Intention
20 Years of Living, Learning, and Leading in Vietnam
After two decades in Vietnam, I reflect on a transformative journey of personal growth. Seventeen of those years were spent running organic resorts and restaurants in the northern region.
Originally from Sydney and educated in Tokyo, my philosophies gradually aligned with Eastern traditions. In 2002, I founded a heart-centered organization in Vietnam, dedicated to empowering impoverished communities and survivors of sex trafficking.
I opened my first guesthouses and restaurants in northern Vietnam, employing underprivileged youth and ethnic minorities. In 2010, I launched Maison de Têt Décor, an organic café in Hanoi that quickly outgrew its humble beginnings and moved to a beautiful French villa. My ventures expanded to include an organic farm, wild horse rescue, rare livestock breeding, artisan workshops, and Nourishment Day retreats.
My time in Vietnam deepened my appreciation for natural living. In 2002, I met Ta May, a wise Red Dzao woman, and experienced my first Red Dzao Medicinal Bath using her freshly distilled herbs. That moment sparked my lifelong passion for essential oils, entrepreneurship, and well-being.
Sapa Rooms boutique hotel ~ Sapa Vietnam
Sapa Rooms boutique hotel holds a special place in my heart as it was my first property in Vietnam, and it forever transformed me. Over the years, countless guests have stayed at my hotel, and each one left with a sense of change and transformation. Our guiding principle was encapsulated in our catchphrase, "Travel with generosity."
Sapa Rooms went beyond being just a boutique hotel; it was a nurturing and supportive haven for both our guests and our staff team composed of underprivileged youth and ethnic minority individuals. Every member of our team was carefully chosen from disadvantaged households in Vietnam.
During that time, my mission was to provide vocational training, support, and encouragement to our staff, giving them and their families a chance for a better future.
From the early hours of 7 am to the peaceful nights when our last guests retired to their beds, Sapa Rooms buzzed with life and activity. Each evening at 6 pm, our hotel guests were treated to a nourishing meal, prepared straight from our own vegetable gardens. Then, promptly at 8pm, local ethnic minority children would gather outside on the terrace. Many of them had walked all day to sell their homemade trinkets and had not had a meal.
In a heartwarming gesture, every night without fail our hotel guests after finishing their meals became the waiters and waitresses, serving a warm bowl of soup to these shy boys and girls.
This became quite the tradition over many many years in Sapa Rooms. On any given night we would host between 15-40 kids for dinner. There was one simple rule: everyone had to wash their hands before dinner. This practice served as a gentle lesson to the children about the importance of personal hygiene. Then one by one they all took their bowls into the kitchen and greeted me as they left. Cảm ơn Bác rất nhiều - Thank you very much Uncle.
A few of my boutique properties over the past 20 years.
-
Sapa Rooms boutique hotel 2002-2012
-
Hmong Mountain Retreat 2008 - 2014
-
Maison de Tet decor 2010 - 2021
A look inside my purpose-driven journey
In the beginning, somewhere around 2003, there was Sapa Rooms boutique hotel, Hmong Mountain Retreat. Hanoi House Cafe. Cafe Mau. 6 on Sixteen boutique hotel... then in 2011 came Tet Decor Cafe followed in 2014 with my open garden cafe BackYard bia hoi...
Inspired to take fresh, light, home-cooked meals to the people even further; in 2010 I created Tet Decor Cafe. Thankfully people warmed to it all, quickly outgrowing its humble surroundings in Hanoi Vietnam, the cafe grew and changed locations. In 2014 Maison de Tet Decor opened.
A different vibe, the same uncompromising sustainable ethic.
In addition to Maison de Tet decor, there's more... a small and stellar array of undertakings, namely an organic farm Fragrant Path nature retreat where organic produce is grown for my restaurants, wild horses from the Vietnamese Northern Highlands are rescued and rehabilitated, there’s some rare breed livestock, decor is crafted in the workshops and organic green tea, peaches and tropical fruits are grown.
Ma Cha Black Hmong Ethnic Minority school revitalisation
Building a safer, cleaner, and healthier environment in which to learn
Ma Cha, a remote village just 7 km from Sapa in Northern Vietnam, is one of the most impoverished areas in the region. Home to over 1,000 Black H’mong ethnic minority people, the village faces significant challenges, especially for its youngest residents.
Sapa Rooms has been dedicated to supporting the 120 children attending Ma Cha School, from kindergarten to 5th grade. Our long-term goal is to ensure these children have a more comfortable and supportive learning environment because we believe education is key to breaking the cycle of poverty.
Before our involvement, many children had no shoes, some lacked even basic clothing, and school resources were nearly nonexistent. Harsh winters made attending school an immense struggle—imagine walking up to 6 km barefoot across rice fields in temperatures as low as -5°C, only to sit in an unheated cement classroom with broken windows letting in the biting wind.
In Christmas 2009, responding to teachers' requests, we provided $2,500 worth of duck-down jackets—one for each of the 120 children. The following year, our boutique hotel, Sapa Rooms, raised enough funds to cement the school’s playground, reducing the spread of disease.
Every month, we continue to donate over 300 kg of second-hand clothing and school supplies, generously contributed by our guests, ensuring these children have the essentials they need to learn and thrive.
Making that shift from self to service
The key to realising a dream is to focus not on success but on service! Ask yourself what are your gifts and talents you can share to raise the collective consciousness of all that you encounter.
Making that shift from self to service will bring an immeasurable amount of pleasure to your work, your relationships, and the vision you have of your own life.
Fulfilling your life up to the top with meaning is what gives you that powerful spark of energy unique to only you.
The result is an electrifying current of clarity rising from the deepest part of yourself.
You have the power to make the choice to turn up the volume to your unique calling. In all truthfulness, it’s the best thing you can do to live healthier and happier.
