Vietnamese tourists check in wearing Ao Dai and Ao Ba Ba in Antarctica

In December 2023, a group of 12 Vietnamese tourists departed to visit Antarctica and explore the ecosystem at the end of the Earth for 18 days. Mr. Nguyen Van Hieu, Director of DH Travel International Travel Company, which operates the Antarctic tour, said that the 12 members of the group all have experience traveling to many places around the world but this is their first time setting foot in Antarctica.

The more than half-month journey to the southernmost region of the Earth by the Vietnamese delegation was marked by the image of two members of the delegation braving the cold wearing ao dai and ao ba ba to take pictures in the sub-zero weather and white snow. Mr. Hieu was the only person in the delegation wearing an ao ba ba and a scarf - the traditional costumes of the people of the Southwest.

"By coincidence", a member of the group in her 60s, Ms. Xuan Hong, also brought along the ao dai - a special item that is always present in every foreign trip of Hanoi tourists. The two members of the group coincidentally had the same idea of ​​bringing along images of their homeland so that international friends would know that Vietnamese people can conquer every corner of the world.

Ms. Xuan Hong and Mr. Nguyen Hieu wearing traditional Vietnamese costumes in Antarctica

Having planned and prepared in advance, but after more than half a month of traveling, Mr. Hieu and Mrs. Hong only had one chance to wear Ao Dai to check in at the South Pole on the 6th day of the trip, during the landing to observe the penguins. Before landing, each passenger was equipped with a life jacket and specialized boots for walking on ice. Inside the life jacket, Mr. Hieu wore a thermal shirt and a traditional Vietnamese outfit on the outside.

The outside temperature was about minus 4 degrees Celsius, the U60 guest only had time to wear the traditional long dress and take a few souvenir photos in 5-10 minutes. Meanwhile, Mr. Hieu also "risked" the experience of wearing a traditional Vietnamese dress and soaking in the polar sea water (Polar Plunge) at minus 2 degrees Celsius. This is an activity that many foreign guests participate in when coming to Antarctica. He waded into the water for less than a minute but could feel the cold "penetrating to the skin".

"When I got to shore, my legs were numb and I lost all feeling, but many foreign tourists on the trip soaked for a long time," said Mr. Hieu, adding that wearing traditional Vietnamese costumes to check in at the South Pole is an experience "worth trying at least once in your life."

Mr. Nguyen Hieu wears a traditional Vietnamese dress and wades through cold water in minus 4 degrees Celsius weather in Antarctica.

Sharing about the preparation process for the Antarctic trip, Mr. Hieu said that traveling to this land is difficult but the procedures are simple. Tourists only need to prepare documents to apply for an Argentine visa, because the ship to Antarctica will depart from Ushuaia - the world's end city in Argentina. The process is faster than applying for visas in other developed countries. Mr. Hieu said that most of the tourists in the group of 12 are between the ages of 50-70, have experience traveling to many places around the world and have stable financial conditions because "the cost of this tour is expensive, about more than 500 million VND".

Antarctica is cold all year round, tourists can only visit here in the summer from November to January. The group of 12 Vietnamese tourists spent more than 40 hours flying from Ho Chi Minh City, connecting via Dubai to Buenos Aires, the capital of Argentina. From Ushuaia, the group boarded an icebreaker, starting their journey to explore Antarctica. To get deep into the polar region, the passengers will board a ship and travel for two days through the world's most dangerous strait, the Drake Passage.

The ship the Vietnamese delegation traveled on was the Hondius icebreaker, 107.6 m long with 80 cabins, capable of transporting a maximum of 170 passengers and 72 crew members - including a 14-member expedition team of multidisciplinary experts researching Antarctica.

The time on board the ship through the Drake Passage was a difficult experience for many passengers due to constant seasickness. The waves in the world's most dangerous sea area were nearly 10 meters high, causing the ship to rock constantly. Many people in the group just lay still for two days, relying on other members of the group to take care of them. Also during the two days of the Drake Passage, Antarctic explorers on board held sessions for passengers to share about the history, geography, life and fragile ecosystem of the polar region; typical animals, how to identify and protect them, safety issues, and environmental protection rules when setting foot in the polar region.

After 48 hours of crossing the Drake Passage, passengers on the icebreaker entered the polar region by Zodiac. The 170 passengers on board were divided into small groups of 7-10 people to board specialized Zodiacs and make 10 Antarctic landings in 5 days. The Zodiacs took visitors to see with their own eyes endemic Antarctic animals such as penguins, whales, seals, and strange seabirds such as the Albatross, known as the leader of the sky, capable of flying without flapping its wings.

Every time they land, visitors must undergo strict disinfection, wear specialized rubber boots, and wear life jackets provided by the icebreaker. Before stepping off the inflatable boat, visitors also undergo a required sterilization process to ensure that they do not harm the sensitive ecosystem in Antarctica. When they re-board the icebreaker, the sterilization process is carried out similarly, ensuring that no passengers bring foreign bacteria onto the boat, avoiding cross-contamination.

When landing, visitors are required to keep a minimum distance of 5 meters from the penguins, follow the instructions of the expedition team, and are not allowed to enter the "highway" - the foraging path of the penguins from their nests to the sea. If strange footprints are detected, the penguins may have to find another path, thus putting them in danger.

A group of 12 Vietnamese tourists explored Antarctica late last year.

Coming to Antarctica, all tourists leave the virtual world because of the expensive cost of Internet, no network provider operates in this area, all communication is via satellite transmission equipment. Tourists who need to use the Internet can buy a 20Mb - 500Mb package priced from 7.5 euros to 150 euros (equivalent to 206,000 - 4 million VND).

After 5 days of exploring the polar region, the icebreaker returned to its course through the waves of the Drake Passage to return to Ushuaia. The trip ended with many first-time experiences that Mr. Hieu and the crew members said were "worth more than the money spent".

VN (according to VnExpress)

Source: https://baohaiduong.vn/khach-viet-check-in-ao-dai-ao-ba-ba-o-nam-cuc-387721.html