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[Cinderella's Slipper 2015]

Your pictures are so vivid and full of life! I can't wait to go on a SE Asia trip with my daughter. It will likely be with ABD in December, 2018 for 2 reasons: so she can be with other teenagers and ABD is one of the only companies that has a family trip that visits Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam.

I am looking forward to your next installment!

Just know that the itineraries are quite different between what ABD does and what I did. We went to Hue, not Hoi An, we go to Ha Long Bay (coming up on the blog) and we really toured the temples in Cambodia, we do NOT do a tuk-tuk scavenger hunt around the Angkor Wat Archeological Park (have yet to figure out how this is done).

Next installment should be up this weekend with Ha Noi and at least our arrival in Ha Long Bay.

 

[Cousin Orville]

Just know that the itineraries are quite different between what ABD does and what I did. We went to Hue, not Hoi An, we go to Ha Long Bay (coming up on the blog) and we really toured the temples in Cambodia, we do NOT do a tuk-tuk scavenger hunt around the Angkor Wat Archeological Park (have yet to figure out how this is done).

Next installment should be up this weekend with Ha Noi and at least our arrival in Ha Long Bay.

Ha Long Bay is the biggest omission of the ABD. We really wanted to go before or afterwards, but just didn't have the time. I've always wondered why ABD did not include this. I'm guessing they just couldn't carve out anymore time. However, the year before they introduced the ABD, there was tragedy in the area that may have influenced ABD.

Most of the scavenger hunt is actually racing on foot through the temples. But you go between several of the temples via tuk tuk. And those drivers took the scavenger hunt very seriously - like the tuk tuk racing seen out of James Bond's Octopussy. Easily my favorite ABD activity, and great especially for kids. The teen groups kicked out behinds. Very similar to the Amazing Race.

ABD spent a lot of time seriously and slowly touring Angor Wat before the race. And some people visited the other temples more casually on their own while everyone else raced. Most of us raced. The next day several of us went back to Ta Prohm and the other main temple with the faces? (it's been too many years now) with the guides. I went back to Angor Wat in the late afternoon on my own with my Dad and son for better pictures. The morning light was a bit harsh for photos when we toured.

Overall, I think SE Asia is a particularly well organized ABD. But it's such a lovely part of the world. I wouldn't mind going back with ABD or another group or possibly on my own. I'll have to check out your report

 

[Cinderella's Slipper 2015]

Ha Long Bay is the biggest omission of the ABD. We really wanted to go before or afterwards, but just didn't have the time. I've always wondered why ABD did not include this. I'm guessing they just couldn't carve out anymore time. However, the year before they introduced the ABD, there was tragedy in the area that may have influenced ABD.

Most of the scavenger hunt is actually racing on foot through the temples. But you go between several of the temples via tuk tuk. And those drivers took the scavenger hunt very seriously - like the tuk tuk racing seen out of James Bond's Octopussy. Easily my favorite ABD activity, and great especially for kids. The teen groups kicked out behinds. Very similar to the Amazing Race.

ABD spent a lot of time seriously and slowly touring Angor Wat before the race. And some people visited the other temples more casually on their own while everyone else raced. Most of us raced. The next day several of us went back to Ta Prohm and the other main temple with the faces? (it's been too many years now) with the guides. I went back to Angor Wat in the late afternoon on my own with my Dad and son for better pictures. The morning light was a bit harsh for photos when we toured.

Overall, I think SE Asia is a particularly well organized ABD. But it's such a lovely part of the world. I wouldn't mind going back with ABD or another group or possibly on my own. I'll have to check out your report

I'm in the midst of posting. I'm getting ready to post Ha Noi and our arrival in Ha Long Bay this weekend. I can manage 1-2 posts going up on the weekends as I write them through the week. I also have my 2 previous ABDs up on the blog as well so you can see why we've switched away. Check my signature for details about it.

Ha Long Bay was the reason my mom wanted to take this particular trip over the ABD one.

