[Photos] Meet Saigon’s Buffalo-Herding Urban Cowboy

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November 30, 2016

In the shadow of Saigon’s increasingly dramatic skyline, buffalo rancher Vu Duc Toi leads a rural life.

The 52-year-old man, who raises water buffalo in the fields of District 2, has a home in Binh Duong province but routinely stays overnight in a nearby construction site, reports VnExpress. Toi purchases his buffalo in Cambodia and fattens them up on the outskirts of the city for resale. During the day, he leaves the animals to graze on their own while he collects scrap metal and catches fish in nearby ponds. In the evenings, Toi holds regular bonfires with his buffalo and shares dinner with a local security guard named Bay at a neighboring construction site. Though his animals are often left to roam free, no one has ever stolen them.

Toi told VnExpress he often finds himself out of contact with the outside world – his mobile phone has a tendency to run out of battery – but this doesn’t trouble him.

“My family has been asking me to stop this nomadic life and come home,” he said, according to the news outlet. “But I am still strong enough to work, and I feel comfortable living this way.”