Ancient Kingdoms: Thailand, Laos, Vietnam & Cambodia (2012)

If Webster’s listed the word “Fantabulous,” the noun would be OAT’s Ancient Kingdom Tour. We had a fantabulous time on our Ancient Kingdom Trip. And our trip leader, Joe, (Manope Sutumsirinugoon) was super fantabulous.

The trip was very busy, but truly amazing. This is our fifth trip with Grand CircleOAT and as usual, we were not disappointed. It requires a lot of walking. We both lost a few pounds from the exercise and delicioushealthy food.

All of the countries, leaders and activities were great. We were so glad that we took the pre trip to Burma. We were driving down a street one day and our leader, Terry, said there was a wedding in the small yard to our left. We asked if the driver could slow down or park near so we might get a picture of the bride. Terry’s response was that they would love to have us join their party. He stopped the bus, ushered us off, and he was right. They graciously welcomed us into their reception. We were given paper fans with the names of the bride and groom, small bouquets of wild flowers that were also given as favors. We shared wedding cake and other snacks. What a wonderful, unplanned, ‘discovery.’ We went half way around the world to crash a wedding!

We were very blessed to have Joe lead our group. He was the best trip leader we have ever had on any trip. The many details of the internal flights, luggage, hotels, various modes of transportation (we rode both business class and economy class horse drawn carts, ox carts, rickshaws, all kinds of boats…what fun!) He made sure that our accommodations were perfect, meals were well planned and delicious (sometimes adventurous.) He didn’t allow us to miss anything. The rickshaw ride through the streets of Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) was incredibly fun and it certainly was ‘an adventure.’

The post trip was also fantastic. Northern Thailand is so different from the Bangkok area. We would not have gotten a real feel for that countries wonderful diversity if you missed the trip to Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai.

All of our local leaders were great. Phet touched our hearts when he shared his life stories as he grew up as a Monk. Vuthy grew up working in the rice paddies and through his own efforts got himself educated. OAT is very blessed to have them, An, and Veng local guides. All were knowledgeable and made our trip very enjoyable.

And then there was our dear friend, Joe. Joe made us laugh with “Joe stories.” Who knew that we would come home from a vacation having made a special friend a half world away? Since we are home, he has shared pictures he took of all of us as we traveled and enjoyed the trip. What a thoughtful gesture from a very thoughtful man.

We’re off to Holland in a couple weeks. The trip leader has some very big shoes to fill, but I’m sure heshe will be up to the challenge.

Thank you Grand CircleOAT for making such a wonderful adventure available. Your trips are worth every penny!

Traveler: Helen Stitzel from Manheim, PA traveled on January 24, 2012

Our trip was incredible from start to finish. The temples & ruins were fabulous. The bus and boat rides were broken up with lots of great stops—a wedding, a funeral, a rubber tree farm, family fishing etc. The food and hotels were all good; I swam in two hotel pools. I did not get sick on the trip and did not find it too fast paced..

Our guide, Ole, was awesome. Ole should be training guides—he is that outstanding. In our initial orientation, Ole gave us a map showing all the countries we would visit. Later in the trip, he highlighted our route on each person’s map. Ole, a former art teacher, kept a journal with drawings of buildings, etc. as we traveled. When the trip ended, he gave each of us a copy of his journal. Ole also took wonderful pictures as we traveled and then put the pictures into videos that he sent to each of us. The videos truly show our incredible trip!

http:www.youtube.comwatch?v=rN8HdwmE-FM

http:www.youtube.comwatch?v=NDEy6BwJLVk

http:www.youtube.comwatch?v=I1W4oGuulP0

http:www.youtube.comwatch?v=7tcpIA9TaMk

Traveler: Ann from FL traveled on February 02, 2012

This was our second OAT trip, and, like our trip to Egypt and Jordan, it was outstanding. The itinerary was excellent, with visits to the popular sites but also unique experiences, such as the participation in alms-giving to the monks in Luang Prabang and several fascinating learning discoveries. Although the pace was wearing, we would not have given up any of the activities. You can rest when you get home.

Guides: We’ve found that one of the strengths of OAT is the quality of its guides. We loved our trip leader, Anil, for his knowledge of all four countries, his taking care of us (especially when members of our group took ill), and his marvelous dry sense of humor, which kept us smiling, especially on long bus rides (more on this later). We were also impressed with the local guides, especially Chermoua, our guide in Laos, who was kind and sincere and as a Hmong was able to give us added insights into his people and culture; and Thaly, our guide in Phnom Pehn, who shared with us her family’s horrible experiences under the Pol Pot regime.

Hotels: All of the hotels were very good -- the Grand Luang Prabang was especially beautiful -- and the staff were all wonderful.

Packing: It isn’t necessary to bring too much clothing, because light items, such as underclothing and nylon shirts, can be washed and will dry during the two-night stays. Also, laundry is very reasonable: e.g., at the Sabaidee Hotel in Vientiane, it cost a few dollars per kilo.

Shopping: This is Shopper’s Heaven. We bought beautiful silk scarves and weavings in Laos and Thailand, lacquerware in Vietnam, and, of course, t-shirts are available everywhere. I saw one item only in a shop in the Siem Reap airport: small blue and white porcelain jars in different shapes, containing black pepper, great gifts for about $5; if you buy these, be sure to ask at the counter for the woven boxes that hold them. If you are taking the Chiang MaiChiang Rai extension (we went to Chiang Mai on our own), you can get everything at the Sunday and night markets in Chiang Mai for better prices, and we found the sellers more fun to bargain with.

Transportation: We loved the boat rides, the oxcart ride, the harrowing ride on a bicycle-rickshaw through swarming motorbikes, and the short flights, on which we actually got box meals. As for the bus rides… the drive from Luang Prabang was fabulous, with unbelievably beautiful scenery, but the others were only so-so. I thought of them as downtime from a strenuous schedule and as a chance to view the countryside. My husband, on the other hand, thought there was one bus ride too many – the drive from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap took 7 hours along an unscenic road and could have been replaced by a 45 minute flight. The extra time could have been spent seeing more of Phnom Pehn, or better still, adding a day in Bangkok.

Food: The food was very good, but I have to say that the majority of our group got sick. Bring Imodium and Cipro, or an equivalent. Bottled water, soft drinks, and usually beer were included at all meals; wine was extra but reasonable at $3-$4 a glass.

Essentials: Be sure to carry toilet paper; a handkerchief to dry your hands after washing is handy. Also carry hand-sanitizer, although the bus drivers do hand out wet-wipes.

Non-essentials: We used Deet but didn't need it. Hairdryers are provided at most of the hotels, but I didn’t use one on this trip, because my hair dried naturally in the warm air.

Probably the best part of any trip is the people. First of all, our group was small, only 11 people, and they were wonderful companions -- interesting, funny, simpáticos. Then, the people of Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, and Cambodia were amazing. Even with the horrors they have experienced in the past and the poverty and privation they suffer now, they were welcoming, warm, and upbeat. When we asked if we could take their pictures (by pointing to the camera and then to them), they would nod and then shine when we showed them their pictures in the viewer.

OAT is doing an admirable job in supporting schools and small industries in these countries, and one of our favorite visits is to the OAT sponsored school and village in each country. The schoolchildren we saw and the women who were profiting from their weaving were enthusiastic and happy, and we were honored to be a part of this enterprise.

Traveler: Randall and Sharon Young from Moraga, CA traveled on January 02, 2012

This was our 6th trip with OAT and, not to take away from any of the others, our most adventurous and far-ranging. I have to blame our excellent guide Ukkrit (also called Steven) who was not only informative and handled all arrangements seamlessly, but became our fellow companion in adventure.
The hotels were generally fine with some that were even better than that, like the Almond in Phnom Penh and our hotels in Luang Prabang and Siem Reap. The food was terrific! Despite warnings in all the travel guides about a 50% chance of getting some kind of stomach ailment while in SE Asia, we escaped virtually intact. This, too, I blame on Ukkrit, who guided us to the best (safest?) restaurants not only on our tour, but also on our free nights.
Yes, the bus rides were long, with the one between Vang Vieng and Vientiane particularly rough and dust-filled. But friendly tour mates, our indefatigable guides and absorbing the lessons of good kharma all helped, as well as the interesting side trips (aka bathroom breaks.)
Each place had its special feeling and atmosphere. The peace, spirituality and beauty of Luang Prabang were very special. Don't miss sitting along the Mekong with a beer while the sun sets. That image will sear itself into your memory, as will the VERY early giving of alms to the monks.
Vang Vieng was a stop at a 3 star hotel with a 5 star view. Once again the sun setting on the river with ragged karsts in the background - priceless!
Saigon is a sophisticated city with the craziest hordes of motorcycles we have ever seen. Would have loved to stay there longer.
Phnom Penh was perhaps the most surprising of the places that we visited - full of activity, beauty and fun! Dance in the parks with the locals!
And of course, Angkor Wat and the other temples around Siem Reap were as magnificent as promised.
But one can't visit this area without being confronted by the pain and poverty that it has experienced and experiences still. There wasn't a guide or person we met who did not suffer personally in the Vietnam War or from the Khmer Rouge. To have people share their personal stories and to view their positive outlook towards their current lives is to understand even better the resilience of the human spirit.
Did I mention how wonderful Ukkrit was? :) He went above and beyond in making sure this was a trip we wouldn't forget. And ensured that by making videos throughout the trip that captured the adventure and variety of what we experienced.
Our farewell dinner sailing along the Chao Praya in our own private rice barge with the lights of Bangkok streaming by us, was the unforgettable culmination of an unforgettable trip.

Traveler: Susan Matsumoto from Lantana, FL traveled on November 29, 2011

I traveled as a single woman.......I'm glad I took this trip to see this part of the world.......I loved Laos.....the natural beauty of the country and smaller towns. If you get car sick take meds for it.......long bus ride on windy road......hot, take shorts to the knees......take small new $1.00 bills.......lots of tipping........some country guides were hard to understand.......I like shopping and we weren't given the time at some places. I wish the war sites were optionals......I wouldn't have gone to the tunnels or the killing fields and prison museum.......many of us were very careful but still had traveler's revenge.....loved the water buffalo cart ride and floating village.
Poor people that eat whatever moves.......including dogs and rats. Be prepared if you are leery of seeinghearing about a totally different culture.......a learning experience.

Traveler: Kathleen Malavasic from Florence, OR traveled on December 25, 2011

A superb learning experience on Southeast Asia. A chance to learn the history both ancient and modern from "their" perspective. We heard about the good, the bad and the ugly from people who had studied and experienced great tragedy and great progress and success. Our leader Ukkrit Stephen had immense knowledge to share as did our wonderful local guides.

The scenery and ancient ruins are unique spanning sights along the Mekong River, views at a mountaintop restaurant, Royal Palaces, and more Temples than you can imagine. There were many great sunset and sunrise picture opportunities. Certainly one highlight are the old Temples around Siem Reap including Angkor Wat, The Bayon, Banteay Srei, and Ta Prohm.

This is not a "vacation" and long interesting and sometimes tiring days are the norm with some "interesting" bus rides and boat trips. The opportunities to mingle with the local people at roadside stops, villages and meals added much to the experience.

We loved the asian food and beer too, usually eaten at local restaurants. The home hosted lunch in a Laotian jungle village was a special treat.

If you can, upgrade your economy seat to one with more room for the very long trip. We found Economy Comfort seating well worth the money.

Traveler: Elaine & Stephen Smith from Cape Elizabeth, ME traveled on November 29, 2011

There are not words enough to describe the beauty, friendliness, and experiences we enjoyed on this trip. It is truly one that cannot be described in words or photos. It truly must be seen in person to be appreciated.

Trip Leader Steven Packnoi was a wonder, like traveling with a big brother who would say "No worries; let me know what you needwant and I will take care of everything." And he did, he made it all happen.

Temples, elephants, flowers, street markets, monks, ceremonies, color, Hill Tribes, museums, children, food, silk weavers, tuk-tuks, goldsmiths. it was ALL GOOD.

Thailand was so special, even during the horrific floods, that we could have spent a few months there soaking in the sights and sounds.

The final night in Chiang Mai capped the experience for me when we each launched small hot-air kite-balloons. Watching the paper lanterns rise high above us to look like stars in the sky was such a thrilling way to say "Good-bye" to the fun and learning we had shared with our group, a magical experience.

Traveler: Gloria P from Aurora, CO traveled on October 01, 2011

The Ancient Kingdoms is yet another one of OAT’s outstanding trips. We started with the pre-trip to Myanmar and were so glad we did. Since Myanmar has just opened to tourism on a large scale the only acceptable hotels for our type of travel are on the upper end of the scale, consequently we got spoiled for the rest of the trip, but that was fine. The sites in Yangon, Bagan and Mandalay were expertly chosen by OAT. Our guide, Htay Winn, was extremely knowledgeable and caring. Do not miss the hot air balloon ride over the ancient temples in Bagan. It is supposed to be one of the top three places in the world to go on a hot air balloon ride and we would agree with that evaluation. Our hotel in Bagan was a lovely resort on the river. We wanted to stay there a few more days just to relax. Be aware that not only does one not wear shoes in any of the temples, but it is forbidden to wear even socks—one must be barefoot. We flew to the three cities in Myanmar which allowed us to maximize our time in each city.

Base Trip: KC, our trip leader, was so very good. He not only sent us the customary welcome email, he also sent a picture so we would know who to look for at the airport. He supplied personal wake-up calls and let the coutry guides do their job, but was always there to take up the slack andor answer questions. We received an email upon our return home, too.

