Bo in Viet Nam

I live in the town of Bolinas, nicknamed “Bo” by locals. Here on the island of Phu Quoc by a series of happenstances I end up at a resort called Bo Resort — www.boresort.com. It turns out to be a wonderful place, with 8 bamboo bungalows looking down the hill at the sea. $15/night. No air conditioning, no TV, and the bungalows are perfect for my tastes. Everything has been done with great care. Designer is Marie, a Vietnamese woman married to Regis, a Frenchman. I shot lots of pix. I showed the owners Home Work and they loved it. They started passing it around to other guests in the restaurant (food is excellent!). Mostly French guests, I’m the only gringo. I’ve had a wonderful time for the last two days with these people. I’ll write more about it later. The manager of the place next door is an Englishman and he flipped when he saw the book. He’s a world traveler, just doing this gig for a while, and he carries a very tattered copy of Shelter with him wherever he goes — he showed it to me. Says it’s been a major influence on his life. It’s so great, after all that work, to connect with people. Gratifying. Last night we all sat at a big table in the restaurant and had the local crabs. Also present were some French and Vietnamese people who have a wine importing business in Hanoi and Saigon and they broke out a bottle of 23-year-old Armagnac Cognac, which we shared after dinner. (For me after bananas flambé, which I got the recipe for.) It was a great night. At 2 a.m., I went swimming in the warm water. This morning I swam about a mile, trying to recharge after too many big-city fumes. Right now I’m in an Internet cafe with pleasant breezes from fans surrounded by local kids all playing video games. Time to head back to Bo Resort and hoping the lights work.