Marc Thalmann, born 1957 in Geneva (Switzerland), arrived in the Far East in 1982, for a first job with Schlumberger on Brunei's oil rigs after studying engineering at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich  ~  a member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers, his oilfield career path brought him to India, Indonesia, Singapore and Vietnam  ~  during his assignments, he developed a keen interest for the cultures where he lived, seeking more insight from litterature and collecting antiques, increasingly focussing on the Malay world and its language
 

 

     Marc first discovered the Riau Archipelago in an airline magazine feature  ~  little did he know then, that he would end up dropping his bags on one of these islands, Bintan ~  first in 1988 as dive cruise operator on his MV. Mutiara      (photo left), then as turnkey project manager & coconut plantation owner, and since 1995 as investor and sponsor of local ventures, for example a book on Bintan

 
 
 
 
two Swiss & one Indonesian partners joined him for developing the Mutiara land  ~  Marc's self-assigned mission is to share his ‘off beat’ island knowledge with guests, and to bring the 'real' Bintan closer to tourists staying in the five-star Bintan Resorts hotels  ~  he is currently an executive member of BiTB (Bintan Tourism Board), of the Bintan Resorts Council and of PHRI's Bintan chapter (Indonesian Hotel & Restaurants Association)  ~  once a year, he enjoys a return to nomadic life while touring the archipelago on his Kawasaki Ninja...