So, I took the plunge and booked this tour today, and I know time's going to drag between now and December as a result, particularly as I pretty much can't have any time off work until I go!
Anyway, I just thought I'd get in early and start a topic for anyone who's taking the tour, to say hello etc. Apparently only me and one other person have booked so far (feel free to step out of the shadows and say hello, whoever you are), so we could do with at least another 4 of you signing up too - that way the tour will be guaranteed to run. :D
Look forward to hearing from you!
Dom
Indochina adventure
Hello Dom,
I tried to find your message on the forum, but it didn't show up for some reason.
Anyway, I'm not the other person who has already booked, but will possibly be the third. Unless others have decided to book since you did.
Have you been to South East Asia before or is this your first time?
Hi Elizabeth!
Thanks for replying. I haven't been to Southeast Asia before, so I'm really looking forward to it. Have you been before? I have travelled with ImTrav before, though, to Nepal in 2004 and Peru in 2007, and I've had a brilliant time on both occasions.
I guess the main thing I'm looking forward to is Angkor Wat, but there's so much else on the tour that I want to see that I'm really excited.
Anyway, hopefully you'll take the plunge and book, and then we'll all be that much closer to having a nice holiday!
Keep in touch!
Dom
I've just been thinking - I got what I think are reasonably good deals on flights into Vietnam and back out from Thailand (on Singapore Airlines and on Emirates), so if you want any details I can pass them on.
Saying that, I'm presuming you're travelling from the UK, so my advice might be useless if you aren't! Let me know, anyway. :D
Yes I'm going to book for this tour. I'm in the process of doing it actually.
Thanx for wanting to pass on the flight info, however, I'll be travelling from Australia with Thai airlines :)
I've been on a few tours before in Europe(London included), Egypt, New Zealand and travelled to other places without a tour group. The only other country I've been to in Asia is Japan, but never south east asia. Oh besides the many airport stop overs in Malasia and Singapore, which don't really count. I'm quite excited to, because I hope to meet up with my good friend in Chiang Mai who will be working there.
You also sound like quite the adventurer going to Nepal and Peru!
If you don't mind me asking is Dom short for any other name?
Excellent news! We should only need one more for the tour to be guaranteed to go ahead. Still, I'd like a few more than that to book (maybe around 10 in total?) so there's a good bunch of us. Whatever happens, though, I'm really looking forward to it. The only downside is being stuck at work almost constantly until we go, like I said earlier!
Looks like my flight advice would be pretty useless seeing as you're coming from Oz. Whereabouts are you from? I've never been but I will visit one day.
You've done quite a bit of travel yourself - it's cool that your friend's working in Chiang Mai, though, that's a nice bonus. I've heard from other people that Chiang Mai's fantastic.
I'd recommend Peru, by the way, particularly for the Inca Trail - that was absolutely amazing.
As for my name, it's short for Dominic, but Dom's fine. You'll have to let me know if you prefer to be called Elizabeth or if you shorten it, though. I'm terribly lazy and will cut people's names down to the bare minimum if they let me!
Anything else you want to know, drop me a line. Might be a good idea to swap email addresses/facebook details/whatever rather than constantly use the forum here for a private chat :D
Anyway, here's hoping some more people see this thread here and decide to book the trip!
I don't really mind how many people are on the tour, as long as it goes ahead. A small group of people will be nice and cozy too. More importantly that it be a good bunch of people. That's what really makes a tour!
You come across as being quite a friendly chap (just imagine that I said that with an English accent) :D
You'd prefer a private chat lol! I'm usually quite busy to use the net frequently. It just happens that I'm on a short break from work at the moment. If you want to pass on your email, that's fine Or we could just use the forum for now, incase, others may join in as well. :D
I'm from Sydney and to be honest I prefer to use a full name, but if you much shorten then so be it.
Do I have any more questions, mmmmm let me see, where abouts in UK are u from? how old are you? any particular reason why u decided 2 do this tour in December... just kidding! I'm not really a nosy person!
Cheers,
Elizabeth
Yeah, the people who make up a group are more important than how many there are, I agree, but I'm being greedy and want great characters and a good number, too!
