Vietnam & Cambodia

I loved Thailand so much that Vietnam seemed like the next logical vacation destination.  I've heard a lot of good things about the Vietnamese people.  People have told me that if I liked Thailand, then I'll love Vietnam so much more.  Hard to imagine that, as I found Thailand and it's people really beautiful on so many different levels.  But on the other hand, I've also been told that you either love Vietnam or you hate Vietnam and there's no in-between.

It was only when I returned from Thailand in 2014 that I realized that when I was on the island of Koh Chang that I was only a 6-hour overland road trip to Siem Reap, Cambodia and specifically Angkor Wat.  Regrets... I've had a few and not doing proper research is one of them.  Over land from Koh Chang, Thailand to Siem Reap, Cambodia  I have been researching this trip off and on for almost a full year so I do hope that I am doing the country justice and giving each location sufficient time to appreciate it for what it has to offer.

Vietnam and Cambodia share a border.  Siem Reap is closer to Thailand than it is to Vietnam but I doubt I'll ever go back to this part of the world so although my intention was to go to Vietnam I had to plan a side trip into Cambodia and specifically Siem Reap to visit Angkor Wat.

So the itinerary is as follows:

Day #1:  Depart YVR (Vancouver) to HCMC via Taipei, Taiwan
Day #2:  Land in HCMC (Ho Chi Minh City), formerly Saigon
Day #3:  Bus to CanTho
Day #4: Bus to Chau Doc
Day #5:  Ferry to Phnom Penh
Day #6: Fly to Siem Reap
Day #9: Fly to Danang
Day #10: Drive to Hoi An
Day #17: Fly to Hanoi
Day #18: Train to Ninh Binh
Day #20:  Either train to Hanoi or bus to Halong Bay
At some point, return to Hanoi.
Day #28: Fly back to HCMC
Day #30:  Hang out in Taipei all day
Day #31: Land in Vancouver