One of the problems with Ha Long Bay is that the boats don't sleep more than 2 per room and there are only a very small number of boats that are allowed to anchor overnight out in the bay, and of those boats, the number is even smaller that could take a larger number of people. We had 16 and we used every room on one whole deck for our group and the staff and trip guides were on the lower level. Day cruises all go out to one particular rock in the bay and there are hundreds of boats that do that and it's a LONG drive just to that.

And the temple you're thinking of is Bayon, which is inside Angkor Thom. We visited Bayon, along with a number of other temples/sites in one day, not including Angkor Wat, which we did for sunrise and quite a few hours on our final day before checking out one other temple.

 

[Cinderella's Slipper 2015]

Hey Everyone, the next two posts are up. Touring Ha Noi and arrival in Ha Long Bay. Next up will be kayaking in Ha Long Bay and travelling to Luang Prabang, Lao.

 

[kaseyC]

Hey Everyone, the next two posts are up. Touring Ha Noi and arrival in Ha Long Bay. Next up will be kayaking in Ha Long Bay and travelling to Luang Prabang, Lao.

Truly enjoying your SE Asia blog posts. It made me laugh when you mentioned folks not prepared for eating the whole deep-fried soft shell crab. Deep fried soft shell crabs are delicious and popular in Maryland where I grew up. You can also find them as a special sometimes at our favorite Thai restaurant here in IL.

 

[Cinderella's Slipper 2015]

Truly enjoying your SE Asia blog posts. It made me laugh when you mentioned folks not prepared for eating the whole deep-fried soft shell crab. Deep fried soft shell crabs are delicious and popular in Maryland where I grew up. You can also find them as a special sometimes at our favorite Thai restaurant here in IL.

I'm glad you're enjoying the blog. It's nice to get the feedback. The problem with a lot of the people in our group was they were constantly complaining about the food. There was too much, not enough or they just didn't want any more "foreign" food, they wanted American/Western food. They were complaining about having too much Vietnamese food by lunch on the first full day of the tour and that was only our second meal of the trip. My mom and I would have rather had more Vietnamese and less Western meals but not our group. I haven't gotten to this yet but quite a few members of our group were quite upset when Jessica (trip leader) told them not to order anything off the western menu when we stopped at the same rest stop on the way back from Ha Long Bay that we stopped at on the way there to get lunch at the restaurant. She told them outright, do NOT order anything but the Vietnamese menu and they were not happy, even when she told them why, they still were not happy. They couldn't grasp the concept that we were out in the middle of northern Vietnam and their concept of Western food, and their ability to cook it to a safe temperature to ensure it was safe for consumption, was not on the same level as the restaurants in Ha Noi or Sai Gon. Whereas if we ordered off the Vietnamese menu, everything would be prepared properly and would be safe to eat.

 

[kaseyC]

I'm glad you're enjoying the blog. It's nice to get the feedback. The problem with a lot of the people in our group was they were constantly complaining about the food. There was too much, not enough or they just didn't want any more "foreign" food, they wanted American/Western food. They were complaining about having too much Vietnamese food by lunch on the first full day of the tour and that was only our second meal of the trip. My mom and I would have rather had more Vietnamese and less Western meals but not our group. I haven't gotten to this yet but quite a few members of our group were quite upset when Jessica (trip leader) told them not to order anything off the western menu when we stopped at the same rest stop on the way back from Ha Long Bay that we stopped at on the way there to get lunch at the restaurant. She told them outright, do NOT order anything but the Vietnamese menu and they were not happy, even when she told them why, they still were not happy. They couldn't grasp the concept that we were out in the middle of northern Vietnam and their concept of Western food, and their ability to cook it to a safe temperature to ensure it was safe for consumption, was not on the same level as the restaurants in Ha Noi or Sai Gon. Whereas if we ordered off the Vietnamese menu, everything would be prepared properly and would be safe to eat.

That's a shame. IMO, one of the best parts of international travel is the regional cuisine.

