Reflection on My Hanoi Experiential Learning- Lee Ke Tat

First off, I would like to say that the Hanoi trip was unquestionably a fun and enlightening one. Of course, there were a few problems here and there to iron out, but I would say that the trip was nothing short of meaningful. It gave me an insight of what went on outside the comfort of Singapore, be it present day, or a few decades ago.

We wasted no time and had gotten a feel of what Vietnam was like, even before the plane touched down. The Hanoi airport was surrounded by an amazing stretch of green land, which made me assume were plantations. I was expecting rows after rows of skyscrapers and busy roads beside them. After all, it is the capital of a country with an astronomical population level... compared to that of Singapore anyway. I conclude from what I observed that Vietnam depended largely on plantations for economical growth and development.

Hanoi city was absolutely swarmed with bikes of all colors and manufacturers. The traffic there was absolutely chaotic, with little to no traffic lights to control the bikes from slaloming here and there. The honkingin Hanoi city was absolutely insane when compared to Singapore. All of that gave me the impression that the Vietnamese were rude, crude, and uncivilised people. However, it was later explained that the honks meant a polite "excuse me" in the Vietnam streets, as opposed to "Get the heck out of my way!" in Singapore's. We were able to cross the roads in Vietnam despite the lack of traffic lights, as the Vietnamese drivers are contrary to my initial beliefs, quite polite and lenient when it came to making way for us pedestrains. They slow down and turn away to avoid us when we cross the roads, which I found quite surprising and mind boggling. If one were to try crossing roads the same wayin Singapore, he'd be greeted with the screech of tires and glares from the driver.

The sheer number of bikes in Hanoi city also tells me that the Vietnamese prefers a simple life, opting for the cheaper mode of transport, which would be bikes and scooters, as opposed to spacious luxury sedans or sporty coupes. However, it could just be the fact that most Vietnamese cannot afford cars, which builds upon our impression of Vietnam as a developing country.

The visit to Ha Long Bay was also awe inspiring. It is very rare to get on a boat in Singapore, much less getting on one to view a breathtaking feat of nature. While I have seen some pictures of Ha Long bay prior to the trip, there is nothing quite like being ther yourself, to feel the limestone with your very own hands, and to feel the comforting sea breeze stroke your face on the boat while you snap pictures furiously just like any other tourist would. While the cave we visited was a little more mordenised that I had hoped, it was still a rare opportunity to learn so much about mother nature, given the fact that I don't take Geography classes. The Ha Long Bay puts our local Bukit Timah nature reserve to shame in terms of the sights they had to offer.

As illustrated in the above paragraphs, Vietnam is very, very different than Singapore in many ways, for better or worse. And I feel that I've been very lucky to be able to experience it amoung some of my closest friends. I find myself comparing the various aspects of my life with that of the Vietnamese- both present day and the past ones. I suddenly feel as if I am so lucky to be living in a comfortable room, having education, friends, and family. Needless to say, none of these would have been possible without our teacher's planning, our Principal's generous subsidies, and the MOE. I would like to extend my most sincere thanks to all of them. With this, I end my reflection.