Itinerary for University of Montana Vietnam Study Abroad Program
REVISED DRAFT 11/11/2014
Pre-Trip Program: October—December, 2014; three 2-hour classes, date and place to be
determined.
Vietnam Program: 26 December 2014 to 19 January 2015
Post-Trip Program: January or February, 2015: one 2-hour class, date and place to be determined
See Course Syllabus for readings and assignments for each portion of the class.
Saturday 27 December
Day 1: Ho Chi Minh City
11pm – 12:40 am (12/28)
Flights arrive, meet at airport. Change money at the airport
(suggested amount: $100). Check into hotel.
Accommodation
Victory Hotel
Sunday 28 December
Day 2: Ho Chi Minh City
8:30 am – 9:00 am
Breakfast at hotel, group check in
10:00 am
Introduction to Vietnam (Nguyen Tuan Khanh, University
of Social Sciences and Humanities of Hochiminh City).
Introduction to Vietnam and Ho Chi Minh City. Geographical
overview, history (including French and American influence)
and Vietnam today (including its place in the world, and
international relations), important domestic and international
issues and concerns Vietnam is confronting today, overview
of government system and structure, overview of the Vietnam
economy. Introduction to culture, learning some basic
Vietnamese phrases and travel tips for Ho Chi Minh City.
12:00 pm
*Lunch on your own near Victory Hotel
1:30 pm
Visit War Remnants Museum
(a two block walk from the hotel)
3:30 pm
Return to hotel; Debrief WRM visit
5:30 pm
Free Time
6:00 pm
1st Response Essay DUE – Critical Review of Vietnam:
Rising Dragon with focus on history, economy & political
structure of Vietnam
6:30 – 8:30 pm
Group dinner at Nha Hang Ngon Restaurant
160 Pasteur Street.
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Accommodation
Victory Hotel
Monday 29 December
Day 3: Ho Chi Minh City
7:00 am to 6:00 pm
Visit to Can Gio Nature Reserve with Dr. Nguyen Van Be;
mangrove restoration project
Depart HCMC for Can Gio
7:00 am
9:00 am
Visit Center for Environmental Education, Communication
and Ecotourism at Can Gio
10:30 am
Visit Zone A of the Reserve
11:30 pm
Lunch and Discussion with Shrimp Farmer
1:30 pm
Visit Shrimp project; Travel by boat through Mangrove
Forest
3:00 pm
Mangrove planting and restoration project
5:00 pm
Return to Ho Chi Minh City
6:30 pm
Dinner on your own in Ho Chi Minh City
7:30 pm
Traditional Vietnamese Water Puppet show
Accommodation
Victory Hotel
Tuesday 30 December
Day 4: Ho Chi Minh City
8:30 am
Breakfast at hotel
9:30 am
Leave for U.S. Consulate
10:00 am
U.S. Consulate meeting: U.S./Vietnam relations
U.S. Consulate General
12:15 pm
*Lunch on own near Victory Hotel
1:15 pm
Leave for Nong Lam University
2:00 pm
Afternoon with Nguyen Van Thiet and Dang Thao Huong
and environmental studies and faculty from HCMC
International University and Nong Lam University;
presentations by IU, NLU & UM students and faculty on
climate change and environmental issues
5:30 pm
Return to Victory Hotel
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6:00 pm
*Dinner on your own
8:00 pm
Traditional Vietnamese Tea Ceremony at Tra Viet Tea
House with Dang Thao Huong
Wednesday 31 December
Day 5: Ho Chi Minh City
8:00 am to 9:00 am
Group breakfast at hotel
9:00 am to 12:00 pm
Class Meeting: group debrief, review first essay assignment,
and discuss and schedule blog postings
12:00 pm
*Lunch on your own
1:00 pm
Explore Ho Chi Minh City with Vietnamese guides: Buddhist
Temples, Ben Thanh Market, Cathedral, Post Office, National
Palace
6:00 pm
*Group Dinner and New Year’s Eve festivities in downtown
Ho Chi Minh City as a group
Accommodation
Victory Hotel
Thursday 1 January
Day 6: Can Tho
8:00 am
Breakfast in Victory Hotel and free time
10:00 am
Depart for Bus tour to Can Tho City with stop for *Lunch on
route
3:00 pm
Check- in to Guest House Number 2 in Can Tho
4:00 pm to 6:00 pm
Orientation and visit to ‘Old Can Tho’ along the Mekong
River with Vietnamese Teaching Assistants.
