Now that we booked the trip… the excitement is starting to really build! We’ve got ADHD as bad as anyone, so we know we can’t “plan” the whole trip. But this is supposed to be a scouting mission. We want to know what we’re getting ourselves into. And we don’t want the whole thing to be a side quest with none of the expected stops along the way, it will not serve the purpose it needs to serve. So that requires a certain amount of planning.
I’m used to “planning” for “no plans” though, so I guess it’s time to work my magic. This means scheduling only the things that MUST be scheduled, but having a list of things we need to check out and a list of things that would be cool if we can fit it in. This gives us the structure only where necessary, and the spontaneity our neurospicy brains love, without missing any key points.
There is one thing we can’t just leave to happen whenever – and that is the tour at Skipper’s prospective school. That needs to be scheduled ahead of time, so I reached out to the school to ask some questions and set up the tour. At the last minute, I had the thought of sending it in Vietnamese out of respect for the local language. So I sent it in English, with a translated version below – hoping the translation actually says what I think it does haha!
Luckily, my translation must have worked out well, because the school responded the very next day. They are excited to learn more about Skipper, and would be happy to give us a tour when we’re there. CHECK!!
What’s the climate going to be like while we’re there? We’re going in May, which is the start of their warmer season – expect hot & sunny with temps in the 80-90F range. Humid, but not as humid as August. Occasional brief afternoon showers, nothing sustained. Beach weather – tourist season will be ramping up but not yet in the peak. AND… it’s MANGO SEASON!!
Now, the list. What are the must-sees? We need to check out the local markets – see what grocery days will look like. We need to find the stores where we’ll pickup anything we can’t find at the markets. We need to figure out where the local pharmacies are. And we need to walk some neighborhoods to find out where we might be interested in settling in. Luckily, my research over the last few weeks has given me some good information!
We need to think about what we’re looking for in a neighborhood. We are not looking for a tourist-y feel. We don’t want to live somewhere that just feels like a piece of the U.S. dropped into Vietnam. We want to embrace local culture, local customs, and the local people.
Son Tra would be cool to check out, but likely not in the running for a place to settle. It’s primarily a community of expats, so we can meet some people and get a feel for what their relocation was like, possibly make some English-speaking contacts for a slightly easier transition.
My An is also pretty tourist-y, but that’s where the Airbnb is, so still gonna spend quite a bit of time there. Also… the beach, so…
Hai Chau might be interesting. It’s basically the city center, and near some of the culinary schools, so we’ve gotta check out that area. Also – the Dragon Bridge is supposed to be iconic and we don’t want to miss out on that. I mean, come on – a bridge that looks like a dragon… AND ACTUALLY COMES ALIVE TO BREATHE FIRE??? And the Son Tra Night Market is near the Dragon Bridge also (which caught me totally off-guard… I would’ve mistakenly planned to do this on the same day we visit Son Tra!), and that would be a really cool thing to see. The Han Market is also in Hai Chau, and it’s more of a real, local market – this would be a great place to get a feel for what daily life would be like.
An Hai Bac is another residential area close to the Dragon Bridge, so we’ll possibly check it out the same day as Hai Chau. Gotta take a look even if it’s not the most exciting thing lol.
Ngu Hanh Son is between My An and Son Tra. Quieter, more residential like An Hai Bac, and also has some culinary schools to check out. Maybe we can drag Harry along to this one to check out his potential future school options.
There are some neighborhoods in Hoi An we’d like to check out also, but we can do that the same day we tour the school for Skipper. And I’ve heard amazing things about the area: The Night Market especially – the lanterns, the handmade crafts, and the food (oh, the food!). And the Ancient Town is supposed to be amazing all lit up with lanterns at night. The Hoi An Central Market sounds like a culinary student’s dream – with fresh produce, herbs, spices, white rose dumplings, cao lau (tried making that at home and totally biffed it!), and mangos everywhere.
Also heard that there are some cool things to check out if we’re looking to have some fun – The Lady Buddha, Marble Mountains, Coconut Basket Boat Rides, and the My Son Sanctuary, among others. We don’t want to do the whole tourist thing, but we do still want to have some fun, so we’ll possibly hit some of these. But I think I want to save most of them for if we actually make the move – then we’ll have lots to explore with Skipper and Harry!
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