Woohoo.  How many are booked now Amy?

Good Afternoon Jonah,

I can tell you that 10 travellers are now booked onto this trip, and 1 has provisionally booked. There will be 9 females and 2 males. Ages will range between late 30s - late 60s.

Kind Regards,

Amy

Thank you for your post - it sounds as though you had a great time. I mentioned on another thread that I have been to Cambodia (& Hanoi) previously and it turned out to be the hidden gem and the attraction of this tour is that all movement in the country is on the ground (last time I flew between locations) so you see a lot more of the country & the people. Laos is a first for me.

A couple of us are well used to going bare footed.

I know what you mean about the genocide museum but am interested that you got to the killing fields as that was not an option on my last tour there.

I can easily pass on the shopping - more time for photos!

Also interesting that you got to go to Halong Bay as I would certainly be interested in this - a great day out.

Ian

You are both welcome.

The Halong bay trip was about a 4 - 5hrs drive, as all 10 of us went on this trip we were able to have our own private boat, we were accompanied by our lovely and very funny tour guard Ting. It was lovely sat on top deck after our meal just enjoying the views. We did this instead of the day of the puppet show.

Hope you get to do this.

Mo

Jonah and Ian

You are both welcome.

The Halong bay trip was about a 4 - 5hrs drive, as all 10 of us went on this trip we were able to have our own private boat, we were accompanied by our lovely and very funny tour guard Ting. It was lovely sat on top deck after our meal just enjoying the views. We did this instead of the day of the puppet show.

Hope you get to do this.

Mo

Hi Mo,

I have done Halong Bay before and it was a great day out (we had a couple of village/rest stops there and back last time as I recall). and, for me, it beats puppets any day of the week! It was slightly overcast last time so fingers crossed for better weather in 2018. I love the concept of a tour "guard" (even though this is probably a typo). We are 11 months away at the moment and no idea how many will eventually do the add on but hopefully we will get enough for our own boat. Thank you again for your input.

Ian

Honestly they come in really useful for preventing other people getting in your way when taking photo's!

Ha ha

Mo

Has anyone applied for Cambodian visas online? It appears the cost for one month is 12$ US. Also, is a visas required for Vietnam?

Good Afternoon SarahS,

Here at JYHQ we always do our visas through the Cambodian embassy, not online.

Kind Regards,

Amy

I am holding off on the visas until later next year as the situation re Vietnam keeps changing

Has anyone applied for Cambodian visas online? It appears the cost for one month is 12$ US. Also, is a visas required for Vietnam?

I am going on this trip in February 2018. I have got an e-visa for Cambodia. It cost $36. You have to fill in a simple form, pay by credit card and upload a file of your passport photo. They say they will reply within 3 days, it actually took 2 days.

It expires after 3 months so do not apply more than 3 months before you will leave Cambodia.

I think the current Vietnam situation for UK residents is that a visa is not required for stays of 15 days or less before the end of June 2018. So as it stands at the moment I don't need one but you will.

of course its not a typo!

Honestly they come in really useful for preventing other people getting in your way when taking photo's!

Ha ha

Mo

Hahahaha 🙂

Last time I was in Cambodia I got my visa on arrival. All you needed was a photograph (or 2) which everyone was advised to bring with them and the then fee of $20. The only "problem" was with one of our group who was ex merchant marine and on some papers he was Captain x x but on others he was simply x x. The officials who deal with visas, internal flights etc do not read English! They merely check that symbols on documents correspond. Our merchant marine traveller got through but it was a bit of a performance at times with much assistance from the TM & local guide! As long as all your paperwork has the same name it is straightforward.

Like Jonah I shall hold out until after June when we know what the then procedure for Vietnam will be.

Last time I was in Cambodia I got my visa on arrival. All you needed was a photograph (or 2) which everyone was advised to bring with them and the then fee of $20. The only "problem" was with one of our group who was ex merchant marine and on some papers he was Captain x x but on others he was simply x x. The officials who deal with visas, internal flights etc do not read English! They merely check that symbols on documents correspond. Our merchant marine traveller got through but it was a bit of a performance at times with much assistance from the TM & local guide! As long as all your paperwork has the same name it is straightforward.

Ian this is interesting as JY have told me that they can get me a visa for Cambodia and I need to send them my passport and a fee.

So... It looks like I can do it myself without sending my passport to anyone, as you've pointed out that you got yours on arrival and another member got an e visa!

That sounds considerably cheaper so I wonder why JY didn't mention these other possibilities?

Cheer

Sue

So glad to have made contact with you all!

Cheers

Sue

No on this occasion I can actually travel on the day of departure and arrival as long as the flight times don't change.

Looking forward to it even tho it is 10 months and 2 holidays away 🙂

The Cambodia visa on arrival was very straightforward and came with a proper full page visa entry in the passport (if you like that sort of thing) but as the Vietnam visa situation could be varied before we travel I will hold fire until we are a bit nearer departure date.

As for a hotel then I live on the Isle of Wight and with the Solent to negotiate with the risk of late running ferries in fog etc or as we had the other day no Red Jets at all as one was being serviced with the one in service then breaking down I'll play safe & come up the day before although I've not got around to booking anything yet. I normally opt for the Premier Inn on the Bath Road but in this instance the one at T4 would be much more convenient.

Ian

Hi SueI

No on this occasion I can actually travel on the day of departure and arrival as long as the flight times don't change.

Looking forward to it even tho it is 10 months and 2 holidays away :)

I suggest you double check the departure times.

Just You web site shows a 14.45 departure,

Heathrow airport shows an 11.00 departure this would mean checking in at 8.00am.

The same happened with my February departure and it was eventually confirmed as 11.00 but it took several weeks to confirm this.

Good to hear that there are good deals at the hotel's. At the moment I am hoping the taxi of Mum & Dad will be able to take me to the airport on the day, as they don't live too far round the M25 but there is a chance they may be on holiday themselves, so the hotel would be an option. I won't know til nearer the time but I'll keep you posted.

This will be my third JY trip but turning up at the airport and finding people initially is still my biggest fear, so meeting people before hand would definitely ease that worry.

Really looking forward to this trip and meeting everyone.

Good to hear that there are good deals at the hotel's. At the moment I am hoping the taxi of Mum & Dad will be able to take me to the airport on the day, as they don't live too far round the M25 but there is a chance they may be on holiday themselves, so the hotel would be an option. I won't know til nearer the time but I'll keep you posted.

This will be my third JY trip but turning up at the airport and finding people initially is still my biggest fear, so meeting people before hand would definitely ease that worry.

Really looking forward to this trip and meeting everyone.