6:30 pm
*Group Dinner with Can Tho Teaching Assistants
Accommodation
Guest House Number 2, Can Tho
Friday 2 January
Day 7: Can Tho
7:00 am
Breakfast in Guest House Number 2
7:30 am
Depart for Can Tho University
8:00 am
Introduction to Can Tho University: Nguyen Thu Huong
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9:00 am to 11:30 am
Sustainable Development in the Mekong Delta with Dr.
Duong Van Ni
11:30 to 12:30 pm
*Lunch on your own near University
1:00 pm to 3:00 pm
Dr. Pham Le Thong: The economy of the Mekong Delta,
livelihoods of local people, economic impacts of climate
change on the Mekong Delta
3:00 pm
Break
3:30 – 5:00 pm
Mangrove ecology and management, and climate change
adaptation models with Dr. Nguyen Van Be, Director of
International Relations
6:30 pm
Welcome Dinner with Can Tho University hosts
Accommodation
Guest House Number 2, Can Tho
Saturday 3 January
Day 8: Can Tho
7:30 am
Breakfast in Guest House Number 2
8:00 am
Move out of rooms in preparation for Homestay
9:00 am to 12:00 pm
Development in the Mekong Delta with Dr. Nguyen Huu
Chiem
 Agriculture and aquaculture development, management
practices and environmental and socio-economic impacts
 Other important industries in the Mekong Delta
 Discuss the complex issues surrounding sustainable
development in the Mekong Delta
12:00 pm to 1:00 pm
*Lunch on your own near Can Tho University
1:00 pm to 3:00 pm
Exchange and Presentations with CTU Student Environment
Club: comparison of climate impacts and responses in US and
Vietnam from UM and CTU student perspectives.
3:00 pm onward
Social and soccer/volleyball with CTU students, then free
time
6:00 pm
Check-in with homestay host
Accommodation
Homestay
Sunday 4 January
Day 9: My Khanh Commune: Biogas Digesters
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am/pm
Cultural tour with home stay family
Accommodation
Homestay
Monday 5 January
Day 10: Homestay in Can Tho
7:00 am
Breakfast with Homestay Families
8:00 am
Families drop students at Guesthouse #2
Depart from Guesthouse #2 for My Khanh Commune
9:00 am to 12:00 pm
Field Lecture on the sustainable development research
activities in My Khanh with Dr. Nguyen Huu Chiem. Visit
to a model VACB farm and examine a biogas system.
12:00 pm-1:30 pm
Group Lunch with a farm family household
1:30 pm-4:30 pm
Visit additional VACB farms with biogas systems
4:30 pm
Return to Can Tho City
Accommodation
Homestay
Tuesday 6 January
Day 11: Can Tho University
7:00 am
Breakfast with Homestay family
8:00 am
Check back into Guest House Number 2
8:30 am
Depart for Can Tho University
9:00 am to 11:30 am
Climate change in the Mekong Delta and the work of the
DRAGON Institute by Dr. Le Anh Tuan, Deputy Director of
DRAGON institute-Mekong-CTU
12:00 pm to 1:00 pm
*Lunch on your own near Can Tho University
1:30 pm to 4:00 pm
Vietnamese culture lecture and activities – music and
language/religion with Mr. Le Dinh Bich
5:00 pm
Class check-in and debrief meetings
6:30 pm
*Dinner on your own near Guesthouse #2
Accommodation
Guesthouse #2
Wednesday 7 January
Day 12: Can Tho
7:00 am
Breakfast at Guesthouse #2
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8:00 am
Depart for Chau Thanh district, Soc Trang province
9:00 am to 1:00 pm
Visit to Heifer International Projects in Soc Trang with Ms.
