Lu A Giang once left the village to Binh Duong (now Ho Chi Minh City) to work as a worker. But then returned. Returning to do tourism to support his whole family and "introduce the beauty of Si Thau Chai (Tam Duong, Lai Chau) to everyone" - Mr. Lu A Giang's words.
The story of leaving the village
Lu A Giang, born in 1989, and his wife Lu Thi Senh, born in 1992, have 2 daughters, one in 9th grade and one in 5th grade. Before 2019, Mr. and Mrs. Giang went to Binh Duong (now Ho Chi Minh City) to work as workers. He worked for a wood processing factory, and she worked as a worker in an industrial park.
In just a short time, realizing that work affected his health, Lu A Giang persuaded his wife to return to her hometown in 2019. Until now, Lu A Giang still remembers the feeling of "breathing alive" at that time because when the couple returned to their hometown, the COVID-19 epidemic began to affect social life. When asked about the reason for taking his whole family to a place very far from his hometown to work, Lu A Giang laughed and said: I'm afraid of losing my wife, so I have to go.
Hearing her husband talk about the reason for leaving her hometown to go to the South to work as a worker, Lu Thi Senh added: During that time, I wanted to work to have money to cover living expenses, only farming in mountainous areas was very hard and the money earned was not much. Ms. Lu Thi Senh - the mother of 2 daughters - also shyly explained: At that time, I was very sad in the village, other people who went to work far away all had money and told about new life that was very happy. Therefore, wanting to be like them, I decided to leave the village to go to the South. "Life in a place that is not my village is really hard even though my husband and I tried very hard. Finally, I listened to my husband and returned to the village" - Lu Thi Senh shared.
Homestay of Lu A Giang and his wife
Before becoming a homestay in the "Sì Thâu Chải Community Tourist Village", Mr. Lù A Giàng and Ms. Lù Thị Sểnh's family lived under Tác Tình waterfall. Arriving in Sì Thâu Chải - a place about 1,500m above sea level, Lù A Giàng bought a piece of land near the end of the village, built 8 rooms from a bank loan. Like 15 other homestays in the village, Mr. Lù A Giàng's family's homestay serves accommodation and dining for mountaineers.
Every morning, Mr. Lu A Giang and his wife take turns going down the mountain to get food and fresh vegetables to prepare meals for guests. Arriving at the village gate, when they meet homestay customers, they help them carry luggage because cars are not allowed to enter the village. The view from Lu A Giang's homestay is very beautiful, you can see the entire land below as well as the mountain ranges in the distance. Therefore, not only are there many overnight guests but also many mountain climbers stop here to admire the sky and check-in.
Depending on the customer's request, breakfast at Mr. Lu A Giang's homestay has instant noodles, eggs, sausages, and vegetables. Lunch and dinner have fish, meat, vegetables, plain rice, sticky rice, hotpot... In the evening, a corner of the yard will be a fireplace lit with firewood, and trays that can sit up to 10 people are placed in positions in the yard as requested by the customer.
The chef who prepares the dishes is also taken care of by Lu A Giang and his wife. Lu A Giang joins hands to pick up chicken, chop chicken, stir-fry meat, marinate fish to grill on wood stoves. To master cooking, Lu A Giang participated in a training class opened by the district before, plus a little experience gained from working at a restaurant...
While her husband prepares dishes, Ms. Lu Thi Senh takes care of picking up and washing vegetables; mixing dishes to ensure they are suitable for her own meat and fish, and arranging food on the table for guests. Lu Thi Senh points to a basket of dried cardamom, boasting: This year, my family harvested and sold cardamom for 15 million VND. In addition to doing homestay, my family still farms like growing corn. Lu Thi Senh vừa làm vừa kể: In previous years, every morning, the two of us took turns taking our 2 children to town to study and then pick them up in the evening. In the morning, we took our children down, when we came back, we took advantage of taking food and vegetables that had been pre-ordered from people's houses. The winding and very high mountain road occupies a lot of time for the couple. From this year, the couple has rented a house for the 2 children to stay in the town. On Friday afternoons, we pick up the children to go home. The 2 children know how to help their parents serve guests, one picks up vegetables
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In the highlands, the sun sets faster behind the overlapping mountains. After welcoming the sunset, groups of guests return to homestays to have dinner. Si Thau Chai village is again shimmering in the light of the fires on the porch of homestays. Lu A Giang, while quickly flipping up grilled fish skewers for guests, said: All homestays in the village have agreed on prices for services, there is no difference. People in this homestay can go to another homestay to admire the scenery and take pictures comfortably without paying a fee.
With 8 rooms, Lu A Giang's couple's homestay earns an average of over 40 million VND/month. Some rooms are priced at 400,000 VND/night, some rooms are priced at 350,000 VND/night. The rooms are closed, with hot and cold, clean, suitable for the requirements of those who like to travel and explore. Winter is crowded from September to the end of April 30 of the following year. During peak season, Lu A Giang makes posters. As a local, familiar with the terrain, Lu A Giang is hired by many mountain climbing groups to carry luggage, food, heavy items and process food at the mountain resorts for the group. A 3-day 2-night mountain climbing trip, Lu A Giang receives a wage of about 3,000,000 VND. Lu A Giang also accepts to take guests from Tam Duong to Si Thau Chai to climb the mountain. Lu A Giang's couple's homestay is always crowded with guests, not only overnight guests but also overnight guests, stopping to prepare for the mountain climbing trip. Because the previous traveler introduces the latter.
Lu A Giang boasted that he has a TikTok account, and also wants to promote homestay but is too busy... with too many guests, so he has not been able to update for several months.
Whatever can make money, no matter how hard it is, I will do it so that I can pay off all the bank loans for homestays and raise my children to study" - Lu A Giang said. In that busyness, always busy serving customers, in addition to the purpose of income, Lu A Giang also day by day fulfills his dream of doing tourism to introduce the beauty of Si Thau Chai to many tourists.
