Big holiday to Asia...

[stevewestern]

My wife is going to Borneo in September to see the orangutans.
I can't as my body isn't up to trekking through jungles, sleeping pretty rough and even the flights would be hard.
However, I am wondering about going to Vietnam or somewhere similar in Asia, where we plan to meet up after her monkeying around. Might be as much as 3 to 4 weeks, but I expect 2 is more likely.
We loved backpacking in Bali 25/30 years ago but times have changed it we hear.
I can walk a fair amount on the flat, struggle a bit with lots of steps or slopes to climb but do want to see some sights, eat some amazing food and meet some lovely people. I'm prepared to suffer a bit but am not going to be doing 36 hour bus trips or 6 hour hikes at someone else's pace.
Long bus and possibly train journeys (ie over 3 - 4 hours) I'd rather avoid but could be manageable.
I need a comfortable bed but don't need fancy hotels, like local food rather than haute cuisine and would rather be surrounded by local people than other tourists.
Vietnam is high on my list, I'm wondering about spending some time in both Ho Chi Minh and Hanoi but am open to any ideas anyone has, about Vietnam or maybe other places - Cambodia or Thailand ? Laos would have been on my list but I hear there isn't much by way of travel infrastructure for people like me.

So, what experiences can you share, and what advice do you have ?

 

[boogie man]

I’ve used Explore holidays in the past and have done a trip to Thailand and another to Vietnam and Cambodia. Neither was particularly strenuous, although you do get early starts on some days, but you can just chose the “relaxed pace” tour options from the site. Accommodation is usually clean and comfortable but a fairly basic no-frills level. There are usually lots of solo travellers on these trips so you won’t be the odd one out. I particularly loved Vietnam, it’s a fascinating country and the people were a lot friendlier than I expected, especially given the terrible interventions from the West at different times. Vietnamese food is excellent, not as super spicy as some of the Thai and Cambodian dishes. They serve far more noodle dishes than rice and there are lots of regional variations on noodles, each region claiming to be the best of course. Good fish and veg dishes too.

All of the trips were good though, I can recommend Explore if you want to do an organised tour, but you could always sort out your own trip and just roughly follow their itinerary to get a good feel of the countries.

 

[stevewestern]

I’ve used Explore holidays in the past and have done a trip to Thailand and another to Vietnam and Cambodia. Neither was particularly strenuous, although you do get early starts on some days, but you can just chose the “relaxed pace” tour options from the site. Accommodation is usually clean and comfortable but a fairly basic no-frills level. There are usually lots of solo travellers on these trips so you won’t be the odd one out. I particularly loved Vietnam, it’s a fascinating country and the people were a lot friendlier than I expected, especially given the terrible interventions from the West at different times. Vietnamese food is excellent, not as super spicy as some of the Thai and Cambodian dishes. They serve far more noodle dishes than rice and there are lots of regional variations on noodles, each region claiming to be the best of course. Good fish and veg dishes too.

All of the trips were good though, I can recommend Explore if you want to do an organised tour, but you could always sort out your own trip and just roughly follow their itinerary to get a good feel of the countries.

Thanks for that Larry. I'll have a look at what Explore have to offer to get some ideas. Never been on an organised tour before..
So far I've been looking mainly at northern Vietnam.
Not sure I'm up to super-spicy foods any more like I remember in Thailand - Thai restaurants in the UK are so often toned down way too much to suit our delicate palates that I'm not used to hot any more despite copious use of chilli's in my cooking.

 

[boogie man]

I’ve done some other Explore trips too, to India and Morocco and always found them a very good company with decent guides. You generally meet some interesting people on the tours too and I’m still friends with several of them.

I wonder if you misread my comments on the food Steve? Vietnamese food isn’t that spicy at all. Whereas some of the Thai dishes can be super hot. I had one that tasted like it had been cooked in battery acid.

 

[ancient_mariner]

A work colleague came back 2 weeks ago from travelling Cambodia, Vietnam and Laos. She liked Cambodia, HATED heavy Vietnam traffic, loved Laos. I believe she was with her 70YO father and mother.

We've been to Thailand and very much liked it, but that was 2007, and it's had a fair bit of unrest since then. We went with Exodus on that trip.

 

[stevewestern]

I’ve done some other Explore trips too, to India and Morocco and always found them a very good company with decent guides. You generally meet some interesting people on the tours too and I’m still friends with several of them.

I wonder if you misread my comments on the food Steve? Vietnamese food isn’t that spicy at all. Whereas some of the Thai dishes can be super hot. I had one that tasted like it had been cooked in battery acid.

No, I got what you were saying about spicy food - I love it hot, but some of what we ate in Thailand was a bit too much for my poor digestive system, Vietnam food sounds like it'll be easier for me to pig out on!
As for meeting like minded people - that's a big part of what travel should be. I'm already getting excited about it..

 

[stevewestern]

A work colleague came back 2 weeks ago from travelling Cambodia, Vietnam and Laos. She liked Cambodia, HATED heavy Vietnam traffic, loved Laos. I believe she was with her 70YO father and mother.

We've been to Thailand and very much liked it, but that was 2007, and it's had a fair bit of unrest since then. We went with Exodus on that trip.

That's interesting. Laos gets a lot of praise from friends who went a few years ago, as does Cambodia but I've not heard anything about heavy traffic in Vietnam although it's obviously more on the tourist trail than the others.

 

[boogie man]

When I went to Vietnam I didn’t think the traffic was bad everywhere, although there were literally thousands upon thousands of mopeds in Hanoi. You learn to just take a deep breath and just walk out into the road, otherwise you’ll never get across. Everyone just goes around you, although it’s terrifying the first time you have to do it.

 

[ancient_mariner]

When I went to Vietnam I didn’t think the traffic was bad everywhere, although there were literally thousands upon thousands of mopeds in Hanoi. You learn to just take a deep breath and just walk out into the road, otherwise you’ll never get across. Everyone just goes around you, although it’s terrifying the first time you have to do it.

In the case of the person I know, she cited mopeds being ridden on the pavements and not feeling safe. I can't comment, other than she's a seasoned traveller, but there may have been a specific reason she was un-nerved.