Hey Reader,

Happy Tuesday and Happy Lunar New Years!

Last year we were celebrating Tet in Hoi An, Vietnam and it was so fun.

This year we've been doing some Chinese New Year celebrations with my partner Derek's family. A lot of it revolves around family and activities to promote prosperity and good luck for the upcoming year. Such as holding big family dinners, giving money in red envelopes (lai see in Cantonese) to the children in our lives, cleaning the house, watching Lion and Dragon dances and giving offerings to our ancestors.

🌻 Community Updates

Tons of fun memories have been popping up in my photos lately about our Vietnam trip, so I thought I'd share a couple of fun posts of what not to miss:

• ​Best Vietnamese Foods to try​
• ​Top 10 Places to Visit in Vietnam for First Timers​
• ​Tips & Tricks for an epic 3 days on Phu Quoc Island​

I'm also working on some Hoi An posts, as we stayed there for almost 6 weeks, and absolutely loved our time there.

​💡 Tip of the Week: Best Apps for International Travel

After travelling 6 months around Southeast Asia, we learned alot about which apps were actually useful for international travel. Here are our top 4 picks, and one's we used basically every day.

Google Translate:

Super helpful for places where English isn't spoken as much, or when you need to translate a menu or signs in another language. Use the camera option inside google translate for translating written words.

We had whole conversations with our Vietnamese taxi drivers just using Google Translate. You can download the languages you need so it also works offline.

WhatsApp:

While many countries have their own version of a communication app, we found that WhatsApp was the most common one used with tourists. Everyone from our accommodation hosts, and taxi drivers to tour organizers seemed to use WhatsApp.

Local Rideshare App:

Local rideshare apps like Grab were a lifesaver throughout our travels, and usually much cheaper than taxis. We used them 95% of the time.

You always knew how much the ride would be ahead of time, so no surprises or people trying to scam you, and payment could all be done online through the app. I also liked that you could follow the route with their map function as you went along.

Google Maps:

So helpful for navigating as you're walking & finding the shortest or best route, finding public transportation options, or even following along as you take public transportation or trains so you know when to get off.

I also used it a lot to find the best coffee shops / restaurants / activities nearby.

TIPS: Download an offline map of your destination, so you don't need cell service to use it. Also "save" your hotel(s) into a list you create for that city, so you can always find your way back. I also found saving the restaurants, coffee shops or attractions I wanted to visit helpful too, so I didn't need to do a random search every time I needed that info.

✈️ In the News | Around the Web

• ​50 Best destinations for travel in 2026: If you're looking for some travel inspiration, Travel & Leisure has compiled a list of some fun places to go by category (Food & Drink, Big City Thrills, Cultural Immersion, Beach Vibes and more)

• ​Winnie-the-Pooh turns 100 this year, travelers can visit the real-life Hundred Acre Wood for the centennial. If you're a fan, you can visit Ashdown Forest in East Sussex, England, to see the woods that inspired Milne to write about Christopher Robin, Pooh and their friends' adventures. There's also a museum, and tea room.

• ​Italian cuisine becomes world’s first to be awarded UNESCO status, designating Italian food as an intangible cultural heritage. I loved the quote by Italy's PM "We are the first in the world to receive this recognition, which honors who we are and our identity, because for us Italians, cuisine is not just food or a collection of recipes. It is much more: It is culture, tradition, work, and wealth." I think that's so true of food from around the world!

Ok, that's all for today.

Do you celebrate the Lunar New Year or anything else this time of year? I'd love to hear about it.

Journey On,

Donna

​Traveling soon? Here are some resources to use:

• Find the cheapest flights with Going​
• Book your hotel stays with Booking.com​
• Book your accomodations in Asia with Agoda​
• My go-to resource for family friendly vacation homes​
• Book your car rental with Rentalcars.com​
• Book your day tours with Viator​
• Book your day tours in Asia with Klook​
• Make your travel budget in minutes with our Free Travel Budget Calculator​​
• Make your travel & life goals happen this year with Cash Crunch: How to make and save more money when times are tough (Free 1+ hour pre-recorded training + free resources)

**These are all resources we use ourselves on our family travels.

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