Christmas 2008

Clare and I spent Christmas and Boxing Day with a couple of friends down south this year, my first away from home. We chose Khao Lak, a town on the Western (Andaman) coast of Thailand, roughly 90 minutes north of Phuket. Khao Lak was the area worst hit area in Thailand by the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami, with water reaching 4km inland, hundreds of people dead, and years of tourist development lost.

Previously famed for diving, at Christmas the area still had a distinct lack of tourists, except for a busload of Frenchies bunking down at a French-themed resort down the road. Many hotels are still slowly being developed, as tourist dollars drip back into the area.

Despite no one really being there, we still had a killer time. We stayed at a pimping resort with two swim-up bars (yes, Angus and Willis, TWO). Unfortunately there was no strict dresscode for 65-year old German female bathers, so Clare and I copped quite a saggy eyeful.

The resort had a whole heap of stuff for hire including a windsurfer (my first time, great fun), bikes, table tennis etc. It was a relaxing antidote to a very stressful last couple of months at work.

Right: Clare relaxes by the pool...

Left: Our friends Kate and Clint exhalt after remembering they were on holiday with Clare and I.

Below: Batman's longtail boat. Note the boat's bow.

In 2008, I...

Went surfing at 6am on New Years Day at Manly Beach Sold my queen-sized bed for $2 on eBay Moved to Thailand Holidayed in six different countries: with Angus, Clare and new mates in Thailand, Clare in Malaysia, Clare in Singapore, Em in the UAE, Myself in Cambodia, and the O’Connors & Bells in Australia Went fishing with my old man and caught my first Bream in years Wrote 72 blog posts Caught 20-something flights Got my first grey hair Drove twice Scored two tries in rugby Broke four pairs of sunglasses Gave my old employer six weeks leaving notice to be a good bloke and got screwed for four Ate tarantula and flipped out Ate BBQ’d prawns on the beach and loved it Ate Som Tum (Spicy Thai green papaya salad) and hated it Ate Chili crab in Singapore with Clare and made a mess Was often addressed as “Herro, Massa’a” and heard “Skoomy sirrr, sexy DVD, ping-pong, you want??” at least 500 times Started playing rugby again, and went alright Started playing cricket again, and sucked! Started wakeboarding, and was ‘stoked’ Started drinking ice with my beer Played golf at some of Asia’s best courses Went surfing with Clare on an artificial wave, also being filmed live in Malaysian travel show Went caving in a Thai National Park Was admitted to hospital for a total of 2% of my 2008 Was unemployed for a total of 34% of the year Lost 10% of my body weight Rode a mountain bike 24km across the Northern Thai countryside in 43 degree heat and vomited four times Rode a scooter, an elephant, bamboo raft and a mechanical bull for the first time ever, but not at the same time Lived for more than a month in four different places

Stopped living in the Moodie Street ‘Dog House’ with one of my best mates Visited the middle east for the first time ever Grew a strong affinity for ‘rice with egg’ or Khao Kai Dow, as they say in the business Started using internet on my mobile Probably didn’t keep in contact with my family and friends enough Moved in with Clare Helped prepare my Mum’s rose garden Started paying for my laundry to be washed, dried, ironed and delivered, with the only drawback being that my boardshorts now have dweeby razor-sharp creases ironed down the middle Went to a Thai winery and got pissed Went snorkeling in the Gulf of Thailand Went wind-surfing in the Andaman Sea Went to Thailand’s highest temple and got blessed by a monk Only occasionally saw a sky full of stars Watched Kylie Minogue, live in concert Celebrated my first Christmas away from home Missed all of my family’s birthdays Bought new boots Bought a new mobile phone Bought a new laptop and got connected, baby Bought a new fish, ‘Nit Noi’ Found an amazing tailor Survived Bangkok protests, bombings, fires, an economic downturn and several drinking sessions with my rugby mates Sweated more than the previous five years combined Got pissed in three separate swim-up bars Learned to surf Learned Thai cooking techniques Learned Cambodian cooking techniques Learned a bit of Thai language Learned a bit more about myself Read 18 books Started reading The Economist and love it Supported the pirated DVD trade with the purchase of about 70 new DVDs Enjoyed my first ever ladyboy show (Painfully) enjoyed my first ever Thai massage Fell asleep before midnight again on New Years Eve

The life and times of SE Asia

What is bloody going on in SE Asia?!

In about 7 weeks, Willis & I will be flying into Ho Chi Minh city for a two-week tour of SE Asia. Despite the fact that we're no strangers to danger (Willis looks amazingly like Chuck Norris, and I like Mr T.), we've been wondering whether we should be raising the premiums on our life insurance policies. I'll explain:

28 September - Burma

No stranger to public uprisings over time, Burma has again seen violence as peaceful pro-democracy protesters are shot and Buddhist monasteries are raided by local security authorities. The SMH reports today on the latest in urban violence.

26 September - Vietnam

Bridge collapses over the Hau River, killing at least 43 people and injuring 87 others. Apparently the bridge is one of the busiest in the Mekong Delta. See this AP report for more information.

16 September - Thailand

Budget airline crashes into the island of Phuket, killing at least 89 and injuring many others. See this Daily Telegraph report written in the aftermath of the crash.

So, here's a possible game plan:

• Avoid public pro-democracy uprisings
• Take Vietnamese ferries wherever possible
• Don't fly One-To-One
• Get oneself another intra-pool swim-up barside cocktail