Our post =D

Xin chào càc bạn

Mình tên là Quỳnh Thu . Tên tiếng Anh của mình là Jia Yen. Mình là sinh viên năm thứ hai trường ở Đại Học Quốc Gia Singapo. Mình học ngành sinh học. Sau khi tốt nghiệp, mình muốn đi học thêm ở Mỹ hoặc Đức Hiện nay, mình mười chín tưổi.

My experience.

Till present, I have yet travelled to Vietnam. However, I do have some knowledge about the Vietnamese cuisine thanks to Duyên; the only Vietnamese friend that I have since secondary school. We share a common hobby: to source for good Vietnamese cuisines. As a result, I do know a lot of the places in Singapore that sell authentic and delicious Vietnamese delicacies, with a range of prices. Recently, Duyên and I had just found a place that sells Vietnamese dishes at an affordable price. The restaurant is called ‘ Ythu Wendy’s Vietnam Restaurant’ that is located near town area. If you have the time, do drop by and try out the food (especially Khoai Mì Hấp với Nước Dứa- Steam tapioca with Coconut sauce- it is fingers licking good)
 The photo below is Duyên.

Xin chào càc bạn

Mình tên là Quỳnh Lam.
Tên tiếng Anh của Mình là Deirdre. Mình cũng là sinh viên năm thứ hai. Mình học ngành sinh học. Sau khi tốt nghiệp, mình muốn giáo viên dạy môt trường. Hiện nay, mình mười chín tưổi.

My experience:
I have never been to Vietnam before. It didn’t occur to me as much of an attraction as compared to the other countries such as Thailand, Korea or Japan. Vietnam has always seemed to me as an undeveloped country with few attractions. The most I have heard about of Vietnam was just Ho Chin Minh City. However, I have tried before Vietnamese food in Singapore and they really taste wonderful. Although I have not tried their main dishes such as Vietnamese famous beef noodles (phở bò) and another type of noodle (mỳ Quảng), I have managed to try the Vietnamese spring rolls (gỏi cuốn) at some restaurant. It was simply delicious whereby it is covered with a transparent wrapping with vegetable and prawn meat in it! After learning more about Vietnam in this module, I would definitely want to explore all the beautiful places in Vietnam and try all their authentic special food!

For the tour presentation, my group has chosen Da Nang to be our topic. The main reason for choosing Da Nang as our project was because it is Duy ên’s hometown. Duy ên was able to share with us about Da Nang’s attraction – a much reliable source as compared to internet. Also Da Nang itself is the largest city in central Vietnam ( Miền Trung). Although Danang is very close to Hoi An, it doesn’t share the  same ancient traditional atmosphere that was preserved in Hoi An.  Da nang is more of a tourist attraction if tourist are interested to go for a relaxing trip as it has a few of the most serene and divine beaches in Vietnam.

Chào các cô và các bạn! 

Chúng tôi là sinh viên lớp tiếng Việt một, tên tiếng Việt của chúng tôi là Quỳnh Lan, Quỳnh Hương và Quang Hiếu.

Our previous experiences with Vietnam:

Quỳnh Lan

Tôi tên là Quỳnh Lan. Tôi là sinh viên năm thứ nhất, học ngành khoa học xã hội. Since I was in Secondary 3, I met my Vietnamese friend, Uyên who came to Singapore to study (: We are very good friends even up till now and she always wanted me to go to Vietnam for a holiday trip so that she can bring me around :D … Finally :D, I went to her hometown Hồ Chí Minh during July this year! I stayed there for about 5 days and I went to Củ Chi Tunnel, Phan Thiết Beach, Bến Thành Market and many other places :D. The food was really great and I really love the bánh mì, bánh xèo and phở bò there! I really love Vietnamese food and I still crave for it every now and then :(! It was very nice to take taxis with my friend when travelling around too which I’ll never get to do in Singapore that often because it’s too expensive T-T…  After the trip to Vietnam, I took up the Vietnamese 1 module here and I am really glad that I can communicate with my friend using the Vietnamese words I learnt in class! :D

Quỳnh Hương

Tôi tên là Quỳnh Hương. Tôi là sinh viên năm thứ tư, học ngành sinh học. I went Vietnam twice, the first time went to the South, Ho Chi Minh city; the second time I went to the North, Hanoi, Ha Long Bay, and Sapa, for one week. That was an immersion program and I joined them in the final week for travelling. The places are really nice and the people there are even nicer! Although I didn't know anything about Vietnamese at that time, I was able to understand what they were trying to say after immersed in their culture and language for one week. I found Vietnamese really interesting because it is a very gentle and romantic language! :) I wish I can visit Vietnam more and hope that I can contribute to the people there by giving helping hands to those in needs. Vietnam is a place that I would definitely recommend friends to visit!! :D

Quang Hiếu

Tôi tên là Quang Hiếu. Tôi là sinh viên năm thứ hai, học ngành hóa học. While I have yet to visit Vietnam, the country has had my attention for a long time. Having heard a lot of about the place, especially the Củ Chi Tunnel, from my Vietnamese friends have had me wanting to know more about the beautiful place. Getting to hang around with my Vietnamese friends, watching several Vietnamese movies and listening to their songs have had me appreciating the easy life that most of us have as compared to many from the countryside. The country having to gone through many hardship, have had made its countrymen unassuming and many more wonderful qualities that I really admire.

