Vietnam

Places we ate in Vietnam and Singapore April 2025   

Posted on April 18, 2025 by Mel

An Bang Beach 

Blue sea Hoi an – south end, very tasty and well price local food. Best Cao Lau we had in the area 

Xin Chao – south end, near the backpackers. Really tasty curry and cheaper pricing than some of the others. Cao Lau was very salty and not my favourite though  

Serena Restaurant – south end, beautiful food and family owned. Lights are lovely to sit under

Luckys Restaurant – always delicious and well priced! Cute baby. This one is on the main road near main beach 

Thom’s Bakery – south end and main beach location, yummy pastries, nice juices and coffee. Tourist pricing but a nice change from a very average breakfast buffet at the hotel 

Cu Le Bar – south end, we only had juice here but it was tasty and they had tiny lovable puppies they let me cuddle 

Summer Beach Restaurant – south end, really tasty and fresh food cooked by a family. Cute comfy chairs and nice street view, Bahn mi and fried pork rolls tasty and made fresh. 

Hoi An Old Town 

White Rose Restaurant – touristy but also cool to go somewhere that specialises in the dumplings 

Oodles of Noodles (Hoi An) does noodle tasting tours and then there is the Noodle House with their famous “A Flight of Noodles”. We didn’t get to try this one but it’s on the list for next time! 

Ho Chi Minh City 

Ben Nghe Street Food Market – so many stalls! So much good food! Clean toilets and cheap drinks as well.

Street food tour: Co Lieng (betel leaves), Nuac Mio (sugar cane juice and rice flour noodles opposite), Oc Diem (seafood alley), Bahn Xeo 335 (big and small savoury pancakes), Kem Bo (coconut icecream smoothie)

The cafe on level 8 of the cafe restaurant apartments. Juice was amazing, food was awful and do not recommend

Pho Viet Nam – delicious! Meaty broth and clay pots so you can choose what goes in. Two Michelin guide recommendations as well https://maps.app.goo.gl/fQW1jpSdCRkzEWWAA?g_st=com.google.maps.preview.copy

A taste of Saigon – old town. A little pricier than other “hole in the wall” local places but absolutely delicious food and the opportunity to try some Saigon specials including broken rice and BUN THIT NONG SAIGON which is noodles, peanuts, salad, fried spring rolls and pork.

Singapore

Satay street outside Lau Pa Sat Hawker Centre – had heard this was amazing but we thought it was overpriced and average

Feng Ji Chicken Rice – pretty good local place near the Robertson house hotel. limited English.

Mel’s Diner at Universal Studios – awful. Absolutely awful. Don’t even try it, we doing it basically inedible

Ah Heng (Michelin recommended) at Hong Lim Hawker Centre – We went in search of some Hawker Food gems for dinner and wandered 15 mins along the river to Heng Kee Curry Chicken Bee Hoon Mee (shop 02-57/58/59) located in Hong Lim Market & Food Centre. This shop finally received a write up in the Michelin guide in 2023 after numerous awards and mentions over the years. The shop was founded in the 1970s and is currently run by its second-generation owner. The stall’s hallmark single dish is a mild (for most) curry broth, custom-made tofu puffs and fish cakes with delicious poached chicken and yellow noodles. We got the small bowls for $6.50 SGD each and also bought a sugar cane juice for $2.50 SGD each two stalls over.

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Vietnam: Ho Chi Minh City (Day 10)

Posted on April 15, 2025 by Mel

Another lazy start to the day!

For lunch we caught a grab through District 1 to Pho Viet Nam which has two consecutive Michelin Star mentions. Their handmade noodles and Pho broth in clay pots is a winner (deliciously meaty) while their meat options have a range for everyone. They have two store fronts near each other and we accidentally wandered into the more “local” one so didn’t have to deal with lots of tourists and got seated straight away. Brad got the no 1 and I upgraded to a no 6 with wagyu…it was very good.

