COUNTRY: Vietnam
PROGRAM: UniBreak Groups
PROJECT: Nursing
WRITTEN BY: Storm Rossman, Notre Dame University
Approximately 35924 steps, 2 smooth flights, 1 cyclo tour and many bus rides later, we have left Hanoi. After meeting with our main tour guide Thánh, we were enthused about exploring this exciting country. On our drive back to the hotel we had our first exposure to the Vietnamese landscape, architecture, people and apparent lack of road rules.
We were given the afternoon to settle into our hotel before heading out to a local restaurant where we had our first meal in Vietnam. It comprised of a delicious meat and vege combo which we cooked on little hot plates and ate in fresh baguettes. Delicious.
Our next few days involved a combination of touristy and clinical experiences where we delved into the Vietnamese culture and history, to understand more about the country we have been immersed in.
Our Hanoi adventure began at the Ho Chi Minh mausoleum where we observed the embalmed and perfectly preserved body of the first Vietnamese president to break the French’s political rule over the country. We then had a tour past the presidential palace where Ho Chi Minh was invited to stay upon elevation to parliament, but refused, electing to stay in more modest accommodation on the same property (which we also were able to see). After that, we journeyed to one of the oldest universities in Vietnam, where we delved into the principles that Confucius held desirable and the significance of school in Vietnamese culture.
Post lunch, we resumed our journey by attending the museum of Ethnology where we were thoroughly briefed on the people we are to spend the next week with. Along with this, we were introduced to around 50 other ethnic minority groups in Vietnam and some of the unique traditions and customs within them.
In the evening we fended for ourselves for dinner before attending the amazing and deliciously gorgeous Fanny’s ice cream parlour before setting out to do some shopping in the night markets.
The next morning we resumed our journey with a tour on the infamous cyclos around Hanoi. We were able to have a better look into the city before heading to the Hoa Loi prison, ironically called the 'Hanoi Hilton' by prisoners. We learnt more about the prison’s conditions, history and Vietnamese political prisoners along with American prisoners of war, including air force pilot John McCain. Then we were on to our first clinical experience in Bach Mai hospital, one of the biggest hospitals in Vietnam. We were kindly greeted and shown around the emergency, emergency ICU and poisons centre by the local doctors and given a taster into what to expect in the way of health care compared to Australia. The doctors and nurses we were fortunate enough to meet gave an amazing impression of their perseverance to do all they can for their patients with the resources they have. I for one am excited to see more people like them and work alongside them for the remainder of the trip.
We rounded off our final night in Hanoi before heading to Mai Chau by having a group dinner in a local restaurant before an early night for the 6 hour bus ride in the morning!
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