Day 1 – Singapore – Hanoi: Kunal Jhaveri

Well, D-day had arrived and we gathered at the airport after a few weeks of training. I could tell that we were pretty excited. For many of us, it was the first time going to Vietnam and for the freshies their first trip with the club.

13/13 waiting eagerly for the departure to Vietnam.

The first day was pretty chill, we reached the hostel safely and decided to explore the city of Hanoi till dark. We split up, with Ben, Jun Xian and I going off on our own. I was immediately taken aback by how hot and humid the weather was with the sweat gathering on my back super quickly. I hope that the weather for the climb will be better.

We settled upon a place selling Vietnamese rice pancakes which was decent. After that we ended it off with Vietnamese coffee, which I found is truly much tastier than normal coffee. Walking about Hanoi was eye-opening. As a foreigner, the city seems like a disorganised mess of people, scooters and shops. However, the city manages to function smoothly. In this short period of time, I could see the people of Hanoi are sort of accommodating to us tourists.

Victor sitting and waiting patiently for his beef Pho by the roadside hawker.

Well, it was truly a tiring day with the hot weather and the long walk-about. I can’t wait to explore more of the place after the trek. Now to sleep.