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Ask Andrea: Why would it be better to book through Journeys Within vs. just booking online? – April Senica

Posted by Andrea on (Updated: )  |  3 Comments

First of all, great name, one of my favorite people in the world is named April:) Thanks for your question, I actually think it’s one that people wrestle with a lot since online deals are so prevalent now and really you can book most of your holiday online. I think there are a few good reasons that travelers book through Journeys Within versus online and here’s my top 10:

1. We are regional experts. This is really #1. We live and breathe Southeast Asia so chances are we’ve stayed in the hotel, tested out the tour and trained the guide, which means no bad surprises for you when you get there. It also means we can offer experiences that aren’t necessarily available to the mass market and are only available to those “in the know”.

April and Andrea at dinner with Mr Nam, a Vietnam War Veteran, and his beautiful family, a Journeys Within Exclusive Tour.

 

2. We often can get better deals. Hotels offer us upgrades, discounts and special offers which we can pass on to our guests.

3. Websites lie. I visit a lot of hotels and am often absolutely shocked at what I get…views are photo shopped, fish eye lenses are used to excess and sometimes the room on the website doesn’t even exist! While sites like Trip Advisor can help you make an informed decision there’s nothing quite like local knowledge and someone who tried it out before you.

We visit hotels like this, so you don't have to!

4. Our guides! We truly have the best guides in the region, they’re dedicated, kind and love their countries, so they can pass this love on to our guests. They are a key part of our team and they are a major part of the experience.

Our wonderful guide Khoa in Vietnam introduces Brandon to Longan rice whiskey!

5. Time is precious. The truth is that most people in America get two weeks holiday a year and they want to make it count. As we all know, planning as you go sounds nice in theory, but in reality it means you waste most of your vacation trying to book a flight, a hotel or figure out what you want to do next. To make the most of your two weeks have it booked ahead of time and then arrive and relax, knowing that other people are making sure it all goes according to plan.

6.  Medical emergencies. The truth is that things can go wrong and in the last 8 years we have had guests suffer from heart attacks, broken ribs, broken hips and just in our family alone a large gash on the head, bronchitis and chicken pox! When you get sick while traveling, especially in the third world, it can be incredibly scary and we know this. Our guides, drivers and team are trained to help any guest that finds themselves in need of medical assistance. We know clinics, hospitals and in some cases, the doctors themselves. I’ve had two babies in Thailand, taken guests to hospital in Cambodia, gotten my kid stitches in Vietnam and had a wound cleaned in Laos. The bottom line is, when you are feeling your worst, you want the best.

No one wants to get sick on vacation, but in developing countries it's even more important to know where to go and who to ask for!

7. Hidden costs. We often have guests telling us about the “great deal” they found at a hotel. If it’s better than what we can get we are really honest and encourage them to book it…often we then hear back from them because the deal wasn’t for that time of year, didn’t include huge amounts in tax or just wasn’t what it appeared to be. This is okay when they figure out ahead of time, but a real bummer when they arrive at the hotel only to be hit with additional costs, with us, our price is THE price, the end.

8. We take you on ONLY off the beaten path! While the internet is a pretty amazing trip planning tool I guarantee that the homestay at Narla’s house, our village tour and even the volunteering we can include in a tour, aren’t online, these are only available because we’re there and we have found the unique adventures.

A homestay in Cambodia...definitely not available online!

9. Booking travel can be a full time job. Most of us don’t have enough time for all the things we try to fit into our lives so while planning a trip can be fun, it can also be incredibly time consuming…searching websites, checking rates, figuring out flight schedules, all of this takes time and energy and a lot of our guests would prefer to pass that job on to a professional and just review what we plan to make sure it’s perfect.

10. Last, but not least, one of the biggest reasons to book with us is for when things go wrong. When our guest dropped his passport in a cave and had to get a new passport in Laos or when the Bangkok airport was closed or when a flight is delayed or cancelled you’ll see a lot of people panicking…our guests however will know what the options are and will be taken care of. We got permission to fly the guest to Bangkok to get a new passport where our guide met him and took him to the embassy and made sure he was well cared for. When the airport closed we got guests new flights, we arranged overland transportation and we adjusted itineraries on the fly to make sure no vacation was ruined and any hotel or flight mishap our team is there to make sure it gets solved. A lot of travelers have felt they didn’t need us, until they really needed us and then they were glad they had us:)

Our amazing team at our directors meeting in Cambodia - 6 countries, 1 team!

