For the first time in 3 years, an Overseas Field Trip was organized by the NUS Geographical Society.
Planning for the trip was spearheaded by the Majors' Welfare Cell, namely Flora Toh, Tan Shuming and Cheryl Siah.
Hanoi, Vietnam, was the destination of choice as it is a location that is not only close to Singapore, but also has the perfect blend of Human and Physical Geography learning opportunities. 18 students and one professor. Six days and five nights of learning, fun and discovery.
The highlights of the trip were the breathtaking overnight cruise in Halong Bay, strolling around freely on the bustling streets of Hanoi, learning to navigate and weave through the traffic as the locals do, observing the urban streetscapes of Hanoi, learning about Microfinance through Bloom Microventures, as well as the museum visits throughout the trip.
Reflections by some of the participants:
Leong Munkidd: AWESOME! Never thought an overseas trip with schoolmates could be so fun! GEOGRAPHY ROCKS! Dr. Gillen made things easier with his knowledge of Vietnamese too!
Shaun Nah: I feel that the trip fulfilled dual purposes; as an educational experience as well as a relaxing post-exam getaway.
Leon Gaw: Sometimes when I bargain and it really doesn't go my way, I like to take a step back to look at the big picture where those few thousand dongs reduced translates to savings of only one or two dollars. And for people who live on very little a day, what meager savings we achieve for bragging rights means alot to the Vietnamese, like a meal at the table. Thanks for the very eye-opening trip to Hanoi that went without a hitch!
The Society would like to say a huge thank you to all trip participants who made the trip such a success, with special mention to Professor Gillen for generously sharing his knowledge on Vietnam and his guidance, together with our guides from Come & Go VIetnam as well as the passionate people behind Bloom Microventures.
We hope that more majors would be able to join us on future trips, and once again, here's a sincere thank you and shout-out to everyone for their support.
Till next time, cheers!
Cheryl Siah
Special Projects Executive