After lunch B had a nap while I lazed around the pool for a while before a quick uni commitment online (great wifi at the Myst Dong Khoi Hotel).

For dinner I wasn’t sure I could do a walk over to the street food market again and then back on a time frame before our evening Saigon River Boutique Boat Cruise. So I used my Google search powers and found A Taste of Saigon – Old Market which was only a 5 min walk away. It did take a bit of locating and a slightly creepy alley walk but we got there! Food is definitely priced higher than local places but it was also VERY good and we got to try some Saigon speciality dishes.

The river cruise was great. They met us at the ferry terminal in District 1 (3 min walk from the hotel) and off we went! We passed by landmarks including the Tran Hung Dao Statue, Hotel Majestic, Dragon Wharf, Bitexco Financial Tower, and Mong Bridge…all of which were beautifully lit!

After the cruise it was early to bed for a 5am wake up as we head to Singapore tomorrow! We have had a lovely few days catching up with our friends to celebrate a special birthday.

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Vietnam: Ho Chi Minh City (Day 9)

Posted on April 14, 2025 by Mel

We started day 9 with hotel breakfast at Myst Dong Khoi and it was great – so much choice! After brekkie we visited the War Remnants Museum which had some fascinating – and horrifying images and details about the US “war of aggression” towards Vietnam. Definitely a different perspective than what Australian history tells kids in schools.

We also visited the cafe apartments. This decaying nine-story complex once housed American military officers during the Vietnam War. Fast forward 60 years and dozens of boutiques, cafes and restaurants now occupy the former apartment units. We paid VND 3000 to catch the lift to the top (about 30 cents) and then walked back down to each level. We stopped for a drink (yum) and some spring rolls (revolting) so we could sit on one of the balconies .

I had to do a few hours uni work but then got to go for a refreshing swim in the rooftop pool and enjoy some drinks in the bar.

We headed off as a group of 4 to Ben Nghe Street Food Market (formerly known as the Ben Thanh Street Food Market) which is a dining hall that consists of dozens of trendy eateries cooking up everything from Vietnamese to Mexican to vegan food. All the deliciousness of street food with the added safety of good hygiene and refrigeration! Prices were also very low.

We walked back to the hotel via the markets and picked up some cute souvenirs as well as seeing lots of pretty buildings with all their lights on.

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Vietnam: Ho Chi Minh City (Day 8)

Posted on April 14, 2025 by Mel

We flew on a domestic flight from Da Nang to Saigon (Vietnam airlines are the only airline we use internally) and were delayed about an hour which is too bad for Vietnam. This time we also didn’t have a satanic child trying to climb me for the whole flight so that was nice. I arranged our transfer directly with the guy who brought us out here on WhatsApp (we paid 350k VND to come out here via booking . com) and the return was 250k VND.

Our hotel here in Ho Chi Minh City (which l refer to as Saigon as most locals do) is a very nice, very fancy place! It included a transfer from the airport. We are in District 1 this time so right near the river with a city view. I didn’t pick this hotel but am very impressed.

Our booking also includes a free mini high tea every day.

We are in Saigon to meet up with friends and celebrate a belated 40th. We started our short visit with a street food man walking food tour! We have done this tour before but it’s one of the best ones we have ever done – in any country – and is also one of the few walking vs scooter tours….important for me who can’t get on a scooter. You can book here: https://streetfoodman.com/our-tours/private-walking-tours

The street food tour was once again fantastic although now I don’t need to eat for a week.

The winners for me were:

  1. Bahn Khot (deep fried savoury small pancake)

2. Charcoal-grilled bò lá lốt (minced beef wrapped in betel leaves) from Co Lieng who have a Michelin guide mention

    3. This one was a tie for me…the avocado and coconut icecream smoothie at the flower market was delicious but so was the sugar cane juice. Both equally refreshing.

      I highly recommend https://streetfoodman.com/our-tours/private-walking-tours. As a side note it’s a bit more expensive than some of the other options but a very fair amount goes to the guides and it’s ethically as sound as it gets in HCMC.

