My review in three sections: Realistic Asia, guides and KimKim.
Vietnam
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Nov 16 - Nov 30, 2024
I am dividing this review into three sections: 1. Realistic Asia and their agent Ha; 2. The tour guides and drivers who we met on our trip; 3. The KimKim web site and the information that is communicated there.
1. Realistic Asia (Ha)
We greatly appreciated Ha's hard work in customizing the trip to our requests. My wife and I have been through a hard year with many major life events and had no time to plan something ourselves. Ha provided us with a clear and thoughtful menu of options to choose from. We went through 7 or 8 versions of the itinerary and in the end, I think it was probably 85% to our liking. That is an excellent match to our desires and expectations and far better than the outcome if we had planned it ourselves. I think the areas where it could have improved include fewer destinations/more time in each location (we already did a lot of editing, but this was hard to accomplish with our time table.). More time outside of Hanoi would also have been enjoyable, but we were very jet lagged on arrival, so the time in the city was useful for recovering from travel. Nothing is perfect, but this was very close!
I think the only point where things could be improved would be in the communication. When we arrived on Cat Ba island, there was a transfer from the driver (who spoke no English) to the guide who took us on the hike in the national park. From what I could tell, this information was not in the itinerary and it was a bit worrying to be driven down back roads (damaged by the recent typhoon) without knowing where we were going and why (I thought we were headed to the hotel first.). In any case, this was minor and quickly solved once we met our guide.
2. Guides and drivers
I would rank these mostly excellent, with some variability. First the good: Hieu (Cat Ba) was great to travel with (for the hike). He was relaxed and adjusted quickly to our pace. We didn't feel like he made anything too easy for us (we like some challenge), and took us to places in the park that were quite memorable. He also provided us with good information about what to do during our day off.
I would say the same about Mr Narong (Cambodia). Although we only spent a day with him, I would recommend him to friends and family if they want to visit Siem Reap. He was informative but also easygoing. When we visited Angkor Wat at dawn, he understood that we wanted to take photos and he left us to explore, telling us where we would meet up for the next stage of the tour. The information he provided during our transfers between sites was also informative and thoughtful. We appreciated his honesty about his experiences growing up in Cambodia, which was a privilege to hear.
Finally, Thanh, our main guide in Vietnam (for the first week), was helpful, very knowledgable and took us to many places that we enjoyed. That said, I would like to offer some (hopefully) constructive feedback. It was clear to us that she had a hard time understanding what we needed and sometimes she was providing too much information. This was mostly a challenge on the first day of our tour in Hanoi, when we were still jet lagged and adjusting to the temperature and humidity. We had a feeling that she was reciting a long list of information, almost from a script, concerning the history of modern Vietnam. (I began to wonder if this information was a requirement for tour guides in Vietnam.) After the first day, we settled into a better routine and she began to understand what we wanted. My suggestion (for the future) is that she ask more questions at the outset to see how much information and talking is desirable and that she pause to allow the tourists to ask questions (or simply to look around and absorb the beauty without talking.). Not everyone wants all of the information in a constant stream; some people just want to look around and absorb the beauty of the environment.
I want to emphasize that, after the first day, she adjusted to our pace and travel style. She knows a lot about the places we visited and we enjoyed all of the people we met through her, including the local guides, the families who served the food during our hikes and the history of the various locations. She is very talented and will become, I think, much better at her job with some minor adjustments to her approach.
Finally, I want to thank all of the drivers and local guides, most of whom spoke little or no English (I wish I spoke some Vietnamese to thank them in person.). They were a wonderful group of people. In particular, our driver from Hanoi, up into the mountains and then down to Cat Ba, was exceptional at his job!
3. Some feedback about the KimKim web site. Although it is detailed and elegant, some parts did not work as I might have hoped. In particular, the exported version of the itinerary (the one I printed out and carried with us) lacked a lot of details that were present on the web site. Additionally, it would be helpful if the information could be exported as a table, not just a PDF, to make it easier to edit (to add information that is not there, like our plane reservations.) The itinerary is something that we share with family, and that was difficult (or of limited value) with the PDF from KimKim. Finally, the web site seemed to have some times that were inaccurate, including the departure times for flights. These were listed by the pick up times for the driver, not the departure or boarding time. It is confusing to know that the plane is leaving at 3:15pm, but to see that line listed at 11:30 am (the pickup time). This could be a lot clearer.
Otherwise, this was an amazing experience overall. We thank everyone involved for helping us experience both of these beautiful countries.
Hotel Reviews
Truly exceptional. Expensive, but worth it, in our opinion.
This was a wonderful experience. I would have added a day here, just to relax, if we could.
This was less enjoyable. Not bad, but certainly the least enjoyable of the places we stayed.
This was OK for one night. Clean and comfortable. Very convenient.
Beautiful hotel with an incredible view!
Clean, comfortable, well run. My only complaint was the day trip to the village on Cat Ba. The village seemed to exist only as a stopping point for tourists. That part of the day trip was not very enjoyable. However, the kayaking and boat ride itself was great.
Clean, well run and good location in the old quarter.
A truly beautiful hotel. We would have stayed an extra day if we had time.
Activity Reviews
Great guide! Thank you Hieu!
Mr. Narong was a wonderful guide. This is a place of exceptional beauty and he provided us with valuable information to enhance our experience. He was also responsive to our requests in real time, making it easy to modify our plans (like starting out before dawn to see the sunrise at Angkor Wat, which was not in our original plans.). Thank you Mr. Narong!
Too much time visiting the Mausoleum. The afternoon at the Temple of Books was wonderful.!
Our guide was great. He spoke no English, but he took us on a beautiful walk.
