May 15 Monday
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| Morning fishing in Halong Bay |
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| Hotel in Halong Bay |
In Hanoi, we learned a lot about the city life and what a Vietnamese person’s daily life looks like. While driving through town we have noticed many people weaving motorbikes in and out of traffic; often times they are so close to the bus that we could almost touch them. Crossing the street in Hanoi can be a hassle, but most of us have quickly gotten the hang of it. In addition to the organized chaos of the traffic, we have noticed many people buying food from the market each day.
Food shopping in Hanoi
We have learned that in Vietnam people
may visit the market multiple times a day because they like fresh ingredients
for each meal. This is very different from the U.S. where we often visit a
grocery store once a week. Additionally, we learned a lot about the culture
when walking the streets. Vietnamese people are very giving, and many speak at
least a little English which has been very helpful while bartering which is a
common practice here. The people here tend to speak to everyone as if they have
known them forever which is different from the U.S. where we often do not speak
to everyone we pass. When we visited VNUA in Hanoi, we learned a lot from the
students about their daily lives. It shocked us to learn that they all had
motor bikes for transportation rather than cars, and there are 8 people in each
dorm. However, a lot of students live off of campus in apartments all 4 years.
Sapa was covered with miles of rice field terraces which were over 800 years old and passed down from generation to generation. The people there are very hard working which we found out when they let us plant rice. The kids there go to elementary school, and some continue their education, but many begin working on the family farm instead. This is very different from the U.S. as we all go to school for 12 years and many of us continue our education after that. Another source of income for families is selling embroidered goods. The women and children both would adamantly sell beautiful scarves, bags, bracelets, and embroidered stuffed animals; it was surprising for us to see people selling goods like this because it is not common in the U.S. \
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| Goodbye Hanoi |
Another thing we have noticed is the efforts Vietnam has made to preserve the environment including only providing paper straws, canned water in Halong Bay, and room keys that activate the electricity in the rooms. They are working to reduce the waste as well as carbon emissions using these methods which are very different from the U.S. Overall, we have learned a lot about their culture and we are excited to learn more when we arrive today in Cambodia to visit the Angkor Wat Temples!
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| Hello Siem |
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| Supper in Cambodia |
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