Mekong Delta region on the “cay beo”

Hanging on the pole that Vietnamese who live in Western call ” cay beo” (beo tree) is the whole… Mekong Delta region. It is the full world of vegetables, tubers, and fruits. It is a daily necessity. It is the life of a merchant anchored to the water…

…”cây bẹo”

In the Mekong Delta, in terms of bustle, Long Xuyen floating market (Long Xuyen, An Giang province) is second only to Cai Rang floating market (Can Tho City). The market opens at 5 am and closes at around 10 am. However, the bustling atmosphere of buyers and sellers lasts only a couple of hours, from the market’s opening until around 7 am. The remaining time is the scene of “the end of the night”.

At 5 am, the West on the river is a struggle between darkness and light. The flickering sunlight penetrates the darkness, creating a shimmering, magical scene. Hiding in the cold of the morning mist, looking out into the infinite, is the scene of dawn on the river, the streaks of white and pink clouds intertwined, blending together in the sky, all of which seem to add flavor to the lives of the working people who are drifting on the river every day.

Long Xuyen floating market starts a new day with laughter and chatter spreading across the river. It is also bustling, with boats and canoes anchored closely together, but the buying and selling scene here seems “gentler” than many other floating markets in the Southwest. It seems that the buyers are more leisurely. The sellers are also no less polite. The buying and selling take place very quickly, in the style of saying what to sell, with little bargaining. The culture of the river region and the character of the people of An Giang are just like that.

To “advertise” their products, traders use long poles, symbolically tied to the type of goods they want to sell, and then stick them at the bow of boats. Buyers can look at them and find what they want to buy. Westerners call them “beo” poles. Newcomers often assume that anything hung on a beo pole is what they sell. However, there are four types of beo poles. Of course, hanging what is sold is the number one general principle. The second most common beo pole is hanging but not selling. Boats are not only a means of transportation and of transporting goods for sale, but also homes where merchant families live.

Therefore, on boats, clothes and some household items can be hung… Those are things hung but not sold. The third Beo pole is not hung but sold. Those are boats that sell food and drink to serve market-goers and tourists.

The most strange thing about Beo poles is hanging this thing to sell that thing. These are boats with bamboo poles and roofing sheets or coconut leaves. The main items for sale are boats and ships.

The bamboo poles have gradually become a characteristic, a cultural code of the floating markets in the West in general and the Long Xuyen floating market in particular. Looking at them, people can see the lives of the drifting boats and ships.

Long Xuyen floating market is a place where countless items converge, but the most are fruits and agricultural products typical of the Southwest region. The sellers are mainly traders who purchase goods directly from gardens and transport them to the market, ensuring freshness and quality. There are also a few local sellers who harvest their own agricultural products and bring them to the market. Therefore, compared to other floating markets in the Southwest region and even the Mekong Delta, prices at the Long Xuyen market are generally “softer,” and, especially, there is no “ripping off” tourists.

For tourists, the most important factor when visiting the Long Xuyen floating market is choosing the right season. Buy seasonal fruits, which are both delicious and cheap, and ensure they are clean. The end of the year is the season for grapefruit; the beginning of the year has sapodilla; the middle of the year has mango and durian, rambutan…

To fully enjoy the experience at the Long Xuyen floating market, tourists should not miss the cuisine. Breakfast at Long Xuyen floating market includes vermicelli soup, stir-fried vermicelli, congee, grilled pork vermicelli, bread… Most of them are highly appreciated by tourists for their rich flavor. Moreover, sitting and having breakfast on a boat, in the bustling morning trading atmosphere, brings many memorable experiences.

After warming your stomach, sipping a cup of coffee, and watching the scene of buyers and sellers gradually brighten in the dawn, a sense of tranquility suddenly comes back.

People in the West say that the floating market is now only a few parts of what it used to be. It is natural that, as life moves forward, rivers are no longer the only convenient means of transportation in the Mekong Delta. However, floating markets will always exist. Because they are not only places for trading but also places where culture, life, and the people of the Southwest converge.

Source: collected by An

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