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Published: March 12th 2007
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Basket boat
on China Beach Hello to all.
As many of you know we are home safe and sound as of March 1.
Vietnam was a trip worth while. A few rough spots and times where I wanted to run away from the kids but over all there are no regrets. Happy we went and happy we took the kids. It is so cool when Vietnam, temples, pagodas and durian fruit are part of your 3 year olds vocabulary.
Last thoughts.
- Vietnam is worth doing on your own. A tour group would suck and you would miss so much.
- get acidopholous from the health food store before you go and take daily. I firmly believe that is why none of us got stomach problems. Six weeks and five people and no days confined to a room close to the toilet was amazing.
- at no time did either of us ever feel unsafe, despite the things we had read. Just be wise and aware and you'll probably do just fine
- We figured that the most we ever spent per day including accomodations, transport, all meals, snacks and beverages (non-alcoholic) was $50 US for all five of us. This does not include
Hoi An orphanage
Some of the girls that Kyle and I took the pedicure supplies an nailpolish to the couple of time we flew to destinations. Can't even take five of us out for supper in Castlegar for that price.
-Taking lots of little books and a few thomas trains kept the young ones busy when they could not find items of their own to play with
- International flights with individual TV's are a must with kids. Can watch what they want or play video games. Even Ty and Reegan could play memory on the TV.
-What should we have taken more of? Sunscreen. Went through one big bottle and part of another that we had to buy there. Also individual packages of kleenex. Many washrooms don't supply any TP, need to use the hand sprayer for bodily functions and when they do have TP it is this thin stretchy stuff that really sucks for blowing noses.
-Most useless things we took -> antibacterial hand lotion. No use using that if there is no where to wash the dirt off 1st
- none of us took antimalarial medications for a few reasons, one being that they do not protect you %100. Do your own research and make your own decisions
-tips for parents of little boys
Chinese New Year
On New Years Day Kyle being presented with the flowers from the family that we had made friends with in Hoi An -> little boys can pee in a an empty water bottle (and juice box that has been opened up) if you are on a bus ride and they didn't pee during the pee stop
- Phu Quoc is worth going to, Dalat is perfect , Hue is a lovely city and is worth the stay, Danang is worth 2 days at the most, Saigons water park is awesome (don't need kids to go), Saigon is great to. Yes it is a busy city but it feels good, don't let the naysayers prevent you from spending time there
-Take childrens clothes you can give to some poor mother when you leave. I took clothes and shoes that my boys were on the verge of growing out of, used them on the trip then gave them away when we left.
People have asked if we would go there again. Probably not as there are many other countries to see 😊 When we go to China, Laos or Cambodia in the future we will add Northern Vietnam to our trip since we didn't get there this time. I think Halong bay would be amazing.
Disappointed that we didn't get the 3
Hue
Front Entrance to the Imperial Palace days to shop at the end of our trip. We (I) came back without all the new clothes I wanted. That was due to the full flights at TET hence we couldn't get to Saigon any sooner by plane. Oh well.
OH, before I forget. We had a 10 hour wait at Narita airport in Tokyo. Since we got there in the morning we rented a sleeping room (at the airport) for 5 hours which turned out to be one of the best things I have ever bought for $50. Just like a small hotel room but without a TV. Got to sleep and shower before the next leg of our trip. Money well spent.
I am happy I was able to figure out how to post the pics. The blog is much better with photos even if they are not posted at the same time I wrote about the event. Be careful if you ever come to our house, I have about 800 more photos to bore you with 😉 And the home movies...
Hope you enjoyed the blog.
Cheers to all.
Shelly, James, Kyle, Ty and Reegan
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Tina
non-member comment
Thanks
Again, Shelly, really enjoyed it and shared it with my daughter. She was telling her friends about your trip the other day and I overheard it. Cute. Good for you, keep in touch!