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      Vietnam: An Bang Beach (Hoi An) days 5-7

      Posted on April 12, 2025 by Mel

      Day 5

      Today I did laundry. Exciting! The humidity means my sink washing hasn’t been going well so I’ve given in and all my cotton stuff has gone to a local today. I paid 35k VND which is about $2.50 and it’s all washed, dried and folded for me. We went to Ms Oi’s in south An Bang as it was opposite the accommodation.

      We have been walking up to Thoms Bakery (about 150m from our hotel) and buying breakfast instead of eating the provided buffet one. The pastries and fresh juice are delicious although obviously tourist pricing.

      We had a pretty lazy day today then walked up to the main beach. On the way I saw the puppies again and got to cuddle one! As you can tell, it made my day.

      We walked about 600m down the beach towards the main beach area which was busy today…likely because the sun is out. In the main area of An Bang Beach we went to our favourite place from last time – Lucky’s Restaurant. As always the food and drinks was delicious and pricing was 175k VND….so about $13 AUD.

      Day 6

      Today is Bs birthday! Yay! As we one bagged this trip with under 7kgs each, I gave him his present before we left….i did manage to smuggle a little card and gift into my bag though. The card is Vietnam themed and the little present is a coin with “one more game” and “time for bed” on each side.

      We spent most of the day by the beach and swimming in the ocean with a brief visit to the puppies again.

      B got to choose dinner since it was his birthday and he chose Bahn Mi from our old favourite Luckys. We also got to walk down the beach and watch the colours change as twilight snuck up.

      Day 7

      Last full day today, we are off to HCMC to meet up with friends for a few days tomorrow. I’ve really enjoyed being back in An Bang Beach and how quiet it is here…and I love the food! If only they could embrace individual villas for couples so I didn’t have to share a pool with screaming children. We have been discussing if we would return here and we are just…unsure. Love the food and the relaxing vibe in the area but 2 flights (and they aren’t cheap to get here) as well as no private villa option means it ends up at a similar price point to a private villa in Bali….for a lot less travel. So in terms of relaxation it’s a tricky call to make.

      Today was just about relaxing by the beach and thankfully there were very few children there.

      After beach time we had some snacks at Summer Beach Restaurant next to the accomodation which had a really tasty lemon Soda and bendy straws….gotta love bendy straws. We also visited my little puppy friends for one last cuddle but sadly they were having naps.

      Dinner was at Xin Chao at the South end of An Bang Beach again. The curry was absolutely delicious and we enjoyed a last walk on the beach too.

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      Vietnam Days 3-4: Tra Que Vegetable Village and Hoi An Old Town (Hoi An region)

      Posted on April 9, 2025 by Mel

      Day 3

      We went for a bike ride out to Tra Que Vegetable Village today and came back through some rice fields. Highlights included: 

      – first time in years I’ve ridden a normal bike. Last time I threw up. This time I narrowly avoided that but did have to walk a few sections when my heart rate hit 200 bpm 

      – I rode on the highway! Scary, but traffic was obviously used to crazy tourists 

      – The vegetable village was beautiful and I was very happy to avoid the touristy gimmicky stuff while still contributing to their tourism fund. Brad says when we buy our Labrador farm I should grow veg like this, I said sure if he also buys me a farmer 😂

      – I saw buffalo! And one was a baby now named “bubbalo”

      Dinner was at Xin Chao also on the south side of An Bang. It was closer to the backpacker area so prices were cheaper and the curry was really REALLY yummy. Curry with rice, Cao Lau and two fruit drinks was 220k VND so around $14 AUD.

      Day 4

      Today started with a PhD commitment for me so I joined the discussion from our balcony.

      We then spent the day relaxing at An Bang beach. The breeze means it was a bit cool for us to swim (did not stop the Brit’s and Russians at all!) so we laid in the shade with books and listened to the waves. I also found a swing!

