Author: lbinge

It has been a pleasure to take all members of Vietnam Yellow away on this trip. Everyday, we have been amazed at the personal development each child has shown. From raising money from the walkathon, to building a house and supplying extra money to buy a cow for the village family, the Vietnam Yellow students have continued to show selfless behaviour and consideration for others. Questions have developed from “Will there be air conditioning in the restaurant?” and “What time can we go shopping?” to questions such as “What started the Vietnam war?” and “What is the difference between communism and socialism?” indicating that this experience has changed students’ introspective perception to one that considers the broader world. We have been proud of the way that they have taken on board every opportunity and challenge thrown at them, from crossing busy roads, to facing fears of heights during abseiling, to constructing a house in sweltering heat and engaging with disabled students.

Justine, our trip leader and organiser extraordinaire has been instrumental in getting Vietnam Yellow off the ground and has put in an enormous amount of effort before and during the trip, and much more will be done after the trip. Thanks Miss Werba for your amazing help and support of all students. Josh, our medical officer has been amazing in dealing with all kinds of illnesses and hearing all about bodily functions during breakfast, lunch and dinner. We are thankful for your strong stomach Mr Smith! A big thanks to all of our bloggers who took on the challenge of capturing the feeling of the group on each particular day. Lauren, AKA the paparazzi, is thanked for being the live in photographer even though she annoyed each student on a daily basis. Thanks, Dr Binge!

We left with some amazing kids and are looking forward to returning them to you even more spectacular people. Parents, you will be proud of the learning your child has done and the experiences which have made them more loving, caring and thoughtful young adults.

From Josh, Justine and Lauren

By: Rosie and Mac

We are very sad to say goodbye to Vietnam after our eventful and exciting journey. Today started with an early breakfast before heading out for out adventure race around Saigon. We were split into four groups of seven and were given a map, along with some questions to complete. This race had us walking and biking all over Ho Chi Minh City. Although one of the groups found the navigational part a challenge, we were still able to to explore and observe the largest city in Vietnam. We travelled from our hotel to the Reunification Palace, the post office and Notre Dame cathedral, the markets and the tallest building in Ho Chi Minh City, which was 63 floors high. After a busy 2 hours all the groups eventually made it back one way or another. The adventure race provided us with a sense of independence and a chance to interact with the locals when asking for directions. Once the adventure race was over and the results were tallied, turns out the second group to start had won. We ate lunch at a cool street food venue and then set out to the indoor markets. The inside of the market was overwhelmingly crowded with a wide variety of things to buy.

The past 18 days has given us so much insight into different cultures that we never could of experienced at home. From a building bamboo house to a sailing down cliffs, our big experience has been filled with huge opportunities. I’m sure we speak for the rest of the group when we say that we are truly grateful for trip and will cherish the memories and lessons we have learnt for the rest of our lives.

Vietnam Yellow over and out.

By: Mia and Izzy

Today started bright and early in the tranquil island homestay. This was located along the Mekong Delta. We enjoyed a protein filled breakfast of omelettes and baguettes. Hastily we prepared ourselves for the exciting day ahead. We jumped back onto the long boat and headed to the mainland where we jumped straight onto the bus and got settled in for the long ride to the hotel. Many people joined in card games and journey doc. writing. Others took the time to catch up on some missed sleep.

We raced back to the hotel to change into our sports polos to represent the college at RMIT University. Firstly, we had a lecture on overseas study and the benefits that it brings. We also discussed how these studying abroad could lead to bigger things such as increased employability, particularly overseas. Next up was a small tour and around the campus lead but the student ambassadors. We learnt about the different facilities and campus life. We enjoyed a quick lunch in the campuses cafeteria, feeling like true uni students and then we were quickly back on the road. The bus ride provided a great opportunity to hear of some students’ plans to study overseas!

Next we stopped at an orphanage for the children that were affected by the Agent Orange gas in the Vietnam war and whom had other disabilities. Here, we were privileged to meet Ms Kim (who runs the orphanage) and interact with the children. To begin, we went upstairs to a room full of children who could not leave their beds. This was very confronting to see. Living in such a privileged country, we do not get exposed to these sorts of illnesses and disabilities. We massaged their muscles and made them laugh. It was so rewarding to see that even the slightest tickle could light up a child’s entire day. After this we went downstairs to an area of kids that were able to move around. Some were in wheelchair-like devices and others were running around like crazy. We drew, played LEGO, sand painting and pushed them around this room. Seeing the smiles of excitement made all of us beam with joy. Overall this experience, although confronting and different to anything we have done before, was rewarding and heartwarming. We are all so grateful for everything we have at home and have learned to appreciate the smaller things in life such as an ability to move and talk which we often take for granted.