Having already been on OAT’s Discover Thailand trip, we were concerned that we would have too much repetition, but not so. Yes, we did the Grand Palace for a second time, but the optional to Ayutthaya was a new adventure for us and we thoroughly enjoyed it.

Of Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia, I think we would say the Lao was our favorite. The cities were not overwhelming in size and the people were so inviting. The World Heritage City of Luang Prabang was a delight. We learned from our all of our adventures and the "Day in A Life" experience was one of the best we have had. The bus ride from Luang Prabang to Vietiane was long even though it was broken up with stops and an overnight in Vang Vieng. We visited an organic farm in Vang Vieng which could have been skipped. We were very disappointed with the Vansana Riverside Hotel in Vientiane. The breakfast was basically inedible.

My biggest disappointment was Vietnam. As I was looking for the beauty I had heard so much about. This is not to say we didn't learn in Vietnam. On this trip, we were only in Ho Chi Minh City for the most part. It was great fun riding in the cyclo-rickshaw and the Water Puppet Show was good and interesting. The food was very good on that optional as well. The War Remnant Museum was very one-sided in their presentation of the war however not unexpected. The Cu Chi Tunnels trip was very interesting. We drove to Chau Doc to catch a “speedboat” to Cambodia. It was a four-hour boat ride so make sure you bring something to do.

In Cambodia, we enjoyed both Phnom Penh and Siem Reap. The sites were outstanding and varied. Of course, Angkor Wat was the crowning glory, but don’t miss Banteay Srei. It was quite beautiful and different from any other temple we saw on the trip.

In true OAT fashion we used a multitude of modes of transportation from plane to large comfortable buses, to speed boats. For the more local trips we used oxcarts, horse carts small boats, scooters, trucks, etc. The hotels were acceptable except for the one in Vientiane and the food good. Interesting restaurants had been chosen for our meals throughout our trip. There was a different "local" guide for each country, even though KC was with us for the entire base trip, and each was very good. Thankfully, there were few factory stops, but enough places to find a few souvenirs and gifts if you wanted to pick up a few things. We were fortunate to have great weather—a few cool days and a few very warm, but not horrible hot days and no rain. In every country children were there to sell you something, but it was not in a pushy sort of way. If you said “no thank you”, they were ok. In Myanmar, they had it down to a science—one child would “adopt” you and make sure you saw all the sights as well as “encourage” you to buy their trinkets.
At present visas for four of the five countries visited are required. Visas for Myanmar and Vietnam must be obtained in advance and OAT recommends that you get your visas for Laos and Cambodia in advance as well. The cost for all 4 visas for 2 people is $660. After some investigation we decided to get the visas for Laos and Cambodia on arrival. It worked fine and we saved $330.

We always enjoy meeting and making new friends on our OAT trips and this group was exceptional.

Traveler: Cyn, Atlanta, GA traveled on December 07, 2011

This was my first OAT trip and I was very pleasantly surprised by the extent and experience of an Oat trip. (Have booked another trip for Thailand and BurmaMyanmar). Went with my Brother-in-Law and both he and the other guests were all great and enhanced the trip considerably, along with the guides. A few observations would be as follows:

Pack light as the OAT guide suggests- no formal wear, and only one or two longsleeve shirts (mostly for the plane)

Bring $60 to $100 in US $1 dollar bills. Good everywhere and handy.

Bring a small extra pack for things like an umbrella, camera, hat, change of shirt etc.

Did not take the extra temple trip in Angor Wat and am glad I did not, and instead walked around the town, got foot fish massage (nice experience), and regular Khmer massage (a bargain in Cambodia), which was a far better option for me.

Use the guides for any questions. They are eager to be of assistance, and knowledgeable.

Try the exotic foods, which I went with no intention of sampling, but did when I got there, and had a storied experience and no aftereffects. The guides were excellent at encouraging and explaining, but respectful of anyone not willing to sample.

Southeast Asia is a exceptional learning experience with exotic cultures and one of the last bargains left in the world.

The people of Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia were especially friendly, unlike here in the USA. Could not believe their genuine interest in us, and how accommodating they were to us. Never expected that from the people both in the cities and in the countryside.

Traveler: Rich Egan from Salem, NH traveled on March 27, 2011

This trip is extraordinary. It was our 13th with OAT, and we expected excellence. We were not disappointed.
I can't say enough about our Trip Leader, Tim. Her vast knowledge, expertise, attention to details, ability to cope with the occasional problem, and understanding of the sorts of things travelers from the U.S. needed in order to have the best possible experience, cannot be overstated. Thank you, Tim!
Our auxiliary guides in the other countries were also excellent, especially Phet in Laos, and Thaly and Virak in Cambodia.
We took both the pre-trip excursion to Burma (not to be missed) and the post-trip add-on to northern Thailand (also worthwhile).
It would be hard to describe our favorite places andor activities, because there were so many. I should say that we found the trip a bit too packed and fast-paced, but this was due to our diminishing energies, not to any problem with the trip. Our travel companions were able to enjoy everything. OAT certainly described the trip accurately and warned us it would be full.
In terms of logistics, we found almost all our hotels to be better than we expected, several frankly luxurious. Meal were stunning: we were able to savor all sorts of regional cuisines, and I don't think a menu was repeated throughout the entire month.
We loved the fact that we flew several times to breach long distances, but also traveled overland on a number of occasions, allowing us to view spectacular landscapes and observe life along the way.
We took this trip in large measure in order to see the extraordinary ruins in and around Angkor. Banteay Srei is a gem not to be missed.
Other favorite spots included visiting a small village in Laos that OAT supports, spending time in Luang Prabang, Ayutthaya (we were the first group able to go there after the floods), the Killing Fields (painful but important), Shwedagon Pagoda in Yagon, Bagan with its magical expanse of ancient brick stupas set off by a lush rain valley and ever present mist, and the elephant camp in northern Thailand (much more interesting than we anticipated).
My one suggestion would be to change the itinerary in the Vietnamese portion of this trip. We have been to Vietnam with OAT, and especially loved the northern and central parts of that country. Spending three days in the south was disappointing. And I would eliminate the visit to the Cao Dai Temple--as I would have eliminated a similar visit on our previous trip.
Again, though, this is a trip not to be missed. It is well organized, beautifully carried out, and often extremely moving. Check out my photographs at www.margaretrandall.org (go to Photographs, then to Color, and they are the last images at the end of this portfolio).

Traveler: Margaret Randall from Albuquerque, NM traveled on November 20, 2011

This trip was the best one we have ever been on. Our leader was fantastic and was with us all the time, explaining things, stopping on the roadside to see interesting things, etc. We experienced a different religion, a different culture, different foods, different climate, and different customs. One can only admire the attitude of these people who have been overrun for so many years and only want peace and a little better life for their children. We applaud OAT for their concern with the schools and villages, and for showing us the simple ways people cope.

Traveler:  from Moultonborough, NH traveled on October 30, 2011

This was our ninth trip with OATGCT and it was wonderful. After 31 days we would have stayed longer but they sent us home. Our trip started with the pre-trip in Myanmar which was very interesting. The weather really didn't cooperate during this part of the trip but our Myanmar trip leader Terry found many interesting things for us to do. We were very impressed with the happiness of the people even they they are extremely poor and 90% of them don't have electricity. They welcomed us into their homeshuts, to their weddings, and many other situations and were so happy to have us visit them. We didn't see any beggars on the street. They have found ways to care for all of their people and help each other.
We then moved on to the main trip, met the rest of our travelers and our fantastic trip leader, Lin. She was so knowledgeable, energetic and enthusiastic, and always smiling. We have always had great trip leaders and she was definitely at the top of our list. We enjoyed Bangkok even though the flood was building up all around us. Every trip we have taken has run into a few snags beyond OAT's purview and the sign of a good company is one that comes up with a new plan which is just as interesting as what we missed. OAT came through again and the flood waters didn't deter us at all. Our next country was Laos. Phet was our in country trip leader, a former monk , was one of the most generous kind souls we met on the trip. His peaceful nature permeated our entire Laos experience and made a great impression on us. The school village visit and home hosted lunch was very interesting and is always one of our favorite activities. The villagers have so little based on our standards but yet they are happy and productive in their lives. They welcomed us with open hearts and let us share in their daily lives. The early morning alms ritual with the monks in Luang Prabang is a very spiritual experience. It is certainly worth rising early to experience.
We then went to Vietnam where we entered the world of the constantly flowing motorcycles in traffic you can never imagine. I was amazed with the sheer size of modern high rise buildings in Ho Chi Minh city. Even though many years have passed since the war that city has really prospered more than I could have imagined. The War museum was a strange experience. It displays mainly in photographs the events of the Vietnam War. It is all shown from the Vietnamese perspective and isn't a very positive display of our involvement. We thought it was definitely something we should see and experience and try to understand their feelings. While in Ho Chi Minh we saw a water puppet show that was very good and very different from anything else we have seen. The Cu Chi tunnels were also fascinating and another remembrance of the war. The Vietnamese were extremely nice to us and were happy to see Americans visiting.
A beautiful boat ride on the Mekong River brought us to Cambodia. Here we met people that had been there during the time of Pol Pot. As we were introduced to the horrors they experienced, your heart couldn't help but reach out and want to offer them comfort. We saw beautiful sites in Phnom Penh and then traveled on to Siem Riep and Angkor Wat. This Unesco site is as wonderful as you have heard and OAT made sure we didn't miss a thing. Make you sure you take the optional tour to Banteay Srei. It was spectacular. We then returned to Bangkok and part of our group went home. Seven of us stayed for the post trip to Chiang Rai and Chiang Mai. I am so glad we did this. If we hadn't we wouldn't have seen the real Thailand. We had been to Bangkok three times on the trip and it was nice but just a big city. On the post trip we saw two smaller cities, the hill tribes, the Elephant Camp and really saw the more typical Thailand.
Overall we were so impressed with our first visit to Buddhist countries. The peaceful, calm, loving, caring nature of the people is exhibited in their everyday life and I wish we could have brought it home to sprinkle around the US. We had many unique experiences, so many different modes of transportation from a water buffalo cart ride, to tuk tuks, boats, scooters, rickshaws, and more. All of the hotels were very nice. We had some beautiful views by the rivers edge and other gorgeous scenery. The trip leaders were great in each country. The learning and discovery events kept unfolding and were many times unplanned. On two occasions we stopped on the road because we could see a wedding taking place. We proceeded to stop, walk right up, and invite ourselves in to my horror. What a scene we would have caused at home but here they welcomed us with open arms, offered us food, and wanted to have their pictures taken with their American visitors. Can you believe it!
I hope that you can tell after reading this that you should take this trip and take advantage of every opportunity that is offered to you. You won't regret it!

Traveler: Dale Otterman from University Park, FL traveled on October 14, 2011

Our trip leader was OUTSTANDING. KC was there when ever you needed him. Each morning he personally woke you up, always cheerful and with a wealth of knowledge. He is by far the best trip leader we have had on the OATS trips, with India and Egypt following. He just took care of everything and anticipated in advance what to do. These trips are successful only with a good leader and he is one of few. Tahe trip leqader makes the trip


The local guides for the most part were OK, however one was outstanding.
This is Pakdei Buntong, who joined us in Siem Reap as a local guide. This young man has endured so much in his county, loosing his whole family to the Khmer Rouge and being subjected to so much by them. He has a great knowledge of the area, and we would hope that OATS would use him more, as he is deserving and it could help in supporting him and his family.


The village of Kia Luang was a good experience and we enjoyed the school. There is a need in this area for facilities, such as water and restrooms, but mostly teaching of sanitation, which should be on the forefront. Most kids were dirty and their clothes also. Soap would be in order, and a good gift to bring.
The itinerary for the most part covered what we wanted to see, and what we expected.


In our opinion, the War Museum in Saigon was not worth the time for the facts were not correct and the commentary was only one side. And the local guide was a true Communist, very bias as this was An American war not UN.
The other thing we could have skipped was the long drive to the STORK sanctuary . This was 2 ½ hours each way, a 45 minute walk in high temperatures, to see egrets and Cameron birds, not storks, in the top of trees, with poop all over. The best part of the trip was to pay the $1 for the motor ride back to the bus. Pacing of the trip was just fine


The Nieh Kieu and the Allson hotels were great , no more to say there.
Asian Ruby 3, was OK but not much room in the room, and no place to sit and have a coffee or drink, with out going on the street.
Vansana Hotel was really bad, the rooms had to be sprayed by KC each evening while we were out, location was not good and the food was less that acceptable. This is not up to OAT standards. I gave KC information on a hotel in town with good location that I checked out. Pricing was good. Change locations
Maison Dalbua The hotel was OK, with a nice setting and the rooms were good, but the food service in the morning was not good. Instant coffee, cold eggs, Sausage and ham in a pan filled with water. Bread was stale. Only this OK was the yogurt, which they had to buy.

Good
Viet Nam and Laos, the boat trips were great. The experience of the markets and the villages were the best.
The Alm giving in Luang Prabang, Laos, in the early morning was a nice experience.
Siem Reap, one could spend more time there as it was friendly, clean and the people were wonderful
Another high light was the Ox ride in the country.

