Author Archives: amshakman

Today was mostly academic. In the morning, we had breakfast in the hotel and then headed for Mae Jo University. When we arrived, we were greeted with a lecture by the University President. He told us about the school as well as the agriculture in the region. We are partnered with an ecotourism exchange programContinue reading “Southeast Asia Day 11”

Today is the halfway point of the program. We had a free morning this morning. I used it to sleep in a bit, have breakfast, and study for our exam. I also walked down the beach a bit and got a mango. It was delicious and the woman gave me a free bag of bananasContinue reading “Southeast Asia Day 10”

Today we did very little. It was a program free day and we have all been exhausted from our super busy days. In the morning we went to an elephant sanctuary. There we were able to ride elephants, hold a baby alligator, and feed adult alligators. I loved the elephants. They are gorgeous animals andContinue reading “Southeast Asia Day 9”

Today was rather unexceptional as it was just lectures and travel. We started out with a company visit that was at the hotel where we learned about the management of the hotel. I didn’t know much about the hospitality industry previously but it was super interesting to learn about. The most interesting thing we learnedContinue reading “Southeast Asia Day 8”

Today was our only full day in Cambodia. Initially, I was quite unsure if I would like Cambodia but I wound up really loving it! Today was all temples so it was a lot of walking outside in the heat but I still loved it. To start, we woke up at 4:30 am to seeContinue reading “Southeast Asia Day 7”

This morning we had a flight to Cambodia scheduled to depart at 8:40 am. We woke up at 5 and were at the airport at 6, only to discover that our flight had been delayed until 12:30. We just hung out in the airport during that to time. To be honest, the only thing weContinue reading “Southeast Asia Day 6”

Today is our last day in Vietnam. I’m really sad to leave! I am excited and anxious to move on to Cambodia but I have loved Vietnam and know I will really miss it. We started off our last day with breakfast at the hotel and then an exam at the downtown Ho Chi MinhContinue reading “Southeast Asia Day 5”

Today was also focused on school rather than tourist activities. We visited Heineken and Intel and then went out to the city on our own. First we visited Heineken. It was a really nice brewery. The most interesting thing I learned at Heineken is that Tiger beer is also brewed there. Tiger is a localContinue reading “Southeast Asia Day 4”

Today we went to the university and mostly had lectures all day, so this might not be the most intriguing blog post. We had breakfast in the hotel to start, like we always do. Before we left, I tried to exchange some dollars for dong at the hotel but they said they were totally out!Continue reading “Southeast Asia Day 3”

Today was Mekong Delta Day and also when we met our buddies. We had breakfast at the hotel and then got on the bus to head out to Mekong Delta. On the way there, we stopped at a pagoda called Buu Lam Temple. Arnav’s buddy Koi told him that it was a tourist trap butContinue reading “Southeast Asia Day 2”