Vietnam open bus, over night ride from hell

Are we having fun yet?

We've heard great things about overnight bus rides in Vietnam.  You fall asleep in comfortable reclining bed, the swaying of the bus actually puts you to sleep and wake up when the bus arrives at your destination at 6am.  We've also heard they are usually not crowded and if you stay towards the back of the bus you don't hear the drive honking his horn all night.

We bought 3 tickets hoping the kids would sleep together and crossed our fingers a free seat would be available.

So after an awesome week in Nha Trang, we packed our bags, gathered the kids, and walked the 2 blocks to the bus station office to catch the 7pm overnight bus to Hoi An.  As the bags are being loaded on the bus and 5 minutes before departure B tells us he is not feeling well. Uh, oh. His face is super hot (fever). Do we stay or go and hope he sleeps the entire ride? Chancing it, we go!

Little did we realize the bus would be packed to the brim with people and bags.

As we got on, claustrophobia immediately struck. We had to turn sideways and shuffle down the isle to our seats in the far back.

We found our seats.  Like a reclining, almost flat, seat on a budget airline.  Perfectly sized for a Vietnamese person. Pretty tight for mom and dad. Certainly not big enough for two kids or for a mom and a baby to share!

Fast forward 10 minutes (5 minutes into the bus ride) and B is screaming that his ear hurts. Uh, oh, ear ache.  Gave B tylenol and hoping for the best.

B ended up sleeping in the isle between us. He screamed on and off through the night. Cam woke every hour when he tried to roll over and there was no room for us. I had a sleepless night.

On the upside, I got to enjoy the beautiful night time country side of Vietnam. The boats on the water were a stunning site.

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Tour of the Mekong Delta, Vietnam

There are endless tours that you can take from Saigon to the Mekong Delta.  They all seem to include a crowded bus, a boat ride, detour to watch people make coconut candy and taste snake wine.  This all seems fine, but we wanted something a little more personal and flexible since we had little ones.  Plus organized tours usually don't work with our toddlers.  So we opted for a private tour with Jason Super Star.

Jason is from Cai Be on the Mekong Delta so he knows the area inside and out.  We were picked up at our hotel in a very comfortable SUV and driven to Cai Be where his guide met us.  We caught a boat and headed to the floating market and then toured the mainland market.  From there we visited a pagoda and learned how to make rice paper.  We took several more boat rides including a sampan boat along the canals.  We enjoyed the best home cooked lunch at a private residence and even got cooking lessons.  Jason was hosting another tour, but we were able to meet up with him for a short time during lunch.  The kids got to fish and play.  We loved touring the houses and seeing how everyone lived.

Overall, we had a great time and so very glad we chose a private tour instead.  We loved having the flexibility with our kids.  Our guide, Ms. Huong, had a great sense of humor and was excellent with our kids.  Everyone spoke perfect English.  Our tour cost around 3,150,000 Dong.  A bit pricey, but worth every penny!

Anyone else take a fun tour of the Mekong?

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Perfect Bangkok Family Apartment

Luxury in the hustle and bustle of Bangkok!  We consider ourselves lucky to have found such a nice 2 bedroom apartment for our 2 week stay in Bangkok.  Everything about this apartment was clean and updated.  Plenty of space for all of us too!  The apartment is updated and clean.  The hosts, Ron and his family, welcomed us with open arms even providing us with toys for our kids and snacks for our arrival.











The apartment itself is clean, spacious, updated, safe and in a great location.  The beds are comfortable, not hard like we've become used too.  There is a washer in the apartment, pool, gym and kids play area.  The wifi is fast and the kitchen is fully set up so cooking at home is no problem which helps with our 3 kids.  The building is quiet so no neighbor noise.












There are several great restaurants nearby but we mostly enjoyed having a kitchen and ate at home or got street food take away.

There is a Tesco about 1 mile away and a convenient store downstairs.  Nothing is too far.  A 35 Baht taxi ride will take you to the water taxi or the BTS or the mall or Chinatown.  The apartment is on the BTS bus line but with taxis being so cheap no need to pile our family on a stop and go bus.  We paid 80 Baht from our apartment to Khao San Road.








Overall we loved our stay here and would stay here again.  We feel so lucky to have found such an amazing apartment in Bangkok!

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MD House, Chiang Mai

M. D. House is in a perfect location in the old city.  Right next to the east entrance to the city where the Sunday market takes place.  It allows easy access all over Chiang Mai.  There is also wonderful wet market close by to get some wonderful fruits and vegetables and breakfast.  That being said I have some mixed reviews about the M. D. House.

