Sunday morning in Ho Chi Minh City came early for our group of travelers. Our luggage, full of souvenirs, was loaded on the bus at 4:30 AM and we drove through quiet streets to the airport, where we bid a grateful farewell to our tour guide Tony. A five hour flight to Seoul, South Korea was followed by a lengthy layover due to our next flight being delayed several hours. Sleep came easily to most of us on the 13-hour flight to Minneapolis, and despite the delay we were able to make our flight to Sioux Falls with time to spare. Thirty-some hours after we started, we arrived back in South Dakota with no problems, saying farewell to each other and remembering all we experienced on a great trip to Vietnam.
Tuesday, May 27, 2025
Saturday, May 24, 2025
May 24
GOOD MORNING VIETNAM!!
After the Rubber plantation, we drove another 45 minutes to
Cu Chi to explore the Cu Chi tunnels. We were greeted with raining fruit from a
fruit tree; one even landed on Emma’s head! Before the Vietnam War, Cu Chi was
known as the city of gardens and a very peaceful place. The city itself is
relatively small being only 150 kilometers, about 93 square miles. During the
war, the US bombed Cu Chi driving the villagers to protect their city. While
the villagers were unable to live above ground, they created 3 level tunnel
systems where they lived. The villagers of Cu Chi were common working people
like farmers. Women and children were also involved. The first stop at the
tunnel tour was a movie learning about how they lived in the tunnels. We then
took a walk through the jungle above the tunnel systems. Students were able to
climb into a tunnel entrance. The space itself was very tight and disguised
from above ground. We were shown numerous types of booby traps and how they
worked to capture their enemies. The traps themselves ranged from sharp stakes
sharpened from bamboo, venomous snakes and scorpions. Students had the
opportunity to shoot several American guns used during this war, being AK-47,
M-16 and carbine rifles. We were able to climb 15 meters, or 50 feet, through a
section of the tunnels. For tour purposes the tunnels were widened, otherwise
many of us would not have been able to fit through. We still had to crawl or
crouch down to fit. These tunnels are not for claustrophobic people.
Walking back to the bus, we had our first downpour where
most of us got soaked, but it felt good after a very hot and humid morning. We
loaded the bus and headed to lunch. Our guide Tony picked our lunch spot in a
beautiful location on the river. We ate under little gazebo huts on the water
and were served fish, chicken, rice, veggies and bananas. After lunch we headed
back to Ho Chi Minh City where we had free time the rest of the night. Some
students took a nap, went to the Ben Than Market, shopped around and enjoyed
the roof top bar and pool. We were all able to choose our own spots for dinner.
The rest of the night will be spent trying to fit all of our souvenirs into our
suitcases and preparing for a 30 plus hour travel day. Students are looking
forward to ending the travel day with some American food!
Tam Biet!
Tyla S, Sophie K, Isabelle M
Friday, May 23, 2025
May 23
 |
| wet market |
Friday May23rd
Today has been a day of many choices, first starting with what
time we wanted to wake up. We had the choice of sleeping in or waking up early.
Those that woke up early went back to the Ben Tanh Market get a different view
from the chaos we saw yesterday. Wet markets are common in Asian countries as
they prioritize fresh product every day. In countries like Vietnam the people
buy their meals the same day they plan to eat it. Their version of food safety
is very different compared to the states. Animals will be harvested in the
early morning, cut into primals, and sold all within 12 hours. This product
will be consumed same day as these countries have smaller fridges and do not keep
it longer than a day. They will do this every day, with sellers bringing in
only what they know they can sell. In the market we saw pork, beef, poultry,
fish, crustaceans, fruits vegetables and more.
After the market we all met in our
hotel lobby at nine am to start our journey as a group this for the first event
or activity of the day. We went to Notre
Dame Saigon Cathedrale. However, the whole front half of the church was covered
in scaffolding and has been under reconstruction since 2017 and is supposed to
be finish in 2027. The church was first built by French colonialists in 1887.
All the stonework was shipped from France when it was first under construction.
The church has been very good at withstanding the weather and all of the
traffic due to a strong foundation it was built on. The reason for the long-expected
repair time is the church has to wait for the stone to be shipped from France.
