We started day nine with a quick lesson on Buddhism at the UEF. Tuan surprised us as our teacher for the day, and I got to sit with my pal Roy. After learning about the Buddhist culture, we argued whether it is a religion or a philosophy. I could use the entire blog post to…
Tag: Plus3 Vietnam
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These amenities are nuts…
Day 8: Cat Lai Terminal and Dan On Food We visited two companies today: Cat Lai Terminal and Dan On Foods. At Cat Lai, we saw the hard work behind moving shipping containers for imports and exports at a terminal operating 24 hours a day. The organization of the port seemed entirely dependent on efficiency…
Day 8: Cat Lai & Dan on foods
Cat Lai Terminal had to be my favorite site visit so far. I did not expect to find a port so interesting, but seeing all the containers, ships, cranes, and workers moving at once made me realize how complex trade really is. Every part of the process matters and it was all this work just…
Day 8: Double Site Visit
Some operations at the Cat Lai port that really interested me were the rice packing system and the inspection system of the shipping items. The rice packing system really interested me, because the system was still being operated with basic machinery and people. I feel like it is really rare to see machines that are…
Day 8: Straight Heat
Today started with a tour of the Tan Cang Cat Lai shipping port, where we had to wear extremely fashionable fluorescent safety vests and hard hats. Seeing the port in all of its glory and magnitude was certainly not something that you see everyday, especially such a popular global port; the company focuses on efficiency…
Day 8: Double Trouble
Today we had two company site visits. The first one was to a port in Cat Lai. The first thing they did was give a presentation, where they went through an overview of their network of port terminals and how this terminal was only the second largest class of port, which was hard to believe…
Day 8: From Global Cargo to Local Cashews
Today was one of our most interesting days for sure! It consisted of two site visits to two companies that were filled with different strategies and skills that I saw at work. The day started off with a visit to Cat Lai Terminal and it was a very eye-opening experience. After arriving and putting on…
Top Food Contenders
I started off the day by thinking I should go for a run sometime before leaving so I can post it on Strava. We will see if this actually happens though because sleeping in always sounds better. When reading the itinerary, I really didn’t think today was that daunting with only two site visits. However,…
Shipping crates and peanuts!
Week two started with a visit to Cat Lai Terminal, one of Vietnam’s biggest and busiest container ports. The sheer size of the operation is still hard to take in. The port processes ships in twelve to eighteen hour shifts and moves around 81 containers every hour. It runs every day of the year, with…
Glamping
Days 6 and 7: Mekong Delta Overnight The four hour ride and fear of no air conditioning made me nervous as we headed out for our weekend stay at the Mekong Delta. But once we arrived and were greeted by such a beautiful view, all my nerves went away. We started off with lunch. My…
Day 8: Hardhats and Snacks
First day of week 2! We started the day off with a visit to Cat Lai terminal, though it was very very hot their process and structure for work was interesting. From the outside their systems look like chaos but all the workers know where they should be and what they should be doing at…
Day 8: Some Nuts Cargo
Today was one long info session because we had two site visits and got inside tours from both. We started off learning about the Cat Lai shipping terminal and how it operates and I loved being able to physically see how importing and exporting works. If there was an award for someone who can only…
Day 8: Row Row Row Your Boat
I couldn’t forget my passport this morning as we headed off to Cat Lai terminal for one of our last site visits. Cat Lai terminal is one of the biggest shipping terminals in Vietnam, and we were able to hear about the logistics of how they run everything. They told us about how sometimes there…
Day 8: Driving Forklifts and Roasting Nuts
Today, we had two exciting site visits. Our first visit was to the Cat Lai Terminal, and the second was to Dan On. The two sites were very different in how their operations were run. The Cat Lai Terminal had decent working conditions. They were not terrible, but injuries did not seem uncommon. Dan On…
Day 8: Shipping Containers and Shelling Cashews
Today we traveled to Cat Lai terminal to investigate their shipping and logistics, while taking a deeper look at their sustainability. What surprised me most about Cat Lai is that the port is required to be open for every day of the year, and they only have two hours where no work is being done…
Cargo and Nuts
Today is day 8 in Vietnam. Visiting Cat Lai Terminal forces you to confront the scale of global trade. The metrics are highly specific: processing a container ship takes 12 to 18 hours, and the port handles 81 containers every hour. Watching the massive cranes transfer containers between land and boat gives a clear sense…
Day 8: Nuts and Bolts
Today we didn’t get to hang out with our friends from UEF as much which was unfortunate but our site visits more than made up for that! Our first stop was at the Cat Lai terminal where an unfathomable amount of cargo is loaded and shipped off all over the world. The sheer size of…
Day 8: Cargo and Cashews
I started the day by suiting up in a hard hat and reflective vest so that we could start our tour around Kat Lai terminal (seen above). We started by looking at the cargo being removed from the ships (cover image). It was super cool to see how efficiently the shipping containers were removed. I…
Day 8: Going Nuts!
We had a lineup of two site visits today, so it was prime time for my brain to soak up information like a sponge. However, it was also very, very hot at our first visit. You’d think I would have gotten used to it already, but I guess not. Our first visit was to Kat…
Vietnam Day 8: Cat Lai Terminal and Dan On Site Visits
The Cat Lai terminal is an expansive site that ranks number 1 in Vietnam and 17th globally in total container throughput. This is made possible by the terminal’s industry leading efficiency and round the clock operations. Walking through the terminal the scale and efficiency of the terminal was on full display. Everywhere you looked there…