Bad
The five(5) hour ride to the STORK sanctuary
Hotel in Vansana
War Memorial in Saigon
Prison and killing fields in Phnom Penh
Long and uninteresting ride to the village of Kia Kuang

Traveler: Norman Kee from University Place, WA traveled on February 15, 2011

I signed up for this trip because I wanted to see Angkor Wat. Angkor Wat (with the many other nearby temples) has a well deserved reputation. It is spectacular and all world travelers should visit at least once.

The OAT tour does a great job of showing us the context behind Angkor Wat. Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Vietnam, and Burma have rich and intertwining histories that go back more than 1000 years. The tour shows and explains that history right in front of our eyes.

We see the sacred Emerald Buddha in Thailand that may or may not have been stolen from its neighbors. We see temples in Cambodia and Laos where the Emerald Buddha perhaps really belongs. We see ancient capitals that were used to maintain peace or defend against war between neighboring countries over the centuries.

And numerous "learning and discovery" stops show us the modern local culture as well. Water buffalo. Rice paddies. Fishing villages. Hill tribes. They are all still thriving along side big modern cities.

We do see relics of the recent wars in Cambodia and Vietnam, but that is only 2 or 3 days out of the tour. Southeast Asia is really much more than that. If you're mostly interested in the war, the Vietnam-only tour may be a better choice for you.

The guides did a great job of tying the history and culture and historic sites together for us. They grew up through the war years and the modern economic growth, but also have deep roots to their historic cultures.

My only complaint is that we do not see any of the ancient parts of Vietnam, such as the Citadel at Hu? or the Champa ruins at M? Son, both in central Vietnam. Those would have made the tour more complete.

Also be careful of changing itineraries to this trip. I visited in October 2010 when the tour started in Bangkok, where we saw the Emerald Buddha and the ancient capital of Ayutthaya. Our tour also included a 2 day overland drive through the hill tribe area between Luang Prabang and Vientiane, Laos and another 2 day landboat trip through the Mekong delta from Saigon to Phnom Penh. These were all fascinating and beautiful parts of our tour and I might be reluctant to recommend the tour without them. I chose OAT vs. other tours because I wanted to see the rural parts of the countries as well as the big tourist areas.

On practical matters, October is the end of the rainy season. We were fortunate that most of the rain fell at night (when the thunder and lightening sometimes woke us up). On a couple of days, I was glad that I brought an umbrella.

These are tropical countries and the weather is warm or hot all year. The locals do not wear shorts, so if you want to blend in, look for very lightweight pants. I like synthetic hiking pants that dry out very quickly (and also have lots of pockets). European-style 34 length pants are also popular with men and women in southeast Asia. There were only a couple of days when our guide recommended full length pants.

One of the best defenses against overheating is drinking lots of water. The guides gave us bottled water every day in the hotels and on the buses. Bring a small handbag or backpack to carry the water (and your umbrella) with you when you are off the bus.

If you're not familiar with Southeast Asian food, you may want to try some restaurants at home. The food and local ingredients are a big part of the Southeast Asian cultures. Thai and Vietnamese restaurants are pretty common in the USA now. Cambodian and Lao food is similar. That will help you appreciate the food more when you're on the tour.

Traveler: Ken from Palo Alto, CA traveled on October 12, 2010

Dear Travel Friends
I would highly recomment this trip to SouthEast Asia. You will enter the land of Buddha, a wonderful adventure. For hundreds of years people have lived in this area of the world creating magical structures. Their arts and crafts are wonderful, lots of silk. You will encounter warm friendly people who welcome the chance to show you their countries.

Traveler: Carol Hall from Kennewick, WA traveled on March 22, 2010

This trip was fabulous!...... even better than I had anticipated. There is so much to see and do, all well-paced, and interesting. The hotels were great, and many outstanding. In one hotel in Myanmar I even had a waterfall in the private courtyard of my room. The food was wonderful and chosen by the guides for variety and quality. The guides,themselves, were knowledgeable, personable, and experienced enough to supplement or alter the schedule as would benefit the group.
The itinerary might seem busy with so many hotels and flights, but it all went along seamlessly. Each day we were out from about 8 to 1, then, at the hottest part of the day had a break at the hotel to nap, swim, shop, whatever, and then went out again from about 4-8. That worked very well.
I went on both extensions and recommend them, especially Myanmar. It was magical and the balloon ride over Bagan a must, the highlight for me. Trying to list all the great experiences on this whole trip is overwhelming...there are so many.....10 different boat rides, all types of local transportation, walking into the villages and homes, local crafts, gracious people, golden Buddhas, and on and on.
Even the three different days that we were on a bus, the scenery was beautiful and we stopped throughout to see things.
Practical matters. Bring the recommended meds, because each of us got sick at some time. Two bottles of water were provided each day in each hotel room and another two each day on the bus. Every time we reentered the bus we were given hand wipes. Ladies, take tissues to every bathroom during the day. It is rarely there. Bring tissues from the hotel room. You only need to exchange money in Thailand, as every other country takes U.S. dollars. In Myanmar they will take only cash, no charging at all.
If you are wavering, take this trip. I loved it!

Traveler: Susan Rosenzweig from Owings Mills, MD traveled on February 02, 2010

This was an amazing trip. John, our guide, was one of the best we have ever had. Besides being very knowlegeable about each of the countries, he anticipated our every need, often before we did. We loved the fact that bottled water was provided for us, wherever we were, this being extremely important when temperatures are very high. Also, there was always a ready supply of toilet paper for those "stops along the way". These may seem like small things until you realy need them!!The food was fabulous, our guide choosing wonderful restaurants, places one wouldn't find on their own. The people living in each of the visited countries, were kind, gentle, and extremely friendly, making the trip so memorable. The museums, temples, Chu Chi Tunnels, Killing Fields, should be visited by every American, in hopes that we don't repeat the past. Highly recommend this trip.

Traveler: Pamela from Bloomfield Hills, MI traveled on December 22, 2009

We were really impressed with our tour of the Ancient Kingdoms. But we felt we really didn't see enough of Vietnam to give a fair opinion. We enjoyed most of what we saw but there was so little time.

Now as for Cambodia and Lao, they call it Lao we couldn't say enough including the three tour leaders of those two countries. Angkor Wat and Angkor Thom are awesome. The hill tribes and getting to know the people especially the day in the life of a village where we really had more interaction with the people who live in thatch huts and how they make a living in their village.

The welcoming of the people and especially the children and how they seem to be so respectful to all of us. It was just refreshing to be there. I would return and maybe we will with the Vietnam tour. I am sorry we didn't get to Burma as the folks who did said it was really worth it.

We had some difficult in the post extension cause one of our folks needed hospitalization but it all worked out well considering how ill she got. The tour leader John was so well prepared and did such a great job to get the her to the right hospital and the right care before trying to return home. The Thailand staff also helped out to make it work for the her.

OAT in my book does it best of all.

Traveler: Philip from Hayward, CA traveled on November 26, 2009

We just completed the OAT Ancient Kingdoms Tour (AKT), with the Burma pre-extension. The trip really needs to be viewed and assessed as two major parts – the Burma pre-extension and the basic AKT. [Taking the post extension would have added to the complexity of the assessment.] And, within these two major parts, the AKT is really a series of subparts, with each part being one of the separate countries, and within each country optional excursions that one may elect to take or not take.

While overall I would give the trip ** * [Good], the parts ranged from * [Poor] for the Vietnam portion to **** [Ex] for the Burma pre-extension. We concluded that, particularly for the two of us who had previously visited Angkor Wat (Siem Reap), Vietnam, and ThailandBangkok, the trip would not have been worth taking without the great, if not actually fabulous, Burma pre-extension.

It is probably worth observing here that the AKT is really misnamed since nothing visited stems from BCE which is the time frame normally thought of as ancient, and only a few of itinerary or optional stops date from more than 900 years ago. I think the oldest things we observed in Laos were no more than 400-500 years old. Basically nothing in the Vietnam portion was more than 150 or so years old. Had the tour gone to Hue, the ancient capitol, or even the Champa ruins then at least the Vietnam portion would have included sites contemporary with Angkor Wat.

I. Before deciding to take the AKT with or without extensions, a traveler should be aware of certain things inherent in the trip. None of the following are very important, but they can be a bit irritating and pleasure diminishing.

For example, the extra costs of the visas. We used OAT’s recommended PVS service, and generally recommend it, but it did cost us about $350 each using the service (one of the visas required the more expensive priority handling). Additionally, despite OAT’s insistence that one should get all the visas before departure, obtaining visas in Laos and Cambodia on-site, as one of our fellow travelers did, was quite easy and far less expensive than using PVS. In addition to the costs of the visas two of the countries required a payment of $20 and $25 per traveler airport tax to leave the countries. None of this is wallet busting, but they are costs you should be aware of.

Even with the optional excursions, none of the itinerary items in the AKT are very comprehensive; i.e., too little time is provided to get more than a cursory view of the relatively few places covered by the itinerary.

While there were some differences in foods between the various countries and even cities within the countries, those differences tended to be subtle and based on the levels and types of spices rather than the meal components. As a result, while the food was generally good to excellent it tended to be the same, always with large quantities of rice. A special note of the soups served, which were all excellent.

As it was in India, virtually all the hotels we stayed in seemed to have problems with light switches and lighting. First, with one exception, all the hotel rooms were rather dimly lit. In at least half the cases if there were a bed lamp (aka reading lamp by bedside) there was only one such lamp. On a couple of occasions I had to use a flashlight to read in bed. Even when there were two lamps, frequently a single control on one side of the bed controlled both lights. Secondly, while there were many light switches around the rooms, they were unlabled and frequently not near the light or outlet they controlled. It was always a time consuming adventure to identify which switch turned on which light. In one hotel a number of switches were located behind the headboard [two single beds pushed together blocked the switches].

While napkins were generally provided at meals, all the countries except Thailand had a quaint practice of having toilet paper dispensers on the tables to provide something to supplement the napkins. The irony of this is that while toilet paper was on the dinner table, many of the toilet facilities that we occasionally had to use did not supply toilet paper requiring us to bring our own. We have always carried in our pockets the little Kleenix tissue packets, in part as an emergency toilet paper supply.

II. Burma ****

It has been our experience over our 16 prior trips with GCTOAT that GCTOAT employs the services of a sub-contractor when it first travels to a new location. Each time, those trips for us have been great. Once a location becomes established and GCTOAT establishes an office in the new place, the itinerary begins to degrade, sometimes significantly. This issue will be addressed in more depth at the end of this report. Despite what is implied by the catalog and detailed itinerary material, the AKT Program Director (PD) did not accompany the tour group on the Burma leg. The Burma pre-extension was run completely by a sub-contractor and it was great. Hopefully, the Burma experience will not be diluted over time, as other trips have done.

For now, however, it was great. Each day started early, broke in midday for lunch and a bit of a rest, and then resumed until at least dinner time. Thankfully there was little free time to be wasted languishing at some out-of-the-way hotel, as we experienced in so many trips. Most of the itinerary consisted of visiting temples and stupaspagodas, as well as local villages, markets and a school. The shopping stops were thankfully kept to a minimum. If I remember correctly, we thankfully only visited one local lacquer factory since I consider such visits a waste of my time trying to sell me something. We visited another lacquer factory in Saigon as well. As an aside, unlike so many travelers on these tours, I very rarely buy anything. I travel mostly as a photographer to take pictures.

The Burmese Program Director (PD) was able to facilitate all the luggage handling at the airports, and help the group bypass much of the airport red tape (ticket lines, health checks, etc.) minimizing the normal hassles of flying. Much of the normal hassle of air travel was eliminated with his help.

I was a bit nervous going to Burma without our regular OAT PD, since Burma has always been portrayed in the US as rather a vicious police state with an economically devastated economy and populace. While I realize that the Burma tour did not include areas still unrepaired after the terrible typhoon of a couple years ago or some of the worst economially deprived areas, what we saw was economically far ahead of India and Laos. The cities were real cities that looked like cities with store fronts and the like, and heavy traffic. The people appeared both friendly and happy, and thriving. There were no threatening guards or police or the like. They may have been in plain clothes, but they were not apparent. I might add here that the first time I went to Vietnam in 2002 I was nervous because I had no idea what to expect in terms of security, etc., but ended up falling in love with the country [Siagon excepted].

For me, one negative was that unlike other countries, in Burma one must remove both shoes and socks before entering temples and other such places. And in Burma we went to quite a few places requiring shoe and sock removal. Most countries only require the removal of shoes. If you go to Burma, take appropriate footwear to facilitate this.

No one took the optional balloon ride. My own rationale for not doing so is that there is always an increase in danger when riding in a balloon, and if I got injured I did not think the medical facilities in Burma would necessarily be good enough. As an aside to this, on the plane ride out of Burma we were joined on the plane by an American working at the US Embassy in Burma who had been bitten by a poisonous snake the day or two before. Since he was not responding well to treatment, the Embassy was sending him to Bangkok for better treatment. Bangkok is considered to be one of the world’s premier health centers. I would not recommend the other two extensions (Essential Yangon and Marionette Show), both of which we took.

I regretted when the Burma part of the trip was over, and I had to return to Bangkok.

III. Bangkok **

We first visited Bangkok on a whirlwind post extension to our GCT China trip in 1999. The sub contractor that GCT employed to run this three day (two full days in Bangkok) extension provided a fabulous experience. During the two full days we spent in Bangkok we toured the Grand Palace, the emerald Buddha, the Buddhist Marble Temple, the Reclining Buddha and its large complex, the Solid Gold Buddha in Chinatown, had a high speed dragon boat excursion on the Phraya River with a visit to the Temple of Dawn which is decorated with broken china, a small boat tour of tree and home lined canals ending in a visit to a true landmark – a Thai floating market, and finally a river cruise and dinner on a true converted rice barge.