As for the private chat thing, I realise now that it sounds a lot more sinister than I meant it to , hahahahahaha! I'm sure communicating through here will be fine :D
You're right, though, I am a friendly chap (he said, modestly). Meeting new people and having a laugh and bizarre adventures in foreign places is my favourite pastime. I'm happy to stick to using your full name, though, I'm not going to risk causing any arguments! ;)
You're in Sydney? My auntie used to live there - for about 35 years, actually - but came back to the UK for retirement. God knows why! Maybe she was missing rain, poor customer service and substandard international cricket.
As to your questions, I'm from Liverpool, I'm 31, and I decided to do the tour in December mainly because I've always fancied being somewhere exotic at Christmas.
Obviously, I'm too much of a gentleman to ask a lady her age or any other personal questions!
Later!
Dom
Hi Dom,
Just happened to visit the forum and noticed you were here not long ago. You may still be here NOW!
No ,your fine, you didn't sound sinister!
I can't believe that we are the same ago, no kidding, it's true!
This trip should be very interesting having you along. Lots of laughs! So what bizzare situations have you found yourself in he he he...
Ah, it's always good to have someone around your own age on a tour, so that's handy.
I've got loads of stupid or bizarre stories of what's happened to me when I've been travelling. I tend to save them up for when I go on holiday with a new bunch of people, so I can break the ice that way.
In Peru, though, I was sharing a tent on the Inca Trail with an Austrian guy (a really nice bloke), and the first morning I woke up and he was right next to me in his sleeping bag - like, as close as you would be if you were sleeping next to a husband/wife. Obviously, I found that a bit disturbing - personal space and all that - so I gave him a polite but firm elbow. He woke up, a bit bewildered, and I was still only half-awake. He said, "What's the matter? What's going on?" and I said, "Why are you lying right next to me? It's freaking me out!" Then he said, in his halting English, "You've rolled over next to me in your sleep."
I looked over and saw all my stuff was on the other side of the tent, where I'd left it, and realised that I'd rolled over to him, not the other way around! God, I was absolutely dying of embarassment, and the only thing I could think of to say was "go back to sleep!" :D
It's good to hear about other people's travel experiences. You can save the rest for the tour. I enjoy good story tellers! I have a few stories to share too, two good experiences in London actually. The other one was where I almost got pushed off the bus by an English woman who just couldn't wait her turn :(
Just to confirm are you going on the full tour for the 37 days? I've booked that and I hope that I will last that long. Hopefully will stay healthy the whole trip and not come down with anything tropical, scary argh!
I realise that I've made many typos in all these messages. It's not that I'm a bad speller, just not a very good typist. At least you understand what I've written, such as, we are the same ago(age) :)
Email address: whitecherry77@hotmail.com but like I said I don't always check it frequently.
Cheers for the email address - it'll probably come in handy the nearer we get to the tour, when we inevitably start panicking about what to take, which injections you might need, and all the usual nonsense.
Sorry to hear you were nearly murdered by one of my fellow countrymen in London - if it's any consolation, pretty much every British person who lives outside London and goes to visit it has some sort of negative experience there at some time!
As for the tour, yes, I've booked the full 37 days, and the mystery third person had booked that one as well, I believe.
I'm not worried about getting ill - I'm more worried about whether I'll have the desire to go back to the UK and return to work after 6 weeks away!
Anyway, hopefully people will come to the forums here, see all this banter and decide to book the 37 day tour, too.
Don't panic about your typing - I got the gist of your messages, as would anyone who was the same ago as you! ;)
How about I call you "D", since you like to shorten names to a bare minimum :D
So D, do you have 6 weeks off work to extend your trip after the tour ends or to rest and recover back home from all the travelling? What line of work are you in? Must be pretty heavy going if you don't have any time of until the end of the year.
As for me, Dec/Jan is when I have the most time off work. I work with children, lots and lots of them... Doesn't look like I will have any rest after the tour. It'll be straight back to it!
Booking early for this trip, makes me feel like I'm about ready to travel very soon. Even though I know there is another 8 months to go. Oh well! Chat later D!
Cheers
Elizabeth
Haha, you can call me what you like, within reason. Dom's fine, though, but if you want to go with "D", then be my guest. I think it makes me sound slightly like I'm an 18 year old American college student, or a really unsuccessful rapper, but whatever makes you happy!
