Location: Bangkok, Thailand
Accommodations: QG Resort
Duration: 1 night
We traveled Denver to Bangkok, with a 2 hour layover in Tokyo. The flight was a touch more $ than other options but only had one connecting flight which was important to us. Six hours to Tokyo, 10 hours to Bangkok and we're done. We stayed one night in Bangkok before an early flight to Cambodia.
Location: Siem Riep, Cambodia
Accommodations:
Duration: 2 nights
Excursions: Cooking class, Sunrise at Angkor Wat, other Angkor sites during the day
For the next day, our hotel suggested the sunrise trip to Angkor Wat, come back to the hotel for breakfast, then back to the temples this time with a guide. Seeing the sunrise over Angkor Wat was a wonderful experience! The ticket lines open at 5 am. We left our hotel at 4:30 and were in line by 4:50. There was only a few people in line ahead of us. By 5 am however multiple tour buses and dozens of minibuses had arrived and there were now easily over a hundred people in line. I'd suggest getting to the line a few minutes before 5! Because we didn't get stuck in the ticket line, we were able to drive over to Angkor Wat without 'traffic' and had our choice for where to watch the sunrise. My suggestion is to watch from the left side, we felt our view was better than the right side. We saw multiple temple sites that day, beautiful experience to go through. Get a guide so they can tell you about the meanings and local culture.
Location: Hoi Ann, Vietnam
Accommodations: Little Town Villa
Duration: 3 nights
Excursions: Thought about day trips and then opted for hanging around Hoi Ann. Got tailor made clothes from Bien Dep, a tailor that our friends had recommended us to. VERY good. Would highly recommend.
Next was Vietnam. Don't forget to bring cash for your Visa. We first traveled to Hoi Ann. A quaint, French inspired town outside of Da Nang. Hoi Ann was absolutely stunning at night. We opted for Hoi Ann based on a recommendation from a friend but hadn't researched the town at all. I'm glad we didn't and we didn't know what to expect. We arrived in the evening and walked out for dinner that night. We were blow away with the lanterns all around the town. It's such a romantic, memorizing place in the evening! It rained the morning of our first day and we were grateful we packed umbrellas. This stop was really relaxing for us. We had tailor made clothes made, got massages, ate mango smoothies (it became an obsession for my husband), rode bikes to the beach, and leisurely strolled the streets. I would recommend staying within walking distance of the main market. We met some folks who had to take a taxi in to the area. It would definitely not have the same charm if you couldn't walk out your door to experience Hoi Ann.
Location: Ho Chi Ming City, Vietnam
Accommodations: Local friends
Duration: 3 nights
Excursions: Vespa Adventures, Saigon Tourist Mekong Delta by speedboat trip
On to Ho Chi Minh City. We have friends who live in the city and we stayed with them. They showed us around District One during the day and we did a Vespa Adventures tour that evening. The Vespa City tour is fantastic! Highly recommend it!! It's a great way of seeing the city, eating local food, and riding safely on a Vespa in the crazy traffic. The next day we did the Mekong Delta by speedboat. It was a fast and furious whirlwind through Ho Chi Minh City.
Location: Phu Quoc, Vietnam
Accommodations: Sea Sense Resort
Duration: 3 nights
Excursions: Best massage at the hotel spa
Our last stop in Vietnam was to the island of Phu Quoc. Our friends from Ho Chi Minh City said they go to Phu Quoc when they want to completely peace out on life. And that is the truth. The whole island is not large, you could drive the whole thing in probably less than 2 hours. We ended up never leaving the resort. The resort had a beach with perfect water, kayaks you could use, a spa, and swimming pool. Our second night we walked down the beach and had dinner at a local hotel's restaurant. We had the best massages of our trip at the resort.
Location: Phuket, Thailand
Accommodations: Casa Blanca
Duration: 1 night (had to stay in Phuket one night because of flight and ferry times)
Location: Ko Lanta, Thailand
Accommodations: Royal Lanta
Duration: 5 nights
Excursions: Open Water Dive Certification through Blue Planet Diving, the best facial at the hotel spa
After Vietnam, we were on to Thailand! We didn't plan our Thailand portion of the trip prior to leaving. We knew we wanted to get dive certified and figured we'd end up in the Phuket/Krabi area. We wanted to talk with travelers on our way to get the best suggestion for Thailand. While we were in Hoi Ann, we talked with the owner (?) of the Dive Bar and got his input on dive spots. He suggested we head to the island Ko Lanta, southeast of Phuket. From the Phuket airport, you take a taxi to the pier, and then can take the ferry or opt for a speed boat to Ko Lanta. We wanted to save time and so for a few extra dollars we did the speed boat. The speed boat will get you there fast but it's not for the faint of heart. They do go fast, you will get wet, and you will fly out of your seat as you go over the waves. We loved it, but not everyone would. We ended up loving our time in Ko Lanta. You can rent a motorbike to get around. A one day motorbike rental will most likely be less than a single taxi ride so opt for the motorbike. We got open water dive certified at Ko Lanta through Blue Planet Diving. Our instructor Dominic was amazing! We are so impressed with Blue Planet Diving and Dominic. We met friends who got open water certified on a different island in Thailand and said the diving at Ko Lanta was much better. We are already planning on returning to Ko Lanta. It's a beautiful, safe, comfortable island.
Location: Khao Sok
Accommodations: Royal Cliff Resort and Spa
Duration: 2 nights
Excursions: Chao Lake tour
From the beaches, we headed north to Khao Sok National Park. We took a minibus from Ko Lanta right to Khao Sok. You can also get a private car. We heard amazing things about Chao Lake and it certainly didn't disappoint. We did a Lake Day tour. The limestone rocks are breathtaking. Highly recommend. Our hotel had the best view and was in a good location. You can walk to the restaurants.
The last three days were a mix of driving to Phuket, staying in Phuket 1 night, then flying to Bangkok and staying there 2 nights. It was three weeks of adventure across three countries. We had a fantastic honeymoon!
Packing list:
We used all of these items on on trip. The shoes were fantastic, very comfortable for LOTS of walking while still being stylish. We used the umbrella for rain and sun. The hat stretcher ended up being SO useful for carrying my hat hands free with a caribeaner (never leave home without them!) and our day pack. The bride & groom sunglasses were a hit everywhere, they even got us a free flight upgrade! I loved my compression pants. I wore them under the long black dress for the flights.
