The Sister Wraps Up our Sibling Trip to Vietnam and Japan

It’s time to wrap up our sibling trip to Vietnam and Japan. Being able to travel with The Sister is a blessing that I know not everyone is able to do. So I’m very thankful that even into our adult years we still have the chance for it and to adventure and enjoy it as much as we did.  I thought it would be great to give the Sister an opportunity to share some of her thoughts on this trip. Below is her wrap up on this trip. As always, if you’ve spent anytime to read through the trip, Thank You! Otherwise, if you haven’t and want to, you can find the whole trip here. And without further adieu, the Sister’s Wrap up!

Top 3 Highlights

Highlight #1: Embracing my bougie era

The bougie life got me good on this trip. 

We were able to redeem points for two Qatar Airways premium flights to get us over to Asia: a business class flight from Seattle to Doha, Qatar, and then a first class flight from Doha to Bangkok. I loved that my business class seat/pod had a privacy door that I could close, a giant screen that I could watch movies on while my feet and legs were propped up, and free loungewear and slippers I could take home after the flight. It was especially satisfying to be able to sit cross-legged on my seat/bed when it was in its fully flat position. While I don’t think I’ll ever love flying, I have to admit that flying in business for 14 hours definitely made the experience a lot more pleasant.

But I hate to admit it because I know how pompous and pretentious it’ll make me sound: I think I’m a first class girlie at heart. While business class was comfortable, first class was luxury. First off, as if the business class lounges in Doha’s gorgeous Hamad International Airport weren’t spectacular enough (and they truly were), we got access to the breathtaking Al Safwa lounge, which is reserved exclusively for first class passengers. On board the plane itself, there were only six first class seats (and it was on the second floor of the plane!) so it was hard not to feel really special. The service was great, my pod and the bathroom for first class passengers were gigantic, the linens for the chair/bed were amazing (it really felt like a bed!), and The Minion and I even got to have breakfast facing each other over a table — in the sky. 

I’m so grateful I had the incredible opportunity to fly these two flights. What a once-in-a-lifetime experience!

Highlight #2: Vietnam Vibes

I was surprised at how much I loved Vietnam. Even though Vietnam had been on my bucket list for years, I wasn’t sure what to expect and if I would like it. In fact, I was actually a little nervous about going. Would it be dirty?  Unsafe?  Would it be a “hard” country to travel around, compared to countries like, say, Japan or Singapore where things feel very easy, convenient, and comfortable? 

But man, were my expectations blown out of the water. Vietnam was way safer and cleaner than I thought it would be (it’s not Japan clean, but everything was tidy and you could tell great effort was put in to keep things maintained.) People were so lively and kind and cheerful. There was so much going on and it felt crazy, but there was still order and consideration.

Even now, I find it difficult to articulate what about Vietnam I liked so much. The only way I can describe it is the vibes. This surprises me because, in many ways, it’s the complete opposite of countries that I adore, like Japan and Singapore. It is chaotic, loud, and a bit unhinged (just visit a Vietnamese theme park). But it also feels so open, natural, and genuine. 

There is something so refreshing about the way Vietnam is comfortable in its own skin. What you see is what you get. Whether it’s their traffic, theme parks, food preparation practices, or the way the people interact with each other, Vietnam doesn’t seem to do things the way other countries do — and I kind of love that.

Highlight #3: Sapporo Snow Festival

One of the most ambitious parts of our itinerary was flying overnight (with two layovers) from Vietnam to Japan to make it to the last day of the Sapporo Snow Festival. It started off as a crazy idea I had since we just happened to be “in the neighbourhood” (i.e., Asia) around the time the festival was happening. I thought, when else would I have the chance to try to catch it? Thankfully, The Minion was game for a crazy idea and a wild itinerary so we made it happen.

I think it was so worth it! While it was great to see the festival and its iconic snow and ice sculptures, I’m actually more grateful we were there for the day after the festival. Right after the festival ended, organizers wasted no time tearing everything down. By mid-next morning, most of the festival grounds were unrecognizable. We spent a good amount of time just watching bulldozers destroying the last pieces of the biggest sculptures and it was mesmerizing.

