I chose to stay in Jan and Marleen’s house because of the lengthy comment on their Airbnb profile. I want to feel how the particular vibe portrayed by those effusive complementary reviews looks like.
The first 10 minutes of meeting with the hosts assured me that this is the place that I should stay. We did not focus on exchanging the pleasantry but conduct a delightful and deep discussion. The discussion was so natural and engaging that I hardly forget where I am and later suddenly realised the location was in North of Auckland.
During our conversation, one of the things that Jan impresses me most was that he claimed that they never endeavour to satisfy or please guests but act spontaneously. So everything will fall into place. I think there is no guest who can not resist the charm of their travelling story, organic garden, self-contained houses. Beyond those ordinary phenomenon hidden their extraordinary ideology: the desire to explore the truth life, cherish the gift of life.
There are several photographs about a Vietnamese village they captured hanging in their dinner room. From the detail that the photographs were printed in a customised canvas you will know that the importance of photography in their lives. The photograph is the witness of the places they travelled , the landscaped they viewed and the one they love and treasure.
From all of these unforgettable moment staying with Jan and Merleen, I finally can perceive the particular vibe that I pursued in the beginning. This kind of vibe transcends verbal description, exists only in the fluid communication and subsequent evocative emotion.