My Fellow Travelers Chime In

When I go on group tours, I like to give others on the trip the last word.  If you’ve been reading the blog, you pretty much know my thoughts.  

I sent four questions to the group of 11 fellow travelers to let them share their thoughts.  Not everyone weighs in.  

It’s always fun reading different perspectives.  By the way, if the formatting is a little rough on this post, it’s because of all the copying and pasting from different email formats.  Replies might be edited for brevity.

1.  Which was your favorite country of the four, and what are some reasons why?

2.  In order, what were your fav three activities, with brief reasons why?

3.  What surprised you most about the trip?

4.  Would you like to share a few words about some aspect of the group?

Hopefully you'll understand after reading these thoughtful replies why I love the "group replies" on group trips -- always interesting to see what our fellow travelers say.

Question 1 (Favorite Country):

Gail: Favourite* country. Hard to pick but it’s Cambodia. Friendly people, great guide (Dat) who seemed to choose the paths less travelled, Apsara dance and the circus, hero rats and the whole Angkor Wat experience.

*Remember, there were five Canadians in the group of twelve.  Even though they spell some words incorrectly, after further review, I'm going to allow it. 😎

Vale: Laos. I think it was due to the fact that it was a small or less chaotic city but still had a lot to offer. 

Carol: Cambodia. While the temperature and humidity were both high, I loved Angkor Wat.  The architecture and history were amazing.  I told some folk on the trip, that I thought Angkor Wat was more impressive than Machu Picchu.  Phnom Penh was also very interesting  - enjoyed the cyclo tour and the sunset boat cruise.  Enjoyed walking the waterfront after the boat cruise and seeing people participating in a temple day.

Becky: My favorite country was Cambodia.  The reason being is that I have so much respect for them dealing with such an awful past.  The Killing Fields are incomprehensible to me and we (the rest of the world) did nothing to stop it.  It’s a sad favorite and hopefully one that will remind all of us to do something when we see this happening throughout the world.  

Terri: Honestly, I cannot pick a favorite country. Each was unique yet all had similarities.  If I had to pick one, I would say Vietnam.  I was apprehensive about visiting Vietnam due to the issues our vets still face from Agent Orange and PTSD.  The country and its people exceeded my expectations.

Vicki: My favorite country was Laos.  I liked the relaxed atmosphere of Luang Prabang as well as the beautiful views in all directions.  I immediately felt pulled to the country even as we were flying in.  My knowledge of the country before this trip was small to none and learning about its history and continuing challenges due to the war was eye-opening for me.

Marg: Vietnam and Cambodia.** Hanoi was very personal. It’s hustle and bustle and people and eating on the sidewalk with locals offering us drinks took me back to my travels with my husband in China. So good and sad memories. Cambodia I liked for the history and the resilience of the people, being able to survive the genacide   Also the food.

** Marg had two favorite countries, and that's good by me.

Question 2 (Top Three Activities):

Vicki: A. The first day in Angkor.  Although I found Angkor Wat to be fascinating, I loved the second temple (Tomb Raider) that we visited.  The nature around it and the untouched feel of it was a highlight!

B.  The boat trip on Ha Long Bay.  The scenery was so beautiful and I also loved the time spent together on the ship.  I think it gave us more time to bond (not that we had difficulty doing that!).  I loved kayaking and dancing on the dock!

C.  The waterfall in Laos.  Calm, beautiful and fun to get in! 

Terri: Visiting Ha Long Bay was a highlight except for the crummy weather and the sub-par boat we spent the night on.  I would love to see Ha Long again under better circumstances.  

2) Visiting Angkor Wat and talking to my new Monk friends was a highlight for me.

3) The Cambodian Circus Performance was amazing and fun.

4) The kickboxing event surprised me  -  I actually enjoyed it! (Writer: I'll allow a fourth, mostly because it was one of my favorites as well.)

Marg: Food, food, food. (I gained 8 pounds). The group food gatherings. The advice from Bun each time. The different settings. 

Carol:    1. Angkor Wat - this was the main reason I took this tour.  So beautiful and amazing architecture.

2.  Mekong River boat cruise - got an amazing view of such an important river

3. Killing Fields and prison - an important piece of history that many don’t see.  I don’t think enjoy is the right word to describe the experience , but it was impactful. To see what a communist/authoritarian government is capable of doing to its own people is devastating, but necessary to understand why it should not be allowed to happen again.  I wish more Western young people could see this.  

Vale: Angkor Wat: the main reason for my trip and it lived up to expectations. Bucket list item checked.  Because I am an "off the beaten path" traveler, I like the UXO museum and the hero rat demonstration. Those are probably also both the two items I had no prior knowledge of and that's why I also enjoyed them.

Gail: Kuang Si Waterfall, Mekong River cruise/Pak Ou Cave, Apsara dance.

