QUO Vietnam and two word snobs – Orion and Rachel – embarked on the adventure of a lifetime, which quickly became a struggle for survival.
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After a three-hour motorbike ride from Saigon, the team arrived at Cat Tien National Park and ventured into the forest with an ‘expert’ tour guide. The initial intent was to explore nature in a leisurely manner and watch the sun set by Crocodile Lake. Unfortunately, it didn’t go as planned.
Despite the ‘expert’ guide, the team found themselves walking in circles and through the homes of angry fire ants. Yen was the first to scream and, before she could say anything other than ‘ow’, everyone (except for Thao, who had legit. leech socks on) felt the ants swarming up their legs, attacking with sharp bites. Though wounded, the team continued to wander the woods, though aimlessly. As they trudged along trying to keep their spirits up, Simon, Yen’s plus-one, helpfully pointed out hordes of deadly snakes and scorpions along the way, which would lead Orion into serpent nightmares later that night.
Around twilight, the team stomped over the homes of the fire ants for the third time and finally acknowledged that they were lost. Settling by a small pond and under An’s guidance – using knowledge gleaned from survival TV shows – the adventurers managed to start a campfire, around which they sat and discussed escape strategies. They pooled their resources. Between them, they had half a loaf of bread, about a bottle of water, a red lipstick and a portable speaker. (Phuong insisted that she couldn’t live without red lipstick and it was important to look composed in difficult situations.) They resorted to calling the police and threatening to call foreign embassies.
While they were waiting for help, some tired QUOsters howled into the wilderness (out of desperation) and others sang songs to stay spirited. Luckily, a group of forest rangers responded after two hours and came to rescue the lost team. Returning to their light-hearted selves after the good news, everyone came together for a final selfie to prove they survived Cat Tien.
Although it was tough navigating in the dark– and Rachel had to piggyback through muddy swamps – they all managed to make it back to civilisation, alive and relatively unscathed, after spending 11 hours in the jungle.