Why we chose this place and what we learnt

We chose Thành Phố Hồ Chí Minh because it is the economic hub of Vietnam and mainly because it is where the Củ Chi Tunnel lies. Besides, we really like the attractions there that we went before and Quang Hiếu has a Vietnamese bạn gái who is from Hồ Chí Minh too! :P While doing this project, we learnt how to say the names of the places we went before in Vietnamese and realized that we can make many sentences using the words we already learnt :D! The project has also given us great opportunities to read up on this amazing tunnel of Vietnam and how the Vietnamese fought for their freedom. 

The ingenious design of the tunnel has many implicit details carefully planned and there are many clever traps made by the Vietnamese who did not have expensive weapons to fight the Americans. Making the poster was really fun too as we realized from the map of District 1 that many places are actually so close to each other :D. It was fun being “tour guides” and it will definitely help us when we go to Thành Phố Hồ Chí Minh to travel again! :D

Our class and Cô Quỳnh :D!

Chào các cô! Chào các bạn!

Quang Tài

Tôi tên là Quang Tài. Tôi là người Trung Quốc. Năm nay tôi là hai mươi hai tuổi. Tôi học ngành tin học ở Đại học Quốc gia Singapo. Tôi là sinh viên năm thứ tư. Sau khi tốt nghiệp tôi định làm việc ở Singapo. Tôi độc lập và thân thiện nhưng thấp và đen. Tôi thích nghe nhạc và xem phim. Tôi mê đi du lịch. Tôi muốn đi du lịch Việt Nam trươc làm việc đẻ to ăn đậc sản Việt Nam.

I have been to Vietnam twice. I went there for an Overseas Expedition Project, called Project Mam Xanh, which is under the NUSSU Volunteer Action Committee. I met a few friends in central Vietnam and had opportunities to work with them. I had the chance to learn how to cook Vietnamese food in central Vietnam and had cultural exchanges with the local people. It was there where I learned how to sing a Vietnamese song for the first time. However, I do not understand Vietnamese at all. It is pretty sad that I cannot communicate with people there. I am planning to go back to Vietnam again after taking some Vietnamese courses. Hopefully, I can communicate with my friends better and travel to more places that I haven't explored, especially North Vietnam. 

Quang Long

Tôi là Quang Long. Tôi là người Malaysia, đang học ở Đại học Quốc gia Singapo. Tôi học ngành cơ khí. Tôi là sinh viên năm thứ tư. Hiên nay tôi đang học tiếng Việt một tuần ba lần vì tôi rất thích nước Việt Nam. Tôi trông cao, đeo kính và đẹp trai. Tôi cũng tốt bung và chăm chỉ, nhưng chưa có bạn gái. Tôi thích dọc báo xà nghe nhạc không lời. Tôi thích đi du lịch vì tôi quan tâm dến văn hoá của giỏi này. Tôi muối làm việc ở ngân hàng sau khi tốt nghiệp.

Previous experiences with Vietnam:

I went to Ho Chii Minh City, Vietnam with two friends in August 2010. I really like the environment in Ho Chii Minh City although the traffic there is congested by millions of motorbikes. Vietnamese people are friendly and helpful and they always put their smiles on their faces. I was glad that I stayed in a very cheap and comfortable hostel in Pham Ngu Lao area. The owner of the hostel always lent his helping hand to us when we stayed there. We really had an enjoyable and memorable stay in that hostel.

We also went to the Chu Chi tunnel and the Mekong Delta. The Chu Chi Tunnel shows the creativity and wit of the Vietnamese peoplein defending their country during the Vietnam War. We really had an unforgettable memory of walking through the dark and eerie tunnel. The Mekong Delta is amazingly vast and crossing over the river by using a small sampan was indescribably fun. These two places are really amazing and I hope that I will have the opportunity to go back there again.

As a conclusion, Vietnam is really worth visiting because it is filled with an interesting colonization history and a unique culture.

Quang Vũ

Tôi là Quang Vũ. Tôi là người Singapo và sống ở Bishan. Năm nay tôi là hai mươi chín tuổi và học ngành kịch ở NUS. Minh rất thích đi du lịch. Tôi học tiếng Việt vì tội muốn đi Việt Nam du lịch. Các bạn có muốn với tôi đi Việt Nam du lịch không?

