Never go back?

In 2002 I visited the island of Koh Chang in Thailand.

Though I was hardly a well traveled soul at the time, that shouldn't detract too much from the fact that I had never seen anywhere like it in my life.

It was just gorgeous.  I spent less than a week there but I it felt like some wonderful dream.

I returned three years later.  The Thai government had invested heavily in beefing up the island's tourist infrastructure.  The place was wrecked.  It was full of drunk people who wanted to fight each other.  It was horrible and heart breaking.

A few years later I visited Mango Bay in Phu Quoc, Vietnam.  Actually if I am honest I went there because I was losing it slightly over a girl and needed a break.  It looked so much better than I felt.  Despite my general mood I was bowled over by the place.

Being the luckiest man in the world I later took the same girl (we patched it up) to see the place.  We booked in shortly after a small typhoon had left.  It appeared to have left every plastic bag in Asia on the beach.

Going back doesn't seem to work.  Can great places only get worse?  Can perfection only be ruined?

I ask because this weekend I am going back to Ometepe.  In the past when I have compared paradises with travellers I have named this place as The One.  Absolute heaven.  Total beauty.  If you've never been there then you've never lived.  Really.

I remember being very happy there.  Happy for no other real reason than I was in total awe of my surroundings. See the pictures above.

I'm tempting fate.  I am staying at the same hostel.  Then it was a shed.  Now it appears to be, well, solid and big and incredibly popular.

Can the most beautiful place in the world have kept it looks? 

It seems too much to hope for.

But I hope so.

Comments

[ozlady]

Good luck with going back.

Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't... go looking for new things.

[robmeyer]

I think it depends on the draw of the place in question. If it is a natural beauty that attracts visitors to its untouched wonders, and people "know" about it, the unfortunate trend seems to be that we (humans) will ruin it over time! However, if the site has some kind of man-made draw to it (perhaps a cultural center), it is quite possible it will improve and even flourish over time. To me, Buenos Aires is an example of a place that has definitely improved over the years.

[Linda]

Now I find this very interesting!

In my opinion you are blessed to be affected so very deeply by the beauty of the places you visit - what I mean is that for me, I'd go anywhere and live in a place not best known for its allure (okay Cannock) if it meant I was surrounded by the people I loved and felt part of a community, to get up each day and also breathe in the spectacular atmosphere of a given place seems an unattainable bonus to me.

There are parts of Wales that I am in love with, and I have no doubt that getting out of bed in the Seychelles every morning would take my breath away - but if my family and friends were hours away, I'd soon tire of it - never mind how spoilt or unspoilt it was.

So I think in answer to your question - my view would be yes, by all means go back but don't be too disappointed that people have somehow spoiled the place - that's what people do. Yes I can see it's heartbreaking but enjoy it for what it still is with the people you love.

I continue to be inspired and made to think every time I visit your blog by what you are doing and your wonderful pictures, so thank you, and sorry if it sounds like I'm going off on one.

[ourman]

Thanks all. Ozlady. Good advice and I did. More soon.

Rob, agreed also and I badly want to go to Buenas Aries sometime soon.

Linda, you didn't go off on one. I am a very lucky person to live like I do. While half of it may be down to choosing to live like this and having the bravery to do it, the other half is pure circumstance - I am not rich and I am getting poorer by the day. But I have no dependents and no debts.

I don't think it is enough to say that people spoil a place. It doesn't have to be the case. I don't mind sharing somewhere as long as what made it special isn't obscured.
As an example, more people and more chaos, on some levels, just makes Hanoi more fascinating.

Anyway, pictures posted above. My verdit very soon.