 

[Cinderella's Slipper 2015]

That's a shame. IMO, one of the best parts of international travel is the regional cuisine.

Couldn't agree more kasey.

Hey everyone! Next 2 posts are up. Sorry for the delay but life got in the way. We are now finishing up in Vietnam and arriving in Lao.

And here's another reason we love Nat Geo. We were looking at their private expeditions trying to decide where we wanted to go next for our 2018 trip and we noticed one of their trips that had caught our attention had an early booking discount on it. We could save $750 per person if we booked a trip prior to March 31, 2017. Nowhere did it say that you had to travel in 2017 in order to take advantage of the discount so we called Nat Geo to see if we could apply the early booking discount to a trip in 2018 and they said...YES! We jumped on it since we only had a few days to book the trip in order to take advantage of the discount so we have booked our 2018 trip with a $750 per person discount. We were never able to take advantage of any discounts with ABD, not even the returning guest discounts because we're Canadian and yet Nat Geo let us use a 2017 early booking discount on a 2018 trip. We know who we'll be travelling with from now on.

 

[CaliforniaGirl09]

Couldn't agree more kasey.

Hey everyone! Next 2 posts are up. Sorry for the delay but life got in the way. We are now finishing up in Vietnam and arriving in Lao.

And here's another reason we love Nat Geo. We were looking at their private expeditions trying to decide where we wanted to go next for our 2018 trip and we noticed one of their trips that had caught our attention had an early booking discount on it. We could save $750 per person if we booked a trip prior to March 31, 2017. Nowhere did it say that you had to travel in 2017 in order to take advantage of the discount so we called Nat Geo to see if we could apply the early booking discount to a trip in 2018 and they said...YES! We jumped on it since we only had a few days to book the trip in order to take advantage of the discount so we have booked our 2018 trip with a $750 per person discount. We were never able to take advantage of any discounts with ABD, not even the returning guest discounts because we're Canadian and yet Nat Geo let us use a 2017 early booking discount on a 2018 trip. We know who we'll be travelling with from now on.

That's a great deal. Calfan did something similar recently with Thompson family adventures, but I want to say it was for 2019! NatGeo also has a great return guest discount after three trips. I'm not sure whether it applies to Canada, but check that out, too.

 

[Calfan]

That's a great deal. Calfan did something similar recently with Thompson family adventures, but I want to say it was for 2019! NatGeo also has a great return guest discount after three trips. I'm not sure whether it applies to Canada, but check that out, too.

My deposit is actually for 2020, lol! It's for Thomson's Japan trip for DDs 18th bday, and they guaranteed me 2017 pricing. I can also cancel for any reason up to 120 days out and get a complete refund. I think we also got a $500 return traveler discount (one for the whole booking, not per person).

But I love NatGeo too. CaliforniaGirl and I are doing their Patagonia hiking trip in Nov., which will be my third NatGeo trip. My family also has a NatGeo deposit we are planning to use in 2018. They told my TA that even if I book the 2018 trip before I complete my Patagonia trip, once I complete Patagonia, they will apply the $250 per person loyal traveler discount to my 2018 trip and also apply it to each of my other 3 family members

 

[Cinderella's Slipper 2015]

That's a great deal. Calfan did something similar recently with Thompson family adventures, but I want to say it was for 2019! NatGeo also has a great return guest discount after three trips. I'm not sure whether it applies to Canada, but check that out, too.

Yes, the Nat Geo returning traveller program applies to everyone, not just Americans. I asked them about it before we did our trip to South East Asia because I was so annoyed that ABD wouldn't let us take advantage of the returning guest discounts even though we had already done a trip with them simply because we were Canadian.

 

[*WDW*Groupie*]

Yes, the Nat Geo returning traveller program applies to everyone, not just Americans. I asked them about it before we did our trip to South East Asia because I was so annoyed that ABD wouldn't let us take advantage of the returning guest discounts even though we had already done a trip with them simply because we were Canadian.

