DURING the last school holidays a group of staff and students from La Salle travelled to Vietnam as part of a tour organised by Vietnam School Tours, which is owned and operated by Tram MacDouall, the younger sister of comedian and artist Anh Do.
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Their journey started from the international terminal at Sydney when sad farewells were had prior to an 8 hour flight to Ho Chi Minh city. A short a domestic flight to Hanoi saw the group commence our Vietnam journey.
“Hanoi is an amazing place. The shock of the change in climate was hard to take”, said La Salle’s TAS teacher Peter Tracey who was part of the tour.
La Sallians left in a cold 4-5 degrees and arrived with 35 degrees of temperature and oppressive humidity, though everybody adjusted well to the heat. Students spent two days and an overnight trip on a traditional cruise ship in Ha Long Bay which forms a part of the Gulf of Tonkin, a peaceful place with amazing topography.
From Tai Chi in the morning to swimming in the afternoons, students even tried to catch squid off the boat after dinner.
A cultural visit to the mausoleum of Ho Chi Minh and his residence was also a highlight of the final day in Hanoi. Back on a plane for a short trip to Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) and the well placed Silverland Central Motel which the group made their home base almost for the remainder of our tour.
The Silverland is situated about 60 meters from the famous Ben Thanh market place where La Salle students practiced the ancient art of bartering and Brielle Mendham showed her true capabilities.
“ Then it was off to the Mekong Delta to spend a night in a homestay village where the food was fantastic and the rats were friendly… from here we rode a bike to a school and participated in a class and played some sports with the local kids, all about the same age of our La Salle athletes,” said Mr Tracey.
From the Mekong, they travelled back to Saigon and commenced a tour of the Nui Dat / Vung Tau area culminating in a short service at the Long Tan Battle site where 18 young men lost their lives on 18 August 1966. A very humbling experience for all students who were solemn in remembering those gallant young men.
“From my perspective, a group of very supportive and caring young people made this trip very worthwhile. I was very proud to have been a part of the experience,” said Mr Tracey.