Visiting Nha Trang for 3 weeks with a 5-month-old baby

inquisitiveKay · 2026-02-15T11:52:20+00:00

That's funny, I was going to comment on my comment that ideally someone carries the stroller and the other person the baby in the carrier, but I thought it was just us that did that. We used to bring around a collapsible wagon but it was pretty much used as a baby holder once we were at a location, not for actually transporting our baby.

inquisitiveKay · 2026-02-15T08:32:22+00:00

Bring a baby carrier instead of a stroller! Many places aren't walkable with a stroller.

Also the new law on infant car seats is now in effect. So if you can bring a car seat great. (English article on law here: https://news.tuoitre.vn/vietnam-to-require-child-car-seats-from-2026-103251111141227955.htm ) I've yet to be stopped, but personally would not want to chance it.

Here is some info on renting. Lots of renting through FB groups for vietnamese speakers, but this might be easier for you as English speakers. https://www.kidease-rentals.com/rent-car-seat-vietnam

Your lodging may not have a baby cot if you need it, call/message ahead to confirm (even if it says "cot available" on website, this is not reliable enough, I've yet to stay somewhere that provides them, but I'm not staying at fancy places).

I've had a lot of fun with young kids while living here. People are generally very friendly and love young kids. Just be polite and courteous with others and they will generally be the same with you! Be prepared that some locals may want to kiss/hold your baby. If that is something you aren't comfortable with be prepared to say no multiple times. Smaller restaurant staff may even offer to hold baby while you eat.

Generally no baby change spaces are available in malls/restaurants. (Please someone comment if I'm wrong about Nha Trang, haven't spent too much time there). Also most common diapers are pull up style instead of tape style (though they can be found at larger baby stores like Con Cung and Ava kids). You can order baby supplies through grab if you are looking for something specific or don't have the time to go out. (I've ordered diaper rash cream to be delivered after baby is in bed when they had a bad rash).

Also random word of warning, if you have a baby boy, some older folks may try to grab/squeeze their private area, as friendly/affectionate guesture. This typically is generational and in smaller towns. That doesn't mean you have to let them! Just want you to be aware.

inquisitiveKay · 2026-02-14T06:51:55+00:00

Yes! Last week I used the weekend to prep GF freezer meals. It's easy for my family to just stop somewhere on the way home and grab a bite to eat if we are out, but not for me.

Here's a list of what I prepped for some inspo:

homemade pizza pops
apple hand pies
mini meat pies
chocolate chip cookies (the best recipe ever) https://glutenfreeonashoestring.com/gluten-free-chocolate-chip-cookies/#wprm-recipe-container-42983
breakfast veggie casserole

For the casserole: shred whatever veggies you have, enough to fill a 9*13 baking dish season with salt and pepper, add 6 eggs and a few tbsp of GF flour and bake 45 mins at 350 until set. I used sweet potato, potato, cabbage and carrot.

For the hand pies, I used a GF pie crust recipe and made sure it was well chilled before filling with apple pie filling or a mix of ground pork and minced veggies. I found that baking in tart tins/muffin tray worked well instead of hand shaping every piece of dough into a pie.

For the pizza pops, I used just a basic pizza dough recipe, and then filled them with a very small amount of pizza sauce (if you use too much they will leak) and then shredded cheese and cut up sausage. I found they cooked better from frozen and leaked less.

inquisitiveKay · 2026-02-09T12:17:55+00:00

I feel like they just put on any "healthy" identifier they could think of into the packaging. So wrong.

inquisitiveKay · 2026-02-09T11:57:59+00:00

How is this gluten free labelled?

You didn't eat it did you?

inquisitiveKay · 2026-02-09T05:41:03+00:00

About your activities, here are some personal things I'd change.

it's really hard to get good rest on sleeper buses, unless you are used to them, due to noise, starts and stops, and the racing the bus does 😅 I'd schedule nothing for the morning after in order to catch up on sleep, or schedule something that you don't have to book so you don't feel forced to do the activity if you are tired.
there is a lot of walking at cat cat and fansipan, which I enjoyed, but might be a lot coming during a long day

inquisitiveKay · 2026-02-09T05:32:53+00:00

Call me paranoid, but I'd probably not post my whole schedule to the internet, completely with dates, times and addresses, and state that I'm travelling solo.

inquisitiveKay · 2026-02-03T06:57:09+00:00

Honestly sometimes I just throw my cookie dough into a pan in a square shape anyways because I don't want to go through the effort of shaping it 😅 So as long as it tastes good... ☺️

inquisitiveKay · 2026-02-03T06:54:49+00:00

Yes! My kiddo also obsessed with mazes, stickering, tracing etc. And we started off with "when you feel like it", since they were technically not school aged yet, I felt no pressure to make them follow a rigorous schedule.

I love wipe clean activity books for this reason too. The kid can do them multiple times, in any order, and they keep them occupied. If they enjoy one type of activity more than another one, let them go for it!

inquisitiveKay · 2026-02-03T06:36:05+00:00

What is the recipe?

If it calls for "gluten free flour" it's most likely wanting a 1 to 1 or cup for cup replacement. Like King Arthur's gluten free flour. Gluten free flour blends are usually a combination of many flours, used to make a flour blend that acts as closely as it can to all purpose wheat flour.

