Guide Tre.

Please accept my apologies for not sending in the survey provided by our guide, Tre.  We misplaced it in our rush to pack up for the trip back to our home.

Tre was an excellent guide.  His English was quite good.  He was very knowledgeable about the city, the places we went and the people we saw.  He was really interested in our well-being and worked hard to make sure we had the experiences we were looking for.  He also was flexible in adjusting the tour to meet our needs.  The trip to the Mekong Delta was particularly excellent.

I also want to commend our driver.  He drove safely and confidently through the streets and on the open road.  We felt very secure with him.

Thank you for providing your services, our trip to Vietnam was one we will treasure for a long time.

Sincerely,

 

Mrs/Mr.Earl and Vivian Cone ( bizcone@comcast.net )
Earl and Vivian Cone,
10 Salt Wall Ln
Salem, MA 01970; U.S.A.
email: bizcone@comcast.net

Hello.
 
I have the form here to fill out and send to you and I will do that for sure.
 
But for now we would both like to say a very big thank you to yourself in the office and to every person involved with our tour.
 
The service from all of the guides and drivers exceeded our expectations and they all were totally professional in thier attitude towards us but at the same time very friendly which made the tour a big success for us.
 
The hotels you chose for us, (even the last minuit one) were superb as was all of the food.  The cars used were of a very high standard, clean and comfortable.
 
I would recommend your service to anyone,and I have done this allready.
 
As I own a small hotel here in Bangkok I have put you on our list as the best service for Vietnam tours and will certainly tell all of our guests that wish to Visit your beautiful country.
 
I would like a favour from you if I may.   Please can you get a message to Hoang who was our guide in Sapa and give him my email address. He has some photos that he said he would send to us but I am not sure if I gave him the email address.   Thank you very much.
 
A very big thank you to all of you.

Peter Gurling    Richard  Anderson.

 

Mr.Peter Gurling ( petergurling@hotmail.com )
Address:          72-74 Naratiwat Silom
City:            Bangkok
Country:          THA
Email:            petergurling@hotmail.com
Home Phone:      (66)867771924

Dear Ms Giang,

Thank you for your email.

Generally all the arrangements made were up to our expectation. The meals were all very good, especially the seafood lunch on board the junk in Halong Bay and the lunch during our trip to the Mekong Delta.

All the 3 guides, Mr Duc (Hanoi), Mr Huong (Sapa), and Mr Tre (Saigon) were very conscientious and knowledgeable in their profession. The vehicles were good and so were the drivers in Hanoi and Saigon who were with us throughout the few days.   However in Sapa, different vehicles and drivers were assigned each day, and the one driving us back from Sapa to LaoCai  on 16 Nov was somewhat impatient when we went down the mountain road after sunset. He was skilful, but should have been more cautious as we had plenty of time before the train departs.

The hotels were all quite good, including Viet Anh Hotel in Hanoi where I had some reservation initially before the trip because of bad comments in the internet. Contrary to the comments on service, all the staff were very courteous  and helpful. Oscar Hotel in Saigon was excellent.

I have 2 comments which Seagate may like to take into consideration to improve the level of service further:
1. During the visit to the Mong village in Mai Chau, we find the villagers were quite unfriendly. It appears no prior arrangement was made, and we were intruding into their lives. It seems the village was not getting any benefit from tourists invading their privacy, and it is natural visitors are not welcome. On the other hand, when we visited the villages in Sapa, we were made to feel welcome. Even the staff of the school that we visited were very friendly. Apparently the small donations arranged by the guide and the sweets he brought along for the children make all the difference.

2. When we were in Halong Bay, we went into an enclosed lagoon through a hole in the limestone cliff. Most of the sampans used by other junks to bring visitors into the lagoon were rowed manually. but our Minh Hai junk used a motor boat, and it causes noise and oil pollution within the lagoon. It detracts us from enjoying the peaceful and pristine surrounding in the lagoon and leaves a layer of oil sleek on the surface.