I looked at the Nat Geo Morocco private expedition and it looks amazing. If only it wasn't 50 degrees Celsius in July when I would take my son. Sigh.

 

[carpenta]

We also like NatGeo discount program. We leave for Iceland in less than 3 months with them and the experience could not have gone smoother. We talk directly with the tour guide herself about everything from payment to scheduling. When we finally meet it may seem like "old friends".

 

[Cinderella's Slipper 2015]

I looked at the Nat Geo Morocco private expedition and it looks amazing. If only it wasn't 50 degrees Celsius in July when I would take my son. Sigh.

We were going to book this trip for next year actually but with the current travel restrictions on what you can/cannot bring onboard on flights from Arab countries, not that Canadian airlines have the same restrictions as US airlines right now but a lot can change in 13 months, we opted to look at other trips. Morocco is still high on our list though.

 

[Woodview]

I see that the National Geographic Ship Explorer is calling into my home area ( " Whitegate " Co. Cork Ireland

Or Cobh Co .Cork ) on May 7th 2017 .

 

[AquamarineSteph]

I haven't done the National Geographic trips, per se, but we did do a G Adventures trip that was co-branded through National Geographic. It was an incredible trip!

 

[Aulika]

I haven't done the National Geographic trips, per se, but we did do a G Adventures trip that was co-branded through National Geographic. It was an incredible trip!

Can you share what trip you did ? I am considering using them and i cannot find feedbacks.
Than k you for your help !

 

[AquamarineSteph]

Can you share what trip you did ? I am considering using them and i cannot find feedbacks.
Than k you for your help !

Yes. We did the G Adventures/National Geographic trip to Costa Rica called Natural Highlights of Costa Rica. It is NOT the same as traveling with ABD. You will see a far different service level in many areas, but it was a fantastic tour that completely worked for what we wanted/needed. I would recommend them in a heartbeat, but having said that, let me point out that the tour after ours probably didn't have half as much fun. Somebody in that group decided to ignore the advice NOT to touch some of the local wildlife and wound up with some nasty cuts to the arm as a result...

If you want more info, please feel free to PM me!

 

[Cendure's French Silk]

Most of the scavenger hunt is actually racing on foot through the temples. But you go between several of the temples via tuk tuk. And those drivers took the scavenger hunt very seriously - like the tuk tuk racing seen out of James Bond's Octopussy. Easily my favorite ABD activity, and great especially for kids. The teen groups kicked out behinds. Very similar to the Amazing Race.

This alone would make me reconsider traveling with ABD. Any tour company that considers it okay to race around another country's cultural sites as a game is not one I would want to be associated with. I would consider it disrespectful to the country and the culture. Too bad, as this was a trip I had once considered taking. Good thing I'm finding lots of other options on this thread.

 

[Cousin Orville]

This alone would make me reconsider traveling with ABD. Any tour company that considers it okay to race around another country's cultural sites as a game is not one I would want to be associated with. I would consider it disrespectful to the country and the culture. Too bad, as this was a trip I had once considered taking. Good thing I'm finding lots of other options on this thread.

I would disagree 100% that there was anything disrespectful associated with the race. There is an official guide assigned to our group from the Angkor Archaeological Park who guides us and oversees everything. Most of the racing occurs outside between the temples. The scavenger hunt inside the temples is largely to find other official Archaeological Park guides to ask them specific questions on the history and cultural relevance of temples.

I've found ABD highly respectful to all people, cultures, and places. That's quite possibly the last criticism I'd ever expect to hear regarding ABD. I'm sure the same can be said for A&K, Nat Geo, Tauck, etc. If my discreptions have given the impression otherwise, that probably has more to do with me not adequately painting the right picture rather than any cultural disrespect of ABD.

I certainly don't want to convince you ABD is THE way to see SE Asia. It was wonderful and worked for us, but as you said there are many good options. However, I wouldn't rule it out because of the scavenger hunt/race. I think if you were to see it in person, you'd have a different impression of it.