Western tourists come to Vietnam to learn how to plow and grow vegetables so they can return home and live in the mountains.

(Dan Tri) - The New Zealand man held a plow himself, excitedly tilling each row of soil after being carefully instructed by Ms. May Kim (living in Sapa, Lao Cai ).

Buy a tour to plow the fields and learn to grow vegetables

On December 8, Ms. May Kim's family (living in Sapa town, Lao Cai) welcomed a 30-year-old male tourist (from New Zealand) to experience the life of the highland people for 4 days and 3 nights.

The guy booked a tour through a travel agency for 5 million VND (including food and transportation costs).

Western tourists experience plowing fields and growing vegetables in Lao Cai (Source: May Kim Dao Do).

The first time he set foot in Ta Phin, the 30-year-old man was impressed by the picturesque scenery with rolling mountains stretching out in front of him and small houses located on the hillsides.

It is known that after this trip, he plans to move to the mountains to live, grow vegetables, farm and sew... in New Zealand. Therefore, he wants to go to Ta Phin to learn how to do agriculture .

After greeting and getting acquainted, Ms. May Kim instructed the male tourist on how to print beeswax patterns on fabric and dye indigo. On the second day, the young man from New Zealand followed Ms. May Kim into the forest to pick leaves to use as bath water, and experienced a meal on the mountain amidst the cool green space.

However, the experience that excited the young man the most was holding a plow and turning each row of soil on the terraced fields. At first glance, this job seemed simple but everything was not as easy as imagined. However, the feeling of being a real farmer for the first time left the New Zealand man with excitement.

Ms. May Kim said that this was the first foreign guest to experience plowing the fields with buffalo at her family's house. Previously, this woman had wanted to open a tour to welcome international guests to her home to learn how to plow the fields, but only now has she been able to do so.

"The young man likes to experience plowing the fields with buffalo, because agriculture in New Zealand has been mechanized, using machines. Many people have never seen the image of using buffalo to plow the fields in real life," Ms. May Kim expressed.

Western tourists have difficulty adjusting the plow while the buffalo is walking in front (Photo: Cut from clip).

In the video shared online, before plowing a few furrows, the male tourist was given detailed instructions by Ms. May Kim.

The 1.8m tall young man appeared clumsy when making the first plowing cuts. His two hands gripped the handle tightly, the plow tilted, sometimes veering off the furrow, causing the tourist to stagger. After a few attempts, he completed the experience with the guidance of a local farmer.

After finishing the plowing work, the New Zealander was able to make ridges and prepare the soil for planting vegetables. After watching Ms. May Kim’s mother guide him through the planting process once or twice, he was able to pick up each young plant, place it in the hole, and carefully pile soil around the base.

Westerners like to pick vegetables, the atmosphere is friendly

This is just one of many foreign tourists who have come to eat and stay with Ms. May Kim's family over the past year. Experiential tourism is increasingly attracting this group of customers because of its novelty, uniqueness and excitement.

During the 4 days, the 30-year-old man was always amazed by the unique cultural features of the people in Ta Phin. At the end of the trip, he assessed that he had discovered and learned many new things.

Sharing with Dan Tri reporter, Ms. May Kim said that after finishing high school, she worked as a tour guide in Sapa. Due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, this woman returned home to Ta Phin to grow vegetables and take care of the plants.

In 2023, she started building a TikTok channel to sell local products. That was also when the family started welcoming Western guests to experience.

Ms. May Kim (fourth from left) and a group of foreign tourists experience picking vegetables (Photo: Provided by the character).

"Western tourists love activities like growing vegetables, picking leaves, eating in the middle of the forest... Among them, they love the most to go into their own garden, pick vegetables and then bring them home to cook. Many tourists live in the city and do not have land to grow crops, so spacious gardens with fresh green vegetables are a very impressive image," Ms. May Kim shared.

Ms. May Kim’s family has 3 generations living together in a 2-room wooden house, made of wood, passed down from her grandparents. The atmosphere of the whole family gathering around the dinner table and fire after a day of work becomes a special feature, creating an attraction for foreign tourists.

"In the West, most tourists live independently after the age of 18. Parents rarely live with their children, so there are no such happy, family-friendly scenes," said Ms. May Kim.

Western tourists like to go up the mountain to pick leaves to make bath water and explore nature (Photo: Character provided).

Thanks to her good English and fluent communication skills, Ms. May Kim helps her family easily talk to tourists from many countries around the world.

"When I was working in Sapa, I attended an English class for 3 months. Thanks to learning more every day, I can pronounce and speak fluently. English helps me better introduce to guests the customs, life and culture of the local people," Ms. May Kim expressed.

Currently, Ms. May Kim's family provides accommodation and experience services at different prices, depending on the needs of customers. Specifically, with a 1-day tour, customers can go up the mountain to pick leaves, have lunch, and bathe in Dao leaves at a price of about 900,000 VND/person.

With the 2-day-1-night tour, guests can experience the walking route to town, Dao people's leaf bath, beeswax painting and fabric dyeing, eating and drinking... the price is about 2.2 million VND/person. In addition, foreign guests can choose 3-4 day tours for more experiences.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/du-lich/khach-tay-sang-viet-nam-hoc-cay-ruong-trong-rau-de-ve-nuoc-len-nui-song-20241216092840359.htm