4 Days, 96 Hours, 345600 seconds and countless number of lessons missed (actually it’s only 9 hours of lessons).
Where was I? Vietnam.
Vietnam where? Ho Chi Minh City, aka Saigon
This might be a long post, I think. I have no idea how long it would be because I really have a lot of things to say. I think I shall not drag this on any longer. Let’s start! Take note that not all pictures are uploaded here (they are all on FB) and I didn’t get to do some of the shots cause the I didn’t take out my camera in time! (especially for day 1 and 2)
Day 1!
Woke up at 6am and dragged my near lifeless body off the bed. I only slept at 1 plus the night before because of packing issues and presentation stuff. Reached airport at about 7.15am and chiong-ed the posters. Got it wrapped just in time and checked our luggage in at about 8.00am. Entered departure hall and made our way to the gate. Then, just seconds before we reached the gate, the words that I heard screwed into my mind which might be there for a long long time.
“Paging for passenger Mr Kwek Jiann Qiang taking flight SQ 172 from Singapore to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Please collect your boarding pass…” Long pause. Breakout of laughter from Qianyu and me while a shocked Jian Qiang gasps
Epic Win! So, JQ had to go with Miss Chong all the way back to the customer service counter (mind you, our gate was at the end of the airport) to get his boarding pass (which he apparently dropped) and made their way back. Got back on time and we are off to Vietnam!
So…. we reached Vietnam after a 2 hour flight and reached at about 11.30am (local time. Vietnam is one hour slower than SG). Grabbed our luggage and waited for the bus till 12.15pm. Met our tour guide Mr Long. And we are off to Cu Chi Tunnels about 60km away from Saigon. But before that, we had a buffet style lunch. (duh)
Reached cu chi tunnels and we had a tour around the area. We watched a documentary about the Vietnam War (the narrator had a GOOD voice). We then went around the exhibits, seeing the traps, the tanks and the trenches etc. Went past this souvenir shop, which was apparently next to a shooting range. And yes, we did hear M-16 bullets go off. So basically what u see in the area is people shuddering to the sudden bangs. And finally, we went down the tunnel. Two words to describe it: “dark” and “squeezy”. Basically the position that you are in when moving around the tunnel is extremely uncomfortable. The darkness is like our night walk in Taman, just that there are lights every now and then. So we got out of the tunnels (alive) and had a little snack – tapioca! Soon after we left and headed for the city and had dinner at a Chinese Restaurant
Eventually, we finished our meal, went to the hotel, checked-in and refreshed ourselves. The hotel is quite simplistic so I didn’t take photos of it(although some people can take millions of photos, but it’s a good thing). And the nice part is, we have a balcony! A rarity in most hotels that I have stayed in. But I would rather not open the door to the balcony. What you hear is sounds of motorcycles honking one another. That is madness.
Made our way down to the ballroom to have our debrief and did part of our booklet. Finished up and did some clearing up before going to sleep.
SUMMARY:
I put this summary for the people who just hates words
It was a long day in Vietnam. After lunch, which was an international buffet, we went to Cu Chi Tunnels, viewed the exhibits, went through the tunnel. We had dinner after that. We checked into the hotel and refreshed ourselves before going to the grand ballroom for debrief. After that, I cleared some stuff (and set some house rules with JQ, just in case he does anything that might compromise my safety in the middle of the night) and went to sleep.
Day 2 would be up soon
