12bfriends.com

Grade 12 is the last grade in most high schools around the world. Grade 12 students usually enjoy the year very much as this year is their final year in high school. Above all, some students feel that they would miss each other very much after finishing the school. They probably will not have so much time to meet and see each other like in high school. So those students build good relations with each other as a long lasting memory.

Every year grade 12 students of Zaman International School arrange activities together such as parties and trips in order to strengthen their friendship even more. But Zaman students have better chances because ZIS supports most events arranged by grade 12 students like an alumni dinner, which is a dinner for all graduates and teaching staffs. Zaman is also planning to open a graduates’ room next year as a special venue when they want to meet their old friends, chat or see their teachers. This year, with support from the school, 12B, one class among four grade 12 classes of Zaman, also arranged a trip for its unforgettable final year in Zaman to Vietnam. It went smoothly, with so much joy. On 13th May 2008 the great adventure began.

Our trip started on Tuesday, 13 May 2008, the first day of the holidays. On that day, we gathered in front of the tour company we chose, which is CN International Travel located near the Olympic water pool, at about 4 o’clock in the morning. When our friends, teachers and other travelers arrived, we left immediately for Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam as we really wanted to arrive there as quickly as we could. But all of the tour travelers weren’t all there on the bus yet, so the bus had to stop to pick them up in Chbar Ampov along the National Road. About 5:15, we were all there and began our nice journey to Vietnam. At 7:15, we reached Neak Leaung ferry, which is almost the border already, but we had to wait for the ferry to cross the Tonle Touch River there for nearly 1 hour but finally we reached the other side of the river. After that, it took about 1 hour until 8:05 that we reached the Cambodia-Vietnam border in Svay Rieng province, known as Bavet. We stopped there to rest a little and have breakfast for about 1 hour. After having breakfast, our tour leader had had our passports to check for departure. Then she gave us our passports back one by one and brought us across the Bavet border. When we stepped on the Vietnamese side, we were introduced to a Vietnamese guide. He was not completely Vietnamese, but half Cambodian and half Vietnamese, who is known as Khmer Kampuchea Krom. From the border (Moc Bai border for Vietnam) in the bus, our guide introduced himself and told us many things related to Vietnam including its history and some of the local culture. At about 12 o’clock noon, we reached Ho Chi Minh City and had lunch in a buffet restaurant. There were many kinds of food in the restaurant and we enjoyed it very much. After a while, our lunch finished and we continued the way to visit places in Ho Chi Minh City.

First, we visited an old Catholic Church with Mother Maria Statue in front of it and the Vietnamese post office, which all of them were built in the period of French colony over Vietnam. We then took many pictures in front of the structures and bought some souvenirs too. At 2pm, we went to a hotel in almost the center of HCMC to check in for the stay of the first night. It was Rang Dong hotel, which is a 3-star hotel. The hotel had free Internet WiFi all the time. We could search for information as much as we wanted. After checking in, we needed to relax. In the evening we went to Dam Seng Park. We enjoyed accessing many things such as the roller coaster, the zoo, the water park, the ice house with a temperature around 0 oC, the ghost house, and a 3-D movie. We had dinner in a restaurant in that park. The food tasted like our country’s food. But we needed to hurry because we had to go to Horizon International Bilingual School (HIBS) to visit Mr. Abdil, who was our grammar teacher in grade 9. Mr. Abdil also kindly prepared a delicious barbeque for us there which we really enjoyed. When the meal had finished, we went to play football in the football field of the school and swam in a small but very deep swimming pool. It was a really nice time for us. About 10pm, we came back to the hotel, and we were happy on the first day of the trip in Vietnam.

The second day of the trip came. That day, we got up late but the journey was still going fine, although the whole program of the day was slowed slightly. We had breakfast at 7:10 in the hotel. Then we started a long drive to Nha Trang, a city of southern Vietnam near by the sea. The traveling was really nice as we saw the beautiful sea view along the road. It was also a wonderful time to relax too because it would take us half a day long to reach that city. After traveling for a while, we stopped at a fish sauce making place to see how delicious fish sauce is made. After visiting that place, we had lunch in a restaurant along the way. In front of the restaurant, there were big mountains covered with lots of sand like a desert. We took many photos with the amazing views and slid from the top of the hill to the bottom.