We stayed in a room with a double and single bed which is plenty room for us.  They offer triple beds and two double bed rooms too.  The rooms are clean and spacious with TVs offering only one English channel and refrigerators.  They also have safes in the room, however you have to bring your own lock.  We drove to Tesco about 3 miles away to buy our lock so bring one with you.



The beds are like sleeping on plywood.  They do have fitted sheets which was nice, but that doesn't change how hard the bed was.  Hard beds seem to be the way in Southeast Asia.  The bathroom was a bit dated but clean.  The water pressure was minimal but the hot water worked great.

The hotel also has excellent wifi and lots of computers for anyone to use.

The hotel seemed to have a huge mosquito problem but that could just be Chiang Mai.  We played the nightly game of who could kill the most mosquitoes.

The rooms are decent size and so is the hotel.  The noise level is horrible.  We could hear our neighbors upstairs, next door and down the hall.  We could hear people coming in late at night from partying.  We could hear people joking down the hall at how noisy they were being.  Thank goodness the rest of my family are heavy sleepers.

The hotel has two pools right at the entrance.  We were there in early February so the pools were a bit cold despite being in direct sun.  Maybe they are warmer in the summer?  The hotel also offers free breakfast which is about 5 different choices.  We loved the eggs on toast but also stopped off at the wet market every morning for a big fruit and yogurt bowl.

Over all the M.D. house is convenient but there are much better and cheaper places to stay in Chiang Mai so we would probably never stay there again.  We paid about 1050 baht a night that included 3 breakfast aircon and hot water.

http://www.thaimdhouse.com/

A tip on booking tours in Chiang Mai - Use the funky Monkey guesthouse to book your tours. They were ALWAYS less than other tours we priced around town.  Price compare and you will see.  We saved $$$ compared to what others spent.  I've heard great things about the FM guesthouse however they were booked so we didn't stay there.  Also in a great location.
http://www.funkymonkeyhouse.com/

Can you recommend a place to stay in Chiang Mai?

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Elephant (mahout) trainer for a day

Giving a baby elephant a bath was something our daughter has been excited to do since we arrived in Southeast Asia.  We've all been excited to see the elephants up close and learn more about them.  We looked at several programs and decided on one that seemed to care the most for elephants.  I was told they take great care of the elephants and only allow 8 people for mahout a day.  Plus it was a half day tour with the elephants and our kids are little and naps still rule our day.

We were picked up in a nice van with 4 other people for the hour drive to the elephant camp. The road is dusty and bumpy and high in the jungle.  When we arrived we all changed into our mahout clothes and were lead off to learn about the elephants.  We got to feed them, practice getting on and off them and riding them bare back before we headed off to the river.

Elephants are big, by the way!  And they are not as soft as you imagine.  They have bristle type whiskers all around their head.  But they are amazing creatures.
 

 





The kids did great getting on and off with their dad and feeding the elephants, but I could tell B had no interest in going any further than just looking at the elephants.  He did not want to ride them at all.  Which I was kind of glad since Cam was strapped to me and it would have been hard to ride the elephant bare back with him.






So the kids and I opted for a different kind of elephant ride and watched as Nick headed off bare back down to the river.

We met them down at the river and the kids excitedly jumped in to bath the elephants.

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Leggie's in Uluwatu

Everyone seems to say the best hotel in Uluwatu is The Gong, but Leggie's was so much better!  Leggie's is at the top of the stairs leading down to Bingin Beach.  It's a great homestay with big clean rooms and a great pool!

As with all the Uluwatu beaches, you have to hike down lots of stairs (seriously) to reach the beaches but the beaches are well worth the hike!

We took a room with a double and twin bed and fan for $15USD.  We wanted air con however they wanted $25 so we settled for the fan.  Plus the air con didn't work that well so why waste the extra money.  They also have a nice pool which is key for us since the kids live in the pool.

We loved Leggie's for the room price, but not the food price.  Leggie's is self-contained so you don't need to leave for any meal.  Meals start about $2.50 but they can add up quickly if you are eating all your meals there.  The food is good, except don't order the beef burger and expect to get real beef.

Over all the rooms were clean and beds were comfortable to sleep in.  Water pressure was not the best and they only have cold water.  But after a day at the beach and climbing back up the stairs you will appreciate the cool shower.

Tip: Try and get an upstairs room for better breeze.  Also, go to the store and get food to make your own sandwiches. For a family of five, our food bill was more than the room bill!

Anyone have any other hotels they recommend in Uluwatu?  We are always looking for a new place to stay.

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Leggie's in Uluwatu

Everyone seems to say the best hotel in Uluwatu is The Gong, but Leggie's was so much better!  Leggie's is at the top of the stairs leading down to Bingin Beach.  It's a great homestay with big clean rooms and a great pool!

