Spring Break in Vietnam & Cambodia

For Spring Break this year we planned a 12 day trip to Vietnam and Cambodia.  We stayed in 4 cities over the vacation and enjoyed many day trips.  It was a once in a lifetime experience and I am so grateful to Eric for planning it all!  He spent a lot of time reviewing hotels, cities, and excursions leading up to the trip and it all came together perfectly.  There were so many photos to go through for this blog but I tried to pick the highlights...

Hanoi, Vietnam

We stayed two nights in Hanoi at two different hotels in the Old Quarter.  Night one we stayed at Oriental Suites Hotel & Spa.  We were tired from travel but we explored the city and sampled some food.  The biggest thing I will remember from this city is crossing the streets with motor bikes zooming past you and holding on to the boys for dear life!

Our second night in Hanoi we stayed at La Siesta Hotel & Spa and loved the location, two story room, and balcony over the city.  We went out to dinner and walked around the lake that they shut down to traffic on the weekend.  We also explored a night market and did some shopping before flying out the next day.

Halong Bay, Vietnam

Between our stays in Hanoi, we did a cruise on Halong Bay.  We took a 3 hour shuttle bus from Hanoi and stayed on the Rosa Cruise ship for two nights.  Each day we had different excursions to include kayaking, cave exploring, hiking, and beaches.  This was probably mine and the boys favorite part of the trip. I loved being on the water and they loved jumping off the boat and squid fishing at night.  The meals were also delicious and we had a cooking class on the last day.  The boys also did morning Tai Chi!

Hanging on the Rosa Cruise

Kayaking on Halong Bay

Excursions - Pearl Farm, Hike through cave with beach, Sung Sot Cave with rock formations, and Titop Island Hike

Hoi An, Vietnam

Next we flew from Hanoi to Hoi An where we would spend the next 4 nights. We loved the Old Quarter and enjoyed many meals out. We all tried Banh Mi and loved it as well as fresh spring rolls. Our first full day, we planned a trip to Danang to see the Golden Hands bridge and Sun world.  Day two we did an awesome market, basket boat, and cooking tour with Coconut Fragrance Restaurant.  Our last full day we checked out An Bang Beach and enjoyed a more relaxing day. 

Old Quarter Hoi An

Lasenta Boutique Hotel, Hoi An

Danang - Golden Hands Bridge and Sun World

Coconut Fragrance Restaurant Tour

 An Bang Beach

Siem Reap, Cambodia

For our last stop we headed back to Hanoi to fly to Siem Reap.  This was a quick 2 night trip to see Angkor Wat.  It was super hot so we chose a hotel with a pool to keep the kids cooled off during the day.  We ventured out to have dinner on pub street both nights and enjoyed tuk tuk rides back to the hotel.  We booked a driver to see the sunrise over Angkor Wat which meant waking up at 4am!  It was much cooler going so early but it quickly became more uncomfortable.  We tried to fit in as many temples as we could before the boys were done for the day (11am).  We all had stomach issues by the time we left Cambodia and Hayden was sick with a fever so we cut our last night short and relaxed at the hotel until it was time to fly back to Hanoi to catch our flight back to Japan.

Pub Street

Koulen Hotel

Angkor Wat, Cambodia

This was a last big family trip in Asia and we are so fortunate to have had the opportunity to do it in our 3rd year living in Japan.  It was very challenging at times with the kids but we made the best of it.  We hope one day they will appreciate all the places they were able to see during our time overseas.