      Dinner tonight was at another south end restaurant – this one called Serena Restaurant. This one was very locally owned and run and the food was tasty and well priced. I got to eat another regional Hoi An dish called Com Ga also known as chicken rice. They had a cute and friendly doggo as well.

      Day 4

      Another day spent relaxing at the beach and listening to the waves. Around 3pm we used Grab to head to Hoi An Old Town (about 5kms away). We started out visiting White Rose Restaurant to try the famous white rose dumplings. White rose dumplings which are only found in Hoi An might look fancy, but they’re just beautifully folded rice flour pockets filled with shrimp or pork and steamed. Despite the name, there are no roses involved – just the delicate wrappers shaped by hand and a punchy sweet / spicy dipping sauce.

      The recipe for these dumplings is secret, held by one family in Hoi A who supplies all the restaurants. White Rose Restaurant’s (533 Hai Ba Trung Street) staff member Tran Tuan Ngai is a third generation secret keeper of the traditional white rose recipe.

      We then walked down to the Japanese covered bridge “Chua Cau” which was under renovation the last time we were here. This time I got to see it and walk over it!

      We had a drink and hung around for awhile waiting for sunset so I could watch all the pretty lanterns on the river. Pro tip – cross to the other side (the fake old town) so you can take photos with old town in the background.

      Dinner was a delicious banana and Nutella pancake from a street vendor and I was verrrrry pleased with it.

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      Vietnam: An Bang Beach (Hoi An) Days 1 – 2

      Posted on April 6, 2025 by Mel

      Day 1

      Woohoo back to Vietnam for a couple of weeks! We flew Singapore air coming over and did Perth – Changi Airport – Da Nang. I paid for priority processing in Da Nang as it’s apparently the second busiest airport in Vietnam and lining up for hours isn’t my favourite thing to do. When we arrived there were 5 people in the line haha 😛 so that was not my best investment.

      Our accommodation in An Bang (a regional area near Hoi An) has been quite a challenge this time unfortunately.

      • I booked my preferred place (Shoreline Stays Aparthotel) 6 months ahead. 4 days before we were due to fly in they cancelled! Do not recommend. I was very grumpy.
      • I then found an equivalent place nearby and booked that last minute (at a higher cost). After 24 hours of no contact I started to get a bit suss so did a deep dive and discovered it was a fake address and another venues photos. In Vietnam you pretty much have to use websites like booking . com as few places have their own sites. It’s a known scam to claim “renovations” and rename an old listing. When I finally got the villa to reply they tried to tell me the accomodation I booked was closed but they offered me a much nastier one for the same price….which is a fairly well know scam often seen in places like Bali. Then they refused to refund me when I declined. Luckily I did get refunded after threatening to report them to booking . Com….at which point I promptly reported them anyway.
      • At this stage with 3 days until we were due to arrive, I had to widen my search. So, now we are staying at a place on the other side of An Bang called Sol An Bang Beach Resort and Spa. It is a little bigger than I had hoped for but it doesn’t feel big as we are split into small groups of rooms and each group has access to all three pools so we can spread out. Bonus – I can hear and see the ocean! Not so good – noise insulation sucks and we can hear all the people around us, doors closing etc. That’s not exactly uncommon here though, even in very fancy hotels.

      We got in around 5:30pm so went for a brief walk to collect mini mart snacks and see what restaurants we might want to explore tomorrow. That’s how we found out as well as having a sea view from our room, there’s actually a cute little beach bar too!

      View from the balcony of the room
      Three pools are available to all guests
      Cute little beach bar at our accomodation

      Day 2

      Today we had a little sleep in (noise insulation is really not Vietnam’s high point haha) but had caught up on 12hrs of sleep debt so we’re feeling much better. We tried out the free hotel breakfast. About what you would expect – edible but average.

