Day 5

May 14 Sunday

 

Embroidery shop
Embroidery shop

We started our morning with a breakfast buffet in Hanoi. We then loaded up the bus with all our luggage and started the journey to Halong Bay for a day of fun. Our first stop was at a store where people made hand-embroidered pieces of art like landscape pictures or portraits. They also sold an assortment of lacquer products, jewelry, and high-end silk clothing. This store also had a coffee shop where many of us enjoyed egg coffee and others bought Vietnamese snacks and trinkets.

Hydroponic cucumbers
Hydroponic cucumbers

Hydroponic seedlings
Hydroponic seedlings

Hydroponic seedlings
Hydroponic seedlings

Our second stop of the day was at a hydroponic farm halfway to our destination where they grew different types of lettuce and cucumbers. They first showed us how they plant their seeds with ground coconut shells and rice husks. Then, we saw the nursery where younger plants were sprouting and how they recycle water in flood tables to conserve its use. We also got to see their cucumber plants and even got to pick our own to eat and enjoy.

Seeding cultured pearls
Seeding cultured pearls

The third stop was at a pearl factory where we learned the history of harvesting pearls along with the technology and techniques developed to improve quality and efficiency. They used IVF where they took tissue from clams along with a sphere of ground of clam shells to implant them into new clams to develop beautiful pearls in the next 1-5 years. This procedure has a roughly 30% success rate, and of those 30% only 20% of these pearls were of sellable quality. This factory also had a large store where they sold their products in many different forms of jewelry like necklaces, bracelets, earrings, and rings. They also use the entire clam in products or goods in order to not waste anything. The meat of the clam goes to the kitchen, and the shell goes into making spheres for the IVF and to develop a face cream.

Halong Bay
Halong Bay 

Kayaking Halong Bay
Kayaking Halong Bay 

Our most important stop of the day was the arrival at Halong Bay where we boarded a boat to enjoy the views and a delicious seafood meal composed of fish, prawn, potatoes, and crab. After our meal a lot of us went kayaking in the bay to experience the scenery more closely and passed through two different smaller tunnels that led into smaller bays. We took many pictures while kayaking and some people even raced to see who could row faster. After kayaking, we returned to the boat and went onto the upper deck to see the scenery all around us. We were traveling to the Thien Cung Cave when we saw two rock formations facing each other called the two kissing chickens because that’s what their shapes resembled. Once we arrived at the cave, we learned the history of how it was discovered and formed by nature. There were several formations inside that had names like the dolphin, dragon, eagle, and the couple talking. We returned to the boat after exiting the cave and made our way back to the marina where we got back on the bus and found our hotel for the night.
View from the boat on Halong Bay
View from the boat on Halong Bay

Inside the cave
Inside the cave

 

 

Hannah Bates, Isaac Berg, Jessica Hewitt

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

We’re back!

Image
  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 sites we visited
Read more

Day 9

Image
  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 farm where they grew pink and white tilapia. Unfortunate
Read more

Day 2

Image
  Today was our second day in Hanoi. We started off with breakfast at the hotel, and then took the bus out of the city. Before we left the hotel, our class brought over 75 books from home and donated them to children in grades K-5 in the rural areas.   It is through the “Bookworm” project started by a former Fulbright employee in Hanoi, who them takes them to the rural schools, which have very few resources.   Street fruit Vegetable planting   We took a walking tour through a small village where the locals had small shops posted outside on the street. There were a variety of things on display like fruits, vegetables, meats, and handmade crafts. We made our way to the first farm of the day, a weasel farm. This family had been raising a flock of animals for over 14 years. They had a male weasel that was over 10 years old. The weasel sells for roughly $80 per kilogram. Each animal would be sold live to the 5-star restaurants and harvested there. The weasels have a 60-day gestation period.
Read more