Day Twenty-Nine - 19/12/25

Another really great day.

I didn’t get out for a run this morning, but we took the skipping ropes down to one of the open areas instead. Emmett and I were skipping, and Kia came down too. Before long, a few kids wandered past and said, “Oh, we bought skipping ropes as well.” Next thing you know, kids are running off to grab theirs and suddenly there are skipping ropes everywhere.

We ended up giving little skipping lessons, watching the kids slowly get better and better. It was simple, wholesome fun, and such a good way to start the day.

We headed off to breakfast with an early start ahead of us. Today was a big excursion day. We were heading out on a boat. Breakfast was a bit off though. The coffee wasn’t great and some of the food was different. Kia and I couldn’t even finish our coffees, so she ducked out and grabbed some from a local place instead, which saved the morning.

I knocked over a couple of quick work things before we left, and another email came through while I was out, so that’ll be tomorrow’s problem.

By 10am, we were on the move. We got dropped off in this random spot and I genuinely wondered where we were going. We walked down a narrow alleyway and suddenly there was a beach at the end. From there, we jumped onto tiny little boats that ferried us out to a bigger boat waiting offshore.

That bigger boat took us out near one of the islands close to where the cable car and water park are. First activity: fishing. Simple hand reels over the side of the boat. Maddie caught a fish, Emmett caught a fish, I caught a fish. Everyone was catching fish. It was chaotic, fun, and surprisingly addictive.

We thought the fish were being caught and released, but it turns out some of them were eaten later on… not quite what we had in mind at the time, but that’s how it goes.

After fishing, we cruised closer to the island and parked up near some rocks for snorkelling. There was a big inflatable slide off the back of the boat, and people were jumping in from everywhere – sides of the boat, the top level, everywhere you looked someone was launching themselves into the water.

We had lunch, then straight back into the water. I was doing backflips off the second level, GoPro rolling, capturing people jumping, laughing, splashing. It was one of those days where everyone just leaned into the fun.

The only real downside was the toilet situation. When you flushed, it went straight into the water where we were anchored. Seeing toilet paper floating around underneath the boat wasn’t ideal… let’s just say the fish got a little extra fibre that day.

On the plus side, we did see flying fish skimming across the surface, which was unreal.

The vibe on the boat was great. Everyone looking out for each other, kids and adults all mixing, laughing, helping. It really is such a good group of people.

The ride back was short. We transferred back onto the smaller boats to get to shore, but the tide had dropped, so instead of stepping onto a jetty, we had to jump straight onto the beach. Emmett had managed to stay dry all afternoon, but as he stepped off, the boat shifted and he fell in, getting wet from the waist down.

He was not happy.

Cue meltdown. He didn’t want to be wet, didn’t want to hear that there were no dry clothes, couldn’t be reasoned with. Full baby mode. He was exhausted. Eventually, we got him onto the bus, left his wet gear on, and put on a pair of Kia’s dry shorts. Snacks saved the day. He ate everything, drank everything, and slowly came back to life.

Straight into the shower when we got back, and now everyone’s just chilling. Kia’s gone to grab some quick dinner, and we’ll be heading to bed early. The kids outside are still playing, but ours need a quiet night to reset.

Tomorrow is low key again. Realistically, it’s the last proper day of the hub. Sunday will be all goodbyes – some people leaving tomorrow, some Sunday. We’re staying on here for a few extra days after Christmas, which will be nice. Just hanging with a few families, slowing things down, doing our own thing.

Four weeks in. Four weeks in Vietnam.

Still loving it.

There’ve been hiccups with the kids, but that’s just life. We keep moving forward, keep meeting incredible families. Today we even got invited to come to Poland. Super lovely people. Poland might officially be on the list now.

Watch this space.