Cambodia / Vietnam trip report with a gammy knee

[strickers]

Heathrow – Shanghai (BA)

We stayed the night before at the Crowne Plaza, Gerrards Cross for 16k points and used F&B credits for dinner, the hotel was pretty decent and better than I had expected.

Standard BA service, arrival into Shanghai reasonably painless using Transit Without a Visa (TWOV) which is well documented. There were self-help fingerprint machines before the immigration desks which gave a QR code, TWOV desk is on the far left, we presented details of onward flight and hotel booking. We worked through the process, were allowed to pass the desk and told to wait as our passports disappeared. They were taken away to have the TWOV sticker attached, not sure why this couldn’t happen at the desk? Then it was through baggage collection and onwards to the Maglev, quite an experience and well worth doing although it was a fair walk with me hobbling. There was a ticket office, and I was able to pay using AliPay which I had set up prior to leaving the UK, this worked well throughout the stay. It was a little confusing, sometimes you scan and it takes payment, other times you scan and enter amount. On arrival at LongYang road there was good signage to the taxi rank, and we took a cab to the Regent. Although I had read about taxi drivers scamming people, I found the two cabs I took whilst here were fine with both drivers using the meter. The Regent was lovely although as has been said by a few people, perhaps not in the best location. What little I saw of Shanghai was like any other major city but quite smoggy which is standard from what I understand. We didn’t do much because I didn’t want to overdo it with my knee, we took the Metro to the Bund for a walk one day but otherwise just availed ourselves of the lounge offering. I bought an Airalo Asia pack prior to departing and this worked well, in fact at times it worked better than the hotel Wi-Fi, I also had 2 VPNs which worked to some degree whilst behind the Great Firewall of China. Maps.me worked well for mapping, allowing offline maps to be downloaded, I also set up Wechat/Wechat Pay as a backup, but this wasn’t needed.

Shanghai – Saigon/HCMC (Vietnam Airlines)

The flight was paid for using Virgin Points, I had to call to book, cost per person in economy was 11500 points and £46. The flight was fine, legroom good and flight was on time. It was impossible to use the Vietnam Airlines MMB to manage either of the flight booked using Virgin points, this was even after I obtained the alternative booking code. I did manage to contact Vietnam Airlines using their online chat system and reserve seats, I also couldn’t check in online.

There was a long queue for immigration, but it moved quickly, visa free entry was granted up to 45 days. On leaving the terminal, I bought a sim card and set this up in a spare phone, cost was £8 for unlimited data, what I forgot to do was setup hotspot and initially I couldn’t turn this on. After much Googling that evening I found I had to delve into settings and enter an APN for personal hotspot, it worked fine after this. I had set Grab up prior to leaving the UK and this worked well for a taxi to the Intercontinental. On arrival I logged into Grab on my travel phone, found all my saved cards had disappeared and tried to set one up, it didn’t work. Grab support eventually sorted this out, their algorithm had seen it as fraud and locked my account without telling me or it showing on the app. We used my wife’s phone until it was fixed which took several days.
That evening we walked, well I hobbled and my wife walked to Hua Toc restaurant which was only a few minutes away, it took a little bit of finding as it was tucked away in a courtyard. It was a recommendation from the doorman and one that earned him a tip when we got back.

Saigon/HCMC-Siem Reap

Again, Vietnam Airlines for this once again booked by phone using Virgin points, cost 5500 points and £46 per person. Flight was quite late in the day, 1920 but an Ambassador 1600 checkout worked well, again comfortable flight and on time.

Grab back to the airport, what I will say at this point if you have large suitcases then opt for Grab XL, some of the smaller cars will struggle as they all seem to have spare tyres in the boot.

