Last year, my wife and I had the opportunity to explore Southeast Asia. Our travels were half business, half pleasure. With meetings in Bangkok and Ho Chi Minh City, I was able to take some personal time off to explore the region as well. My wife and I previously spent two weeks in Vietnam, but have never been to Thailand or Cambodia. This trip was an excellent way to experience Southeast Asia in between meetings.
The Adventure Starts in Bangkok
The majority of my meetings were to be held in Bangkok. With that in mind, I booked our hotel reservations at the Royal Orchid Sheraton. We were due to travel to Vietnam the following day, but we checked into our hotel and packed smaller bags for our short trip to Ho Chi Minh City. The following morning, after a great breakfast in the concierge lounge, we headed to the airport for our flight to Vietnam. The flight on Vietnam Airways was excellent, as was their airport lounge. As Delta SkyMiles members, we were given complimentary access.
Visiting Vietnam
Our arrival in Vietnam started off with a hiccup. The overpriced car service we booked did not deliver as promised. After a lengthy delay, the service provided us very modest transportation to the Sheraton Saigon Opera House Hotel. We significantly overpaid for a car service that wasn’t even present to pick us up. I quickly learned that our better option was to download the Grab App. Problem solved. This app worked in all three countries we visited, was intuitive to use and very inexpensive.
The hotel was amazing. As Marriott Platinum members, we were given access to the concierge suite, which was amazing. They had a hot breakfast every morning that had a full buffet of both western and Asian options. This even included beef pho, which I had for breakfast one morning. And it was delicious! The hotel staff were great and provided us with ideas for places to visit or food to eat nearby.
While I was in meetings most of the time I was in Vietnam, we did have some time to get some great food and do a bit of shopping. Our favorite meal was probably the banh xeo and bun we enjoyed at Banh Xeo 46A. We also picked up some souvenirs at the Ben Thanh Market which was near our hotel.
After spending a couple of nights in Vietnam, we were due to return to Thailand on Vietnam Airways. We headed to the airport in the morning, courtesy of Grab, and spent some time relaxing in the large airport lounge once again before boarding our flight back to home base in Bangkok.
Exploring Bangkok
We arrived back in Bangkok and collected our luggage, which we stored with the concierge. We were in a different room during the duration of our stay, but still had a great view of the river. The following day, we had a trip booked to visit the Elephant Sanctuary in Kanchanaburi. Our driver picked us up early from our hotel, driving us several hours to the sanctuary where we spent the better part of a day. We returned in time to have a late dinner across the river at Icon Siam Mall. The water taxi made access to the mall very convenient.
During the week, I had meetings, allowing us evenings to explore. We took advantage of numerous opportunities, to include a Chao Phraya River Cruise with dinner, a Michelin-rated dining experience at Celadon Restaurant and a combination of Thai Tea and Bingsu at Pang Cha at the Icon Siam Mall. We also had Thai Tea and other street treats in Chinatown, which was walking distance from our hotel. The food experiences were amazing.
In addition to the great food, we also got to do some shopping. This included visiting that massive market in Bangkok as well as some more unique experiences. These included visits to the Thailand Train Market in Samut Songkhram and Damnoen Saduak Floating Market in Ratchaburi. All were great experiences. I didn’t post about the Bangkok market, but it was massive. The highlight was a foot massage that lasted nearly an hour.
Side Trip to Cambodia
We had a couple of free days at the end of our trip. After pricing out the cost of a quick trip to Siem Reap, we decided to go for it. I purchased round trip tickets on AirAsia Airlines for under 150 dollars each. The tickets took us from Bangkok to Siem Reap and back for an overnight visit. AirAsia was a surprisingly nice aircraft. It was modern, clean and comfortable. The app was easy to use and we were able to upgrade our seats for a price using the app.
I am not sure if AirAsia has a lounge or not, but we were not qualified for lounge access. However, with Priority Pass, we were able to visit the Miracle Lounge while we waited for our departure. The flight was quick and uneventful. We landed in Siem Reap after about an hour flight and quickly cleared customs. Our e-Visa was obtained online prior to our flight making for a quick process. Our driver from Borei Angkor Resort was waiting for us when we exited the airport.
Exploring Siem Reap
After arriving at the hotel, we were advised we could not check in early, so we went to explore Siem Reap. We visited the market, but had to return again after checking in to the hotel to enjoy the market at night, when it comes alive, bustling with activity. The Siem Reap Night Market was filled with a great variety of shopping and street food. I picked up some art to take home as well as some small gifts.
The following morning, we got up extra early and left our luggage near the front desk. Unfortunately, the hotel failed to deliver our breakfast bag as promised, so we left for our tour without food. We stopped and picked up tickets before exploring the Angor Wat Temples on a guided tour. Luckily, our tour had a breakfast stop factored in. The temples were amazing. We did this trip as an overnight, so we headed back to the hotel shortly after noon to collect our luggage.
We returned to the Airport using Grab, and had a late lunch at the airport. The airport is fairly small and does not have a lot of dining options, but we were able to have a decent meal before our hour flight back to Bangkok.
Saying Goodbye to Bangkok
We finished our trip in Bangkok, back at our original hotel (we didn’t check out during our overnight trip to Siem Reap). Our final day was spent at the market picking up some final gifts, visiting Chinatown and picking up dessert at the Icon Siam mall. We settled in early to pack for our return trip home. We had an early morning flight to start our journey home, so we made it an early night.
My final thoughts…it was was a whirlwind week (or so). We were able to squeeze in quite a bit of shopping, dining and entertainment in between business meetings. From Bangkok, there a many opportunities for sightseeing and entertainment if you are traveling for business.