Previous experiences with Vietnam:

I have been to Vietnam twice. I first went to Hanoi in July 2011 for a research trip and I was fortunate enough to meet some members of the Vietnam Youth Theatre. One of them spoke in great detail about Shakespeare in Vietnam but he spoke only in Vietnamese! My translator friend, however, was very patient and interpreted his words into English. I suppose that was the reason why I decided to take up Vietnamese level 1 at NUS: to communciate with the locals. But the real highlight of that day was a local restaurant that my Vietnamese friends brought me to and the Vietnamese dishes were fantastic! They were nothing I had before and my tummy was well-satisfied by the feast. We had bánh xèo, phở bò, gỏi cuốn and ... I can’t remember all the names!

In summary, I have only wonderful things to say about my experiences: the people, the chaotic streets, the coffee, and the old quarters of both cities. I am glad that I took up Vietnamese because I’ll be going back there very soon!

Our reflections:

Most of us have been to the north or south of Vietnam and had wonderful memories of them. However, we feel that we do not know much about Central Vietnam. Our travelling project gave us the perfect opportunity to discover more about Central Vietnam. Thus, we chose Đà Nẵng and Hội An for our travelling project. While Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh and Hà Nội also have a long history and cultural past, we feel that they are cities of economic and political importance, and most of us are already familiar with them. Therefore, we are pleasantly surprised that there are so many different things to do in Central Vietnam and how it is so different from north and south Vietnam. The food, language and culture are different. If we like the beach and diving, we can visit Cham Island or any of the beautiful beaches near Đà Nẵng. If we like archealogy, we can visit the ancient ruins in Mỹ Sơn. In Hội An, you will get an interesting mix of Chinese and French architecture and food culture. For example, Mỳ Quảng can only be found in Central Vietnam. If you would to visit temples, there is a famous one at the Marble Mountain, which in actual fact it looks more like a hill from pictures.  

Travel to Central Vietnam! We think there is something for everyone! After doing this project, we believe all of us will be going to Central Vietnam to visit. The other groups also convinced us to visit the other cities and landmarks! (i.e. if they really give us the discounts they promised.)

Chào các bạn. Mình tên là quỳnh như. Mình là sinh viên nam thứ hai, học ngành khoa học xã hội, ở Đại học quố gia Singapo.

Previously, I went to Vietnam for 9 days during the summer break. My friend and I had joined the NUS Mountaineering club to climb Mount Fansipan which is located near Sapa. We took an international flight to Ho Chi Minh City, transferred to a domestic flight to Hanoi and from there, took train and buses to Sapa. After climbing Mount Fansipan, we travelled on an express coach to Ha Long Bay where we stayed overnight on a cruise, watched beautiful sun rise, swim, eat seafood, visited caves and fishing villages. On the 7th day, we left Halong Bay and took a bus to Cat Ba Island where we trekked and cycled. We also had a chance to eat Vietnamese specialty like phở bò! It was a very good experience and the very first Vietnamese word I’ve learnt during that trip was Xin chào!

Mình tên là Qunỳh Liên. Mình là sinh viên nam thứ tư ở Đai học Quốc gia Victoria ở Canada nhưng mình học một học kỳ ở Đai học Quốc gia Singapo. Mình học ngành sinh học. 

Although I’ve had some experience travelling to other areas in Southeast Asia, I haven’t yet had the opportunity to visit Vietnam. However, I’m planning on taking advantage of the close proximity of Vietnam to Singapore and will be travelling there this December for about one month. Even before taking this Vietnamese class I’d heard from many people how beautiful Vietnam is and that for many people it is ranked amongst the top of their travelling experiences. And learning more about the country and culture through this class has only made me more excited to visit the country. While I am there I plan on visiting many of the locations that were presented in the group oral presentations as I travel from Ho Chi Minh north up to Hanoi. I look forward to experiencing everything Vietnam has to offer including the delicious food, which I tried for the first time at the Vietnamese afternoon. 

Chúng tôi chọn Vịnh Hạ Long vì nghe nói Vịnh Hạ Long rất đẹp! Chúng tôi cũng muốn đi miền Bắc Việt Nam du lịch bụi và đi thăm hang động đẹp! Chúng tôi học có nhiều nơi tham quan và họat động đi du lịch gần Vịnh Hạ Long.

Tên của chúng tôi là Quỳnh Hoa và Quỳnh Giang. Chung tôi là sinh viên toán học năm thứ hai. 

We have limited experiences with Vietnam as both of us have not been there before. However since we took up this vietnamese module, we watched a vietnamese movie and listened to various pop music. We thought that the music and movies were very sentimental.


We chose Hanoi for our travelling project. We heard that there were many interesting sightseeing places and a lot of delicacies there. While doing the project we managed to practise our vietnamese for presentation. We also found out more about Hanoi. Now we are very interested in travelling to Vietnam to visit the places we researched about such as Hoan Kiem Lake, Ngoc Son Pagoda and Hanoi Old Quarter. Not to forget to the well known dishes at Cha Ca La Vong and Bun Bo Nam Bo. 


We really enjoyed this module and might consider taking Vietnamese 2. We had a lot of fun with Cô Lê, Cô Bích and Cô Quỳnh during classes.

Vietnamese Dance for the CLS Southeast Asian Night 29/10/2011

Travelling project blog post

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cô Lê