Five of us beside a lake in Hoa Binh last April.
None of us had done it before, and we borrowed two from a cousin.
We arrived at four and put the up in an hour, which was two hours faster than we expected.
The mistake was the food: we brought only things that needed cooking.
The was wet from the rain the night before, and the fire took forty minutes.
We ate at nine in the evening, cold and very hungry.
The night was colder than any of us had planned for, and two people slept in the car.
In the morning the lake was completely , and none of us said anything for ten minutes.
We have been back three times and now carry bread, a warm and dry .
The first trip taught us more than the three ones that followed.