Adventure

Our usual early start and our usual breakfast at the hotel before getting on the coach for the 4 hour drive to Halong Bag and our overnight Junk tour. On the route out of Hanoi our guide, Thui, shared many details on Vietnamese culture, people and politics which was fascinating and we had lots of questions for him. During the journey we watched the world go by and everyday going’s on. We were interested to learn that land for housing is allocated in 5 m x 20 m plots throughout Vietnam which is why the size of housing varies very little between the city and countryside. The only major difference is that city property tends to have more floors. ...

6am start today and an early breakfast ready for an 8am start. No beef with noodles today so we had to settle for pork with peppers and watermelon for breakfast. Today we’re sightseeing around Hanoi and it’s a fully packed day. We start out by jumping on the bus and heading to Ho Chi Minh’s Mausoleum. Ho Chi Minh is seen as the father of modern Vietnam, a hero of the people for liberating them from the French and Japanese occupation and is also the founder of the Communist party in Vietnam. ...

We woke up early and finished packing. A simple breakfast and into the taxi to Heathrow. Thankfully our flight isn’t until 11am so we have time to buy a few last minute essentials and stop for coffee and a celebratory glass of bubbles. There’s been some concern brewing among the younger members of the family that the plane wouldn’t have an entertainment system which would naturally make the 11 hour flight impossible. ...

We’re off on a family adventure to Vietnam. Our bags are packed and we’re ready for our flight from Heathrow tomorrow. We can’t wait for the experience of a lifetime! We’ll be posting here along the way, so follow along!

We’re off on a family adventure to Vietnam. We fly into Hanoi, work our way down the country and fly out of Ho Chi Minh City 14 days later. Along the way we sleep on a junk in Halong Bay, take a sleeper train, visit Hoi An, stay overnight with a family in the Mekong Delta and experience Vietnamese sights and culture. The whole family is super excited! Our Itinerary Day 1/2 - Hanoi Day 3 - Halong Bay Day 4/5/6 - Hue Day 7/8/9 - Hoi An Day 10 - Ho Chi Minh City Day 11 - Mekong Delta Day 12/13 - Ho Chi Minh City We’ll be posting here along the way, so follow along! ...

Early start as usual. Breakfast and out walking towards the lake front by 8:30am. We arrived at the pier by 8:45am and queued up to check in for Kjet. After check in we were given waterproof ponchos and life jackets in preparation for our ride. We boarded, kids in the middle and without further ado moved out into the lake and had a quick safety briefing before our first 360° manoeuvre. The driver clearly enjoyed his job and sped around the lake jumping us over waves and making sharp turns. There were two boats as part of the trip and we played tag, taking turns to take the lead and watch each other doing 360’s. ...

Our usual early start, breakfast, empty the camper tanks and away for 8am ready for today’s horse trekking. We arrived at the trekking place early, it was only a 5 min drive, and used the opportunity to get prepped with sun cream, insect repellent, long sleeves and rain coats. The weather was cloudy and blustery and we were ready for rain. At 9am one of our guides for the day came to the gate and welcomed us to the farm. She took us through the usual health and safety briefing and made sure we were kitted out correctly. I had to wear a jacket over the top of my rain coat to stop it flapping in the wind but everyone else was fine. Later when on top of the hill I was quite happy about the extra layer! ...

Early start and a quick breakfast before setting off for Manapouri and the beginning of our tour of Doubtful Sound. Last night when I’d checked how long it would take us to get to Manapouri it turns out I had Google Maps in cycling mode as the 1hr 15min journey only took 20 minutes. Our early arrival did give us chance to find a parking space and walk back into town to get a coffee and buy some more inspect repellent. ...

Due to last nights festivities and the long day before we had a lie in and a late start. I made sausages and fried eggs on the BBQ for breakfast and we sat outside in the sun. We decided not to drive to Milford Sound today as originally planned as we wanted a break from driving and we’d seen a sign for a mountain bike trail from lake to lake on the way here which we decided to try out instead. As luck would have it, the trail started on the opposite side of the street to the camp site. ...

Today is our Kayak adventure on Lake Wanaka. The activity Diana has been most looking forward to and what started the whole idea of a trip to New Zealand. It’s also New Year’s Eve. Up early, breakfast and ready for collection at 8:45am by reception. We’ve parked the camper in the camp site staff car park as we’re supposed to check out this morning. It’s a beautiful day for it, the sun is shining and it’s mid 20’s. ...