My trip to Vietnam and Cambodia was in May 1994, and I found a package deal that included all airfare, hotels, entrance fees, visas, shows, river cruises, and most meals from a Vietnamese-owned tour company in Southern California. I had guides and private vehicles the whole trip except for two days on my own. My best guide was Nguyen Xuan Tung who works for Saigon Tours in HCM City. They flew him in to meet me in Danang, Hue and Ho Chi Minh City (formally Saigon). He even took me to dinner a few times on his motorcycle. I survived cyclo rides and crossing the streets in Hanoi and HCM City. I've never seen traffic like that anywhere else!
In Vietnam, I toured Hanoi, Danang, Hue, Ho Chi Minh City and Tay Ninh. May is the beginning of the rainy season and usually the hottest time of year. I’ve been to the Amazon and many other tropical places, but I don’t remember any place this humid. I was soaked with sweat two minutes after going outside.
The currency exchange rate in Vietnam during my stay was around 10,000 - 10,900 Dong to the Dollar. You can use U.S. Dollars almost anywhere, and some places will only take U.S. currency. In Cambodia, I got 2,590 Riel to the Dollar on the black market (my guide took me to a money exchanger who had stacks of money piled high on a table).
In Hanoi, I walked around the "Hanoi Hilton" which gave me a strange feeling. It has since been torn down to make way for a real hotel. I also saw the water puppet show there and the Military Museum (formally known as the War Crimes Museum) where they had artifacts from the war.
One of the highlights of this trip was meeting a 15 year old Vietnamese boy at the Marble Mountains near Danang. I "interviewed" him with my video camera, and his speech was peppered with phrases like "totally awesome", "no pain, no gain", and "don’t worry, be happy". He knew more American history than I did. Other notable sights were the mass at the Cao Dai Temple and China Beach.
I crawled through the Cu Chi tunnels where the Viet Cong lived and died. I was totally soaked with sweat when we got to an underground room where the "Viet Cong" hosts served hot tea. Back on top, I fired an AK47...they charged $1.00 a bullet which made me wonder if Vietnam really is a communist country.
In Phnom Penh, Cambodia, I toured the Silver Museum, Wat Ounalom, The Victory Monument, the Tuol Sleng Museum (the prison where the Khmer Rouge tortured over 17,000 people) and the Killing Fields of Choeung Ek.
I would recommend a minimum of a one night/two full day stay in Siem Reap, allowing enough time to see the major ruins at Angkor Wat, The Bayon in Angkor Thom, and Ta Prom. I'd rate Angkor Temples near Siem Reap right up there with the Pyramids in Egypt and Machu Picchu, Peru.
The Cambodian food is not as spicy as Thai, but there’s plenty of shrimp, fish and rice which I really enjoyed. You can get a great meal in either country for just a few dollars.
I didn’t experience any hassles or "red tape" problems or problems with the Khmer Rouge (other than staying on the trails to avoid land mines) on this trip. I stayed at nice hotels and there are new hotels going up all the time. The people in both countries were very friendly, and I highly recommend seeing these places before the hordes of tourists find them popular (and before they open a McDonalds).
On the way back to the States, I had an eight-hour layover in Seoul, South Korea so I took the bus downtown, walked around and went to the top of the Korean Trade Center to catch a great view of the city.