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Top 10 Things to Pack for a Homestay

Posted by Andrea on  |  2 Comments

1. Earplugs: It is a myth that roosters crow in the morning, in truth they crow all darn night!

2. Eye mask: Without curtains the moon can be very bright which could be romantic, if you weren’t sharing the house with 10 other people all sleeping within 10 feet of you.

3. Sheets: blankets are often provided, but aren’t always that clean, so we travel with a set of sheets or you can use a sewing machine and turn a king sheet into a cool sleeping bag that’s great for trains as well!

4. Pillow: For some reason the pillows in Asia are a mile high. I know packing your pillow from home isn’t always possible, but there are great traveling pillows that are clean and won’t strain your neck.

Bringing your own bedding is usually a good idea!

5. Towels: most people in the village air dry, I like a nice towel so I pack my own.

6. Sarong: this is great for everything! If you forgot a sheet, no worries, forgot a towel, here you go, no pillow, fold it up, nowhere private to change, you can get good at changing under a sarong. It’s also great for wearing to and from the shower/bathroom as a sarong!

Callie using the "shower" at a recent homestay

7. Coloring books and crayons: Whether you’re traveling with kids or not you are sure to find kids at or around your homestay and it’s fun to interact with them. Callie and Couper have colored with kids in over 8 countries and art has no language barriers.

8. Your photo album: Because we’re so interested in their culture, we often forget how interesting our home life is to them. Before you leave home put together a quick photo album of your house, your car, your friends, you doing your hobbies, even your dog. Your hosts will love flipping through it and it gives you a conversation starter and means you both get to check out each other’s lives.

Coloring works in any language

9. Snacks: No one will take offence if you have a Kit Kat or a pack of chips after dinner, bring enough to share or sneak off and have a little treat…meals at homestays aren’t always as big as we’re used to and it’s nice to have a comfort food.

10. A gift: This doesn’t have to be big or fancy, but bring something from home that is a fun treat for the hosts. We have had people bring pins with their countries flag, baseball hats for their favorite teams or just some fun magazines to flip through.

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A Day Trip to the Mekong Delta

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By: Andrea Ross

Our last day in Vietnam we invited Michelle, our Journeys Within Vietnam Director, Khoa, her husband and one of our top guides, and their daughter Rosie, to join us on a trip to the Mekong Delta. Using the new, elevated highway we headed to Cai Be to explore. Here is a photo diary of our day and my thoughts on each stop:

The new elevated highway makes for a much smoother ride and with no motorbikes on it, there is a lot less dodging and diving, which we appreciated!

Once in the Delta we stopped for a bathroom break at the Dong Nam Snake Farm. In the past I had skipped this stop on visits to the Delta, assuming it would be like the Snake Shows in Thailand…a shameless and shameful abuse of animals. I was wrong! Used for research and collecting venom to make anti-venom, this farm touts itself as being the largest in the region!

Some scary snakes that she said would kill you in under 30 minutes!

Khoa had to insist on us leaving the snake farm and heading for the Delta…I did not envy him trying to keep six adults and three children on schedule! We had to have ice cream!!
We now drove along a smaller road following a river and arrived at the boat dock. Our boat was quickly brought and we headed out and into the Delta. On either side of us small house rose up in line with each other, touching wall to wall with thousands of TV antennas rising above the roofs.

Boats, houses and antennas

Once out of the river we passed cargo boats, dredging boats, and boats selling a myriad of fruit and vegetables.

Pumpkin Boats
Banana Boat

Our first stop was on an island known for it’s local Mekong industries. We visited Mrs. Tu and the kids all got to try their hand at making spring roll wraps; Callie ate them almost straight off the hot plate and loved them!

Callie learning to make spring roll wraps

We headed around the island and visited popcorn making and coconut candy making shops. Surrounding all these workshops are sellers with every kind of Vietnamese knick-knack you can think of. It was certainly a touristy stop, but since I enjoyed watching the different industries I thought it was worth ignoring the buy! buy! buy! sellers on the outside.

Brandon making popcorn while Couper stokes the fire

Back in the boat and we headed through a quieter channel and then boarded little boats paddled by local women. They kindly hand you a conical hat each…perfect for getting out of the sun (and the photo ops!).

