The car plate is really dirty isn't it?
Definately, I also have a few memorable experiences in Hanoi.
The first one would be the Trishaw ride.
Initially, I thought that riding on a Trishaw would be as boring as the one in Singapore. Yet to my surprise, there is a large difference. The Trishaw ride in Vietnam was much more exciting than I expected it to be. Most probably it was because of the traffic. Their messy traffic conditions were way much too different from the tidy traffic conditions in Singapore. Over at Vietnam, you would see three or even four people riding on a motorcyle/scooter. Their zebra crossing and traffic lights wasn't that useful too though, the Vietnamese don't really abide by the traffic rules. Thats very dangerous and you could get fine or even worst if that happens in Sinagpore. But the driving skills (not really sure if that was the right word) of the Vietnamese could actually survive unscathed from all of their reckless driving.
Guess practice really makes perfect. As heard from the teachers, the reason why most Vietnamese got themselves a motorcycle as their mean of transport is because it costs about 120USD and the average salary of the Vietnamese was 200USD.
The second memorable experience I had in Hanoi would be the boat/cruise trip to Halong Bay.
When I saw the itinerary before we headed to Hanoi, I am already looking forward to the third day. Main reason is because I hope to have some hands on activity at the Ceramic workshop (cottage industry), yet I didn't get to get some hands on activity or get to see the Ceramic workshop in the end and it is kind of sad to me. I'm not that looking forward to the Halong Bay trip at first though and I never expect Vietnam to have such beautiful landforms. After the trp, I really love and miss the view that I could see from the boat/cruise! No doubt, thats the most memorable experience I had in Hanoi and I will never ever forget it! Its so pretty and I'm really lucky that I had my camera and extra batteries with me to take the pictures. When we were climbing towards the Thien Cung & Dau Go Cave also known as limstone cave, I feel really tired and was hoping that the climb will be a fruitful one. Nevertheless, it certainly didn't disappoint me. I was told that the Thien Cung & Dau Go Cave was formed naturally by erosion and it was a new learning point for me. It was a really rare experience too!
The third memorable experience I had in Hanoi would be the last day where we headed over to a orphange which mostly took in vitims of the Agent Orange.
These vitims were mostly sufferly from either mental or physical disabilities due to the Agent Orange which doesn't even concern them. Its really saddening to see these children suffering from something that they shouldn't. Saw how some of the small kids cried due to the pain they are experiencing hurts too. Seeing how much these children suffered made me feel bliss that I wasn't born like them. That sentence wasn't meant to be an offensive one, its just a mere comparison statement. However, some of these kids still remain optimistic though, they even wave "HI!" and "BYE!" to us. I think many of us could take this experience in mind. Because, despite of the fact that they were born different and maybe inferior to many of us, they were still able to live their life happily. Unlike many people who only met with only a small setback and gave up on themselves. We should really learn to be more optimistic and never give up rather than always allowing small setbacks to affect ourselves. I also noticed that some of them were quite talented in drawing too, they even knew how to sew when I don't know how. This make me kind of shameful, I guess I should really learn how to sew. Their souvenirs were special and I would love to get more if I had enough cash with me. Of cause there are also other memorable experiences such as the Water Puppet Show and the visit to Hanoi University Of Agriculture even though the talk is really boring to me as I cannot really understand their English due to their accent.
No doubt, I learnt quite number of things about myself too. The first thing is, I really don't have good time management. My friends and I were always being the last and also the lastest no matter what. This results in many lectures from the teachers. I'm really sorry and I apologise for the late comings and all. Hopefully the teachers won't hold a grudge on me! Another thing which I learnt about myself is, having the right attire for the correct weather and places is important too. I should wear something more confortable for the kind of freezing weather in Hanoi rather than caring so much about the appearance. The third thing I learnt about myself is being adaptable. When in a different countty, I should learnt to be more adaptable. Instead of being picky and chooses to eat food that I eat before, I should try out other dishes too.
Last but not least, I want to thanks every teachers and also friends that made this trip much more memorable and fun than I expected it to be! ^^ And hopefully this reflection is fine with the teachers.
No comments:
Post a Comment