GACKT Official blog update. Translation below:

Look down at the city from the hotel but there’s nothing.
There’s supposed to be a stadium in construction next to the hotel but
I wonder if it’s just me getting the feeling that work isn’t progressing…

Anyway, this hotel is big.
I think it’s even possible to spend all my time in the hotel.
There are a lot of people who spend their holidays in the premises without going out.
Those people are gathered at the pool side.

Except for eating, these people don’t seem to want to step out from the hotel.
I suppose they only go out at night,
then enjoy their time at the bar after that.

That’s also one way to enjoy yourself.
I, too, don’t like visiting tourist sites.
I simply like wandering around without a destination.

Before going to the airport, I went to walk around the city.
The atmosphere of the country of Albania is really great.

Not even the capital can be said to have a lot of tourist spots but
there is a lot of nature, the sea and the mountains are beautiful, and
the people in the city are laid-back too,
I really love the wonderful mood of a slow life.

This probably goes without saying but
from the economic standpoint for this city,
it’s definitely much better if there are lots of tourists.

Tourism is one of the big resources that supports a country’s economy.
It’s only natural that the land and the country will profit through tourism.

The economic effect born from tourism is immeasurable.
Sometimes I see grieving comments like 『Things like tourism are done by poor countries and Japan doesn’t need that』
but that’s honestly just too stupid.
It’s better if you study and get that right.

Dubai is a good example.
You can’t really find examples of such a wealthy country in the world
but when you talk about this,
there will even be people who say nonsense like

『No no,
that’s because Dubai has oil!』.

The actual circumstances are different.
In the 1980s, Dubai was already almost out of oil.
The king had anticipated this
and decided to create the world’s best tourist city, and it has lasted until now.

Alright, back to what I was saying,
while it’s important to focus on tourism,
speaking for my personal preference,
I prefer to be able to spend time leisurely during my stay
in a place without tourists at all.
This is completely based on my preferences.

When you visit such places
you’ll be able to get a taste of the pace of life of that the locals live by there.
And to them, even if you’re living there,
you won’t be disrupting anyone’s pace.
It definitely won’t be a restless lifestyle

Proof to that is that there are parks all over the city,
and of course, young couples can be found on the benches,
but elderly couples can also be found sitting there, leisurely looking at the sky while talking.

Almost all the benches
have men and women, regardless of age, seated there.

This is only natural in tourist spots but
in this place, where there are no tourist areas at all,
such things occur naturally as a scene from their daily lives.

In this place that isn’t a tourist city,
such a sight can be said to be quite precious in this modern era.

There are cafes everywhere too.
Customers who like the store
will each spend around 2 hours chatting while having tea.
There are many customers who enjoy it on their own too.
What a wonderful thing to do.

I sat at a cafe and had coffee too.
I spent about an hour just staring at the people walking around the street.
An old couple probably going home from shopping.
Leisurely walking with their arms linked together…

I suppose that’s the kind of thing I’m looking for, I thought,
and again, I felt that it was a good thing that I came here.

I heard that there’s a beautiful beach here but
I’ll leave that for the next time.

I’ll come here again.

Next time I’ll probably stay near Montenegro
or near Greece.

When walking in the city,
dogs pass by me from time to time.

Are they stray dogs…
I don’t think there are as many here as compared to Romania but
I frequently find them sleeping outside stores.

Lastly.
I found something that I like in the city this time.
Last night, when I was going back to the hotel, I instinctively took a photo while thinking “how cute”,
but this city’s traffic lights are really cute.

It looks like it was made with the image of a tree but
for some reason, at night, whether it’s the red or green light, it looks cool.
When I look at it in the day, it gives me a twinge of cuteness.

Alright,
after relaxing and having tea, I suppose I’ll head to the airport.

Farewell Albania… I guess.

I’ll come again.
Sometime soon.

Source: GACKT Blog

Translation: GACKT ITALIA Team

Translation © GACKT ITALIA