Tokyo to Da Nang

After taking a few trips where we packed in multiple destinations, we thought we would try out a single one city itinerary over Thanksgiving week.  We also know from recent experience that the girls like a pool/beach-based vacation much more than a city-based one, so we looked for a beach destination.  To keep it simple, we wanted a non-stop flight from Tokyo and preferred it to be to somewhere we hadn't been.

Joe was also looking to use up some of the difficult-to-use Delta miles we have accumulated, so Vietnam moved to the top of the list since Delta partners with Vietnam Airlines and we had never been to Vietnam.  We then checked what hotels Starwood and Hyatt had in Vietnam, since those are our preferred chains.  Nothing great at Starwood but Hyatt had a nice resort in Da Nang, and Vietnam Airlines happened to have 3x weekly non-stop service.

We first checked for availability at the Hyatt Regency Da Nang for seven nights, and there was Points and Cash availability.  6,000 points plus $75 per night was a decent redemption.  We were then excited to find out there was suite upgrade availability so we used a confirmed Diamond Suite upgrade certificate to reserve a suite.  We had heard the property had a nice Regency Club so we were looking forward to the breakfast and snacks there.

Once we had the hotel portion locked down (it was cancellable up until 24 hours before arrival) we tried to find airline tickets on Vietnam Airlines using Delta miles.  We lucked out and there were three coach seats and one business class ticket on the Saturday flights Tokyo-Nartia (NRT) to Da Nang (DAD) on 11/22 returning 11/29, so we grabbed those.  The coach seats were 45,000 miles each plus $40 in taxes and fees and the business class might have been 60,000 miles with the same fees.  Not good redemption values but we were trying to economize on the cash outlay for the trip and were happy to use the Delta miles since they are very hard to use when you need 4 tickets.

With all the planning out of the way, we were ready to go!

We left our apartment at 12:30pm on Saturday, November 22 and made the drive to Narita in less than an hour. We were met by DAD parking at our gate to drop off the car.  After checking in for our flight we made our way through security and headed to the Delta Sky Lounge to enjoy some snacks and drinks while waiting for our flight.

Carrot apple soup, gyoza and veggies in the lounge

Joe also ran and got the girls some chicken nuggets from McDonalds to have for the flight just in case, since he and the girls would be sitting in coach and we weren’t sure if a meal would be served.

I got to enjoy a kid free six-hour flight in Business Class and while Joe warned me it wouldn’t be anything nice, I thought it was great! Nice big seats that reclined about halfway back and had a little footrest.  The food wasn’t anything great but I had a decent meal of a salad, some fresh fruit and a beef fillet with a spicy sauce and steamed rice. The entertainment selection was pretty awful with only a handful of English movies so I ended up just reading the book I had brought with me, Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me by Mindy Kaling which had me LOLing most of the way through.

Had a few minutes before takeoff to give Joe a hard time about the awful conditions in coach

Back in coach things weren’t going so smoothly as the brand new pair of children’s headphones we bought were useless since they had a volume limiter on them.  Joe was kicking himself for not picking up an extra pair of Bose noise canceling headphones that we had been looking at the night before at the mall in Tokyo.  Lots of crying and whining went on as the girls had to take turns watching the iPad with the one pair of Bose headphones Joe brought. Poor spoiled darlings. We also forgot to bring water onto the plane (amateur mistake) and because of turbulence couldn’t get any for the first few hours. Since we were delayed on the ground for over an hour it was well past the girls’ bedtimes by the time we arrived in Vietnam - Lizzy ended up falling asleep for the last 90 minutes of the flight and Annie was a tired mess getting off the flight.

It wasn't one of our best flights but the time of the flight made it tough for the girls and the lack of water and headphones made it a lot more difficult than it needed to be.  We have many discussions on whether the premium for sitting in a nicer cabin is worth it.  This one reminded Joe that even with the little legs on the girls, the extra space in a nicer cabin is definitely worth something when having to be on a plane for seven hours with these two little girls.

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory was a main pick of the trip

After a bit of confusion and standing in line for immigration with everyone else we noticed a small window labeled “Visa on Arrival” so went there to pick up our Visas that we had arranged through a third party online agency two weeks prior.  We were required to bring two passport photos for each traveller and decided to try using our leftover photos we had from when we renewed our passports in the US over 18 months ago. Shockingly, they accepted the photos even though Lizzy looked VERY different from her dated photograph. Visas in passports we went through immigration and collected our luggage.

We had checked our MacLaren stroller and even though this ended up being the ONLY time we used it during the entire trip, I’m glad we had it! Annie was SO tired and immediately climbed in and almost fell asleep.  We headed through customs and out of the airport to find a nice Mercedes R300 from the Hyatt waiting for us. The round-trip Hyatt-provided airport transfer was about $90, probably 4x the price of taking a cab.  It definitely felt worth in on the way to the hotel since everyone was tired and it decreased the stress in figuring out what to do. On the return trip, we felt a cab would have been fine, so we may only book a one-way next time and see how it goes.

