Tales of perseverance from a “dreamer” of mountains and rivers
To recharge their energy, many people choose leisure travel as a “pause” after long stretches of work. But for Tran Diem Chau (FWA), adventurous journeys have always held a mysterious allure. For her, these special experiences are like real-life classrooms, teaching lessons in perseverance, endurance, willpower, a spirit of adventure, and an open mind ready to embrace the new.
Chau’s trekking journey began with a simple invitation from a colleague during a business trip to Hanoi, with her first destination being the 2,913-meter summit of Lung Cung. Dozens of kilometers of forest trekking and 48 hours without internet – an experience she once thought of as “paying to suffer” – all faded away when she reached the mountaintop, gazed at the vast, majestic nature, and breathed in the fresh air. The longest trekking journey Chau has experienced was at Ta Lien Son, with an altitude of 2,996 meters. Through Chau’s storytelling, that route unfolds like a fairy-tale world: “I went in April, after the flowers had faded but before the maple leaves had arrived. The Ta Lien forest was gentle and pristine, and the earth was so soft and spongy it felt like walking on a mattress”.
“There are no difficult roads, only weary feet dissuaded by distance” – not just an inspiring lyric or a picturesque scene from a film, these journeys demand more than a dream of discovery or a desire for beautiful check-in photos. “I think climbing mountains is an experience everyone should try at least once in their life – to feel the fatigue in your muscles but keep moving forward, to find ordinary things becoming precious after a long, persistent journey”, Chau expressed.
Chau’s climbing group is made up entirely of FSOFTers – some are developers, others recruiters or marketers – but all share a common love for mountains and a passion for conquest. “With initiators and connectors, we come from different departments, but we’ve met, accompanied, and supported each other through many routes”.
Chau recalls that, since everyone in the group is an FSOFTer, when night falls and they rest at makeshift camps, they sing together and share stories from their days working at FSOFT. Though they come from different places, with the “One Team” spirit, everyone helps one another throughout the journey so that all can complete the trek and reach the destination.
Just as every trek has a destination, Chau’s work at FSOFT also has its own goals, requiring the same determination and resilience. She has never caught the clouds atop a summit, but for Diem Chau, the true meaning of trekking lies in the journey itself—not in showing off achievements, but in the effort made with every step, overcoming hardships, and surpassing one’s own limits. “Climbing is a lesson in perseverance, a test of determination. I’ve felt my heart racing, my head spinning, my eyes weary, and my body exhausted from continuous inclines, but just keep moving and you’ll get there”, Chau shares. More importantly, Chau has never had to walk alone, because throughout the journey, she has always had teammates by her side – just as FSOFTers quietly support each other at work to conquer common goals together.