Arrival at the new airport in Siem Reap was confusing, I had completed the Cambodia customs declaration app and had a QR code. There was a sign with that type of QR code pointing to an immigration desk so that’s where I headed, what I completely missed was the visa desks which were at the back of the immigration hall, behind you as you enter. So off we went to get our visas, cash only, $30 each, the process was reasonably swift and was an excellent demonstration of job creation. One person to check the passports, another to take the cash, yet another to insert the visas and a final person to hand our passports back. You can apply online for an e-Visa at $35 each but the manual system worked well enough. Outside the terminal I bought a sim card, $5, this time I made sure that personal hotspot was working before I left. One thing to note about paying for things in Cambodia is that whilst most large establishments will take credit cards but everywhere else is cash. ATMs dispense Riels and USD. Establishments are very fussy on the quality of the note, any tear, excessive creasing or if they have been written on then they will refuse to accept them.

Siem Reap

We had booked 4 nights at Vinoth’s hotel, this included an arrival transfer with the driver waiting for us, the new airport is quite a trek and options are limited. We arrived at the hotel around 9.30pm just in time for last orders from the kitchen. I paid $174 a night down from an original $192 a night with the hotel being responsive to lowering the price when the rate changed online. I’m sure there are much cheaper options but this was a really lovely hotel and very convenient for the centre of Siem Reap. We did have a problem on the first morning with construction outside our room, scaffolding was going up on the building opposite and workmen that could see into our bathroom. The manager responded quickly and we changed rooms later that day with a complimentary upgrade thrown in.

I’m not sure why but I really enjoyed Siem Reap, particularly Pub Street for some reason? In all seriousness, although it was very touristy, numbers were still relatively low, and the atmosphere was great. Local beer was around $1 and an Amok Curry could be had for less than a fiver, the overall standard of the food was excellent. We spent a couple of days by the pool with my knee limiting what we could do. I bit the bullet and booked a car and guide for Angkor Wat, it was $120 for the day and an extra $30 if we wanted the early start to see sunrise which we went for. The guide, Bunthin was great and I’ll happily pass his details if anyone wants them. The hotel provided coffee to go and I was thrilled that this was provided in flasks rather than disposable cups, a theme which echoed throughout the hotel while we were there. I’m by no means an eco-evangelist but I do hate to see waste, the hotel worked very hard to minimise this. Anyhow, I digress, the tour involved the early start, sunrise just by the entrance which was spectacular (Take bug spray and a torch!). Bunthin was very knowledgeable with excellent English and pointed out many interesting things amongst the carvings. We also visited Bayon, Baphoun, Phimeanakas and Ta Prohm (Tomb raider temple). I was templed out by the end of the day. Bunthin also spoke of his experiences during the Khmer Rouge which I won’t go into detail about, but it was clear that things were still raw, surprisingly I discovered that period isn’t taught in schools.

Battambang

We had hired a different driver for the rest of our time in Cambodia, he was fine and always on time but I’m sure there are better ones out there, so he doesn’t make my recommendation list. This might be partly down to the dodgy wheel bearing on the car.
We went from Siem Reap directly to our hotel in Battambang, Maisons Wat Kor, it’s a little way out from the centre but was fine for what we needed, £80 for one night. Mrs S also availed of a 60-minute massage at a cost of $19. Our driver took us to the bat caves that evening where we witnessed an entrepreneurial masterpiece of plastic chairs, fold up tables and food stalls, once again $1 a beer. Witnessing the several million bats leaving the cave was interesting, happy to have done it but I wouldn’t go again. We had an excellent dinner back at the hotel, had I not been hampered we may have headed into town but I was in quite a lot of pain by that point.

Phnom Penh

We went directly from Battambang to Choeung Ek with our driver looking after our cases while we visited. An audio tour was included in the price and we quietly worked our way round whilst listening, the horrors of what happened can’t be overstated and are heart-breaking, I won’t go into more details but I think it’s one of those things that should be done if you can.

Two nights in Phnom Penh were spent at the Palace Gate Hotel, $145 a night including breakfast, the hotel has a lovely pool and a very pleasant roof bar. We didn’t explore much apart from wandering around the outsides of the Palace electing to eat in the hotel both nights.

