Western tourists come to Vietnam to travel, enjoy weeding, cooking pig feed, and leading buffaloes to plow.

In early December, Mr. Jean Louis (born in 1957, from France) and his wife, Mrs. Marcelle, had a 4-day, 3-night trip to Phu Tho, stopping at Nhoi village, Long Coc commune, Tan Son district.

Here, they had interesting experiences that are “rare to find in the West”. These include learning to make wine, picking leaves to make five-color sticky rice, leading buffaloes to plow…

“Ban Nhoi is hidden at the foot of Dragon Mountain with about 60 households and 300 people who are Muong people. Because of its quite isolated location, this place still retains its wild beauty and traditional lifestyle.

This is also what many foreign tourists are looking for, so they enjoy visiting and experiencing the daily life of the locals, especially local agricultural activities," shared photographer Ut Muoi - who accompanied Mr. and Mrs. Jean Louis.

The photographer said that during the 4 days of exploring Long Coc, the 2 French tourists spent half of their schedule visiting the scenic spots around the area.

The rest of the time, they prioritize experiencing the daily life of the indigenous people, through cooking and participating in typical agricultural activities.

Mr. Ha Van Long - the landlord where Mr. Jean Louis and Mrs. Marcelle stayed said that the two Western guests like to immerse themselves in the daily life of the local people.

Instead of booking a room in a fully-equipped homestay, they chose to “eat and sleep together” with Mr. Long’s family, experience the stilt house and enjoy traditional Vietnamese meals.

“We cook rustic meals with some typical dishes to welcome foreign guests such as fried chicken, stir-fried duck, grilled duck, etc. Their requests and tastes are simple, so cooking is not difficult. After finishing the meal, the guests all praised the delicious food and said they liked the warm family atmosphere,” said Mr. Ha Thanh Luan (34 years old) – Mr. Long’s son.

In addition to preparing meals and accommodation, his family also acts as tour guides, taking visitors to some unique destinations in the area and introducing them to rural work such as plowing fields, weeding, picking tea, etc.

The evening before the guests left, Mr. Luan and the locals organized a performance, inviting visitors to dance, sing and take pictures, thereby spreading the unique beauty of traditional culture.

After nearly 5 years of working to connect and spread community tourism models in many northern provinces, photographer Ut Muoi assessed that Long Coc commune in particular and Phu Tho province in general have a lot of potential for "green economy".

“Many foreign tourists have come here because they want to experience rural life in Vietnam such as farming, weeding, and picking vegetables. These activities help them understand more about the diligence, hard work, and solidarity of the Vietnamese community,” photographer Ut Muoi shared.

According to this photographer, if Asian visitors (mostly photographers) often come to Long Coc to hunt clouds and take landscape photos, European and American visitors want to learn about local customs and practices as well as wet rice agriculture.

“They are used to industrialized and mechanical activities, so they feel strange and excited when they are able to lead buffaloes, carry plows to the fields, pull weeds, or even chop vegetables, cook bran for pigs to eat…”, he added.