Year of the Mayfly

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2010-12-19T16:48:00.000+11:00

Setting up home in Rawai

2010-11-09T21:11:00.001+11:00

Well it's been two weeks now since I arrived in Phuket. Typical, I spent the first two days like I always do in a new environment...A systematic imprinted process I have witnessed myself go through each time I move countries - Find shelter, transport and get orientated quickly.

So, by day one I had bought a red scooter secondhand for about $400. This way I'll be able to sell it for about the same if maybe a little less when I leave. So that was transport organised, practically expense free.

By day two, as part of the 'orientation' part of the process, I'd found a nice one bedroom house directly across the road for the gym I used to go to each day last time I was here. Not bad for 7000 baht per month. It's a quiet area not far from the beaches too so I was really pleased.

Day three was a shopping trip my with friend Goong from Promthep Muay Thai. Whilst she went shopping for her restaurant and accommodation, I went in search of a TV and a couch! I thought I was clever having written my address down before going shopping. I've since realised it's no good to anyone except you if it's written in Thai. I spent about 45 minutes in one shop trying to get delivery arranged for a TV to my house! In the end Goong had to speak to them on the phone and arrange for delivery to the Muay Thai Camp.

By day four, the house had cable and 80 channels or rubbish to watch! At least I can see what's going on in the world!

Anyway, I you are planning to come to Rawai, and you want to live in a house or apartment longer term, you can certainly get away with paying under 10,000 baht per month. The Longer you stay the cheaper it is, but be prepared to have to get a few things sorted out like you would anywhere else in the world when you move into a new home!

If you are staying in Phuket for a month or so, stay at a guest house or bungalow where all this is taken care of for you. You will pay double, but wont have to for bills, connections, cleaning etc etc.

More on Rawai soon,

See you everyone :)

From Melbourne to Phuket.

2010-10-31T18:24:00.001+11:00

Hi Everyone:

I know it's been a long time since I posted a blog. Sorry! Life has been a little crazy and I don't yet have Internet access in my house in Phuket.

Last I spoke to you, I was sitting in a lone arm chair in an empty house in Richmond, my head churning with last minute details as I finalised packing my Melbourne-life into boxes again.

For those of you who don't already know, I did the unspeakable and managed to loose my passport in the packing/throwing out of everything in the house! So, my departure from Melbourne was postponed for a few days whilst I quickly went through the process of arranging another passport and visas etc.

I think all things happen for a reason, and I spent those extra days in my hometown of Mornington and a couple of days in the City.It was good for me to have a few days to wind down really. Everything had happened so fast that I might well have had a nervous break down before I managed to leave the country.

Anyway last Tuesday at 5am, my dear mother drive me to the local shuttle bus fr the airport, we said our goodbyes and I started the very long day of travel to the far east.

There were no further distractions or problems thankfully. I felt one couple's pain though who boarded the shuttle bus in Cheltenham. They had managed to lock their luggage in their car and were frantically trying to break into their car while we waited patiently for them to either join us, or be left behind. Lucky for them, their son came racing up down from Morrabin with a spare key just in the nick of time. Lucky for them!

Melbourne Airport was a breeze. No more dramas, lost passports or wallets ( did that once in Bangkok!).

The flight from Melbourne to KL was very tedious and boring. I was completely naive to think they might take MasterCard for in-flight services, so not having nay cash on me, I had a midget meal and bottle of water for the whole flight. No in-flight entertainment etc! Luckily I had a book.

KL airport was SO hot. It was like a lump of hot coal in a bucket of water. So humid and smokey. I'd been flying for just over 8 hours and was not feeling so great in the humidity. I found a nice cafe though and gt stuck into about 4 litres of water and fruit juice which made me feel better straight away.

Air Asia are a good low cost airline. They are what they are. Service is efficient and polite and the plane is clean, new looking and crammed with seats. I would have to say though, Being larger than their usual Asian, clientele, the seats were almost too small. I'd invest another $200 in a premium seat on the way home.

It was a casual 4 hour wait in KL for the flight to Phuket. I knew from past experiences, 4 hours in airport time is really like 2. Before you know it, it's time to check back in, ditch your luggage, go back through customs/passport control and more duty free shops.

Whilst waiting for my flight in the gate lounge in KL, I was greeted by a lovely older couple from Singapore. He had worked all his life for Price Waterhouse Coopers. They'd lived in Melbourne in South Yarra for 4 years and now lived in Singapore and spent a lot of time travelling with work. It was a pleasant experience talking to such gentile and well travelled people.

The flight to Phuket from KL was only a 1 & 1/2 hours. So it was over quite quickly. What amazed me though was how efficient things were at Phuket Airport. We were ten minutes early, passport control was quick, my bag was the third one out on the carousel and I was outside the airport in less than ten minutes.

Peter from Rawai Beach Guesthouse, true to his word, was standing there in his white shorts and navy blue polo shirt and was about the shortest guy in the arrivals lounge. He was completely unmissable.

By this time, I had be travelling for 15 hours from the time I left Mornington. I felt grimy and over tired. Peter, originally from Nottingham in England was outrageously hospitable and such a character. What he may have lacked in height, he certainly made up for in character and sense of humour and a laugh that you will never forget.

He insisted on stopping at the bottle shop to ply me with cold beer on the trip to the guest house and by the time I arrived I was feeling very chilled, calm and ready for bed. Peter was very obliging and showed me a choice or rooms, I made my selection and very quickly crashed out for the night.

