Two Weeks Into Our 6 Month of Travels
It’s been two weeks since we’ve left our home in Boston and one week since we’ve arrived in Southeast Asia. To say it’s been a whirlwind is an understatement. While I knew that traveling with 4 under 4 would be hard, I didn’t realize how hard it would be, and how much it would take out of me.
Luck was not on our side for this trip; between bad Airbnb’s, issues with car rentals and the stomach bug hitting at the worst possible time, it was, let’s just say, an experience. However, we’ve now been at our new home in Vietnam for exactly a week and just last night, all 4 kids slept through the night (thank goodness)!
A few things about what we’re currently up to and where we’re staying:
Accommodations: When staying in Saigon, we always stay at Riverside Service Apartments. It’s literally our home away from home. They offer 1, 2, 3 and 5 bedroom apartments, complete with housekeeping, linen/towels and all of the amenities one would need. What I particularly love about Riverside is that it’s safe and perfect for kids. There’s a wonderful playground, pool, restaurant, coffee shop, laundry, gym, tennis courts and even a boat into D1 that runs multiple times per day. Their customer service is impeccable and the community of people, from all over the world, that stay at Riverside are warm and welcoming.
School: We’ve just enrolled our nearly 4 year old twins into a Montessori school that is close to our house. There are endless options of international pre-schools in Thao Dien (the area where we live) but many are extremely expensive and require a registration fee. Always inquire about shorter term options and many will actually wave the registration fee if you’re enrolling for less than 6 months. We are paying month to month for their schooling.
Nanny: We’ve just hired a nanny to help care for the babies. We always hire based on recommendations of other expat families. Sometimes we find these recommendations through local expat facebook groups, but most of the time its through friends of friends. Our new nanny, Ms. Thanh is absolutely lovey and she’s a great cook! We hope she’ll teach the kids some Vietnamese.
Getting Around: We are currently in search of a bicycle with two toddler seats on it and are thinking about renting a motor bike, as this is the best way to get around (though I think it’s scary to drive). Currently, we are just using Grab (was acquired by Uber) and you can easily book a motorbike, small car or large SUV. The rides are super cheap (like $1 for a 5 minute ride) and easy to use, so that’s what we are currently using.
Strollers: Many have asked about strollers. We brought 2: our Zoe and our City Mini GT. The roads are not conducive for strollers; you literally have to walk alongside the road, but we use it around our compound / apartment complex.
Things to do: There are endless things to do around Vietnam for kids. There are tons of kids cafes, where they serve actual good food and then there’s a play area. There’s also extracurriculars that are very cost effective: swimming lessons are around $10/30 minutes, tennis lessons, ballet, soccer etc.
Food: What I’m enjoying the most is the food (obvi). Thao Dien is filled with more international restaurants than anywhere I’ve ever seen. You can literally get anything, at any price point, delivered right to your door. I need to up my exercise game so I can keep up with all of the amazing food. :)
All in all — we are getting settled and look forward to more adventures with our 4 toddlers!