King of the castle on Level 32 at Langsuan Ville

In February 2009 I moved to Bangkok after living in Sydney for 26 years.  That was an amazing three years ago this month but it seems like only yesterday.  The plan was for Julie to visit Thailand as many times as possible during the year but by her own choice she had one more year of motherhood duties at home with Zach as he settled into Uni.  So we would be out of our comfort zone on more than one count for the year, each making new discoveries, each finding our new temporary place.  And there was that nine hour flight between us.

Thailand is perfect for those with curiosity and the sense of adventure

Thailand is the fourth country I have lived in but we saw it coming.  For years I had been commuting back and forth to Bangkok where my company has its regional head office, we have almost 400 staff there and most of our customers are in Asia.  I was doing a regional role from Sydney which means wrong time zone, disconnected from my staff and customers, missing the action.  My largest customers were in India and all strategy and direction is generated from Bangkok.  Inevitably it had to happen but only after our kids were settled and independent.  Sydney is our permanent home but Bangkok became our home for the time being.

2009 was a crazy year for us.  In my case I had to learn new skills, bachelor-type stuff, not good.  I had to buy things for the house like dishes and cutlery, shop for food and then cook it (sorta).  Who would of thunk it?  I had to hire my first maid (still with us after 3 years), open my first bank account since high school, pay the bills and work the washing machine.  We’re talking steep learning curve.

There were a lot of temples to explore when we arrived in Bangkok

And I had to learn how to live and do my job in a new country where English is sparsely used and life moves at a different pace under different terms, make new friends, meet the company’s and my own expectations, basically get on with it without missing a beat.  And all this while worrying about Sydney and how it was all going back there.

Julie and Diane having breakfast with the locals

Bangkok proved to be a generous educator on the finer points of living in a strange land, friendly people, beautiful sites, delicious food, a modern contemporary city with all the luxuries one could want plus the diversity of culture and religion that makes you hungry for more.  I looked forward to my weekends of exploration and discovery, becoming broader of mind and stronger of spirit along the way.

And during Julie’s numerous visits we never let a minute slip by without maxing out on the Thai experience.  On the weekends we would frequently hire a car and explore the countryside, down the coast, up to the mountains, maybe a nearby national park, whatever took us.  We loved the outdoor wet markets and the food courts, we would see movies in their elegant theatres (a first for many years), we rode ferries and trains, we explored countless temples and took thousands of photos.  All good.

The long neck women in a village of northern Thailand

And in 2009 while living in Thailand I became an Australian citizen.  As you do.

Aussie Bill after being sworn into this exclusive club

Looking back on 2010 I think three big things happened in our world.  First, and most important, Julie moved to Bangkok in February (so this month is her second year anniversary of living here).  Unfortunately her overweight suit case with many valuable items and all her favourite clothes somehow didn’t make the trip and was never found, although not surprising considering the incompetence of Jetstar Asia in the whole event.  So we started with a sweet and sour taste.

Second, sadly, Bangkok experienced some of the worst protests, riots and violence since the 1970s.  The so-called Red Shirts had their main demonstration gathering place within a four iron of our building and would meet every night by the thousands to rally support against the appointed government.  But it ended very badly with over 90 people killed, mostly protesters but some military and even journalists, buildings being burned down and the reputation of a fun loving society severely tarnished.

Central World shopping centre burned down as part of the Red Shirts riots

The magnificent Schwedagon Pagoda in Yangon Myanmar

The third big thing that happened in 2010 is Julie and I took an unforgettable 10 day holiday to Myanmar (or Burma, whatever).  This was an amazing country, stuck in a time warp, beautiful golden temples, desperately poor people living their simple lives, the military totally in control.  We fell in love with its splendors, especially the ancient temples of Bagan and the stunning Inle Lake.  And we’ve enjoyed watching the country perhaps slowly emerge from that time warp while having first-hand experience it has a long way to go.