This is being very difficult in the way of sourcing the stone to match and
language barriers as well as stubbornness on the cost.
wet market 
post office 
Norte Dame Cathredral
Luckily
for us our next destination was right across the street. This was the Buu Dien
Post office, the very first built in Vietnam. This beautiful building started
being built in 1886 and was finished in 1891. The building was built by French
colonists and was as well used as a business center and still used to for
business to this day. The group had the opportunity to buy beautiful pop-up
cards or postcards and have the ability to send them to their families. We had
to buy 3 stamps to send internationally and some of us had to learn to write a
postcard, of which family and friends should be expecting in the coming weeks.
Following
the post office, ten students went off to get massages, while the remainder had
a bit of free time. Some of us went and explored the city a bit and stopped for
a cool sweet treat such as gelato, shakes and more. Others relaxed back at the
hotel and some went shopping either in surrounding store or back to the market.
 |
| At 7 Bridges with SDSU flag |
 |
| 7 Bridges |
Once everyone had returned to our meeting point and we hopped on the bus for a short drive to 7 Bridges. This was set up with the U.S. Grains Council as a means to bring in barley and establish a trade demand. We heard from the U.S. Representative Gigi who has been working to increase trade and work on answering questions on animal feed products. This company is local to Vietnam starting in 2017 and growing. It was based on their founder “Uncle Stanleys” idea of sustainability. Stanley had an interest in craft beers and was learning how to make his own when his mentor was about to throw away the grain byproduct he asked why and was not content with the answer, so he set out to develop ways to reuse and add value to it. Through this process of building from the ground up, the name seemed to come easily in the form of a joke within a business meeting, the founder jokes that Da Nang was “The city of 7 bridges,” of which starting a debate on the number of bridges there were amongst the shareholders. This was a lighthearted story with its own meaning and adding to what the company stands for when it comes down to being as “sustainable” as possible. The reason they push for more is to help develop a small way. The 2024 Earth Day Report asked if “Small was green?” in laymen’s terms, no. However, to dig into it more it is relevant to size and scale, it is easier for a large producer to make a small change to recycle their byproducts or use less of something as they can afford it, but it may also make them more money or reduce the cost of production. Smaller on the other hand, has less leeway with this and must find other ways to accomplish sustainability.
7 Bridges works to be sustainable by taking the distilled
grain from the hops after brewing by drying it and grinding into a flour used
for pizza dough, crackers and more. They also rebirth their yeast and they will
take off the top of the yeast and reuse it. The company was kind enough to provide
free pizzas for us while waiting to get our meals as well as drinks. The menu
had a wide variety of items to choose from, many of us got burgers and more
pizza. Don’t forget this is a brewery, so more than a few beer flights to taste
went around the room. Don’t forget this is Vietnam the legal drinking age is 18
years old.
7 Bridges headquarters is in Da Nang. At their headquarters
they craft all their specialty beer, whereas they contracted out all their big
orders. The company, while working to publicize sustainability in a developing
country, has seen some improvement but is slow with the changes in generational
preferences.
 |
| Cruise for Jackrabbits |
Following this we had a four-hour break of which students did more of what was explained earlier on, and maybe ventured further into the city for shopping, spa visits, and more. Many of us girls spent some of that time getting ready for the supper cruise that was in the evening on the Saigon River. While we were told it was not a “fancy” occasion, many girls chose to wear dresses or skirts and the guys in nice button downs. Once we arrived to the port, we admired the many ships there decorated with lights and bumping with music. Once we got to our boat the group took the chance to get some pictures to remember the evening. Dinner was served buffet style at 6:45 and had many options of which we had at one point or another on the trip. There were new things like escargot and clams that many brave souls tried. Following the meal we pulled off the port for a relaxing time up and down the river, different decks offered different entertainment from singers and dancers to the sights of Ho Chi Min, a great ending to a great day.
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| Cruise meal |
Tam Biet, Brynn
Lozinski and Mathew Ridgeway
Thursday, May 22, 2025
May 22
Our first morning in Ho Chi Minh City began with continental breakfast in our hotel. It had an amazing omelet station, along with fresh fruit, Vietnamese cuisine, and a variety of fresh juices. After eating, we met in the lobby of our hotel and departed for the Mekong River Delta at 8am. Thankfully, we did not hit the infamous traffic that Ho Chi Minh City is known for. It took us about 2 hours to get to our destination, which isn’t bad for 37 miles. On the ride, Tony gave us a variety of information about the Mekong River. The Mekong River is the 7th largest river in Asia, and the 12th largest in the world. Its delta comprises 13% of Vietnam and produces 25% of the GDP for the country. Vietnam exports around 9 million tons of rice a year through this delta. They are able to produce this quantity because they do not have a winter season and therefore can produce 3 different crops a year.
