A Vietnamese couple and their two-year-old have traveled to over 50 provinces and cities across the country in their pickup truck over the past two years, exciting the online community.

Nguyen Ngoc Minh, 29, a resident of Ho Chi Minh City, and his wife, Tran Thanh Thao, 28, along with their daughter Nguyen Khanh An, born in 2022, have brought excitement to netizens with their recent posts with images related to their journeys nationwide.

Both the husband and wife are freelancers, Minh said.

Most impressive among the posted images is the one showing the three members of the family lying on grass at a camping site in Da Lat, a tourist city in Lam Dong Province, Vietnam’s Central Highlands region, with all their belongings placed around them and their pickup truck parked nearby.

This image, captured by Minh using a drone, has rapidly gained views on social media after being posted as it is so lovely.

“After every trip, we feel the need to equip some more items for my family. We try to choose the most portable items so I can put them all on the mini-truck," Minh said.

“Previously, my wife and I traveled with less stuff than now, when we go everywhere with our daughter.”

Essential things to bring along included warm clothes, cooking utensils, foldable tables, and chairs, among others, the man added.   

Minh said after he posted that image, he enjoyed receiving positive support, but some netizens said that such belongings were so much.

The man admitted that he brought along a lot of things but only used about one-tenth of them at a time during travel.

“Each place is different, so I need to use different items for each trip, depending on different conditions regarding weather, terrain, and others,” he explained.

One time, he encountered an incident where one wheel of the vehicle got into a hole next to the edge of an abyss in a northwest area when he was driving the pickup truck on a very narrow road.

“Fortunately, the problem was not very critical and I could get rid of it using my specialized tools that I brought along with me,” the man said.  

Regarding items needed for a trip, Minh recommended that people choose lightweight, folding designs to easily transport and use during trips.

He said a high-quality tent that can be installed on the roof of a car is essential to his family as they usually sleep in outdoor places during their journeys.

Minh also said solar energy chargers are very useful in charging mobile devices including video recorders and laptops that he and his wife use for their freelancing work.

He said he chose a pickup truck for his family’s trips as this type of vehicle is really suitable for small-sized families like his.

In addition, the vehicle has a high chassis that is convenient to move in difficult terrain. 

Minh said his family has traveled to more than 50 provinces and cities in Vietnam over the past two years.

He once planned to make a trip to neighboring countries in the mini-truck, but the plan has yet to be realized due to difficulties relating to procedures.

“In Vietnam, our family likes to travel to northwest localities, where we had a lot of deep inspiration and impressions," Minh said.

“The deeper we go into remote mountainous villages, the more I understand the hardships of the people living there.”

He hopes that his family will have a chance to visit these places again so that they can help local residents and his daughter can learn more about the local culture.

His wife, Thao, said before she got married, she had traveled alone to more than 15 European countries. 

She said that when she got acquainted with Minh four years ago, the couple agreed to a future plan to travel around the world together.

Thao advised that parents should let their children have early experiences of the world around them through travel if they can.

“Travel is one of the best ways for children to increase their sense of self-reliance as well as practice good habits. Besides, traveling with children is also a way for parents to have more connection with them,” Thao commented.

The couple said they took their daughter along during short trips when she was just three months to one year old, so the girl, currently two, is familiar with longer journeys.  

Minh said he spent more than eight years equipping himself with skills that can help him make money during the time of travel as currently.

The man said his main job is marketing, but he can work as a cameraman, writer, online content creator, and brand development strategic consultant to create a strong financial foundation that supports his family’s trips.

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