The Journey of Parenthood: 2 Weeks in Vietnam

June 2, 2024

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The Journey of Parenthood: 2 Weeks in Vietnam

We spent practically 5 weeks in South East Asia with our 5 youngsters and I’ve had numerous requests to share our itinerary so that is the second half, our 2 weeks in Vietnam. You possibly can learn the itinerary for our 2.5 weeks in Thailand right here. Our journey was a mixture of numerous analysis and loads of flexibility as we made selections on the street about what we’d do and what tempo we’d transfer at. After we had been enthusiastic about doing a much bigger exercise or journey, we sat down as a household to have a look at the choices and we determined collectively which one we wished to do. I’ll observe another actions that we missed in some areas that I’d have cherished to do if we had extra time!

Vietnam with children, backpacking south east asia with kids, hoi an

Vietnam with children, backpacking south east asia with kids

Ho Chi Minh Metropolis

Also called Saigon (and referred to in the remainder of this publish as HCMC), Ho Chi Minh Metropolis is the second greatest metropolis in Vietnam and within the south of the nation and that is the place we flew into from Thailand. We had determined to stay to the southern half of the nation because the climate was imagined to be higher throughout August and while it was nonetheless monsoon season, the rain did not get in the way in which in any respect. HCMC is not know as a traditional vacation vacation spot however it’s a metropolis not like wherever we had been earlier than and crossing the road is an expertise in itself!

We stayed in an airbnb residence with three bedrooms which was on the thirty second flooring with unimaginable views over town. We had been in district 5 which wasn’t touristy in any respect however we had been lower than 10 minutes stroll to the centre of district 1 and felt like we had the most effective of each worlds. Our airbnb had a swimming pool and small playground.

We spent three days in HCMC which was loads. We visited

Tan Dinh Pink church. We did not go inside however it’s enjoyable to admire from exterior
A stroll via the material market reverse and across the native space
Saigon Mall which is a large shopping center with every part you might presumably need.
The cinema (be sure to go for movies in English with Vietnamese subtitles. This was a welcome little bit of normality for the youngsters).
Nguyen Hue Strolling Avenue – This comes alive at evening with avenue performers, music, avenue meals and distributors promoting gentle up toys.
The Cafe residences on Nguyen Hue strolling avenue. It is a traditional residence block however every residence is a special cafe with views out over the strolling avenue. The youngsters extremely suggest Dosh Donuts.
In case you are vegan then try Rawberry who do unimaginable desserts and provide supply for round £1 (message via Fb). The banoffee mini cake was unimaginable.

In case you have longer in HCMC then there are loads extra areas to discover. The warfare remnants museum and Cu Chi tunnels are fascinating for anybody within the historical past of the warfare, Notre Dame Cathedral and the central publish workplace are unimaginable buildings to admire the structure and for an extended stick with youngsters, I used to be beneficial Tinker Play in District 7. I adopted Becky at Good Trustworthy Travels on Instagram who’s an expat residing in HCMC along with her youngsters and he or she has numerous suggestions.

We hadn’t deliberate out our time in Vietnam correctly and so had no journey inside the nation booked earlier than we arrived so we truly ended up reserving flights from HCMC as much as Da Nang the evening earlier than we travelled. Costs are very affordable and there have been a number of flights per day to select from.

Vietnam with children, backpacking south east asia with kids, pink church

Vietnam with children, backpacking south east asia with kids, ho chi minh city

I had thought that we’d head up the coast and use the sleeper trains however we made the choice as an alternative to fly as much as Da Nang and discover three completely different areas close by and spend much less time travelling.

An Bang Seaside

We flew into Da Nang and obtained a taxi from the airport to An Bang seaside, a seafront city round 40 minutes away. In distinction to the constructed up metropolis, An Bang was quiet, small and laid again and we completely cherished it. We had discovered a number of locations on-line that regarded good however not booked accomodation so we turned up and requested to have a look at some rooms. We ended up selecting Blue Alcove and had two units of connecting household rooms that led straight out to the small pool. The resort was linked to Aira boutique resort the place we ate our breakfast buffet and will use the amenities.

