Diary Entry Day 7

By Lim Fei Xiang

Photos by Lim Fei Xiang

After a long night of editing pieces and chasing deadlines, morning came with the joy of taking a break from Saigon and making our way further south towards the Mekong Delta. The journey which took us roughly two and a half hours was indeed a quiet one, with many of us catching up on some good wholesome sleep. Our journey was graced by two new English friends, Jemma and Sarah. After a short introduction and a little ‘hard love’ by Abeer about the condition of our blog, we were well on our way.

Our journey was indeed a long one, our first stop was Cai Be town, situated along the banks of the Mekong River. You may first think that Cai Be is solely a fishing village because it is situated next to the river, but there are other many products available for trade. Fruits, vegetables, and even construction materials like bricks and sand are traded. Most houses and shops are built along the river bank, with some families living in their boats. The Mekong River is massive and crosses through China, Burma, Laos, Thailand, and Cambodia. It is the source of livelihood for many people and is rich with history and tradition. The boat ride was beautiful and tranquil, with some of us travellers attempting to soak up some sun and break into a golden tan.

Boat rides made more fun

From the bus, we boarded our own private boat and headed upstream towards our first stop - the local bee farm – where we were treated to some brewed hot tea with fresh honey and lime. A truly refreshing drink indeed, especially for those of us who were suffering from sore throats and coughs. We also witnessed how traditional paper rice rolls were made.  It was your average ‘poh piah’, but made with a Vietnamese twist. It was here as well that some of us managed to finally summon enough bravery to give Snake Wine a go. The sight of fermented snakes and scorpions in a bottle isn’t something I was brought up with, but after most of the female travellers had a go at it, my ego was on the line. So, yes, I did indeed have a go at it. Pretty decent really! Strangely enough, it tasted like a mix of ‘bak kut teh’ and tea.

Our journey then took a very interesting twist as we boarded traditional Vietnamese wooden boats, where local women manually row passengers upstream towards An Binh Island – yes, the river is so large that islands can be found along it. We enjoyed a simple lunch and were introduced to the local delicacy, the Elephant Ear Fish. As strange as it sounds, it was quite tasty. Eaten with the rice paper roll we saw being made earlier and some vegetables, it was as Vietnamese as Vietnam can get.

Your local boat dude

After lunch, we had the privilege of experiencing how locals travel on land by riding rusty and old bicycles. After a week of not having any proper exercise, this was a good chance to burn off some of the Saigon fat. Some of us covered about five kilometres along a stretch of road that seemed endless. We found our way to a road side store where we had some extremely sweet local coffee. Let me try and put this coffee into perspective, 1/4 condensed milk, 1/4 coffee syrup, and the rest was ice. So, you can imagine the kind of sweetness running down our throats, into our stomachs, and clogging up our hearts. It was all forgiven though, when the sweltering Vietnam heat made many of us crispy and a tad bit burnt.                

The only way to travel

Finally we made our way into Vinh Long, a local town further upstream where we managed to shop around for some local fruits. As usual, fruits here are a bargain and when converted, cost almost nothing for us Malaysians. Imagine 1kg of durian for only RM3? Heaven for some of you I’m sure. But the durian here looked and tasted more like expired durian cake, than your average pulpy bittersweet goodness.

The bus finally pulled in and we discovered that it was another one hour journey to the hotel where we were to stay. To be truly honest, I wasn’t very sure where we were going. The heat got the best of us and a little ‘siesta’ in the bus was much needed. Upon arrival we made our way into our hotel rooms and jumped right into the showers. Hotel policy here states that if you want air conditioning, fork out another $5USD, which we gladly obliged to of course.

We had dinner on the banks of the Mekong with local food on the menu. It is now 10.30 p.m as I write this. This diary entry is due in 30 minutes and I wouldn’t want to annoy our diligent editors with anymore delays. This is Fei, signing off with much love and joy! Day Eight shall be another exciting day. Stay tuned! 

Lim Feixiang, is a Marketing and Communications double degree student. Alongside headlining this year’s Photography team, he can be found breaking hearts in the cafeteria, flexing biceps and on occasion, triceps.