As a result of OAT’s itinerary erosion that I alluded to earlier, what we did this time was visit the Grand Palace and view the emerald Buddha, the only two itinerary items offered in the base trip by OAT during the 2 days. On our own we revisited the Reclining Buddha and its complex. Even the Ayutthaya optional tour, which we did not take and which previously included a long multi hour boat ride on the river, from which one could view true Thailand river life, from Bangkok to Ayutthaya via the summer palace, had been minimized down to bus rides to Ayutthaya and a quick boat ride and no summer palace. When questioned why even the summer palace stop was dropped the PD’s response was that not being an ancient palace it was not appropriate for the AKT. Of course, it was probably a good deal older than anything we got to see in Vietnam.

In fairness, the first day in Bangkok was a free day, except for the optional to Ayutthaya. However, we spent the morning at a local hospital getting an injury sustained in Burma looked after, and the afternoon taking care of the injury. Otherwise some of the experiences we had on our first trip could have been revisited on our own at our own additional expense. Also, this time in Bangkok was our 5th time in the city, so we had done the original trip to Ayutthaya with its extended boat trip on two previous occasions, so we were not going again even without the injury.

My own view is that the two day itinerary in Bangkok had been reduced over the years to the point that the two days could haveshould have been better spent somewhere else.

At the tail end of the trip there is a dinner in Bangkok on the Phraya River, allegedly on a rice barge. The dinner was very nice, but it was on a boat not on an authentic converted rice barge, as was our dinner 10 years before.

IV. Laos ***

Our OAT PD accompanied the group to Laos and the other countries on the itinerary. The local guide for the four days in Laos was excellent, perhaps the best of any local guide I have ever had. In addition to his extensive knowledge and interesting and informative presentations, to facilitate things he would even help with luggage, serving, or whatever was needed to assist us in having the best time possible. He was great.

It was kind of interesting to visit Luang Prabang, a quaint townsmall city with the unusual name that I have heard about for many years.

For those who do not like to rise early in the morning, I would encourage you to do so for experiencing the traditional alms giving to the monks, and the subsequent walk through the market. It was a great experience. However, Luang Prabang, while pleasant, does not offer any really peak experiences or exciting sites.

The overland bus trip to Vientiane which required an overnight en route was a bit much, but nevertheless fascinating. We passed a number of ongoing weddings, and even stopped at one into which we were invited. We stayed for about ½ hour snapping photos (I have already sent the bride mine) before moving on. The hotel where we stayed that evening was minimal but serviceable, but we were glad to move on early the next day.

Vientiane is a small nice city. It does have a few sites of interest, but none were really exciting for me given all that we had seen since our tour began in Burma. For me the one exception to this was the optional trip to the Buddha Park which with its many unique statues of Buddha was a really fun place to see. I think it is really a shame that one has to spend extra funds, which can be a deterrent to many travelers, to see what I consider the real highlight of both Vientiane and Laos as a whole. Don’t miss the Buddha Park.

I do think my rather bland unenthusiastic assessment of Laos is in part due to its inevitable comparison to the earlier experiences in Burma. Burma will spoil things a bit for the rest of the trip.

V. Saigon, Vietnam *

The Saigon part of the trip was a serious disappointment for me.

As background, my 2002 tour of Vietnam was also my very first tour with OAT, and, I think, my best trip with OAT. Since then I have felt and shared with others that, based on that tour, Vietnam was my all-time favorite tour destination and that the PD I had on that tour was one of only 3 outstanding (far above the EX level) PDs I have ever had. It was a fabulous tour. I believe that at that time the OAT Vietnam tour was run solely by a subcontractor.

Since the Ancient Kingdoms tour stopped only in Saigon, a modern international city with apparently no very old, let alone ancient sites and not really representative of the true Vietnam and one that has relatively little to offer the tourist seeking the Vietnam experience (as generally confirmed by most guide books), my expectations remained relatively modest. Unfortunately even these relatively low expectations, since they were based on part on misleading information [a misrepresentation], were unmet by a wide margin.

Most guide books generally confirm that South Vietnam and more particularly the Saigon vicinity contain relatively few tourist highlights. However, one of the major highlights of this region is the extraordinary Than That Cao Dai, or Cao Dai Great Temple [Great Temple is part of its full name], located in Tay Ninh which is about 30 miles from the legendary Cu Chi Tunnels. Part of the recommended experience of this major highlight is to attend one of the four prayer sessions held daily. The Cai Dao Great Temple is generally visited on the same day one tours the Cu Chi Tunnels since they are relatively close to each other. On our 2002 tour we had attended a noon prayer session and found this experience and the huge nine level temple to be one of the major highlights of our entire 2002 Vietnam OAT tour. Because of this we were thrilled to see in the catalog for our 2009 Ancient Kingdoms trip that the tour would “visit the Cao Dai Great Temple, where worshippers garbed in colorful robes flock for daily prayer.” I might add that the tour’s Green Book also uses the term “Great Temple”.

Simply stated, the misleading catalog description of this itinerary item was a deception unworthy of OAT.

What this Ancient Kingdoms tour took us to was another Cao Dai temple with no service going on, and which, because of its much smaller size, would better be described as the Cao Dai Not-So-Great-Temple or even Cai Dai Temple Junior. Compared to the Cao Dai Great Temple this was more like the “little brown church in the dale” or a local church compared to one of the great cathedrals in Europe. When I questioned the local guide for Vietnam, he told me that I was wrong and in no uncertain terms that what we were looking at was “The” Cao Dai temple. I responded that it may well be “a” Cao Dai temple, but it was not “The” Cao Dai temple. He repeated that what we were standing in front of was The Cao Dai temple. He then sneeringly (observed and interpreted as such by several on the tour) implied that the temple I was describing did not really exist and demanded to know where or in what city this other temple that I was talking about was located. I responded that I did not remember which city the Cao Dai Great Temple was located, but I thought it was near the Cu Chi Tunnels area. I also observed that since he claimed to be a qualified Vietnam guide he should know where that temple was. I was supported in my position by two others on our tour who had also previously visited the Great Temple during its services and were as disappointed as I was with the deceit, and by a fourth who from the guide books was well aware of the existence of the Great Temple.

I believe he was one of the worst local guides I have ever been saddled with.

At any rate, this AKT does go to the Cu Chi Tunnels and The War Museum. It also stops at both the Post Office and the Catholic Cathedral of Notre Dame. Neither of the latter two is really worth even a drive-by with the bus, let alone a stop and go-in. But they are in virtually every guide book so have become obligatory. Cu Chi is interesting, but normally not worth a revisit which we did this trip. However, the highlight of Saigon is the extra cost optional excursion that included the justifiably world famous Water Puppets, which should not be missed.

The overland trip through Vietnam to the Cambodian border displayed a great deal of the Vietnam countryside and the way the people lived beside the road. While initially interesting it soon became monotonous and redundant. It was on this leg that we stopped at the small Cau Dai Not-So-Great Temple leaving at the end of the Vietnam experience a bad taste in my mouth for Vietnam.

VI. Cambodia ***

The speed boat ride to Phnom Penh was a lot of fun and did provide interesting pictures of life along the Mekong River, and the Cambodia leg of the trip was quite decent. Since we had previously spent four days in Siem Reap in 2000, we were a bit more interested in seeing Phnom Penh. It is a very pleasant city, but we saw relatively little of in the 1 ½ days we were there. But the emphasis on the Khmer Rouge reign of terror, its prisions and notorious “killing fields” was perhaps much more appropriate than simply seeing more stupas and temples.

For anyone who has not visited Siem Reap, the location of Ankgor Wat and the other temples, this would be a highlight of the trip. The 2 ½ days spent in Siem Reap were generally filled with activities with thankfully little free time. While in 2000 we saw perhaps a dozen temples each sufficiently different to be fascinating temples during our 4 day visit there, this latest trip there provided a very good sampling of the best. The only downside was that the main tower at Angkor Wat had much scaffolding and was draped with large tarps. That particular classic photo was not to be.

VII. Basic Tour Summation

I would recommend that any traveler on the main AKT part of the trip take all the optional excursions. Not to do so greatly lessens the joys of the trip. OTOH, we felt that the two optional excursions in Burma were really not worth the money. But given the commitment of time and money to this lengthy and expensive trip, it is understandable that one spends a few extra dollars to ensure not missing something.

I am always very careful about what I eat in third world countries, but everyone else on the tour ate everything including salads and raw fruits, and no one got ill.

As sort of a postscript, I travel mostly to take photos, and many photos did I take – about 11K of them on this trip. I urge any taking this tour to take extra memory cards and at least one spare (better to take 2) battery per camera. Questions about any of the above can be address to
z_q-g.-u@cox.net.


Itinerary Erosion

When I have questioned GCTOAT personnel on this issue the standard answer is that the company wants to maintain its price points for its tours even if that means cutting back on built-in itineraries and shifting at least some of the deleted activities to extra cost optionals. This is not necessarily bad, but taking this strategy to its logical end would mean that at some point the basic tour would be no more than providing the traveler with transportation and a hotel, with no built-in itinerary. Presumably, once on site the traveler could select from a menu of optional extra price tours to sites and places he wants. However, particularly with a small OAT group, if not enough people want to take an optional excursion or a pre or post extension, the excursion or extension is simply cancelled. Quite conceivably, a traveler could find himself in a situation where every one of the excursions or extensions were cancelled because of insufficient interest. Such tours will have self destructed. Our tour had one such optional cancelled, and two others that just made the minimum participation levels.

Also, as it stands now some important items on the original tour itineraries were simply dropped altogether and not shifted to optionals. Visiting a floating market in either Vietnam or Thailand would be one example of this. Hopefully OAT will not regret this strategy, but for certain locations such as Vietnam I will be looking for other tours or setting up custom tours to see what I want to see and skip what does not interest me.

Traveler: John from Springfield, VA traveled on December 12, 2009

I thoroughly enjoyed this trip. All the guides were great. Hotels were more than I expected. Food was fine (I don't take OAT trips for gourmet eating) except I got a little tired of rice.

The monuments, palaces, shrines were unbelievable and the history very enlightening. I learned a lot.

My gripes --- the constant tipping. Oat's tipping guides per day are the same for Laos (a susbistence economy) as for Paris. There is something wrong with this picture. So, I make my own guidelines based on the quality of the guide and the average personal income of each country.

My biggest surprise - I loved Vietnam and especially Saigon. Great trip.

Traveler: Rachel from Corolla, NC traveled on November 07, 2009

We had a wonderful time on this trip and would recommend it to everyone who is interested in visiting these countries. We did the pre-trip to Myanmar (which is not to be missed) but did not do the Thailand extension. One of the main reasons we went was to see Angkor Wat, but we actually enjoyed seeing other nearby ancient temples more.

The guides in each country were most helpful and informed, and answered every question with candor and sincerity. With their help, we developed a good feel for each country and especially loved the 3 countries where we spent the most time - Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia.

Not only did we see all the major sights that were promised, we particularly enjoyed meeting and seeing the locals at the many planned and unplanned stops made by the buses. All the trips by boat, horse, oxen, rickshaw and tuk tuk were interesting too.

The hotels were great (except for the one in Chau Doc that was just OK), and the food OAT arranged was always quite good, plentiful and healthy (safe).

Our trip was from mid-November to mid-December, and the weather was great. I only wish I had brought along more shorts to wear.

Everyone in our group got along well with one another, and my wife and I are already looking forward to our next trip with OAT. We love OAT's small groups, outstanding country guides, selection of hotels and restaurants, focus on meeting the people, and overall attention to detail,

Traveler: Brian from Silver Spring, MD traveled on November 19, 2009

I just want to add a couple of things to all the positive comments made already. 1) Our group leader Leky is about as good as they come! She surprised us nearly every day with something new, above and beyound. She truly cared about her "family". 2) The alms-giving ceremony in Luang Prabang was, surprisingly, one of the highlights of the trip for me.

While our local guides in Burma and Lao were very good, those in Vietnam and Cambodia left something to be desired. In one case, English pronunciation was a severe hinderance; in another, the lengthy explanations turned almost everyone's attention to something else.

Traveler: Philip from Seattle, WA traveled on November 26, 2009

Magiical should be imbedded in the title of this wonderful trip!
Burma was quite the highlight with the balloon ride in Bagan over many thousands of temples, pagodas and stupas high on the list. One should not miss this opportunity.
Our trip leader in Burma was Terry who went out of his way to make this the experience it was. It became a joke about the number of times a day we had to take off our sandals to enter temples - plenty of wet handywipes to clean our feet afterwards.
There was always plenty of lovely cold water handed out on the bus during the entire trip and water waiting in all hotels when we arrived at new destinations.
Arriving back in Bangkok we met up again with Ron who stayed with us during the remainder of the trip. What a wonderful guide he was!!
This was my 21st trip with the company and each trip the guides get better. Is this possible?
Laos, Vietnam - the Cu Chi tunnels; Cambodia - the Killing Fields and Angkor Wat. All must see sights.
Our drivers were all great and good fun.
Water puppets, Hand puppets, a Cambodian dance program - all with dinner included and out tables were always the best in the house!!!
Do not miss this trip!!!