To finish off this exhausting day, we had a relaxing dinner at a beautiful barbecue garden lit up with fairy lights. This dinner arrangement was a little different as we cooked our own meats on stove tops in the middle of the table. The dinner was delicious and was made even more special because we dressed up in our fancy tailor-made clothes. We then walked over to the night markets of Saigon and enjoyed forty minutes of hardcore bartering. There was a a range of things available from fake brands to traditional clothing and homewares. Although we are all excited to see everyone at home in 2 more sleeps we are also sad to be leaving this beautiful country and this amazing experience.

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By: Beau and Robbie

Today we had another early start for the long bus ride to come. The first hour and a half was to the famous Cu Chi tunnels, where we learned about the Vietnamese perspective on the war, and the tactics used by the “guerrillas”. We witnessed the traps used by the VC (Việt Cong) and how they managed to survive the American attacks by living underground. They had many intelligent methods of weakening the enemy. They designed shoes with soles that face the opposite way to which they were walking in order to keep the Americans off their tracks. They disguised the ventilation system for the tunnels in large ant mounds. They cooked food in the mornings so the smoke from the tunnels was disguised by the morning fog, not exposing their position. After a while American dogs could smell the VC in the tunnels, so any dead American soldiers clothes were placed around the ventilation to cover up the scent. The diverse range of traps to wound the American soldiers were terrifying and were previously used to hunt animals. They were well disguised and unpredictable. The traps weren’t designed to kill, but if one soldier was trapped and injured, two would have to return him to safety, instantly removing 3 enemies from the American forces. Multiply that by the number of soldiers trapped, that makes the enemy side a lot smaller to the VC!

The tunnel system the VC used was very large and complex – over 250 square kilometres – and had kitchens, schools and even a hospital underground. This was the home to the Vietnamese in the Cu Chi area and provided safety from American troops. They had to dig the tunnels deeper after the amount of bombs dropped by there B-52 bomber planes, which made craters up to five metres deep. Experiencing the tunnels first hand gave us a good insight into how life was for the VC during the war. We were given the opportunity to crawl through a small part of a tunnel (100 metres) and found it very cramped, dark, and claustrophobic. We also had a chance to climb into a small hole in the ground with a A3 paper sized entrance. Most people went into and could fully submerge themselves and put the camouflaged lid on top, although some found it a struggle to get out. The hole was small and only room for barley one person. It is difficult to imagine how the VC could manage to stay in their for days on end. We had a chance to look at a display of the different weapons used in the Vietnam war, ranging from guns, to rocket launchers and mounted turrets.

Our experience at the Cu Chi tunnels ended with another long bus ride to a dock where we all boarded a boat on the Mekong Delta. Our first stop along the Mekong was a traditional lolly shop. Each sweet was made of local ingredients like coconut and rice. We all had a very up close and personal encounter with a huge python. It was a “small” python according to locals, although it took 2 people to carry it. Then we had a small tour as to how the sweets were made. We saw how the coconut caramel was made, which involved pressing shaving and extracting the milk then simmering it until a toffee consistency. This sweet ended up being a group favourite. We also saw how to make popped rice, and how it was made into a rice crispy. After our experience at the lolly shop, we made our way down the Mekong once again where we reached out homestead in approximately 30 minutes. We settled into our rooms and helped prepare our very interesting dinner which consisted of mainly seafood from the Mekong Delta we were staying on.

By: Spencer and Jack

We started the day to a 5:30AM wake up call from reception and hastily packed our suitcases before heading to the top floor for breakfast. We had excellent freshly cooked omelettes and a side of fruits and pastries. Slowly everyone made it to the lobby where we boarded busses to take us to the airport for our hour and a half flight to Ho Chi Minh City. We were all excited to head to the amazing city, finally reaching the south of Vietnam and our final destination. On the final ride around Hoi An, everybody was taking in their final sights of the beautiful city, knowing that we wouldn’t be back for a long time. Once we arrived at the airport, the standard procedure of checking in baggage and going through security was completed rather fast, giving everyone time to momentarily relax and stock up on snacks for the flight. The short flight consisted mainly of playing card games and eating snacks and seemed to take almost no time at all before we were already preparing for landing. After exiting the plane and collecting our baggage we hopped on a bus to our hotel. We finally arrived at our hotel, momentarily resting until suddenly leaving to the ‘War Remnants Museum’, learning about the side effects that the war had on both the military personnel and civilians. Throughout the museum, we learnt about how the war began, and how it grew to such a large scale, causing millions of fatalities. Finally after the learning about the shocking events that occurred in Vietnam, we visited a post office built by the French, though meaning to build a train station. This idea was quickly shut down due to the fact that the noise would distract the people next door at the church. This resulted in the building appearing more as a train station rather than a post office.