      After brekkie, I wanted to walk back over to where we stayed last time so we could see how far it is, check out the new construction and try and find this mystery noodle place that gets raved about online

      “Mi Quang Di Suong Address:  Alley of Nguyen Phan Vinh (near Bungalow Beach Bar) Opening Hours: 7 a.m until sold out. Monday – Sunday. Tucked away in a quaint alley within A Bang village, just a stone’s throw from Nguyen Phan Vinh main road, lies this hidden culinary gem. Here, the delectable noodles are meticulously crafted by the skilled hands of Ms. Nghi.  During the initial and middle days of every lunar month, she opts to shutter the restaurant, allowing her time to recharge and fully embrace her personal journey of vegetarianism.”

      How could I not visit with a write up like that!? She had sold out by the time we got there at 10:30am though so will have to try another day.

      After a good wander around An Bangs main beach area we walked back to our side (about 600m along the beach) and spent the afternoon swimming and reading by the pool.

      Dinner was at Blue Sea Hoi An which has one of the highest Google ratings in the area. We both have had to get used to using Google maps and Google reviews again as Vietnam is definitely not “Apple friendly”. I had Cao Lau which is a regional dish for the Hoi An area. It typically consists of char siu style pork and salad (greens) on a bed of rice noodles which have been soaked in lye water. Mine were also garnished with peanuts and chillies. Two mains and two juices was 255000 VND so approximately $15 AUD.

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      Vietnam / Singapore 2 week packing list (one carry on bag only – under 7kgs!)

      Posted on April 5, 2025 by Mel

      My total bag ended up at 8kgs because my laptop is 1.3kgs and my roller bag is 1.8kgs on its own. We only have one flight this time that have a 7kg limit so we just move the laptop to Bs bag for that check in then moved it back.

      It’s taken a bit of investment and time to work out this collection of clothing (and specific fabrics) for travel to hot and humid places.

      PURCHASE IN COUNTRY 

      • sunscreen (cancer council) 

      B TO TAKE 

      • Plug cover + laundry sheets 
      • colostrum + probiotics 
      • deodorant, toothpaste, 100ml face sunscreen, bug wipes 
      • paperwork 

      SAMSONITE ROLLER BACKPACK

      • 2 x cotton tops (pink, choc) 
      • 1 x linen cropped top loose (purple) 
      • 1 x cotton cropped tshirt (white) 
      • 1 x merino camel coloured singlet

      • Linen camixa long sleeved shirt / swim cover up

      • 1 x denim shorts (blue bungalow) 
      • 1 x cotton/viscose capri pants 
      • 1 x viscose/cotton crinkle dinner dress

      • 1 x black bather top  
      • 1 x monte Lou garden bikini set 
      • 1 x brown swim sarong
      • 5 x modal undies
      • 1 x Chub rub undershorts 
      • 1 x merino paire sleep singlet 
      • 1 x croc thongs 

      OTHER STUFF

      • Laptop
      • 5L dry bag 
      • Sunglasses 
      • Crushable travel hat 
      • Toiletries (non liquid) bag: hairbrush, hair ties/scrunchies, toothbrush, gel ear plugs for snoring, Pimple patches, tweezers, A few cute earrings 
      • Toiletries (liquid) bag: HW shampoo 100ml, HW conditioner 100ml tub, body wash 100ml, TOTD cleanser, 1x med cream, clothing spray, niacide cream 20ml 
      • Medications travel container: Panadol, nurofen, coloxyl, no-doz, travel sickness, buscopan, nausea wafers, multiV, b12, something for itch/bites, telfast 180
      • Painkillers + dr letter
      • Small foldable tote bag – peak

      Personal bag not included in weight (bellroy crossbody bag) 

      • Passport
      • AIRPODS 
      • Ear plugs (loop for plane)
      • Ereader
      • Money/travel wallet + wise card + visa 
      • Pen
      • Sunflower lanyard 
      • charger pack including cable, int adaptors and base, Apple Watch charger and air fly kit. USB c adaptor for usb a on plane 

      Wearing on the plane: 

      • Tencil blue shirt 
      • 1 x black merino 3/4 travel pants 
      • Merino teal lightweight cover all 
      • Travel bra – beige 
      • 1 x Paire travel undies black  
      • keen rose Travel sandals
      • Plane compression socks 
      • Apple Watch 
      • Swap out rings for cheap ones
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      Vietnam one bag packing reflections / notes

