jetty (of sorts) where we disembarked up a slightly dodgy slope to a small village road. By now it was extremely hot and sticky so the walk that we took into the village was a little uncomfortable and it’s hard to imagine living here. We were invited to visit a local home whose owners made their living from selling fruit. By our standards the house was very basic but by local standards was considered quite plush. The one overwhelming thing for most of us was the all encompassing heat.
Once we’d made our way back on to the small boat we sailed along more canals and disembarked again at a factory making rattan rugs. It was very hot in there too and the work was very laborious but I guess it’s what you’re used to. The plan was that from here we would be taken by Rickshaw to visit a silk workshop but, as getting on the rickshaw entailed balancing on a box before sitting on a very odd seat with no back to it, arrangements had been made for Graham and one or two others to be taken by taxi. I did go by rickshaw and it was an interesting if not particularly comfortable journey. The silk workshop was interesting and, again, they had some stunning fabrics on sale, so much so that we came away with a top for me and a shirt for Graham. Once we’d finished there it was back on to the rickshaws/taxis to await the tender boats back to the river cruise ship.
After lunch today we had some free time so we availed ourselves of some comfy chairs on the sundeck. A little later in the afternoon we were treated (if that’s the right word) to an exotic fruit tasting. There were a good few fruits there which we’d never seen or heard of but they also had one we did know of but hadn’t tried i.e. Durian fruit. This is often said to have a taste like heaven but a smell like hell well, it definitely smells pretty awful but, in our opinion, it doesn’t really taste like heaven – still, we know that now.
After a quick wash and brush up it was back to the cabin to prepare for yet more food after which we adjourned to the lounge where we were to be entertained by the crew show entitled “Amalotus has talent”. There were a number of ‘acts’ including a very nice song and dance routine by the catering crew and an especially funny routine by the cleaning staff who showed us how they (allegedly) clean our cabins. Not surprisingly they won this evening’s trophy.
11th November 2024 – On board
Unfortunately, today didn’t go to plan at all. We were aware that there had been a very unpleasant stomach bug doing the rounds and it finally caught up with me this morning. As a result, I decided I should self-quarantine for the day and Graham decided he wasn’t confident about getting on/off the sampans on his own so he missed out too (which is shame). Instead, he spent the day chatting to others who hadn’t taken the tours. The vast majority of my day was spent in bed asleep and I didn’t manage to eat anything either so there really isn’t anything else to report for today.
12th November 2024 – Disembarkation Day, Ho Chi Minh City
Fortunately, I was feeling rather better this morning which was just as well as we were up very early as we had to have our bags out by 06:15 and we left after a last breakfast on board. It was still early when we left by bus to visit the Cu Chi tunnels around a 2 ½ hour drive away. It was very busy at the tunnels and very hot in the jungle too. Our local guides provided a walking tour which Graham started out on but, when he’d seen enough, he walked back to the entrance to await the end of the tour.
The tunnel complex is pretty staggering and we had the opportunity to go down into a short section of one of the tunnels which I did. It was a bit of a climb to get down, very, very hot and also snug to say the least and that’s despite the fact that this tunnel had been widened to allow European visitors to get a taster. As we walked around there was a lot of noise from what I initially assumed were sound effects but it turned out it was a leisure shooting range for the military and they were using many of the heavy weapons used during “The American war”.
Once we left the tunnels we were taken to a very large restaurant with outdoor seating where we were fed a fairly large meal. From there we had a fairly long bus journey to our hotel overlooking the river in Ho Chi Minh City. The hotel was very nice although a bit bigger than we might have chosen ourselves. It turns out that the city is every bit as busy as Hanoi if not more so. We were told that there are 10 million people and 7 million motorcycles in the city and it felt rather like they were all out on the roads at the same time.
As my stomach still wasn’t feeling 100%, we decided to be cautious, particularly as we’d eaten well at lunchtime, and we stuck to a fairly light snack for tea before calling it a night.
13th November 2024 – Ho Chi Minh City
Although there were optional tours available today, we decided not to join any of them as most were on foot. As it was, we woke to torrential rain and after a very nice breakfast we headed back to our room to do some packing and sit out the thunderstorm that was crashing around us.
Once the weather had improved, we took a taxi to the central market which included mostly clothing and ‘stuff’ for the tourists but also had an area selling foodstuffs. After making a few purchases we walked across the street (Yes, it’s still a case of just putting your hand up and walking steadily across) to a small hotel with a coffee lounge. Earlier in the morning Graham had tried another coffee shop only to discover that they didn’t take cash which was a bit of an issue as, for security reasons, we’d left our cards in the hotel safe. So, when we arrived at the hotel coffee shop, we asked if they took cash and they confirmed that they did. What wasn’t clear until we went to pay was that they, unlike most places, didn’t take US dollars only Vietnamese Dong and, guess what, we didn’t have any Dong! The waiter initially suggested we walk to the exchange on the corner and change some dollars but he later came back and showed us his phone with a translated message offering to go to the exchange for us so we settled for that option. Note to self, make sure you ask the right question in future!!
After another taxi ride back to the hotel we had a late (light) lunch in the hotel bar before finishing our packing and preparing for tonight’s Farewell dinner which was in a restaurant a short distance away. The majority of the group were walked to the restaurant but a mini bus was sent for those who needed it (including us). The irony of it was that it took probably three times as long to go by road as it did on foot!
The farewell dinner was pleasant enough but there was too much food for me and it was also very noisy in there so, as I was still feeling a little under par, I ducked out early and walked back to the hotel for a bit of R&R.
14th November 2024 – Ho Chi Minh City to Hanoi
We were both awake early this morning so had a fairly early breakfast before returning to our room to get our bags aircraft ready. As we had to check out of our room by 12:00 we were faced with a long wait in the hotel foyer. We could have gone to eat in one of the restaurants but, as we’d eaten so much over the past few weeks, we decided we should try to eat light so I walked to the local convenience store to buy something for lunch. The rest of the afternoon was spent chatting to people as they left (there were pickups all through the afternoon as people were taking all sorts of different flights home).
Our turn to leave came at around 16:00. It total, there were six of us on the same flight so we were picked up by mini bus for the 7km journey to the airport. As I mentioned, it was only 7km to the airport but because of the traffic it took an hour! (one other interesting thing we learned was that, during the rush hour motorcycles are allowed to use the pavements as well as the roads!!)
It was fortunate that we had a guide with us when we checked in as things got a little confusing. It turned out that the flight we were booked on to Hanoi had been delayed by around 3 hours and, as that would have meant us missing our flight to Heathrow, we were moved to a different flight.
The flight itself was okay and pleasantly uneventful and we arrived in Hanoi in good time for our 13-hour flight.
15th November 2024 – Hanoi to Home
Once we’d arrived at Hanoi airport, we were transferred to the international terminal ready for our very long flight. The flight was, again, pleasantly uneventful if a little uncomfortable. We arrived at London Heathrow at 06:40 having had very little, if any, sleep and we were picked up by Pols taxis for the drive home. Surprisingly neither of us slept on the car journey home so we arrived feeling very, very tired and not a little chilly having got used to the heat of Asia.
Overall, we both agree that it was a good holiday although definitely not a restful one. Both Vietnam and Cambodia are, in our opinion, worth a visit. The people who have been through so much and have so little, appear to be a happy people who are very welcoming to visitors.