As with all the Uluwatu beaches, you have to hike down lots of stairs (seriously) to reach the beaches but the beaches are well worth the hike!

We took a room with a double and twin bed and fan for $15USD.  We wanted air con however they wanted $25 so we settled for the fan.  Plus the air con didn't work that well so why waste the extra money.  They also have a nice pool which is key for us since the kids live in the pool.

We loved Leggie's for the room price, but not the food price.  Leggie's is self-contained so you don't need to leave for any meal.  Meals start about $2.50 but they can add up quickly if you are eating all your meals there.  The food is good, except don't order the beef burger and expect to get real beef.

Over all the rooms were clean and beds were comfortable to sleep in.  Water pressure was not the best and they only have cold water.  But after a day at the beach and climbing back up the stairs you will appreciate the cool shower.

Tip: Try and get an upstairs room for better breeze.  Also, go to the store and get food to make your own sandwiches. For a family of five, our food bill was more than the room bill!

Anyone have any other hotels they recommend in Uluwatu?  We are always looking for a new place to stay.

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Rainforest Bed & Breakfast Kuala Lumpur Review

Location is super important for us. We have kids and little legs don't want to walk forever. The Rainforest Bed & Breakfast was clean, full of character and a great place to stay in Kuala Lumpur. It is ideally situated in the center of Bukit Bintang with easy walking distance to the covered walkway to KLCC, monorail (which is not stroller friendly) and KL tower.

We stayed in the family suite which was huge with a private bath. The room had a king bed plus two twins, a sitting area, plenty of room  for a crib, large closets and lots of windows. The beds were comfy and not hard but not overly soft. The linens clean and fresh. The bathroom was big and tile clean. The A/C (aka Air con) took a while to cool down the room, but worked great after an hour of being on. Cable tv only got CNN and Nat Geo and wifi only worked in the common areas.

The noise level was not a problem. We stayed in room 34 and no one was above us that we heard. The noise from the street bars was not overly obnoxious and one could easily sleep through it.

The  third floor in Asia is really the forth floor and the stairs were narrow and might be a safety issue for little kids or drunk people. Not sure if the stairs or the textured walls (scrape your arm) were more dangerous. The staff was very friendly and carted the luggage for us up and down the stairs however they were not very knowledgeable about area attractions.

There is a large sitting area on the 3rd floor and the main floor. There is also a wonderful balcony to sit and enjoy a drink or two on. Breakfast was pretty basic. There was toast, fruit, corn flakes, oatmeal and ritz cracker and beverages of coffee, tea and hot cocoa. There was only one toaster so if it's crowded get in line.

Overall we really liked the Rainforest B&B and would definitely stay there again!  A bit pricy for 200RM a night but we liked it.

Tip:  If you stay in room 34, enjoy the fun entertainment above the bed.  Enjoyment for kids and adults!

Anyone else stay here or have a recommendation for KL?

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Rainforest Bed & Breakfast Kuala Lumpur Review

Location is super important for us. We have kids and little legs don't want to walk forever. The Rainforest Bed & Breakfast was clean, full of character and a great place to stay in Kuala Lumpur. It is ideally situated in the center of Bukit Bintang with easy walking distance to the covered walkway to KLCC, monorail (which is not stroller friendly) and KL tower.

We stayed in the family suite which was huge with a private bath. The room had a king bed plus two twins, a sitting area, plenty of room  for a crib, large closets and lots of windows. The beds were comfy and not hard but not overly soft. The linens clean and fresh. The bathroom was big and tile clean. The A/C (aka Air con) took a while to cool down the room, but worked great after an hour of being on. Cable tv only got CNN and Nat Geo and wifi only worked in the common areas.

The noise level was not a problem. We stayed in room 34 and no one was above us that we heard. The noise from the street bars was not overly obnoxious and one could easily sleep through it.

The  third floor in Asia is really the forth floor and the stairs were narrow and might be a safety issue for little kids or drunk people. Not sure if the stairs or the textured walls (scrape your arm) were more dangerous. The staff was very friendly and carted the luggage for us up and down the stairs however they were not very knowledgeable about area attractions.

There is a large sitting area on the 3rd floor and the main floor. There is also a wonderful balcony to sit and enjoy a drink or two on. Breakfast was pretty basic. There was toast, fruit, corn flakes, oatmeal and ritz cracker and beverages of coffee, tea and hot cocoa. There was only one toaster so if it's crowded get in line.

Overall we really liked the Rainforest B&B and would definitely stay there again!  A bit pricy for 200RM a night but we liked it.

Tip:  If you stay in room 34, enjoy the fun entertainment above the bed.  Enjoyment for kids and adults!

Anyone else stay here or have a recommendation for KL?

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