It was dark when we arrived to hard to get any real first impressions of Vietnam but because of the abundance of motorcycles it had a bit of a similar feel to Bali, though much more developed. Da Nang was a much bigger city than I expected (not surprising since I knew nothing about it) with some modern architecture, a few large suspension bridges and some pretty big skyscrapers. Even though motorcycles greatly outnumbered cars everyone drove slowly and carefully and it didn’t have the chaotic feel of being on the roads in Indonesia. The Hyatt was a 20 minute easy ride from the airport and Annie quickly fell asleep on me in the car. 

Upon arrival at the Hyatt we were taken to the Regency Club Lounge to check in and then escorted to our room which had an anniversary cake, bottle of wine, sweets and fruit platter set up on the table. It was a great suite and I’ll write more about it in my next post all about the resort. The girls were, as always, super excited to be in a hotel but eventually fell asleep around 10:30pm Vietnam time, well past midnight in Tokyo! It was probably the latest they had ever stayed up.  Despite the busy day of travel and the late bedtime, they were up and ready to go at 6am the next morning.

Woke up to this gorgeous view

Tokyo to Singapore

Disclaimer: Anything miles/points/money related was written by Joe, anything hilarious added by Mary.

We wanted to minimize our luggage for the trip since we had so many flights and airport trips throughout the two weeks.  We decided on our two rolling carry-on suitcases, a MacLaren stroller, backpacks for Joe, Mary and Annie, a camera bag and one additional small bag for odds and ends.  We also packed a good amount of “leave behind” clothes for the girls and Joe, which made them look homeless many days, but allowed us to decrease our luggage throughout the trip.

We were mostly packed by December 30^th in case there were any last minute things we needed to take care of and we were up and ready to leave around 7:30am on New Year’s day.  We had pre-packed the car and loaded up the girls, who ate breakfast in the car.  We made it to Narita in only 50 minutes as there was almost no traffic on the holiday morning.

In one of the best decisions of the trip, we had arranged airport parking with a company through Tokyo American Club.  We provided them our flight information a week prior, gave the parking company a call when we were 10 minutes from the gate, and someone met us at the departure terminal to take our car and park it for us.  They would also come pick us up at the gate upon our return, which was great since we were coming in on a redeye.  The parking cost was only 9,680 Yen, which is about $92.  In a city where everything is so expensive, this is one of the best deals out there.

We arrived at Narita with plenty of time for a stop in the ANA Lounge Business Class Lounge.  There were some good food offerings and despite eating breakfast in the car, Annie and Lizzy devoured huge portions of yakisoba noodles.  In addition to the serve yourself spread which consisted of salads, yogurts, sandwiches, sushi and a few other things, there was also a walk up window where you could order various made to order noodle and curry dishes.

Airport lounge chicken curry: surprisingly delicious!

Carbo loading

Yakisoba noodles, which Annie calls Kyoto Noodles" since she once had them there

Getting ready to board!

We were kind of dreading the long haul flights in the week prior to the trip, so Joe changed some things around and put Annie and me in business class and he stayed in coach with Lizzy.  Joe and I had flown on the Singapore A380 in business class for our pre-move trip and it was amazing, so that completely changed my outlook on the trip down to Singapore.  We went from sort of dreading the 8-hour flight to looking forward to it.  Keeping Annie and Lizzy apart on a plane makes it significantly easier, so Joe was happy about the scenario as well.  The NRT – SIN coach tickets were 15,000 miles each and even though the business class tickets were 36,000 each, the miles were well spent because of how much better business class is on the Singapore A380.  

Annie loved the seat and all the attention from the flight attendants.  She received a small Singapore Airlines bear, which she named Annie (the name of every single thing she has ever named) and had it with her for every moment of the rest of the trip.  She and Lizzy also received small activity packs with colored pencils and paper and that kept Annie busy for the first hour plus of the flight.  When the flight attendants came around taking drink orders before takeoff , I thought it was so cute when Annie politely asked for a milk.  She also requested an apple juice "for later." :)  Her class had just completed a unit on airplane travel so Annie had lots of knowledge to share with me - as we ascended she told me "The control tower is watching us, mommy!" She also mentioned a few times that the pilots fly the plane from the cockpit.

Very much into "rules" lately, Annie was hesitant to do anything until I did it first. She would ask, "Are YOU going to put your tray up? Are YOU going to put your slippers on? Are YOU going to listen to your headphones?" It was very sweet and reminded me of myself at age 13 on my very first commercial flight with Amanda (Columbus to Tampa).  I vividly remember being so excited/nervous and asking her what drink she was going to order and then ordering the same thing for myself. It was ginger ale. :)

The flight attendants are called "Singapore Girls" and are they are the cutest!!

A little bubbly for Mommy!