Upon our
arrival at the Mekong River, we boarded a large river boat. We met our tour guide,
Oanh, and she educated us about the local area. There are four main islands,
each named after a sacred animal: Dragon, Turtle, Unicorn, and Phoenix. The
Mekong River is also nicknamed the Dragon River because it looks like a dragon
from above and has 9 outlets. The cargo boats are often found with two eyes
painted on the front to bring them luck fishing while also scaring evil spirits
and monsters away.
Our
first stop was at Unicorn Island. We got out of the boat and saw a lady holding
honeycomb with bees all over it. This was part of a multi-generational honey
farm. The bees pollinate the longan flower as well as many fruits and plants on
this island. The bee pollen from the longan flower is known for its ability to
aid in digestion and helps the liver as well. There is another substance used
from the bees called Royal Jelly. This is made by the queen bee and helps with
renewing energy. It can be used as a topical ointment or for consumption (often
paired with tea). We were served jasmine tea that had honey and kumquat juice
in it, which was a hit for the group. Along with that, we were served delicious
dried bananas as well as dried ginger.
We then
moved on to learn about rice wine. They make their wine similar to how we make
moonshine. The percentage of alcohol varied as the production went on. It
begins at a high concentration, then balances out to around 50% alcohol. The
group was passed shot glasses and were offered to try it. The smell was potent,
and the group was rather nervous to taste it, but took it like champs. As
suspected, it tasted like warm rubbing alcohol. Shortly after tasting the rice
wine, our tour guide brought us by a python. While most of us were brave enough
to put the python around our necks, others, like Dr. Daly and Karen, were
quivering with fear in the presence of such a beast.
Then we
went back on the boat and went to a different part of the island. We sat down
at small tables with plates of fruit in front of us. We were able to try fresh
pineapple, dragon fruit, mango, jack fruit, and sapodilla. The sapodilla was a
new fruit for us, and was not favored among our group. It had a flavor similar
to sweet potatoes and was quite grainy. While sampling the fruits, a group of
performers came and presented their traditional Vietnamese folk music. Some
sang, while others played specialty instruments. The last stop at Unicorn
Island was a tilapia farm. The large area of netted water was packed with fish that
were about 1 month old. The fish are
grouped together at first, then are split and given more room as they grow but
still staying in groups weighing 1 ton. The fish are raised for 5-6 months
until each fish weighs 1 kilogram, then they are taken to the market.
Our next
stop was Turtle Island, which is famous for their water coconuts. We got into
groups of 4 onto large canoe-like boats called sampans. At the back of each
boat was a captain who paddled our boats. We slowly made our way from the river
delta down a smaller channel to a village. Since it was high tide, we were able
to take the river to the town, as opposed to only taking the river part way. The
river was canopied by water palm trees. Some students were extremely worried
about alligators, but we escaped unscathed. The boat ride took about 20 minutes
and was a serene, beautiful experience. After reaching our destination, we
learned about how chocolate was made with the cacao beans they raised and
harvested. The chocolate tasted different than the chocolate we are used to, as
it had fewer ingredients and was more concentrated. Many students enjoyed the
samples of various types of chocolates. We then loaded into tuktuks, which are
small, motorbike powered mini trucks that could hold about 8 people each. We
rode down multiple pathways to get to a place where they process coconuts. We
learned about the various ways all the coconut byproducts are used. We tasted
different coconut candies, and some were feeling brave and tried some snake
wine. The snake wine was a large container of wine with 1 or more large snakes
inside it. We then walked back to the boat and went to Phoenix Island.
For
lunch, our centerpiece was a large, cooked elephant ear fish. A waiter brought
other ingredients and made everyone their own rice paper wraps filled with rice
noodles, cucumber, lettuce, fish, and pineapple. We also were served many other
sides, such as fresh prawns and an inflated, balloon-like ball of sticky rice.
After dinner, we were shown how to make the sticky rice ball, which was a very
cool experience. We all gathered back onto the bus at the end of our
island-hopping adventure.
Tony
decided to take us to a last-minute stop to see a bamboo factory. The
information was given by an enthusiastic girl, who gave us a detailed,
infomercial about all the products available. One of the perks of using bamboo
underwear is “7 days, no smell”, according to our presenter. Many people bought
a variety of products from the store, including hair tie-ups, hand towels, and
shirts. We then hopped onto the bus for our trek back to Ho Chi Minh City.
After we arrived we had time at the hotel to get ready for a wonderful dinner
at one of many great restaurants in the city.
