Ho Chi Minh City University of Social Sciences and Humanities

I'm back after a very enjoyable Christmas break in the UK and today got to do some examining at a new location within the city. This was the Ho Chi Minh City University of Social Sciences and Humanities. It was opened in the 1950s and located in the centre of the city. It's not really much of a campus like in the west but did has a communal area on the ground floor.

What it did have was some excellent skyline shots from the classroom I was located in on the 4th floor. When I finished it was dusk and there was some nice views of the city including the two big skyscrapers, the Bi texaco tower and Landmark 81.

 

England for Christmas

Today I will fly back to the UK for three weeks for Christmas. I'm looking forward to seeing the family and will be back in Vietnam on New Years Eve. I won't be doing any updates whilst in the UK so will start blogging again in the new year.

Dong Thap University, Cao Lanh

This past weekend I did some examining at Dong Thap University. I met some really nice people who work in the area and some important people involved with the university. They were very friendly and hospitable. As I was here at the weekend it was very quiet but I'm told during the week there are thousands of students. The campus was quite nice and still quite traditionally Vietnamese. Below are some photos of the campus and some taken of me with the staff.

I'm pretty sure this is my last trip until the new year as I'll be going home for Christmas to England on 11th December. Its been an eventful year and I'm looking forward to 2020.

 

Dong Thap Museum, Cao Lanh

After the visit to Ho Chi Minhs Dad's grave yesterday, I stopped at the local museum. Entry was free and I went to look around. 

It was a lot of the usual stuff. Some old pots and tools used hundreds of years ago as well as some more modern tools and important documents. What was more interesting was some of the history about the local people rising up against the French. It was quite a nicely displayed museum. Below are some pictures.

 

Ho Chi Minhs Dad's shrine, Cao Lanh

It turns out that in Ho Chi Minh's Dad is buried in Cao Lanh.

This morning I walked to have a look and see what I could find. It was set in this very nice park with a few ponds and trees.

I'm not sure what was happening but there was some sort of event going on. There were lots of people dressed up in traditional costumes as well as people pretending to be dragons.

As I was the only westerner probably within a 10 mile radius, this meant I got lots of people wanting photos with me like a z list celebrity. I didn't stay too long and sadly access to the grave was limited. I was told to come back later but managed to take the below photo from a distance. 

 A missed opportunity! However, if I get selected to come back here I may well give it another try. It was a nice walk from the hotel.

Cao Lanh, Mekong Delta, Vietnam

This weekend I got another examining road trip to a place that I've not been before. This time I'll be spending the weekend in a place called Cao Lanh.

 

There isn't much in this town but I'll do some exploring and see what I can find. I get the morning off on Saturday so will try to make the most of it. This Friday evening I walked around the town and took some photos. 

 

Early Christmas 2019

It appears that Christmas decorations are getting earlier and earlier. In the time that I've been here I've noticed that its getting earlier and earlier to allow more time for people to buy stuff. This past weekend I went to the local shopping centre near my house and they already had the decorations up. Below are some pictures of the display.