I've booked 6 weeks off work because of flights and stuff, really. It's just adding a couple of days either side of the tour which brings it up to almost 6 weeks. Also, the distance I'm travelling doesn't help. I leave the UK on 16/12/09, but by the time I get to Hanoi it'll be around lunchtime on 17/12/09. I don't really sleep on planes, so rather than spend the first day of the tour in a trance and passing out every so often, I'm arriving the day before the tour starts so I can sleep late and not miss anything - if that makes sense!
It's the same kind of thing with the end of the tour - every tour I've ever been on ends with me flying home with a terrible hangover, because I've over-indulged on the last night of the tour, saying goodbye to everyone, etc. :D This time I decided to have an extra day in Krabi, so as to sleep it off properly! So, I don't fly home until 24/01/09, I'm not back in the UK until lunchtime on 25/01/09, and then I'm back at work on 27/01/09 :(
I work in Immigration, and I only get 5 weeks paid leave a year (but we're allowed to carry over up to 9 days unused leave from the previous year). They do keep me pretty busy, but the main reason I don't have any time between now and when the tour starts is because I'm using all of my holidays in one go so I can have 6 weeks paid leave.
You work with kids, though? That's brave of you! I think I'd be hopeless working with kids. I'd forget to feed them, or something. Or let them watch "The Terminator" and then act surprised when they all got nightmares.
Sorry to hear you'll be straight back to work - it's really hard to get back into the swing of things after a long holiday - but if it's any consolation I'll be back at work 2 days after I arrive home, so we're in the same boat!
I know what you mean about booking early, though, I feel like I need to start packing next week!
Later
Dom
I was just being cheeky! :D No, I won't call you "D", not after your very amusing description of the "American college student" and "unsuccessful rapper". I'll make sure I stick to Dom, which I can tell you prefer.
Our travel arrangements are similar. I arrive a day earlier on the 17th, but in the evening. You may still be sleeping at that time:)
I want to have a full day of sightseeing on the 18th. My plan is to do a day trip to Halong Bay. I've been told it's well worth the visit. If you're interested, apparently it can be arranged with our tour leader. As for the return flight, at the moment, it is for the 23rd in the morning. I hope that it will be enough time to go to the beach; snorkel etc etc... the day before. I'm not sure whether to change it to the 24th and then I will arrive home on the morning of the 25th? It may not be a bad idea to do that!
Not sure yet though! I'm due back on the 27th too, but I want to rest a bit at home as well.
As for working with kids, I love their innocence and honesty! It's even more fun then working with adults SOMETIMES! If you plan on neglecting them, please stay away from them he he he...
You're right, I may well be sleeping in the evening of the 17th. It depends how deep a coma I fall into after I arrive and unpack! Judging by the time I went to Peru, I'll be out like a light for around 12-14 hours after arrival :)
Halong Bay sounds good - I know the usual tradition on ImTrav tours is that you meet everyone at about 6pm on the first day of the tour, so you could definitely do something on the day of the 18th. I might do that myself, actually - Halong Bay looks amazing!
I'd recommend changing your flight home from 24th to 25th - at the very least it's an extra day chilling out. The last day of a holiday is always filled up with doing random menial things (checking you've packed everything, buying last minute souvenirs, getting to the airport, etc etc), so it's good to have that extra day where you've got no itinerary to stick to and can just sit on the beach, swim or whatever you fancy. In my case it'll be "be quiet and recover from awesome hangover", but, y'know, each to their own :D
I think you're right to enjoy working with kids - what fun is it working with adults? None! I should know, I work with adults all day, every day. Anyway, I wouldn't say I plan on neglecting kids, just that through being disorganised, I'd probably do it accidentally ;)
Hi Dom,
We've posted quite a few messages here, so you're right, it's probably a good idea to chat elsewhere about our trip.
I was just thinking do you use Skype? It could be a possible alternative to the email.
By the way, I don't think I'd make a great drinking buddy, since I barely drink much alco! Therefore, I won't be lacking in as much sleep as you lol :D
Elizabeth
You're quite right, we should keep this topic free for others to tell us that they're joining the tour, rather than just general chatter!
I don't use Skype at the moment, but I imagine I should be able to sort it out quite easily. I'll look into it and drop you an email.
Don't worry about not being a drinking buddy - I don't actually drink *that* much! I mean, I'm not a Viking, or anything! I do actually spend most of my time sober :)
No, don't worry, you don't have to sign up. I just thought I'd ask. If we signed up for everything on the net, as there is so much out there, then there would'nt be much time to do anything else :)
Email or whatever else is fine!