Two days
of our trip consisted of wearing what we called “farm shoes”: older shoes that
we would leave in Vietnam due to the possibility of bringing foreign animal
diseases back to the US. We donated many
of our pairs to our tour guide, Tony, who will find good homes for these
still-pretty-good shoes.
Wednesday, May 21, 2025
May 21
 |
| Leaving Danang Airport |
Wednesday May 21th , 2025
We started the day bright and early with breakfast at the hotel around 6 am. Students enjoyed eggs, toast, hashbrowns, fruit, along with some Vietnamese cuisine. We then loaded the bus at 6:30 and headed for the airport. Checking our bags and security went smoothly. Once inside we had about an hour to kill. Many of the students found coffee and caffeine. Our flight left Da Nang around 9:30 am and was about an hour flight. On the flight, students read, slept, and wrote in their journals which we have all been doing daily to write down what we have been doing so we can remember what we did later.
Once we arrived in Ho Chi Mihn City, we got our luggage and got onto our new bus. We then went to lunch straight from the airport at the Cyclo Resto which was a Vietnamese Gastronomy Culture Restaurant. We had shrimp fried spring rolls, cucumber soup, green beans and carrots with pork, rice, fish, and lemon grass chicken, and finished it off with egg coffee. Along the wall in the restaurant the wall was signed by many people that have ate there. Students were able to participate in this and wrote their names and where they were from on the wall. Most students enjoyed this meal and experience leaving their table full.
After lunch we headed to the War Remnants Museum. There were three levels to the museum which had several exhibits from the Vietnam War. Some of these exhibits included effects from Agent Orange on Vietnamese citizens, different massacres from the U.S. and much more. Many of us noticed quickly, that History is always written by the winners. We saw lots of exhibits highlighting how the Americans fought in the war along with all of the harsh things that they did. We also noticed that a lot of the time, the whole story wasn’t shared. For example, when it came to many of the different battles, it only showed the bad the American’s did, rather than what both sides did. We also found it interesting how it didn’t show much of what other countries, such as the French did, and only the American’s. At the Museum, they only showed U.S. equipment such as planes, tanks, ammunition, and unforms. We also found it interesting that there was nothing about how Vietnam and the United States are now respected by each other. Seeing the war from this type of perspective was very eye-opening for students as it wasn’t our perspective.
Once we finished at the museum, we headed to Ben Tanh Market in Ho Chi Minh City. Here we were able to spend two hours shopping and bargaining for deals. At the market you could find items like pottery, jewelry, rice hats, knock off brands, and many other Vietnamese items. Many of the students bought rice hats, bags to bring purchased items home, gifts for family and loved ones, and items for themselves. Any item that one had in mind to buy, they could find here at the market. Tony gave us tips for the market that included that we could find everything we wanted and that at every price that they started with for an item we could bargain down the price for one fifth of what they asked for. We all had a lot of fun bargaining for the best possible price (well best price for us anyway :)).
We were able to get showered and cleaned up for dinner. Which was at Hoi An Kitchen. For dinner we enjoyed a soup with yellow noodles, chicken, quell eggs, and veggies, alongside was a carrot salad, and a salad with a rice cracker. Many students enjoyed the slight change in food with having the noodles. We are now headed back to the hotel to get a great night of rest in our new hotel, Happy Life Grand Hotel, before another busy and sun filled day tomorrow.
Cam on, Erin Jacobson & Emma Mulhern
Tuesday, May 20, 2025
May 20
Tuesday, May 20th
Good morning from Danang, Vietnam!
Today started with an incredible breakfast buffet assortment
at our hotel of fresh fruit, stir fry noodles, sausage and the tastiest mini
chocolate muffins. After a short bus ride, we started our tour of a local silk
factory.
A representative of the company walked us through the entire
silk process. The freshly hatched baby silkworms wiggled in a big pile of
mulberry leaves where they eat for three days and then sleep one day. Next the
growing worms were moved to a bigger space still stocked with piles of leaves
for them to eat and grow. Then at 5-6 weeks of age the worms spin themselves
into a cocoon and emerge two weeks later as a moth. The female moth lays her
eggs, and new worms hatch a short 16 days later.
The cocoon has a special purpose. It is soaked in hot water
briefly before a skilled worker begins pulling it into a fine thread. The
thread is then dyed and woven into beautiful fabric with a machine they
imported from England in the 1940s. Our guide told us they can weave 25-30
meters of fabric each day but only 40cm wide.