Before sliding, the owners (kids) of the sliding equipment said that the price of using the equipment depended on us. After sliding, some of our friends gave them 10.000 Dong, but they said that it was not enough and they demanded 100.000 Dong. It was so funny that they cheated us. Then we went back to the bus and continued our way to the city. After traveling for a while, we were all sleeping, but suddenly there was a problem with our bus, which was the tire: flat tire. So we waited for the tire to be changed. Then we went on safely. We arrived there at approximately 7pm. We had dinner at a stylish restaurant. After this dinner, we went to New Sky hotel. After checking in and washing, we did not sleep yet, but went for a walk in the city and along the noisy beach of the wavy sea. That was very fascinating and we liked it. After walking for a long distance, we reached the hotel with slight exhaustion and went to sleep with all the joy we had.

On the third day of our trip, everything was still more exciting because we still had more activities and fun waiting for us. At 5:30, the sun rose and without feeling the loss of power inside our bodies, we got up, got dressed and went to have breakfast in the hotel. Some of us ate a lot but some other ate just a little. Just like the other days, a buffet was what we got for our breakfast. Breakfast was finished; we jumped into the bus and were ready for more fantastic and fun things. The bus started its engine and began to move on. After about 15 minutes, we arrived at the harbour, where we started our journey by boat to visit the Underwater World, which was built in the shape of a ship.

There, we saw many different kinds of fish that we had never seen. We also took many photos there and then continued our sail to Hong Teum island. On our way to the island across the sea, we really enjoyed the wonderful view and the feeling of fresh air all around, making us feel so relaxed. Not long after we arrived at the island. Everybody was so excited, we left the boat behind and walk toward the fun. Firstly, we saw a very skilled man, an islander perhaps. He cut letters from some kind of hard paper then stuck it on a background, which was in a heart shape. It was so pretty and interesting. Everyone loved it and some of us told him the names or words they wanted him to cut out and stick on the background to make for them. But it was not free, of course. We paid money for this. After that, we rented a hut to place our bags and other things under. Then it was time to take photos again. Some of us went to find beautiful shells and then kept them. We also swam. Next, maybe about 1hour later, we began to do something more interesting. Some of us rode jet skis, 11 of us and our teacher, Mr Gurkan, went diving under the sea. They took beautiful photos under the sea with fish. And then a few others and Mr Gurkan flew high with a parachute pulled by a boat. Well, time is sure flying when we have fun. 3 hours for us was just like 3 seconds.

 

Then we had to move on. So we went back to have lunch in a restaurant. That day we also had the same Vietnamese soup, which is MajouYoun, that we all know so well. For 2 days this had been the main course for the main meals. However, they all tasted different and all of them were good. After our delicious lunch ended, we went back to our hotel. We had a shower and rested for a bit. After that, we continued our day by going to the cable car station and a park. We went to an island called Vinpearl Island which is a beautiful and wonderful place. In the cable cars, we felt just like flying, the view around us was just amazing. Below us was the sea and boats; in front of us was the beautiful green island; on the left there was nothing but the blue sea and the blue sky. Can you imagine how you would feel? We cannot describe our feeling that time. It was just fantastic. And that cable car’s running distance is the longest in Asia. We spent about 20 minutes traveling by cable cars to the island.

    

When we arrived, first we waited for the others. We began to take photos, which is our habit now. We took a lot of photos. After a little while, everyone arrived and the first thing we did was ride the roller coaster. We did not just ride it one time but 2 times. Then we rushed to ride the Revolution, which was the best part. We really liked it, especially the part when the machine turned us upside down. At that time, we felt our blood running down to our faces. We were a bit nervous but also excited. After this, we went to watch the show of animals: monkeys and dogs. They were such clever animals. They (the monkeys) walked on rope, they rode bikes, they raced and at the end they bowed at us. We really enjoyed the show. After the show finished, we went to the game center, where we played many kinds of games such as boxing, riding horse game, car racing, shooting game…. and we also watch a 4-D movie. This kind of movie is a brilliant idea of its creator because it made us feel as we were one of the characters of the movie. It was just like reality. We played at this place for about 2 hours, and then we went to see a show of dancing water. It was a marvelous event. We felt that the water was dancing with the music. The show finished and it was dark.

