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Quy Nhon, sightseeing

April 11, 2023April 13, 2023Posted in Quy Nhon, VietnamTagged Quy Nhon, sightseeing, Tampa TowersLeave a comment

Around Quy Nhon you will find several Cham Towers as the Cham people ruhed this area for more than 500 years. They are not difficult to spot when driving through this area as they are usually on top of a hill. The two most famous Cham towers here are Thap Banh It and Thap Doi.

The two twin Cham Towers was built from the 10th to 15th century. But undergoing a long history with many wars in Vietnam, the towers were ruined. The authorities then in the 90’ties decided to restore the Twin Cham Towers as it plays an important part in showing the Cham’s culture and architecture.

Legend has it that Champa towers normally consist of 3 towers and so do the Duong Long Cham Towers that we went to see. These towers dates back to the 12th century and are the tallest of its kind in South Asia (the central tower is 39 meters). The towers were build as tempels for hindu worship of Deties, Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva. The construction is influenced by Khmer architecture and consist of bricks only (no mortar), which makes the question of how the towers still a standing present time a mystery. Do be careful, as many bees live in these towers, so be sure to maintain a safe distance.

We also went to see the oldest pagoda in the area outside of the city, where young munks live (orphans) and we ended the day with a visit to a local restaurant that served Ban Xeo. Ban Xeo – Vietnamese pancake – is a savory and cripsy dish, where you role a trin omelet with either squid, shrimps or beef together with Bean sprouts, cucumber, mango, salat inside a wet rice paper roll. It is one of the our favourite things to eat in Vietnam and the ones they make in Quy Nhon are just so delicious. Ban Xeo is made in other variations as well, but Quy Nhon claims to have the original version.

But culture and food aside, as most people come to Quy Nhon for the serenity of the coastal area in this region. There are also a number of small islands off the coast of Quy Nhon. Some are so small that you can only sail and snorkel around them. The most famous ones are Ky Co Island and Kho Island. We heard that Kho Island is a good place to see coral reefs and that Hon Kho has a turtle conservation center. If we come back some day, it is surely something we would want to go explore.

The Vietage

April 11, 2023April 12, 2023Posted in Hoi An, VietnamTagged Da Nang, luxury train, Quy Nhon, The Vietage, Vietnam1 Comment

The rail road runs from Hanoi in the North all the way to Ho Chi Minh in the South covering a stretch of 1.137km. The Vietage offers a scenic trip from Da Nang through “the heart of Vietnam” to Quy Nhon (or the other way around). The idea is a luxury connection between Anantaras two properties in Hoi An and Quy Nhon, however non-hotel guests can also purchase tickets as well.

The train makes two trips daily. It departs from Da Nang Railway Station, about 45 minutes north of Hoi An, every morning at 8 a.m. and arrives at Dieu Tri Station, at the port town Quy Nhon, around 2:30 p.m. In the evening, the train leaves Dieu Tri at 6:30 p.m. and pulls into Da Nang just after midnight. For the evening ride the seats can turn into sleeping booths, which limits the number even further down to 6 people if every booth is booked as a sleeper-edition. The six-hour trip includes a three-course meal, drinks and snacks, and a head-and-shoulder massage. For us, since we stayed at the Anantara resort in Hoi An, we also got a full “to-go” breakfast provided for the car ride when going to the train station in the early morning.

For our trip, it was just our family plus one other couple, so we had so much space, making it even more special. When purchasing the tickets, you also book your choices for the lunch menu, that means upon arrival all you need to do is choose your preferred choice of drinks from the lovely bar menu. The trains in Vietnam runs very smoothie and is a comfortable way to go from A to B in the long country. However, a ride with the Vietage is just another level of comfort. We had the most amazing trip in our two small cabins across from each other. The staff was kind, attentive and service minded, and the food and drinks was so good, we were so impressed of how it was pre-prepared, but it tastet like it had just been made in a kitchen next door. The kids had their own menu to choice from and had fresh spring rolls, pasta and fruit/marshmellow/ice creams. I had octopus salad, salmon and passionfruit cake and Bjoern had foie gras, wagyu beef and also the passionfruit cake.

Our section of the train had its own bathroom as well as a small room for privacy of the neck/back massage. The landscape changed from the buzzling Da Nang city to the rice fields scenery and later with the ocean on one side and the mountains on the other. It was just such a beautiful and special trip, where we enjoyed not having to check-in through a crammed security or anyone getting carsick on the way down to Quy Nhon.