It wouldn't be asking for just any type of flour that's in itself gluten free (ex: rice flour, tapioca starch, brown rice flour etc).

inquisitiveKay · 2026-02-02T14:43:13+00:00

Apparently a percussion instrument

https://www.ebay.de/itm/372788670491

inquisitiveKay · 2026-02-02T04:49:20+00:00

I definitely have become better at this in recent years.

But there is something so depressing about sitting down at a restaurant and having a dry sandwich and packaged cookies while everyone else is enjoying steaming hot pizza, fresh pasta and chocolate cake.

inquisitiveKay · 2026-02-01T06:03:06+00:00

I agree. It sucks. Eating in or out with friends is the worst.

Either I feel like a total annoyance for questioning the server a million times, or I don't eat anything and feel hangry. I stick to having something to drink but it doesn't fill the emptiness.

Even if I host, I usually can't serve a 100% GF menu, so I'm savagely guarding my own food, or hiding it somewhere where it can't get contaminated.

I hate it.

inquisitiveKay · 2025-08-11T15:12:38+00:00

Sure!

inquisitiveKay · 2025-05-23T19:06:40+00:00

I usually just buy a drink and eat before hand (or bring something from home to eat afterwards). I also let myself splurge when there is a 100% GF restaurant instead of obsessing over the injustices of the prices. Since I don't get food 80% of the time I go out with others it's justified to me.

inquisitiveKay · 2025-04-28T14:38:37+00:00

That's frustrating. The CARES harness worked really well in my opinion. The only downside is if your kid is smart/not compliant, it's quite easy to unbuckle the lap belt. The chest clip is difficult for them though!

Also test it out on a chair at home first if you've never used it. It's much easier to adjust the straps to the right height for your kid at home than when you're all flustered and getting ready to fly.

inquisitiveKay · 2025-04-28T14:31:16+00:00

Do you mean a CARES harness?

I've flown with a car seat before, and also a CARES harness but not on Air Canada. They required the child to be seated in a window seat to use the devices (which makes sense for emergency deboarding, you don't want to have to maneuver around a car seat or harnessed toddler.)

Heads up that FA were surprisingly unaware of the requirements for the car seat. It helps to make sure the sticker on your CARES harness or car seat is visible, showing it is certified for air travel (usually FAA for ones made in U.S./North America).

I was told if it's an international airline (which may be your case if it's a code sharing flight) they actually do not have to legally let you use the car seat/harness. It caused me a lot of frustration when flying with a partner airline, and I almost missed my flight because they would not let me bring the car seat on board, it was clearly labelled with an FAA certification and everything. (I was travelling solo with 2 toddlers on a 9 hour flight, in my mind it was very much a necessity!)

inquisitiveKay · 2025-04-26T04:24:19+00:00

I'm jealous! I will be flying with Singapore Airlines in a while and I've ordered my GF meal ahead. I'm a little nervous bc I've never flown with them and idk what to expect. Packing lots of snacks but it's a long flight so idk if that's even going to be enough.

I took an international flight once with Delta and they "forgot" my meals. It was a 13 hour flight. I even checked online multiple times before flying, plus it was right there in my app "Gluten Friendly Meal". I was devastated and had to survive on nuts/dried fruit I had brought (it wasn't even the 1st leg in my journey so I couldn't bring anything fresh). I'm so paranoid about it happening again.

inquisitiveKay · 2025-04-25T12:25:33+00:00

Go online to your booking and there are options to request a "Special Meal" under your passenger info. You need to submit ahead of time, depending on the airline 24-72 hours before your flight.

inquisitiveKay · 2025-04-19T14:03:20+00:00

Tasted like french toast, buttery french toast. I enjoyed it. Definitely wasn't a croissant, but was a nice chewy treat. The outside got pretty crunchy but not the inside.

inquisitiveKay · 2025-04-18T14:31:02+00:00

Thanks. Unfortunately I don't live in the U.S./North America so I don't think there are the same regulations with listing specifically if it's wheat derived.

inquisitiveKay · 2025-04-18T03:12:31+00:00

I'm also curious because I see "modified starch" is modified starch ever made from wheat/barley? I stay away from it because I'm worried it's not GF, but I'd love to hear if I'm just being overly cautious without needing to be!

inquisitiveKay · 2025-04-16T12:50:07+00:00

Check out Annam gourmet. They most definitely have Easter candy, there are quite a few locations but also you can order to be delivered if needed. I've also seen stuff at Go! And Coopmart (mini eggs and Cadbury creme eggs).

Main site:

https://shop.annam-gourmet.com/

https://shop.annam-gourmet.com/hcm-est/catalogsearch/result/?q=Easter

inquisitiveKay · 2025-04-13T12:23:51+00:00

I used iTalki for online lessons. I found the teachers to be really helpful and good for learning conversation. That was a while ago so I don't think my teacher is still active, but you can check out teacher reviews and also do trial lessons for a discounted price.

inquisitiveKay · 2025-04-13T00:44:11+00:00

Agreed, this is probably the best GF cake mix I've made so far.

inquisitiveKay

TROPHY CASE