The Border Crossing (Prek Chak/Ha Tien)

A very early start had us arriving at the Cambodia/Vietnam border at around 8am, I had an 1145 ferry booked to Phu Quoc and had no idea how long it would take. An enterprising chap on a scooter accosted us about needing a taxi on the other side, $15 to the port, I offered $10 but he wasn’t having it. At this stage I couldn’t be bothered arguing and said we will see, he obviously had an ‘arrangement’ with the border guards because he seemed to travel freely between the two countries with nobody checking any of his documentation. To be fair, having him follow us was useful because there was little signage and he pointed us to where we needed to go. Once again, Cambodian job creation was in full swing with three people checking our documentation one of which was customs and at this stage my QR code had disappeared (note to self, take a screen shot), after much shrugging it didn’t see a problem. Entry into Vietnam was straightforward with us granted an additional 45-days having previously left. The taxi was waiting, it took us quickly to the port, the whole process took 30 minutes with the most awkward bit being dragging wheely cases along roads not designed for them. I had found the ferry company, Phu Quoc Express (My inner man-child really wanted to catch the SuperDong but the times didn’t work), to be very responsive using a chat app called Zalo. With an earlier ferry due to depart at 0855 I had messaged them as we got into the taxi about changing the tickets, the only issue they said was there were no VIP tickets on the earlier ferry. Not a problem for me and within 15 minutes we had new tickets and were on our way, cost of the ferry £12 each. On arrival in Phu Quoc there were fixers waiting who offered me a taxi to the Intercontinental for $25, even I wasn’t paying that. We walked to the end of the pier and found dozens of more honourable drivers, cost was $10 which I compared to Grab and was about the same.

Intercontinental Phu Quoc as Diamond Ambassador

I had booked this early and averaged 25500 points a night for the 8 nights we were here, I did look at moving to the Regent but this averaged 60000 points. I messaged the hotel in advance and was upgraded for the first 6 nights to an ocean view but would have to move for the last two to a standard king which is what I had booked. I did check online, they weren’t lying, there were no single level upgrade rooms available, in the end a cancellation meant we kept our room for all 8 nights. I had an IHG milestone lounge pass and access had been granted for the stay, we were also given two drinks vouchers and the usual Ambassador credit. The lounge was absolutely fine, breakfast was good enough not to need to venture to the main restaurant with lots of a la carte options. Afternoon tea was OK if repetitive and evening canapes were good enough to replace dinner on a few evenings. We were here to rest and that’s pretty much what we did, the club pool is tiny but there was always a sun lounger available and it was nice and shady which suits me. We used our vouchers at the Ink bar which had great sunset views, we didn’t visit again though as the DJ was not my cup of tea and the place was a bit rough around the edges. We ate at the pizza bar and at Sea Shack and both were very pleasant if expensive for Vietnam, there aren’t many alternatives in walking distance. There is a free shuttle bus into Phu Quoc which we used twice, once to visit the night market at which every other shop appeared to be selling nuts, we had a nice sea food supper whilst there. On the second occasion we got off one stop earlier, 141 Tran Hung Dao, where there were lots of decent bars and restaurants, if I hadn’t had lounge access I would have used this every evening, it was comfortable, never full and had good AC.

The big question, would I stay here again? If I was in the area and had enough points then absolutely, would I go out of my way to visit, no.

Saigon/HCMC

Grab once again to the airport, quick and efficient as usual. Check in with Vietnam Airlines was good and the flight was on time, there had been quite a few schedule changes but online chat had moved me to the flight closest to my original without them trying to charge me, flight was £36 each in economy. Once again we stayed at the Intercontinental and this time arrived in time for evening drinks. After that we walked to Ben Thanh food market for Banh Mi, very touristy and I’m not sure I’d go back.