Traveler: Angela from Ormond Beach, FL traveled on October 29, 2009

Highly recommend the base trip and Myanmar pre-trip, although there were some downsides.

Myanmar was fascinating, especially Bagan, and more prepared for the tourist than I was expecting. Highlight was the hot air balloon ride in Bagan, my first such ride. If you are interested, be sure to book in advance as OAT says is necessary. Three in our group tried to book after arrival, and there was no space. However, the hotels in Yangon and Mandalay were unsatisfactory and OAT really needs to change them.

Base trip was great except for Vietnam part. Had been to Vietnam previously on business and on OAT's Inside Vietnam tour, but the two days in Saigon were not good examples of how scenic and historic Vietnam can be. Too many of the sites were war-oriented. The 11-hour bus trip from Saigon to the VietnamCambodia border at Chau Doc to take the speed boat ride on the Mekong the following day was grueling, and the river is too wide to see much activitiy along the banks. It would be better for the tour to spend more time in Laos and Cambodia and forget the Vietnam part all together. Also the hotel in Saigon was unsatisfactory, food was dreadful.

I have always found the trip leaders on OAT and GCT to be fantastic, but the leader on this trip, Panu, set a new high standard of excellence. The local guides were very pleasant and knowledgeable, although I had difficulty understanding their English part of the time, especially in Myanmar and Laos. This could be helped by better PA systems on the buses used.

Traveler: Richard from Arlington, VA traveled on November 07, 2009

Overall the trip was excellent especially taking the pre and post extensions. The pace was active with many unique experiences along the way (in Burma and Cambodia our guides stopped the bus so we could be guests at 2 weddings).
Our tour leaders and local guides were exceptional. They were very open during discussions of issues pertaining to the countries visited. And were all very professional and made the tour unique.
And being a vegetarian, they went out of their way to ensure I always had vegetarian entrees.
We were awed by the many sites in Burma, especially the number and beauty of the temples and stupas in Bagan. We were particularly suprised that Burma was so well equiped to accomodate tourist. From the time we left each hotel, it only took an hour until takeoff. to the next city. After putting our luggage outside our hotel room, we did not see them until we got to our next hotel room. This gave us more time for touring andless time at airports.
Money matters were made easy since Burma, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos had prices quoted in US dollars and preferred them over their own currencies. In only Thailand was it useful to exchange money.
Due to the heat and our sweat, we found it usefull to keep money, credit cards, and passports in ziplocks.
We handed out stickers to the childred which werre enjoyed by them and easy for us to bring and share with many.
Our disappointment was most hotels in the brochure were changed to what we thought, in most cases, were less than similar. For example, on the post trip advertised as "Chiang Rai and Chiang Mai" we only spent 3 hours in Chiang Rai since the hotel was changed to a city over an hours drive away.

Traveler: Neal from Miami, FL traveled on October 15, 2009

We just returned from our first OAT tour. Myanmar was wonderful. This visit blew all my preconceived notions about this country. First, our guide Kyi Kyi, a married thirty something with an 8 year old daughter was delightful.
She & her husband have been guides since 1992. She is very professional, warm & enthusiastic.
She discussed the political situation with us. According to her, Aung San Su Ky referred to as "The Lady" spent most of her adult life abroad and is supported by the older generation. Kyi Kyi's generation feel she does not represent them. They want to sustain the slow, steady growth of the economy without disruption and upheaval. I saw no presence of the military and little apparent government surpression. There is significant private enterprise and an emerging middle class.
Kyi Kyi has a cell phone but they are hard to come by, you must have an approved purpose to buy a chip and they are expensive....$200 or more. Lots of motor bikes and trucks on the road, not too many cars.
Education is emphasized, we visited an elementary school supported the OAT . English is taught from the first grade but by rote so there is little comprehension. To really learn to speak English, they take English speaking courses after high school or university.
There is almost no outside investment and it is noticeable. There is one 20 story building in Yangon and Yangon is crumbling--it appears to be an intentional abandoning of the city after moving the capital. Bagan is a collection of villages and Mandalay looked the most prosperous, it is the crossroads for their trade with China.

People in the countryside are still barely past the medieval age; they are poor but looked reasonably well nourished for the most part. There is very little mechanization of agriculture, the markets are full of fresh and delicious looking fruits and veggies. They have abundant natural resources; Burmese rubies, jade and other gems, timber, oil and natural gas.
The Burmese people are devoutly religious, more so than any other country we visited.
Hotels were some of the best our the whole trip and the food was very good.

Some people think that we shouldn't visit as it supports the military regime but I felt that by observing and communicating we are helping to shine a light & open up the country. Much of what we spent went into the hands of the people. The West should maintain pressure on the military but our usual Western meddling is not what is needed.

I can't urge you enough to visit and see this amazing place for yourself

Traveler: Ronald & Jann from New York, NY traveled on November 05, 2009

BY MEL AND RUTH PERDIDO BEACH, AL

WHAT A FANTASTIC TRIP!

MUCH MORE THAN WE EXPECTED. THE TEMPLES, RUINS, AND HISTORIC SITES WERE ABSOLUTELY FANTASTIC, BUT MORE IMPRESSIVE WERE THE WONDERFULLY FRIENDLY PEOPLE, ESPECIALLY OUR GUIDES, AND PARTICULARLY OUR MAIN GUIDE RAY FROM THAILAND WHO WAS THOUGHTFUL, INSPIRING, AND ALWAYS READY TO SOLVE A PROBLEM OR MAKE OUR TRIP MORE ENJOYABLE.

Traveler: Melvyn & Ruth from Elberta, AL traveled on October 28, 2009

On arrival in Saigon we began looking for Tim, our guide. Suddenly we saw a lovely smiling woman waving the yellow OAT sign. From the very minute we met Tim we knew we were in for a wonderful time. I eventually ended up calling her "mother" as she took such good and gentle care of us. Her continued patience with each and every one of us throughout the trip was a lovely thing to experience.

It was my first visit (Sue) to this part of the world and I drank in all the sights and sounds and couldn't get enough. All of our guides in the four countries we visited were very good but our Laotian guide, "Cheer" was the best. This gentle Hmong man took us to visit "family" and was so open to all our quesitons about even the most delicate of subjects that we felt we truly got to know Laos.

I discovered that we could have cut down on a number of things that we carried with us. Each of the hotels we stayed in had a hair dryer. Much of the time a hat and long sleeved shirtblouse precluded the need to use sun-block so a small container would be enough. We used a mosquito repellant on our bodies but Tim carried a spray that we used on our clothing and that worked really well. Tim also supplied us with plastic ponchos. Actually in all four countries we saw few, if any, mosquitos.

The variety of conveyences, air planes, river boats, buses, ox carts, cyclo-rickshaws, etc., we considered an added bonus.

The school visit, in Cambodia, was not long enough - I was just getting to know "my new friend ," Sopphea, when we had to leave.

We would have liked to have spent more time at Angkor Wat, though what we would be willing to cut short Iwe are not sure. We would rather not be led to such places as gem stores and silk tailors, but recognize that others do enjoy that experience.

One of the highlights for us was the Water Puppet show in Ho Chi Minh City.

In each of the four countries we visited we always felt comfortable walking around on our own. Many people speak English and were so kind when we tried a "thank you " in their language. Everywhere we went we felt most welcome.

Our group was an eclectic collection of folks with varied countries of origin - England, Spain, Phillippines and, of course, United States. I believe this led to an even deeper learning experience as we understood, and shared, our different areas of understanding about what we were seeing and experiencing.

We are in our early seventies and yet did not find this too fast-paced. Some of our number were not able to walk very fast and that was, to me (Sue), a concern when we had to cross some of the busier streets.

What we experienced on this trip is why we choose to travel with OAT. We highly recommend it.

Traveler: Brian and Sue from Parker, CO traveled on September 10, 2009

Aloha,
One of my lifelong dreams has been to see Ankor Wat in Cambodia. I had a 400.00 credit for referring 2 friends to OAT and they were offering free single supplements so what the heck, it was time to go. I was a little nervous traveling alone. I didn't know any of my other traveling partners but from the first meeting I knew I was with friends. Poupe was our TG from Thailand and came with us throughout the trip. What an incredibley warm and humorous person. She added so much to the trip. Offering insights into the customs and traditions of her country that she was so proud of. We then were off the Laos and were meet by Ole. What warmhearted guy who was also very proud to be Laotian and knew the history and culture of his country. I hope everyone gets him as a tour guide. He even took us to his home in Vientianne to meet his family. A very touching moment. Our next stop was Saigon. Really, I was not too impressed with the Capitol. A lot of grabbing and hassling by vendors. But once we got into the country side things got a little better. We were then off on our boat trip into Cambodia. We were met my of tour guide Sme who gave us a very emotional tour of the Genocide Museum and the Killing Field. What the Cambodian people had to put up with for 3 years under Pol Pot. We then were of to Siem Riep and were escorted by another incredible guide by the name of Sang who kept us laughing throughout our visit. And then we came to the crowning point of the trip -Ankor Wat. OMG. It was everything I had imagined and more and here I was walking through this great edifice. Another touching moment was when we held Carl Muriel celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary and Poupe's birthday with glasses of wine and some cake. How very special of our tour guides to think of that. But that is what is so special about OAT tours-the little special touches
I want to say hello to all of my traveling companions and Tour Guides and thank them for making a dream really come true.

Bob Pierce

Traveler: Robert from Honolulu, HI traveled on March 28, 2009

This was our 8th OATGCT trip in 2 12 years.

This trip was formidable, fantastic, and fun! It was not an easy tour, but it was well-worth the effort! It was a total learning experience for us, but it was also a lot of fun. Although most activities were well organized, our outstanding tour guide (Ray) took advantage of opportunities along the way to give us a better insight into life in SE Asia. The bus rides were long, but frequent unscheduled stops to see people, places, events, and markets made them pass quickly. We actually enjoyed the bus rides because they gave us an opportunity to better understand life in the countryside.

For the most part, our accommodations and meals were wonderful. Although the New Epoch Hotel in Saigon was not on par with the other places we stayed, it was not terrible. The staff was very pleasant and accommodating. Saigon is just a very noisy, but interesting, city!

The temples, palaces, and ruins must be seen in order to appreciate them! Also, the immersion into the local history, culture, customs, and religions gave us a good understanding of the people.

Our Laotian local guide, Chear, was particularly wonderful. The people everywhere were very friendly, and we always felt comfortable and safe.

The Pre-trip to Burma (Myanmar) is a must - don’t miss it! The Post- trip to Northern Thailand was wonderful! We are so glad we did both.

In February and March, the farmers burn their fields, creating a lot of smoke haze. It is also very hot during these months, but very few bugs.

We highly recommend this trip. It should be in the top ten on everyone’s list!

Traveler: Diane & James from Burnet, TX traveled on February 12, 2009

I just returned from a wonderfully fast-paced visit to four countries in SE Asia. I can't say enough about our wonderful guide Lin, who was with us on the whole trip. She was the best travel guide I have ever experienced. In my opinion, she made the trip fantastic with her wonderful sense of humor & her willingness to accomodate individual needs.

I didn't know until I got there that this would be the hottest weeks of the year. I have been in Bangkok twice before and never experienced this type of heat. I have hypohydrosis, an inability to perspire, so sometimes the heat got the best of me. If the heat really bothers you, it's best to go on this tour in November or December.

I had no problem with any of the hotels & I really enjoyed my balcony room at the New Epoch in Saigon. Falling asleep to the sounds of the traffic was a plus for me.

The food on the trip was wonderful....lots of sticky rice, yummy vegetable dishes with minimal meat andor fish and always wonderful fruit, including the best pineapple I've ever had, for dessert. An English breakfast was available at every hotel & most places you could have your eggs any way you wanted them.

The long bus rides were also a plus since we saw much of the countryside we might have missed. Laos was absolutely breathtaking & our guide, Ole, was a joy....funny, witty & smart. I never laughed so much on a tour before. We had many Happy Room stops & time to stretch our legs.

There were many places where climbing steps is a must. Since I have major knee problems, I used a walking stick most of the time. Lin was always there keeping an eye out for me because I was slower than the others.

When we reached Siem Reap it was really hot....about 110 degrees at noon. After visiting one of the temples in the afternoon, I had decided that I could never do the whole day at Angkor Wat. Lin & Sarin, our local guide came up with a solution to my problem. Sarim provided me with a personal guide, Dy, and the use of Sarim's air-conditioned car to see Angkor Thom & Angkor Wat. Cost for the guide was $20 & use of the car was $25 for gas. We were also able to enter Angkor Wat from the rear which made the walking shorter. I made it to the third level of the complex with this accomodation. I was truly greatful to Lin & Sarim for their help.

On another note, bring as many American $1.00 bills as you can. I brough about 60, which was not enough. Everyone wanted American money.....at the restaurants if you want an alcoholic beverage, the price is in dollars. The Russian Market in Phnom Pen and all the street vendors everywhere wanted them too. ATMs which give American dollars are few. Our bus stopped at one in Phnom Pen & some of us got off to use an ATM. Some ATMs had run out of American dollars. So, bring more than you might think you need. The big vendors like the laquer wear place in Saigon, did take credit cards.

This trip was definitely an adventure & takes you out of your comfort zone but is so worth doing because of all you see. It is a great value for the price & I am so fortunate that I got to see these countries from the inside.

