We began Day 10 with our last site visit of Plus3 Vietnam to Cat Lai Terminal, one of the largest ports in Vietnam. We were given a fantastic tour of the place, seeing the freight up close and personal. The number of boxes was incredible. Even from an aerial view, they were extremely impressive. My favorite though were the machines. Like a ginormous game of Tetris, they had such massive power, lifting these HUGEEEE boxes and transporting them. Operating one or a lifting crane is now on my bucket list. I only want to do it once though. No more, no less because the tediousness of a lot of the jobs we saw was a bit much for me. Overall though, the terminal was incredible, being such an obvious example of the globalized trade taking place in Vietnam. The transportation of the goods was so important to see. Cat Lai Terminal is in charge of only the transportation, serviced by hundreds of companies from around the world to get their products in and out of Vietnam.

This terminal is critical to the population in Ho Chi Minh, having a strategic position close enough to the city, but also along a river deep enough to host the heavy carrying vessels. A lot of terminals are along rivers in Vietnam, but the company is looking to expand and make more along the coast, connecting directly to the ocean where the body of water is deep enough for even the largest ships to come in directly.

We also visited the Reunification Palace, the old “White House” of Saigon before the combination of North and South Vietnam. It was incredible, the outside completely resembling white bamboo stalks. The architecture was just my style with a beautiful courtyard in the middle and plants everywhere. The palace is a symbol for the Vietnamese independence, empty now of any foreign control or internal conflict. The emptiness of the palace was a sure reflection of that. The beauty seemed almost wasted as we walked through the empty halls knowing the complicated history of the historical landmark.

Overall, day 10 major success. Looking forward to what tomorrow brings at the Mekong Delta.