Day 16 - Cái Bè (Mekong Delta Region)

Today we had a very early start and my mother and I woke up thinking we were back on the tour again! We had set the alarm for 5am but didn't get out of bed until at least 5:3o. By 6:15, we were on my uncle's tour bus and heading towards the Mekong Delta, specifically the district of Cái Bè. I've been hearing for days from my mother about what Cai Be was like when she was a child and the last time she was there, she went with my father to introduce him to the family.

Cai Be is a river-side town that is very very rural. My grandmother and her 10 siblings grew up. Of all the Luong siblings, only my grandmother and her older sister are still alive. This is a side of my family that I have never known before and am only meeting for the first time, so this was a bit of an adventure for me. From Saigon, we drove through Cho Lon (direct translation is Big Market), where my mother says a lot of Chinese people settled in Vietnam. I could tell because every single store there had both Chinese and Vietnamese characters and when we stopped for breakfast at a noodle shop, the servers were all speaking Chinese!

After breakfast, the car ride was about 2 hours long and I was passed out the entire time so I have no idea what it looks like from Saigon to Cai Be! When we got to the bridge leading into Cai Be, my mother woke me up and said, "This is the bridge where the bus used to stop and we'd have to walk a mile to get in!" I could tell my mother was a little apprehensive all morning so I asked her if she was all right and she said that she is really afraid of the "monkey bridge." I had never heard of this term before and when she explained it to me, I was more than excited to see it! That's when my uncle yelled out that the road now goes right into neighbourhood and we would only need to walk a few meters to the house - no more monkey bridge!

I didn't expect to be in such a rural setting - and to be right by the river also. My great-grandparents' property is huge and it is surrounded by hundreds of fruit trees. There are longans, oranges, limes, pomelos, mango, starfruit, jackfruit, and bananas - just to name a few. On the way in, we picked bunches of longans from neighbouring trees and feasted on them as we walked.

About 40 people were already at the house cooking up a storm in anticipation for our arrival. I couldn't believe how fast everyone had gotten together - it was only 9am in the morning! When we got there, there was already a feast prepared for us - banh xeo, congee, roasted duck, roasted pork, fresh greens and fresh bread. I wasn't able to feast in the usual way because 1) it was still 9am and 2) I was afraid that if I ate too much, there would be no proper bathroom facilities to use! After brunch, my cousins and I decided to take a walk into the orchard of fruit trees. I felt like I was venturing into a jungle because there were trees and ants everywhere! We had a great time just walking along the trail - even though the fruit wasn't ripe enough to pick yet.

The most delicious thing I ate today was the fresh jackfruit that was prepared for us after brunch. It had been sitting in a fridge all morning so it was nice and cool. I've never had fresh jackfruit before because it always comes in a can or frozen in Canada. The fruit is usually served in syrup over ice. However, as soon as the fresh jackfruit hit my mouth, I was in LOVE... this could easily become one of my favourite fruit! It was perfectly ripe as well.

We left Cai Be shortly after lunchtime because we planned on being back in Saigon for 4pm to beat the traffic. I was sad to go because all that preparation had gone in to only a few hours of fun. My great-aunt was sad to see us go as well and she cried as she told me to take care of myself. We all took turns putting money in her pockets because we were told she likes to take a mile hike everyday to go buy lottery tickets. :) I was mostly grateful for the experience and to have my cousins there to entertain me and take me out into the jungle. haha

My mother had a fun day too - although she was mostly nervous because it had been so long since she'd been to her grandparents' home. She was worried about the journey there because she obviously doesn't have the 26 year-old energy that she used to and because she remembers being so overwhelmed by the visits when she was younger. Although, in conversations today with my great-uncle's widow, we found out that my mother was actually born in Cai Be at the house! She was confused at first because she said, "But all of my paperwork says I was born in Thu Duc." That's when the widow told her that my grandmother actually gave birth to her in Cai Be and when they took her in to the actual hospital, they decided to make the trek into Thu Duc to get the paperwork written up. So this place that she has been so afraid to revisit is actually her birthplace!

This entire trip is coming to an end in only two days and I'm overwhelmed at the thought of what we've gone through in the past 16 days. My mother says that while I will be happy to be returning to my husband, she is feeling a little bittersweet. While she misses her life and family in Canada, she knows that she will miss her family and friends in Vietnam - it was almost easier to have left for so long and not come back at all than to come back and realize what she's been missing all of these years. I can tell that her mind is working overtime as she tries to think of a way to visit more often. She now realizes why my grandparents are eager to sit through the 20+ hour plane ride to get back "home" to Vietnam.

It's been a bit of an emotional day for me and I know that we have much to do in the coming days...