Happy Lunar New Year, 2025!

 The Year of the Snake.

In 2024,  Parker and I said yes to our dream of showing our kids the world. In six months, we have made it halfway around the globe: 

USA > England > France  > Spain > Portugal > Egypt > The Philippines

What a year! Both Kaia and Cruz have grown a measurable amount, both in stature and in maturity. Homeschooling is going well, and they are learning even more from our travels. Parker and I are grateful for this opportunity and time with our children. 

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We are ready for 2025! 

A New Lunar Year! A New country! New language! New food! And New Beginnings!

Our first destination is Da Nang, Vietnam. We originally planned to hop around Southeast Asia for a couple of months. However, we are all happier when we move slower and explore one country for a while. This is how Parker and I prefer to travel and it's much better for the kids. This coastal city in central Vietnam was perfect for the slight change in cooler temperatures (mid to high 70s), its walkability, the beautiful 10km beach, and finally, its local and international food options.

Our flight was super delayed and we did not arrive to our apartment until 12:30am, in the rain. We had chosen a touristy part of the city for convenience and surprisingly, most of the restaurants were still open. After we checked in we ordered our first bowl of pho, one of our favorite dishes back home.  Our kids took the flight delay and late night/early morning traveling in stride. They are now seasoned travelers. We were all starving but in good spirits. The hot pho at 1am was the perfect welcome to Vietnam.

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Beautiful Tet Blooms and Decorations 

Arriving in Da Nang in mid-January, two weeks before Tet (the Lunar New Year), was a great way to kick off our 2025 travels. The city was in full swing as it began the two weeks of preparation for the country's biggest holiday of the year. The energy was festive as the locals and businesses adorned their homes and establishments. 

This year, Tet is on January 29th. It is observed January 25th-Feb 2nd. Everywhere you looked were lucky strings, lanterns, fresh flowers, and blossoming trees. Offering tables were set up outside of homes and businesses for their ancestors. The city was coming alive with color, lights, and music.

Da Nang is a bustling coastal city with over 1.2 million people. At first, we weren't sure if we wanted to stay longer than a week because after all, a city is a city. Giant hotels and condos hugged the coastline and we could have been in any coastal city in the world. But after a couple of days walking around we appreciated it's mix of Vietnamese and international vibe. 

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My Khe Beach

The famous My Khe Beach was a block from our apartment. The biggest draw of Da Nang is it's 10km stretch of white sandy beach. We spent a lot of time on the beach when the sun was out. The temps were mostly in the mid to high 70s.

We choose Da Nang because it has the best surfing in Vietnam. But coming from the warm tropical waters of the Philippines, the cooler temps of the water was too cold for the kids and I. I'm holding out for warmer temps before I surf. The colder water didn't bother Parker. He was the only one who surfed. Cruz did body board with him. While the boys played in the cold water, Kaia built sand sculptures and I enjoyed the sunshine.

Next to the beach was a wide walkway that followed the coastline. We walked the path for many miles every day, usually in the late afternoon or early evening.  Exercise equipment was scattered through-out. The kids especially loved the pull up bars. Every evening there were several groups of Zumba dancers on our walk. Much to my family's embarrassment, I jumped in and joined the dancers for a couple of minutes. The coastal walkway was always full of locals and tourist, enjoying the sea breeze and getting exercise.

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The street that our apartment was on was not only a block from the beach, it also had everything we needed. In a couple of days, we had found our "go-tos": a small grocery store with a bakery, our favorite pho restaurant, our favorite breakfast restaurant, an awesome crepe/pancake food truck, and our go to bahn mi/shake stand right out side our door. There is also every type of international cuisine you could ever want just around the corner.  

Vietnam is extremely affordable, especially the food. The exchange rate is favorable for us: 25,000 Dong is $1USD. Counting in the thousands has been a fun challenge for the kids (and us). You can get a meal for just a couple of dollars and a great meal for around $10-$15.

Beef Pho: 55,000 Dong = $2.19.

Fresh baguette: 6,000 Dong = $0.24 (24 cents for hot bread at the bakery)!

