Our last official blog has come. It is quite surreal writing this last blog as my time in Vietnam is nearing its end. It has truly been one of the most incredible experiences of my life, making lifelong memories and friends that I will cherish for the rest of my life. Now that we got the sappy stuff out of the way, we can go over the itinerary for the day. We began our day at the Cat Lai Terminal, the largest importing and exporting ports in all of Vietnam. Visiting our last official site tour, I was impressed by how perfectly and effectively the port has gotten with its loading and unloading procedures. Being able to import 87 cargo ships packed to the brim is truly an impressive stat that shouldn’t be taken lightly. From the workers packing the bins with rice to the lift drivers hauling crates onto the ship, this holistic approach seems to work well for the port. Aside from my initial impressions, I started to think about its developmental sustainability. The massive boats powered by oil and fossil feuds contributes to a great amount of pollution, an alarming amount at that. To this, it is important for the company’s next step to finding an environmentally friendly alternative to their traditional practices.
During our visit to the U.S Consulate, we were given a brief over view of the economic state of Vietnam and its current relations with the U.S. There, we were debriefed on the new tariff regime, an astonishing 46% (previously 10%), under the Trump Administration. Even though the U.S has granted Vietnam a 90 day suspension on the new tariff, the country is still trying to negotiate a plan with the states to reduce the historically high percentage. It is no shocker that nearly every single individual we visited and talked about the subject spoke with such disdain towards the new administration. With that being said, I do believe there will be and is currently a jurastic effect on the Cat Lai’s terminal exports and imports. Having this in mind, the region will take a significant blow to its economy as a result of the lack of goods being exported in and out of the country. Being the largest port in Vietnam, it could do a decent amount of damage to the economy as a whole and hinder the growth.
After the U.S consultants, we now made our way to the most long-awaited activity of the trip. Our excursion to the Banh Thanh market, the definition of tourist trap. It was overwhelming, overstimulating, really all the over adjectives you could use to describe the atmosphere, the market was. It was fascinating to see the mesh of languages together, many tourists speaking to the ship vendors in all different languages was defiantly a sight to see. I will say I do believe my haggling skills have gotten significantly better since we first went last week. I noticed that when I speak more sternly and confidently, I could always get the prices down (then I’d confide in my UEF friends to see if the price I got was actually good) and buy whatever I was getting. I would necessarily compare it to any other type of shopping mall or area near me. This was also my first time experiencing a market like Ben Thanh so being constantly bombarded with questions asking me if I wanted to buy more was something to get used to. Overall this trip has been incredible, regardless of how much I probably got scammed today. We have our closing ceremony tomorrow and I am truly said to say goodbye to all of my friends and the country I grew to love and appreciate over the course of these past two weeks.