For anyone visiting this part of Vietnam, it is really the perfect combination with the cultural and exciting Hoi An town and the quiet area of Bai Xep beach at Quy Nhon. Hoi An is a “must visit” in Vietnam for its culinary scene and UNESCO World Heriage protected Old Town area, however, Quy Nhon is a rising star on the tourist map due to its beauty and serene atmosphere.

To learn more about the Vietage or to book: www.thevietagetrain.com

Hoi An, To Do and To Eat

April 11, 2023April 11, 2023Posted in Hoi An, VietnamTagged drinks, Food, Hoi An, Hoi An Old Town, spa, VietnamLeave a comment

Strolling down Old Town with my favourite coffee drink

The options in Hoi An are many, and honestly, we did try any food or drinks we didn’t like/or loved in Hoi An. There are numerous restaurant and cute cafés everywhere, and if in doubt, go by Hoi An Central Market (19 Tran Phu Street, Cam Chau Ward – open daily 6AM-10PM). We got our (Hoi An speciality) Cao Lau at the market and it was so good (thick noodles and pork).

We (of course) had to have the best Banh Mi at Banh Mi Phuong and this time we also came by RoseIce gelato and Got addicted to the most amazing iced coconut cream latte at Faifo Coffee.

If you have the time, a food tour is something amazing to do, we did it last time, but wasn’t able to repeat this treat once again, because of baby Ellen (she was just too tired after 6PM for anything else but time and sleep in the hotel room.

We also got a hair hash & cut at the Ba Le Well Salon…it was not fancy at all, but it is so much fun going to the hairdresser in Vietnam (I also tried it the last time we were here), because you lie down (like on a bed) when you get your hair washed. The girls loved it, and we spend a couple of hours with the sweetest hairdresser at the salon. Later in the evening I also had a pedicure at the Korean-owned spa Lemontree. I very much recommend a pedicure (or anything else here), it is down a small side street (so a little tucked away from the main street hutle and bustle).

The beach is also a very nice option in Hoi An. I did this post about it the last time Hoi An Beach – Disclaimer: back then, there were very few hotels, but now it has really changed, we were a little checket by the many many resort that had taken over the beach all the way from Da Nang to Hoi An.

Hoi An

April 11, 2023April 11, 2023Posted in Hoi An, VietnamTagged Hoi An, Hoi An Old Town, sightseeing, VietnamLeave a comment

It is our second time in Hoi An and we really loved coming back. Especially the UNESCO protected Old Town is such a nice place to just hang-out, people watching and have amazing food and drinks. The international influence through hundreds of years is very clear in Hoi An in both architecture and cuisine. The small charming streets are beautifully decorated with handmade lanterne on every corner, and the atmosphere is both buzzling and relaxed at the same time. The town is famous for it’s many skilles tailors, elevated cuisine and spas.

If going to Vietnam we highly reccommend going by Hoi An. The town has so much to offer, and if you crave a little beach time, there is a super nice stretch of that and also some “bigger city vibes” just around the corner in Da Nang (if you fly or go ny train, you go by Da Nang).

Vietnam, Phu Quoc, Food

March 29, 2023April 1, 2023Posted in Vietnam, Phu QuocTagged Food, Vietnam, Phu Quoc, Nightmarket, Yushima FishmarketLeave a comment

To be frank, we didn’t go out as much in the evenings as we might have thought we would. Baby Ellen was just too tired, and both the restaurants at Premier Village and its room service was really good. However, we did try out the Japanese Yushima Fishmarket one of the evenings we craved sashimi and Ramen. It is located in An Thoi (South Phu Quoc) and was both authentic decorated as well as very nice food. As a bonus, we could watch both the sunset and a lot the fabulous laser show at the harbour.

It should be mentioned, that the An Thoi area (also known as Sunset village now) is under heavy development and can be quite desolated. We had a hard time getting a taxi back to the hotel, but the restaurant helped us get one. Either have the Grab app ready or make arrangements how to get back before you go. The Yushima Market had business to do the evening we were there, and there were other really nice restaurants next to the market as well, however, no other people in sight, which made the atmosphere a little bit depressing, to be honest, when walking around in this area.

And we also heard that the hotels J.W. Marriott and the La Veranda have excellent restaurants, if you are in the mood for a little dress up and some fancy eating for lunch or evening as well.

