2023 SDSU Vietnam & Cambodia: Yesterday & Today

  We’re back!   After approximately 16 hours of flight time starting in Ho Chi Minh City and probably the tightest layover we could get away with in Denver while clearing customs, The Fishback Honors College and College of Agriculture, Food, and Environmental Sciences landed in Sioux Falls at approximately 4:00pm central time on Sunday, April 21 st . What an incredible trip! There were a few downs (I don’t think our students will miss the heat), but many more ups. Exploring Vietnam for 10 days is certainly an experience I will not forget.   The highlights for me were: The terraced rice fields in Sapa. What an incredible view. Walking the local footpaths and seeing how the local Vietnamese have developed the steep mountains to their benefit has to be seen to be believed. We hiked for several hours, I think I could have hiked the hills for several more. The Angkor Wat temples in Siem Reap, Cambodia. One of two UNESCO heritage si...

  5:18 am Sunday and all checked in the Ho Chi Minh City Airport.  Hopefully will be in Sioux Falls Airport in 23 hrs!

 May 20 Saturday Rubber tree We started our last full day in Vietnam with breakfast in Ho Chi Minh City and then headed to the town of Cu Chi. Along the way we stopped at a rubber plantation. Originally, these plantations were created by the French and employed forcibly. Unfortunately, we couldn’t watch the rubber production because the milk collecting season is from July to January. Then we made the final leg of the journey to Cu Chi. Cu Chi hole Cu Chi tunnels The Cu Chi tunnels were started in 1948 while the Vietnamese people were fighting the French. They used the tunnels to hide rice, documents, and themselves. The tunnels are at most 12 meters deep, 250 kilometers long, and made of clay. These tunnels were made by hand, using shovels and baskets. Typically, this work was done in groups of three or four. Living in the tunnels often caused skin disease and blindness, so citizens of Cu Chi would often come above ground for fresh air. Cooking, water collection, hospitals and ...

  Breakfast and coffee from boats on the water May 19 Friday We started our day early this morning with a 6:30am boat ride to a floating market in Can Tho. The floating market would be similar to our farmer’s markets, except on boats. A variety of fresh produce is sold, including potatoes, watermelon, and pineapple. There was a long pole attached to the front of every boat that had the product hanging from it so the buyers can easily see what each boat is selling.  Really fresh fruit for the floating farmer's market   Making Rice noodles We also took a quick pit stop along the river where we learning how to   make rice paper and rice noodles. It’s an interesting process that requires a lot of skill. Some of our classmates tried their hand at making rice paper but couldn’t do it as fast or well. We were surprised to see that the rice noodles came in a variety of colors like blue, orange, and green. We found out that the color of the noodles changes based on the herb...

  May 18 Thursday   We started our day with breakfast in Ho Chi Minh City and then headed to the Mekong River area which had 4 islands named after the sacred creatures in Vietnamese culture – Phoenix, Turtle, Unicorn and Dragon. On the way we stopped at a bamboo shop where we got to experience a live infomercial. They had very useful products, and we learned that bamboo is highly absorbent and antibacterial. They had kitchen towels, clothing, braces, socks, and so much more. We then finished the rest of our drive to the Mekong River where we boarded our tour boat. USS Minnow?   Honey Our first stop was a honey farm where we got to try honey tea along with royal jelly which is considered the most precious bee product. It contains 16 necessary Amino Acids and has great success in cosmetics. After teatime, many students chose to hold a 10kg python and take photos.  Snake necklace               Tilapia farm Our next stop was a fish fa...

  New Cambodian friends May 17 Wednesday             We began our morning at the Tara Angkor Hotel with a delicious breakfast, including tiny bananas, French toast, and local dishes. It was all so delicious; we decided we will not be able to eat bananas back home without crying. Although we walked less today than we did yesterday, we did get to see many sights in and around Siem Reap.             Buffalo carts After we departed from the hotel, we drove to a rural area outside the city. The locals, mostly farmers, live in houses on stilts. Their animals stay underneath the houses to stay cool in the heat. Water buffalo are used to plow fields here, and we got up close and personal with some. We all paired off and rode in wagons pulled by a team of water buffalo and driven by a local farmer. In Cambodia, rice is grown by planting rice in a dry field then flooding the area...

May 16 Tuesday Entering Angkor Wat Today we got to go to Angkor Wat and visited a few temples. It was a quick drive from our hotel to the temples. Right when we got off the bus, we could feel the heat. The temperature was around 93 ℉ but felt like 109 ℉ . It was hot and humid, but it was very much worth it. We also made use of water, shade, and the slight breeze to stay cool. There are certain temples that have a dress code where your shoulders and knees need to be covered.  Walking to Angkor Wat We started at the Angkor Wat Temple which means “City of Temples” and is the largest temple complex in the world.     It was built around 1,100 AD by Hindus, but then was later taken over by the Buddhists close to 1,200 AD.   All the temples were re-discovered by a French explorer in in the 1860s. When the Khmer moved their capital to Phnom Penh the complex fell to ruins. The temples were built with limestone and used to be the color white. Statues and shrines fille...