      Posted on July 21, 2024 by Mel

      PURCHASE IN COUNTRY

      ⁃ sunscreen ( circle k or tourist shop) ahhh this was way harder than we thought it would be! Once we got to the beach it was everywhere but before that we had to go to multiple pharmacies. And we really needed it as the UV index was bonkers

      ⁃ Bug spray (remos brand) – didn’t buy any as the clothing spray beforehand + the wipes did an excellent job

      B PACKED:

      ⁃ paperwork (digital copies of everything but the visa would have been fine)

      ⁃ deodorant, toothpaste, avene 100ml sunscreen, cetaphil 100ml, boat patches, bug wipes

      CARRY ON CONVERTIBLE ROLLER BAG

      ◦ 2 x Bella bodies travel bra (one padded) – probably only need one, or both but could have left out the merino bra

      ◦ 2 x ex officio travel undies – did not wear, not comfy. Really not impressed with these. There’s been a definite quality shift over time and B found the same thing with his men’s ones

      ◦ 1 x merino paire sleep singlet – excellent packing choice, only had to be washed out twice in 3.5 weeks

      ◦ 3 x modal black undies – replace ex officio with these, take 6 next time (2 per day)

      ◦ 1 x colourful skort – worn a few times and although a bit warm (polyester) this looked nice and would have been a great option in place of the dress

      ◦ 1 x macpac white linen shorts – worn multiple times, take a bit longer to dry but super cool and airy in the really hot places

      ◦ 1 x T9 crop 3/4 pants (blue) both pairs used as the second was worn on the plane but I think one would have been sufficient as they were quick dry

      ◦ 1 x M ripskirt dress short (flowers) – minimal use but this was a very active trip so pants / shorts were the go. Wore as a beach cover up a few times

      ◦ 2 x 3/4 sleeve cotton loose weave tops (teal, pink) – lots of use, so glad I shoved these in last minute as they were my saviour!

      ◦ 3 x isocool tee shirts (lilac, white, bright pink) only needed 2 at the most as not great in high humidity. I think in a warmer, dry climate these would be perfect but the humid meant they were itchy and heavy feeling

      ◦ Waterproof overlay Uniqlo- didn’t use at all, just got wet then dried off. Way too hot

      ◦ 2 x TS undershorts 5” – only need one pair to go with dress, the “we are underwear too” is definitely not accurate

      ◦ 1 x merino Sleep shorts – B ended up using these and was happy with them

      ◦ 1 x lined swim shorts black – cut liner out, lots of use in beach/pool parts but only for my own comfort, most women just wore a bikini / bathers

      ◦ 1 x swim/sunshirt: brown – no good in humidity, minimal use. Just too hot. Did get some use on boats in direct sun though

      ◦ 1 x monte Lou bikini set – lots of use, don’t say great but better than a one piece and not as heavy

      ◦ 1 x crocs thongs – lots of use, good purchase

      OTHER STUFF

      ◦ MacBook and sleeve – thick padding worked well in wheeled Fairview bag. Still a pain at. Airports but manageable

      ◦ Mosquito wipes – excellent

      ◦ Small foldable backpack – very useful, absolute must bring for next trip!!

      ◦ Dry bag – used frequently for bathers

      ◦ Palexia, bacclofan Painkillers + dr letter- not checked but felt better having the letter

      ◦ Medications travel container: Panadol, nurofen, coloxyl, no-doz, dramamine, antibiotics, gastro stop, buscopan, nausea wafers, multiV, something for itch/bites, telfast 180

      ◦ Laundry bag – dry bag instead? Minimal use on a wash/wear long trip

      ◦ Toiletries (liquid) bag: shampoo 100ml, conditioner 100ml tub, body wash 100ml, cleanser tube 50ml, TOTD MU remover, 2x med cream, IT redness 20ml, heat spray 50ml, makeup spray 30ml, red correct tub, white concealer, face sunscreen – cc serum sunscreen better, remove makeup completely as it just slid off my face