Becky: Working on the rice farm, Riding in the rickshaws (cyclos), and kayaking & dancing on the dock.

Question 3 (Surprised You Most):

Gail: I was most surprised that I enjoyed the Cu Chi tunnels. I found it very informative and was amazed at the ingenuity and tenacity of the people to survive and continue fighting.

Carol: How much I would enjoy all the different foods.  Glen will tell you that I’m not a spicy food fan, but I really loved almost everything I tried.  Really liked the pumpkin soup and the lok lak.  (Editor's Note: See Vale, I wasn't crazy for eating lok lak three meals in a row! (sans breakfast, of course).

Marg: The size of Angkor Wat. The difference in temperature between Hanoi and Saigon. The subtle differences among the four countries. 

Becky: What surprised me the most is how kind everyone was. They live in conditions very different than mine, but they could NOT have treated me any better.  (Writer's Note: I know you are actually talking about me -- how kind I was, how I couldn't have treated you any better.  Appreciate you, my friend!)

Terri: I wasn't sure what to expect traveling to S.E. Asia since I had never been there before.  No lost luggage, no flight delays, great weather except for Ha Long Bay, and no rain days.  Bun kept things working on time and on schedule.  The people we met in each country seemed genuinely glad to have tourists, and that is important to me.

Vale: First National Geographic/GAdventures trip, I was impressed with the organization required on their part and how knowledgeable the guides were. 

Vicki: I was surprised at how much I liked the food!  I will be trying more Asian dishes when I get home.  

Question 4 (A Few Words About the Group):

Ron: It only took about two days for real honest conversations to take place between our group members. Bonds grew quickly and deeply with the openness to being vulnerable. Maybe it’s our age and experience that has caused us to value time so highly.

Becky: The group was AMAZING and have inspired me to do more.  Read more, travel more, try new things.  I was in awe everyday of all the awesomeness that surrounded me.  The group made a good trip - GREAT!  Thank you! 

Vicki: Honestly in the end, the group is what made this trip so special!  Bun, as our fearless leader, could not have been better and all of the laughter and joy that we had together is priceless!  Meeting great people who I can share great memories with was truly the biggest highlight of the trip!  

Vale: I said this at the beginning of the trip, but I was blown away of how well traveled our group was. I thought I was well traveled, felt like an amateur 🙂

Terri: The 12 people on this trip coalesced into a "friends for life" group and Bun made the group travel both fun and informative.  He made a huge difference from a good tour to a great tour.

Carol: This was the most fun group I have traveled with.  Everyone got along. Everyone enjoyed being with the group. Everyone was so kind when I got sick!  

Marg: Best group ever!  Really. Everyone communicated with and seemed to care about  all the others.

Gail: The group was the best! Everyone was so easy to talk to and share experiences. One big happy family (minus arguing whose turn it is to do dishes)

In Addition

Ron wrote a novella in his answer to the second question (and skipped the first and third questions).  He told me to leave it out if too long.  Instead I posted it here, below all the other answers, because I liked it but I also didn't want the length to scare you, my faithful readers, off from reading the other replies.  So here's Ron's answer to the second question:

Ron: I’ve always liked to work, do jobs, focus on the task and get it done. So, when I asked if we wanted to be rice farmers for a morning, ‘Oh my Buddha’ popped into my head.

Rice fields need to be tilled. The rich nutrients in the water and surrounding soil need to be turned and mixed into a rich thick soup of mud to plant rice.

The tilling occurs with a plough pulled by a water buffalo. The farmer enters the deep muddy waters barefoot and guides the water buffalo through the muddy field.

‘Who would like to till the rice field?’ Asked the farmer. ’I would’ I responded with some hesitation, but afraid to miss an opportunity to work. No other takers from our group. I’m in!

At that moment Susan, the water buffalo, began to urinate. Not to worry, it’s a big rice pond, it will be diluted. Minutes later Susan is still in full stream. How long can this go on? A few minutes later the flooding continued. When she was done there were guesses on how many gallons a water buffalo could hold. After a debate about how many litres* in a gallon and if we should use U.S. or imperial gallons, we gave up. It was agreed that the fluid level of the rice field raised at least an inch or about 2.5 cm.

Now, it’s time for me to enter the muddy field.

My bare feet sunk deeply into the warm water and mud. Was it always this warm or did Susan just add a couple of degrees to the temp?

Susan began to pull and the walk behind was precarious and wobbly. Might I slip and fall? The consequence would be high. Walk with purpose and look straight ahead.

As Susan and I moved together, evidence of the real valuable fertilizer appeared beside me and under my feet. The used food of a water buffalo is thick, heavy and squishes between the toes. This will be a great harvest!

I will be forever grateful to Susan, for this authentic SE Asian rice farming experience. I will always appreciate the great efforts that go into out white fluffy bowl of rice.

* Ron's Canadian as well, but you probably figured it out from his improper spelling of "liters" 😜