In 2014 my wife and I planned our trip to Myanmar using Asia Pioneering. We really appreciated their efficiency, their superb knowledge of the sites to visit and the polite customer service of all the guides/drivers we had.

Earlier this year we decided to repeat the experience, visiting Cambodia and Vietnam with a group of 6 friends. Our trip planner was Mrs. Kata Tran who expertly assisted and advised us in all preparations.
Our journey has been a surprising combination of spiritual, traditional and cultural experiences.
In Cambodia, the monumental temple of Angkor Wat has been worth the trip.
The marvellous temples of Roluos, Ta Prohm, Angkor Thom and Bayonand, surrounded by silent paddy fields and sugar palm trees, will stay in our hearts forever. Among our best memories are the friendly Cambodian people, the romantic atmosphere the Asian nights and the simply delicious local cuisine.
In Vietnam, we fell in love with Hanoi – walking through the old city, the exciting masses of motorbikes, the street food, the French quartier and the spontaneous cheerfulness of the locals, from the elderly who survived the war to the new booming generation.
Spending the night on a confortable vessel at the Halong Bay, with its 1969 islands, has been magical. After an animated evening, we fell asleep surrounded by starts and woke up surrounded by boats of fishermen starting their day.
Unmissable is the city of Hoi An with its market stalls everywhere, followed by a cycling tour around the Traque village, a cooking lesson at Kumquat held by Ho Xuan Thonk (Mr. Victor), and a visit to a lantern handcraft site and local dances.
Then we went to Ho Chi Min, and we visited the tunnels of Cu Chi, which are the network of tunnels used during the Indochina war.
We also visited the old and new Saigon palaces, the Ho Thy Ky Flower market and the funeral home, and the Qui Top market, which is one of the largest in Asia. After this we went to see the War Remnant museum with the Reunification palace, the cathedral and the general post office.
To end our trip we went to Three Towers, “the rice bowl”, at the center of the delta of Mekong, on a motorboat to look at the rice and vegetable fields.
This journey would not have been as memorable without the expertise and kindness of our guides Keo, Sunny, Nam and Lee. Very much appreciated has been the well-organized support of the lovely Kata, whom we definitely recommend.

We are looking forward to the next adventure together!

We really enjoyed our trip to Cambodia. Asia Pioneer was flexible in responding to our needs and produced a terrific trip for us. The entire experience is exactly what we hoped for.

Guides adapted to meet our needs, not a cookie cutter tour. If you are looking for a custom tour of Indochina do not hesitate to contact Lam at Asia Pioneer. They are a local tour company comp that will ensure that you make all connections, are prompt, caring,kind and make you feel very welcome. No worries when you deal with Lam.

What a fantastic place to visit & what a fantastic tour company. Right from the start Ruby was excellent to deal with. She sent us suggestions & ideas so that we were able to tailor our tour to reflect what we wanted to do without missing out on essential sights & activities. The guides were all of an excellent standard, not only were they very professional & knowledgeable, they engaged at a personal level which made it feel like you were sightseeing with a local friend rather than a tour guide. Vietnam was a wonderful place to visit, rich in history, culture & beauty as well as very friendly people. We will definitely be coming back to see more of your wonderful country & we will definitely be using Asia Pioneer again as they made everything so easy, nothing was too much trouble.

We worked with Kata of Asia Pioneer for several months. We had many requests and many questions and Kata helped us 100%. Kata designed a perfect itinerary for our 10 day visit to Vietnam and Laos. She arranged amazing guides and hotels and adventures in Hanoi, Halong Bay, Mai Chau and Luang Prabang in Laos. There were NO problems only great stories and memories to share for years.

After submitting the enquiry form on their website, I very quickly received a phone call (to Australia) from Mr Lam Duong at Asia Pioneer head office. After discussing our wishes, he organised an itinerary to the Mekong Delta and on via fast boat to Phnom Penh.
At all times email communications were very promptly responded to.
Our guide Thai was superb, and our driver (also Thai) very competent. We felt very privileged to be travelling in style, watching tour groups herded in the Mekong river ferries, village visits, etc, while we always had our own transport and someone all to ourselves telling us all the stories, explaining everything, and answering our questions, etc.
Lovely airconditioned late model SUV to get to first destination, Mekong Lodge (tip: river side bungalows cop a lot of the river traffic noise in the wee hours as the fishing boats head out; try to get the ones further in the garden).
Second hotel was in Can Tho at the Van Phat Hotel 1. Big shiny hotel out of town (tip: the “free shuttle bus to town” advertised on their website is only available to groups). We didn’t mind having a quiet afternoon, though. We rubbernecked at the new estate of super-wealthy people’s mansions then had dinner at the hotel’s pleasant riverside open air restaurant and watched the life of the river go by.
The hotel in Chau Doc (Hai Chau Hotel) was ok, a bit grubby and basic. The breakfast tablecloths had spills and bits of old noodle on them, for example. Maybe it’s the best of limited options in the price range.
We said goodbye to our guide at Chau Doc, and all went well till Phnom Penh, where there was a bit of a glitch as the expected driver to our hotel didn’t show and we had to catch a taxi. The accommodation (Willow Boutique Hotel) was very nice, but the hotel had got our booking wrong and had booked a queen room for 3 nights instead of a twin room for 2. Fortunately they had a twin room, but if you stay at this hotel, don’t let them give you room G1. It’s a repurposed building and G1 has a lovely bank of floor to ceiling windows – overlooking the terrace bar! And side windows overlooking the rubbish bin area. So it’s nice for vampires and others who never open curtains, but a bit sad for those who like a bit of daylight.
I emailed Lam and received a very prompt apology, and their Phnom Penh representative organised a complimentary dinner and tuk tuk to a restaurant to make up for it. Unexpected, but so nice of them to do that for what were really very minor inconveniences.
All in all, we were very pleased to have entrusted Asia Pioneer to organise this part of our trip for us.

Indo China Pionner organised another trip for me and my friends for the second time within twelve months. This time we headed up North to Sa Pa and down south to the Meeking Delta as well as five days in Cambodia. It was as expected a wonderful trip expertly organised by Kata who took the time to vist us twice whilst we were in Hanoi. Nothing is too much trouble and our tour was tailor made for us . The tour guides particularly Linh in Hanoi were fantastic. I have travelled to many parts of the world and this is the best value tour I have ever been on and Vietnam is a special place – the culture, the scenery, the food and the beautiful people. All the hotels were first class and I hope to return one day in the future and strongly recommend this tour company,