In 2014, I posted this Vimeo Staff Pick called “Somewhere in Vietnam” and that started it for me. Follow that up with Casey’s video called “The Vietnam Notebook” which he took with his son in 2012 to Vietnam to rent a motorcycle and travel the countryside. That video made me want to rent motorcycles and travel the countryside and not get killed with my kids and have them expierence a way different culture, beautiful sweet friendly people and eat food that is outside their comfortzone of pasta with butter.
This trip was to happen in the summer of 2020, but with covid… it just fell to the dumpster till the future. I would love to go soon but I have some saving to do with other trips… so will push it after two big epic trips happen in 2024 and 2025.

With what is happening in the world with the Pandemic virus, it would be wise to push this trip and keep saving for it since I’m planning the following:
– 2023 – Trip to Vancouver, BC to hike for two weeks as a larger PCT Shake Down Hike
– 2024 – 6 Month Thru-Hike of the Pacific Crest Trail with my daughter
– 2025 – 4-6 Month North America Road Trip with my son
So maybe in 2026 can be a month of Vietnam and Thailand. I’m excited to start saving for this trip.


I thought it would be fun to fly into the old formerly named city of Siagon, which is now called Ho Chi Minh City (map) (Kara & Nate Vlog) and sleep off some jetlag and venture out and see the busy city sights and taste some yummy food. This city is in the south of Vietnam and I thought it would be fun to travel up the coast to Hanoi in the North. We would have to do a sleeper bus for fun and also by train (YouTube Video) & more videos to watch. There are some beach cities along the way to stop and explore. By the time we get to Hanoi in the North, the kids will be a little more settled with the food. Before going on this trip, we need to dine at a Vietnamese and Thai restaurant in Toronto and sample some food and I don’t mean taking a bite. I mean eating 25% of four different dishes and we will do this about 5 times. I’m not going to force them to eat bugs and things on a stick that looks like they are still thinking inside. If you want to watch Kara & Nate’s Vlogs in Vietnam… you can find them here.


So travelling north along to the coast to Hanoi would be fun. Hoi Ann & Hue are two nice spots to explore. In the North, I would like to Hike in the mountains near Sapa before making our way to beautiful Halong Bay for a little cruise and explore the incredible bay and islands.



In Halong Bay, you have to do a little 3-day cruise and visit some of the floating villages in the bay and do some kayaking. Boats will shuttle you to beaches and also take you to some places you can hike and climb up the cliffs on paths to the top to see the views of the bay. I decided to post two Kara & Nate’s Vlogs showing the cruise they took in the Bay to give you an idea of Halong Bay.

Then move to Thailand to rent some motorcycles and do a loop in the northern part of Thailand.
We would then fly over to Thailand which is right beside Vietnam to the West. In the North in Chiang Mai. We will rent two motorcycles. Chantal will have one and Noah will be on the back of mine. We will buy and strap a pillow to make it comfortable for Noah. If he is sleepy like he was on our Europe trip then I will tie him to me so he doesn’t fall asleep and fall off.




The Mae Hong Son Loop can be done in about 4 days. This trip in total we would need about 3 weeks to do all the things we want to do. Flying there is the most expensive part. Vietnam and Thailand are super affordable for logging, eating and visiting things. After northern Thailand, we will fly down to Bangkok in the south and explore the city before going south to the incredible Thai beaches down near Phuket. Maybe I and the kids should have not watched this movie together. Hopefully, the kids don’t remember the opening scene of the movie (The Impossible from 2012)

After southern Thailand, it would be to fly home through Vietnam or maybe when booking we could come home via Bangkok back to Toronto. All I know is that it would be a wild trip and after taking the kids to Europe for 19 days last August… a trip like this to the other side of the world would be crazy fun and such a great experience for them and myself. I already have a Trip Planning Book all set for this trip to fill with ideas and information.
If you want to watch Kara & Nates Travel Vlogs filmed in Thailand… you can view them here.