I contacted several companies in the UK and abroad as I wished to arrange a bespoke trip for me to Indochina. Some could be hardly bothered to reply, others were very expensive and did not listen to what I wanted, whereas Kata at Asia Pioneers kept in constant contact with me, listened to my requests, changed things, suggested ideas and we finally came up with my amazing trip of 6 weeks.
I started off in Bangkok, up to Chiang Mai (my day with the elephants will stay with me always), Chiang Rai and into Laos where I spent a wonderful 9 days travelling with Sipone and 2 days trekking with BoSand. My homestay was amazing as I was the only western person there!!

In Hanoi Kata called at my hotel to meet me which was a lovely surprise – what a lovely lady.

I then travelled through Vietnam (Sapa homestay and a cruise on Halong bay plus more) and into Cambodia, ending up in Thailand to spend a much needed 4 days on Koh Chang.

My guides and transport arrangements were wonderful, always on time to collect me from airports, train stations, hotels, etc. The drivers drove safely, had cold water in their vehicles and wet wipes to freshen up. Nothing was too much trouble.

Travelling alone meant I could adjust my itinerary if I wanted, which I rarely did. My guides became friends and I was always sorry when I had to say goodbye. As they were always local, they had inside knowledge about their own areas.

I requested 3* hotels as I felt I would be out all day and did not need to spend more money than I needed. Almost all were of a very high standard, some more like 4*.

I also had a 24 hour emergency number to contact if there were any problems – IP thought of everything.

Thank you, thank you all, Kata and my super guides, for making this trip so wonderful.

If anyone is contemplating a trip to Indochina that they must contact you to arrange. You are first class….