Visiting Mum and Dad takes on a whole new meaning in Bangkok

We had many more visitors in 2010 which really is great fun.  The visitor parade was interesting for us because each visit took on a different meaning depending on whether they had been to Bangkok before, their interests, their style towards travel.  We reveled in it all and Julie became quite an accomplished tour guide.  We took numerous weekend trips to various national parks, beaches, unexplored 13^th century temples, whatever turned us on.  And in addition to Myanmar we slotted in a couple of international journeys (Goa in southern India, Singapore, China) plus a few

Anna and Carl love those ancient temples

trips back to Australia for all the key events and all of this on top of my ceaseless business trips.

When 2011 rolled around we were literally on a roll.  I now had a company car which gave us total mobility on weekends.  Julie took golf lessons and we spent some Sundays at the driving range together.  And we even played golf at a little Par 3 course, as if that would surprise you.

The big Songkran holidays in April were spent in Borneo where we hired a car and explored the mountains, beaches, war sites and national parks.  We saw orangutans and a myriad of other creatures in the wild, snorkeled on pristine reefs, saw majestic Mt. Kota Kinabalu up close and finished it off with a stunning visit to the deep dark caves and jungle of Mulu National Park.  Ahhhh, Borneo.

Julie and I also pushed ahead with our Thai lessons, guided by the ever-patient Khun Gung who had to fight the age old premise of not being able to teach old dogs new tricks.  We made progress, slowly, in a greasy uphill climb.  And we definitely keep trying.

The ever-patient Thai teacher Khun Gung with one of her remedial students

Julie hanging out with French guys in funny hats

There was no sort of master plan in all this but in addition to the Borneo trip we had another five international trips together (not including Australia a couple of times).  We spent almost a week in Dubai while I was at a customer conference, we did Kerala in southern India for another customer event, we stayed at beautiful Boracay Island in the Philippines (yes, a customer event), we did Doha Qatar and Paris for…wait for it…another customer thingo and finally, we went to Ho Chi Minh Vietnam to see my brother Ken and some of his family.  And don’t forget a few great weekend trips and in particular our white water rafting down the River Pai in northern Thailand.  Phew!

Julie was constantly trying out new forms of transport in Dubai

Any excuse to generate some new sales

But most of that got swamped, so to speak, by the terrible floods that hit Thailand and in particular hit Bangkok in the last quarter of the year.  The impact this terrible natural disaster – abetted by poor or non-existent government action – had on millions of people was immeasurable.  Almost  700 lost their lives, countless more lost their homes and their belongings, the farms lost their crops, schools and hospitals closed, huge factories inundated and ruined, jobs disappeared, all just tragic.  And with no social safety net, no insurance and pathetic government handouts one can only marvel at the resilience and dogged determination of the Thai people.  They are still picking up the pieces and taking steps forward with nary a grumble.  I tip my hat to them.

Will and Zach getting a breather at ancient Sukhothai

And amazingly, on top of all this, there was an election for a new government, the first such election in seven years, and we now have the hottest looking Prime Minister in the world.  I’m trying to look on the bright side.

And finally, there was an element of 2011 which snuck up a bit but has been very rewarding.  Julie began to find her groove in Bangkok and has developed a social life which swamps mine plus she has made a contribution back to Thai society, she would say modest but much bigger than most.  So on top of the golf lessons, the bridge group, the mahjong group, the book club and who knows what, she is on the Welfare Committee of ANZWG and makes a sizable contribution to their fund raising program, she has been helping an Australian woman identify kids in northern Thailand villages that need sponsoring for school and then amazingly found 16 (and counting) new sponsors for needy kids and she works two days a week with Sister Joan down in the slums supporting that great effort with local single mums, school children and the like.  She’s busier than me, I can tell you.

Perhaps Julie’s new profession as a dental hygenist?

So how has the first three years living in Bangkok been?  Well, absolutely fabulous for so many ways we didn’t expect.  It’s been the little surprises that have been the best fun and also possibly the knowledge that we are witnessing a little bit of history as Thailand moves forward.  Long live the King!

Ah Paris…the city of love