Traveler: Virginia from Bellingham, MA traveled on April 23, 2009

Our tour included Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia and a post tour to Chiang Rai and Chiang Mai, Thailand. The trip was excellent primarily because of the amazing knowledge and temperment of our guides. Our overall guide,Tim, from Thailand, was extremely knowledgeable not only in her own country's history, but other countries as well and close to an expert on Buddhism. It was thrilling to see so many temples and the indescribable beauty of each. Our favorite country however, was Laos, and again our guide in Lao, Chear, was just magnificent. Visiting his village and the home of his uncle was a special treat that I doubt you would do unless on this tour. Chear also kept us entertained on the long bus ride from Luang Prabang to Vientienne. He could probably do a spot on The Tonight Show. The country side of Lao is gorgeous and it had the feel of a country just on the edge of mushrooming tourism. It was great to be there before that hits, so go soon if you can. Cambodia also was beautiful and moving. The visits to Tuol Sleng and the Killing Fields although sobering was a reminder of the atrocity that happened in this beautiful country from which they are still recovering. Phnom Penh is a beautiful city. We enjoyed a drink at the Foreign Correspondents Club overlooking the Mekong and had the pleasure of a full moon. Siem Reip and Angkor Wat were amazing, although we were not expecting the heat and the crowds!! Too many tourists almost distracted from the mystical beauty of the site. However, our local guide, Sang, was a joy!

Back to Thailand and Chiang Rai and Chiang Mai were nothing short of beautiful! We thoroughly enjoyed going up into the hills for the tribal villages, the elephants and the bamboo raft down the river. A magical place.

I personally did not enjoy Vietnam, ironically, as seeing that country was what prompted the trip. Ho Chi Minh City was dirty, noisy and lacks personality. The visit to Chu Chi and the tunnels I could have skipped and definitely the War Remants Museum which, in my opinion, is anti-American. I walked out of the building with the so called atrocities. It's interesting that the Vietnamese have completely overlooked all of the French invasions, the years they occupied Vietnam, changing their language and culture. No mention of them in the War Remnants Museum. I also did not find it interesting to see captured US planes and tanks. I would think there are other things in Vietnam that would give a better sense of the country without leaving a bitter after taste.

The accommodations were wonderful for the most part and Tim really did her best to get us the best rooms.

In each country we visited, despite the beauty of the temples, the geography, etc. it was the people that were so memorable and touching. So welcoming and genuine.

Just my opinion - but the food was tedious. Rice 3X a day and soup the same, BUT, I knew that would be the case on this trip so not surprised. We frequently skipped the evening meal with the group and went out to try and find something different, and we were occaisonally successful. Actually had a great dinner at La Camargue in Saigon. My advice would be, if you don't like a steady diet of Asian food, eat a HUGE breakfast. The buffets at the hotels always had a cook who would prepare eggs however you liked, plenty of fruit, cereals and bread. Bring a bunch of power bars too.

One area that really needs improvement is the air routing. If possible, book your own and you will do much better. OAT had us going from NY to Chicago (less than an hour connect time) to Narita to Bangkok. We rebooked and went NON STOP from NY to Hong Kong and then Hong Kong to Bangkok, took $40 off the cost and 8 HOURS OFF THE TRIP!! Arrived so we had a full day to turn around and be ready for the tour. On the trip home, we stayed two days in Hong Kong, since we were going right through there. I recommend this type of stop. It was a chance to take a breather, have fun in a very cosmopolitan city, relax on our own before heading back.

Overall, this is a wonderful trip to a truly beautiful part of the world. Just go!

Traveler: Mary and David from New Fairfield, CT traveled on February 26, 2009

There are many excellent reviews already posted, so this will focus on the less traveled destinations, Burma and Laos. We booked the trip largely to see those two countries, since we had visited Thailand 40 years ago and had enjoyed the OAT trip to Vietnam with a post-trip to Angkor Wat.
Burma is not a politically correct destination because of its authoritarian government. Few Americans go there, although there are quite a few Europeans and Australians. We did not feel the heavy hand of the authorities; on the contrary, we felt very welcome by all the people in the travel industry and the ordinary people with whom we had casual contact. And we were aware that most of what we paid for our trip found its way to ordinary people doing everyday jobs. Given the extensive poverty in the country, we were happy to spend a few dollars. Prices for souvenirs and meals were extremely reasonable, and the comfort level in hotels was surprisingly high (for example, Burma suffers frequent electric power outages, but all hotels had generators sufficiently powerful to keep the air conditioners running).
One thinks of Burma as thick jungle, but we found Bagan and even Mandalay surprisingly arid (admittedly at the end of the dry season). And there were only a few signs of last year's cyclone in Yangon (mostly tree damage), while the northern areas received no damage.
For us, the major Buddhist temple in Yangon (Shwedagon Pagoda) was one of the most stunning sights to be seen anywhere in the world, and the ancient temple structures in Bagan rivalled Angkor or other monuments of ancient civilizations. Our tour leader in Burma, Lanny, was superbly qualified to explain Buddhism or to comment on geology and architecture (he has an engineering degree from the University of Louisville Kentucky).
Laos also lived up to our expectations, especially the old royal capital of Luang Prabang. It is charming, fairly popular with tourists, but not spoiled by too many visitors. I was a little skeptical about standing on the curb at 6:00 am. to give alms (sticky rice) to Buddhist monks, but it was all respectful and authentic--they need the food for their daily sustenance, since they do not receive any other support. Vientiane was less interesting (partly because it was a bit sleepy on a Sunday), but had interesting reminders of colonial and post-war history. On the road from Luang Prabang to Vientiane, we managed to crash a wedding, where we were invited to observe part of the ceremony in a large room up on stilts and then imbibe some local firewater to toast the couple. We followed local custom and left a few thousand kip for the dowry.
Two practical suggestions for those considering the trip: bring easily removed sandals or slip-ons for the numerous occasions when shoes must be removed. And malaria precautions are a puzzle because the mosquitos in the Siem Reap area are invulnerable to most of the usual malaria medicine (see the Cambodia pages in the CDC website). As others have pointed out, one of the recommended anti-malaria medicines, Malarone, is effective against these mosquitos, but is costly ($100 or more, depending on your prescription coverage). A cheaper and still recommended prophylactic drug is doxycycline, an antibiotic that is available cheaply as a generic. People may have side effects with either of these. We had few mosquito bites anywhere along the way, but it was a very dry period.
To sum up, this is a wonderful trip, offering some unique insights into an area that has seen its share of war and disaster, but is extremely welcoming towards Americans.

Traveler: Curtis from Fennville, MI traveled on February 21, 2009

This was my 13th trip with OAT, and they continue to be excellent. The Burma extension is wonderful -- fascinating sights and sites, charming hotels, good guide. Don't miss it! (Note that our guide told us that the money we paid for the tour was channeled to tourism - not the government.) What fun to ride in a horse cart among the thousands of temples stupas in Bagon!

I enjoyed the three days on the bus - one each in Laos, Vietnam, and Cambodia. They were farily long travel days, but they really helped to give us the real flavor of the country and allowed us to interact with more people. In Laos, we visited our guide "Chear's" cousin's house in a Hmong Village; in Cambodia, we stopped to watch a wedding set-up. The family invited us into their home to watch the bride being dressed for the ceremony. Then we had our pictures taken with the couple because we were bringing them good luck. This would NEVER happen with a larger group.

The visits to war sites in Vietnam & Cambodia were interesting and moving.

Low point - the New Epoch Hotel in Saigon - as noted by many others. The staff was great, but it's NOISY and shabby. Dinner was rushed - 45 minutes.

Try to go early in the season. By mid March, it was already over 100 degrees at Angkor Wat. Another tip - a hair dryer is unnecessary. All but one one-night stay had them in the rooms, and that hotel had them available at the desk.

Traveler: Carol from Waukesha, WI traveled on February 12, 2009

The trip was marvelous. I have been on one other OAT trip and love the educational value that they provide. Although we were assigned an overall Thai Guide, Otto, he shared the stage with a local guide in each of the four countries.
I found the accommodations very nice and the locations to be mostly very central. My experience was enhanced by the fact that we had a uniquely compatible group to travel with. All 15 of us mingled and meshed beautifully and helped to make the trip that much more enjoyable. I was surprised to encounter so much poverty in several of the countries but the people seem adapted to their living situations. We experienced almost every kind of transportation and enviroments that anyone could imagine; i.e., bus, speed boat, local water craft, rickshaw, oxcart, elephant (optional) and plenty of walking.
This is a very busy trip as we saw 4 counties in about 17 days plus travel to and from the U.S. I would have like one more day in Bangkok but otherwise found the number of days in each country just fine. I was fascinated by the Buddist philosophy and found everyone we met to be gracious and friendly. I got some wonderful photos of people and food, my favorites. I would highly recommend this trip if you want to get a fast overview of the area.

Traveler: Janet from Rockville, MD traveled on February 14, 2009

We are back from an interesting tour of Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam and Laos. We still have not been able to adjust our body clocks...these countries are all 13 hours ahead of Tennessee on the clock. This means that 7:00 am on Monday in Asia is 6:00 pm on Sunday in Tennessee.

We flew from Nashville to Chicago beginning at 6:00 am on January 23, then from Chicago to Tokyo and from Tokyo to Bangkok...arriving at 11.45 pm (Bangkok time) on January 24. We crossed the international date line and lost a day of our lives...however, we got it back on the return home.

On January 26 we toured Bangkok. We were here 12 years ago and we noticed a number of changes. The city is cleaner...but not yet clean by U. S. standards...and there were not as many beggars. They are trying to develop their tourism industry so they are cleaning up many things. The water from the tap is still undrinkable...you even brush your teeth with bottled water.

We toured the Grand Palace (a huge complex of buildings where the rulers once lived). It was a Buddhist holiday so many people were offering lotus flowers, burning incense and putting gold leaf on Buddha idols to honor Buddha. Buddhism is a strange religion...they do not believe in any god!!! It was started in India by a Hindu man who became dissatisfied with Hinduism (which has thousands of gods). It is basically a philosophy of controlling your mind and body. If you live a good live, you will be reborn in the next life in a better body...if you don't live a good life you will be reborn in a worse body...sometimes the body of an animal. This continues until you reach a state of Nirvana...where your spirit goes to be with Buddha (the founder of Buddhism). Not all Buddhists believe the same things since there is no written guide. For example, in Bhutan the Buddhist priest are allowed to marry and have families. In these four countries the priest could not marry.

The Grand Palace has many images of Hindu gods...good and bad. Many have 6 arms and one has the head of an elephant. The buildings and paintings are very elaborate. The early rulers were Hindus and Buddhism came later.

On the next day we went to Ayutthaya the ancient capital of Siam. It is interesting that it is illegal to sell copies of the movie "Anna and the King of Siam" in Thailand. They feel that it degrades the modern day country. However, our guide said that there are many bootleg copies available.

The next day we flew from Bangkok to Luang Pragang, Laos. After a tour of the town we visited a night market...similar to our flea markets. They were selling everything from meat to vegetables to clothing to souvenirs to just about anything...both new and used.

The next day we took a boat tour on the Mekong River passing villages and temples on our way to the Pak Ou Caves where there were many Buddha statues shown in candle light. The Mekong River is one of the longest rivers in the world and the life line for these countries. People used the river for transportation, homes, markets, etc.

The next day we arose early to watch the Buddhist tradition of alms giving. Buddhists would line the street waiting for the Buddhist monks to come by with their wooden bowls. The people would put rice, crackers and other food items in the bowls of the monks. The monks would take the food back to the temple and combine it from all of the bowls...this would be their food for that day. This is repeated every morning.

We then rode by coach to Vientiane, the capital city of Laos. At Wat Sisaket Monastery there are 6,840 Buddha idols on display. The Great Golden Stupa has been covered in Gold Leaf since the 17th Century.

We flew to Saigon, Vietnam. The Communists renamed the city Ho Chi Minh City but the people still call it Saigon. The War Museum was very interesting with actual plane, tanks, guns, etc. from the war. There were also many pictures of suffering people and destroyed homes...it had an anti-America tone. We visited a day market...this one was for the people rather than for tourists. They were selling all types of meat, fruits and vegetables. The meats included snakes, bats, rats, etc. in addition to whole chickens (including the innards).

On the way to the Viet Cong tunnels, we stopped at the home of a family who makes rice paper for a living. This really isn't paper as we think of paper...it is the pastry used in making spring rolls (of which we ate a lot!). The tunnels were very small. We entered one of the larger tunnels which was a hole less that 2 feet in diameter...this led down into a tunnel which was very low. The tunnel led to a small room where there was room to stand. I could get through most of the tunnel by squatting but I had to get on my knees in one place. The Viet Cong were short and could run through these tunnels from one place to another. We followed the tunnel to another exit which was a little larger than the one we entered.

That night we took a rickshaw ride to a water puppet show. This rickshaw was different from others we had ridden...we sat in front and the driver (pedaler) was behind us. I had never seen a water puppet show before and found it very interesting. The puppeteers stood in waist deep water behind a screen (we could not see them) and controlled the puppets by sticks under the water. The narration was not in English so I am not sure of the story but the puppets were entertaining.

We took a coach to Chau Doc which is on the Mekong River. Here took a rickshaw ride (the conventional one with the seat behind the peddler) to a hill with a temple on top. From here we watched the sunset. All rickshaws today are connected to a bicycle type drive...we have not seen any passenger rickshaws pulled by hand. They do have carts like a rickshaw pulled by hand.