Heading down a narrow channel
Rosie in her conical hat

After being paddled for a while I said those three little words that every traveler should learn, “Can I try?”  It was not as easy as it looked, but I enjoyed getting to try and the amusement of my passengers. The rower herself found it hilarious how much trouble I had keeping us out of the trees on the side of the stream!

Can I Try?

Off the boats and we headed inland for a walk, stopping at a lovely home to try a variety of fruits…and rice whiskey made from Longan fruits. The man of the house was incredibly proud of his Longan Whiskey creation and the group seemed to approve!

Yo! Cheers with Longan Whiskey

One final boat ride was followed by a late lunch at a family home. The food just kept coming…some amazing Tamarind pork, an entire fish and hand rolled spring rolls made with the rice paper we had earlier learned to make!

Local fish for lunch

After lunch and a break in the hammock we headed back through the Delta to our waiting van and I think everyone took a nap on the way home. It was a wonderful day and while there were moments that were a bit too touristy, they had redeeming value and those moments off the beaten track made for a truly memorable experience.

Mekong Sunset
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Khmer Ceramics Center in Siem Reap

Posted by Andrea on (Updated: )  |  1 Comment

By: Erin Brooks

The Khmer Ceramics Center is a wonderful place to visit if you have kids or are interested in art! When you first arrive you head into the beautiful gift shop filled with items made at the center. The shop is full of handmade items thrown on the wheel or hand carved from detailed molds. The idea is to look around for inspiration and then pick out the designs that you are most interested in making. The choices are divided into two categories, wheel work and hand-carving. But no need to worry if you can’t immediately decide as the Khmer Ceramics Center class allows you to work in both mediums and then decide what you like best at the end. Some of the choices that present themselves to be made are hand-carved elephant incense oil burners, small bowls or vases and salt and pepper shakers. Immediately after you pay your $15 for two hours of ceramics fun, you are presented with a free gift. The gift is a small ceramic elephant made from one of their molds. It makes a great souvenir before you even get a chance to make your own.
I have been to the Khmer ceramics center at least five times and still love it. As Callie’s private tutor we made time every Wednesday for field trips. Like many five year olds, Callie has a limited attention span, but she could not get enough of ceramics. Andrea and I immediately recognized how calm and focused Callie was and how proud she was of her completed work, so we decided to keep bringing Callie to the center until she tired of it. That never happened; in fact she took Brandon’s parents, her Nana and Grandpa, just a week ago.

Callie working on the wheel

The Khmer Ceramics Center seems to have a no-fail approach. You could begin work on the wheel or at the hand-carving station. On the wheel there is a staff member that guides your progress and offers suggestions based on what you want the final product to be. They allow you to create 3-4 items on the wheel before you make your way to the hand-carving table. At this station there are multiple molds available to make, and again, wonderful staff to assist. You are shown how to press wet clay into the molds to create unique works of art, or you can use the semi-dry, pre-molded clay to perfect your hand carving techniques. At the end of the session you are allowed to pick one item that you made, either from the wheel or a hand carving, and have it glazed and fired in the kiln. The choices are either a green or blue glaze and the final product is hand delivered 24 hours later to your hotel.

Teacher Erin with her creation on the wheel

One of my favorite things about the Khmer ceramics Center is the people who work there. Once I inquired about getting a cup of coffee nearby and instead the owner offered to make me a fresh pot and brought it out to me. The location is perfect as the Angkor National Museum is directly across the street and there are plenty of restaurants and cafes nearby. I highly recommend the Khmer Ceramics Center because it offers a great opportunity to collaborate with Khmer ceramic artists and create an individual piece of art that will last a lifetime (as long as it doesn’t break in your suitcase!).

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Spring Valley Resort? More Like Last Resort!

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By: Andrea Ross

Brandon says when it comes to hotels I’m spoiled, and he’s right, I am, but I don’t think I’m a hotel snob. I’ll admit that nothing makes me happier than walking into a stunning hotel room that has every detail covered and a view to boot! With that said, I don’t demand five star accommodation, in fact some of my favorite hotels…4 Rivers Ecolodge, Koh Kong; Fern Resort, Mae Hong Son; and Topas Ecolodge, Sapa, definitely aren’t five star standard, but they are beautiful properties with views and ambiance to spare.

