Deborah’s Southeast Asia Family Adventure

Posted on 30th Sep 2024

This time last year, my family and I spent three weeks in Southeast Asia. It’s a route perhaps more commonly thought of as one for backpackers, but with precise planning, a smattering of different experiences, and modes of transport spanning from Tuk Tuk to luxury train carriage – it was the perfect family holiday to prelude a new school term.

We flew first to Singapore, the natural stopover en route to the Far East. Two nights here saw us settle onto the new continent and its time zone, sipping Singapore slings at the iconic Raffles Hotel and exploring the night zoo which my girls loved – especially the youngest.

Cambodia: the land of low-lying plains, the Mekong Delta and mountains

From there, it was onto Cambodia – a country far less visited, especially as part of this kind of trip, than its more popular neighbours. Siem Reap was our home for the next three nights, the gateway to Angkor Wat which we witnessed at sunrise, an experience well worth the 3 am alarm clock.

There are the floating villages too – which are not only a fascinating cultural marvel but a humbling insight into the modest means of the people who live here. Navigating the waterways into the heart of the village, we learnt as a family about the day-to-day life of other families and the difficulties inflicted by ever-changing water levels.

In Phnom Penh, where we spent two nights on the next leg of our Cambodia stay, we enjoyed a street food tour by cyclol, which was a lot of fun – before a sobering visit to the genocide museum. What stuck with me most was how lovely and welcoming the people are, those who have endured such trauma in their relatively recent history. It’s a powerful and poignant experience but incredibly upsetting and not suitable for younger children.

Vietnam: beaches, rivers, Buddhist pagodas and bustling cities

The next two weeks we spent in Vietnam – a country I’ve long loved but hadn’t visited for several years. In Saigon, we enjoyed a mix of experiences from an extremely entertaining Vespa tour that showed us this crazy city at night just as the locals know it. We visited the Củ Chi tunnels too – used by Viet Cong soldiers as hiding spots during combat and enjoyed an afternoon cruising along the Mekong Delta.

In Hanoi, we shopped and toured, before a welcome respite aboard a beautiful sailing boat which took us to Halong Bay on an overnight cruise. In my opinion, the iconic bay is now a little gimmicky but done right – that doesn’t detract from the staggering beauty of the place. This cruise is certainly the best way to do it, the spacious suites are luxurious – with your bathtub offering the perfect private viewing of the bay. We stayed on the beach then, in a gorgeous place called Quy Nhon for a few nights of downtime before the pace picked up again.

We left the coast in style: a private train carriage taking us to Da Nang. This was a fantastic experience, a separate luxe carriage for just the five of us is attached to the normal train – you get a 3-course meal, cocktails, and inclusive wines. The night train has sleeper beds too – so you can rest during the six-hour journey.

With a private transfer from Da Nang we arrived in Hoi An – our final stop – where we had four nights, two in the city itself and two by the beach. Hoi An is exactly as you see in the pictures, full of colour, bustling markets, more incredible food, local crafts to buy, lanterns to send down the river with a wish – a really special place. Four Seasons Hoi An served as a fitting end to this incredible trip, the hotel’s beaches are some of the best I’ve ever visited in Asia, truly stunning.

Start planning your own Southeast Asia Family Adventure

Flying home to London, I was left with that distinctive warm feeling of contentment after a holiday. We’d spent time together as a family doing some of the most magnificent things we’ve ever done, and we’d all learnt something too.

Whether that was as tangible as a cooking class during an exceptional foodie experience in Vietnam, or something less tangible – like a deeper awareness of other cultures and the genuine smiles on the faces of those who have so much less materially than we might do. I think that’ll stay with my girls for a long time, and there’s something very special in that – something I think only travel can provide you with.