The protagonist: Weng Bing Yuan, 19, comes from Triang, Pahang, and is studying marketing management for the second year in Kuala Lumpur.

A month’s amazing race

There is a saying that you have to play hard while still young. To Weng, the trip to South Africa has allowed him to completely understand the words "frivolous" and "breathtaking." He has learned a lot and found that he has grown up following the trip.

He travelled to South Africa under the Youth Exchange Program organised by Lions Club between 14 December last year and 14 January this year.

Many people were worried about his decision as South Africa is considered a country with poor law and order and people could get killed by wild animals. However, he has proved with his action that he has made the right decision.

There were a total of two men and four women, all from different parts of the country, in the trip. They met for the first time at the airport before boarding the plane to Singapore for a transit.

They finally reached Nelspruit, South Africa, after 11 hours of flight, and were accommodated by local Lions Club members.

They were put in groups of two with different host families on a weekly rotation basis.

Close contact with wild animals

During the first three days, they stayed in the tents at Kruger National Park. On the second and third days, they rode in jeeps to get a close encounter with wild animals such as lions, elephants, rhinos as well as African buffalos, but were not able to see any leopard.

In addition, they saw zebras, giraffes and some unknown animals too. They were told that once a passenger in the jeep was injured by animals, and this made their study trip all the more adventurous.

They spent twelve days in Nelspruit before proceeding to their next destination, Durban.

In Durban, they experienced some favourite local activities such as visiting the beach, diving, playing golf and watching traditional dances.

Weng celebrated his 28th birthday there and they have grasped the opportunity of flying in a host family's helicopter to visit the ongoing project of the World Cup Soccer Stadium.

Their third destinations were Table Mountain and Cape Town. They were excited to visit the well-known Cape of Good Hope there and enjoyed watching the sunset and penguins and playing in the ocean.

Jumping from a height of 68 metres

The most thrilling experience for Weng is "The Big Swing," in which the players will jump down from 68 metres high with safety belts tying their bodies together and stop in the middle of the air before reaching the majestic waterfall.

Weng described his feeling during an interview with Sin Chew Daily that his mind went blank at that time staring at the shining waterfall. He had worried about the potential dangers but at last he chose to confront his fear and overcame it.

This was a speed game and in less than a minute, Weng had the feeling of narrow escape. The experience was amazing even though it terrified him. Before they could jump from such a dazzling height, they were required to walk 442 steps of stairs to reach the place, and they enjoyed the scenery along the way.

After the event, they visited a slum and distributed sweets to a crowd of children. He has learned to appreciate his own life after seeing the children there.

Missing the local food

Since Weng came into contact with his host families, he has learned a lot about the local culture while having his English improved. The local people treated beer like water and Weng gave in to the temptation and started drinking beer.

After tasting, he found that the local beer was smooth to drink as it contained less alcohol and gas, and had a chocolate taste.

He misses the local Western food and he has gained some weight at the end of the trip.

During the journey, they tried to show off their culinary skills and cooked some Malaysian delicacies such as fried rice and bakuteh for their host families.

Besides, they also help promote Malaysian culture by performing some traditional dances for the local people.

His skin became darker during the trip as it was summer in South Africa and the temperature could rise to 40-45 degrees in the daytime while the weather became chilly at night.

Since he benefited a lot from the trip, Weng would like to say a big "Dunky" (thank you) to the host families as well as the Lions Club members there! (Translated by LIM LIY EE/Sin Chew Daily)