I also loved visiting Sapporo in the winter! I really don’t like the cold and I don’t do many winter sports anymore so I don’t think I would have purposely made a point of visiting Hokkaido during the winter otherwise. But having the snow festival as a destination gave me a reason to go and I’m so glad I did. It showed me the incredible infrastructure Sapporo has in place to deal with the snow and the ice, and it was quite an experience walking around the streets with huge amounts of snow coming down on us. And then there would be days where the skies were clear and blue and the city just looked so beautiful. It also gave me a taste of what Sapporo is like. What a great city! I can’t wait to return in the future, and in other seasons, to explore more.

Favourite Meal

This question was so hard to narrow down to just one…so I’m not going to try. Here’s a short list of my favourite and most memorable meals:

• Layover meal at the first class Al Safwa lounge: This lounge was epic. Not only did it look and feel like a fine arts museum, it had a full-service restaurant where everything was included. The Minion and I ordered scallops to start and I had a wagyu beef steak. We had champagne and they also gave us some delicious dips as appetizers. Everything was so good. In fact, we enjoyed the scallops so much we ordered another plate of them at the end of our meal!

• Breakfast at the Marriott Marquis Queen’s Park in Bangkok: We had a one-day stopover in Bangkok on our way to Vietnam and stayed at the Marriott Marquis Queen’s Park. Thanks to The Minion’s Marriott benefits, a buffet breakfast at the hotel was included. The Minion laughs at me because I bring up my love of this breakfast buffet way too often. I am not lying when I say this was the best hotel breakfast I have ever had. It was massive and had every kind of western and Asian food you could imagine. It even had a Hainanese chicken station. Enough said.

• First bowl of pho at breakfast at our hotel in Hoi An: Our first morning in Vietnam was the first time I had pho for breakfast – and I was blown away by how different it was than at home. The broth was so clear and light and comforting. I’ve only ever had chicken or beef pho, and this was neither (I think it had fish cakes) and it was so delicious. This simple bowl of breakfast pho completely transformed my expectations and notions about pho.

I’m realizing now that my most memorable meals were all the “included” perks of our flights and hotels and not actual restaurants or meals we intentionally went to. I guess, to me, “free” really is the best flavour.

If I could change the itinerary…

I actually feel our itinerary was pretty perfect and I’m glad we did what we did for as long as we did it, despite a lot of it being pretty ambitious. I’m glad we spent a night in Bangkok, and focused on central and northern Vietnam (versus trying to squeeze in southern Vietnam as well). It’s also good we worked Japan and the Sapporo Snow Festival into our itinerary. I think if I had to be critical and to make a change, I would have opted not to stay in Otaru for one night and would rather have just stayed in Sapporo the whole time, heading out to Otaru for a day trip. It probably wasn’t necessary for us to have stayed the night. 

I’ll also say that, while I loved everything about our itinerary and have virtually no regrets, I think this trip did confirm for me that I would like to take a slower pace when approaching travel in the future.

What surprised me?

Bai Tu Long Bay totally exceeded my expectations. I wasn’t super keen to go to Ha Long Bay or to do a cruise in any of the bays because I had heard how overrun with tourists they were (at least Ha Long Bay). I had been told by a couple of people who had gone to the area that it wasn’t worth it. But The Minion wanted to go (and to overnight on a ship with old-timey sails) so I was happy to accompany him. It ended up being incredible! He found a cruise company, Indochina Junk, that had sole operating rights in Bai Tu Long Bay, an adjacent bay to Ha Long Bay. This meant there was usually just us and maybe one other boat in sight at any given time. 

The ship we chose was smaller and there were only about 13 other people on board. It was great getting to meet other travellers of all different ages and backgrounds from around the world. The room and ensuite bathroom were extremely comfortable, and the food was elaborate and delicious. I also loved the opportunity to do fun activities like visit a cave and go kayaking.

But most of all, I was blown away by the gorgeous scenery in the bay. I thought it would just be like the fjords in Norway or Milford Sound in New Zealand so I wasn’t expecting much. And while it is just “land + water,” it was incredibly unique and so beautiful. I am really glad we decided to go, that we chose the tour company and ship we did, and that we did an overnight cruise versus just a day trip. It was truly another highlight of the trip for me.

