Vietnam Tour for Crawford pupils

Grant Anderson and Ms Dominique Buck (Grade Coordinator).

Vietnam Tour for Crawford pupils

Date: 2015-09-04

It all started off with a group of 16 Crawford College North Coast students from grades 10 to 12, who began their challenging journey with a visit to the island city of Hong Kong. They ventured off to see the amazing Tian Tan Buddha atop a hill, where they experienced breath-taking views of the Lantau Island. The biggest surprise was that they would have a student-lead experience, where one of the expedition members would lead their peers each day. The capital of Vietnam, Hanoi is where the group found themselves next. This was no ordinary main city. The streets were filled with thousands of scooters driving in all directions one lady was even going against the traffic with a pair of stilettos on!

For those who thought that it was going to be a holiday for chilling and relaxation... they found themselves trekking through the rice paddies of Sapa carrying their whole-trip's worth of equipment on their backs, reality was far more demanding and liberating. They stopped over every day at little home-stays filled with the most benevolent people, who gave openly, though they had less than others to give. Blood, sweat, pain, falling in rice paddies, teamwork, slipping down muddy hills, exhaustion and laughing wildly, saw the group finally complete their 4-day trek. The very thought of it is fatiguing.

The group then learned the value of helping their fellow man when they visited the village of Mai Ch‰ut and worked together to build a toilet for a mentally-handicapped man who did not have one. The hard labour incorporated the mixing of cement, laying cement and bricks, transporting the bricks physically to the site and digging holes which was far from easy. But the pack of courageous and determined individuals completed the toilet in just 2 and a half days. Members experienced tears of joy and happiness when they presented the man with his new toilet as well as other gifts such as a TV, a fan, some toiletries and a toothbrush - take a minute to think of how fortunate you are and how we take the most little basic things in life for granted.

Finishing off the trip, the fearless challengers visited one of the Seven Wonders of the World, Halong Bay, where they finally got to relax and indulge the beauty of the place and country they were in. They had time to reflect on how amazing and friendly the people had been and they got the chance to appreciate this once-in-a-lifetime moment.

Overall the expedition was life-changing! We had to dig deep, we struggled on the trek, but with teamwork we met each challenge head on. Finally for those of you who've heard rumours of us not showering, we showered everyday sometimes even twice ... so don't be afraid to backpack through Vietnam yourself. There's so much I can say about this trip but that's for us to know and for you to find out!

Back row l-r: Alex Paterimos, Johnny (Tour Guide), Grant Anderson, Amy Jansen, Keyan Sampson, Sherav Beekum, Liam Tully, David De Villiers, Peter Massey (Expedition Leader), Ms Chantal Lubbe (Grade Coordinator). Front l-r: Milan van Koert, Cameron Ensor-Smith, Nicola Attree, Ciara Willis, Katlego Mokua, Jean-Luc Lamarque.

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