Hi again Janet, dinner was included every evening and unusually for these tours, it was almost always in a restaurant rather than the hotel - we usually met in the foyer at 7 or 7.30pm and the bus took us to dinner. In fact, most of us tended to meet half an hour or an hour before the time, for a pre-dinner drink in the hotel bar. Almost all the restaurants were excellent and although it was usually a set menu, the food varied quite a lot. We generally returned to the hotel around 9pm or so. Some hardy folks then retired to the hotel bar for a few drinks. I usually went to my room to get a good night's sleep as the wake up call was generally around 6am!

Any other questions, ask away!

Bob

Thanks Bob,

I feel more prepared for the trip now ; it`s a shame JY doesn`t include a bit more detail when bookings are made .

Your comments are valuable - cheers !

Jan

Jan

I'm departing on the 4th September. Are you and your friend on the same date?

Anna

Hi Anna - yes we`re booked on that date too - yay !

Nice that this site enables people to chat along the way - another person to look for in the group when we all meet !

Jan:)

Cheers,

Bob

Hi again Jan, yes I agree that more info would be helpful although I reckon JY don't give us all the details as they vary a bit from trip to trip - for example, Debbie our tour manager altered the itinerary on occasions from that printed on our sheets, usually so that we did the tours early morning to avoid the heat of the day, which I appreciated. One or two things on the itinerary didn't happen quite as described and I'm sure this is common on all tours (esp of the long haul variety to developing countries). I'd say JY try to get the balance right in giving just enough info and no more, as there are some customers only too quick to protest if something doesn't happen exactly (and I mean exactly!) as it is described in the itinerary!

Cheers,

Bob

Hi Bob,

Thanks again for your comprehensive appraisals - really helpful.

Your point about some people being inflexible regarding travel

itenerary - I noted that on the Tuscany trip, especially of a small percentage the group and it`s a shame - life`s too short to expect not to adapt and enjoy the diversity of new holiday adventures.

It`s natural , I suppose, as some people are set in their ways possibly ?

Regards,

Jan

Look forward to meeting you on this trip.

Bob's comments have been very helpful!

Anna

By the way, one thing some of us noticed on the tour is that our cameras slowed down (and in some cases stopped working completely) because of the very high humidity. So don't be alarmed if that happens to you. I've a Lumix compact camera and it slowed down (it's still not quite right and I'm home two weeks!) - some people with expensive digital SLR cameras found that theirs stopped working completely towards the end of the tour - but they had compact digital cameras with them as well, so they weren't stuck. Just something to bear in mind. Also, if like me you like to bring your own shower gel etc, given the heat and humidity you'll probably be showering two or even three times a day, so bring enough supplies with you (the same goes for sun cream and DEET- you could be applying both several times a day). Might be stating the obvious here, but thought it worth saying.

All the best,

Bob

Lynn

Thanks Bob - I'm booked for October and your review has made me aware of what an exciting adventure the whole thing will be.

Hi Cate, I've booked for Oct 27th, is that when you're going?

Marion

Thank you very much for such a comprehensive review. This is one trip I would like to do one day and your comments have been very useful. Re people nit-picking - I think that people who complain about everything should just stay at home. You should try and be flexible when travelling on holidays to other countries as things don't always go to plan. It is the same with life where things don't go to plan. Nit pickers must lead a very miserable life!!

Jaya

All the best,

Bob

Jan

Look forward to meeting you on this trip.

Bob's comments have been very helpful!

Anna

Hi Anna ,

Likewise. It will be such a culture change and I don`t think I can believe

I am actually going just yet, but so glad I chose something so diverse:)

Could I quote some of your Vietnam write-up here in the next issue of Discover, the Travelsphere/Just You magazine? You can mail me directly via dean.evans@futurenet.com.

Thanks!

Hi I'm just back from this fantastic holiday which I enjoyed from start to finish! There were 33 on our tour, of whom 22 went on to Cambodia. I'm very glad I did the add-on as all of us who did really loved Cambodia. The tour of Vietnam was very comprehensive; the weather in Hanoi was unfortunately wet but this didn't stop either the city tour or cyclo ride, both of which were very interesting. Hanoi is a bit on the shabby side, with beautiful parks and some fine buildings. Halong Bay was of course a highlight and we all enjoyed the stay on the junk. Again, the weather wasn't great there - very overcast and hazy, which I gather is pretty normal for Halong unfortunately. Still we we able to admire the views and get some reasonable photos. The trip to one of the caves was worth doing. Word of warning - forget all the photos you've seen of the picturesque wooden junks: they have all been painted white so they can be more easily seen at night, which does take away from their appearance!

