7 November 202 Steps: 7,671 Today we spent a few hours in the afternoon visiting the Hero Rats in Siem Reap , and it was an amazing experience! Who would have thought that spending time learning about rats could turn out to be one of the most interesting and memorable things we’ve done in Cambodia? Hero Rats in Siem Reap The Hero Rats program in Siem Reap is run by APOPO , who specifically breed rats and train them to detect landmines , saving countless lives in Cambodia and

6 November 2025 Steps: 15,464 Today was our second day exploring the Angkor temples after an incredible first day visiting Angkor Wat and Bayon , and a much-needed rest day yesterday. We’d shown the girls photos of the famous tree roots weaving through the temple walls at Ta Prohm , and they were both excited to see it in person. Ta Prohm Temple Ta Prohm Temple was incredible to walk through, as there were massive trees growing right out of the stone walls and roots wrappin

5 November 2025 Steps: 5,334 Today was an intentional rest day , as we were conscious that we didn't want to burn the kids out with 'templeitis' , so we spent the morning relaxing at the hotel, playing in the pool, and doing some homeschooling. Angkor Wat Putt In the afternoon we caught a tuk tuk to Angkor Wat Putt , which is a 14-hole mini golf course just outside the centre of Siem Reap. It’s a fun course as each hole is designed around a miniature version of one of the A

4 November 2025 Steps: 12,726 The view of Angkor Wat from the famous pond Today was our first day exploring the Angkor temple complex , which is the unofficial 8th wonder of the world, and one of the main reasons we wanted to visit Cambodia on our trip. We hired a tuk tuk driver for the day called Mr. Vet , who took us around the temples for $20 USD . We’d pre-booked our tickets online the night before through the app, so it was easy to just scan the barcode on our phones whe

3 November 2025 Steps: 3,611 Today we caught the Giant Ibis bus up to Siem Reap , which was surprisingly a very good experience. The Giant Ibis Bus to Siem Reap The bus left from next to the Phnom Penh Night Market at 9:50am, and we got there in plenty of time to board. It made two stops along the way - one after about an hour for a quick 10-minute toilet break, and another at 1pm for a 30-minute lunch stop. The ride itself was pretty comfortable, although the driver was a bi

2 November 2025 Steps: 13,402 This morning we started the day at Pu Cafe Rock for breakfast again, as we all enjoyed it so much yesterday. . The guy who runs it is such a friendly guy and he remembered us from the day before and was joking with the girls. Wat Phnom Daun Penh From there we went to Wat Phnom Daun Penh , which is a famous temple located on top of a small hill in the city. There are some steps to climb, but nothing like the Batu Caves or the Big Buddha! Inside th

1 November 2025 Steps: 9,274 We started our day exploring Phnom Penh , with a great breakfast from a small place called Pu Rock Cafe , which was just a 5 minute walk from our hotel. Susie and Evelyn both had eggs, I had fried rice (seriously, why don't we do this in Canada?), and Jessica had pancakes with Nutella. I swear, we can travel anywhere in the world and Jess will still manage to find pancakes and Nutella ! Central Market Central Market roof, Phnom Penh As we were eat

31 October 2025 Steps: 6,286 As today was a travel day , we had a relatively lazy morning, before catching our 3.50pm flight to Cambodia. I was a little nervous about another Air Asia flight after the Langkawi flight debacle , but there were no delays this time. The girls even had a bit of time to do some home schooling in the airline lounge. Arriving in Phnom Penh Cambodia is the country I’ve been most nervous about visiting on this trip, but it’s also one of the ones I’ve b

30 October 2025 Steps: 5,475 Today we spent the morning exploring the Batu Caves in Kuala Lumpur , before using the afternoon to catch up on some much-needed admin - booking a bus in Cambodia, sorting visas, getting a haircut, doing laundry, and helping the kids with their homeschooling. Batu Caves in Kuala Lumpur I’d forgotten what an incredible place the Batu Caves are! I say that because I’m pretty sure we came here 16 years ago on our honeymoon, although Susie isn’t so s

29 October 2025 Steps: 10,701 This morning we flew from Langkawi to Kuala Lumpur, to spend two nights visiting Malaysia's capital city. We last stayed in KL back in 2009 as part of our honeymoon, so we were excited to see how the city has changed since then. Kuala Lumpur Central Market We arrived at our hotel ( Aloft Kuala Lumpur Sentral ) around lunch time, but we couldn’t check in until 3pm, so we decided to take a short Grab taxi over to the Central Market , as it’s one o

