Angkor Wat & Vietnam Trip Report

Travel designer Matous Grund just returned from exploring Cambodia and Vietnam.

His trip report includes recommendations for Angkor Wat, travel in Vietnam and “one of the most beautiful beach resorts I’ve experienced anywhere in the world.”

Cambodia and Vietnam were a big surprise for me. Super cool, interesting and really with a wow factor. These destinations are definitely worth it for our clients.

Exploring Angkor Wat

I flew from Zurich to Siem Reap via a short connection in Bangkok. Another option would be to fly Vienna to Bangkok then on to Siem Reap.

The new Siem Reap airport is huge, about twice the size as Prague’s airport. They have capacity to land the biggest aircraft and I expect they’ll soon add many more international connections.

Angkor Wat it about 20 minutes away from Siem Reap or from where I was staying at Zannier Phum Baitang.

Angkor was very cool and I definitely recommend going at sunrise. Getting up at 4:30 is worth it because we were almost alone there.

It’s less hot in the morning too. Later in the day the temperature was around 34 with 85% humidity.

I also did a day tour to see different temples. My guide was Mr. Khin Po Thai, an a leading Angkorian anthropoligist and archaeologist who had done many excavations around Angkor. He’s been on documentaries with CNN, Nat Geo and BBC, and had so much interesting history to share with me.

In four hours we explored the Bayon, a jungle temple and one more temple. If you just want photos he can skip the deep history but it was interesting for sure.

Later we went for a sunset river cruise which was amazing. Again we were virtually alone and visited another temple along the water.

After that we went to the night market. Everyone was so friendly and wanted to take pictures with me. I tried tarantula, scorpion and snake. Scorpion was the tastiest. Deep-fried snake was like chicken skin, kids eat it as a snack!

I only stayed in Siem Reap for two nights but three nights is better. You would have a more relaxed itinerary and could explore more.

For me, exploring five main temples was enough. Some people will prefer to stay longer and discover a lot more of the Angkor complex. It’s a huge network of temples and monuments with many cool experiences possible.

The Amazing Zannier Phum Baitang

Zannier Phum Baitang is a beautiful hotel with only 45 villas. It’s where Angelina Jolie stays when she’s in Cambodia. I completely recommend this hotel. The design and style is amazing. It looks and feels very local and everything is really high quality. You can tell every detail is important here.

It’s a very green and peaceful place too, with the villas spaced far from each, and complete with water buffalo wandering among them.

I stayed in a Terrace Villa, which has a great private deck and awesome views over the rice fields.

The bigger and pricier category is a Pool Villa but I don’t think it’s worth it. It’s not a completely private villa as all the villas are located along a public pathway, so people can see into your pool. Both types of villa are a similar size.

I think it’s a better option to have the views and a bit more privacy on the deck, then use the main hotel pool.

Depending on your preferences, Siem Reap has other good hotel options, including Amansara, Bentley Collection Shinta Mani Angkor and Belmond La Residence. All are very high quality and a similar distance to Angkor Wat.

Ho Chi Minh City Isn’t Worth It

Unless you like big cities with 7 million motorbikes and communist monuments then I don’t recommend visiting Ho Chi Minh City.

I did a half day city tour and didn’t find the city very interesting. It’s really a huge and noisy city with nothing to really see, except mausoleums and brutalist monuments.

My hotel wasn’t good either – I won’t name it or recommend it. If you do want to stay in Ho Chi Minh City then I’d recommend Hotel de Arts, which has a beautifulrooftop bar and pool overlooking the city. Or the Park Hyatt. Both have a nice, central location.

Overall, I’d recommend more days in rural destinations and beaches than spending time in what used to be Saigon.

A Beach Holiday at Zannier Bãi San Hô

Zannier Bãi San Hô was really one of the best and most beautiful resorts I’ve experienced anywhere in the world. You could stay two weeks there, it’s amazing.

The service was perfect, food was stunning, everything is on time, there’s so much space for every guest and the villas are amazing.

The resort is in a private cove with a 1.5-kilometre-long, private sandy beach, which is very clean with really warm water.

It’s really a huge area of nature and you don’t really see other people. You can get around on bicycles or by using the buggy service.

