During semester break, January, 2006, a group of university students took a two week study trip into the Asia Pacific area visiting Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand. While in Singapore they received a briefing as the US Embassy, spend a day at a Minnesota based manufacturing company’s plant, toured Sentosa island (a local resort), enjoyed the local foods, and spend time in Chinatown, Little India, and Orchard Road shopping. They took a day trip into Malaysia visiting a remote fishing village, an orchard plantation, and small pewter factory. The saw first hand the vast difference between developing Malaysian and developed Singaporean economies. The last three days were spend in Phuket, Thailand, where they saw the remnants of the tsunami of December, 2004. They took a day boat/canoe adventure trip in the Andaman Sea. The trip gave the group a better understanding of the three cultures visited as well as being able to enjoy their various and excellent foods.