The next morning we took a small boat on the Mekong River to a river village. The houses are built on stilts in the river. We were able to enter one of the houses and observe the primitive life. We then took the boat to a fish farm...this is a house on stilts with a huge net hung all around down into the river. On the porch there is a hole through which the fish are fed...mostly catfish but also a few carp...and "harvested".

We then transferred to a larger boat and cruised up the Mekong River to Phnom Penh, Cambodia. The sights of the villages, fishermen, etc. along this river were outstanding. We toured the Royal Palace and Silver Pagoda before going to our hotel.

The next day was interesting but depressing. When the Communists took over Cambodia, their leader, Pol Pot, killed all people who were rich or who were educated. Over 1,500,000 (possibly over 2,000,000) were executed. We visited the prison where they were tortured and forced to confess to treason...then killed. We visited the Killing Fields (you may have seen the movie with this name) where the people were taken and buried in mass graves. Some of the graves uncovered contained the bodies of hundreds of victims. They have not dug up all of the graves but rather decided not to disturb the bodies. As we walked here, at places you could see bones working their way to the surface due to the heavy rains in the rainy season.

We rode the coach to Siem Reap to tour the Angkor Wat site...this is the main thing we wanted to see on the trip. On the way we stopped at a local market and I got to eat fried tarantula leg...it was actually quite good. Angkor Wat is a temple complex that was forgotten and the jungle grew up to bury it. It was discovered by the French in the 19th century. Part of the temples have been uncovered and are in amazingly good condition...they are made of sandstone but the jungle protected them. We went into a local home for lunch...the daughter could speak fairly good English. We went back to Angkor Wat to watch the sunset...during the wait I got to taste fried water snake. It tastes something like lightly fried bacon.

The next day we visited a floating village...the homes are actually built on boats and moved as the river rises and falls. During the rainy season the Mekong River fills this lake until it overflows it banks and during the dry season the lake flows back into the Mekong. The houses are pulled by motor boats to stay close to the shore.

We then flew to Bangkok (spent the night)...to Tokyo...to Washington DC...to Nashville. On the last day we were up for over 30 hours straight...I can't sleep on airplanes.

Some of you have asked about the food...we did not have any problem. The breakfast each morning was American style with omelets made to order, sausage, bacon, juices, etc. The other meals were prepared in their local way and served family style. It was usually spicy but not as much as we expected. There was a lot of chicken, pork and fish but very little beef...what beef we had was very tough. Of course, we did not drink the water from the tap...only bottled water and soft drinks. Some of the other travelers were very concerned about malaria and took the malaria pills. We did put on bug repellent but we only saw a couple of mosquitoes on the whole trip.

Traveler: Robert from Nashville, TN traveled on January 23, 2009

All of the reviews tell you the wonderful highs and the very few lows of our experience on the OAT tour of S. E. Asia. There is little to add to the other reviews on this score.

Our trip leader, Nu, was very experienced, caring and paid close attention to detail in order that we might stay on schedule and not miss anything important. He was also a very good mentor to the local guides. A couple of the local guides were excellent and two were fairly green. All were helped by Nu.

What I would like to add are a few administrative details that might be helpful to future travelers. 1. The trip over is long and hard. You arrive whipped. If we were to do over, we would plan a night in Narita. It’s fairly easy and not too expensive. OAT should offer some help here so that on arrival in Bangkok, typically at midnight after 30 hours of travel, you will feel up to seeing what you can during the short Bangkok stay. We actually skipped the first optional in order to rest up and be ready for the rest of the trip. 2. Plan on the tips. At 19-30 days depending on the pre and post, they really add up. It’s easy to figure the Trip Leader, but not so easy before you leave to calculate the rest. Here is my recommendation. Figure on spending between a minimum of $500 and a max of $700+ depending on the OAT suggested levels and your appraisal of the trip leader, local guides, bus drivers and others you will need to tip. On the base trip, we ended up with about 13 days of local guides (Burma is about 5 more days of local guides and bus drivers, while the post has no local guides) and 14 days of bus drivers. We agree, with no real data, that the OAT recommendations seem high based on our understanding of what people earn in these countries. 3. Figure on having laundry done in Vientiane and Siem Reap. Our local guides handled it for us in a local laundry for much less than normal hotel rates. It was about $20 for both times for two people. Of course, if you want to pack lighter, you can do a lot of laundry yourself or pay hotels. 4. Since we were warned about lack of ATM’s, we actually took AMEX traveler’s checks with us. There are plenty of ATM’s in each country, but we did cash some checks for 2 % (in Siem Reap), which is less than our ATM cost!

All in all this was a grand trip to learn about this part of the world. It is fast paced, hot weather, a fair amount of climbing steps, and lots of walking so be prepared. Nu did plan for breaks in some places where the temp was very high in the mid day period and we also left early to avoid. Evenings were generally pleasant.

Someone mentioned massages. What a deal! Usually $10 for an hour and having several really helped with the bus rides and lots of walking.

Do take the trip but know it is an Adventure!

Traveler: Brantley from Charleston, SC traveled on January 29, 2009

This adventure ranks right at the top of my 4 trips with OAT. This has as much to do with the guide, Joe, as with the tour itself. With all of the new travelers to OAT we had to be sure they knew they were starting at the top of the guide level! Itinerary was perfect for us. The long bus rides were full of interesting stops, especially the Hmong village. Even though we would have liked more time in Luang Prabang, we wouldn't have wanted to miss any of those stops on the way to Vientienne. Vientienne was the least favorite of the stops. Temples were interesting but the hotel was to far from anything to allow for much casual exploring.
All of the hotels were quite acceptable to us, even the malaigned New Epoch. The balcony overlooking the busy streets provided a real feeling of city life, even though Joe told us the streets were empty due to Tet travelers leaving for the countryside. We spent New Year's Eve (Tet) in Chau Doc mingling with the locals and enjoying a pedicab ride. Quite the experience!
The variety of museums, shops, etc. we visited was typical of OAT trips I have been with. The craft shops were important to several in the group. The museums were praised by some and considered too much for others. It is very difficult to keep everyone in a group happy with every activity so a little tolerance works well. Our group was very compatible and made the trip even more enjoyable. We had 2 separate birthday celebrations with cake!
This trip was an excellent overview of these countries and their wonderful people. I'm just sorry I missed Myannmar.

Traveler: Carolyn from East Troy, WI traveled on January 14, 2009

This was our third trip with OAT in the past 14 months (Cairo & the Eternal Nile 108, Route of the Maya 1108.)

We chose the Ancient Kingdoms trip for 2 reasons:
1) It would give us an overview of Southeast Asia and then we could decide if we wanted to explore any of the 4 countries in more depth. We will most likely go back to Thailand and Vietnam on the OAT trips offered.
2) More importantly, this trip INCLUDED Siem Reap and the Angkor Complex.

We loved the trip and agree with all of the positive comments, and some of the negative comments, of the other reviews.

Therefore, I am going to offer some suggestions that might be helpful to those already booked and those still deciding.

GENERAL INFORMATION

VISAS:
The total fees for 2 persons using the Visa Service recommended by OAT is $555 for all 3 visas. This is the first time we have used a visa service. Living near San Francisco we have always obtained our visas in person. The only visa REQUIRED AHEAD OF TIME for this trip is for Vietnam. The Vietnam Embassy website does not tell you that there is a Vietnam Consulate in SF. Therefore, we used the service for all 3 visas.
Seven of the 15 persons in our group DID NOT get the Laos and Cambodia visas before leaving home. This meant that the other 8 of us had to wait in a hot bus for a half an hour for them to get their visas upon arrival at the Luang Prabang Airport. There was no waiting going into Cambodia.
If you have to wait for ONE person, you might as well wait for ALL! In the future we will not pay a visa service if the visa can be obtained at the point of entry.

HEALTH:
We both got prescriptions for Malarone for malaria prevention. It is a very expensive medication ($130) if you don't have Rx Drug Coverage. It can have many side effects. The only stomach problems I had on the trip were after 2 daily doses of Malarone. I stopped for 4 days, started again, and after 2 doses had diarrhea again. I then completely stopped the pills.
I wore long sleeves, long pants and shoes & socks everyday and used repellent when the guides told us to. I got a total of 5 bites - all on my ankles and hands - so they must have occurred either at the pool or in bed.
Two men in our group got fairly bad rashes on their arms after applying strong DEET repellent directly on their skin and then covering them with long sleeves. Our guides always had repellent to apply to our clothes when needed.
Our trip leader also had electrolyte packets to add to our water bottles for prevention of dehydration from both the heat and diarrhea.

TIPPING:
In each country, except Thailand, you have a full time local guide IN ADDITION to the trip leader and bus driver.If you tip the OAT minimum suggested amounts, it will come to over $500 per couple. Considering the cost of living in these countries, and the fact that we had already paid a trip cost of almost $8000, we thought these suggestions were overly high.

GUIDEBOOKS:
On our 3 OAT trips, we have been surprised to find that either only one person or no one, other than ourselves, has brought along a Guide Book. We go to the library, check out several books on the area and decide which one to take with us. We have seen more on each of our trips than anyone else in the group!

Here are some suggestions:

BANGKOK:
The tour does not include the Reclining Buddha at Wat Po. We walked there from the restaurant after lunch on Day 3. Our Trip Leader loaned us enough Thai baht (since we hadn't used an ATM yet) for the entrance fee, about $.75 US pp, and fare back to the hotel. The Buddha is incredible as is the whole temple site. We ended up walking back to the hotel and had several "Learning & Discovery" experiences on the way.
The evening of Day 4 was a Saturday night and out of our hotel window we saw the local temple all lit up. We walked the 2 blocks there and experienced their annual "carnival." I even tried some of the chance games. So go out and explore!!!!

DAY 10 FLIGHT - VIENTIANE to SAIGON
We highly recommend having some food with you this day. Lunch is not included and dinner is not until about 6:30PM. Although a snack was served on the Vietnam Airlines flight, it was lettuce salad, which we were told not to eat anywhere, and "something else." We were too far from our guide to ask if we should eat "whatever it was" and Joel's stomach was upset at this time. There was never an opportunity to get any food after that. Finally, at my insistence, about 4PM our guides got the group some bananas and tangerines.

SAIGON:
GET OUT AND WALK AROUND!!!
Our hotel was changed the night before our arrival from the Chancery to the Royal Pearl, which was one and a half blocks from the Central Market. On our walk the first afternoon we stumbled upon the Water Puppet Theatre and bought tickets for US$4pp.
We went walking each evening. We couldn't get in the famous rooftop bar at the Rex Hotel (private events), so we ended up at the 1925 Hotel Majestic's 5th floor rooftop bar overlooking the harbor and the myriad of couples on their motorbikes celebrating Valentine's Day.

PHNOM PENH:
Our main disappointment with OAT tours is that we never spend as much time as we would like at museums and historic sites, especially since they allot EQUAL time at markets and craft shops.
After an hour at the Russian Market, we only spent 1 hour at Tuol Sleng Prison Museum and 50 minutes of that was with the local guide. I recommend leaving the guide and touring on your own visiting the 3rd floor exhibits on Bldgs. 2,3,4.
I only had time to hurry through the top floor of Bldg. 3, which houses a new exhibit by a former communist Swedish photographer who visited Cambodia in 1978 and found the "Khmer Rouge Communistic Plan" successful. He came back in 2008 and apologized to the Cambodian people. The exhibit shows his 1978 photos of life in the countryside captioned with his 1978 thoughts and his 2008 thoughts. Not to be missed!

MY FAVORITE TIME OF THE WHOLE TRIP:
I wasn't as taken with Angkor Wat itself, as much as I was with the whole Angkor National Park Complex - 72 temples in 40 sq. miles!
Since only one day of the tour is spent at the Angkor site, only visiting the 3 main temples, we decided to skip the scheduled events on Day 17 and return to Angkor on our own.
We arranged a tuk-tuk through the hotel ($20 inc. tip) and from 7:30AM - 4:30PM we visited 10 additional temples and re-visited Ta Promh. These sites were less crowded and I couldn't believe I was allowed to freely explore them on my own. I ABSOLUTELY LOVED IT - maybe even more than Egypt!!!! I am really glad that I have already seen Coban and Tikal because to me there is no comparison.
We bought "Book Guides ANCIENT ANGKOR" for US$5 from one of the many vendors at the sites. It is a fabulous guide and lists for US$27.95. It describes how to visit each temple.

All in all, the trip was fantastic! We flew Northwest Airlines and thought our SF-Narita flight was one of the best long flights we have ever taken. On the flight home out of Bangkok, we were delayed 3 hours on the plane before take-off due to a mechanical problem. We missed our connection to SF in Narita but they held the LA flight for us and put us in Business Class. All I can say is "WOW!!!" The 3 hour delay was worth it!

Enjoy your trip. And don't forget to take advantage of the cheap massages!

Traveler: Carol from San Rafael, CA traveled on February 04, 2009

This was my 29th trip with OATGCT and my 5th trip to this part of the world. Wouldn't have gone if I did not expect to see something new and exciting or learn more apout places that I was unfamiliar with. On both these scores, the trip was a rousing success. The trip was filled with palaces, temples, and architectural masterpieces, and even better than that of all the trips that I have taken visiting no less than 53 countries, this was the best trip to get up close and personal with the local people whether it be in their homes, at work, or just on the street. I found the people of both Laos and Camodia to be open and friendly. If you greeted them with a smile and a handshake, they would give your back smiles that you will remember for a lifetime.

