Vietnam and Cambodia: 01/10

January 21, 2010

Hoi An Sunset - Vietnam

Below are a few images from a recent stay at the Hoi An Riverside Resort in Hoi An, Vietnam.

Find more great info from Hoi An by following these links!

Images By Adam Hurley - See more at www.flickr.com/photos/vietnamtravelnotes/

By Thanh Bui

If big is what you are after, they don't come much bigger than Vinpearl. The name of the resort and theme park carved in white on the hills of nearby Hon Tre Island, dominates the view across the bay from Nha Trang.

The world's longest sea-crossing cable car connects the island with the mainland, affording great views across the bay towards the city. For the faint of heart or those in a rush, a speedboat plies its way across the blue sea below. Nha Trang's version of Disneyland lies in wait for guests as they clamber out of the cable car. Rest assured, the resort is on the different side of the island.

Set in a sweeping bay with a 700-meter beach, there is nothing understated about Vinpearl. The two five-star hotel buildings, each with its own reception and restaurant have a total of 485 rooms. At 5000 sqm one of the three pools is claimed to be the largest in Asia. If you are here for business, the Grand Ballroom can hold 1000 people. The resort even has its own pagoda

Ideal for business for a holiday with the kids, there is much more to be said for this resort than at first meets the eye.

Vinpearl Land has hosted a great number of cultural-entertainment events, particularly major Vietnam and World beauty contests such as Miss Vietnam, Miss World Vietnamese, Miss Earth, and Miss Universe... So, besides the lovely name "Vietnamese Pearl," this place is also named "Beauty Island," "Paradise Island"...

Threeland Travel is Vietnam Travel Agency which is offering professional and careful handling of all kinds of Vietnam Tours and Vietnam hotels and resorts service to you at competitive prices.

January 19, 2010

Vietnam Reviewed And More Travel Info

If you're looking for some first hand travel info from Vietnam, check out this well written review:

Trip Review Vietnam (Jan 2010)

Dave, the author (read all about Dave here!),was traveling with his family and has put together a great, easy to read review of the towns they visited, hotels they used and place's they ate.

Great information for anyone heading to Vietnam soon and a great resource for those with kids! There are also several posts with tips for traveling with kids!

If you want some more info try these short guides:

Hoi An - Saigon - Hanoi - Phnom Penh

If you dig photography click on the following link to see some super cool travel images from Burma - www.asianimages-adammartin.com

Now stop reading this and check it out............... but do come back!

Photo's By Adam Hurley

Visa Run From Bangkok to Cambodia

By Jose Darrel Bella

Foreigners holding a 1 year multiple entry non-immigrant "B" visa obtained from their home country or outside of Thailand are normally required to do visa run every 90 days. A visa run is done when the 90-day allowable stay of a "1 year multiple entry visa" expires. The visa holder will need to exit the Kingdom and get another 90-day stamp from any immigration offices in the borders or international airports of Thailand.

The Practical Way to Do It

I have done visa run myself multiple times by going to the Philippines and Malaysia. But it is not the practical way of doing it - go to Cambodia instead.

My first visa run to Cambodia was with an agency that a friend referred to me. I paid 1,000 baht to the agency inclusive of lunch of our choice (with a menu) and the two-way bus fare. The agency people (ladies) also took care of our passports, departure/arrival cards and guided us up to the immigration office.

The bus leaves at 9 a.m. from Ekkamai and arrives at the border at 1 p.m. After an hour on the road, they provided us a menu for lunch and took our order. There was one bus stop where they allowed us to go to the toilet or have a smoke or just have a break. At 12 noon while still on the bus, our lunch was served.

Upon arrival, the agency ladies instructed us to fall in line at the Thai Immigration Office and started distributing the passport that they collected to each one. They only allowed us to stay inside Cambodia for 15 minutes.

Just enough time to go to the toilet inside the Casino which is about 3 to 5 minutes walk. Right after fixing ourselves in the toilet, we went back right away to the Immigration Office where the agency ladies are waiting for us. They gave our passports back with the arrival card and guided us to the Immigration Officer where we got our visa stamped. We departed from the border at 2 p.m. and arrived in Bangkok at 6 p.m.

It was indeed a 1-day dreary trip. But as a foreigner, you must abide by Thailand Immigration law if you don't want to suffer the penalties for violating the law. If it is your first visa to Thailand, be sensible and acquaint yourself on the benefits and conditions associated in the visa.

Jose Darrel Bella works as a Consultant for Siam Legal International, Thailand's largest legal service network with offices in Bangkok, London, Los Angeles, Phuket, Samui, Pattaya, Chiang Mai and Hua Hin. Contact Siam Legal at +66 (0) 253 8100 or visit http://www.siam-legal.com to learn more about obtaining a 1 Year Thailand Visa.

January 14, 2010

Travel By Bus - HCMC to Phnon Penh

Traveling from HCMC to the Capital of Cambodia, Phnom Penh has never been easier, nor cheaper.

These days you can travel quickly and efficiently by air or road. Traveling by air is still expensive unless you can snag a cheap fare on the budget airlines. But the 1 hour flight time is appealing! While air is convenient, remember you need to pay for taxi's (or transfers) each way which can easily add 15USD to your trip.

A cheaper means of travel is by road. Numerous companies now operate express buses to and from Saigon/Phnom Penh for around 10USD per person (one way). Most will offer you a bottle water, small snack box and a company representative to help you through the border crossings. Companies include Mai Linh, Mekong Express, Capital Tours and several others.

Recently I traveled with the Mai Linh Company and here are my thoughts.

Buses

The bus we traveled was large 50 seater and fairly new, clean and had a great air-con system! Seats reclined and were comfortable. Each has a little pocket for storing books or a bottle of water and there was enough leg room to stretch out (I'm 178cm). Little pillows attached to the head rest make sleeping a breeze!

Driver

I know several people that have commented on speeding Mai Linh drivers, however our green bus, as are all Mai Linh vehicles, negotiated the roads safely and at a decent speed. I felt safe the entire trip!

Staff

Each bus service has a company rep. to help you through the border crossing and to look after you through the journey. The guy we had on the bus only spoke Vietnamese, which can make it difficult for travelers if you require something, however that said, he was friendly and smiled the entire trip. At the border we were meet by another Mai Linh Rep. who looked after the border crossing. He had basic English and was efficient but not overly helpful or friendly.

Visa's for Cambodia can be obtained at the border. There are three types of Visa's as shown by Cambodia Authorities:

Tourist Visa - 20USD
Holiday Visa - 25USD
Special Visa - Free (you need official paper work for this one)

Mai Linh staff help with the visa procedure and charge 24USD per person. So while I just did my own (for 20USD), you can pay a little extra and not have to worry about waiting in line. Otherwise jump the queue and help yourself.

Stops

During the journey we stopped just short of Tay Ninh, about 1 1/2 hours, for fuel and a toilet stop. We then traveled 45 mins to border and spent about an 1 hour completing both border crossing. 5 minutes from the border (Cambodia side) we stopped for 20 minutes at a small cafe which had food, drinks and ok toilets.

From here it's about 3 hours to Phnom Penh, including a ferry crossing, where it's possible to get out and stretch your legs or grab some photo's.

The bus left the Saigon office in Pham Ngu Lao at 6.40am and arrived into Phnom Penh, behind the Central Markets around 1.30pm.

My Opinion

For this journey, I have used Capital, Mekong Express and now Mai Linh. Each company charges about the same (10 - 12USD) and travel the same routes.

While Mai Linh has great buses they have just ok service. The best company in my opinion is the Mekong Express Bus which has superior service - and they give you really nice pastries!