Before I
begin the post proper, I want to just pen down some reflections and feelings
about this trip. This section, the boring part, contains just my thoughts and
some events leading to the trip which I feel the need to document them.
How it all begun
It all started with Ivan asking me (and Amelia, separately) out of the blue in October whether we would be free and keen to go to Vietnam after our exams. I was extremely hesitant, because it was so sudden and I wasn’t very well-travelled, so I had my doubts. Ivan wanted the group size to be kept small at four, and wanted it to be an adventurish kind of trip. Furthermore, his male bestie, Brice, was going to be one of the four, I felt uncomfortable with the idea of travelling with someone I barely knew. After thinking long and hard (for about a day), I eventually agreed, and quarreled with my parents about it. Yeah, I know, why quarrel with them about a trip that I wasn’t even that keen on going to begin with, right? I told myself that it was a good opportunity to just try it out with them, just to experience what it’s like to travel as a bagpacker, making plans from scratch.
I would
call this my first real overseas adventure without my family. Church camps in
Malaysia, Japan with PL in 2004, OVE with Hall 12 in 2011, and Hong Kong with
some Kraveners in 2012 aren’t counted because they either had a fixed
programme, and/or were just short trips to go shopping and playing. Each trip
was unique in its own way, but none was as impactful as this one.
So Ivan set
up a whatsapp group for the four of us. It was rather awkward, and Amelia
and I exchanged our first greetings with Brice. We then had a long discussion
about whether to book Jetstar or Vietnam Airlines, booked the flights,
discussed about where to go, and made plans to meet up for dinner. I felt
rather useless during those discussions because at that time, I wasn’t exactly
excited nor interested about the trip and I had other priorities in mind like
getting my assignments cleared, so I didn’t do much research :/
Our first
dinner was exciting because Ame and I were finally going to meet Brice after
whatsapping in the group. LOL. Minutes before he walked in through the MRT door
at Dover, we were like AHHHH AHHHH HE’S COMING! YOU STAND THERE!! And we tried
not to be the one standing next to him. It’s all quite hilarious, as though we
were young teenage girls meeting a new guy. I think Ivan must have been totally
amused seeing us going all anxious about meeting his BFF. That day, we had dinner at Swee Choon and witnessed a fight break out while waiting to be seated, and saw a police van stop by just then, which could not have been more timely. Interestingly enough, while were having fun in Vietnam, a riot broke out at Little India. I couldn't help but make this connection to this particular fight we witnessed.
Fast
forward a month later. Brice and Amelia kept contributing to our itinerary and
list of places to visit and things to do in Vietnam. I’m not sure whether Ivan
did, but I did not contribute anything at all *guilty*. All I did was to say
whether I’m okay with the plans. We wanted to go from HCMC to Da Lat, Nha
Trang, Phu Quoc, then back to HCMC initially, but scrapped those and settled
for HCMC à Nha
Trang à
HCMC eventually. Again, I didn’t involve myself with the preliminary
discussions and I felt really bad about it! With all the assignments,
presentations, and assessments approaching, I simply couldn’t spend too much
time researching and reading up on Vietnam or the guilt would have been
constantly gnawing at me. I decided that the guilt from not contributing here
was more bearable than having to shoulder the guilt of not working on my
academics and having that translate into shitty grades.
Then hell
week got nearer, so did exams. All I could see ahead of me was the Me vs. NTU
battle. It was then decided that since Ivan only had one paper (Q!@#$%^&;)
and Ame and I had three or four, it would be optimal for him and Brice to just
plan the itinerary and we would go along with it. Turned out that the guys
managed to plan only for Nha Trang, so the girls continued from there and
planned for our remaining days in HCMC. All these, within the few hours after
our last paper. Haw haw.
Looking back,
I can confidently say that I've had no regrets agreeing to the trip. I’m honoured to be part of this quartet, with a combination of four unique personalities, each bringing our own essence to the group. I never thought I would say this but I truly cherish my three travel buddies. Enjoyed (almost) every moment we had together, roaming the streets of Vietnam, taking in our surroundings, walking more than 3km with our luggage from the train station to our hostel, getting lost in the streets, sharing all our meals, eating in silence and simply appreciating the food and the presence of one another. It’s always about the company. If given a chance to travel with them again, I would definitely say yes, without hesitation this time. Subject to other commitments of course.
I may not
be the best travel companion; I've had my own ridiculously moody moments. There
were times where I felt like I could have just disappeared into the crowds and
the rest of the group wouldn't notice, for they would be better off without me.
There were times where I felt like I didn't understand and couldn't relate to
the jokes and conversations at all and I felt left out. These were genuine,
although I knew that they were selfish feelings and my friends probably didn't do it intentionally. Such moments made me want to distance myself, even though
I knew I couldn't actually do so physically. I just hope that my moodiness for
some parts of the 2nd half of the trip didn't affect the group
dynamics too much :/
We've all
had our share of ‘battle’ scars this trip – mosquito bites (BANE OF MY LIFE. My
legs are scarred so badly now, sigh), bruises, scratches, cuts, suspected bed
bugs, and mouth ulcers – which we would carry for the next couple of days.
Finally,
let me describe our unluckiness with accommodation. We stayed at four different
places, and three out of the four had problems. At Blue Star Hotel in Nha
Trang, which we stayed for 3 nights, the guys’ toilet bowl couldn't be flushed
properly, which made it difficult for them to take their dumps and they had to
come over to the girls’ room to do it. I didn't suggest to get the reception to
change our rooms because I didn't want us to end up on different floors. We had
no problems with Saigon Youth Hostel, where we stayed for one night before
going on our 2-day Mekong Delta tour with homestay. Hung’s Homestay (1 night)
wasn't without problems either. There were so many freaking mosquitoes, I got
most of my bites from there. And the water supply cut off on me while I was
bathing the next morning, leaving me to wipe off my soapy body with the towel. WTH right?!?! Then we stayed at Saigon Mini Hotel for the last two nights. I loved the
service and the bouncy, comfy bed, but the shower was a disaster. We had to
either shower with acceptable temperature, but have very little water coming
out of the shower head, or have acceptable water volume but with BURNING water
wtf. Brice used the toilet bowl washer thing to bathe. I don’t know why we didn't ask for a change of room though. Then the next day, the entire stretch
of hotels and shops had their electricity cut off, leaving us to pee, shit, and
bathe in cold water in the dark, and lug our luggage down the staircase to check out. I
understand that the electricity trip isn't the fault of the hotel but still, it
didn't make our stay very pleasant.
I think
I've more or less typed enough for this preface. I've still got very terrible
post-vacation withdrawal symptoms of depression and dwelling of the past. I
miss my travel buddies already. I miss Amelia and the entertainment she brings
to all of us, miss Ivan and his excellent navigation skills and food ordering
skills with the locals, miss Brice who looked out for me all the time whenever
we had to cross the disastrous roads. As much as I don’t want to return to reality, I am aware that I cannot live in the past, and I've still got a (hopefully bright) life ahead of me.
This was but a small and short escapade.
As I've
told Amelia, through this trip, I now see the appeal of travelling, dwelling
amongst the locals, immersing ourselves with their culture, and meeting other
travelers. I used to be indifferent towards travelling, but now I believe I've changed
the way I look at it. It’s a truly refreshing and humbling encounter which has
to be personally experienced in order to be fully appreciated.
With that,
I shall begin to recall the 10 days we spent in Vietnam. The interesting part.
