Vietnam

Ninh van Bay

May 1, 2023Posted in Hotels Vietnam, Ninh Van Bay, VietnamTagged An Lam Retreats, Ninh Van Bay, VietnamLeave a comment

Ninh van Bay is located just outside the coastline of Nha Trang. Nha Trang is known as the “Saint Tropez” of Vietnam due to a prominent line of hotels and restaurants and for its pristine beaches. We came back for this special bay to stay at the secluded little paradise An Lam Retreats. We had five days in one of their beachfront villas, and it everything we could have dreamed of. The villa was huge with direct private beach access and its own private pool. Celebrities and royalties have been known to stay at this Hidden gem, and it is totally understandable as An Lam is a very private and tranquil haven. It is completely isolated from any other resort or city on a small peninsula with access only from the seaside.

The food is either served at the Sen restaurant, which is located in the beautiful main building (looking like a lotus flower) or served as room service at your convenience. The food is home grown or locally sources. The luxury resort is locally owned (which is actually rare), and the just 37 villas are eco-friendly made. There is no reception or concierge service, “just” your private butler (ours was the kind mr. Bao). Oh, and there is also no Keys, which is at first is a bit Strange, as you are use to lock the front door when you leave your house, however, we didn’t feel unsafe at any time during our stay.

There is a public pool from where kayaking is available, and just in front of the pool is a small plateau out in the water, that you can easily swim out to, which we did with the girls. We also spend some afternoons in the board game area playing chess and having margharitas. Behind the villas are the areas for the gardens, the yoga pavillon, the spa and the gymnastik, not to mention the local spring of fresh water, that is the source of all drinking water at the resort. The small fresh water spring “trail” makes for a really nice hike, and you can also have a barbecue further up

Nha Trang Sightseeing

April 13, 2023May 1, 2023Posted in VietnamTagged Nha Trang, sightseeing Po Nagar Temple, VietnamLeave a comment

Nha Trang has beautiful temples, culture, amusement parks, golf and of course their famous hot springs. It is really a perfect vacation destination, hence more and more tourists spend their holiday in this great region.

One of the most famous tourist destinations is the Po Nagar Temple, also known as the Po Nagar Cham Towers. This temple complex is the largest Champa architectural complex in Vietnam and is a landmark for Nha Trang. The complex is dating back to the 11th century, the architecture was built of bricks with four rows of large columns. In addition to the towers, you can also find the ancient Champa inscription at Ponagar Tower, showing the culture, religion, and history of the Champa kingdom. Local charm people has small vender stalls in the middle of the complex selling handmade souvenirs.

We mainly stayed at the An Lam retreats and also had our meals here, however, we also tried a local favourite, the Xúa Restaurant. We went during the weekend, and the restaurant was packed with a mix of tourists and local families. The Banh Xeo here was different from the one we had in Quy Nonh, however, very tasty, and Bjoern also ordered a local favourite; fried frog legs.

Nha Trang is known for its hot springs. We tried the Thap Ba hotsprings and mud baths. The Thap Ba Spa is the oldest mud and hot spring facility in Nha Trang. It is famous for it’s therapeutic healing powers of the mud and hot springs. The mud in these therapeutic baths is special, rich with minerals like sulfur and magnesium that are only found in certain regions with the right kind of soil or volcanic activity. Do keep in mind, that it is very hot with hot on it to do hot springs when the temperature is above 30 degrees, that we haven’t really considered and the kids were not lovning this trip a lot ;-), but we made it work and the adults had a good experience and some really soft skin afterwoods.

We also heard that the I-Resort private med baths should be worth the extra spend. We will have to check it out next time…

The Nha Trang city holds 350.000 people and offers absolutely everything from high-end restaurants to street food, market shopping to luxury and everything else, you would expect from a city this size.

It is located at the gateway of the South Central Coast and the Central Highland and it has all the advantages of geographical location, (tropical) climate and natural scenery to become a paradise in terms of tourism.

In addition, Nha Trang has a very diverse system of large and small islands, in which there are a lot of stunning landscapes on the shore and under the water. Therefore, it has become an ideal destination for both domestic and foreign tourists.

Anantara Beach Resort, Quy Nhon

April 12, 2023April 12, 2023Posted in Hotels Vietnam, Quy Nhon, VietnamTagged Anantara, hotel, Quy Nhon, VietnamLeave a comment

As part of our journey with the Vietage train, we have booked 2 nights at the Anantara Villas in Quy Nhon. Each of the just 26 villas has ocean view and private pools. The resort has a unique “quiet luxury” vibe that never becomes pretentious. It is located very close to the nice beach, Bai Xep, and though the restaurant serves absolutely amazing food there are also options for local dining by the beach or by the other small fishing villages near by.

Even though the resort is small (which we like), it offers its own spa, a gym, a restaurant and large public pool and pool bar by the beach. Also, which the girls likes the most about it, haha, it has small electrical cars to drive you around the resort area.

The Quy Nhon area is still up-and-coming and mainly popular amongst local tourist (yet), which is understandable as it offers a very authentic and beautiful landscape. We loved how the city has “siesta” during the hot mid-day-hours, and the area hasn’t been “bombarded” with massive giant resorts. It just felt low key and nice. And, as mentioned before, a perfect combination to the more Busy Da Nag/ Hoi An area or just as a stop over for some down time. The best time to go is between January-March before it gets too hot (or too wet ;-)).

Hoi An, Anantara River Resort

April 11, 2023Posted in Hoi An, Hotels, Hotels Vietnam, VietnamTagged Anantara, Hoi An, VietnamLeave a comment

In Hoi An we stayed at the Anantara Resort, which is a classic boutique hotel located perfectly by the river and in close walking distance to the old town.

We had 2 rooms with connecting doors and garden views. The rooms are spacious with both a small lounge area inside and outside as well. The style and decor is classic Vietnamese/French and with beautiful greenery and Palm trees all around. It is on the riverside, and we either walked by the river to the markets and old town (takes 5 minutes) or by the small streets just behind. Everything is close by from the Old Town, river cruises, markets or anything else you might need or want to experience, but still the resort itself is quiet and nice.

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 Phu Quoc, VietnamTagged Food, Nightmarket, Phu Quoc, Vietnam, 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.

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.