Month: January 2020

We’re publishing this trip blog with our itinerary to have everything in one place for us, the kids, and friends who asked!

We traveled to Asia (Thailand, Vietnam, Hong Kong) with Asher (9) and Max (7) in December 2019.  We used a local travel agent, Kata with Indochina Pioneers.  They arranged private guides, drivers, hotels, local flights, and designed the itinerary with us. 
We hadn’t used a travel agent like this before, and while there were some hiccups with miscommunication, in general it was great and if you consider a similar itinerary, we’re happy to introduce you.  The guides were wonderful, and having the flexibility to change things on the fly with the kids and not spend lots of time in advance or locally planning and wandering around without a plan . . . good.  Many of our favorite experiences were bike rides or boat rides that may have been challenging to do without a guide. 

Learnings and links are below, including links to the pictures we posted as we went! 

Email with questions. Here’s what we did:

Day 1: December 20, 2019: Travel Day
Pictures
We flew out of Vancouver on China Eastern (Delta partner) via Shanghai to Bangkok.  Drove one way to the airport, which worked nicely. Departed 00:30 and landed around 1pm in Bangkok. Kids did great with the travel.

Day 2: December 22, 2019: Arrival in Bangkok, explore the city on our own
Hotel: Le Meridien, Silom area
Pictures
On arrival we went to our hotel. The initial choice wasn’t great for the kids, we made a last minute change to the Le Meridien where there was a great pool and comfy rooms to adjust to the time zone and Asia. Right by our hotel was a night market to explore, and we went to Chinatown via TukTuk to meet our friends from Seattle for dinner.  Although kids were too jetlagged to actually stay awake so we went back to the hotel for sleep.

Day 3: December 23, 2019: Bangkok
Pictures: Elephants, massage, dinner
Due to a miscommunication, we ended up at the wrong elephant sanctuary, 2.5hrs drive from Bangkok (trying for this one).  We did manage to see some of the 600+ rescued animals at the Wildlife Rescue Centre, hear their stories and learn why they are living at the centre. After a morning there, we went to an elephant park to feed and play with them, and on returning went for a foot massage near our hotel.  We met Kara’s father’s college roommate for dinner, and then called it a night. 

Day 4: December 24, 2019: Bangkok City Tour, fly to Hanoi
Pictures: Tower, Golden Buddha, Golden Palace, Boat, Visa
Great day touring the sites in Bangkok. First to the Golden Buddha. The statue, which can be disassembled into nine pieces, was housed in a wat in Ayutthaya until the mid-19th century, and its provenance from Ayutthaya excludes the possibility of it having been made after about 1750.

Then to the Reclining Buddha. The chapel and the Buddha were built by Rama III in 1832. The image of the reclining Buddha represents the entry of Buddha into Nirvana and the end of all reincarnations. The posture of the image is referred to as sihasaiyas, the posture of a sleeping or reclining lion.

After lunch, you visited the Grand Palace, which served as a significant royal residence until 1925 and is now used for ceremonial purposes only. This was also the kid’s favorite, where they saw the Ramayana mural and Emerald Buddha who changes clothes three times/year with the seasons.

We then took a long-tail boat ride along the canal and then to the airport to fly to Hanoi, arriving late.  Happened to be Christmas Eve, which is apparently an excuse to party in Hanoi – the streets were too crowded to drive to our hotel in the Old Quarter so we had to walk with sleeping kids and our luggage through the madness. 

Day 5: December 25, 2019: Hanoi
Hotel: La Siesta on Ma May
Pictures: Breakfast, Lunch, Full Day
We began with a visit to the Ho Chi Minh complex where he declared Vietnam’s independence in 1945, including the Ho Chi Minh mausoleum, House 54, Stilt House, Presidential Palace and the One Pillar Pagoda. We continued on to the Museum of Ethnology, to learn more about the diverse cultures, customs and lifestyles of the 54 ethnic groups that inhabit Vietnam. Then we went to the Temple of Literature.  Originally built in honour of Confucius in 1070, a university was added to the grounds six years later. The university provided education to the royal family and children of the aristocracy or “mandarins”.

For lunch, we had Bun Cha on the street.  This was the kid’s first “real” Vietnamese meal.  After an afternoon rest, we went on a night time street food tour where our guide, a long time Hanoi resident, took us to her favorite spots for Pho, Nộm bò khô Long Vi (green papaya salad), Banh Cuon Thanh Van (steamed sticky rice), banh mi, green bean doughnuts, and more.

Day 7: December 26, 2019: Ninh Binh
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We drove a few hours outside of Hanoi to Ninh Binh where we hiked up Mua Cave at Tam Coc. We then biked along country lane (from Tam Coc to Bich Dong Pagoda) and boarded a sampan boats to drift down the river among the villages, mountains and lush rice fields. We boated through 3 caves “Hang Ca – First cave, Hang Hai -Second cave, Hang Ba – Third cave” before we drove back to Hanoi.

Day 8/9: December 27-28, 2019: Ha Long Bay cruise
Overnight: Peony Cruise, then fly to Da Nang
Pictures
We drove to Cat Hai where we boarded a tender to take us to the cruise ship where we had a lovely connecting cabin with balconies and cruised Ha Long Bay.  We went through Da Chong islet (lighthouse built by the French over 100 years ago), the islets of Con Vit Thoi Quyt area, Coc Ngoi islet, Gia Luan (Cat Ba National Park).  We kayaked in the Ao Ech area of Lan Ha Bay.  We then anchored in Tra Bau for swimming (no one did) at sunset and stayed there for the night. We had a “cooking class” where we made fresh spring rolls, happy hour, night time squid fishing, and dinner. 