The next day, I walked the 10 minutes or so to Promthep Muay Thai to visit Goong and Danny Avison who have just built a huge new training and guests facilities adjacent to the site of Goong's bungalows, another great place to stay in Rawai and where I stayed for three months in 2007. (for more info please see http://www.thailandmuaythai.com/) I hired my scooter here and started my quest to find a more permanent home for the next six months.

That evening, the jet lag sucked what little energy I had left and I retired to the Guesthouse at about 6pm. No sooner had I showered and felt human again than there was a knock on the door. It was Gib, Peter's lovely wife. She wanted me to come a have a drink with her on the veranda. So that evening, I spent 4 hours, quietly talking to Peter and Gib over icy cold beer; About their lives, mine, what had brought me back to Rawai and what I hoped to accomplish. They were both truly lovely and were adamant to ensure I felt at home with them and would call on them, even after I had gone in a few days.

This is what I love about Rawai, everyone really wants to help and are genuinely looking out for each other. Rawai, being a very large expat community, rather than a tourist hotspot, has a mixed semi-permanent population of Thai's (most whom were not born here but have come from afar) and Westerners who have come from afar to call this small seaside community home.

Rawai Beach Guesthouse has 5 very generous sized rooms available for between 800-1000 baht per night. Ideal for short and longer term stays in Phuket. It is situated in an area of Rawai I have always favoured, nestled in the rise of Promtep Cape, overlooking Rawai Beach. It is scenic, serene and a peaceful place to call home whilst in Phuket. They also rent out scooters to guests, a must if you want to stay in Rawai. For further information on Rawai Beach Guest House, check out their website at http://phuketdir.com/rawaibeachguesthouse/

More on Phuket in my next post! I promise it won't take as long as this one did!.

If you believe you can do something you can....hahahaha

2010-10-07T16:23:00.005+11:00

Rejected by the Brotherhood

2010-10-07T13:41:00.000+11:00

The guys from the Brotherhood of St Laurence came this afternoon. They rejected one of my couches....that was embarassing. 'Sorry your couch is too crap for a homeless person to sleep on' jeeze....

They didn't seem to mind the vacuum sealed clothes; and that teddy has finally gone in its air tight coffin.

The house is looking very empty now. I have one very rubbish arm chair to sit on, my tv and a few boxes around me.

It's only now that I'm starting to feel like I'm really leaving in a few days time.

Hello Brotherhood, Goodbye Aina

2010-10-07T08:31:00.003+11:00

I didn't realise how early it was when I got up this morning. Man do I feel tired. I say that and then I think, at least I'm not at work - I shouldn't complain. I can just imagine hearing Tracy back at the office squawking at me to be grateful as she downs her third cup of coffee for the morning and a couple of nurophen before starting the day.

The kind folks at the Brotherhood of St Laurence are coming this morning to remove a whole heap of stuff. By 5pm I will be left with one arm chair and my tv.

My spare room looks like the cargo hold for a NASA space mission. I have vacuum packed everything! I've never had space bags before and they are so much fun! You just stick the vacuum cleaner hose on them and they suck the life out of everyhting and anything in the bag! It's Better than bubble wrap!

I vacuum packed the clothes for donation too. and one of the bags has a teddy in it facing outwards like he's suffocating and he is trying to get out. It's a little disturbing... I feel like I've killed him. I want to open the bag and turn him around so his pleading eyes arn't looking at me, but the bag would explode and I'd have to start again...Sorry teddy. I hope the Brotherhood guys don't think I'm weird for spacebagging everything and I hope the teddy doesn't freak them out.

Over the years, I'd have to say I have either fired or made redundant at least 50 people. It's never nice and you always have empathy for those affected. Especially when you have to make someone redundant who has been very loyal and hardworking. It's not nice. But it's the job and as soon as I leave the situation, I forget about it.

By far the hardest person to let go though has been my Housekeeper Aina. I kept putting it off until finally I told her yesterday that I was going overseas. She was very understanding but man it was hard. She's just so damned good! I've never met someone who is so thorough, works like a demon possesed and literally leaves me with no chores to do! I'm seriously thinking about space-bagging her and putting her in the cargohold for the space mission. Perfectly preserved for when I come back to Australia.

A Special Thanks

2010-10-06T18:32:00.000+11:00

A special mention goes to my dear friends and family for all your support over the last few weeks in particular. It's been a turbulent and fast moving few weeks...

Andrea, Cam, Sean, Michelle, Sarah, Ryan, and Tracy. Thanks for alll your words of advice.

Mum and Dad, thanks for always being there for me.

6 Days to go

2010-10-06T17:34:00.002+11:00

6 days ago I was packing up my office and in another six days, I'll be in Thailand. Stunned, but also very relieved. It had all happened so quickly. In so many ways I knew I was near the end, but I never thought it would actually happen; and certainly not the way it eventually did. Over two years of frustration and angst. A job that was going no where and then all of a sudden I was set free....And now, in 6 days time, I'll be back in Rawai, Phuket. Just like that. It all just happened like it was always supposed to be.

Now, I'm packing my apartment up. I have my visa for Thailand and I just purchased a new suitcase.

I took the opportunity to go into the CBD this afternoon. I always liked Melbourne the most in the rain. It's chaotic and you can hear the trams splashing and rattling along the streets. If you look carefully, people actually love the rain; secretly. They run from it like a game, darting here and there. Almost child like grimaces on their faces. As they lunge into a tram, they look at each other with excitment. They have escaped it together. They have won this time. Take a look next time it' raining...

Anyway, I figure the rain was Melbourne's way of saying goodbye. 'This one's for you my friend.' And I was thankful, and I felt connected to my home city like I always have. Like good old friends that would always be there for each other.

I will miss you Melbourne. Six more days together.