We also learnt all about ‘Agent Orange’ – a dangerous defoliant chemical used to reveal and capture Vietnamese soldiers hiding in the forests. The chemical would eliminate the plantation surrounding the gas, used to find tunnels and soldiers that lay in the forest. Devastatingly, the chemical had many side effects, including carcinogenic and DNA damaging properties, completely altering the children of people exposed to the gas in future generations. We saw lots of photo evidence from Agent Orange victims at the museum which was incredibly confronting. Throughout the war period many people were exposed to the gas not knowing of it’s effects on their future family, and that it would cause birth defects in many children. Many people had no idea that they were affected by the Agent, only fully knowing by having a diagnosis performed. Several other variations of the gas we produced also, including agents purple, yellow, blue and several more, all with varying but lethal effects. After learning about this chemical weapon and its effects and seeing photos of children that have been affected by it, we were very shocked that even in war times that people would go to such measures to win, even if it mean sacrificing the livelihood of millions of people for generations to come.

After our visit to the museum the mood of the group was pensive and subdued, with everyone feeling sad about the devastation of the Vietnam war. We returned to the hotel for some time before being swept back onto our feet to go to dinner. Everyone was intrigued about how the food would taste in Ho Chi Minh and if it would taste much different to the food eating in the north of Vietnam. We had a delicious meal of spring rolls, fried rice and beef fried noodles, which were all eaten in about the amount of time it took to serve the food. Overall today was a very busy, tiring and emotional day, starting early in the morning and ending with us writing in the blog. We are missing everyone back home and can’t wait to be back in 3 days.

We are off to the Mekong Delta tomorrow so the blog may be delayed by a day. Stay tuned for a double blog coming your way soon!!

By: Alec and Aiden

The morning started with a nice sleep in compared to our usual wake up time. The hotel provided us with a delectable breakfast, which we enjoyed at a leisurely pace. Soon after, with our bellies full, we were off on our way. A short crisp walk took us to a beautiful, historical bridge – the Japanese Bridge which has become an icon of Hoi An. The bridge was built by the Japanese living in Hoi An in 1590 in order to connect the Chinese and Japanese sides of the river. Soon after, in the 19th century, the French expanded the bridge, to allow bikes and cars to travel over the bridge. We learnt that the bridge is guarded by a pair of dogs at one end, and a pair of monkeys at the other. According to legend, the bridge was built in the year of the dog and finished in the year of the monkey.

After visiting the lovely bridge, the group picked up their final tailor made clothes from Yaly’s. Next door, the team enjoyed a very early lunch in order to prepare us for the adventure ahead. We feasted on some noodles, and some ice cold juices which was much deserved after being out in the hot weather. A small walk to the bus followed and we made our way to the spectacular Marble Mountain, which is made completely of limestone. A gruelling hike up the 260 stairs took us to the base of the abseiling spot, where we were greeted by Tao and team at Phat Tire Ventures. After a quick harness up, the small scale practice courses determine who in the group were challenging their fears and who were excited and ready. Following some more stairs, half of Vietnam Yellow were standing at the top of a 14m dark cave and the other half, at the top of a 25m cliff. With many fears being faced, the groups eventually found their way to the bottom. With many cheers from below, those who were scared soon found their confidence and broke their fears. After about 3 hours of abseiling, Hoang took us to cave which was historically used for Vietnamese civilians, soldiers and medics to hide and take cover from the bombs dropped by America. Since then, the beautiful cave hads been transformed into a stunning pagoda temple, where many tourists visit daily. A long, cool bus ride took us back to Van Loi hotel, where many of us were delighted to see the sight of a cool pool. After a refreshing swim we ventured back out to Banana Leaf Cafe, overlooking the Thu Bon River, where we enjoyed the familiar taste of Western food. After scurrying out of Banana Leaf Cafe, in anticipation for Transformers on TV, the team tucked themselves into bed, preparing for an early wake and long day ahead.