The morning started early with Tai Chi on the upper deck. We took a tender to Cat Ba island to hike Trung Trang cave which is located in the middle of Cat Ba National Park with Kim Giao forest around the cave. Trung Trang Valley is the largest valley on Cat Ba Island. Back on board, we finished with brunch and a Tea Ceremony.

We went straight to the airport for our flight to Da Nang and drive to Hoi An.

Day 10: December 29, 2019: Hoi An
Hotel: Silk Village Resort
Activities, Exploring
We started visiting Cam Thanh fishing village at the Thu Bon River where we enjoyed a fun ride on the traditional Basket Boat (round boat) in the Water Coconut Palm Forest. We then got bikes for a ride to Tra Que Organic Vegetable Village and through rice fields. We had a great lunch in the farm where we also learned about their organic techniques and enjoyed a foot massage and the traditional herbal foot dip.

We spent the afternoon in the “Ancient Town” where we saw older houses, the Japanese bridge, discovered how they make silk, and got some tailoring done before wandering the night market and getting some food.

Day 11: December 30, 2019: Hoi An (our only unplanned “free day”)
Pictures
We spent the morning relaxing by our pool before taking an afternoon cooking class with Gioan Cooking school.  This was perhaps our best meal!  We began with a visit to the market where we bought fresh vegetables and learned about Vietnamese produce.  We then learned how to cook Lemongrass Chicken, Beef with Pepper Sauce, and Bun Cha. 

After the cooking class, we went back to the Ancient Town for some shopping (Brian had a suit made, Kara got some silk pajamas), exploring, foot massages, and dinner.

Day 12: December 31, 2019: Fly to Ho Chi Minh, city tour, New Years Eve
Hotel: Sheraton
Pictures

After lunch, we explored Saigon’s City Hall (1908, modeled after the Hotel de Ville in Paris) which now hosts the main office of the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee and is closed to the public. We saw the Central Post, and visited The Reunification Palace which was designed by Ngo Viet Thu for South Vietnam’s former President. We also saw the Notre Dame Cathedral (1877, all the building materials were imported from France) and the Saigon Opera House (1897).

At night, we went to the Ben Tanh market for great street food, and enjoyed a crazy DJ at the center of the city celebrating New Years Eve.

Day 13: January 1, 2020: Cu Chi Tunnels, Water Puppets
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We drove down to visit the Cu Chi Tunnels, an underground tunnel network constructed by the Vietnamese resistance fighters. This vast network of tunnels allowed the Viet Cong’s to control a large rural area surrounding Saigon. Asher, Max, and Brian crawled through the small tunnels (which have been enlarged for tourists).

Returning to Saigon, we saw a Water puppet performance and went back to the night market for dinner.

Day 14: January 2, 2020: Drive to Mekong, bike tour of the area
Hotel: Coco Riverside Lodge
Pictures

We drove south to Vung Liem, the heart of the Mekong Delta, famous for its vast rice fields, orchard farms, coconut trees, numerous waterways and beautiful landscapes. In the afternoon, we biked to a dragon fruit plantation, coconut + frog + catfish farm, and to Mr. Cong where we learned how to make pop rice. We also had the opportunity to visit the home of a war veteran artist where gave us a traditional musical performance. For dinner we had a cooking class with Vietnamese pancakes.

Day 15: January 3, 2020: Mekong, drive back, fly to Hong Kong
Pictures

After breakfast, we went by boat to a local market, the Cao Dai temple, and toured a coconut processing factory that took coconuts and turned them into rope + coconut + fertilizer. Once the coconut has been shelled, the coconut fibers are removed from the husk to make rope. Most of the work is done by hand. 

We then drove back to Saigon to the airport where we flew to Hong Kong.

Day 16: January 4, 2019: Final Day in Hong Kong!
Hotel: Mira Moon, boutique “rabbit” theme
Pictures

We had a busy day in Hong Kong.  We began with dumplings at Tim Ho Wan. We then taxi’d up to the Peak before we went and hiked the Dragon’s Back.  We returned to our hotel to pack one last time.  You can check your bags for the airport downtown, so we did that before a great spicy dinner at Chili Fagara. 

We had time for a ferry ride to Kowloon where we saw the Symphony of Lights before ferrying back and taking the train to the airport before heading home on Cathay Pacific, direct to Seattle!

Learnings

1. While the kids were surprisingly good in museums and temples, they definitely enjoyed the more “tactile” experiences where they could be physical.
2. Hotels are tremendously variable, one person’s “4 star” could be another’s “2 star.”  TripAdvisor is only sort of helpful for this.
3. We should have arranged in advance a night or two with babysitters.
4. Having a hotel pool is helpful every few days.
5. We used this device and an unlimited data plan for phones/FaceTime/browsing/posting.
6. Travel agent.

Packing

• Pack lite, especially when you’re moving around.  Less to stress over, less to lose, easier to maneuver into taxis, shuttles, airports, streets. 
• We left some room and packed a spare duffel for things we bought along the way. 
• Hotel laundry was generally inexpensive.
• Each of us had a backpack for carryons including a fleece, games/books/device, neck pillow.
• First aid and sleep.  Melatonin if needed for the kids, they actually never used it.  Ambien if needed for adults (we didn’t either).  Azithromycin, Pepto, Immodium, Tums, bandaids, anti-itch, sunscreen, bug spray, motion sickness.
• We took lots of USD, including small bills ($1s, $5s, $20s) for tips, and used ATMs locally for cash.  Generally where available we used a credit card.