      ◦ Toiletries (non liquid) bag: hairbrush, hair ties/scrunchies, toothbrush, gel ear plugs for snoring, concealer, powder, brush. Pimple patches, tweezers, wipes, floss – remove makeup

      ◦ Wet scarf or towel + ring – excellent purchase

      ◦ Usbc Hair straightener – not used at all, too hot so hair always tied up

      ◦ Mini clothesline + laundry sheets + sink cover – laundry line not used at all but sink cover and sheets good. Bring more sheets than days!!

      ◦ Crushable travel hat – best purchase, used every day

      ◦ BellRoy small cross body bag – used every day, small enough it didn’t hurt my shoulder, hat clip was also very useful to attach hat

      PERSONAL ITEM (grey cross body handbag – swap to mini backpack for comfort)

      ◦ Ereader

      ◦ AirPods

      ◦ Pen

      ◦ Cheap folding Sunnies – broke on day 2. Had to buy in country

      ◦ Ear plugs (loop for plane)

      ◦ Money/travel wallet

      ◦ Merino wool socks for plane / cold feet – used on one flight so worth it

      ◦ Vapor water bottle – did not use at all, just used disposable ones

      ◦ Passport

      ◦ charger pack including cable, int adaptors and base, fitbit charger and air fly kit

      WORE ON PLANE:

      ⁃ T9 crop 3/4 pants (grey)

      ⁃ bra (light blue merino racerback) good

      ⁃ merino lightweight shirt or cream modal – both good options, I wish I had taken both in place of an isocool shirt

      ⁃ 1 x Paire undies

      ⁃ keen Travel sandals – awesome purchase in place of taking sneakers. Very happy

      ⁃ Travel merino cardigan (pink) – good, used on planes only but I did get cold

      ⁃ Fitbit inspire 2 – took in place of Apple Watch and was really pleased with 7 day battery, smaller fit and better waterproofing. Wasn’t great as a watch in direct sun but the alerts were mainly what I wanted and then all worked fine for texts, calls and a vibrate alarm

      EXTRA PURCHASES

      – I bought a Uniqlo dress over there as it isn’t available in Aus. I wore that in place of the floral travel one to a fancy dinner

      – had to buy sunnies as mine broke

      – bought two more light weave cotton tank tops as well, wore at the beach and lounging around at the pool

      – also squeezed in some souvenirs! Wood art, silk pairing and Vietnamese coffee with a coffee server for B

      Categories: Vietnam | Tags: , , | Leave a comment

      Day 23 Vietnam: travelling home and reflections on an organised, personalised tour

      Posted on July 18, 2024 by Mel

      We are travelling home from Da Nang airport – Singapore – Perth with Singapore Airlines on their $0 return flights. We generally have a good experience travelling with them although once again had to queue at the airport to show our visa date….this time to get the boarding pass. I do not enjoy that part at all about Vietnam!

      In Da Nang we accessed the Orchid Lounge which takes priority pass ($27USD per person if paying directly) but in Singapore the stopover is only 2hrs so we will wander and then go to the gate. The orchid lounge was very similar to all the other “pay per use” ones we have been in although it is definitely one of the nicer ones! Comfy seats and snacks, drinks and power points are abundant. I can also lay down or put my feet up when we use the lounges if needed so for me it’s worth it when the wait exceeds 2hrs.

      Home arrival time is midnight tonight…and I have a work meeting at 8:30am tomorrow. Then I fly to Brisbane the next day for a week at a conference. Lucky me! Also travelling with this sunburn is hideously uncomfortable. Do not recommend.

      We got a lovely Singapore sky on our final leg!

      Our Little Vietnam Tours experience

      When initially looking into travelling for almost a month in Vietnam we ran into a few early issues.

