Field trip

I have been teaching sustainable tourism development at an international hospitality school in Ho Chi Minh City throughout the last semester. It was pretty hard work besides my primary job, which is already not a nine-to-five one at all. So each week four hours for teaching plus at least four for preparations needed to be added. Fortunately, my boss at the company was so nice to approve flexible office times for me for that purpose. Often I stood in class with little sleep and I hated the dress code, shirt and tie…in a tropical country, with cool air-con…talking on sustainability. But after all, it was a rewarding experience. In the education sector it is all a bit slower and there is not that constant pressure somehow. Also it was great to be among students again and to keep in touch with the youth. The class was mixed background and English skill, and I needed to break down the knowledge I have meanwhile on the subject into portions that are understandable for beginners. In retrospective, I believe I have driven a quite demanding level. But after all, it is a university and an international program. Better to be too demanding than to be too fluffy, what the industry as such often enough is. It will not be my last teaching activity, I will work on the curriculum once another opportunity comes up, and teaching can possibly be combined with research and even business activities in the field of sustainable tourism. We had two field trips with the students, of which the major one after initial plans to go to Cambodia finally went to Long Xuyen and a village near Chau Doc, in An Giang Province, where we worked with the An Giang Farmers Union. The second went to the Caravelle Hotel in Saigon which is one of the first properties in the Country working with a triple-bottom-line approach and getting third-party certification. The semester is done, only remaining assignments need to be marked. I am enjoying a bit more time for myself again, and am starting with research and writing for a book chapter for an Australian university, hoping to get the publication successfully done.

Environmental engineer Mr. Khoa is leading us through the hotel, and showing us

the "green wall" in the staff area.

One of the three home-stay's in Long Xuyen that we have occupied with our group

during our field trip to An Giang province.

Lunch on the first day at one of the home-stay families' houses - local specialties were introduced us before we started to our bicycle tour in the surroundings - sightseeing by eco-friendly modes of transportation.

Visiting Cu Lao Ong Ho, and observing some home-industries on the way we asked the people about their experiences with the growing number of tourists.

Having the experience of crossing one of the so called "monkey bridges" to a fruit orchard

followed by a dinner with traditional music performance.

A visit to the Ton Duc Thang House on the morning of the second day; he was the first

President of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.

In his birth place there is today not only his house, but also a memorial site, an airplane on which

he arrived in the South as well as a museum.

The border town to Cambodia, Chau Doc, seen from the river system.

Houses near the water deep in the Mekong Delta need to be built on stilts as at the end of rainy season water levels are usually several meters higher.

The border region with Cambodia in the South has a great share of Cham people who are usually Muslims.

For some of the students the visit to the countryside was a pretty new experience, others are from the countryside or have been there many times.

We have tried Khmer Pop Dancing and the second home-stay…

… after it with most of us sleeping on the wooden planks outside, covered just with mosquito nets. Comfort in the poor commune in the deep south was less - hospitality however as great as it could be.

On our last day we took a group picture and then visited the nearby Tra Su Forest…

… where we observed different bird species and took a rowing boat into the flooded part of the nature reserve.