Hong Kong

Cathay Pacific flight was booked using Avios through Qatar, 16500 Avios and $22 per person in business. The aircraft changed a few times but in the end we had lie flat beds for the 2-hour 30-minute flight.

I had originally booked the Conrad but changed to the Intercontinental Grand Stanford, big mistake. My logic was sound, I need a hotel in central London in July, Hilton have extended my Diamond status and the IC was £170 a night. The first night was pleasant enough with the lounge being open and the free flow Moet going down well. Breakfast the next morning was a disappointing experience, the lounge was now closed for refurbishment, something they hadn’t communicated in advance. They had set up a temporary lounge above the lobby and next to the main restaurant, it was freezing, the AC was running too cold, and the lobby doors were open. To give them credit, heaters were provided on the second morning, but we had to move twice to find somewhere warm. I believe they have now moved the lounge into a function room whilst the original one is being refurbished, a function room without windows! The hotel itself just looks tired, carpets are stained, most of the staff appear disinterested, it’s perhaps a Crowne Plaza at best, I won’t be back. Our original plans of the Dragons Back hike were cancelled for obvious reasons, instead we went on a tram tour and then caught the ferry back across to the hotel. I’m in two minds about Hong Kong, I think a combination of my knee and the issues with the hotel clouded my experience, so a revisit is in order.

Total trip was 25 days and cost £5100, 208k Avios, 34k Virgin & 268k IHG points. That includes everything, food, parking, sim cards, visas, the lot. A veritable bargain.

[SamG]

Vietnam used to have a restriction on re-entry within 30 days with a British passport unless you had a visa, caught out a couple of my colleagues as it was an unusual restriction – glad that has gone now!

Sounds like a great trip- knee aside! We also very much enjoyed Siem Reap and I’m also still in two minds about HK despite having been there about 10 times.

[strickers]

@SamG Vietnam used to be a maximum of 15 days with an exemption to 30 for Phu Quoc only, it’s now 45 days everywhere, the 30-day reentry rule went at the same time I think? We went in Jan 2020 and had planned 2 nights in Shanghai first, for obvious reasons we canceled that part, had 6 hours at the airport and flew to Hanoi. The day after we arrived in Vietnam they banned anyone who had been in China in the last 14 days, we were due to have 13 nights then fly to Singapore. Whilst we were in Vietnam the Singaporean government also banned anyone who had been in China in the last 14 days. Coordinating our max 15 days whilst complying with the restrictions for Singapore and not missing our BA flight was somewhat fraught. Flights around the area were being cancelled left, right and centre and I couldn’t find out whether it was 14 nights, 14 24-hour periods etc.

[AndyGWP]

Thanks @strickers – appreciate the time it took you to write that up 🙂

[TJ]

@strickers Great review. Having just returned last week from our trip to Thailand (BKK, CNX), Siem Reap and Vietnam (HAN, DAD, SGN) it reminded me of some of the highlights…in particularly the local people we met in Siem Reap. Will definitely return to Cambodia and seek out some of their island resorts.

[Lady London]

Thank you @Strickers for all those little details about useful things to do or know in each place.

Hope your upcoming knee treatment goes well if you can bear to share how that goes would be interesting

[strickers]

Lady London wrote:

Thank you @Strickers for all those little details bout useful things to do or know in each place.

Hope your upcoming knee treatment goes well if you can bear to share how that goes would be interesting

Thanks @LL, will do, MRI tomorrow and follow up consultation on the 19th.

[BBbetter]

Thanks for the report!
Was the beach at IC PQ ok? Is the water as bad as some of the reviews suggest?

[Aston100]

Thanks for the detailed report.
How long were you in Vietnam in total?

[strickers]

@BBbetter The beach was fine, very clean at the hotel.

@Aston100 One night initially then 9 nights toward the end. It’s still a place I want to go back to and explore more.

[ABA]

Thank you very much for the detailed report @Stickers exactly the sort of information I am looking for when planning a trip. Excellent level of details and the relevant points costs are very helpful too.

