May 11 Sat
This morning started off a
little after 6:00am for most of the group since we had to get on the road by
7:30 in order to have time for everything. The hotel breakfast was quite good
with all the fresh fruits and a plethora of other dishes but was ravaged faster
than the staff could put more food out. Even more so than back home, it seems
ever so important to get up early if we want a good breakfast. As we trickled
out of the dining hall, many of us ventured out to get the ever most essential
morning tradition: coffee. For most, it’s as easy as picking something that
sounds good, but for others they have to see if there’s any dairy. When
preparing for this trip, we found that lactose intolerance is common in Asian
countries, which led us to believe dairy alternatives would be readily
available, but unfortunately it seems few and far between. Thankfully, some of
us brought dairy free milk from home so we can still enjoy the little things,
even if they’re a little different.
When we were researching
Vietnam, we learned that not everyone knew English but it’d be manageable
enough with guides and translating apps but we didn’t consider how poor service
would prevent the apps from loading. When it comes to communicating allergies,
the language barrier certainly can cause issues, which has led to us preparing
phrases in order to be better prepared for those instances. I wish we had some
form of flip book with phrases already written down in order to help us
communicate in those situations.
On our bus ride to Halong Bay,
our amazing and ever so informed tour guide, Tony, taught us a lot about
Vietnam’s exports and some of their agricultural products. I thought it was
particularly interesting learning that Vietnam was the #2 exporter of coffee in
the world bringing in $3.7 billion annually in exports alone. One of the most
expensive coffee’s is the weasel poop coffee. It’s considered a novelty as
weasels eat coffee and poop it out, imparting unique flavors from the
fermenting. A weasel could be fed 5kg of coffee but they’d only eat about a
half kg as they only eat the best coffee beans. It’s especially expensive as
the farmers don’t use any fertilizers in an order to keep the coffee production
all natural. Vietnam is also the world’s largest cashew distributor and brings
in over 17 billion dollars annually from wood furniture exports, with the US
being the largest recipient. Learning about all of Vietnam’s exported products
was really fascinating because we have no clue how much of our stuff comes from
here. Packing for this trip I noticed my hat and a pair of shorts were made in
Vietnam. We often take for granted all of the products that come to consumers
in the US from foreign countries. Without Vietnam, we wouldn’t have a large portion
of our coffee, nuts. And even our furniture.
Our first stop was at the pearl factory, where we learned about how pearls are made. Right as we got off the bus, we were greeted with a delicious coconut candy, so we knew it was gonna be a good stop. On the tour we learned about the difference between natural and artificial pearls, the different breeds of oysters affecting the color, ethereal grading system, and some of the common faking methods. After the tour, we were led to the pearl sales room, where we had the opportunity to get our own pearls. We were quite surprised by how expensive the pearls were, even from the farm. There seemed to be a million options of rings, necklaces, tiaras, and the like, each with their own unique beauty and attraction. It was hard deciding on which piece of art we couldn’t live without. While browsing, Mrs. Thaler imparted some wisdom on us about heirlooms. While the pearls we buy today might be expensive, they’ll last forever if you take care of them and can be something we pass down to our children and our children’s children. This made me think about sustainability and the disposable society that we live in. We often buy jewelry, cars, electronics, and just about everything with the intention of using it for a little bit and getting rid of it when we’re done. This made me think about the opportunity to buy something that can be passed down for generations, rather than being disposed of.
Following our time at the pearl
factory, we headed to our boat in Halong Bay. Today, the area was very busy
with many tourists. We boarded and sat down for lunch on the lower level. We
ate shrimp, fried squid, clams, oysters, french fries, cooked green vegetables,
cucumber salad, white rice, and watermelon. We enjoyed trying different seafood
while on the bay! Following lunch, we went to the second deck and enjoyed the
views. We watched large cargo ships carrying coal and many other tourist boats.
We first docked at the
Surprising Cave where we were able to climb up stairs and enter the cave. It
was certainly an interesting experience and we enjoyed seeing how the land
eroded over time. The cave was very cool inside which was appreciated by all as
we had been in the heat for most of the day. Students had a wonderful time
walking through the cave before boarding the boat again.
Next, we went to a large dock where students had the opportunity to go kayaking in the bay. We paired up and hopped in kayaks off the dock. The students paddled through a small cave that served as a passageway into an area surrounded by the mountainous islands. We all agree that it was truly a once in a lifetime experience!
The final stop on our boat tour was TiTop Island, where we had the challenge to climb 330 steps to the top of the mountain. However, after careful counting Jami discovered that it is actually 361 steps to the top! Nevertheless, we were still able to conquer the mountain and were able to enjoy a fabulous view of the bay! It was a fantastic opportunity to take pictures as well. It is safe to say that everyone had an amazing day and will remember their experiences for a lifetime!
After the boat tour, we boarded
the bus and began the three-hour trek back to Hanoi. When we reached the city,
we had a late supper of chicken and mushroom soup, grilled “Hue” style spring
roll, grilled fillet fish with fish sauce, steamed rice, deep-fried prawns with
the green rice, fried port with tamarind spicy sauce, stir-fried beef with
seasonal vegetables, and caramel for dessert. We had a wonderful day and are
looking forward to tomorrow!
- Abby Morse and John Petersen
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