Angkor Wat

The Planning Process
  • Airfare:   
    • Booked! Airfare from HAN to REP for  2 adults and 1 child =  $611 USD!     
    1. If you google airfare from Hanoi (HAN) to Siem Reap (REP), people in the forums mentioned that it's in the range of $400+ to $500+ round trip.  The Vietnam Airline website quoted around $500.  The Vietnamese travel agents couldn't offer better deals than the website.  I was agonizing over the fact that this short hop over to Angkor Wat would cost almost half the price of the fare from US to Hanoi!    It doesn't make any sense so I decided to wait for a sale.  After checking the prices weekly, I finally got a break:  Autumn 2011 promotion! The airfare was too good to be true and only valid for travels from 9/15 to 12/15.   I quickly took advantage of the deal and booked the ticket directly at the Vietnam Airline Website, which was unbelievably easy to do.  I paid with my VISA.  At the end of the process, there is a VISA electronic authentication, which requires userid and password.  This can be set up with VISA by calling customer service.  
    2.  Before booking, I also checked for reviews of Vietnam Airline.  It seems to be reliable except in circumstances when there's not enough people to fill the plane, they will delay the plane until the next flight.   The airplanes themselves are new.  Translations: they're not flying those Russian planes any more!  They are using Airbuses now a days.  Services are not top notch but the safety records seem decent. 
      3. Alternative 1: I recently discovered that Vietnam Airline also offers packages to Siem Reap with 3* hotels for very decent prices.  Even if you don't want to use the hotel, it's still cheaper to purchase the package.  Check out their International Free and Easy Program.
      Alternative 2:  If your schedule is flexible and you plan to be around Danang, Silk Air flies from DAD to REP for only $250 round trip on selected days (Wed, Fri, Mon); Check on Silk Air Website for details. 
      Of course, there are other alternatives like connecting to Singapore, Thailand, or Malaysia. But it's too much of a hassle!
  • Hotels
    1. Again, agonizing over paying premium prices when there are plenty of local hotels that seem incredibly affordable and luxurious at prices like $25!  But DH suffers many bouts of stomach flu and DS is too young to really roughing it.  Better be safe than losing precious vacation time recuperating!   After reading all the reviews, Victoria Angkor Resort & Spa seems to be the safe bet at a reasonable price.
    2. An invaluable website, Search and Compare Top Travel Sites!, to check for hotels price as a basis for comparison: It's around $174 per night without breakfast.  Most Vietnamese travel agents don't have good prices on these international hotels (emailed and verified).  Fortunately, Hong Kong agents do.  I emailed Kuoni Travels and got a very good deal: $160 including taxes and breakfast.  Kouni is a Hong Kong and UK based travel agency.   The price is of course not refundable!  Another catch: you have to wire the money over because they don't accept VISA. 
    3. Booked! Another lucky find: http://www.asiatravel.com/  I was able to book the Raffles Grand Hotel D'Angkor for only $495 for 3 nights, including breakfast (If I were booking this hotel at Raffle's website, I would have paid $770)!  This deal requires prepayment.  Cancellation is allowed but there is a $10 charge required by Asiatravel.    I checked all over for scam news.  It seems that this company is legit!   It's hard to believe that I can book such a nice hotel in Siem Reap for a such reasonable price!  I would have paid the same price for the Victoria Angkor Hotel!  The Raffles is more luxurious and historical: Raffles Gallery.  After I received the confirmation from Asia Travel, I emailed Raffles to confirm the booking.  Yep, the confirmation came back valid.  We're ready to go.
  • Tour Guide
    1.    We found a local tour guide and a driver.   His name is Mony (info@angkorguideservices.com).  He is reliable in answering emails.  His cost is on par with most of the tour guides I researched.  The cost of the guide is $25 and the cost of the car is $30 per day.    He also picked us up from the airport for $7.