In March of 2016, we took a 3 1/2 week trip of a lifetime to Vietnam and Cambodia as part of an AMA Waterways cruise/tour. We also took a three night pre-tour excursion on our own to Bangkok prior to the AMA trip. There were so many incredible experiences on this trip, and I’m still updating the blog for that nearly six months later. Here are a couple short videos I made of the trip so far, including the excitement of taking an Airbus 380 for the fist time in Business Class:
The 3 night excursion we did on our own to Bangkok.
The unique and interesting Water Puppet Show an exclusive and artistic tradition performed in Vietnam. The show is performed in a high tech theater, and the stage is built around an indoor pool, (resembling a lake), while the puppeteers are hidden behind a large curtain, and maneuver the puppets via long poles. Quite an amazing show in 12 acts, but this is just a short couple minute segment of the show as I was so entertained watching it, I didn’t want to miss it.
One of the highlights of our Vietnam trip was sailing overnight in a junk boat on Halong Bay. This UNESCO site traditionally was home to hundreds of ‘boat people’ and communities, although the Vietnam government has recently assisted with relocating most of the ‘boat people’ to land with assistance in housing and education, thus making a better life for them, and cleaning up environmentally the beautiful Halong Bay. While the boats are called ‘junk boats’; they are actually quite luxury boats. Our AMA Waterways group of 76 people was actually split up into three different boats for the overnight excursion, so each group had a very intimate experience. Highly recommended as a side trip if you are touring Vietnam.