Southeast Asia touring

My sister and I (both seniors) took a trip to Vietnam and Cambodia, Dec. 16, 2013-Jan. 2, 2014. We set up the trip about eight months in advance through a travel agent, Stacy Robinson Kores of Protravel International (Chicago, IL; 312/895-4608). I would rate her a “10” for her dedication in making our tour right. 

In arranging the itinerary, Stacy used Swain Destinations (Ardmore, PA; 800/227-9246). 

One thing — often, where our itinerary said “all day,” it actually ended up being only part of the day. Nevertheless, our local guides deserved an “8.” They spoke good English, were educated and shared interesting background information on the places we visited. 

We managed to have the guides be a little flexible, especially the one in Cambodia, where we wanted to see a sunrise at the temples one day and a sunset the next.

The guides and shopkeepers didn’t seem to have an attitude, but at all five stops it seemed as though they really wanted us to buy something. We disappointed them all. We found beautiful items in these countries and did buy some things, but it was during our free time and in places we chose.

In Vietnam, we were taken to a huge arts-and-crafts warehouse. I noticed that the place mats I had paid $4 to $5 for somewhere else were $18 there. In Cambodia, the same thing happened at a statue place. 

Including our airfare home from Siem Reap, Cambodia, to Honolulu via Seoul, we paid about $6,000 per person for the 2-week trip. That included three flights in Vietnam and Cambodia; a Halong Bay cruise; driver and guide; our meals, and our purchases too. The hotels were all deluxe and located in areas that were safe for walking. We used frequent-flyer miles for the flight over, Honolulu-Seoul-Hanoi.

DEBORAH ZACK

Phoenix, AZ