We had long days but always with rewards. Some of these long days were spent on the bus, but with many stops with much to see. My photographs can attest to that. We had a trip leader and country guides and sometimes special guides in special places, like museums--so many of that I can't remember all of them. They did their best to not fall all over each other. What they did, however, was fill in lots of details about the different religions, history, customs, and discuss the controversial subjects tht needed to be addressed. I was impressed with their knowledge of the topics covered.

However, with all of the positives, there were a few negatives, which could or should be corrected. First were the hotels. Almost all of them were good to very good except the Grand Mercure Park Avenue in Bangkok. That one is close to the Skytrain, but other than that, it is miles from everywhere you would want to see in Bangkok. The staff was great, and when both of the elevators broke down, we were given seats in the bar, and free drinks. The New Epoch Hotel in Ho Chi Minh City really isn't new at all. It has had a face-lift. We were given the customary orientation walk around the hotel. Hate to say it, but the neighborhood was really crummy, and it is a mile and a half trom town--so again in the middle of nowhere. I was given a room with a very small balcony on the front of the hotel. It sounded good, but was almost impossigle to sleep due to the street traffic noise, which never seemed to stop. If you like hard beds like I do, they were better than on any trip, but the foam pillows are like trying to sleep on rocks.

Meals just didn't seem to be up to the quality that they should have been. Of the 5 OATGCT trips in this area, the food was the least should I say special. There were lots of good items, but many meals just seemed too thrifty. We have better Asian food here in the Los Angeles area. Seeing watermelon and pineapple show up for three meals a day became the group joke. Our Farewell Banqued should at least been an affair to remember for positive reasons. I thought that we would be giving thanks to our guides and reflecting on the remarkable time that we all had together. I would have liked to have proposed a toast for all that was good--but no one said anything at the dinner. The upstairs room was hot and not very special. The one glass of wine was not very good, and the entree was undercooked pork roast--really pink in the middle. The Farewell Banquet was the only meal that was served individually to us. The rest were either buffets or served family style. One of our tour members had a birthday, for which we sang happy birthday and presented her with a card on the bus after dinner. That was it. Of my 29 trips, this is the only one where the birthday person was not honored in the restaruant with a cake. This was really cheap.

My last suggestion is to add a day within the trip, and rather than flying from Siem Reap to Bangkok, arriving at our hotel at 7:30 in the evening only to have to get up at 2:30 in the morning to go back to the same airport to fly home, simply fly home all in one day. The Rama Gardens Hotel is also one of those hotels in the middle of nowhere, so the last evening is really wasted, and I personally would rather fly home refreshed rather than starting my day as early as we had to.

With all that said, the Hidden Kingdoms trip is really a wonderful trip, and I was glad to have had the opportunity to have made it. Laos and Cambodia are really developing countries, with what I hope will bring great opportunities for their citizens, especially the ones that gave me the smiles that I will never forget.

Traveler: Richard from Studio City, CA traveled on February 02, 2009

Probably no area of the world has impacted us baby boomers more than the countries covered by this tour. I found the tour fun, informative and fulfilling. Laos was a highlight since it has not had the level of tourism as the other countries. The pacing of the tour was excellent and at times the information about the countries and cultures was like drinking water from a fire hose.

As someone who likes to eat, the food was really great! We ate mostly local food at small restaurants which had the feel of living in the culture.

We make ad hoc stops at small villages and local markets which also added to the sense of getting to know the local cultures. Our lunch with a Cambodian family and visit to an OAT Foundation supported school were also highlights.

Our tour guide and local guides in each country were excellent and responded well the the barrage of questions from our inquisitive group.

I would recommend this tour to anyone with a sense of adventure and a desire to be exposed to the cultures of SE Asia.

Traveler: John from Greensboro, NC traveled on January 17, 2009

We would highly recommend adding both the pre-trip to Myanmar and the post-trip to northern Thailand as these were the highlights of our interesting look at five countries. Our local guides all added greatly to our understanding of their countries, the accommodations were good (we stayed at the Chancery Hotel in Saigon), and the food consists of about 95 % asian food (some were glad they brought snacks from home). Be prepared to take your shoes off one to four times per day if you want to see the inside of the numerous Buddhist temples. We would also recommend you bring a face mask if you spend much time on the streets of Bangkok, Saigon, etc., where the exhaust from the motorbikes is overwhelming. The majority of our group had intestinal problems - bring your imodium.
I want to be honest about the "adventurous" part of the trip, but we are glad we went and we saw and experienced beautiful temples, two grand palaces, many boat rides on the rivers, and fascinating visits to the Hmong, Khumu, Karin (wear the brass rings around the neck), and Akha tribes. The local people were pleased we were from the US and welcomed us warmly. The visit to the elephant camp in northern Thailand was a special event.
Congratulations to OAT for designing an excellent overview of these countries.

Traveler: Brian from Wilsonville, OR traveled on January 06, 2009

Ancient Kingdoms January 6 to 22

This was a most interesting trip that immersed us in the history and interrelated cultures of these four countries. It was fast paced covering the capitals, famous temples and monuments, Mekong River and countryside. In order to accomplish this we endured three long bus rides and two intra country flights. Our national guide “Ya” masterly exposed us to many “discoveries” on our journeys. This put the adventure in OAT.
We interacted with members of a number of hill tribes, took at least three “fast” boat rides on major rivers, road on cyclo-rickshaws and ox carts, walked up and down many temple steps, explored both morning and night markets, witnessed the alms giving traditions of the Buddhist monks, experiencing the daily lives of the locals.
Though some of our local guides were “new” to the business they were enthusiastic and knowledgeable. Ya kept everything and everybody in sync. One memorable event was a rest stop on our bus ride from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap where locals had a market selling various “prepared” foods which included grass hoppers, bugs and tarantulas’ for hungry travelers! Yum!
Siem Reap is a treasure and the highlight being Angkor Wat. While in Siem Reap we had the opportunity to view a very poor village and school where we met many locals. We found a very good use for the extra toiletries and wrapped tooth bushes from our hotel as they made much appreciated gifts to the locals.
This is a great trip if you want to get a feeling for these countries, before making an in-depth exploration of one specific country.

Traveler: Virginia from Cambridge, MA traveled on January 05, 2009

This was our 2nd trip to these areas and we will probably go back again. The pre-trip to Myanmar should be the post trip because it overshadowed the rest of the trip. The Schwedagon stupa in Yangon is absolutely mind boggling in its grandeur and the view of 1400 temples on the plains of Bagan should not be missed. Mandalay also holds wonders to see. On the "free" day in Bangkok, we did an independent tour to the floating market, Bridge on the river Kwai and then the tiger temple. It was a trip highlight. My wife had her picture taken with a 7 ft tiger laying its head in her lap. Don't forget to bring individually wrapped chocolates, balloons and old tennis balls for the kids. The internal airlines are very strict on weight so start with about 35 lbs. You will buy things! This is an intense tour which requires a lot of walking and climbing if you want to experience everything. Don't miss the tethered balloon ride at Angkor Wat ($15) and prearrange with your guide to do an elephant ride on the way to Angkor Thom.

Traveler: Rick from West Islip, NY traveled on January 21, 2009

This was an exciting and very interesting trip in spite of the problems we had with our initial flights. Our flight from JFK was canceled due to engine trouble and we were rerouted through Dubai. The whole trip took 40 hours. As soon as we arrived, we met the group at the Bangkok airport and flew to Yangon, Myanmar. I strongly urge anyone taking this trip to include the pretrip to Myanmar. The Burmese people were very friendly, the temples were magnificent, the hotels were terrific as was our guide Yon. We also enjoyed the main trip. The pacing was good and one exciting adventure followed another. Our guide Steven was excellent and most of our local guides were informative and well spoken in English. It was particularly interesting to visit Laos since we have previously traveled to Thailand, Vietnam, and Cambodia. People everywhere enjoyed talking to Americans and were very friendly. This was our 10th OAT trip and one of our best.

Traveler: Barbara from Merrick, NY traveled on January 15, 2009

This was my first trip with Grand CircleOAT and I thought it was fabulous. Most of the people in my group were seasoned travelers with OAT and I enjoyed all of them.

Our main guide, Ray was very outstanding. He was well educated about the countries where we traveled, our country (America), and very passionate about sharing inspirational thoughts. He also had an excellent sense of humor and exuded great joy to all at all times. He was amazing.

The local guides were very passionate about their countries and had personal information to share about the history of their region. Some information may have been learned from books but some knowledge was shared with us that they learned from their older family members.

Visiting and sharing time with families was very high on the list for me. I was on this trip to learn more about these cultures and to me that required interaction with the people in their natural environment carrying out their normal activities. It was great to see sites where the OAT foundation has made contributions such as provisions for water, housing and education of the children.

One of the most precious highlights was visiting an elementary school; escorted the entire time by one of the students, entertained through songs and dance, and given the opportunity to assist with reading in English. I wish I had known I would have the opportunity to give school supplies in advance. Also since I have been home I wish I had the address of the school to send letters to the children. I enjoyed the smiles and beauty of the children everywhere we went. I also found the people in all four countries to be kind, caring and very helpful.

It was wonderful to see the craftsmen (wood, stone, silver, lacquer work, gem refining, silk, etc.,) at work but maybe one less stone carving location would be best for this trip. There were several opportunities for souvenir shopping which also gave one the opportunity to see the local people at work in selling their traditional art work and food. I was moved by the Artisan D'Angkor School for disabled young people to be artists in Cambodia. The adjourned store had beautiful handirafts.

In Luang Prabang, Laos it was a privilege to have an opportunity to participate in the alms-giving ceremony giving cooked rice to the local monks.

I thought the hotels were all good except one which was ok. The Chau Pho Hotel in Saigon was not on the same high level as the other hotels but acceptable. After the first night, I decided to relax and not worry.

The food was good everywhere and there was always lots of it. Late on the trip I thought I had enough native food when I was delighted with new food experiences such as flower tempura, fried mulberry leaves and a spectacular dried ffish and makac sour salad.

Angkor Wat Park with its temples and forests were spectacular. The palaces and temples in each of the four countries represented amazing and treasured architecture. My favorites were the temples and terraces of The Angkor Wat and The Grand Palace in Bangkok.

I enjoyed even the long bus rides because we were able to see everyday life of the people in the country-side and the cities. We stopped frequently to use the “Happy Room,” for snacks, to see how the natural resources are used, and for demonstrations such as technique for brewing coffee and making rice paper. We had lots of snacks provided by our guides.

The scenery enroute from Vang Vieng to Vientiane is spectacular as well as the scenery enroute to the Elephant camp in Chiang Mai, Thailand. It was a real adventure to ride the cyclo-rickshaws through the cities of Saigon, ride on an elephant and river raft in Thailand, speed boat from Vietnam to Cambodia and Oxen cart ride through a village in Cambodia to visit a family and their home.

This is a fabulous trip. Thanks OAT.

Traveler: Loretta from Powell, OH traveled on January 03, 2009

Overall it was a very good trip. I give you my highlights: Pros: great guides, congenial group of 12 seasoned travelers, interesting sites, especially Angkor Thom and Angkor Wat, varied educational experiences, not too rugged (for a non-athlete); Neutral: Hotels were good for the most part; Cons (this is from a personal perspective): Food poor and monotonous, too many marketplaces, a lot of small tipping required (would have preferred it be built into the price, although I thought it too high for Southeast Asia - 2008), lack of easy opportunity to meet people outside the group to learn more informally about people, culture and countries, almost completely "couples" group and most retired (I'm single and working), would have preferred a smaller bus (did not feel "green"), would have liked Hanoi included. Overall I would recommend the trip, although my next trip I hope will have longer stays in hotels, more socialization and a tad more levity.

Traveler: Marna Hayden traveled on January 08, 2009

This is a wonderful trip, to tour 4 countries and get the flavor of all. Our guide Poupe was wonderful, and took care of our every need. The beauty of the Grand Palace is beyond description. I have never seen anything to compare. The pace of this trip was good and we saw so much in a short period of time. We arose early to give alms to the monks in Laung Prabang. The night markets were great, we really enjoyed to people.
The New Epoch Hotel Hotel in Saigon was great, it is in the heart of the city. Staying anywhere else you would miss the flavor of the city. We stood on our balcony watching thousands of motor bikes go by....unbelievable how many there are and how many people and goods they can carry on those bikes.
We ended our trip the week before their New Year and were fortunate to see the New Years decorations and miss the great exodus of most of the people from the city. The puppet show is a must see along with the cyclo-rickshaw ride. We saw many temples, ruins, of course Angkor Wat was a highlight.
Our guide Poupe was with us the entire trip, we did however have a different guide in each country, for the entire country. This was a good thing, however folks taking this trip need to know that in advance as cash is needed for each guide. I am happy to tip as they all did a great job, but some folks had to go to the ATM to get additional money.
The tunnels in Viet Nam were very emotional. The day we visited many school children were there and all wanted to talk with us. They spoke good english and were very curious about Americans. They had cameras and wanted our picture with them. They were very warm and friendly to us. The Killing Fields in Cambodia were very emotional also. We did not realize the horror these folks endured. We saw many maimed and crippled men in Cambodia from the war there. I rate this trip excellent in all ways (even though the plane trip was long). Also if you go, make sure you have dinner on your own in Bangkok at Cabbages & Condoms. That is quite an enjoyable experience.

Traveler: Erma from Evans, GA traveled on January 08, 2009