Busy with her activities: sticky notes and Crayola color wonder pages

Appetizer and a happy little girl

Kids' snack box

We were able to pre-order our meals online using Singapore's "Book the Cook" feature. Annie ordered spaghetti with chicken meatballs

Dinner and a movie... doesn't get much better

Annie had to bring her Avengers Pez and her 787 Dreamliner toy planes

I ordered the vegetarian meal because airplane mean generally grosses me out

Mozarella salad

Risotto

Tried to get her to take a nap but she was too excited

The Singapore Girls even brought Annie some mini-sized slippers

Lizzy and Joe sat on the small coach section on the upper deck and did pretty well.  Lizzy was a handful while we waited for the flight to get in the air, but once she got her movies and food, she was pretty good.  She only needed one diaper change and fell asleep about 7 hours into the flight and slept for about 90 minutes through landing.  We had a meal, watched all of the Little Mermaid movies and did some coloring.  All in all, she was kind of annoying but overall well behaved. 

We moved through customs quickly, grabbed our luggage, got a cab, and headed to the Westin Singapore. 

L.A. to Tokyo Flight or 12 Hours with Pingu

The 15 passenger van picked us up right on time at 8:15am for the 40 minute drive to LAX.  We had so much luggage that the van was the only car available that could fit it all.  Joe got most of the items loaded while the girls had breakfast and ran around a bit.

We had the skycap help with the luggage and ended up checking 12 pieces.  Having this much stuff was a big mistake and in hindsight, we should have tried to have only three or four suitcases with us for the trip.  It was really difficult moving around the 600 pounds of junk.  Auntie Julie showed up while checking in all the luggage, which took about 20 minutes.  That was fine by us because checking in next to us was the US Men's Water Polo team, all of whom I found more attractive than my husband.  Julie and I kept trying to make comments that they would over hear about how we were single and just helping out with these kids, but they didn't hear us I guess. (Just kidding, I love Joe.) :)

Just the essentials!  Water Polo backpacks on the right. "Oh hey guys, I'm normally much prettier than this when I have makeup on and my relationship with my husband is purely a business arrangement."

 We hung out with Julie before security for about 20 minutes and said our tearful goodbyes.  It sure was great having Julie to hang out with the last two years and the girls will really miss getting to see her every week.  We can't wait for her first visit!  We cleared security quickly as there was basically no line and then headed to the United lounge for a bit to grab some snacks and some drinks.  It was pretty crowded but we were able to get four seats together.  The selection was pretty weak but the girls had a couple of mini doughnuts and some juice and were happy.

After about 30 minutes we headed for gate 77 in terminal 7.  We gate checked the umbrella stroller we had with us and made our way onto the plane.  We were in Business First, which is United's business class offering on their 777.  It is a 2-4-2 configuration, which is normally not great, but as it turns out, it was just about perfect for our needs.  We had the middle 4 seats and the girls settled right in.  It was nice that the in-flight entertainment was turned on as soon as we boarded and Annie settled in watching Monsters Inc and laughing very loudly for most of it. She definitely does NOT realize how loud her voice is when she has her headphones on and kept yelling questions out to Joe.

Getting ready to takeoff! Please keep the champagne flowing.

Lizzy was a big fan of the warm nuts.

Annie the pro flier explaining to Lizzy how things work

Food was pretty good! I actually liked a lot of it better than Singapore Airlines

Miss Independent

Girls got kids meals. Apple sauce, chicken strips, baked fries

Lying in Lizzy's seat with her

The girls were really good during the flight, and it was definitely the easiest 12 hour flight we have done with them.  That was largely due to the fact that this was the first long trip we have done since Lizzy started watching TV.  They each slept for about an hour at different times and keep themselves busy with the movies, stickers and snacks on the plane.

Lizzy started a meltdown with about 8 minutes left in the flight when she realized Annie had finally fallen asleep on me (great timing, Annie!) and she just HAD to sit with Mommy right NOW. So we had to wake Annie up and move her to her own seat so I could hold Lizzy and calm her down. She did calm down but after we got off the plane she started a meltdown that would last until we were through customs, baggage claim and in our car to our apartment. All in all about an hour and a half but it felt like an eternity. I was feeling pretty mentally drained by that point and was ready to be at our apartment and get some sleep. It was around 4:30 pm Tokyo time when we finally got ALL the bags loaded into the van, which was only a little past midnight LA time but I was exhausted and the girls were DONE. Staying up past midnight with barely any naps.. not a pretty sight. I know people were staring at us in the airport as Lizzy flipped out in the stroller and I just stood there with glassy eyes.

We made it! Playing dress up before bedtime

We finally arrived at our apartment and Mutsuko-san from Joe's office was there to help us get our luggage up to our apartment and get us settled. I think she showed me a few things regarding the hot water and light switches, but I was feeling very much like a zombie and still had to deal with 2 cranky girls so it was kind of a blur.

Since Joe and I couldn't decide on furniture during our pre-move trip, Tokyo Lease just put temporary furniture in, as well as basic kitchen supplies, linens, appliances, etc. We had everything we needed including some food items to get us through our first 24 hours. We all went to bed around 9pm and woke up around 1am the next morning ready to start our first full day in Tokyo!