A second visit to Vietnam

April saw the Kitchen Chemist back in Viet Nam. We has a similar itinerary as the first time, first stop Can Tho in the Mekong Delta, where we worked with Can Tho University of Medicine and Pharmacy (CTUMP). Once again we introduced the students and staff to aspects of Kitchen Chemistry, but this time using puddle chemistry for some qualitative analysis. Later I helped Prof. Matthews deliver a workshop on assessments, and on our second day we were treated to a tour of some local places of interest.

Next stop Buon Ma Thuot for a day. There we did workshops at the University of Medicine and Pharmacy and were entertained royally to lunch. Although it was only a flying visit we were made to feel very special guests. No Kitchen Chemistry this time, only consumption of what emerged from the kitchen!

After Buon Ma Thuot we managed to spend a few days in Ho Chi Minh City. We ran more workshops, with the University of Medicine and Pharmacy there. I also had the opportunity to give Kitchen Chemistry a couple of runs out mainly for university students but some general public too.

From Ho Chi Minh city it was off to Hanoi for the remainder of the trip. Prof. Matthews had been invited to a British Council Reception at the Ambassador’s Residence, while I took the opportunity to visit Reigate School with Kitchen Chemistry. The next day we divided forces again with Prof. Matthews going to Phenikaa University and I to Phenikaa School. I decided to use a Grab bike (Grab there is the same as Uber here) and it was great fun! We met up later at Phenikaa University and took the metro back to our hotel. The next day was Thursday, and we had a chance for some sightseeing, and on Friday we were guests at Hai Phong where we caught a glimpse of the famous bay with “thousands” of islands. Before our return journey we had to ensure that the beautiful framed pictures would make it back in one piece and we ended up gifting the hotel a huge roll of bubble wrap!