Day 16 in Vietnam

There was to be an extra day in vietnam apart from our schedule. From another perspective, we can lay our hands on a $100 insurance claim and a full refund from tiger as we soon found out. yet, it was nothing compared to arriving safely back in singapore.

We were told that we were on the flight at 1300 back to singapore. What happened was actually that a bird had struck the front of the plane as it arrived in Hanoi the previous night and the flight had to be cancelled for safety reasons. It was absurd.

As a result of that, one of our friend had to miss another flight to the states. The three hours back was a sound sleep for most of us (and the other passenger as well) after a hectic night.

By 1800, it was sure a great feeling to be back in Singapore. We were all hungry and annoyed at that time. Some people told us to follow them to make up the numbers so as to confront the staff at the airport. Some of us followed.

The feeling of going home is great.We are finally returning.

photos of our journey

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Day 14 in Vietnam

We awoke much later then usual because we did not have to run by a tight schedule that day. For today,the choice of breakfast breakfast resumed to the traditional pho (fer) we had for the past 12 days. After breakfast we made our way to vinhcom plaza, the shopping equivalent of suntec city in singapore. We had much sights to see along the way, every street was different and unique. There was a street selling shoes where some of us wanted to buy some shoes, but never did for fear of its durability. Then there was the street selling bags where many bags were being sold. Again no one bought anything for the very same reason. The only street that was lacking might be that of a games street though we occasonally found some game stalls and bought some pc and ps games, this time without fear.

Perhaps the happiest thing of the day or the whole trip was the discovery of a KFC outlet in Hanoi. The food was utterly delectable (even though it was similar to the Singapore KFC).Difference was that it was served on a porcelain plate and the drinks were in glass cups.

After that we went on to vinhcom plaza. The interior was an exact replica of Suntec city, with the exception of the crowd. Things were costly. The only place that we found interest in was the arcade there(being totally similar except for the price). We went off soon after.

by 1500, we returned back to vega guesthouse. we proceed to jacket street which many of us spent our remaining cash on "real" jackets and pants. i believe it was real though.

dinner was in a real posh bar. food served was pizza, ribeye, steak and everything nice. the prize was nice too, at 4.50 sing dollar, even cheaper than singapore macdonald.

the night went fast and all of us were prepared for tomorrow's EXPECTED flight back home.

Day 13 in Vietnam

It was a good night's sleep on the junk boat, maybe even one of the best in the trip. The morning was cool, probably due to the sea breeze. Breakfast, for once was different, we had bread, butter and jam. By 0915 we were already leaving for the harbour, away from halong bay. Our stay in halong bay was a rather short one.

We began another 3 hour journey back to hanoi when we came onshore. We had lunch at a Hong Kong restaurant nearby prior to that. We saw several cemetaries along the 70+ km trip back. Other than those, the view had remained constant throughout.

We reached Hanoi by around 1300. All of us were held in great anticipation regarding the JC(junior college)we were to be posted to for the first 3 months. Fortunately for us, there was a computer there for us to check our posting.

We met 45 mins later to tour around Hanoi. Many of us were quite worn out and we did not explore too far a distance from the guesthouse. Dinner proved to be quite novel this time round. All of us did not manage to eat much though. We had the traditional bánh cuon of Vietnam(which costs only 2 sing dollar). It bears some resemblance to a local Singaporean food( meat fillings wrapped in thin layers of steamed rice flour). It was quite interesting to run into fellow Singaporeans who identified us through our accents when it occurred that night.

Day 12 in Vietnam

The overnight train to Sapa was much easier in terms of transportation due to substantially reduced baggage which came from the stationery and books(all delivered to the intended schools) . This time round, the train ride was made considerably more comfortable as the train compartment was in a better condition then the previous train ride from Hanoi to Lao Cai. We reached Hanoi in the early morning hours at around 0530. It was still pitch dark at that time. We were then brought to the guesthouse in Hanoi, the same one we stayed in originally. Breakfast ensued as usual but many of us were not used to the blaring sound of the traffic which was absent in Sapa. We had a short break after breakfast before our bus ride to Halong bay.

