Vietnam/Cambodia with a toddler?

[longtallsally]

Yes, I know that most people wouldn't even consider this, but DH and I are thinking of taking a week-long trip with our DD to Vietnam and Cambodia. DH is only 22 months-old, so we would have to plan our travel carefully. Has anyone has taken a trip to Vietnam or Cambodia? If so, please advise whether in your opinion these could be suitable destinations for a (well-supervised) toddler.

We would go to Siem Reap/Angkor Wat, Cambodia as well as Hoi An/Danang and Hanoi, Vietnam. We would skip activities such as tunnel tours, boat cruises, long road trips etc for obvious safety reasons. I would like to build in time for DD to run around and get some exercise at parks, gardens, beaches etc.

If we were travelling sans toddler, I would like to go to Halong Bay and the My Son Ruins near Danang/Hoi An as well as the Jungle Temple/Tomb Raider tour in Cambodia. However, I am concerned about the possibility of my curious toddler finding unexploded ordenance and the safety of climbing over rocks etc at ruin sites.

If my toddler couldn't walk around or be pushed in a stroller, then DH and I would wear her in a backpack. We would be reasonable about how much time she would spend in a pack, of course, as well as the safety of climbing around in ruins while wearing our DD in a backpack. If the destination is unsuitable, we wouldn't go.

I would appreciate any advice; Thanks!

[californiagirl]

I haven't done Vietnam/Cambodia with a toddler, but it doesn't sound insane to me. I consulted our pediatrician about taking DD to Papua New Guinea, and she was very cheerful about it -- had recommendations of a suitable travel clinic for kids, and said "You know, people get all worked up about it, but I tell you, we have LOTS of families where it's traditional to take kids to their families, or specific places, at 1 year old; it's not that big a deal."

[rgors]

I have been to Vietnam (in Dec 2005), but I do not have a toddler, so I have a limited perspective. I went to Saigon and Dalat. I wouldn't do it, especially not just for a week when it takes so long to travel there. The time change seems like it would be difficult for a two year old, for one. Next, the drivers there are absolutely insane. To cross the street, you just start walking across the street in a slow and constant pace, and the drivers know to zip around you. That takes a few days of getting used to. "Clean" eating establishments (what you might be used to here) are rare... expect dinginess, flies, etc. And I can't imagine communicating to a taxi driver that he would have to wait to leave until I got the carseat installed. The ones that do speak English don't exactly have a "command" of the language (perhaps you speak Vietnamese?). The hotel staff tend to have pretty good English though, and could help to explain.

If you are a well seasoned international traveler and very laid back parent with an exceptionally agreeable toddler who sleeps very well -- then I would say you could go and have a great time.

I am half Vietnamese. All of my friends who are Vietnamese think that they need to wait until their babies are 3 or more to consider taking them back to the homeland.

I do agree with the other poster that international destinations can work just fine with a toddler. But a major difference in my mind is that it's much easier to go and *visit family* in a foreign country than to go and be a tourist.

[Globetrotter]

We believe in traveling with the kids from a very young age and have done so with great success. That said, for the very young years I think it's good to stick to "easier" destinations unless, as the PP mentioned, you are either visiting family or you are the backpacking type with an easy-going kid :) It sounds like you are hesitant, so maybe try something else this time?

Check out the Lonely Planet Thorn Tree forum, Kids to Go. It's a wonderful resource :)

http://www.lonelyplanet.com/thorntree/forum.jspa?forumID=37

I know you didn't ask for suggestions, but Thailand is a great option, especially Chiang Mai. We went there when the kids were 8 months and 4, and it was just perfect and very kid-friendly! The kids had a great time. I've heard the beaches are great, too, but we're not beach vacation types :) Bangkok is much more crowded.

Enjoy these precious years and don't feel like you have to stick to Hawaii or Florida like everyone else :)

Kris

[kozachka]

DH and I went to Vietnam for last New Year's while DS was visiting with MIL in FL. We arrived to Ho Chi Ming City, took a tring to Mekong Delta and than proceeded to Hoi An and Hanoi. Visit to Halong Bay was highlight of the trip for me. DH loved Mekong Delta. I thought it was interesting but a bit too much.

While we had a great trip both I and DH got very sick as result of food poisoning. I had to be close to a bathroom for 3 days and was getting ready to quit the trip when the bug finally cleared itself out of my system. Unlike in Thailand we did not buy any street food but ate at local restaurant. I am pretty sure I picked my bug at Hoi An alley restaurant highly recommended by the Lonely Planet book. DH got sick from eating unwashed fruit that we picked up on the way to the airport. They had to page for a doctor on our long-distance international flight for him. It would have been much scarier if it were DS. For me it was not so much traffic, we got used to it by the end of our second day in Saigon, or language, which we picked up enough of within first 3-5 days, but standards of cleaniness. Mice running inside spice store in Hanoi did not shock me. Also, I feel that if DS were with us in Vietnam we would not have seen as much, it was a tiring trip, and not experienced the things we did as we would have been staying/going to higher end places only.

As Globetrotter mentioned, I would have felt completely safe taking DS to Thailand. We loved Chiang Mai and any of the islands are OK for kids. You can combine it with trip to Angkor Wat and/or Laos. Don't know where you'd be flying from but anything more than 3-4 hours time difference would be not so easy on all of you.