Field trip into the Mekongdelta

Michael:

On 26th November, Grade 6 went on a field trip to Tiên Giang Province and the Cân Tho Province together with their teacher Mrs Stocker. It was a two days trip. We left school at 8 am for Tiên Giang. We arrived back at school the next day at 4.30 pm.

Calvin:

We went with a motor boat to the brick factory. In the meanwhile we ate fruits and took photos. It was fun on the boat because Michael and Howard did their hands into the water and the water was brown. After that everybody got to control the boat for two minutes. When we arrived at the brick factory we saw a dog with a nice pattern. Then we went into the factory and there was a pile of rice grains. Michael and Howard are very active, so they ran onto the pile of grains and then they got very itchy. We went deeper into the factory and we saw three big ovens with over 300 bricks. We took photos from the three ovens. Then we went back to continue our trip.

Viviane:

We arrived at the coconut processing factory after the brick factory. There the people were processing the coconut by hitting the coconut on a small spear that is stuck to the ground. When they have separated the coconut from the hard shell, the shell is then used to make coconut wood. The coconut can be used for various things, such as coconut candy and coconut milk. The coconut wood is used to make things such as chopsticks, tea cups and toys. After this we drove by boat down to the coconut candy factory and saw the local people make the candy.

To make the candy, the locals have to stir the candy mixture for 45 minutes, for it to become thicker. When the mixture is ready, they pour it into long rectangular forms, and then the candy gets left there to cool down into a tacky consistency. When the coconut candy has cooled down, the people take it out of the forms. Then they cut it into small square pieces. The candy then gets wrapped in normal packaging paper. We also had a chance to wrap some candy, and to eat it, of course.

Anna:

When we finished visiting the coconut candy factory we went on row boats. Since we were a lot of people, everyone split up in two groups and there were two rowboats. In the end the two rowboats had a race. After the race everybody was tired out and we had to continue. Then we all went on a little walk. After we finished the walk, we met a family who made carpets for a living. There we saw two stations making carpets. There were two ladies at each station. One of the ladies told us that the carpets are made of straw and that each stations produces 5 carpets a day. That’s 70 carpets a week!

We then went on a 3 km bicycle ride. For me the bike seat was very uncomfortable, but the good thing was that the road was not bumpy. We arrived at the restaurant starving.

Howard:

Besides the restaurant was a small muddy pool. Michael and me went into the muddy pool fishing by hand. We sank into the mud knee deep. It felt gross. The mud was very slippery. It felt like we were stepping into a cold big pile of dung. We caught two trout and several prawns. After the fishing we went to the restaurant, where the girls made omelettes and the boys helped to make the fire for the barbecue. The food we have caught was barbecued on the fire. We then ate the meal and the very delicious fishes and prawns we had caught ourselves.

Michael:

After a long bus trip we arrived at the Cân Tho Golf Hotel at 6 pm and checked in. We went up to our rooms, changed into our swimming suits and went to the pool. We swam for 40 minutes. Back in our rooms we had time to relax for one more hour before we went to have dinner. In this night some boys got not so much sleep. On the next morning we had an early breakfast before walking to the harbour.

Howard:

At the harbour we went on a boat to go to the floating market. It was the first time I saw this many boats. A bamboo stick was sticking up out on each boat and there hung the products the local people were selling. They were selling watermelons, cabbage, potatoes, bags of flour and bags of sugar. There also were a coffee shop on a boat and several swimming gas stations.

Anna:

After boating through the floating market, our boat took us through some very narrow canals. Finally the boat arrived at a botanical garden. Looking around we all saw a lot of animals in cages. There were guinea pigs, peacocks, monkeys, a lot of frogs and toads and also some poisonous snakes. Then we walked to a pavilion and sat down. We drank jasmine tea and ate fruits. In the end we boated back to the dock, but before leaving, everyone wanted to do some souvenir shopping. So we went to a market, where the most of us did some shopping. We then left by foot to the hotel, where the boys and Mrs Stocker had a swim, and then we had to pack our things for the trip back home.

Michael:

At 11.30 am we checked out and headed back to Ho Chi Minh City, where we arrived at our school at 4.30 pm.