Late in January, Ninh Binh welcomed us with a kind of weather all its own: crisp enough to make you reach for an extra layer, yet gentle enough that a single deep breath could instantly lighten your heart. Over two days, January 30 and 31, 2026, all ExtendMax members and their families gathered at Vedana Resort to close one year and open the next in the simplest way possible: traveling together, eating together, laughing together, and leaving one another with countless memories to hold onto.
This year’s trip was not long. Yet strangely, sometimes the shortest journeys stay in our minds the longest. Perhaps because it never stretched into exhaustion, never packed us with too many “must-do” activities, but was just enough for everyone to slow down—if only for a moment.
On the morning of the 30th, we began with a visit to Bai Dinh Pagoda. The moment the bus stopped, the first feeling was scale. It was vast—not only in physical space, but in the way it naturally made people feel smaller, speak more softly, and walk more slowly.
Bai Dinh carried an unusual kind of solemn beauty, with grand gilded Buddha statues glowing in gold. Every pathway, every step, every curved roofline was part of a newly built architecture, yet somehow felt as though it had been perfectly placed there for a very long time. We walked as one group, but each person kept their own rhythm. Some lingered in front of the towering statues. Some looked up at the long corridors stretching ahead. Others simply slowed down, savoring the rare quiet.
There were moments when no one said a word, yet nothing felt awkward. In places like that, silence is not emptiness. It is something that fills you.
Leaving Bai Dinh behind, the bus took us to Vedana Resort. And from the very first step off the bus, everyone could feel how different this place was. Vedana was not loud. It chose to help people unwind through lush green scenery, buildings draped in brilliant bougainvillea curtains, and an atmosphere that felt as if someone had gently turned down the noise inside your head.
Some people started taking photos the moment they arrived. Some pulled their suitcases into their rooms and went for a walk. Some sat quietly in the lobby for a while, looking out through the large glass windows at a Ninh Binh sky that felt as soft as a painting.
I have always believed the most beautiful group trips are the ones where people can live naturally—like breathing. Everything falls into place on its own. And Vedana is exactly the kind of place that makes that naturalness effortless.
The afternoon passed quickly, perhaps because everyone was busy in their own way: adjusting outfits for the evening, finding the perfect photo corners, sitting together to talk. The conversations did not need to be grand. Just simple things—“How have you been lately?”, “This year was really tough”, “Do you remember when you first joined the company?”, “This place is so beautiful.”
As night fell, the Gala Dinner began. If I had to choose one word to describe that evening, it would be: warmth.
ExtendMax YEP 2025 at Vedana Resort, Ninh Binh was a warm journey through Bai Dinh Pagoda, a heartfelt Gala Dinner, and the green calm of Cuc Phuong—filled with moments worth keeping.
Not the warmth of the lights, but the warmth of people. A group that has stood beside one another long enough carries a kind of energy that is hard to explain: sometimes all it takes is a glance to feel familiar. And the Gala night was when that energy showed itself most clearly.
Behind us, the stage stood out with the ExtendMax name, glowing under vibrant blue and purple lights. People kept taking photos nonstop, as if afraid that turning away for even a moment might mean missing something beautiful.
There were photos that made everyone laugh because they felt so “exactly us.” There were photos that surprised people because a colleague looked… noticeably more stunning than usual. And there were also simple photos—just a small group standing close together—yet looking at them, you could feel a bond that was undeniably real.
One important part of the evening was the recognition and certificate presentation.
That moment always carries a certain weight. Not because of the certificate itself, but because of what it means to be called by name in front of a collective. When someone stepped onto the stage, the entire room watched. Some smiled. Some applauded loudly. Some fell quiet for a moment, as if remembering what that person had gone through during the year.
Outstanding ExtendMax team members and External Affairs Director Do Thi Ngan (far left).
There were radiant smiles. Slightly reddened eyes. Firm handshakes. And moments when even those standing below the stage felt proud—without needing to say it out loud.
But the Gala Dinner was not only about formal moments. It was also filled with laughter that felt wonderfully real.
There were handheld signs with playful words, moments when people squeezed closer to “fit into the frame,” times when someone was taking a photo and another person ran in to tease and make everyone laugh. There were children too, softening the atmosphere naturally, making everything feel closer, more intimate. And sometimes, even the most serious adults suddenly became… unexpectedly adorable.
The table that night was full of dishes. But the fullest thing of all was still the conversation. People raised their glasses, laughed, and brought up stories from the year. Some sentences sounded small, yet stayed in someone’s memory for a long time.
The table that night was full of dishes. But the fullest thing of all was still the conversation.
One lovely thing about this year’s YEP was that no one seemed in a hurry. No one “rushed” away from the table to do something else. No one stayed glued to their phone. Everyone was present—truly present.
When the night grew late, small groups still stayed behind to take photos, chat, and walk around. Vedana was so quiet you could hear footsteps on the wooden floor. And it was exactly then that people realized: sometimes the most precious thing is not a grand program, but an evening spent beside one another, with no other purpose needed.
On the morning of January 31, we left the resort to visit Cuc Phuong National Park.
If Bai Dinh offered stillness, and Vedana offered relaxation, then Cuc Phuong offered something entirely different: the feeling of being able to breathe.
Cuc Phuong was green in a deep, layered way. Not the kind of green you see in parks, but the kind that belongs to long-standing nature. Some trees were so tall you had to tilt your head for several seconds just to find their tops. Some walking paths made people speak more softly as they walked, as if afraid of disturbing the space.
In the forest, everyone naturally slowed down. Conversations slowed too. Not because there was nothing to say, but because the scenery made people want to look more.
Some took photos. Some simply walked in silence. Some walked side by side without speaking, yet never felt awkward. There were moments when simply stopping to look at the forest made your heart feel… a little cleaner.
Cuc Phuong is not a place to “check in and move on.” It is a place that reminds you that you are alive. And in the middle of everyday work rhythms, a morning like that feels like a gift.
By noon, we returned, bringing the trip to an end.
No one said, “I wish it could last longer,” but everyone seemed a little reluctant to leave. Perhaps because these two days did what months of busy schedules often cannot: they brought people closer together, in the gentlest way.
ExtendMax’s YEP 2025 at Vedana Resort, Ninh Binh was not a trip to show off. It was a trip to keep.
To keep the moments of standing together under the stage lights.
To keep the laughter around the dinner table.
To keep the crisp chill of Ninh Binh.
To keep the green of Cuc Phuong.
To keep a memory that, years later, when looking back at the photos, everyone will quietly think: ah, that year, we truly were happy.
And perhaps that is why the Year End Party always matters. Not because it marks the end of a year, but because it reminds us: we made it through a year together. And we are still here—together.
To keep a memory that, years later, when looking back at the photos, everyone will quietly think: ah, that year, we truly were happy.
