January 2018 – Winta Solstice

Vietnam: Hiking and Swimming in Ba Ho (Three Pools), Nha Trang

January 16, 2018 Winta3 Comments

Ba Ho is a must-visit destination for a day trip while in Nha Trang. Regardless of local or tourist, Ba Ho is a popular place to visit for a day out in nature. Highlights of this trip includes waterfalls, clear pools of water, rock climbing/scrambling, hiking, river cruising, campfire, and great photo opportunities!

What is the Entrance Fee?

Upon arriving at the parking lot, we first pass a booth with employees taking fees for entering Ba Ho.

The cost is 50,000 VND per person (~$2.2 USD) which is well worth it, in my opinion. With the attention it is getting from tourist, I recommend going while price is still low.

The River

Suoi Ba Ho (Three Pools River), the base of the hike, is easily accessible from a 10 minute walk in from parking. There, we see several stone tables and swings by a shallow river, safe for kids to play in. We set our camp here for all our food and bags to rest while we explore the park.

The trail doesn’t actually start at the river. Passing the large clearing, follow the dirt path on the left that will lead to Ba Ho (the Three Pools). You know you’re on the trail when you cross a small bridge that is shortly followed by large rocks.

The Hike to Ba Ho (Three Pools)

Five minutes into the trail, the Ba Ho climb instantly became one of my favorite hikes in Vietnam. Prepare to spend at least 2+ hours hiking to the top and back. The hike is incredibly fun and beautiful, navigating across large boulders. With so many possible paths to take, and no wrong paths, we could have explored the rocks for hours!

Feeling like we’re in an adult playground, we took our time playing with different paths to take.

The red arrows markers leads us to the best way through the three pools in case we encounter difficult paths or get lost. The arrows were clearly visible and easy to follow.

We had so much fun through the hike that we didn’t even notice any tiredness (which settles in the next day), only excitement! Each pool is clearly marked with a big red “1,” “2,” and “3.” Once we passed the second pool, the hike became noticeably more difficult and dangerous for children to continue. It requires wall scaling and crossing watery rocks to get to the other side.

Is it Safe for Kids?

This hike is a great time to let kids try out their ability to climb on real rocks. We brought children from 6 to 15-years-old along on our hike.

We are extremely careful while holding on to younger kids, but still allowing them to take the steps on their own. It is priceless to see the children’s excitement of taking the right paths on big rocks.

Shorter children will need to be carried on to the next boulder from time to time, but should be be fine if progressing slowly.

Can we Bring Food?

Absolutely. We brought in large bags of banh mi (Vietnamese baguettes), boiled corn, fruits, ruou nep (rice wine), and other beverages.

Other Notes

Prepared to see a lot of backpacker-style travelers seeking adventurous hikes. Luckily, unlike Yang Bay, we didn’t see hoards of tour groups to this site.
There are lots of photo opportunities! Be creative, and being there will bring out the kid in you!

Thanks for reading! Here are some posts you might like:

Visiting Nha Trang? What are your favorite places to visit?

Vietnam: Yang Bay, Nha Trang and Why I’m Not Impressed

January 11, 2018 Winta2 Comments

Yang Bay Eco Park is a tourist destination approximately 1 hour away from the Nha Trang city center.

On a beautiful Sunday morning, our family group of thirteen decided to take a day trip to Yang Bay. All we’ve heard of Yang Bay thus far is that it has hot springs.

The Cost

Package prices as of January 2018 are as follows:

Standard Package (train transport, landscape, animals, crocodile, pig racing, instrument performance)

Adult- 120,000 VND

Child- 90,000 VND

Package 1 (Standard package + Hot spring) ** We chose this package**

Adult- 200,000 VND (approx. $9)

Child- 140,000 VND

Package 2 (Standard Package + Hot Mineral mud bath)

Adult- 290,000 – 360,000 VND (depending on number of guests, more guests=less expensive)

Child- 200,000 VND

Package 3 (Standard package + Mineral Cosmetic mud bath)

Adult- 550,000 VND

Child- 300,000 VND

See here for more information on package and attraction costs.

*Current money conversions:

1 USD = 22,709 VND

The Journey

The majority of the car ride from Nha Trang city center to Yang Bay was pretty dull, with several impressive pot holes. As we get farther away, we get to the rural areas with sparsely littered buildings.

Only ’till the last 30 minutes prior to arrival is beautiful, with luscious green mountains and plantations. We see cows walking on the road right along side our car.