[Cat]

“Bunthin also spoke of his experiences during the Khmer Rouge which I won’t go into detail about, but it was clear that things were still raw, surprisingly I discovered that period isn’t taught in schools.”

It’s not really surprising, given that Hun Sen (a Khmer Rouge commander), only stepped down as prime minister last year, handing over power to his son.

It’s a bit of a Catch-22 really – the very young Cambodian population, most of which weren’t alive during the terrors of the Khmer Rouge, won’t find the political will to scream for Hun Sen and his descendants to relinquish power until his crimes are more widely known and discussed, and his crimes won’t be more widely known and discussed openly in schools and other forums until his family no longer runs the country.

Cambodia is an incredible country to visit, with wonderful, beautiful people, but a hideous past that it still hasn’t been able to move beyond, because some of the perpetrators are still knocking around, riding the gravy train of government corruption, putting to use political violence to silence opposition.

I hope the MRI tomorrow provides answers and a route to recovery for the gammy knee, @strickers. I highly recommend exploring the islands too, @TJ – they’re just stunning.

[Whatsthepoint]

Thanks @strickers. Very interesting as we’re considering similar trip. I can’t see it anywhere, but was BA flight using a 241 Amex voucher? As you say a bargain, I checked ‘cash’ tours of 14/21 nights, minimum £6k each and that’s all economy.

[strickers]

@Cat That’s insightful thanks, I did know some of the history but perhaps not the depth of corruption but it certainly explains why it isn’t taught.

@Whatsthepoint Yes, BA 241 open-jaw, out via Shanghai and back from Hong Kong.

[NorthernLass]

It sounds an epic trip @strickers, especially with a gammy knee! $19 massages and $1 beers would tick our boxes, lol.

Like me, you probably recall the Blue Peter appeal for Cambodia as a child in the 70s. I don’t think any of us have ever forgotten those awful scenes.

[HSV]

Thanks for the excellent report. Doing Vietnam next month – so all very helpful.

[BBbetter]

Cat wrote:

I highly recommend exploring the islands too, they’re just stunning.

Interesting, any suggestions @Cat ?

[Froggee]

Oh to be able to do this sort of thing without children! I have a similar question on 241 usage and class of long haul travel as the value proposition is astounding.

I have memories that it wasn’t actually your knee but a partially torn quad but then sometimes I struggle to tell the difference between reality and make believe. Is it better?

My one trip to Cambodia was a work “jolly” because what says team building better than cycling between temples in near 100% humidity. On arriving at immigration, some of the officials sought bribes from my colleagues carrying Hong Kong and Chinese passports but not the Singaporeans. Most of the Chinese paid without question. One was wise enough when told “I can make things very difficult for you” to point out that his boss was behind him in the queue and he would be fired for paying a bribe. Oh, okay, have a nice day then. Maybe next time. Stamp. Nuts.

Meanwhile on attempting to leave the country, I got to security to see the fellow checking documents had a piece of paper in his hand with my name on it. Instead of going through the metal detector, I was told to come with him. We went back through immigration where a man at a table took my passport from me. Then we went back into departures where I was taken through a door to the baggage processing area.

There, several officials were standing round my bag. “Is this your bag, sir”. I had seen enough episodes of ‘Banged Up Abroad’ to know how this ended. I thought I had sweated a lot whilst cycling that day but that was just a warm-up compared to standing looking at my bag.

Yes, that’s my bag, said I. I was asked if I had bought any souvenirs in Cambodia. It still embarrasses me to this day that I had to admit that, in a country with such rich cultural heritage, I had gone to Hard Rock Cafe and bought Mrs Froggee a T-shirt and a pin badge.

They were not interested in this.

They then proceeded to search my bag. Incredibly gently. It was intense. Very, very carefully they took out a box containing a glass ornament I had been given by a Singaporean colleague to commemorate Kermit being born. It was a coiled up snake for year of the snake. “Oh very nice” says the fellow holding it, smiling. Everyone starts smiling.