Next, we visited artists who had the special job of using
silk thread to embroider custom images on fabric. Their work was exquisite and
resulted in a picture in silk that rivaled the original. Their efforts could
take as long as two months to finish one custom order.
After the tour students had several hours of free time to
roam the shops along the streets. Several also participated in a lantern making
workshop using the silk fabric made by the factory.
On our next stop students got the chance to pair up and join
a guide for a tour of a coconut farm from a small circular boat. Several
students took the opportunity to jump in another circle boat and get a spinning
ride from a professional spinner.
We also floated to the edge of the coconut trees and fished
for crabs with a pole and little bits of meat. It was very fun to pull the
small purple crabs up out of the water and a few even invited themselves into
the boats.
Lunch was served at a restaurant nearby and we enjoyed
banana flour crunch wraps, rice, spring rolls, cabbage soup, and watermelon for
dessert.
After our delicious lunch, we loaded up the bus to head back
to the hotel, where we had the afternoon to ourselves. Students were free to
wander along the beach, nap, shop, and even participate in parasailing.
Parasailing was a top contender among the group. Check that off the bucket
list!
Our group had a great afternoon in the sun before meeting in
the hotel lobby to head to supper. Withing walking distance of our hotel was a
quaint little restaurant called Cam Nha Linh. Supper included various
vegetables, egg drop-like soup, fish, chicken wings, rice, omelets, squid, and
pork belly with shrimp.
After finishing a delectable meal, the group was free once
again to wander, shop, and enjoy the evening. A group of us went down the
street to enjoy some gelato. Popular flavors included coffee, milk chocolate,
tiramisu, and biscottino. What a great time in Danang! Now, off to bed before
our early(ish) flight to Ho Chi Minh City tomorrow!
Tam biet, Ella & Claire
Monday, May 19, 2025
May 19
Monday, May 19th
We started off our day in Hue, Vietnam. This morning, we
were lucky enough to have a great breakfast with lots of fresh fruits,
pastries, and we were all excited to see a chocolate covered donut. As we all
arrived in the lobby, Eli Kuehn was serenading us with his piano playing.
Bright and early, at 7AM, we took off from our hotel to go to the coffee plantation, this was about two hours northwest of Hue at Khe Sanh. This was the site of one of the major battles during the Vietnam war, but has now been developed into coffee farms. Once we arrived at the plantation, we took a short walk to see how the coffee plants grow. We learned that this plantation grows multiple types of coffee; Arabica, Liberica, Robusta.
 |
| Immature coffee beans |
The plants themselves can live for 25-30 years, one interesting thing is that although the trees can reach 30 years old- they stay very short. The shorter trees make harvest much easier, as harvest is completed by hand. One thing that was talked about is how recently the value of coffee has been very high. With Vietnam being the number two exporter of coffee in the world, this has been great for coffee growers and processors. One tree produces around $50/year of coffee beans- the seed for a coffee tree costs anywhere from $5.00-$6.00 per kilogram. Our tour guide, Tony, said that it was incredibly expensive.
We also had the opportunity to tour the processing mill for the coffee beans. We all thought the process looked fairly similar to a U.S. feed mill. The process was simple, wash the beans, dry them in a rotating oven; after drying they took the beans out of the hulls and roasted the beans. They process around 3 tons of beans per day in this facility. This facility also burns the hulls to use as power.
Another type of coffee we learned about was Weasel coffee.
The weasel is fed the best coffee fruits on the tree. They are then held in a
room for 2-3 days and their waste is then collected. The waste is then dried
and made into coffee, it’s extremely expensive because of the time and how
labor intensive it is. It varies from $300-$1,000 per kg. Usually, $20 per cup
of coffee.
We got the chance to try the coffee they make at the
plantation; the coffee was very smooth and had a fresh flavor. They used a
syphon coffee maker which was new for us to see. We thanked the farmers and the
family and started driving south towards Da Nang for lunch. We drove about an
hour south again and stopped for a good lunch, we were excited to have some
french fries along with our traditional Vietnamese family style meal. The rest
of our day was relaxed continuing South to Da Nang, most of us read books or
chatted for the bus ride.
We ended our night eating supper at a “hip” restaurant
according to tour guide Tony. We had a mango seafood salad, seafood wontons,
pork skewers, seafood spring rolls, pork spring rolls, and some good fried
rice! We ended our meal with fresh pineapple and watermelon. We are now back at
our hotel preparing for another busy day tomorrow!
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