Bahn Mi (baguette sandwich with pork):  15,000 Dong = $0.60.

Fruit Shake/Smoothie: 20,000 Dong = $0.80.

International food like pizza, pasta, burgers, etc,  are of course more expensive but it's still a great value. We have been eating pho for lunch because we love it and it's quick. In the evenings, we wander around and try out different types of food/restaurants. We are wondering if we will get tired of eating pho. I'm not so sure about the rest of my family but I don't think I'll ever get tired of pho.

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We did not escape the Pharaoh's Tomb!

Da Nang is becoming well known as a city for digital nomads because of it's beaches, mild climate and affordability. It's also popular for world schooling families. I joined a meet-up group and we met families on the beach from around the world: New Zealand, Australia, Europe, and several families from the states. 

At the beach, we also met a family, originally from Norway, with kids the same age as Kaia and Cruz. We met up many times at the beach and we even did an escape room together. The kids chose the Pharaoh's tomb because our trip to Egypt was still very fresh in our memories. We were entering the final clue in the fourth, and last, room when we ran out of time. We were so close, (says everyone who doesn't escape) but we really only needed one more minute to finish entering the last code to break out of the tomb.  So close!

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Dragon Bridge

One of our favorite things in Da Nang was the Dragon Bridge and Son Tra Night Market (which was next to the bridge). The dragon spanned the whole length of the bridge. The lights throughout the dragon changed colors every few minutes during the day. At 9pm on the weekends, the dragon breathed actual fire for 15 minutes. The bridge is closed during this time and we were able to get a good view. It was a really cool thing to see. At the end of the 15 minutes, water gushed from the dragons mouth, like a broken fire hydrant, to end the show. We were about 50 yards from the dragon's head and we cold feel the heat and the mist.

Night Market Bites

The night market was amazing. It had the usual souvenirs, name-brand knock offs, and delicious local food. Our favorite part was the food. The kids could never pass up the rolled ice-cream. We enjoyed trying new dishes. I especially loved the small corn bowl filled with shrimp or quail egg. 

Child sized chairs are common in eateries around Vietnam. Seeing Parker in a kiddie chair will never be not hilarious. If you see these chairs in a restaurant or next to a food stall, it means it's local cuisine. If the restaurant is full, it usually means the food is good , inexpensive, and you should find a table asap. We have been to a lot of markets on this trip and this one is our favorite because of the great food and the Dragon Bridge. We went to the market three times and saw the fire breathing dragon twice.

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Bike Ride to Lady Buddha

On our last day in Da Nang, we rented bikes to visit the Lady Buddha at the Linh Ung Pagoda on the Son Tra Peninsula. It is a symbol of peace and prosperity. The locals also believe that it has the power to turn away typhoons.

Lady Buddha and Linh Ung Pagoda are on 50 acres. The complex includes many buildings, gardens, statues, and beautiful landscaping. The statue stands 220 feet tall. It was quite impressive but difficult to capture in photos. It's very important to the people of Vietnam. Even with all the visitors and tourist, it was still a peaceful place. Lady Buddha overlooks the city of Da Nang from the peninsula to the north, she is placed perfectly to protect the city.

We biked over 10 miles that day. The wide path along the beach was quick and easy. The uphill to the top of the peninsula was another story, it was hilly, winding, and had so much traffic. Huge tour buses, cars, and motorbikes flew by us. We were all riding single speed bikes which made the climb challenging. I was honestly a little nervous with the kids, but they are strong bikers and did great. The climb was worth the down hill return and we saw monkeys at the end of our descent.

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Da Nang gave us so much more than we had expected. We ended up staying almost three weeks and made some new friends. The city was vibrant, the beach was beautiful, the temperature was perfect, it was easy to navigate, and there was so much to explore. 

How lucky that we were able to experience Vietnam's most important Holiday, Tet. The festivities and fireworks right outside of our apartment at midnight was something we won't soon forget. 

This Lunar New Year is the year of the Snake. The snake symbolizes growth, renewal, and adaptability. This is the year to reflect on your current path, embrace change, and seek personal growth. It was the perfect start to our 2025 adventures.