It was a 3 our long bus ride to halong bay and most of us fell asleep, because of the fatigue that had built up from the overnight train ride from Lao Cai.We reached there by 0930. we were all surprised when we got onboard our very own junk boat in which we all did not need to share with any other tourists. The conditions exceeded our expectations, bettering those in Sapa and even Hanoi.

The scenary we saw was equally breath-taking. Furthermore, we made a stop at a fish farm where large species of different fishes and also the "predator" like horse-shoe crab could be seen. We decided to chip in money to buy extra seafood for dinner, mainly crabs and cray fish. By 1100, we had managed to start kayaking, around the many islands (2000 to be exact), though expectedly we did not manage to kayak to all. We went around into caves and lagoons in the area, and even had a short dip in the cool waters of the bay.Shortly after 2 hours, we were back on board. With spare time on our hands before dinner, we took a dive from the second tier of the junk boat into the cool water. It was a refreshing experience! All of us repeated the activity again and again. It was such a pity we did not have time to try for the third deck.

Day 11 in Vietnam

We are going back to the village primary school in San Sả Hồ for the last time and they will be holding a farewell party of a sort for us. Upon arriving, the students are assembled in the parade square. Our last bit of work this day was to clean up the assembly area in preparation for a time of games, songs and fun. The games which kickstart this party come with prizes of biscuits we bought for this occasion. A H'mong boy and girl came to perform their traditional musical instruments; The boy a pipe of a sort, the girl a bronze mouthpiece of a kind.

We then put up a performance, a little something we learnt from all the campfires we have attended from our CCAs.We then teach them musical chairs as part of our contribution of games to this farewell party . After this minor celebration and after the students have left, the teachers and us sit down to a cup of tea before we leave in which we have a mutual sharing session of our thoughts over the days we spent doing the Residential Project. Before we leave the school for the last time, the teachers wish us goodbye with many gestures of gratitude which was really quite touching . Since we started working at the school on Day 5 to this day, we had developed a sentimental link with it. With great reluctance we said our goodbyes. We had definitely been enriched in our sympathies for things.Tonight, we will be taking an overnight train to Hanoi

Day 10 in Vietnam

Day 10 is probably the last working day of our Residential Project though we will still be coming back to the school tomorrow for a farewell party held for us. After breakfast, Edmund Cai followed our guide to buy the necessary materials for the final part of the Residential Project.

We made a stop at San Sả Hồ secondary school a stone's throw away from San Sả Hồ primary school-about 200m away. In this trip to the secondary school, we gave the school the bulk of the stationery and story books brought from Singapore. We had a small observation session in which we got a slight glimpse into the timetable of the secondary school. Also, in a friendly goodwill gesture, we gave them a Victorian 130th Anniversary Commemorative yearbook.

We all reached the village primary school at San Sả Hồ in the late morning to begin the last finishing touches on the painted classrooms and the exterior of the school, at the same time organising their books for them. We completed our work at the school by around mid afternoon and went back to Sapa after cleaning up. It had just occurred to me that in all our modernity, there is not a view back home that compares to the mountain range surrounding the school.
As we left the school, we inevitably felt a sense of wistfulness.

Instead of having dinner at the usual time, we had decided to play table tennis since we were not that hungry. We each got to play against the guide, subsequently losing the game to him but at the same time gained interesting tips too! Our teacher had played an interesting and intense match against the coach but eventually lost still by a small margin, a very exciting game.

The guide had decided to bring us to a special place this time round, it being our last night in Sapa. It was a cosy cafe of a sort that aids physically challenged children. The place served decent western food and we thoroughly enjoyed our last dinner in Sapa. Upon further inquiry, we learnt that the cafe was set up by NGOs(non-governmental organisations) in Hanoi.