Most of our time in An Bang was spent consuming, consuming and swimming. The seaside was lovely and quiet and there was a strip of restaraunts alongside the entrance serving freshly caught seafood and with play areas and swings to maintain the youngsters joyful too. There was one thing concerning the ambiance right here that all of us cherished. It’s simple to go to from Hoi An or Da Nang for the day however we loved spending a number of days enjoyable right here and having every part so shut.

Suggestions are all meals based mostly for right here and embody:

Hoi An

Hoi An is an historical city and the city centre is a automotive and motorcycle free zone which could be very refreshing. Well-known for its lanterns, the principle city has painted yellow partitions and a river runs alongside it. It was considered one of our favorite locations to go to and while it is rather touristy, it’s someplace to not miss on a visit to Vietnam. It’s fairly quiet in the course of the day nevertheless it comes alive at evening. It was solely 10 minutes drive in a taxi from An Bang seaside nevertheless it felt like a really completely different place.

We stayed simply exterior the traditional city in Phu Thinh Boutique resort with two units of interconnecting rooms once more. Listed here are among the issues we did in Hoi An

Stroll across the historical city trying on the retailers and cafes
One in every of our favorite experiences was a cooking class. We did an area market tour adopted by an tour on a conventional fishing boat and practiced throwing a internet. We caught some crabs on the river banks after which had been taught methods to make 4 completely different Vietnamese dishes earlier than sitting right down to an unimaginable meal. The expertise was youngster pleasant and there have been additional employees to assist my youthful youngsters. That is the expertise we booked and it included decide up from our resort too.
Hoi An is understood for its tailors and if you would like something customized made, you’ll be able to’t stroll quite a lot of metres earlier than discovering a store that can do it. I had an concept of a skirt I wished and obtained it made however you’ll be able to have something from celebration attire to fits.
Within the night lantern boats sail down the river and it’s a actually particular expertise. We aimed for sundown and it was so lovely. There are longer boat excursions on larger boats however the little ones are good.
We had been cycled across the outdated city on bikes with what regarded like a big wheelchair on the entrance. It wasn’t the most cost effective expertise however the youngsters cherished it.
If you’d like Vegan meals then try Nourish who did unimaginable lunches and was very near our resort.

Vietnam with children, backpacking south east asia with kids, hoi an lantern boats

Da Nang

Da Nang is the third largest metropolis in Vietnam, positioned about half approach down and has a global airport. It’s also located on the coast and has a white sand seaside. We had heard that Da Nang was someplace you might simply skip however we determined to probe for ourselves and spent a beautiful couple of days right here. We stayed on the Grand Dawn Boutique Resort which was about 5 minutes stroll from the seaside. We arrived through taxi and it was round half-hour from Hoi An.

Issues we did in Da Nang:

Employed inflatables and swam within the sea at My Khe Seaside. We had been the one folks on the seaside aside from the women hiring out sunbeds, inflatables and promoting drinks and the ocean was the same temperature to a shower I’d run for the youngsters!
Drank smoothies in quiet cafes and folks watched.
Fly Burger for superb burgers (very near our resort) and Loving Vegan for unimaginable vegan meals (get the cheezy chilli chips)
Asia Park/Solar World (I’m not certain what the official identify is because it makes use of each). It is a theme park on the river entrance that you could spot from a mile off due to the massive massive wheel. The theme park is just open from 3pm-9pm (thewheel till 10) and has completely different areas based mostly on completely different Asian international locations. There are many rollercoasters and rides but in addition statues and buildings based mostly on completely different types of structure and a duplicate model of Ankor Wat you’ll be able to wander round within the Cambodian half. We went on a weeknight and it was fairly empty. Wristbands had been £8 for adults (over 140cm) and £4 for youngsters and lined every part together with the large wheel.
Eat on the Helio Centre reverse Asia Park. There are many stalls for meals and reside music to take heed to while you eat.

Vietnam with children, backpacking south east asia with kids, da nang

In complete we spent two weeks in Vietnam and we solely explored a really small a part of it. There may be a lot to see and Hanoi and Ha Lengthy Bay within the north could be high of my checklist when/if we’re ready to return. We flew direct from Da Nang to Singapore on the finish of our two weeks and I’ll write our Singapore itinerary up quickly! Please get in contact both on right here or via social media with any questions! Click on right here to learn extra about planning a household backpacking journey.