The Attractions

Fresh Water

Yang Bay, Yang Khang are natural falls right by each other where guests can get in and swim in the water. At this time of year, the water is very cold and shallow, coming up to our knees. It is a very safe place for kids to play in, so long as you don’t cross the ropes marking “STOP.”
The cool part is that we’re able to swim right next to the falls in the relative safety of a lifeguard watch. I got out of the water about 15 minutes in because the rocks underneath my feet hurt with every step we took.
There are some photo opportunities with a path leading right near the Yang Bay Falls.

Hot Springs

Famous for its hot springs, Yang Bay attracts many locals as well as tourists. The pools drain water at 3:30 pm, so if your highlight was to go to the hot spring, remember to make time to visit the site early.

Wildlife

Wildlife enclosements are available for viewing by everyone. Certain ones allow guests to get up close with the animal, which costs extra money. The Bird Garden (additional 30,000 VND) looked really fun as you can go inside and be in the garden itself. There is also a wonderful display of peacocks spreading its feathers. On the way into the park, we also saw a dozen white horses tied to a tree.

Feed the Fish with Baby Bottles

Exactly as it sounds, for an extra 12,000 VND, we can feed fish with a baby bottle filled with fish food. It was an intense several minutes were dozens of large fish jump halfway out of the water to feed from the bottle.

The aggression of the fish lead us to believe that they leave the fish to starve through the day so they can amuse the tourists.

Fish Massage

Costs an additional 30,000 VND per person. If you’re really patient and still as a statue, you might get a few nibbles. Otherwise, it really depends on the people. Out of our group of 13 people, only 1-2 of us had a decent “massage.” Waste of money when we could be going to a natural spring where we get fish massage for free. 😉

Crocodile Feeding

Costs an additional 10,000 VND per bait. As one free bait was supposedly included in our ticket price, we were peeved when the rep said that it was no longer in it and had to pay for it ourselves.

Sneaking Food In

Unlike most amusement parks like Vinpearl, Yang Bay’s isn’t too strict with food restrictions. We can bring food and drinks in through the gate and most of the park.

Once we reached the hot springs, the employees requested that we leave our foods and drink behind. We left behind a cooler with some ice and water, and kept our food hidden in our bags to eat once we got in.

Overall

Yang Bay, though with several good photo opportunities (if you’re into Instagraming-Facebooking your travels), was full of hidden costs and mediocre attractions that could be better provided elsewhere.

For the distance it takes to travel there and back, I felt that by myself, I probably wouldn’t go again.

Luckily, I was with my family, with nine kids, it was well worth it because they’re having fun and we’re having fun!

Vietnam: Making Traditional Bánh Tét During Lunar New Year

January 6, 2018 Winta5 Comments

It’s pretty cool to have family in Vietnam.

Unless we have a Couchsurf host arrangement already made, we typically spend our time visiting popular free destinations in the country. We’ve been here for a week now, and all family we’ve made have been incredibly hospitable. Experiences like riding motorbikes, grabbing tropical fruits like coconuts and mangoes from the garden, eating traditional (vegetarian) foods, etc. There is no better way to reconnect with our language and culture like getting acquainted with family.

Vietnamese foods that take 2.5 hours to get to back in the US are accessible here within a short 5 minute motorbike ride, and at a fraction of the price. The closer we get to the holidays, everyone celebrates by making lots and lots of food.

We’ve been so spoiled with all the vegetarian foods available to us.

Vietnam has a prominent Buddhism background, which means that finding artificial vegetarian meat is pretty easy. It also helps that a lot of our family in Vietnam has been buying at local vegetarian shops all these years.

Today, we’re making banh tet!

Bánh tét, a traditional rice cake with mung bean filling, is usually eaten during the Vietnamese Lunar New Year.

My mom and I have made banh tet back in the United States as well, but this is a whole different process. It’s not so easy when you have to keep a fire alive in heavy rain, keeping the smoke from your eyes, and trying to evade mosquitoes.

When it comes to making banh tet, my grandma is a pro. She’s been making delicious banh tet for decades, and her techniques are near flawless. Years ago, she made 100+ banh tet’s to sell at our local market during new years. Today, she makes it specially for family and friends only.

The ingredients of banh tet is pretty simple: sticky rice, banana leaves, mung bean (fried and seasoned to taste), and any additional filling you may like. There are many variables to make good banh tet, which is where my grandma comes in.

quality of sticky rice
well-seasoned mung bean filling
wrapping techniques
cook time and method

Compared to our banh tet in the US, my grandma’s are much bigger, almost twice as big! She also uses a different kind of fiber that is really strong, and (I’ve noticed) used to tie up a lot of vegetables at the market.

