Last blog! Sadly, tomorrow is our last day here in Ho Chi Minh City. I have had an amazing time learning about the Vietnamese culture and history, and visiting companies here. This has really been a life changing experience, and I would recommend it to anyone who is on the fence.
My day started with breakfast and a coconut coffee, and then we were on our way to the Cat Lai terminal for our last company visit. This is the one I have been looking forward to the most, because as an industrial engineer I am very interested in learning how to optimize systems to work more efficiently. The terminal visit didn’t disappoint. I really enjoyed our tour through the port, and seeing all of the shipping containers being loaded on to the massive ships. Even in the short time that we were there I tried to take in as much as I could. One thing that I noticed was that there are so many variables that affect the time it takes for loading/unloading crates. From manual unloading of crates to cranes physically lifting the crates, we saw a lot of what it takes to run a successful operation today. We were also able to see workers unloading 15 kg bags of rice off of a conveyor belt into a shipping crate, and some of us even helped them out, which was way harder than they made it look. I can easily see how just one hiccup in any stage of operation can affect packing/ shipping times, causing price fluctuations for customers and the port. Another thing about the port that really fascinated me was the scale. There were countless containers sitting on the dock, and with the implementation of tariffs I can only imagine the effect they will have on prices for consumers and for companies.
Afterwards, we had lunch, and then we went to the American Consulate for an economics talk. I’m not a business major, but I tried to take as much in as I could. I had a little bit of a hard time following, but he did a very good job explaining everything and I found some of the things he said very interesting. For example, he talked about long term challenges that Vietnam is going to face in the future such as increasing labor costs and therefore so will manufacturing costs, so Vietnam will need to transition into a different model for economic growth.
After the consulate visit, we went back to the hotel to change for the Bahn Thanh market. The Bahn Thanh market has a bustling environment, and I found that most vendors had very expensive prices. However, with some finesse, you can sometimes talk them down into a more reasonable price. The only thing I wanted to buy was a little jade buddha statue for my mom, and it took a little bit of haggling for me to settle on one. I talked the lady down to 50% of her original price, but I still was hesitant of buying it, but my UEF friends told me it was a good deal so I caved in. I also got some spring rolls and durian. It was my first time trying durian, and I can’t say that I enjoyed it. The whole market experience is somewhat similar to the Italian market in south Philadelphia, with many vendors selling many different kinds of goods, souvenirs, and food. The only difference is that there is not nearly as much bargaining in Philly.