Still we wanted to play and have more fun. So we asked our guide for extra time. Once again, we went to the Revolution machine. This time, it was faster and longer. We were so excited with our last ride. It was a delightful day. We didn’t want it to be over but we couldn’t slow down the time. So we had to say good bye to Vinpearl Island and we hoped that one day we would come to this place together again. On the way back in the cable cars, we kept talking about Vinpearl and we already started to miss this wonderful place. After that we got in the bus again. In the bus, our guide told us jokes, which made us laugh a lot. The bus led us to a restaurant. We ate happily there. Our dinner was good. We ate a lot. Then we went back to hotel and we still had energy to play games. It was such a good time and it was also the best day of the trip. We went to sleep and we still dreamed about this third day.

On our 4th day in Vietnam, at 6 o’clock in the morning, the phone rang. The light of the sun passed through the window into our room. We could see that it was a sunny day. More exciting things were waiting for us. We got up, had shower and got dressed with new clothes. Then we went to have breakfast at the same restaurant we had yesterday. Buffet was served. We ate a lot because we needed to go to Dalat and it was a long way. We had to fill our stomach first so that we wouldn’t be hungry on our way. So after breakfast finished and we had full energy to spend, we got on the bus again and continued our journey. Well, some of us slept but some of us who were still awake enjoyed the view along the way which was so beautiful. In the car, we could also feel the fresh cold air from the mountains. After a while the bus stopped and everybody woke up. We hadn’t reached Dalat yet but the bus just stopped to let everybody out for a walk on the beautiful mountain. That made us feels refreshed after staying in the bus for hours. We took some photos there and then we left.

 

 

We continued our journey for about 2 hours. Then we stopped for lunch at a restaurant. Lunch was served. Well, we felt good with full stomachs. Then we left and went directly to Dalat. A few hours passed and we arrived there. We got out of the bus and we stood on the land of Dalat, the city on mountains. It was cold there but we really liked it that way. For a moment there, I have to tell you that we were standing in front of the biggest park of Dalat. You can also call it a huge garden because there were beautiful flowers everywhere, just like in paradise. We were so excited to see this kind of wonderful place. We went for a walk inside the park. We took many photos with many styles, ha just like models. Some of us also rode a kind of bike on the water. It was such a happy time. About one hour later, we left the park and headed to another park, which was called the Valley of Love. Only the name of this place showed that it was an amazing place. With excitement, we couldn’t wait to see it. After a while, we reached our goal. The bus stopped in front of the gate. And we rushed into the park when the rain started to come down slightly. Wow, it was more than we had expected. It was beautiful. It was fantastic. We could see different kinds of statues such as cars, motorbikes, an eagle, and some other artistic things. We walked and we took photos and then we began to walk and take photos again. This action was repeated and without noticing we reached the most beautiful part of the park. It was the only reason for the name of the park. Then we knew why they called it the Valley of Love. Because then, in front of us was a wide and big valley covered by green trees and a long river. Above it was nothing but the clear blue sky and white cloud. The fog didn’t let us see clearly. But with this it became one of the most beautiful and wonderful view for our eyes. We felt just like we were in dream. This view was unimaginable. We would never get tired of seeing this. But we would feel happier every time we see it. Ok, what were we waiting for? We had to take photographs with this beautiful background. Some of us stood and some sat, our guide rushed into our group and stood with his cool style. We smiled and looked to the camera. Then we heard the voice: "1, 2, 3... Say cheese!" and then a quick flash appeared. And here it was, the result was one of the most beautiful photos.

