This weekend, over 50 INSEAD 17Js travelled to Vietnam. As per usual, we were less than 10 in the beginning but the word got spread and more and more people decided to join our trip. We ended up splitting into a few different groups. Although most of us met in Hanoi, we ended up exploring Ha Long Bay in three separate boats.
Our boat hosted 40 people (41 considering the group mascot - Adriana, 15 months old), and was some kind of fairy tail boat - quite upscale, super nit, pretty well decorated, smelling like roses. The boat itself was great, but all the rest helped. The sceneries could hardly been more beautiful. Activities included some sports, such as kayaking, swimming and tai chi. We managed to sleep (which was not really the case in Kuching, and won't be the case in Bankok either). The group was fun and quite homogeneous. And the food? Oh, the food... Vietnamese food is delicious!
So here's some context. We all travelled to Hanoi on Friday after lunch. The Portuguese crew (I guess I still need to talk to you about the Portuguese crew) stayed at the Sheraton, taking profit of all the accumulated consulting points. We had a very nice local late dinner (again, Vietnamese food is nomnomnom) close to the hotel, and met the others for drinks and clubbing in chaotic Old Quarter.
On Saturday, we all met around 8 am to take a shuttle to Ha Long Bay. We arrived there around lunch time. Everyone was really surprised with how nice the boat was, and even more surprised with Ha Long Bay's natural beauty. All of us had high expectations for Ha Long Bay and its limestone karsts and isles, but none of us knew of vast it all was. We sailed for one full day and it never ended. And it is beautifuuuuuuuuuuuuuul. And very, very, very peaceful. Who would want to attend INSEAD's Thursday mindfulness classes, if they could go to Ha Long Bay for the weekend? No one!
We left Ha Long Bay around 11 am on Sunday, slept the entire trip back (around 3h30) and arrived back in Hanoi before 3 pm, right on time for some sightseeing. The Portuguese crew stayed at the Sheraton again. And I guess it is about time to talk about what's the Portuguese crew about. The Portuguese crew is the nickname attributed by non-Portuguese people to the coolest group of INSEAD 17Js. A crew that tends to be fun, and to stick together more than any other nationality. It is not exclusive to Portuguese people (such as Thomas Teixeira da Mota, João Viana Baptista, José Viana Baptista, Miguel Moura, João Jalles, me, and more), as it includes the coolest Brazilians (Dani, for instance, is already learning how to use Portuguese accent and expressions) and, sometimes, good specimen of other nationalities. Hahaha. In this trip to Vietnam, for instance, Fran, his wife Marta, and their little daughter Adriana (all Spanish), were more than part of the Portuguese crew.
The Portuguese crew in this trip - Thomas, João, Zé, Dani, Fran, Marta, Adri and me - spent the afternoon together. We first went to the only World Heritage monument in Hanoi - the Imperial Citadel of Thang Long. It was quite disappointing but somehow fun. At least we managed to live a bit of the Vietnamese culture, as there was a fair going on and lot's of beautiful young ladies being photographed in typical costumes. We then walked to the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, where the mortal pieces of the famous Vietnamese Communist revolutionary lay. Traffic in Hanoi is wild, insane, but controlled at the same time. The city has a cool vibe. Although it is not astonishing or incredibly beautiful, it is lively, dynamic and happy. We finished the day at the Old Quarter, which is closed for traffic on Sundays. It has so many people in the streets that it is hardly less confusing than when traffic is allowed there. The Portuguese crew (except from gluten-free Marta, me!) had a Bahn Mi - a typical sandwich - and we walked around for a long time. 15-month old Adriana kept up with over 4 hours of city exploring, always laughing and playing with us. I kind of learnt how to be a mom this weekend. I am very impressed with how relaxed and practical Marta and Fran are. WAY TO GO!
To finish the weekend in style, we had dinner at a nice restaurant - probably at 1/3 of the price it would have cost us in Singapore. And we took a Uber taxi to the hotel. Oh well, that was a fun/ scary experience!
Heads up to Daniela who organized such an incredible trip to more than 40 people.
And cheers to weekends like this.
As Mr and Mrs Kenney say, #totravelistolive.
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