All this is to set up that I am not a complete snob and that I don’t need ridiculous amounts of luxury so when I say it’s bad…it is bad! And let me just tell you, Spring Valley Resort in Kep, Cambodia is bad!

The bizarre thing is that I didn’t book Spring Valley on a whim. In fact it was recommended by clients who stayed there. I thought since they liked it I should check it out and since the kids and I were heading down that way it was the perfect excuse. The booking process went fine and they were very understanding that we needed to have a room for two adults and four kids since we all needed to be together. The problems all started when we tried to get there.

We hadn’t been given great directions so we attempted to call when we arrived in Kep…no answer…to either number. A tuk-tuk driver pointed us in the right direction and after wandering around for a while we found it. We pulled into the driveway and a few construction workers gathered to watch us unpack.

At this point I must say that the hotel had warned us they were building another building on the property so there would be some construction during our stay, that was no problem at all with me. They also said that their restaurant wasn’t yet up and running so no breakfast, again, no problem, I came armed with cereal and milk.

So upon our arrival a young man did come out and show us to our room. I took one look at the bathroom and realized they had forgotten to clean it. I explained this to him and he sent in a construction worker with a dirty rag who wiped it around a little and left. There were no extra beds and only two towels. I explained that there were 6 of us and that we had been told that a mattress would be provided…one was brought up, I then asked for sheets for the mattress…they were brought up, I then asked for some extra pillows, those finally arrived. I was starting to get the idea…if you want it, you need to ask for it, nothing just shows up around here!

Right away my main pet peeve was the name. Branding 101 people, don’t call a pig a unicorn, you’ll disappoint people! Spring Valley Guesthouse would have prepared us much better for the room we were given! Drop the resort and call a spade a spade my friends!

Luckily the pool was completed so we all headed down for a swim. And what a show we were. Such a great show in fact that the construction workers stopped their work and sat along the wall watching us! Now I know that life can be boring and a bunch of Farang swimming in a pool is a good mid-day entertainment, but I had three young girls with me and it was highly uncomfortable and off-putting. We headed back to our room. Since there had been no towels at the pool we asked for some extra towels for the room, they brought us two and informed us that if they gave us more they wouldn’t have any for the other guests. Either these guests were ghosts or they just didn’t feel we were worthy of more towels because I never saw a single other guest on the premises!

The next day we headed out to Rabbit Island to enjoy the ocean. It was a long and fantastic day and when we got back to the hotel the kids were exhausted and ready for a little break in the cool of the room. Upon opening the door we realized that the room hadn’t been cleaned…not only that, but there were now ants all over the floor and wall because of a dead gecko and we were out of toilet paper. Needless to say, I was angry. All I think when things like this happen is what if this was our guests, not us! What if I had booked this for our travelers and THEY had received this kind of service! I stormed down to the main house/reception to figure out what was going on only to have reception be completely locked with not a soul around. I flagged down some construction workers and asked them for help, but they didn’t know the phone number for the boss and had no idea where anyone was either. Frustrated I got everyone showered and headed out to dinner, but not before leaving a note at reception asking someone to please clean our room and give us new toilet paper and towels.

Clearly, we had run out.

Thankfully on return from dinner we found a cleanish room and two clean towels (the “other” guests clearly were hogging the rest!), but no toilet paper and the dead gecko remained where he lay!

The next day the kid from the first day was at reception and I got a half-hearted apology for his not being there…I asked for some toilet paper and was given one roll, a small victory! We again went out for the day and on return at 4pm we pulled into the driveway and literally saw a few guys running to our room, when we got up there they were hurriedly cleaning it…I guess our return reminded them that they were supposed to get that done? We put on the swimming show for the construction workers again while they finished “cleaning”. Once we were back in the room Callie rightly stated, “Mommy, they didn’t really clean the bathroom, not like at our house.” Well said little one!

Our departure the next morning was uneventful, no apology, no explanation, just a wave goodbye as we thankfully headed home.

The bottom line is, nothing was stolen, no one was hurt and we all managed to sleep and swim, but we felt more like squatters than hotel guests.

I’m still waiting for an explanation from the hotel…a family emergency? They forgot we were there? They hated us?! In the end, it wasn’t a terrible experience because after the first day it was so bad it just got funny and thankfully, because I went through it, none of my guests will ever have to!

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