 

 

It was a photo which made us miss this trip a lot. Look at how happy we were. We really wanted to stay there for a few more days. Oh! I’ve gone too far just because I miss it. Let's get back to our adventure. Well after taking that photo, we went down the shopping places in the park. We bought some souvenirs for our friends, our families and also for ourselves such as scarves, hats, combs and some other things. Then after buying our things, we went back to the bus and we left for another place. This time we went to a store, where we could taste jams there freely. They tasted good. Some of us bought them. After this we went to the hotel to have a shower, and relaxed for a bit. Then we left the hotel and the bus led us to one restaurant where we had our delicious dinner. We were very, very hungry so we ate a lot. With happiness, it made the food taste even more delicious. Nothing can be compared with the food which is mixed with happiness. We rarely had this kind of dinner. While having dinner we talked, we discussed and we laughed happily. Dinner finished and we were full of happiness in our minds and food in our stomachs. What could be better than this? After this wonderful dinner, we went back to our hotel. Then about 30 minutes later, we left our rooms and went downstairs. It was time to go shopping! We prepared our money to spend. We counted the money. Then we left the hotel. We walked together to the shopping center near our hotel. We went there and we kept looking for hours for what we wanted or what we needed. But we didn’t know what to buy. We could hardly decide. However, we finally bought something. We bought sweaters, black glasses, shirts and some other things. But we really had a difficult time with the sellers. The price they sold each thing for us was high because we were foreigners. But we negotiated with them so they discounted for us. Some of the seller also became a little angry with us because of negotiation and sometimes we just looked but we didn’t buy their goods. Well, this was an experience for us because that's the way people do business. We learned a lot by this. We still felt happy with the shopping. Our teacher Mr. Gurkan also taught us some useful and brilliant way to negotiate with the sellers.

With this way he also bought a sweater with a low price. But we were sure that the seller didn’t feel happy at all by looking at her face. However, we knew that this is what business means. We really learned a lot. After shopping, we went back to the hotel. On the way back we also bought some hamburgers to eat because we felt a little tired and hungry after doing business. Wooo... What a day! When we arrived at the hotel, we had a shower, changed our clothes and then we wanted to have some sleep, but we didn’t. Instead, we played games happily together. We didn’t feel tired at all. We played for 3 or 4 hours. Then it was time to sleep. The sun was going to rise only 2 hours later. We couldn't open our eyes anymore. So we went to our room to have some sleep and waited for another day of our trip. Zzzzz….

We started the day by waking up at 6 o’clock, by the wake up call as usual. At 6:30, we gathered to have breakfast at the hotel’s underground restaurant. The special thing of that hotel was that it was especially reserved just for our tour group. At 7 o’clock, we started to leave the beautiful Dalat for Ho Chi Minh City. However, along the way we also stopped at several fascinating places. First, we stopped at the Cable Car at Dalat, not for riding it but for taking beautiful photos. The view was so amazing and we could see the landscape of Dalat, Furthermore, the air was so fresh and cold which was so relaxing. How great it would be if we could breathe this air in and out everyday??? After a while, we traveled to a resort that has roller skaters and a waterfall. Since the beautiful waterfall was 1km far, we needed to go down there by roller skates which was controllable (you can control it to go faster or slower, it is up to you). It was a wonderful experience which I have never had before. After skating down, we could see the beautiful waterfall of Datanla. So we took some photos where there was the waterfall as the background.

 

After that, we traveled by the skates again up to the bus. This time it was going automatically. On the way to Ho Chi Minh City, some of us slept along the way because of tiredness. The next stop was the tea and coffee shop. Before that we stopped at the tea and coffee field. The field was absolutely green. Our tour guide told us that Vietnam ranks as the number 2 world coffee exporter, and Brazil was the first. And it was time again to take photos. Then we came to the tea and coffee shop, where we could taste tea and coffee for free. Some of us bought tea and coffee there because it was good. After a while, it was about 12 o’clock so we stopped to have lunch at a restaurant. Nearby the restaurant, there was a supermarket which sold some souvenirs. The guide told us that the next stop would be in Ho Chi Minh City at 4:30. After sitting in the bus for a while, there was a strange smell which was the smell of burning something. We thought it was not a big deal. But what we thought was very wrong; it was the smell of the burning of the brakes. And it got really hot so that driver had to stop the bus and find water to cool down the brakes. The worst thing that happened that day was that some of our tour members got sick because of the smell. Some of them vomited and felt very uncomfortable. So they got treated by a Khmer traditional treatment (Kos Kchol).

