Project EnReach

9 - 22 December 2017.

Hi. In this post, I will miserably attempt at explaining what happened during this trip to Vietnam (Ho Chi Minh City and Da Lat), but I know I will fail to capture some key moments.

This trip was one under SMU, and was a community service trip to three beneficiaries.

Ho Chi Minh City

1pm: We landed in Tan Son Nhat Airport. It was so hot. But hey, at least the bus was there and we were on our way to our hotel, Hoang Ngan Hotel, on District 1. This was our home for two nights. Set our things down, had some briefings and then we were off to the War Remnants Museum. It was truly an eye-opener to the Vietnam War and I honestly didn't expect to learn so much on this trip.

After dinner, W said we were going to meet some of his Vietnamese friends which brought us to Ben Thanh Market then over to a live bar down on Foreigner's Street. Fun night with drinks - what can I say, it's always a fun night with drinks.

Later that night at 3am, we heard super loud knocking noises on the floor above mine. Horrifying, but it was time to get some rest.

Cu Chi

Thien Phuoc over at Củ Chi was a little ways off from Ho Chi Minh City. No proper warning, coupled with a groggy me who just woke up from a two-hour bus ride resulted in me having a shock because I didn't expect to see children impacted by Agent Orange used during the Vietnam war. The children were lovely, and they taught me so much more than I could ever teach them.

It was evening when we returned. We tried Chill Skybar, however, because of dress code issues, we settled for the nearby Beer Garden. Another fun night with great company.

Service Days

Good morning, Da Lat. The air was cold, the skies were blue and we were ready to meet the children of Phuoc Thanh Elementary School. Here, we spent half the time doing up construction of their courtyard and the other half conducting English conversational classes with them. (It's been four years and I think about those moments every so often).

Da Lat

My, oh my. I never fell so fast and so hard for a city until I lived in Da Lat for two weeks. The people, the food, the places - it was everything into one. We frequented the night market (chợ đêm), đing tea, Lotte Mart, and Big C so much that going to those places become second nature to us. Other fond memories include

• The night of the VBBQ
• Datanla Falls + Toboggan
• Crazy House
• Saigon Port Hotel + Banh Mi Op La
• Fog Bar
• Maze Bar
• Strawberry Farms

At the end of it all, I really didn't want to leave. I made so many Vietnamese friends and formed special bonds with the children of the school. I vowed to come back, and so I did (four more times to be specific)!