DSU planning trip to Indochina
December 8, 2016
Dakota State University continues to offer opportunities for its staff, students, and alumni to expand their global horizons.
After trips to Peru in 2015 and Cuba in 2016, the plan is to take a group to Indochina next summer.
“At the end of July in 2017, we are going to Vietnam, Cambodia, and Thailand,” said Deb Tech. Tech is an assistant professor with the College of Business and Information Systems.
One of the reasons Indochina was chosen was the food.
“I love Thai cooking,” Tech said, but she also pointed out that the area is a popular tourist destination.
According to the travel website company Trip Advisor, Indochinese destinations are in the top 15 of world locations. Cambodia ranked fifth, Vietnam eighth, and Thailand was fifteenth.
A 2016 Master Card report cited Bangkok as the top global destination city for 2015 and 2016. It was the most visited city in 2016, hosting 21.47 million international overnight visitors, the report said. The city itself has an estimated population of eight million.
Tech is working on firming up the details for the trip, but it will include visits to Bangkok and Saigon, where there will be some Vietnam War history to see. Travelers can expect to explore the countryside by boat, see the famous River Kwai, and a floating market. They will also be visiting many Buddhist temples.
At the end of July, “It will be hot and humid, but that’s not a reason not to go,” Tech said.
A good reason to go is the interaction between students and alumni of all ages, said Jona Schmidt, Director of Alumni Affairs.
On previous trips, Tech said they have had a wonderful mix of people, from students to those in their 70s and 80s. Twenty-eight visited Cuba in the summer of 2016, 24 went to Peru in 2015.
The Alumni Association has helped sponsor the trips, which are open to staff, faculty, students, community members, and alumni, Tech said, anyone over 18 “with a connection to Dakota State.”
She is waiting on final details and price for the trip, but anyone interested may contact Tech for more information, at 605-256-5173, or deb.tech@dsu.edu.