Our #Vietnam Vacation was two years in the planning. We had to delay this trip by 1 year because of my quick descent down the stairs in February 2012.  We chose Vietnam because the group of travelers (me, MS, JB and RK) all wanted to visit a place that none of us had been — and that list is getting pretty limited now.

We took two weeks to explore Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand – while JB and RK skipped Thailand, as they visited last year and ended their trip in Singapore.  We cashed in United Miles for premium cabin round the world airfare.  We stayed in mostly local hotels, except where it made much more sense to stay in western chains.  We more often than not, ate at local establishments, but as you will see at this trip report progresses we did make a few interesting choices.

Over the next few weeks I’ll tell you all about the trip, in the following installments:

• Introduction
• LH 431: ORD-FRA (Lunfhansa Business)
• Sunday Morning in Frankfurt
• Frankfurt Airport: Check-in and Lounges
• TK 941: FRA-BKK (Thai Royal First Class)
• TK560: BKK-HAN (Royal Silk Class)
• Hanoi Elegance Ruby Hotel
• Hanoi: Street Sights
• Halong Bay Cruise
• VN 1169: HAN-SGN (Economy)
• Alagon Hotel Saigon
• Saigon: Sights
• Saigon: Back of the Bike Tours
• Cu Chi Tunnel Bike Exploration
• VN 815: SGN-REP (Economy)
• Le Meridien Angkor
• Angkor Wat and Surrounding Temples
• Siem Reap
• K6 108: REP-PNH (Economy)
• The Kabiki Hotel
• Exploring Phnom Pehn
• TK 585: PHN-BKK (Economy)
• St. Regis Bangkok
• Bangkok: Sights
• TK 656: BKK-ICN (Royal Silk Class)
• OZ 236: ICN-ORD (Business Smartium Class)
• Wrap Up

This will be my longest trip report to date, but it has also been my longest vacation in history.  I’ll do my best to keep the installments coming at a regular pace.  As questions pop up, just ask.