The profession of “carrying clouds and wind” in Mu Cang Chai

In recent years, trekking has become a travel trend for many people with the purpose of challenging their own limits, conquering mountain peaks and improving their health. Where there is demand, there is supply, so more mountain climbers will need guides, and thus, the number of porters will also increase. In Mu Cang Chai, guiding and carrying luggage for tourists has emerged as a profession, taking advantage of a healthy labor force that is familiar with the mountainous area, while also bringing in a significant source of income for local people.

Every day leading a mountain climbing tour, the porters must wake up early, prepare and arrange all the necessary tools, food, sleeping bags, tents... to serve the tourists' journey. Porters must be experienced mountain climbers, know the way and have knowledge about the mountain and surrounding landscape to answer questions for tourists .

"When doing this job, I am aware of my responsibilities. I often divide the work reasonably with other colleagues and always accompany the guests. If the members of the group separate due to physical problems, we keep a distance between the groups to avoid getting lost, ensuring the safety and health of each person" - Mr. Ho Nha in Mu Cang Chai commune - an experienced porter shared.

During the mountain climbing journey, when arriving at the shelter, the porter will arrive first to clean up, boil water, prepare dinner, and prepare food and supplies for the next day. Reviewing mountain climbing trips is very important in promoting tourism and attracting visitors. Therefore, the porters in Mu Cang Chai commune know how to build a "brand" and promote this land.

Porters often create personal pages on social media platforms such as Zalo, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, etc. to promote local tourism. In addition, through mountain climbing trips, porters are also photographers who can capture beautiful and unique angles; they are also good at finding check-in points that satisfy tourists.

Porters in Mu Cang Chai commune have two sources of customers, one is through travel agencies, the other is direct contact. When a customer wants to join the mountain climbing, they are required to provide information about the climbing date, number of people, and necessary preparations. On average, there will be 1 porter for every 2-3 customers.

On the way, each porter carries about 20-30 kg of necessities and belongings for the entire trip. At the mountain climbing routes, the local porters have set up wooden huts and provided blankets and mattresses for the guests to sleep overnight. In addition to guiding the way, the porters are also companions, introducing tourists to the trees, birds, animals in the forest or the customs and habits of the local people.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Thanh in Hanoi, who participated in climbing Lung Cung peak, confided: When climbing the mountain, I can listen to birds singing, watch flowers blooming, immerse myself in nature, and admire the beauty of the land and sky.

I also got to listen to stories about local life and culture shared by the tour guide. Through that, I learned many new things about customs and practices and loved the honesty, simplicity and kindness of the people here even more - Ms. Thanh shared.

Not only guiding the forest and carrying goods, many porters in Mu Cang Chai commune also update trends, actively change their thinking to build many attractive tourism service models such as establishing tourism service cooperatives, homestays...

Porter Lu A Cu in Mu Cang Chai commune shared: “I have a small homestay with 6 rooms for guests to rent. When I lead mountain climbing groups, I have more friends and more guests for my family’s homestay. Thanks to that, my family has more work and income.”

In Mu Cang Chai commune alone, there are currently more than 20 porters working regularly. Each porter’s guide fee averages VND400,000/day; each climbing group will take about two days, so the porter will earn VND800,000 for each trip.

The job of guiding tourists is not only an opportunity for porters in Mu Cang Chai to develop the economy , but through each journey, they also contribute to preserving the national cultural identity and promoting local tourism to domestic and foreign tourists.

Source: https://baolaocai.vn/nghe-gui-may-cong-gio-o-mu-cang-chai-post650049.html