Family of 5 in Ho Chi Minh City spends 1.5 billion VND to buy a "mobile home" to travel across Vietnam

Buy a "mobile home" for 1.5 billion VND to travel freely

Ms. Doan Thanh Giang (30 years old) and her husband Mr. Nguyen Minh Tam (36 years old) live in Ho Chi Minh City, have 3 children and cherish the dream of traveling and exploring the world .

Every year, her family organizes trips with the children's paternal and maternal grandparents as a way to strengthen family bonds.

Initially, Giang's family used many different means of transportation for the trip, mainly public transportation. It was not until the birth of their third child that Giang and Tam had the idea of ​​traveling by "mobile home" so they could travel longer and explore more.

Giang and her husband next to their "mobile home" (Photo: Facebook character).

Thinking is doing, Giang and her husband 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 a pickup truck, can open up a tent, creating a spacious 2-story sleeping space.

"The upper floor has a 1.6mx2m mattress, the lower floor has a 0.8mx2m mattress. My family can sleep comfortably," said Ms. Giang.

Inside the "mobile home" is spacious, airy, and equipped with air conditioning (Photo: Character provided).

She also said that the tent on the car is equipped with multi-layer waterproof fabric, can withstand heavy rain, is well insulated and has 4 windows to let in air, while also allowing Ms. Giang's family to enjoy the scenery during the journey.

The truck bed is designed with a mobile awning that can be opened and closed by remote control to protect against sun and rain. The body of the truck bed can also be extended to both sides to create a cooking area. The truck bed also has a water tank and a power reserve system to maintain household appliances such as air conditioners, lights, fans, refrigerators, etc.

"When charged for 20 hours, the car's electricity can be used for 4 days of daily activities. The roof of the truck also has a solar panel. When needed, the canvas on the car can be used to create a bathroom with a shower," said Ms. Giang.

The "mobile home" on the car is fully equipped with electricity, water and can be turned into a bathroom when needed (Photo: Character provided).

When the "mobile home" was completed, Giang's family took a "trial" trip to get used to life in the car.

During the trip, the family of five explored the route of five provinces in the Central Highlands for three weeks, but still slept in hotels and motels. In December 2024, the journey across Vietnam of Ms. Giang, Mr. Tam and their three children in a "mobile home" officially began.

"Heart-stopping" when the car got stuck in the sand and got lost on the pass

"People often imagine backpacking across Vietnam as a journey for the young, few people think of a family of 5, including a 5-month-old baby. Our three young children are the biggest motivation for my husband and I to start this journey," Giang confided.

To prepare for the long trip across Vietnam, Ms. Giang spent a lot of time calculating each item meticulously. Because they have a small child, she and her husband pay special attention to comfort and safety.

Ms. Giang equipped the car with mattresses so that her children could sleep well. In addition, she also provided enough cakes, clothes for hot and cold regions as well as medical equipment.

The "mobile home" is fully equipped with all necessary items by Giang and her husband to ensure the comfort of their children during the trip (Photo: Facebook character).

The trip lasted a total of 35 days, not including the 2 weeks Giang’s family spent celebrating Tet at her grandparents’ hometown. The total cost of the trip was about 50 million VND, including nearly 25 million VND for fuel costs and 10 million VND for food, mostly self-cooking.

The itinerary for this trip is flexible and suitable for families with young children. Every day, after about 300km, Giang’s family will stop to rest, set up tents, and cook.

Initially, Giang and her husband planned to take the highway to Phan Thiet (Binh Thuan), follow the coastal route to the North, and then go to the mountainous provinces to experience winter. However, due to the constantly changing schedule, the distance the family traveled during the journey was more than 13,000km.

Ms. Giang's family mainly cooked for themselves during the trip (Photo: Character provided).

Giang’s family often sleeps at places like the beach, the park or next to a cafe with a large space, so that the children can exercise and play. During this time, the couple takes advantage of the opportunity to handle work remotely. She also said that her family absolutely does not move around at night, unless absolutely necessary.

Despite careful preparation, Giang’s family’s journey across Vietnam was not without its difficulties. On the first day of departure, Giang’s car got stuck in the sand when the family stopped at a beach near a resort.

Ms. Giang recalled: "It was almost 6 p.m., the car was stuck so deep that we couldn't get out, and the resort was under construction so there were very few people. Luckily, a local resident drove a jeep to help pull our car up - a rescue that the whole family will never forget."

Not only that, when traveling to the Central region, Ms. Giang's family faced prolonged heavy rain and flooded roads. In Binh Dinh, the car even had a flat tire in the middle of a deserted road. Fortunately, the couple had prepared a spare tire and knew how to change it, so they handled it promptly, avoiding a bigger risk.

Ms. Giang's family in Ban Gioc waterfall (Cao Bang) and pink grass hill in Da Lat (Lam Dong) (Photo: Facebook character).

One of the most stressful experiences Giang’s family encountered was when they traveled from Lenin Stream to Ban Gioc Waterfall (Cao Bang). Because they trusted the online map, the family got lost on a very small mountain pass, and encountered dense fog that limited visibility. Luckily, the journey went smoothly.

"Every incident or challenge makes my husband and I understand, sympathize and share with each other more," Giang confided.

Opportunity for family to come closer together

During the journey of traveling by "mobile home", Ms. Giang's family had unforgettable memories. In Quang Ninh, when she and her husband were looking for boat tickets to see Ha Long Bay, they unexpectedly met a local family driving a car to get acquainted and ask about the "mobile home". After a few conversations, they invited Ms. Giang's whole family to dinner.

"It turned out to be a group of friends who shared a passion for camping and living close to nature. Strangers who had just met but were extremely friendly and warm," Giang shared.

"Mobile home" accompanies Ms. Giang's family on their journey to conquer the country's roads (Photo: Character provided).

Another time, when they arrived in Quang Binh, Giang’s family stayed at a homestay instead of sleeping on the bus as usual. Here, Giang’s children quickly became friends with the children of the host family.

"The children took each other to explore the village, playing happily. When it was time to say goodbye, the children hugged each other tightly, almost crying because they couldn't bear to leave each other, which made us emotional. Next time we go to the North, we will definitely stop by there to play, so the children can meet their old friends," she said.

She shared that at the end of the trip, what her family brought back were not only thousands of beautiful photos and videos capturing the majestic scenery across Vietnam, but also life lessons and unforgettable bonding experiences.

Traveling across Vietnam together made Giang's family have many beautiful memories and become more connected (Photo: Facebook character).

Her children are able to exercise, explore, learn to be independent and increase their resistance. Meanwhile, she and her husband understand, share and bond with each other more.

"We learned a lot about the geography, history, and culture of the regions. Above all, the family affection, between husband and wife, between parents and children, became closer than ever," Ms. Giang confided.

In the future, Ms. Giang's family plans to continue exploring the provinces of the Southeast and Southwest. If she has time, she also wants to go further, to neighboring countries to experience independent travel in other countries, learning many new and interesting things.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/du-lich/gia-dinh-5-nguoi-o-tphcm-chi-15-ty-dong-sam-nha-di-dong-di-xuyen-viet-20250520152230392.htm