      1. We first looked at intrepid as we have been on their tours before. We quickly learned that their Vietnam tours are very heavy on the walking (an issue for me due to spinal condition) and they all included multiple overnight trains

      2. The overnight trains were a hard no for me. I know they are an experience but a combo of anxiety, spinal pain and having to pee a lot (toilets are disgusting on these) meant they just were not going to work

      3. Having started to adapt to travelling with a physical issue now (and being a lot more confident in saying that) i was aware the medical systems in Vietnam aren’t great. Unlike Thailand and Indonesia who have high quality private hospitals covered by our travel insurance, that’s not a thing here.

      All of those combined meant I started to look at other options which was when I came across Little Vietnam Tours https://www.littlevietnamtours.com run by Annie (who is Vietnamese) and her husband (who I think is American). Annie works with you on a personalised itinerary, she books everything for you and arranges a consistent guide in each region. Did it feel a bit elitist? Yep. Did we both struggle with telling the guide when we wanted something different so we didn’t hurt their feelings? Definitely. Was it good value? Absolutely. It included all visiting/tourist site aspects of the intrepid tour + much better accomodation + private tours and came in slightly cheaper! We also got excellent restaurant recommendations in each place that were “local”.

      Positives of this approach:

      ⁃ We knew the guides and drivers were paid properly by an ethical company

      ⁃ The restaurant recommendations were all spot on. They were worth their weight in gold!

      ⁃ Everything was done for us. When I had a question I just flicked a quick message and got a reply within a few mins. We also had contacts if we needed for an emergency so we were reassured we would have an English/Vietnamese translator if needed

      ⁃ They organised an itinerary that made sense in terms of where we went and when, how we got around and the order of “visits” in each place. They did this with what I wanted in mind, for example most people got south to north or north to south…but we knew we wanted to finish centrally for the beach stay. She made it work south – north – central!

      ⁃ We had a hotel issue at An Bang and Annie was able to speak with the manager about it which helped to get across our concerns and work towards a resolution

      Challenges specific to us:

      ⁃ we had one guide we just didn’t vibe well with. That was a bit awkward as we had the same one for three days. We also had a guide we felt was not representative of the company’s usual quality. That guide didn’t listen to us, expected us to buy lunch every day for him (not an issue, but not discussed at all!) and took us to see all his mates shops in the markets which really got to B. He also took lots of photos of us with his own phone after being asked multiple times not to. We gave appropriate feedback afterwards and he will receive some additional training on expectations

      ⁃ I didn’t build in enough rest days for us. A private guide is a hell of a lot of mental load in terms of having to talk and engage constantly + the additional physical toll of a stupidly humid location and the physical movement of visiting places. We also found out halfway through that the one guide was not clear I had a back issue even though we had been told they understood. We found this out after a day of climbing 700 stairs and me not being able to walk the next day! That particular activity impacted almost a week of the holiday as I couldn’t get my feet to stop swelling afterwards

      ⁃ We were not very good at taking advantage of this services if I’m honest. I like to be in control and I struggled to rely on the guide having all the info and contact details for some parts. This also meant I didn’t use some of the extra services eg booking food tours, arranging extra locations, arranging private drivers for additional activities, changing start and finish times to suit me. It didn’t matter how many times someone pointed out I was paying for the individual service and could arrange whatever I wanted…I felt weird about it

      Would we do it again?

      Good question and one we are considering now for a Thailand trip. I am very glad we did it in Vietnam for the peace of mind and for the really good hotel and restaurant recommendations. I’m a lot more confident travelling in Thailand and I think I would likely organise my own drivers, guides and activities there. I do acknowledge having a consistent guide makes some things easier but we also found it was a big mental load as introverts…which honestly had not occurred to me.

      We do highly recommend Annie’s business (Little Vietnam Tours) though. She was very supportive, helped us find things in each place to suit our interests and the accomodation and restaurant suggestions were spot on. I would have searched for hours and still not come up with hotels that were the same quality and in the locations she chose! Local knowledge was definitely an asset.

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