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Since the kids were TOO busy for photo ops, Hubby and I just let them play with their friends while we had our photo shoot. (*grin*)

Acuatico was so beautiful not to take photos of the place!

And the pool in the middle of the resort gave this away. We fell in love with it.

My family and I had so much fun!

Hope we could go back again one of these days!

Acuatico Beach Resort
Laiya, San Juan, Batangas
Philippines

So this is us. The whole gang who went to Acuatico Beach Resort in Laiya last February.

And oh yes, we all defintely had a blast! (*wink*)

Acuatico Beach Resort
Laiya, San Juan, Batangas
Philippines

As soon as we arrived the beach resort, we just drank our welcome drinks then off we went to check out the beach! The kids were too excited to wait…

And then when they were done in the beach, we all went to the pool.

I guess the pool was kind of the highlight of our trip. Will post more about it later! (*wink*)

Acuatico Beach Resort
Laiya, San Juan, Batangas
Philippines

Last February, it was a long weekend for the kids so my friends and I, together with our families went for a quick getaway in Laiya, Batangas. We’ve been planning to go to Acuatico for years, good thing my friend was able to reserve for 4 families. We all had a blast!

We left our house by 6:10AM. Check in time was around 1PM but we wanted to make the most out of our stay since travel time was around 3 hours. Good thing there was no traffic, we arrived Acuatico, Laiya at around 9AM. Yes! The kids were ecstatic and we checked out the beach as soon as we arrived.

Oh, this is the life!

Acuatico Beach Resort
Laiya, San Juan, Batangas
Philippines

By 10PM last December 31, 2012, we were already at Tan Son Nhat International Airport. We wanted to make sure that we were there early because we knew that the city would be congested with traffic because people are celebrating New Year’s Eve. Since Hubby and I with the kids had dinner at the Water Puppet Show already, it was only my Dad, sister and brother who had dinner at the airport.

It was our first time to be in the airport for NYE so it was a different experience for all of us. Although we’ve been out of the country for the past 3 or 4 New Year Eves already, but we still find the time to celebrate it. This time, we were just out there waiting for our flight. We realized that celebrating NYE or not, the important thing is, we were ALL together during the special event.

It was a wonderful and unforgettable trip for all of us. We went home super tired but excited for all the things that we saw, learn and experience in the wonderful Vietnam.

Tan Son Nhat International Airport
Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam

After waiting for about 3 hours at the cafe, we finally went to the Water Puppet Show which was around 5 minutes away from the hotel.

We had a hard time communicating and getting our tickets at the ticket booth. Good thing I brought the hotel’s calling card so they contacted the hotel immediately. Just in time for the show to start!

The kids were so excited even if they know what to look forward. But they know that the show will be showcasing puppets! (*grin*)

I realized that the whole show was sung by a local Vietnamese. The songs were in their language too so I didn’t understand a thing! But good thing the kids enjoyed it.

For your kids, I highly recommend that you watch this water puppet show. For our trip to Vietnam, It was probably the highlight of my little girls. They’ve been talking about this show for weeks!

Golden Dragon Water Puppet Theater
55B Nguyen Thi Minh Khai
Labour Cultural House
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

After our last minute shopping at Ben Thanh Market and a couple of shops around the hotel, we had a lot of time to wait before the Water Puppet Show so we decided to just relax for a while and try I.D. Cafe. At first I was hesitant because the stairs to the cafe was so dark!

But when we arrived at the cafe itself, I was surprised, the place was cozy and intimate. Perfect to relax and drink the best coffee in Ho Chi Minh.

There were quite a lot of options to choose from. They have flavored coffee, desserts and snacks.

The food was just ok, but the coffee was really good and we all love the ambiance…

I.D. Cafe
34D Thu Khoa Huan St.
Ben Thanh Ward, District 1
Ho Chi Minh

We are going to have our final authentic Vietnamese lunch so we decided to have it at the nearest restaurant in our hotel so we still have lots of time to shop after. Yes, still not done shopping! HA!

And check out what we have for our last lunch in Ho Chi Minh…

This is their version of their rice. Instead of the white rice we opted to get the white noodles paired with pork, beef and chicken to really taste the “real” Vietnamese lunch. It was different but good and definitely unforgettable!

Too bad I forgot the name of the resto. It was written in Vietnamese anyway so I wouldn’t really remember what it’s called. But one thing I’m sure of, the food was great!

For our last dinner in Ho Chi Minh, we decided to make it special and try Barbecue Garden.

We passed by this restaurant for quite a number of times so we were all curious. It’s also loaded with a lot of people so we assumed that they serve good food!

Everything we assumed were right. They serve good food and we love the ambiance that it offered. Although we found it hot, but we enjoyed our last dinner in Ho Chi Minh.

We had the meal set which includes seafood, beef and pork to cook in our table. On the side we had salad, noodles and rice.

Everyone left the restaurant with happy tummies! We love this restaurant and I highly recommend it.

If you are going with kids, make sure that you ask which food are spicy and which ones are not. Their mild spicy is too spicy for us!

Barbecue Garden
135A Nam Ky Khoi Nghia, District 1
Ho Chi Minh City , Vietnam

We arrived on time at the HCM domestic airport. When we got our cab, we went straight to our hotel to settle down, then went shopping! Yes, we were not quite done with shopping YET.

Our hotel was just a few meters away from Ben Thanh Market, so this was our first stop.

I was able to buy a few things to bring home again. We tried the sugar cane which looks really refreshing and it was indeed! We also went around the whole market this time and I love everything there. I wish we have more time but I was surprised that it was actually time for dinner already.

Time indeed flies fast when you are having fun!

Ben Thanh Market
Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam