Editor’s note: This is the second in a series sharing the experiences of the 2024 South Dakota State University’s Vietnam Ag class and their journey to the country. The class was taught by Russ Daly and Bob Thaler. Below, two students discuss the fourth and fifth days of their trip, which began May 6.

By Cathy Bauer and Hannah Bates

This morning many students ventured to the coffee shop across the street. They tried Vietnamese coffee with condensed and regular milk. Other students tried different juices, smoothies, and other drinks, which they all enjoyed.

The breakfast served at the hotel was not what you would expect at an American hotel. They served Pho, which is noodle broth soup, spaghetti, sticky rice and much more. They also had fruit, which is so amazing and flavorful.

At 7:45 a.m., we started our day of adventure, which included tours of different farms. Tony, our tour guide, explained to us that each household sends someone to the market every day because of the limited refrigeration within homes.

They also eat different insects due to their nutritional benefits, but those are considered a delicacy. On the way to the farm, we spotted cattle grazing in the roadside. The cattle were not contained by a fence or marked with ear tags. Many people were also amazed by the architecture of the buildings as we passed.

Related:SDSU students head to Vietnam

The driving in Vietnam can only be described as organized chaos. Our bus driver, who was very skilled, took us down a road that was very narrow, but on either side mopeds were whizzing by. It is amazing the spaces that the mopeds fit into.

Hand labor on farms

Our first stop was at a neighborhood with many small vegetable farms. There were many different kinds of vegetables grown, including some American favorites such as cucumbers, squash and onions. In the past, farmers used to water the plants by hand, but now the farms have irrigation systems. The average farm size in Vietnam is 2 acres, so that means a lot of hand labor with minimal mechanization.

Many of the plants have three-month growing seasons. This is so vegetables can be grown year-round and then produce income year-round. The weather is certainly favorable toward growing, with it being nice and hot and humid. 

We then traveled to another village and once we arrived. We saw chickens being raised in people’s backyards. At the duck farms, the ducks were housed on the water with little wood huts, and duck wire was used as ramps for the ducks to access the water.

Ww saw a fish farm, where in a small area, there was a high density of fish. The local farmer was feeding the fish when we arrived, and we were able to see the great abundance of fish in the pond. One thing that stood out was the rotational “grazing” of the fish and ducks. In the U.S., rotational grazing is used to promote grass growth and cattle health. Here, it is used to prevent disease.

We finished our tour of this village by having lunch at Tony’s home. His wife and extended family made a delicious meal, and we were able to have authentic Vietnamese food. The jackfruit was the most surprising as it tasted like banana bread. It was a very fleshy fruit with great flavor.

Finally, we loaded the bus and headed to Sapa, which is about five hours away from the village we were in. On the bus we had a great time interacting with our classmates. We had many interesting conversations and made connections with everyone.

As a group, we ended our night at a restaurant where many students got their first taste of duck. Let me tell you it is very tender and delicious! The students had a great time chatting about the day and listening to a flute player.

Time in the mountains

On the morning of the fifth day, we woke up to the most breathtaking view of the mountains up in Sapa in the far northern part of Vietnam. Just 1 mile from China, the town is 1,500 meters above sea level. Unlike the Rocky Mountains, these mountains surrounding Sapa are filled with greenery and lack snow caps.

The mountains are also famous for their terraced rice fields. Students were able to enjoy the beautiful scenery while eating breakfast and mentally preparing for the 5-mile hike ahead. The adventure was one of those you-just-had-to-be-there experiences. After breakfast, we all loaded up into a bus and van where we were taken just outside of Sapa.

Upon arriving at our destination, we were greeted by the local Hmong villagers, eagerly waiting to sell us their handmade goods. After snapping a few pictures at the top of the mountain, we began our descent with the villager women “escorting” us.

The walk down the mountain was no easy task, but the views were amazing. It was steep and slick in spots with motorbikes zooming past us. Luckily, the Hmong women were there to help guide us. They offered to hold our hands and give support when the trail got a little sketchy. We finally reached our destination after walking a little over a mile. 

On the walk down, we passed many terraced rice fields, but our destination led us to one at the bottom. Here, we took off our socks and shoes, and got right into the rice field. The water went up to our mid-shins and was very mucky. Each of us grabbed a bundle of small rice seedlings and planted a few rows of rice with the farmers. It was truly an experience none of us will ever forget!

After getting cleaned up from the muck in the rice field, we started our walk up the mountain. The walk up was a lot less steep than the walk down, but there were more slippery spots. During the hike, the Hmong women often asked if we were OK and just checked in on our well-being.

Their intentions seemed pure until we got toward the end where they were very persistent in us buying their goods. They were very good salesmen. Many of us bought handmade items from them like scarves, bracelets, stuffed animals and wallets. These items were colorful and demonstrated their high-quality craftsmanship and were inexpensive!

Throughout the entire hike, both down and up, it seemed that every corner held the most perfect photo opportunity. The views we experienced today were something out of a painting, and we stopped every chance we could to capture it.

However, the pictures taken will never do it justice. There’s a saying that goes something like, “It didn’t happen unless there’s proof,” and man, do we have a lot of proof! Whether it was planting the rice or the breathtaking scenery, these photos hold memories that will be cherished forever.

Our hike today was about 5 miles and didn’t end where it started. This was a relief since the walk down was way steeper than the walk to a village, which was our final destination.

After lunch, we loaded back onto the bus and headed to Hanoi. At the beginning of the ride, Tony, our tour guide, told us a little bit about the history of Sapa and the people that live there. Sapa started to become popular in the 1950s when it was set up as a vacation spot for French officers due to the more comfortable temperatures.

Tourism in Sapa

Today, tourism is a big part of Sapa because of the many beautiful farming terraces. The rice is sold in Hanoi because it is a high-quality rice. Each crop takes about four months to grow, meaning only one crop of rice is grown in a single year due to dropping temperatures later in the year.

In winter, it gets to be pretty cold, even to the point where they may get snow once or twice. However, in the months that rice is not being produced, pumpkins and sweet potatoes are grown.

We also talked about the Hmong people that lived in Sapa and the villages just outside. The Hmong people have extremely good pronunciation of words. We all noticed this as we walked down the trail and had conversations with them easily.

The reason behind this is because they had migrated down from an area of China that had European influence at one time. A tour guide from another group told us different groups of Hmong people distinguish themselves by the color of their head scarves and clothing.

The Black Hmongs wore Items that were black, while the Red Hmongs wore red. She happened to be a Red Hmong, while the women walking down the mountain with us were Black Hmong.

The rest of the five-hour ride back to Hanoi was mostly quiet because everyone was tired. Once we got back, we stopped at a restaurant for supper. Although it was all pretty good, many of us stated that we could really go for a burger and fries soon. We finished eating and made our way back to the hotel for a good night’s sleep.”

Bauer and Bates are two of 24 students in the Vietnam Ag class at SDSU.