Category Archives: Vietnam

All of Our Travels, Cambodia, Croatia, England, France, Hungary, Italy, Malaysia, Mexico, Slovenia, Spain, Thailand, United States, Vietnam

Our Interview With Family Adventure Podcast

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We were recently interviewed by Family Adventure Podcast. It’s a great podcast that aims to inspire families to travel and dream big. We were a little nervous, but Erik is very easy to talk with and we had a lot of fun. Please be sure to check it out. For those families looking to be inspired or hoping for some travel tips, Family Adventure Podcast has a lot of other great interviews to check out on their site and their podcast is available on iTunes as well.

Listen here: Episode 51 – Taking the Scenic Route!

All of Our Travels, Thailand, United States, Vietnam

2014 In Review – Part 1

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The last year has been one of the best in our lives. It was all about change, risk, adventure, and discovery. We took, what some would consider, a crazy leap of faith, and although we can’t say what the future holds, we wouldn’t change a thing. The experiences that we’ve had in the last year are more than most could hope for in a lifetime. We are amazed and so grateful when we look back on it all. Continue reading 2014 In Review – Part 1 →

All of Our Travels, Hungary, Thailand, Vietnam

Friends Abroad

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When you decide to travel long-term, many wonderful experiences lay before you, but you must also be willing to leave behind the comforts of home and loved ones. Of course, in today’s world it is easy to stay in touch with tools like Skype, Facebook, WhatsApp, and email. They all go a long way toward combating homesickness. With technology, you can often feel just as “in touch” when you are thousands of miles from home as you did when you were actually there.

We enjoy seeing what everyone is up to on Facebook and scheduling calls with friends and family, but the absolute best treat is when people come to visit. Not only do we get to see them in-person, but we get to play host and share some of our adventures with them. Continue reading Friends Abroad →

All of Our Travels, Cambodia, Croatia, England, France, Hungary, Italy, Malaysia, Mexico, Slovenia, Thailand, United States, Vietnam

Unexpected Challenges

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People choose to travel for a number of reasons, but it often includes a desire to expose oneself to new experiences and cultures. It gives us an opportunity to grow and learn. To us, it’s what makes travel such a rich and worthwhile venture. However, putting yourself in unfamiliar situations, where you don’t always know the language, can sometimes cause stress and frustration. How you handle that stress and frustration will determine your success as a traveler and the satisfaction you get from traveling.

1) Be Prepared. This is partly about taking the time to learn a little about the place where you will be traveling, but it is also about preparing yourself mentally. Embrace the fact that there WILL be times when you are lost and confused. Expect it and accept it. Continue reading Unexpected Challenges →

All of Our Travels, Vietnam

Pool Time in Saigon

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When kids (and adults) are hot and tired after a day of sightseeing in Ho Chi Minh City, is it a nice treat to take a cool swim. But what if you don’t have a swimming pool? Well, there are plenty of hotels with pools in town that allow day passes to visitors. We chose the May Hotel because of the location and the reasonable price.

SaigonMayHotel_6 Continue reading Pool Time in Saigon →

All of Our Travels, Vietnam

Van Thanh Park

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When we were visiting friends in Ho Chi Minh City, we asked them to take us somewhere that our 8-year-old could run around and play outside. We weren’t sure what to expect, but we figured that we’d be happy with any open greenspace that had shade. We were very pleasantly surprised when we arrived at Van Thanh Park. It was huge, with over 13 acres of land and 6 acres of water. It’s a wonderfully green, tranquil, and well-designed space with plenty to keep both kids and adults entertained.SaigonVanThanhPark_4 Continue reading Van Thanh Park →

All of Our Travels, Vietnam

Renting in Saigon

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When we travel, we stay in vacation rentals whenever possible. It’s just more comfortable, it’s a better deal than a hotel, and it makes you feel like a “temporary local”.

During our recent visit to Ho Chi Minh City, we rented from a great guy named Tram for our 6 night stay. We found the rental on Airbnb (my favorite travel website and tool).

Screen Shot 2014-07-02 at 2.03.59 PMTram currently offers two apartments, both with great central locations. We prefer walking as our primary mode of transportation and these lodgings are within easy walking distance of Saigon’s most popular attractions and some great restaurants and cafes as well. Continue reading Renting in Saigon →

All of Our Travels, Vietnam

Vietnamese BBQ

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VietnameseBBQ_4Some of our friends in Ho Chi Minh City took us to 5KU Station for Vietnamese BBQ. It’s a popular open-air restaurant filled mostly with locals, but there were a few tourists and expatriates there as well. Our table included all of the above.

The menu included both BBQ and hotpots. It was reasonably priced and varied. Tons of options from safe to adventurous. Diners have the option to cook their own or let the kitchen do it for them. I thought it would be fun to do it ourselves, so we opted to have the small clay pot grill brought to our table. This small table-top grill was filled with very hot coals, the real thing not charcoal, and then topped with a removable metal rack.

VietnameseBBQ_3 Continue reading Vietnamese BBQ →

All of Our Travels, Vietnam

Thien Hau Temple in Saigon

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When we were visiting Ho Chi Minh City, some of our local friends took us to visit the Thien Hau Pagoda in Chinatown.

Also known as Chua Ba, this beautiful and popular Saigon pagoda was built by the Chinese in the early 19th century and dedicated to Thien Hau, goddess of the sea and protector of sailors. It is believed that Thien Hau can travel over the oceans on a mat and ride the clouds to save people in trouble on the high seas.ThienHauSaigon_3 Continue reading Thien Hau Temple in Saigon →

All of Our Travels, Vietnam

World Games in Saigon

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We have some friends from Portland that had plans to visit relatives in Saigon (the center of Ho Chi Minh City) at the end of June. Since we’d been hoping to visit Vietnam and we were already in Southeast Asia, we decided to meet them there. Our son went to school with their son. At the tender age of 8-years-old, Ethan is an intrepid traveler, but he does miss his friends.

We arranged to meet at the Vincom Center near Ho Chi Minh Square, so the kids could go to World Games, the biggest and most modern game center in the city. The kids had a blast playing arcade games and air hockey. In short, it was a great way to entertain two young kids that need a break from sightseeing.

World Games
B2 Floor, Vincom Center
Address: 72 Le Thanh Ton street, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City
Website: http://www.vincomshoppingmall.com/vi-VN/VincomCenterHCM/ (in Vietnamese)
Tokens: 3.500 VND