Chat later.
Elizabeth & Dom!!,
I have gladly shared your posts here! I am not going to be part of your tour, but have enjoyed reading all your posts. So please do not stop posting your hopes & dreams of your holiday! It's been really nice to share the planning of your holiday right here!
I'm not able to travel right now, have not had a holiday for more than 2 years, so I have enjoyed reading all your posts. I truly wish I were able to be in your shoes, but I can't so I love to hear of other travellers plans, the tours they hope to do & the ones they have already enjoyed.
It's a bit like having a holiday myself!
I am really looking forward to hearing all about your holiday when you return home & I hope that you will be able to share pics with us here!!
Kindest regards..........Debbie
Mafesh Mushkelah!!!
Hi Debbie,
I'm glad you've enjoyed our posts! It's a shame you're not joining us on the tour.
Elizabeth
The email address below is problematic, so there is no point in sending any emails there.
Debbie!
Apologies for not posting a reply in this thread sooner. I'm glad you've been enjoying hearing details of our tour planning, but there's been a lull as we're pretty much on top of our organisations for now. Well, sort of...
Doubtless we'll be back and putting more info in here as it gets near to the tour start date.
I'm still curious to hear if anyone else has booked or is considering booking the tour, though! I wonder if anyone else has, or if it's still just three of us so far?
Indochina Adventure 18 Dec 2009 - numbers booked
Hi Dom,
I noticed your question about if there were more people booked on your tour yet and checked it out for you.
The Indochina Adventure is made up of 4 shorter tours all joined together.
On the first tour (in Vietnam) there are 5 people booked, and on all the rest there are 4 people booked.
I hope this helps! Sadly not everyone reads the forums, however I hope someone else from the tour will also join in with your chat soon.
Best wishes,
Kelly
Dom check your priv. message.
Bumpty-bump. Just thought I'd give this a nudge back to the top, so anyone else who might be travelling on the tour can see it.
Also, any news if more people have booked?
Hi Dom
A few more people have booked onto your tour, there are now 7 for the first tour in vietnam.
Hopefully a few more people will book onto the trip over the next few months.
Best wishes
David
Thanks for the info, David! I was just nosing around to see if the tour had enough numbers to go ahead, really - I guess it's looking pretty good with already having 7 on the Vietnam part, with 5 months still to go before kick-off.
Thanks again!
Dom
Hi Dom
Yes good numbers so far! and it's still early day's.
David
Hi Dom
Great to see you are still travelling and using the forum. We exchanged news,views and concerns before the Peru trip and then met up before the trip started for a meal in that Mexican restaurant opposite the hotel - and a couple of beers I recall - the first of many!
We have done a few trips since Peru, getting to Costa Rica and Panama most recently and Nepal before that. We are off to Indonesia with Imtrav after Christmas. We did Vietnam with Imtrav a few years ago, absolutely brilliant trip, contact me if you want any tips or information.
Hope you have a great trip this time, I am sure you will enjoy it.
Dave&Gill
Hi Dom (again)
Opps, got my holidays all mixed up! We are off to Indonesia before Christmas, October in fact. Then Argentina and a little bit of Chile after Christmas, although not with Imtrav for this one.
Dave&Gill
Dave!
Hello! Hope you and Gill are well. Great to hear from you. How did you find Nepal? I went with ImTrav in 2004, and loved it.
I still remember our time in Peru fondly - that was a great trip. I think of it often; long exciting days (particularly the Inca Trail!), with a few nice bottles of Cusquena in the evening! That Mexican restaurant in Lima was good, too. I think I still have a loyalty card from there, so if I ever go back and have another 8 meals, I can have one free! :)
I'd appreciate any tips you can offer regarding Vietnam - how is it for ATMs? And are there any pitfalls I should be aware of? Did you take anti-malarials whilst you were there?
I don't think you've got your private message function turned on in this forum, so if you can do that, I can send you a PM with my email address and we can talk further, if you like! I think I've got a couple of photos with you and Gill in, too, so I can send them on to you.
Cheers
Dom
Bumpty-bump!
I see the tour is now closed for bookings, according to the website.
So, what are the final numbers booked on the tour, then? I'm curious to know what group size we're looking at! :)
Cheers