Of other recommendations the Phu Quoc Duong Dong nightmarket is worth going for.

It’s open daily from 6PM-11.30PM – usually the busiest time is around 8PM.

Surely there are lots of places that are nice to have lunch or dinner or just a fresh coconut. The Rach Vem fishing village in North Phu Quoc (for lunch) on one of the floating restaurants is also super nice 👌🏼 or just the local street kitchen around the corner where you stay. We didn’t try anywhere in Phu Quoc we wouldn’t go for once again.

Vietnam, Phu Quoc

March 17, 2023March 29, 2023Posted in Phu Quoc, VietnamTagged Phu Quoc, Premier Village, VietnamLeave a comment

Phu Quoc by sunset

So much of a good vacation depends on the right hotel. To us, it counts as half of the full experience.

We flew out here with Singapore Airlines, which is one of our favourite Asian companies. It took us almost 28 hours to arrive, due to transfer time in Singapore airport and Ho Chi Minh airport, but it was worth it.

We had planned to stay at the Premier Village Resort for a full week to get use to the new time zone and to get in a low vacation gear. Normally we prefer to stay in small places, however, now as a family of 5, we were looking to find a villa (to stay under one roof, instead of having 2 rooms). It turned out, that the options were not that many (Phu Quoc is still under development), but Premier Village has these huge villas, with both private and public pools, 2 private beaches, kids club, in-house dining and much more, which was just the perfect combo for us. Somehow they have managed to make it feel luxurious and not too “giant resort” and the girls absolutely loved to small electrical cars we went around on the resort ground, when going to the restaurant or beach.

We did use the room service a lot, since baby Ellen most of the time was too tired to go anywhere in the evenings. We also tried the floating breakfast, which was the first time we ever tried that. However, 10 minutes after we received the breakfast the local monkeys came and we have to run inside to safe the food and phones. So, if you go, and try the floating breakfast don’t do it if your have a hilltop villa (it’s where the monkeys are), I would say it is a better option to try it, if you have one of the beach villas for sure.

We also did a private barbecue on the beach for my birthday. We had it during sunset and it was so beautifully organised by the hotel and the food was amazing.

The breakfast was soooo good, with its own little kids corner and a barista corner. The was also a small shop at the resort were you could buy drinks, food, sunscreen, etc.

The kids club, was the best we ever tried, the staff was so nice and the activities and the little house/club itself was so full of toys, trampoline, a kids cinema (yes, an actual mini cinema), mini toilets, games and much much more. There was also an outside playground, but baby Ellen was too small for that and the girls were too big.

The beach was cleaned up every day and was so beautiful with lots of water activities to enjoy like kayaking, sup boards and more. It was a little windy in the mornings while we were there (which was nice), but in the afternoons, the water and the temperature was just perfect.

All in all this stay was so lovely, and for anyone going to Phu Quoc, we would definitely recommend this resort.

The only thing we can think about that would have made a difference; was that it is located very isolated. So every time you have to go “into town” or on tour or outside of the hotel for dinner, you have to take a taxi 20-40 minutes. It is super easy, and the front desk helps out with everything, but for us, it would have been nice to take the stroller for a walk around the corner or have somewhere nearby to go.

Vietnam

March 11, 2023April 11, 2023Posted in Phu Quoc, VietnamTagged VietnamLeave a comment

Phu Quoc

We are travelling back to Vietnam after visiting the first time 6 1/2 years ago.

Our first time travelling from north to south in this great country was such a good experience, that we have wanted to come back ever since.

This time we will stay primarily in the Southern region we’re the weather is more stabile this time of the year (March).

Our travel itinerary is: Phu Quoc, Da Nang (Hoi An), Quy Nhon, Nha Trang (Ninh can Bay), HaLong Bay (a short de-tour), Ho Cho Minh city (also Mekong delta) and then we have a short stop over in Singapore on the way going back home.

Our first stop is Phu Quoc (pronounced fu cook). The island is nicknamed Pearl Island due to its many white sand beaches. It is the largest island in Vietnam and it is located in the Golf of Thailand. The climate is nice and warm all year around (with an average of 27 degrees), and it is a still under development from various enterprises both in terms of hotel expansions and tourist experiences.

Travelling with kids always requires a bit more preparation, and even more so when travelling with a baby. We brought a lot of stuff for baby Ellen and thank God we did. Everything is of course available in the larger cities, however, less is definitely available everywhere else. And mind you that baby food is rice congee here in Vietnam, so anything else is not really available.

