Observations on Life - Mister Peace

Last Friday I met Mister Peace.

We walked down to the Star Ferry terminal in Hong Kong together and Mister Peace told me a little bit about his life.

An Irish man, Mr Peace made his fortune in the hospitality industry when he was flat broke and found a derelict building in Ireland. He put together a business plan and presented it to a bank. Shortly afterwards this destitute guy was spending €2 million on the redevelopment of this derelict building as it was turned into boutique serviced accommodation. Mister Peace went on to tell me how his drinking problem will often find him sleeping on the bathroom floor of one of his guest rooms but how none of the guests discovered the wreckage of his private life.

Not happy with being a successful businessman and hotelier, Mr Peace sold his accommodation house in Ireland, popped the money in the bank and then went travelling to the past two years. I met Mister Peace some months ago when he was travelling through Hong Kong on his way to Miramar (formerly Burma) for a holiday. Mister Peace told me on Friday that he had recently returned to Miramar. On this trip he had done some volunteer teaching work in a local school for underprivileged children. On one particular day, one of the Buddhist monks gave him a Burmese name. The literal translation means "peace".

That's why I call him Mister Peace.