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Buchner's close friend, Alison Snelling, underwent gallbladder surgery in 2008 but continued to suffer from pain. Seeking relief, she turned to Buchner for help.
After reaching out to 12 wellness centers around the world, they found only one in Koh Samui, Thailand, that resonated with their needs. The program lasted for seven days, and by the fifth night, Snelling told Buchner, "For the first time in nine months, I can sleep without pain".
"Going to Koh Samui was one of the best decisions of our lives," Buchner reflects. The week-long stay on the island opened their eyes to the impact of food on the body and the power of self-healing.
After Koh Samui, Buchner delved deeper into fasting, studying in Germany and becoming an expert in the field. His background also includes a year of studying massage therapy in Hawaii and Thailand. Recognizing the urban population's need for stress relief, Buchner envisioned wellness as a service that would soon be in high demand.
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Dieter Buchner (R) during a wellness retreat in Yen Tu in northern Vietnam. Photo courtesy of Dieter Buchner |
With certification from the German Fasting Academy, Buchner founded Vietnam Detox, an organization that offers retreats combining fasting with wellness activities. These retreats, lasting between five to eight days, are held across locations in Vietnam, with 99% of the participants being locals. The programs focus on healing the body, mind, and spirit, based on the Buchinger method - a century-old German fasting technique.
The Buchinger method involves consuming organic nutrients from vegetable broths, fruit and vegetable juices, herbal teas, and mineral water. Participants also engage in physical activity and relaxation to maximize detoxification. This method triggers autophagy, a process where the body cleans out damaged cells and regenerates healthier ones.
In 2015, Buchner moved to Vietnam to participate in a hotel training project in Hoi An. A year later, he relocated to Ho Chi Minh City, working for a health and wellness tourism group. During this time, he pondered how people in the city could live healthier, stress-free lives.
Ho Chi Minh City, like many other urban areas in Vietnam, faces challenges such as pollution, food safety concerns, and work-related stress.
"The health and wellness sector in Vietnam was almost non-existent at the time, and the quality of spas was below global standards," Buchner said.
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Inside a retreat in Hue chosen for collaboration by Dieter Buchner. Photo courtesy of Dieter Buchner |
During a conversation with Hoan, a tour guide who would later become the co-founder of Vietnam Detox, Buchner learned that Vietnam lacked fasting and detox retreats. Many Vietnamese celebrities traveled to Indonesia, Thailand, Australia, and the U.S. to attend such detox programs. With Hoan's support, they set out to create Vietnam's first fasting-based wellness retreats.
For six months, alongside his corporate job, Buchner spent every weekend searching for suitable retreat locations. He developed a clear set of criteria for the retreats: they needed to be close to nature, have space for physical activities, feature hiking trails, be free from urban distractions, and offer tranquility.
Finding a truly quiet retreat in Vietnam proved challenging. Everywhere he went, Buchner encountered noise from team building events, karaoke sessions, or nearby residential areas.
"One neighbor singing karaoke can ruin even the best service," he says.
While many countries have strict noise regulations, with penalties enforced by the police, such standards are less prevalent in Southeast Asia. Retreats in Bali or Thailand might meet these criteria, but in Vietnam, avoiding noise-related issues is nearly impossible. Eventually, Buchner found suitable locations in Dai Lai Lake and Yen Tu Mountain in northern Vietnam, as well as the cities of Hue, Hoi An and Da Lat.
Vietnam Detox primarily attracts clients through word of mouth. Currently, they offer two to three retreats per month, priced between VND15 million and VND31 million ($600-$1,250), with each retreat accommodating 14-16 participants.
Over 5-8 days, participants practice the Buchinger method and engage in activities like massages, onsen baths, hiking, and inward-focused practices like meditation, yoga and sound therapy. The schedule alternates between rest and activity, supporting the fasting process. By the end of the retreat, participants often find themselves breaking unhealthy habits and adopting new, healthier ones.
Bich Lien from Dong Nai Province that borders HCMC attended two retreats in Hue in 2023. She had struggled with chronic insomnia, but after participating, she noticed improvements in her health and mental state.
"I loved the retreat they chose because it had hot springs, and water meditation helped me forget my fatigue," Lien said. Other activities like cycling through villages, forest walks and tea meditation also contributed to her healing experience.
Douglas Durie, one of the few international participants at Vietnam Detox, spent around AUD1,800 (US$1,200) to fly from Australia to attend a retreat in Hue after dealing with stress. "Everything exceeded my expectations," he said.
Upon returning to Australia, Durie continued the habits he learned during the retreat and lost 10% of his weight. He believes that wellness tourism enhances quality of life by reconnecting people with nature and disconnecting them from phones, TVs and the internet.
Andrea Ciro Chiappa, Head of Nutrition at Malteser Klinik von Weckbecker - a fasting therapy center in Bavaria, Germany - emphasizes that Buchinger fasting should be combined with meditation, relaxation and adherence to guidelines.
According to Andrea, practicing Buchinger fasting in a country where this method is still emerging, like Vietnam, is feasible if the instructions from the German Medical Association for Therapeutic Fasting and Nutrition are followed.
Buchner sees healing retreats as a trend and wellness tourism as a billion-dollar global industry. However, Vietnam is still catching up, and Vietnam Detox faces many challenges in this field. In countries like Indonesia and Thailand, most participants in healing retreats are foreigners.
The World Tourism Organization identifies wellness and physical health activities as the fastest-growing segments of the tourism industry post-pandemic. A 2020 report by the Global Wellness Institute valued the global wellness industry at $4.4 trillion, with Asia holding potential.
Since 2023, Thailand has started offering one-year visas for people using healthcare services and requiring treatment for more than 90 days. Wellness resorts like Kamalaya in Koh Samui have seen a surge in demand, with growth expected in the future, according to Velocity Ventures, a Southeast Asian travel-focused venture capital firm.
Indonesia's Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy has designated Bali, Yogyakarta, and Surakarta as the top wellness tourism destinations, featuring hot springs, forest bathing, herbal relaxation and eco-tourism.
In the Philippines, the Department of Tourism is also reviving tourism through wellness products, promoting the concept of "Wellness Workation", a combination of work, travel and wellness.
Malaysia is striving to become a leading wellness tourism destination. The Malaysia Healthcare Travel Council has developed plans to promote preventive and therapeutic healthcare, focusing on specialties like cardiology, oncology, reproductive health and dental care.
Buchner hopes to attract more international clients, as they bring in more revenue, but noise remains an obstacle. He explains that international clients travel long distances with high expectations, and a single karaoke session can lead to frustration and even legal threats.
In Germany, anyone participating in fasting programs must consult with a doctor, but in Vietnam, this field is still new. Buchner is not a doctor, so if participants have serious health issues, fasting might not be safe. Therefore, before registering, the company provides a health assessment questionnaire to ensure participants' safety.
"It’s going to be a long journey for fasting and healing retreats to become mainstream in Vietnam," Buchner said.