Here is what we brought: diapers, wet wipes, foam cloths, instant organic porridge mix, baby fruit mash, sunscreen, UV 50 top and sun hats, a portable / foldable seat/baby harness and a stroller.

Phu Quoc is a little bit similar to Phuket in Thailand, however, the island’s environmental conservation efforts, fishing and agriculture remain as primary industries and more than half of the island has been protected by the UNESCO biosphere Reserve since 2006. The island is locally known for fish sauce, pepper and pearls, but also hosts caves, waterfalls and colourful snorkelling trips for the more adventurous.

Phu Quoc, sightseeing

March 11, 2023March 30, 2023Posted in Phu Quoc, VietnamTagged pearl farm, Phu Quoc, sightseeing, snorkling trip, starfish beach, VietnamLeave a comment

Phu Quoc is especially known for its watersports and beautiful beaches.

Recently the longest non-stop 3-way cablecar was build, and it stretches an impressive 8km from the south tip of the “Sun World”going up till 174 meters at the tallet point and taking just 15 minutes to ride. The Sun World also offers tickets with a laser show, that is quite extra-ordinary. We didn’t try the cable cars this time around, since a ccouple of us are affraid of heights, but the view would be pretty amazing, and definitely an experience worth.

Instead we stayed on the ground and went for the Star-fish beach. Very important to note, that there is a star-fish season (which apparently is October), and if you go out side of this season, there are very few starfish to see. The beach is still beautiful, and the small local restaurants on water serves really nice food and cold drinks (the small fishing village Rach Ven is just next to the Star-fish beach and very authentic with great local seafood). We also paid to go with a small wooden boat just 5 minutes up the coast, and it was worth the 400.000VND as this area was true secluded paradise with small shaded chairs, a hammock in the ocean and a tiny kiosk for cold beverages. The Star-fish beach is located on the Northern shore of the island and the road there is very rough the last part of the way up there. But it is super nice to spend a day exploring the area, and even though it felt a bit disappointing at first (as there weren’t really any starfish), we ended up having a nice day swimming and hanging out).

Phu Quoc also has a couple of Pearl farms, and we visited Ngoc Trai Ngoc Hien to do a Little shopping. Vietnamese pearls are really nice and very fair in price when visiting one of the Pearl farms. This Pearl farm at Phu Quoc has pearls from all over Asia, and a large vamriaty of prices.

As Phu Quoc is a tropical island, it offers a diverse marine ecosystem and striking coral reefs. The tours offered to go scuba diving or snorkling are many. But we booked for a private tour, since we only wanted to go for half a day and avoid the “tourist traps”. Both Dagmar and I get sea sick very quick, so we wanted the chance to get into shore if we were too sick and we didn’t want any visits to “photo option location” and such. Finally, we wanted to go out early, to catch the reefs before the rest of the many tourists ;-). This plan was a succes (we actually did get very sea sick, but we always do), we went off 1 hour before the many other tours from the An Thoi harbour heading towards May Rut island, and we had the spot entirely to ourselves. Later we had lunch at the Ham Gi island. A lot of the other tours offers 2-3 island snorkling visits for a full day and I am sure that is nice, if you don’t get as sea sick as us.

Of other things to do on the island can be mentioned trekking to waterfalls and through the “jungle” in the national park area.

Antwerp

October 18, 2022Posted in AntwerpTagged Antwerp, hotelLeave a comment

I always wanted to go to Antwerp. It is a small city, but it holds so much history, great fashion/design/art and amazing food. We spend a weekend here with the girls strolling around the old town, eating plenty of French fries (which apparently is “invented in Belgium”) and great art.

We drove in our car, and one thing, which is very important to know, is that Antwerp is a low-emission-zone, so a registration is necessary and you will need o buy a permit to enter with your car (link here).

We stayed in a hotel just next to the central station, and there was an underground parking space in the square in front of the hotel/station, making it super easy to park. And we didn’t use the car while we were there as most things where in walking distance or just one metro stop away. To be honest, we would probably not stay here the next time, as we spend most of our time in the old town, but the main reason would be that there was a lot of party noise from the surrounding restaurants/bars in the square.

That being mentioned, the hotel was good, and if you don’t mind a Little noise in the evening it is a really nice place to stay: Hotel Indigo