It’s similar to some of the top resorts in Seychelles because of the landscape and villas on the cliffs, except the beach is completely private as it’s all their own land.

They have four villa categories and each has a different design and layout. Paddy Field Villas have one bedroom and no pool. Hill Pool Villas and Beach Pool Villas have one or two bedrooms with large outdoor living areas and private pool. Then there are larger three- and four-bedroom Grand Bay Pool Villas.

I stayed in a Hill Pool Villa and prefer it because of the views, although I can understand some clients would prefer a beach villa. They’re right on the beach and you have views onto the sea and garden.

The beach has service and yet it’s so quiet, it was like having a private serviced beach all to myself.

There are three restaurants and all were spectacular. A main restaurant where breakfast is served, a beach restaurant and a Vietnamese restaurant in the paddy fields.

They have loads of activities and experiences too. Like a “house reef” which is five minutes away by boat, good for both snorkelling and scuba diving. There are other water sports, padel and tennis.

The resort has its own guides and I did a beautiful trip to the village, where I made my own rice paper. You could go fishing or go the market. I have a tattoo of a dragon on my leg and dragons are very symbolic in Vietnamese culture, so local people found it fascinating. Everyone was taking selfies with me!

It’s quite a long trip to reach Zannier Bãi San Hô. You can fly to Phu Cat or Toy Hoa, from either Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh City. Then it’s a 60 to 80-minute transfer by road. But it’s completely worth the trip!

This is a resort in a completely undeveloped place. There are no tourists in the area except the other hotel guests. I would stay two weeks if I had the time

I recommend staying at least one week, because it’s so amazing. It’s really worth it for a beach holiday and it is inexpensive, especially considering the overall quality and experience.

You don’t need to fly in and fly out either. I’d recommend first flying to Danang and staying at Four Seasons Resort The Nam Hai in Hoi An. It’s a charming old town, although a little touristic.

From Danang there’s a six-hour luxury train journey south, The Vietage by Anantara. I didn’t experience this but all the feedback I heard was very positive. The train ends at Dieu Tri, only 40 minutes from Zannier Bãi San Hô.

Recommendations in Hanoi

I continued to Hanoi where unfortunately I only had time for one night. It’s a much nicer destination than Ho Chi Minh City, smaller, more relaxing, more European in style with a lot more to see.

Definitely don’t miss the train street and just taking time to soak up the city’s atmosphere. It’s a cool place and the best two hotels are right in the middle of the happening area.

I highly recommend trying Vietnamese street food, it’s so delicious. And you can’t miss Vietnamese coffee either.

I stayed at Capella Hanoi. Wow.

It’s only five years old and the design is incredible.

I also inspected Sofitel across the street, which is also a good property, but personally I think Capella Hanoi is better.

From Hanoi you can easily explore more places in Vietnam. It’s a short seaplane flight or two-hour road journey to Ha Long Bay, one of the seven natural wonders of the world. You can also go to Sapa and see the villages and hill tribes of the north.

The Experience on Lufthansa First Class

I flew back from Hanoi to Hong Kong with Cathay Pacific and then Hong Kong to Frankfurt in Lufthansa first class.

Lufthansa has a slightly older first class so you don’t have a fully enclosed suite like Emirates or Etihad for example. But the service on board was superb.

Next year they will start to update their first class on long haul flights to a new Lufthansa Allegris. It will have double-cabin suites with wardrobe, large dining table, full-suite-width screens, heated and cooled seats.

They call it the First Class Suite Plus and I’m looking forward to seeing it.

When to Visit Vietnam & Cambodia

The best time to visit Vietnam is from late December to September, although every month of the year would be okay to travel except October and November. At Zannier Bai San Ho the temperature is the same all year around, but there’s significantly more rain in October and November.

Angkor Wat is warm and humid all year around and the very best time to visit is our winter. However, I wouldn’t only plan a trip in winter as the weather can be manageable throughout the year.

Overall, this trip was a big surprise for me. The quality of the properties was far above my expectations, they’re so interesting from a design perspective and up there with the best properties I’ve seen anywhere in the world.

I’m honestly surprised by the price of a holiday here too. For the experience, comfort and quality I’d expect it to cost a lot more.

What’s so nice is this feeling of adventure and exploration, matched with such amazing hotels and great service – a holiday experience I really recommend.