I know that many of you are getting ready or close to travel to Vietnam and there are some things that I think will be helpful.
1. Buy those storage bags that suck the air out to compress your clothes. Both hotels we stayed in had vacuum cleaners with attachment hoses so we were able to compress everything again. It gave us a lot of extra space.
2. Money..... ABSOLUTELY get new crisp dollars, but you will need smaller bills as well....Ones, fives, tens & twenties. The people in HCMC took the dollar, but they really wanted new crisp money. The dollar was not as easy to use in Hanoi. The area around the Hanoi Hotel is not tourist friendly and they will only take the dong. Credit cards are used in a lot of stores the old fashioned way with carbons and an imprint, so we found that cash was better. Both hotels had money exchange counters at the front desk and we were able to change the dollar without any difficulties. FYI 16,000 Dong equals $1. Carry a calculator with you!
3.When making doctor appointments for your child make it in their Vietnamese name. When you get home and add your child to your insurance they want their birth certificate which you only have a Vietnamese one. The insurance covers your child with their birth name. You make a name change after you get immigration papers on your child approximately 45-60 days after getting home to the US.
4. Flights........ If you can afford to upgrade DO IT!!!!!!! We were told that EVA Air has a deluxe class the is equivalent to business class that does not cost as much as Cathay Pacific. We flew economy on Cathay Pacific and we were MISERABLE!!!! It is a very long flight to be so cramped.
5. Snacks for kids..... Get it at the Tax Market. Do not bring anything with you. Our daughter had very specific things that she would and would not eat, so what you think a toddler will eat....Cheerios, Goldfish, Raisins, Caroline would not touch. She absolutely loved their milk. It is sold everywhere in boxes, like juice boxes, for very cheap 4 boxes to package for about $1.50. The best thing we got at the Tax Mart was dried noodles (like Ramen noodles) Caroline would eat that if she would not eat anything else and there is a hot water pot in the hotel room.
6. The Rex and Hanoi Hotel had mini fridges in them with mini bar items. However we were able to fit things in there like the milk boxes, yogurts, bottled waters. Both hotels gave us 2 bottles of water a day, but you will drink more. Also, if you are not a water drinker bring your Crystal Light single serves. I was unable to find that at the Tax Mart.
7. Room service at both hotels SUCKED. It was bad and VERY expensive. The Hanoi Hotel added a 30% service and gratuity fee to the meal.
8. Luggage. We did buy an additional suitcase in HCMC for fairly inexpensive ($40) for a very large one. We brought 2 large suitcases with us and then bought the one and were fine, especially since we compressed our clothes. We had to get an extra suitcase due to all the stuff we bought.
9. Shops... there a tons of little shops that sell hand smocked and hand embroidered clothing for so cheap (compared to US prices) Think about Easter dresses/outfits, christening gowns, dedication dresses, etc. Very beautiful things and SO SO SO many to choose from.
10. I had read another mommmy's blog awhile back and got her idea. We purchased a gift for Caroline for every year until she turns 18 and one thing for her wedding day. It seems so nice to be able to give her a piece of her country every year. I have not decided if it will be for birthday or adoption day gifts, but she will get somt=ething from her home country every year. FYI : her wedding day is something blue ( a hand embroidered hand kerchief )
11. The tours...... remember you are there for your child. I think some of the tours were hard on Caroline. They interfered with her nap and she really could have cared less about the Mekong Delta. Most of the tours we took require quite a long van ride, so if you have a child that gets car sick every time you might want to rethink some of the tours.
I hope this helps y'all!!!! Happy travels!!!
Love & prayers,
Laura
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