Setting Up

My grandma’s banh tet can afford to be so big because it’s made over wood fire in a giant pot. Because they make it in such large size and quantity, Vietnamese people typically set up a giant pot outside and cook it outdoors (back “yard”). It’s pretty cool how we used just scrap wood and log pieces to fuel the fire. We have to cook it a total 7-9 hours, depending on how consistent the heat is!

We set up several bricks to support our pot of banh tet. Thank goodness I’ve had experience with camping, as it made me not so ignorant in front of my more experienced aunt and grandma.

Dark Clouds Settle In

Receiving news that an incoming storm, we had set up a raggedy umbrella right by the pot to save the fire from getting soaked. We also put on a tarp to keep the wood from getting wet. The umbrella had done a wonderful job in protecting me from the pouring rain. However, the smoke and steam caught under the cover is highly deadly.

Sitting around for 7+ hours is a perfect time to connect with family. During this time of the year, families would gather around the fire, tell stories, and listen to festive Tet melodies.

Power outage, reminded me of my first time in Vietnam where the power had cut out every other day. Today, the internet in Vietnam is better than the United States (where I live anyway).

Despite the gruesome, humid, dirty, hot, dangerous conditions of making banh tet, this is the most authentic experience making it.

What are some tough, but worthy, experiences you’ve had while exploring culture?

Vietnam: Layover Fiasco, Conquering Jetlag, and Meeting Our Pet Pig!

January 2, 2018 Winta6 Comments

I’ve never used an airport intercom before.

After 15+ hours of our first leg of the flight and suffering from heavy jetlag, we landed in Incheon Airport, South Korea. We have two hours to transfer to to the flight we were on next. The line at security was long enough to worry whether we’d get to our gate on time. Fortunately, we made it through with 20 minutes to get to run to our gate.

With only minutes before doors close, my dad and uncle had wandered off for a quick smoke for awhile already. Why is it so necessary to go right now? I frantically came up and ask the representative to call for their names. I have heard people being called from the intercom many times from being at the airport, but never had that happen to me. The representative was very kind and helpful as she handed me the microphone for the intercom.

I have to say it’s pretty cool that I was able to grab the intercom mic and use it. The of scene from Home Alone popped into my head, except this time the adults are the ones left behind (the irony). I heard my voice on the intercom, which wasn’t as composed as most of the announcements I hear, but I hoped it did the job.

Seeing no point in six people losing their seats, we decided that we’re taking the flight with the kids, and that mom will wait for them to catch the next flight.

Fortunately, they had held the plane and was able to board the flight at the last minute. I don’t remember too much about the flight, except that my ear felt as if it was about to explode. This usually happens to me with smaller flights, though I don’t know the exact reasons. The food was better the other flight. And, ice cream!

Vietnam is exactly as I remembered.

Very hot, humid, and loud. Even in the cooler seasons, the heat is real.

We were stuck in a two hour long standstill traffic at 3AM. Cars drove 1 inch away from each other to squeeze their way through narrow sidewalks and get past each other. Truck drivers falling asleep while waiting in traffic is apparently a normal occurrence here.

Saigon is about 10 hours away from Nha Trang by car. We traveled through the night, which is great, because it saves time and money while we sleep anyway. I woke up sporadically through the ride and caught wonderful glimpses of the changes from city to county, scenes of acres of plantations, and cool side shops of people doing their routines.

Vietnam offers sleeping buses, where we could travel through the night on a bus with bunk beds for comfort. Pretty fancy and convenient. Our transport is a rented van and driver to take us straight to Nha Trang, which is best for the number of people and luggages we have.

We took many breaks, as much for our driver as it is for us. Stopping by one of the many side road hammock cafes that serve food and refreshments. Meals are as cheap as 20,000 VND, which is a little less than $1!

Jetlags usually don’t bother me too much. Recovering from jetlag is pretty rough. I’m constantly taking naps. Not the typical 15-30 minute naps, but one of those legit 2-5 hours blackout naps. The naps help me not get too sleepy before bed, but still have enough energy to sleep before it gets too late.

Home, sweet home.

The past few days have been a blur in travel, crash sleeping, eating, and sitting, which is surprisingly very exhausting. After bringing all of our stuff in, we were startled by the giant pig standing in our driveway. This is Mọi, our pet pig. She’s over 2 years old and weights many, many pounds.

She may seem a bit intimidating at first, but is actually quite tame. We give her most of our leftovers, which is great for not wasting food! Her hair is prickly, what I would imagine a porcupine to be like, but overall, quite cute! She typically lazes around and usually moves when we give her a good rub on her side.

Month: January 2018