Phu Quoc Island

The inspection trips and destination updates are definitely the bright side of being employed by a tour operator. The production season is starting and the focus of work will now be on product management and contracting. I had spent four days at Phu Quoc - a Vietnamese island in the Gulf of Thailand, near Cambodia. According to the master plan the island shall be developed to the country’s top beach- and eco-tourism destination. It won’t match places like Bali or Phuket for its lack of cultural heritage and exceptional sights. But still, there is potential, as the island has far and foremost the best beaches I have ever seen in Vietnam. And many of them are still pristine and deserted.

voted as one of the islands with the most pristine beaches…question is for how long

Mai Spa – a place for dreaming of peaceful island-life

It was good to breathe fresh air, listen to silence and to meet friendly people who live their peaceful life far away from the big complicated city. Back to island-life, at least for a few days, makes me seriously reconsidering Bali. The only questions remains is how to get there, make my life there. Specialising in what the island needs or gathering so much expert knowledge that the place of residence becomes a minor concern? Phu Quoc would be an alternative to urban life, but there is no surf and there is not much to do either. So maybe just something for a couple of years…if at all.

from dust tracks to development on the way…

…megalomania on a small island – with many projects in the pipeline

Back to Saigon life sucks and bores again. The city is too big to relax and too small to do whatever one likes. At least some good people will move down from Hanoi. I had met Remi and Huong on Phu Quoc and there might be more regular gatherings in Saigon soon. Vietnam, somehow it is a small country, as the venues where people of similar mindset meet up are indeed limited. So people meet each other on and on.

old friends – new places: Vietnam, somehow a small country...

...three persons - one thought: tranquil towns and quiet beaches

Dr. Scharfsinn finally also settles back in the Socialist Republic. He is based far away in the capital of Hanoi, but at least in the country. And jet-set will allow us to meet once in a while for good chats and nights out.

two experts discussing one issue

intermezzos

The new year raises the question whether it has all just been intermezzos or whether there will be a more sustainable approach to life. At the moment I am really done with the way my private life went since I arrived in the city. It was the ones who I have considered as a family and as part of my dream in life who gave me the hardest time ever. It was they and the circumstances, that made me lose faith. On the other hand it were them who had shown me a reality which I was ignorant about. It was the worst I ever met, the best I ever loved, the most I ever missed, the least I ever had. It made me all tired. Possibly it had all just been wrong anticipations which are now ruined. An important task, a love and a fight might be lost. Can it be, that four years had just been an intermezzo? Can something be so strong that it destroys all, can we be influenced so far that even human life becomes meaningless? It can. The reality of life that I have learned here is the daily drama of millions of people that are so far away from a small peaceful hometown in the developed world.

A beach intermezzo…

…balm for the soul?

When Thuy Hang brought the dog to our house, I believed that it would be a good task for her to take care for it. But it soon tuned out simply to be an additional source of inconvenience. As nobody had taken care for it, we gave it away after just a few days. Same story as always. Life as unfeasible commodity. Good in order to play with but impossible to care for.

dog intermezzo – no time to take care

The shortest of all intermezzos was when I recently checked in a local five star hotel where I had been presented a free-of-charge night. After a few minutes in the room I decided to check out. I took all the amenities and water and left the hotel. I still feel sorry for the receptionist who could not believe that the hotel did not do anything wrong. They and - actually its me too at this time - who just don’t sell my way of life. This urban manifestation of mass-market tourism bores me to death, as the city with its only activities being shopping, eating out and clubbing. I miss Bali. Maybe also just an escape. An artificial paradise. But still, it has much of positive energy I could need to recover from a hard story in a hard city. This story cost me so much, faith , trust, energy, and I am taking distance. But possibly I will never be out of it. And I don’t know how it will continue. I just know that the chance for it being a good way decreases day by day. And thus, finally, it seems that I will always have to carry on this burden, the sadness about the sadness of someone.