Day 1 In Vietnam "Saturday July 25, 2026"

This backpacking trip to Vietnam began on Saturday, July 25. At around 5:43 p.m. WIB, I arrived at Terminal 3 of Soekarno-Hatta International Airport with my dad. Upon arriving at the airport, I immediately grabbed a cart to carry the duffel bag I would be using during the trip.
At first, we were a bit confused trying to find the meeting spot for our school group. After checking the information in the school’s WhatsApp group, we finally learned that all participants were asked to gather on the lowest floor of the terminal. We immediately took the escalator down and headed to the designated location.
Upon arriving at the meeting spot, I immediately met the chaperone teachers and greeted them one by one. After that, I underwent a nicotine test using a kit prepared by the chaperone teachers. I went to the restroom to take the test, then returned to hand the results to the teacher. Thankfully, my test result came back negative.
Since it was time for the Maghrib prayer, I immediately headed to the prayer room at the airport. After performing wudu, I prayed Maghrib, then rejoined the group. By then, some of my friends were already wearing the special backpacker T-shirts. I asked the accompanying teacher for one and changed into it right away so I’d be dressed like the other participants.
Before departure, I still had some time with my dad. We decided to have dinner at Solaria, located in the airport area.  After finishing our meal, we returned to the gathering place. It turned out that all the participants were listening to a farewell speech from the principal before our departure for Vietnam. After the speech ended, all the participants, accompanying teachers, and the principal took a group photo as a keepsake.
Next, we received our passports from the accompanying teachers, then headed to the check-in counter to check our luggage. Once all the procedures were complete and we had received our boarding passes, the most emotional moment arrived: saying goodbye to our parents. Many participants couldn’t hold back their tears because this was their first time traveling abroad without their families. I also said goodbye to my dad and asked for his prayers so that our journey would go smoothly.
We then headed to the departure lounge to wait for our 2:30 a.m. flight. Once the boarding call was announced, we immediately made our way to the plane. As the plane began to take off, I felt both very excited and a little nervous. I realized that this was the start of the backpacking trip I’d been looking forward to for so long.
Midway through the flight, all passengers were served a meal by the airline. After finishing their meals, most of the passengers went back to sleep. As the plane prepared to land, the flight attendants woke everyone up and reminded them to raise their seatbacks and fasten their seatbelts.
When I saw the Vietnamese landscape through the airplane window, I’m really excited. My first impression of Vietnam is that it’s not much different from Indonesia. The buildings, streets, and atmosphere still feel like those of other Southeast Asian countries, so I didn’t experience any major culture shock. Upon arriving at Noi Bai International Airport, we first went through immigration. Once the entire process was complete, we collected our luggage. We had to wait for a while because the bus we had booked hadn’t arrived yet. Shortly afterward, the bus arrived, and we immediately loaded all our luggage into the bus’s storage area before continuing our journey to the lodging.
Upon arriving at the lodging, we were informed that the group would be split among three different accommodations because the lodging’s capacity was insufficient to accommodate all 35 participants. After learning the room assignments, we headed to our respective accommodations, stored our belongings, chose our beds, and then We took turns showering and resting.
Since all the participants were very tired after the long trip from Indonesia to Vietnam, the first day’s activities concluded with a dinner arranged by the accompanying teacher. After eating, performing our prayers, and chatting briefly with our friends, we decided to go to bed early so we’d be refreshed for the next day’s activities.