Dear Arun,
Happy Thanksgiving as well. Yes all went well and accommodations were centrally located and nice, although in a “do over” I’d perhaps pick a different hotel in Phnom Penh. It just had too much of a business feel, but was certainly more than tolerable for an overnight. I believe if I had 3 more days the trip to the same locations would have enabled a bit more leisure time, but you did a nice job with the time I gave you to work in. I asked for, and received a couple of complimentary room upgrades along the way, most notably at the Victoria Angkor (Superior to Suite, which manager told me was “their best room” and I’m quite sure they didn’t have too many better).
There were two tiny glitches. ·
The instructions you gave me to get to the hotel inside the BKK AP on my arrival flight assumed that I didn’t have a checked bag that needed to be claimed, which I did. So after claiming it and going through customs, I was unable to get back to the part of the AP that had the hotel, since at that time I didn’t have a boarding pass. One of the off-site hotel reps found me, and I snagged a basic room about 10 minutes away that was $50 for the overnight or 5 hours in my case. And it had transportation to/from, and included a breakfast. ·
There was some sort of mix-up with the Roots and Leaves folkloric dinner in Luang Prabang. Guide Nith (manager of the Luang Prabang branch) did not have it in her itinerary, but when I showed it to her in mine she honored it. As you may recall, the evening for me to go there was changed because the originally-scheduled night they were not having the show. Well, actually, they scheduled me for the night which Roots and Leaves was not having the show. So Nith arranged for me to dine at Indochina Spirit on my last where I was able to encroach on another couple’s Baci ceremony and get some nice photos of the dancers. And on the last day, she threw in a complimentary lunch at Roots and Leaves.
Overall Arun you provided me a great value and a memorable experience, and your knowledge of your products (Cambodia and Laos) is well-above your US competition in the market that I gauged. I have already recommended you to a fellow named Ric Finch, a retired college professor who owned and operated a small travel agency to destinations in Central and South America. Ric is just retiring from that business, and said “Cambodia and Angkor, etc. are very high on his list of must-see destinations. And I will happily recommend Third Eye Travel and you to others who are interested in that portion of the world.
I’m sure you’ll be hearing from me again when my travel plans include one of the countries you service. Thanks much, Happy Thanksgiving, happy traveling, and prosperity in the New Year and the future.
Warmly,
Trip: Customized Laos & Cambodia