28 October 2025 Steps: 6,678 The girls having so much fun! Today we caught a Grab taxi up to the northern tip of the island for the Langkawi Mangrove Tour , which is one of the most popular tours in Langkawi , along with the island-hopping tour . The girls both preferred the look of the mangrove tour, and it was the right decision as they had an absolutely great time. They didn’t stop smiling the whole time! The Langkawi Mangrove Tour Once we decided on the mangrove tour, we

27 October 2025 Steps: 7,982 Jess on the glass floor of the Eagle's Nest This morning we woke up to another sick kid - this time Evelyn . Rather than stay at the hotel for a third day and miss out on some of the things we wanted to do, Jessica and I headed out in the morning while Susie and Evelyn joined us later in the afternoon. Langkawi SkyCab, the Eagles Nest and SkyBridge Viewpoints We got a Grab taxi to the SkyCab base station to buy our tickets for the cable car that

26 October 2025 Steps: 7,590 We had planned to visit the Langkawi Cable Car and Underwater World today, but Jessica woke up not feeling well again, so we decided another relaxing morning by the pool was probably a good idea. After all, we haven’t had many days to simply unwind, and with the sun shining, it seemed like the perfect chance to make the most of it. Enjoying the Resort and Pool! We hit up the hotel breakfast buffet again this morning, and it was just as fantastic

25 October 2025 Steps: 5,194 We had always planned for today to be a lazy day at the resort , as the weather was forecast to rain and we figured it was a good day to catch up with some homeschooling. However as we got such little sleep the night before after the flight cancellation , we ended up spending most of the morning in bed, and the girls in particular were pretty messed up for the whole day. Arriving at the Westin Langkawi Resort & Spa The Westin Langkawi Resort & Spa

24 October 2025 Steps: 10,058 (but it never should have been) Today was meant to be a slow travel day , and we were due to arrive at our hotel in Langkawi at around 6.30pm, with plenty of time to check in, have dinner, and maybe even a quick swim in the pool before bed. Unfortunately, it turned into an incredibly frustrating travel day and we didn’t arrive at our hotel until 8am the next day . To say I was annoyed is an understatement. Air Asia Flight Delay Horror Story Our

23 October 2025 Steps: 6,262 The Cu Chi tunnels are by far the most popular tourist attraction in Ho Chi Minh City , and Evelyn in particular was keen to see the underground network of tunnels used by the Viet Cong in the Vietnam War , especially as the kids learnt about the war at the War Remnants Museum the day before . Visiting the Cu Chi Tunnels with the Kids We decided to get a Grab taxi to the Cu Chi tunnels with the kids, rather than getting a tour, as we’d read a fe

22 October 2025 Steps: 15,644 Today was our first day exploring Ho Chi Minh City . Since we only have two full days here and are driving out of the city to the Cu Chi Tunnels tomorrow, we wanted to make the most of it. War Remnants Museum We started with the War Remnants Museum , as we wanted the girls to learn more about the Vietnam War as part of their homeschooling program. It was a really interesting visit, but some parts were quite confronting. I went into each room firs

21 October 2025 Steps: 5,422 This morning we got up early to have breakfast and catch our train back up to Hanoi, to then fly down to Ho Chi Minh City. Saying goodbye to our host at the Trang An Family Homestay The girls really enjoyed staying at the Trang A Family homestay and were sad to leave. The homestay was located in a lovely quiet setting, with a pool that we practically had to ourself the whole time. The lovely owner gave us all hugs as we got into the taxi before

20 October 2025 Steps: 3,561 (but we rowed a lot!) This morning we got up nice and early to go on the Trang An boat tour . This is the activity that Ninh Binh is best known for, and is one of the main reasons we decided to visit this area of Vietnam , so we were excited to finally get to experience it. There are quite a few different tours that you can do in the Ninh Binh area. In Tam Coc, there is a more budget friendly tour, which is generally considered not as scenic as th

19 October 2025 Steps: 8,371 We started the day with breakfast at our homestay , which included in the price. The girls and Susie had the banana pancakes and I tried Banh Cuon , which is a traditional Vietnamese breakfast of rolled rice pancakes with pork. It was really good! A traditional breakfast of rolled rice pancake with pork Bich Dong Pagoda Bich Dong pagoda was about a 15 minute Grab taxi ride to get there, and I had seen the part where you cross the lake, to the te