All Asia Travel Company

My two adult daughters and my wife and I returned from three magnificent weeks in Thailand (Bangkok and Chiang Mai), Vietnam (Hanoi, Hue, Da Nang, Hoi An, Nha Trang, Da Lat and Ho Chi Minh City) and Cambodia (Siem Reap and Angkor) on Jan. 19, ’04.

Initially, we contacted several travel companies with a desired general itinerary; however, eventually we had our tour set up by Phuong Chi of All Asia Travel Company (274 Cong Quynh Street, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam; e-mail allasia@hcm.fpt.vn).

We selected All Asia to make our arrangements because of Phuong Chi’s exceptional responsiveness via e-mail, her willingness to customize our travels and the price that was quoted. Our payments were easily made by bank wire to Citibank in New York, based on information provided by Phuong Chi. There is no doubt that we will have All Asia Travel Company arrange any of our future trips in the area.

The price of our tour was $2,328 per person in a travel group of just four. That included everything except the round-trip international airfare to Bangkok, drinks at meals, tips and, of course, personal purchases. The price did include all air travel within Southeast Asia (Bangkok to Hanoi, Hanoi to Hue and Da Nang to Nha Trang), hotels, all meals, all entrance fees, vehicle travel, guides and drivers.

With All Asia, we found we were treated like family members. They even checked on our satisfaction as we were traveling — something we had never previously experienced from a travel agency.

All the arrangements that All Asia made for us were impeccable, of the highest quality, and everything happened just like clockwork. The guides and drivers furnished at each location were in the upper 10% of those we have encountered in Asia, and all the guides (and a few of the drivers) spoke excellent English.

The guides were highly knowledgeable, were most willing to share information on a wide variety of topics with us and were quite flexible in making small changes in our meals as they learned our preferences and in the itinerary to better accommodate our interests and the time available.

I would highly recommend the Hoian Beach Resort Hotel in Hoi An and the Angkor Century Hotel in Siem Reap. Both are excellent hotels, but what made each of them stand out from others was its staff: all the employees were very cheerful and responsive and clearly interested in making our stay as comfortable as possible.

I would also recommend the elephant show at the elephant camp outside Chiang Mai. It is amazing what those animals can do!

Travel in Vietnam (for us a combination of air and driving) was very easy and highly scenic, and we found everyone throughout the country most friendly. It was most refreshing to see that a number of the ancient palace buildings in Hue still stand and are slowly being renovated and preserved.

And, finally, to see the famous Angkor Wat and the surrounding temples with their thousand-year-old construction and intricate and extensive stone carvings is truly something one must personally experience to fully appreciate.

JOHN EASTERBROOK
Saratoga, CA