 

It was not an enjoyable time for us. And in my mind I was begging to arrive in Ho Chi Minh City as soon as possible. Then the bus went for fixing. After a really long rest, we all went back to the bus to start the journey to Ho Chi Minh City. It was about 5 o’clock when we were about to reach Ho Chi Minh but there was really busy traffic along the way.  But our tour guide had a very wonderful idea to kill time by playing a game in which we were divided into two teams. It was the game of naming different fruits according to its syllable. It was a really tough battle in which there was no winner. So the guide asked a question to determine the winner. The question was how many cities and provinces does Vietnam have? My team responded so quickly and answered it correctly. And we were the winners. The reward was a box of a special coffee. Time is flying when we have fun. At about 6:30, we arrived at one restaurant which was in a ferry. We had a really wonderful dinner. Not only did we have dinner, but we also went up to a stage to dance our Khmer traditional dance. Not 1, not 2, not 3, not 4, but 5 or 6 songs were in Khmer, so we all danced. We really have a great time. At 8:30 we left the restaurant with this great moment in our minds. The final program of that day was going back to the hotel to have a rest. Although we felt tired because of the 5 day journey that we had, we still had the energy to have fun with our friends as we all know that it was the last night in Vietnam.

The morning call rang as a sign that it was 6 o’clock in the morning of the sixth day which meant to us that the fantastic trip would end very soon. After hearing the rings, we woke up, showered, got everything packed and prepared ourselves for breakfast. After breakfast, our guide took us shopping in a famous market named Binh Tanh Market. The market was quite similar to one of the markets in Cambodia; New Market.  We separated into groups and went into the market. The time agreed was 2 hours for shopping. There, some of us bought slippers, some bought shirts, and some others bought jeans but most of us bought souvenirs of Vietnam. The 2-hour period passed very quickly and we had to gather back in front of the market and wait for the bus. It then around 10 o’clock and we hurried to visit another place, which was a work place that furniture, drawings and pictures were decorated with pearls and egg shells. We visited that place and saw that the products were very fine and attractively beautiful but also pretty expensive. After having watched painters painting the drawings and pictures, our tour group left that place and went off back to Phnom Penh at around 11 o’clock. After about half an hour or 45 minutes, the bus took a stop at a restaurant, but they didn’t provide us food there. However, some of our group members bought something to eat by themselves because they were very hungry. After our stomachs were filled with some food, we continued our journey. At about 1:30 we arrived at another restaurant, but this time back in Svay Rieng, Cambodia, to have lunch. You know, we had the same Vietnamese soup again (Majou Youn) but this time it tasted much different, ha.. ha.. 6 days with the same name of soups. What do you think? Well, forget about this. Let’s finish our last chapter of our story. After lunch, we started to move on. On the way we had fun with the group by singing, joking and so on. Time ran very fast. By 6 o’clock in the evening, we came to a complete stop in Phnom Penh and the great trip had ended.

  

In the discussion of giving a title for this whole newspaper report, we also had many ideas. It took us so long to decide and choose until we got this one “21 Students - 6 Days - 3 Cities in Vietnam”. The titles each of us gave as an idea were:    

• 6 Days of 12B in Vietnam
• Farewell Trip of 12B
• 12B’s First Abroad Trip
• The Longest Trip of 12B
• The Unforgettable Trip in 12B’s Heart
• A Memorable Experience With Friends
• First Trip of Zaman Students by Tour
• A Long But Short Trip

and so on…

So far we have had 3 trips to 3 different places, first to Kampoung Som, Second to Siem Reap and third to Vietnam. With help of our teacher, we have opened a website which we can share our trip photos. We are also planning to avail the website as a center of contact. The website is “www.12bfriends.com”. You are welcome to our website!

 

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