In 2 weeks!

Goshh. We have 15 more days before our family trip to Vietnam. Specifically, we’re gonna set our footsteps into Hanoi and Sapa.

It happened on a September night when my SIL and I were just checking out air tickets prices on various booking agents online when we saw Hanoi was going at only SGD 300 per pax, tax and fee included. Simultaneously juggling another tab, I googled and discovered halal-friendly hotels in both cities. Ape lagi, tickets murah, makanan halal available, on the spot kita beli. LOL!

The irony is, I have never ever heard of Sapa yet I still agreed to go along. Only because I was mesmerised by this photo from Google:

I mean, I simply love mountainous views and rice fields alike. More so because it’s much cooling at higher altitudes and you tend to feel a different kind of relax.

Well on the very next day, you gave it away as I googled to find out more on the weather in December, I was…………………….. dumbstruck.

WINTER? Sapa is in Vietnam, Vietnam is in South East Asia, how could it ever has winter?

As I digged deeper, indeed, Northern Vietnam enjoys the 4 seasons. Unbelievable!

I became immediately excited because only the other day I was lamenting that those cold wear I bought for Haney for our trip to Perth in August would be only worn once, now stored aside and no longer of use and she wont be able to fit them anymore. So the next time we’ll get to visit winter, probably I’ll have to purchase new bigger sizes. Hence this news that Hanoi and Sapa will be within the winter season when we visit this December is definitely a great news to me! Hahhhh pakailah Haney segala baju-baju sejukmu selama 8 hari tu ye. Ya Allah, you heard me. Syukur alhamdulillah ameen.

Current preparations:

1. Accommodations

When we found out that only Cosiana Hanoi is Muslim-friendly, we booked the Family Suite for the 6 of us (5 adults and a toddler) at only SGD 370. TripAdvisor seemed great…… until a reviewer pointed out that there is only 1 bathroom in the Family Suite. One of my expectations when booking a unit with multiple bedrooms is it MUST have more than 1 bathroom. Are you kidding me with only 1 miserable toilet? Imagine in the morning, how hectic it would be? Plus it’d be a total waste of time waiting for one after another to finish! My SIL wanted all of us to be in the same “house” so opting of 2 separate rooms was out. Jadi gigihlah saya cari accommodation lain. Very challenging because I have to consider accommodations that are family-friendly since there is a toddler and an elderly travelling in our group.

In Sapa, no choice but to book 2 Suite Room as unlike Hanoi, they do not offer  multiple bedroom units. You see, when you search for hotels in Sapa, you will bump into some really nice ones.. very captivating. In fact so captivating that we cancelled our booking at Cosiana Sapa too!

So where will we be accommodating? Heh… wait for it. Nantikan!

2.  Baby/Toddler-related matter

Because this trip will be 8 days long and is in winter, can you imagine the number of things to bring? I had to think how I can SAFELY cut out items yet they still appear in Vietnam later.. without me having to lug them from Singapore. Hah! Im gonna apply the same steps I used during my Perth trip. Order online and have them delivered to the hotels! #momlifetravelhacks

If in Australia I used the services from Coles, this time I’ll be engaging:

– lazada.vn to deliver electric lunch box (to cook Haney’s meals), kettle (yes, I always ensure I boil water in a new kettle for Haney), a 1kg sack of white rice, some wet wipes and baby bottle liquid detergent. These are so cheap! I may or may not bring them back home though. Depends on my luggage space and weight by the end of the trip. You can even get diapers – huggies, pampers, drypers – and imported milk formula here. However hnestly, for diapers and formula, I feel safer to bring them along in my luggage. Personal choice.

– naturallyvietnam.com to send me fresh vegetables and fish for self-cook.

It’s so difficult to find online grocery shops that can deliver to Hanoi. Partly I believe is because Hanoi is still a little less modernised as compared to its sister state – Ho Chi Minh City. I struggled and alhamdulillah, ada jugak yang boleh menghantar.

Actually if you think I’m leceh and why the heck would I need all these during travelling, these are all for my darling little girl. I insist to still cook for her no matter where we go. Rasa lebih selamat and bersih bila saya sendiri menguruskan pemakanannya. There will be a time where I know I no longer need to, but for now, it’s my choice and Im satisfied.

3. Clothes

Just gonna lug whatever cold wear we have. I always have this system whereby I pack my clothes by day and ziploc them with labels like Sunday, Monday. Both for myself and Haney. I hate to imagine if I have to do 14 individual sets for day + another 14 sets for pyjamas. 28 sets! My goodness, how bulky will my luggage be?! I decided there is no way I can apply my normal system for this trip. I have decided to instead pack 3 sets of day clothes and 3 sets of pyjamas each, making it a total of 12 sets. Those hotels are so gonna benefit from my laundry requests. Hehehehe. Well, I think by now probably you’re wondering what about my husband’s clothes. Hmmm dia suka pack sendiri, so I tak kacau what he packs usually. I just know yang dia ada bawak baju.  Jangan tak bawak pulak. Aniaya!

4. Footwear

It’d be crazy for us to appear at Changi Airport in boots. I’ll just pack a couple of cute boots for Haney and a pair for myself. The kind of boots that we’ve got are like Phua Chu Kang kind – waterproof. Since Sapa is definitely nowhere near London, no point getting fancy schbancy ones, right?

Pics from google.

Ya get what I mean?