Nguyen Quyen, Heifer Vietnam
1:00 pm
Lunch with Staff of Heifer Vietnam in Soc Trang
2:00 pm
Depart for Can Tho
3:00 pm
Time to work on second response essay: Impact of Climate
Change on Vietnam’s coastal and low-lying areas.
6:00 pm
Class discussion and debrief Heifer Vietnam field day
7:00 pm
*Dinner on your own near Guest House & free evening
Accommodation
Guest House Number 2
Thursday 8 January
Day 13: Can Tho
7:00 am to 8:00 am
Breakfast at Guesthouse #2
8:00 am to 3:00 pm
Visit to Son Island with Mr. Ly Quoc Dang, Mekong Delta
Development Research Institute and members of the Delta
Youth Alliance to discuss issues of dykes and erosion,
catfish production, local livelihoods and lifestyles, lack
of local infrastructure and education facilities, and
health and sanitation problems. Lunch near Son Island.
3:00 pm to 6:00 pm
Afternoon to work on second response essay.
6:00 pm
RESPONSE ESSAY #2 DUE – Climate change impacts
on Vietnam’s coastal and low-lying areas
6:00 pm
*Dinner on your own near Guest House
Accommodation
Guest House Number 2, Can Tho
Friday 9 January
Day 14: Soc Trang – Fishing Village – Bac Lieu
6:00 am
Breakfast in Guest House Number 2
7:00 am to 12:00 pm
Travel to Soc Trang to visit cultural sites. Tours and Lectures
at the Bat Pagoda & Khleang Temple
12:00 pm to 1:00 pm
Lunch at restaurant in Soc Trang
Note: all meals on field trips are covered by the program
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1:00 pm to 6:00 pm
Travel to coastal area with Dr. Pham Minh Duc and Dr.
Tran Ngoc Hai, College of Aquaculture and Fisheries;
learn about the livelihoods of local fishers through
discussions with fishing families. How is climate change
likely to affect the natural environment upon which their
livelihood depends? Visit levee and dike system being built to
protect farmland from seawater intrusion due to climate
change. Site visits: rain fed rice cultivation area, water
control dike, and intensive shrimp farming farm, CTU
Research Station, sea dike and protective mangrove forests.
6:00 pm
Debrief Field Trip Day over Dinner in Bac Lieu
Accommodation
Hotel in Bac Lieu
Saturday 10 January
Day 15: Farms on road from Bac Lieu – Ca Mau
8:00 am to 6:00 pm
With Dr. Pham Minh Duc and Dr. Tran Ngoc Hai visit
family and commercial agricultural farms (rice and shrimp)
and aquaculture farms. Site visits: rice-shrimp rotation area,
multiple rice crop areas.
6:00 pm
Debrief Field Trip Day over Dinner in Ca Mau
Accommodation
Hotel in Ca Mau
Sunday 11 January
Day 16: Ca Mau – Nam Can
8:00 am to 6:00 pm
With Dr. Pham Minh Duc and Dr. Tran Ngoc Hai visit
coastal sites where mangroves have been removed and where
healthy stands remain to demonstrate the importance of
mangroves for stabilizing the coast and for healthy aquatic
ecosystems. Explore the implications of climate change on
the health of mangrove ecosystems and the flow-on
implications for marine and terrestrial ecosystems. Site visit:
Cape Ca Mau National Park, mangrove-shrimp integrated
systems areas.
6:00 pm
Debrief Field Trip Day over Dinner in Ca Mau
Accommodation
Hotel in Can Mau
Monday 12 January
Day 17: Kien Giang Provinve; U Minh Thuong National Park
8:00 am to 3:00 pm
With Dr. Pham Minh Duc and Dr. Tran Ngoc Hai explore
the implications of climate change on the health of melaleuca
forest and peat swamp ecosystems and the flow-on
implications for marine and terrestrial ecosystems in U Minh
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Thuong National Park. What are the implications of damaged
ecosystems for local livelihoods and Vietnamese society
more generally?
3:00 pm to 6:00 pm
Return to Can Tho.