When we reached Hue the weather improved enormously and in Hoi An it was glorious; what a wonderful town with a great atmosphere, another holiday highlight. My Son and the Cu Chi tunnels outside Ho Chi Minh City were both worth seeing, as was the War Remnants museum. We spent a lot of time on the water on this tour, very enjoyable seeing the world go by on various rivers; however don't expect the boats to be luxurious, they are functional with a small space at the back for the sun-worshippers and photographers. The journey to Phnom Penh by boat was very enjoyable with lovely scenery. I loved PP, a very scenic city which I would have liked to seen more of. The temples at Siem Reap were great to see and the floating villages on Tonle Sap also very interesting.

The hotels in all were very good, with the one at Can Tho being outstanding. The only exception was the Angkor Paradise which didn't live up to its name! The food was very good throughout, with most meals being seven or nine course tasting menus shared between four people. You usually had a choice of using chopsticks or a fork and typically at each meal there might be one or two spicy dishes, the rest being delicately flavoured. We had excelllent seafood throughout and the food in Cambodia was fantastic; the only let down was the Foreign Correspondents' Club in Phnom Penh which was very poor. Most people had an upset stomach for a day or two, usually sorted out fairly quickly by a dose of immodium! One lady was more unfortunate and had a trip to a clinic, but she had recovered later in the day and was well enough to travel the next morning.

So all in all, an excellent holiday with lots of variety. The group were all friendly and mixed extremely well together. For the first time in five JY holidays I was the youngest (at 42!), but as everyone comments age is a state of mind and I've made some very good friends out of this tour and I would recommend it to anyone who is interested in seeing south-east Asia. The people we encountered were very friendly and welcoming and it was a very well structured and balanced tour - with not too many very early starts!

I hope this review encourages you to book this tour; I am sure everyone on it thoroughly enjoyed themselves.

All the best,

Bob

All the best,

Bob

I love your user name, mine is so dull! Thanks for your kind comments, I hope I've covered most things. If you have any specific questions, don't hesitate to ask. Hope you have a wonderful holiday!

All the best,

Bob

It was very interesting and enjoyable to read your post about this holiday as I'm thinking of doing it in November next year. In the meantime, I've got 2 trips lined up for this year - Prague, Vienna and Budapest in August and Spirit of India November. As you did the India trip last year just a couple of questions I'd like to ask. Did you need vaccinations/malaria tablets? and are 'photo booth' photos acceptable for the Indian visa or do I have to get professional ones taken?

Best regards

Lynda

All the best,

Bob

Hi Bob,

It was very interesting and enjoyable to read your post about this holiday as I'm thinking of doing it in November next year. In the meantime, I've got 2 trips lined up for this year - Prague, Vienna and Budapest in August and Spirit of India November. As you did the India trip last year just a couple of questions I'd like to ask. Did you need vaccinations/malaria tablets? and are 'photo booth' photos acceptable for the Indian visa or do I have to get professional ones taken?

Best regards

Lynda

Hi Lynda,

I too went on the Vietnam and Cambodia trip with Bob, and also did the Indian trip but at a different time. I've emailed him at home re the visa photos, and I know that when I went to India there definitely was a different size to normal "photo booth" photos, and I had to go and have them done professionally. I suggest you contact JY as things may have changed since last year. Re vaccinations - contact your GP.

Enjoy - both trips are fantastic.

Cheers,

Hils

Hi Lynda, some of the group took malaria tablets for India but our tour manager said they were not necessary for our trip. So even though I had them with me, I didn't take them! Seeing as I had a delicate stomach for several days on the tour, I thought it was better not to aggrevate it further by taking malarone as well! I can't advise you on vaccinations, as I had them all for Africa the previous year - talk to your GP or practice nurse for advice. Passport style photos are fine for the Indian visa. If you ask JY to get the visa for you, they will advise you of all that you need. I couldn't get JY to do it, as I live in Ireland so I sorted it out myself with the Indian Embassy in Dublin with very little hassle. For the Vietnam/Cambodia visas, I got Trailfinders to get them for me.

All the best,

Bob

Hi Bob and Hils,

Thank you both very much for your replies. The information is very useful. I had loads of vaccinations when I went to Kenya in 2005, so hopefully they are still effective. I'm really looking forward to both my holidays - only 4 weeks to go until the 1st one!

Best wishes

Lynda

Enjoy the holidays!

Bob