They put it back in my bag, and zip it up. I am led back through immigration where I get my passport back and am allowed to go through security albeit dripping wet and several pounds lighter.

As my escort bade me farewell, I asked what the issue had been. Apparently the ornament looked like a hand grenade on the X-ray.

Ugh.

[Cat]

BBbetter wrote:

<
Interesting, any suggestions @Cat ?

Koh Rong and Koh Rong Samloem are absolutely gloriously beautiful, but pick your beach carefully as some beaches can be a bit party island-ish (esp on Koh Rong, less so on Koh Rong Samloem). Bamboo island is also lovely, but very basic, if you fancy going off-grid in a bamboo hut with intermittent electricity and a hammock on the porch, this is an excellent choice @BBbetter!

Backpacking around Cambodia in the early noughties, the chap I was travelling with at the time found that when I wasn’t by his side, he was offered bang-bang (the obvious) or bang-bang-bang (the opportunity to shoot at goats and other livestock with AK47s and lob hand grenades at them) – all for the right price of course.

I imagine some people struggle with the “What happens in Cambodia, stays in Cambodia” maxim, @Froggee…

[QwertyKnowsBest]

Thank you @Strickers. Good luck with the knee.

Stayed in Grand Stanford multiple times but not recently. Booked for April as rates keen for HK, wondering if I now know the reasons why. From what I had read the hotel had undergone a full refurb, but maybe not?

[strickers]

@Froggee Thanks for asking, the quad is on the mend but seems to have masked something going on with the knee. A nice lady with enormous magnets took some pictures today and I’ll find out how it looks on Monday. My sense of humour might still be that of a child but my right knee certainly isn’t.

[strickers]

@Cat I struggled to find up to date information about the hotels on the islands, I do wonder if things aren’t fully back to normal? There was also a lot of discussion about excessive incomplete construction.

@QwertyKnowsBest Some parts of the hotel looked like they’d been refurbished, notably the lobby area. But the ‘club’ floors certainly hadn’t, the carpets in particular were a mess.

[QwertyKnowsBest]

‘Some parts of the hotel looked like they’d been refurbished, notably the lobby area. But the ‘club’ floors certainly hadn’t, the carpets in particular were a mess.’

Thanks again @Strickers. I shall cancel you saved me disappointment. The rooms show as refurbished but fed up of Hotel brands that are not consistent, looking also at you the dump that is IC New Orleans etc

[Cat]

strickers wrote:

@Cat I struggled to find up to date information about the hotels on the islands, I do wonder if things aren’t fully back to normal? There was also a lot of discussion about excessive incomplete construction.

I think for somewhere like Koh Rong Samloem, for up to date information TripAdvisor (paying particular attention to 1-3 star reviews, so that you know if there is construction or loud parties going into the early hours) is your best bet, or perhaps a good old-fashioned guidebook (printed post-COVID, obvs).

[Lady London]

Cat wrote:

BBbetter wrote:

<
Interesting, any suggestions @Cat ?

Koh Rong and Koh Rong Samloem are absolutely gloriously beautiful, but pick your beach carefully as some beaches can be a bit party island-ish (esp on Koh Rong, less so on Koh Rong Samloem). Bamboo island is also lovely, but very basic, if you fancy going off-grid in a bamboo hut with intermittent electricity and a hammock on the porch, this is an excellent choice @BBbetter!

Backpacking around Cambodia in the early noughties, the chap I was travelling with at the time found that when I wasn’t by his side, he was offered bang-bang (the obvious) or bang-bang-bang (the opportunity to shoot at goats and other livestock with AK47s and lob hand grenades at them) – all for the right price of course.

I imagine some people struggle with the “What happens in Cambodia, stays in Cambodia” maxim, @Froggee…

TBH One of those would upset me a lot more than the other. The goat, obviously.