Thailand always restarts my creativity

Introduce yourself in a few words…

Hello! My name is Viktor Melamed, Honorary Consul General of the Kingdom of Thailand in Bulgaria and co-owner and partner in the public communications company “FAMA Consulting”, representative for Bulgaria of a large American non-governmental organization.

For you, the journey around the world is?

“Condicio sine qua non – A condition without which one cannot”. Without which I cannot  exist.

How many different countries have you seen so far? Tell us an interesting story or highlights from your travels?

I am not obsessed with keeping statistics on the countries I have visited. There are many, and I have visited many of them multiple times. But for example, I have two whole continents where I have zero visits - South America and Australia. On the other hand, I have been to the island nation of Fiji, and that is one of my most exotic trips. There we met descendants of cannibals, who today are vegetarians, but their stories about their ancestors who ate their enemies not out of hunger, but out of respect are in my mind to this day.

Do you like to repeat destinations? Give examples and motivation “for” or “against”?

I repeat some destinations because of my work, others because I cannot get enough of them. I wouldn’t be able to generalize – for or against. It’s all a matter of necessity and worldview. If you want to travel the world at all costs, you hurry and don’t repeat. I am one of those people who, if they are somewhere else, love to delve into the life and soul of the people and the place. And, as I said, sometimes work also requires you to return to places you have already been, but for me, that is always a new stroke.

What was your first trip that truly changed you as a professional and can be said to have changed your thinking?

My first trip to the USA, in 1992 to Seattle, at the invitation of the company “Boeing”. Everything I saw then from the urbanized, but extremely beautifully arranged Seattle to the Boeing factories in Everett, dramatically collided with my previous life and the one I saw there and I understood what it means to “travel through time”. From Seattle, I landed in New York, traveled to Washington and returned with the decision that I want to go to the USA many more times.

What do you learn about yourself and your professional skills when you are in a new cultural environment?

This is a very nice question and I could write an essay on it. But, to not bore your readers, I will just say that in this case, the most important thing is how you approach your meeting with the other place with what eyes and what attitude. When you are just a tourist, you “eat quickly and insatiably” the new world around you, and that fills you with emotions and impressions until the next trip. But if you are there provoked by your business, by the desire to partner or learn, then you cannot help but tune your senses to seek and discover the most accurate path to the environment you have found yourself in, this inevitably develops both your professional skills and our life experience, and that is a lasting bonus from the trip.

Have you met people or ideas during your travels that have influenced your career path?

I have met many people, from whom I have admired more or less and probably absorbed from their experience and behavior. If the knowledge or information gained from these meetings has made me more interesting, more competitive, that has undoubtedly influenced my career development. For example, from my contacts with the executive director of a large American non-governmental organization, I learned how to more successfully persuade decision-makers in the theses I want them to pay attention to. And this happened not from lectures or training, but solely from the opportunity to observe how he does it in his daily life.

What skills do you develop the most when you travel, and how do they affect your work path?

I listen,  watch and take many photos. This way I have a much more complete memory of the meetings, what I saw, and I can even discover things that I missed noticing, caught up in the dynamics of my travels.

Is there a city or country that has inspired you to start a new business or project?

Thailand and the USA. Bangkok and New York.

When you are in an unfamiliar country, do you feel more motivated or more distracted? Why?

Wherever I am for the first time, I always strive to be as informed as possible about everything that surrounds me. This probably means that I am motivated to understand as accurately as possible where I am. Why? First of all, because this way I hope not to be unpleasantly surprised and because from experience I know that people appreciate if you have prepared and listen to them carefully. Everywhere in the world.

Are there destinations that act as a “restart” for your creativity and ambition?

Yes, and I must repeat - Thailand and the USA. As different as they may seem at first glance, these are countries and societies that match my nature and professional ambitions. It is hard for me to be a tourist in them. Both provoke in me the desire to do something. Something different from what I have done so far.

How do you manage the balance between work and pleasure, when you travel?

Traveling for me is always a change of my dynamic stereotype. In this regard, whether as a tourist or for work, I see travel primarily as pleasure. And visiting natural attractions or museums is just as much work for my brain as conferences, business meetings, or official dinners.

How have travels changed the way you perceive the value of money?

They haven’t changed it. They simply convinced me that more interesting and more luxurious travels  cost more.

Do you travel with the aim of finding new ways to earn money?

No! But if such a possibility arises, I do not refuse.

According to you, is it better to spend on experiences rather than on material possessions?

I wouldn’t compare these two necessities. What is a nice trip without the emotion of experiences, including from material possessions that you cannot find at home?

How do you see the future of digital nomadic life?

I don’t understand it, so I don’t see it. And honestly, I prefer the settled urban life and the ability to go and return.

If you could choose one place in the world to develop your next big idea, what would it be and why?

I believe that in today's uncertain and chaotic world, the best place for all my ideas is Bulgaria. Not only because “at home, the walls help”. In Thailand they say: “We are glad that you are visiting us, but we wouldn’t want to keep you long.”. I think that such a saying already exists in many, many other countries around the world. So let’s start with the big ideas in Sofia, and then in other cities.

What are the destinations that you would definitely recommend to be visited and why?

I am now returning from China. I was there for almost three weeks and visited three large cities (with over 20 million people), three smaller ones, and one national park. The near future of the world can already be seen in China. I think that for everyone who is alive, the treasure hunting of Pippi, this is an extremely relevant and hyper interesting destination. In general, countries in Asia and particularly Southeast Asia and China are again a global magnet for business, travel, and vacation tourism with the best balance of price and quality. So, don’t waste time.

What is the career advice you would give based on what you have seen around the world?

Look carefully, listen well, and be colorful, where everyone else is still black and white.