This morning many students ventured to the coffee shop across the street. They tried Vietnamese coffee with condensed and regular milk. Everyone that tried it thought it was amazing. Other students tried different juices, smoothies, and other drinks which they all enjoyed. The breakfast served at the hotel was not what you would expect at an American hotel. They served Pho, which is noodle broth soup, spaghetti, sticky rice, and much more. They also had fruit which is so amazing and flavorful.
At 7:45 am we started our day
of adventure, which included tours of different farms. Tony, our tour guide,
explained to us that each household sends someone to the market every day
because of the limited refrigeration within homes. He also mentioned that the
Vietnamese eat everything with legs or wings; except for tables and planes.
They also eat different insects due to their nutritional benefits, but those
are considered a delicacy. On the way to the farm, we spotted cattle grazing in
the roadside. The cattle were not contained by a fence or marked with ear tags.
Many people were also amazed by the architecture of the buildings as we passed.
Something that students noticed was the numerous water tanks next to the houses
but that is for drinking water.
The driving in Vietnam can only
be described as organized chaos. Our bus driver, who is very skilled, took us
down a road that was very narrow, but on either side mopeds were whizzing by.
It is amazing the spaces that the mopeds fit into.
Our first stop was a vegetable
farm. There were many different kinds of vegetables grown including some
American favorites such as cucumbers, squash, and onions. In the past, farmers
used to water the plants by hand, but now the farms have irrigation systems.
Many of the plants grown have 3 month growing seasons. This is so vegetables
can be grown year-round. Therefore, producing income year-round. The weather is
certainly favorable towards growing with it being nice and hot and humid.
On the way to our next
destination, we saw Heinken beer factory and thousands of cases of beer, which
was definitely a favorite for college students. Once we arrived at the village,
we saw chickens being raised in people’s backyards. At the duck farms the ducks
were housed on the water with little wood huts and duck wire was used as ramps
for the ducks to access the water. In the same area, we saw the fish farm where
in a small area there was a high density of fish. The local farmer was feeding
the fish when we arrived, and we were able to able to see the great abundance
of fish in the pond. One thing that stood out was the rotational “grazing” of
the fish and ducks. In the US, rotational grazing is used to promote grass
growth and cattle health. Here, it is used to prevent disease.
We finished our tour of this
village by having lunch at our Tony’s home. His wife and extended family made a
delicious meal, and we were able to have authentic Vietnamese food. The
jackfruit was the most surprising as it tasted like banana bread. It was a very
fleshy fruit with great flavor.
Finally, we loaded the bus and
headed to Sapa, which is about 5 hours away from the village we were in. On the
bus we had a great time interacting with our classmates and Karen. We had many
interesting conversations and made connections with everyone. Some people got a
good nap, some read a book, and others shared town gossip. One particular
student talked about her need to Facebook stalk people. As a group, we ended
our night at a restaurant where many students got their first taste of duck.
Let me tell you it is very tender and delicious! The students had a great time
chatting about the day and listening to a flute player. At the end of the meal
a surprise celebration ensued. A certain someone (Bob and Karen) informed the
restaurant that it was Katelyn’s birthday and we were serenaded by a happy
birthday song and a birthday cake. Following supper students were released onto
the town where they could enjoy the Sapa nightlife.
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