One memorable story from this trip

One of the most memorable experiences of the trip was spending the day at Sun World Ba Na Hills. I had heard stories of how random and ridiculous and wonderful Vietnamese theme parks were (I was enthralled by a co-worker’s stories about a Buddhist theme park in southern Vietnam that he went to) so was excited to see if they lived up to the hype. And Sun World totally did. I won’t go into it too much since The Minion wrote a whole post about it but it was truly a wild and incredible experience. It was just so extra and over the top. Every corner brought a new, unhinged delight. It was such a feast for the senses and as a person who thrives on random things, it really resonated with me. 

If I had to pick just one memory from that unforgettable day, it would have had to have been the Vietnamese man dressed in lederhosen singing and dancing to “Gangnam Style” in the German beer hall to hype people up to volunteer for the mini game of holding up a giant beer keg over their heads for as long as possible. That display alone was worth the price of admission in my mind. “Let’s go let’s go!”

Did I pack appropriately?

This was a difficult trip to pack for because the weather in Vietnam and Japan would be completely different. We had to lug all of our winter gear for Hokkaido in our suitcases the entire time we were in Vietnam, which meant our suitcase was pretty much full right from the beginning of the trip. 

In terms of the clothes I brought, Vietnam ended up being much cooler than I expected it to be. I brought shorts and tank tops but only wore them for our one day in Bangkok. I brought layers for the Sapporo portion of the trip and that was a good choice. While it was very cold, I found that if my layers were too thick or heavy, I overheated quickly, especially once we stepped from outside to inside a building.

Regrets?

I can’t really think of any regrets on this trip other than some food ones. I kind of regret not getting the caviar course on the first class Qatar Airways flight. Originally, I  said yes when the flight attendant took my order, but then changed my mind because I was so full and knew I was likely going to waste it since I am not a fan of caviar anyway. I don’t know how I could have managed to eat it at the time but part of me does wish I had tried it anyway. 

I also low-key regret “watching how the sausage is made” for our bun cha meal in Hanoi. We went to eat at a delicious Michelin bib gourmand bun cha street stall/restaurant on our last day in Vietnam. It came with a mountain of raw greens, which we readily ate but still had a ton left over. The Minion and I wondered if they discarded all the leftover veggies and just gave every new table a new plate of heaping fresh veggies. So after we finished our meal we decided to stand across the street to see what would happen with our leftover plate of veggies. And, well, you can imagine why I might regret doing this now. But neither of us got sick from any of our meals in Vietnam so it was all good 😀

Advice for people considering similar trips/destinations?

• You get what you pay for with a Ha Long Bay / Bai Tu Long Bay cruise – choose a more luxurious cruise even if it costs more and try to find an itinerary that isn’t Ha Long Bay as it is very touristy.
• Pack for layers if you’re going to Hokkaido in winter. Don’t forget a waterproof layer as there is often a lot of blowing snow and wear boots with good traction. The ground can be very slippery with ice, especially in Otaru where they weren’t as good as Sapporo at clearing the sidewalks and roads. Also, pack a face mask or something like that. It makes a big difference in keeping your face warm, especially when it’s windy.
• Try not to rush the trip. We had an ambitious itinerary and while I don’t regret it, it did mean for a more intense pace and not as much time just soaking in the culture and seeing, doing, and eating as much as we wanted to.

Final thoughts?

This was probably one of the best sibling trips The Minion and I have taken. I would go so far as to say it’s one of my favourite trips I’ve ever been on. Everything was just so wonderful and memorable. I loved that we had multiple components to the trip, so it always felt like I had something to look forward to. First, was the business class flight from Seattle to Doha on Qatar Airways, followed by a long, luxurious layover in one of the world’s best airports and access to the exclusive first class Al Safwa lounge. Then there was the first class flight itself and an overnight stay in Bangkok — my first taste of Thailand (which whet my appetite for more!).

We then had two days in central Vietnam, followed by a few days in Hanoi, including the overnight cruise on Bai Tu Long Bay. Then we had Japan and the Sapporo Snow Festival and Otaru to look forward to. And finally, we capped off the end of the trip with a one-night stay in Tokyo in the Mesm, a luxury hotel that felt super premium (I told you, the bougie life got me good on the trip.)

I loved every part of the trip and I mean it when I say I have very few regrets or can’t think of how I would have done it differently. It was truly an incredible time and I am so glad to have been able to do the whole journey alongside The Minion . I will forever be grateful for this experience!