Finally I like to express my gratitude to our tour operator, Ms. Giang for all the arrangements made before and during the trip itself. The last minute program change from  Central Vietnam to Sapa due to flood was very well arranged, especially getting us the sleeping berths for the overnight journeys to and from Sapa. Also the arrangement to check us into a hotel after the overnight train from Sapa to Hanoi so that we can have a shower and a good rest before our flight to Saigon is very much appreciated.

I have no objection to my comments being published, but would prefer that my email address not to be included. Also I will definitely recommend Seagate to my friends who may be thinking of visiting Vietnam in future. If I should visit Vietnam in future I will definitely go to Seagate again.

With warm regards,
Stephen Toh

 

Mr.Stephen Toh ( stohsh_sg@yahoo.com.sg )
Singapore

Hi Elisa,

Sorry for the late reply, been busy with the holiday season and all.

To be honest, though we really enjoyed our trip to Hanoi; the weather is fantastic, the people are very nice and the food is very good, we were a little disappointed in the travel arrangements.

We thought 1 day would have been enough for Halong Bay as there is nothing in the town. The bay itself is very beautiful and we really enjoyed the day out there. Maybe a overnight cruise on the bay would have been better.

Mai Chau is a pretty place, unfortunately the place we stayed in was rather dusty and dirty. The sheets had obviously not been washed and there were cobwebs everywhere. If we had been pre-warned about the living conditions, we might have been more prepared and brought sleeping bags or something. The family we stayed with were very nice and I feel that with some minor changes, things could be greatly improved. Again 1 day there would have been adequate.

We felt that our guide Duc was not very proactive. We frequently had to ask him questions because he didn't volunteer much information about the sites that we visited. To be honest, he didn't seem very interested in his job. When we arrived in Mai Chau, he just left us and went to watch TV in another room with the driver.

The car was fine, but the first driver that took us to Halong and Mai Chau was very unkempt and did not bother to help us with our luggage or anything. The second driver who took us to the airport on our return was much better and was very helpful and nice.

The information you provided for restaurants and other eateries was woefully inadequate, in fact 1 of the restaurants recommended "Emperor", had closed down!

I don't mean to sound completely negative about our trip, on the whole we really enjoyed ourselves and the above is, hopefully, constructive criticism. Hanoi is a lovely city and we will definitely return again.
 
Regards,
Lik Eng

 

Ms.Loh Lik Eng
Address:          528 East Coast Road, #13-04
City:             Singapore
Postal Code:      458969
Email:            lohlikeng@gmail.com
Home Phone:       +65 96770950

Dear Sirs,
 
Thank you for your care.
 
First of all, we don't want you to publish our Email address.
 
Second, our feedback are as follows:
 
-about tour guides and drivers; they were good, helpful and fun to be together.  
Especially, Mr Xuan who took care of us in Sapa was really good person with sincere attitude and integrity.
 
-about food; we could say, it is too good during Hanoi trip.  And it maybe good to try other kind of food, too
if possible, as we ate Vietnamese food everyday was a little bit boring.
 
-about hotel; it is just OK but if possible, this maybe need to improve,say, the room condition,
and missing of necessary stuff, for example, proper hygiene, clean towel and proper house keeping
especially the hotel in Sapa.  
----> We prefer to stay better hotel rather than using more money for food.  So it is good for your kind company
to ask the future customers if they prefer using money more food or accomodation beforehand.
 
 
-about the home stay; even if we expect much, it is tough for them to meet out expectation
as we should get used to their usual life style, but it is very useful to prepare some more stuff
if we have known the condition beforehand.
 
Last but not least, no matter what, we appreciate your kindness and hospitality throughout the tour, it was really
good experienced travel and we would like to visit other Vietnam city again in near future!
 
Once again, thank you so much.  And we pray for your company's more success!
 
Wish you a very Happy New Year ahead!
 
Best regards,
Nikko & Sandy

 

Mr.Nikko Tan and Mrs.Sandy Saito
Address:          9 Shenton Way #04-01
City:             Singapore
Postal Code:      068813
Email:            sandy.saito@gmail.com
Home Phone:       6598265603
Work Phone:       6565369118