6:00 pm
Check back into Guest House Number 2
6:30 pm
Debrief Field Trip in restaurant of Guest House Number 2
7:30 pm
*Dinner on your own near Guest House
Guest House Number 2, Can Tho
Accommodation
Tuesday 13 January
Day 18: Can Tho
9:30 -11:30 am
Class and Group discussion of field trip: Guest House dining
room patio
11:30 am onward
Free time & Time to work third response essay: Livelihoods
and Climate Change, and explore Can Tho.
5:00 pm
RESPONSE ESSAY #3 DUE – Livelihoods and climate
change
6:00 pm
Group Dinner and Orientation to next field trip
Accommodation
Guest House Number 2, Can Tho
Wednesday 14 January
Day 19: Can Tho to An Giang Province
6:00 am
Breakfast in Guest House
7:00 am
Check out of Guest House Number 2 for 2nd field trip
7:30 am to 6:00 pm
With Dr. Ngo Thuy Diem Trang, (lecturer of College of
Natural Resources and Environment) and Dr. Nguyen Chau
Thanh Tung visit An Giang Province to explore
international Mekong River management issues, cultural
sights – Ba Chúc Khmer Rouge massacre site, demonstration
of traditional weaving in Cambodian Khmer village. Hike
Mt. Sam and visit pagodas
Note: all meals on field trips are covered by the program
6:00 pm
Debrief Field Trip Day over Dinner in Châu Dôc
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Accommodation
Hotel in Châu Dôc
Thursday 15 January
Day 20: An Giang Province to Tram Chim National Park
7:30 am
Breakfast in Hotel
8:30 am to 11:30 am
Drive to Tram Chim National Park with Dr. Ngo Thuy Diem
Trang and Dr. Nguyen Chau Thanh Tung
11:30 am
Check into Hotel in Tram Chim
12:00 pm to 1:00 pm
Lunch at National Park office
1:00 pm to 2:30 pm
Presentation about the history, ecology and management of
the Park by park manager
2:30 pm to 5:00 pm
Tour and discussion of the Park ecosystems, management
units, park boundary issues
6:00 pm
7:30 pm
Accommodation
Dinner at National Park office with National Park staff
Debrief field day at Tram Chim National Park
Hotel near Tram Chim National Park
Friday 16 January
Day 21: Tram Chim National Park to Can Tho
6:00 am to 10:00 am
Bird watching and Boat Tour of Park (light breakfast on
boats), exploration of the Park management units, park
boundary issues
11:00 am
Check out of Hotel
11:30 am
Depart to Can Tho City with lunch on route
5:00 pm
Check into Guest House Number 2
6:00 pm
Debrief Field Trip in restaurant of Guest House Number 2
7:00 pm
*Dinner on your own near Guest House
Accommodation
Guest House Number 2, Can Tho
Saturday 17 January
Day 22: Can Tho& Ho Chi Minh City
am
Free morning. Time to work on written assignments.
10:00 am
Final Can Tho class: Debrief Can Tho program
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11:30 am
Check out of Guest House Number 2; load luggage in bus
12:00 pm
*Lunch on your own near Guesthouse
1:00 pm
Return to Ho Chi Minh City
5:00 pm
Check into Victory Hotel
6:00 pm
*Dinner on your own & free evening
Accommodation
Victory Hotel
Sunday 18 January
Day 23: Ho Chi Minh City
8:00 am
Breakfast at hotel
9:00 am – 12:00 pm
Group wrap up discussion and course evaluations
(Place: TBD)
12:00 pm
*Lunch on your own
6:00 pm
Check out of Hotel for those going to airport tonight
6:30 pm
Final Group dinner at Nha Hang Ngon Restaurant
Accommodation
Victory Hotel
9:00 pm
Depart for airport for those leaving in the evening
Monday 19 January
Day 24: Ho Chi Minh City to United States
7:00 am onward
Depart Vietnam for the United States
Friday, January 23, 5:00 pm: ALL WRITTEN ASSIGNMENTS DUE BY EMAIL
TO INSTRUCTOR
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