Mr. Tam and his wife, Ms. Giang, spent about 1.5 billion VND to buy a pickup truck and a set of 'mobile home' equipment imported from Germany. They just had a 2-month journey across Vietnam without worrying about booking a hotel, buying plane tickets, and freely experiencing.
Many young families tend to turn their personal cars into "mobile homes" for traveling and exploring freely. They see this as a travel option that ensures privacy, has many interesting experiences and especially has many opportunities for family bonding.
VietNamNet Newspaper introduces to readers the series of articles ' Traveling everywhere with a mobile home '.
"On the first night back home after a 2-month journey across Vietnam, my kids still wanted to sleep in their 'mobile home' out of habit. The whole family had to learn to adapt to their previous normal life," Mr. Tam humorously said.
At the end of December 2024, Mr. Nguyen Minh Tam (36 years old) and his wife, Ms. Doan Thanh Giang (30 years old, living in Ho Chi Minh City), took their 3 children (6 years old, 5 years old and 7 months old) on a journey to explore from the South to the North.
Accompanying the family is a pickup truck equipped as a 'mobile home' with full amenities.
Spend 1.5 billion to buy a 'mobile home'
Mr. Tam said he works in the securities industry. His job is stressful and busy, so he always longs for time to travel with his wife and children, experiencing life close to nature.
"Over the past year, I have been learning about camping and 'mobile homes'. I really like the 'mobile home' equipment set specifically for pickup trucks," said Mr. Tam. "With it, I can take my wife and children on trips anywhere without worrying about plane tickets, finding a place to stay, or places to eat."
Mr. Tam and his wife decided to spend about 1.5 billion VND to buy a pickup truck and a set of 'mobile home' equipment imported from Germany. This set of equipment is like a cargo box placed on the pickup truck, connected by 4-corner cable tensioners, without interfering with the structure of the vehicle.
Mr. Tam and his wife introduce their family's 1.5 billion VND "house"
When the roof tent is opened, the height is raised to more than 2m, enough for adults to stand comfortably inside, creating a sleeping space with two floors. The upper floor has a 1.6m x 2m mattress, the lower floor has a 0.8m x 2m mattress. "My family can sleep comfortably," said Mr. Tam.
This tent is made of multi-layer waterproof fabric, can withstand heavy rain, is well insulated and has 4 windows. The body of the box can be extended to both sides to increase the cooking area; it has a mobile awning design, which can be opened and closed by remote control to protect against rain and sun when camping.
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The truck bed has an 8kW power reserve system, enough to run the air conditioner, lights, fans, 25l refrigerator, etc. and a 60l water tank. "When charging for 20 hours, the electricity on the truck can be used for 4 days. The roof of the bed also has a solar panel," said Mr. Tam.
The outside of the car can be covered with a tarpaulin to make a mobile bathroom with shower.
In November 2024, when receiving the completed car, Mr. Tam and his wife took their son for a 3-week test drive through 5 provinces in the Central Highlands. On this trip, the family got used to life on the car but still slept in hotels and motels.
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The family got acquainted with the "mobile home" by going on a trip to the Central Highlands. Mr. Tam and his wife let their children camp in the forest, bathe in the stream, and play.
"On our 2-month trip across Vietnam, we only stayed 2 nights at the homestay because of heavy rain in Phu Yen and Quang Binh. During the nearly 2 weeks we went back to our paternal hometown in Nghe An to celebrate Tet, at night, the whole family still slept on the bus because the children liked it that way," said Mr. Tam.
Mr. Tam is in charge of preparing the car while Ms. Giang is in charge of making the schedule and preparing the family's belongings.
13,000km journey across Vietnam
For the first time crossing Vietnam, Mr. Tam and his wife, Ms. Giang, plan to take the highway to Phan Thiet (Binh Thuan), then follow the coastal route of Ninh Thuan - Khanh Hoa - Phu Yen - Binh Dinh... to the North, then to the mountainous provinces to experience winter.
"However, because we have a small child, our schedule changes constantly. That's why the travel distance is more than 13,000km," Giang shared.
Tam drives about 300km a day and does not drive after dark. The family often camps by the sea, goes to the local market and cooks. At night, for safety and ease of charging, they park at tourist areas or cafes.
"On the first day, due to lack of experience, we had an unforgettable accident," the couple said.
They drove from Ho Chi Minh City to Binh Thuan. Passing the beach at Ke Ga Cape, seeing how beautiful it was, Mr. Tam stopped the car for the family to picnic. At 5 p.m., the tide came in but the car got stuck in the sand and could not move. It got dark, the water rose, and the area was deserted again.
"We called for help, but when they arrived, the car was probably submerged in water. Not knowing what to do, a security guard at a nearby resort gave me the number of a local zip driver. This person drove to tow the car, and luckily at 7:30 p.m. the car was free of the sand and not submerged in water," Mr. Tam recalled.
"On my first day driving, I was complacent, thinking this car was strong. The cost of this complacency was 2 million VND in rescue money," he added.
In the following days, they had a flat tire in the middle of the road and got lost in Cao Bang. "When we had an accident, we found a way to solve it together. That made us more sympathetic to each other," said Giang.
Giang's older child has a book about Vietnamese culture and history. The parents prioritize taking their child to places he loves in the book to experience in person. "When visiting and learning in person, the child remembers information longer and chattered back to everyone," Giang said.
On the 10th day, they arrived in Hanoi. At this time, the North was entering winter, the temperature dropped sharply. Ms. Giang bought more warm clothes and necessary medicine.
"I was born in the West so I was very excited to welcome the cold air from the North, and so were my children. From Hanoi, we went to Moc Chau to see plum blossoms and hunt for clouds. The scenery was incredibly beautiful. At night, the car had a heater so it was very warm," she said.
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On the journey, the place they were most impressed with was Cao Bang with Ban Gioc waterfall, Mat Than mountain, and Lenin stream.
"Not only did we get to see beautiful scenery, learn about local culture, and eat local specialties... we also met many kind strangers," said Ms. Giang.
When driving the "mobile home" to Quang Ninh, they met a local couple. "They looked a bit fierce, so we were hesitant at first. But he enthusiastically asked for our phone number to inquire about the car.
It turns out that they also like camping. After my family went to Ha Long Bay, they invited us to their house for dinner, cooked many delicious dishes, and welcomed us warmly," Ms. Giang said.
When they stopped overnight at a coffee shop in Hoanh Bo, Quang Ninh. At 10pm, the owner suddenly knocked on the door. Afraid that the cold weather would make it difficult for the children to sleep, she invited the whole family into the shop to rest.
"When she saw that the car was warm and full, she felt secure and left. The next morning, she brought towels and supplies and invited my family in to brush their teeth and wash their faces. I felt very touched," Giang added.
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This trip, due to weather, the family missed out on Ha Giang, Dien Bien, Lai Chau and Lao Cai. They planned to continue driving the "mobile home" to the North to visit the above provinces.
"Two months traveling across Vietnam on a 'mobile home' was a happy time for my family. We were able to explore nature, exercise with our children, and accumulate knowledge about the country's culture and history.
We spend all our time with our children, witnessing them learn more life skills and practice adaptability, far different from life in the city," said Ms. Giang.
Photo/Video: Where is Giang's family going?
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Source: https://vietnamnet.vn/gia-dinh-o-tphcm-sam-nha-di-dong-di-xuyen-viet-ke-su-co-nho-doi-tren-bai-bien-2377511.html
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