Motorcycling through middle age

Back into the swing .... and lovin' it!

2012-01-25T20:52:00.000+13:00

Quick post just to touch base with my regular flollowers of my journey last year.

Somewhere between the last post and this one I found my work mojo again ... I'm back to it and going like crazy! Just before Xmas I made the huge decision to move from my company of eight years to a new company which I am absolutely thrilled with. I am surrounded by hugely successful people with enthusiasm, energy and a "can do" attitude .. its exactly what Im loving about it. Long days of working and prospecting but its paying off with my first two properties signed up.

I have a new website up and running at www.exclusivehomes.co.nz which I am very happy with and lots of advertising out in the ether and in letterboxes. I am resigned to wearing a tie and suit again. :) The only down side to all this working is not much bike riding, but at the moment the focus is on rebuilding the work momentum so Im okay with it.

I have also set up a facebook business page which you can find HERE
Do feel free to click through to my business page and join up to my weekly email newsletter (house selling work related not bike or travel related) ... and dont forget to click "Like" and help spread the word.
:)

Yammie has settled in to NZ life and he is just a joy to be with plus his work visa came through just before Christmas so he has been looking for work. He is doing a little work for me as my personal assistant and it is looking promising that he may have some other part time work too.

So, it really is a case of head down and bum up and "getting on with it!"

Cheers, Nick.

Yammie with Big Bertha on our trip over Christmas (my friend Rob on the left)

This is my "work shot" ... no jeans, motorbikes or Leo beer in site .. :) haha

Favourite Five ... (plus 2)

2011-12-11T09:37:00.001+13:00

I thought I'd join the postings on your favorite five photos of the year that I took (well, there's 5 I took plus 2 others) .... Thanks to Roger for the idea .....

With my travels I have many more photos that I love. There have been so many highlights during 2011 ... So many great life stories that I have been able to experience share ....

So, here goes ...

Part of the NZ leg of my trip .... South Island .... South end of the Queenstown Lakes with Big Bertha .... Reflective of the glorious riding roads we have.

Riding over the Ureweras on a cruiser .... Absolute madness and a real adrenalin rush.

Malaysia .... On Blue Bertie ... In the middle of the jungle and lost. Awesome!

Me on blue bertie in Malacca

The smiling machine gun wielding policeman (Malaysia) .... Love this photo .. :)

Thailand ..... And of course meeting this most beautiful man who has helped me find my fun, laughter and joy of life again ... Xx

Plus one more for good measure ... Back home in New Zealand ... Ponsonby Road ....

For me 2011 has included many of the highest highs and a couple of the lowest lows in my life ... 2012 is about regrouping, getting my finances on track again and working hard so we can plan the next exciting chapter in life :)

....and a huge thanks must go to my readers who have joined me along my life journey ... It has been great fun writing my blog and I thank you very much for your support and kind words.

......Thanks for taking time out of your day to follow my blog. Cheers, Nick.

The Reality ....

2011-12-05T10:44:00.000+13:00

So, sitting at my desk in the office I am digging deep to find the motivation to be focussed and get a couple of sales under my belt. At the back of my mind is the nagging issue of money and paying off my debt.

With only a couple of weeks until Christmas, activity is beginning to slow, or rather signing people up to sell is quite difficult as it is the last thing on their minds. This means trying to set things up for the new year so that I come back all guns blazing becasue the cycle of selling takes time. List a house in January, run the marketing programme, find a buyer in Jan/February and hopefully get paid at the end of February. By February it will be 11 months since a pay cheque and seriously tough by then, so I need to stay focussed.

If by February I have no properties to sell, I will have to make some hard decisions. It may mean renewing my teaching certificate and picking up a few days teaching, or going back full time, at least to get some money rolling in.

I never envisanged getting back to it would be so difficult, and rather than making me motivated to get up at 6.00am and working like a crazy bugger, it has made it so incredibly hard to get motivated. I just need to dig deep and get on with it.

The beauty of my job is that if I can get a couple of sales under my belt I can knock off some of that debt much quicker than if I was in a "regular" job, but in the same token, without a sale under my belt, it is not a nice experience as it means no money coming in.

So, that is the reality!

Post "trip of a lifetime" melancholy

2011-10-27T10:19:00.001+13:00

So, where to now??????

It has been a few days since I have posted on here as I have been dealing with rejoining the "real world" and I have to be honest that I am struggling a little bit.

Back to real life .. And work ....

Of course it has been lovely catching up with my family and friends, however, looking around my city, going in to my office and lots of little things have made me feel somewhat confused and a little down about what happens next.

Obviously, with a trip comes cost and as much as I would like to pretend I could retire now, the reality is I can't. What I have found even more interesting is the fact that I seem to be seeing so many things with different eyes as when I left. Things that seemed so vitally important to me before, just seem unimportant now.

Firstly, coming from such a large city back to Auckland everywhere and everything is just so quiet. There is just not the hustle bustle. This is both good and bad.

Secondly, I have noticed how rough round the edges kiwi blokes are. There is not the same openess and kindness and I so worry about Yammie feeling safe here. We have already been yelled at once and we were simply walking down the street. The immaturity of the rugby hooligans who celebrated the rugby world cup and were screaming down the streets just put me right off, and I know made Yammie feel a bit scared.

I really really miss the people in Thailand.

This morning someone complained about the fact that I had a couple of things sitting in my basement carpark and that it looked messy. This simply enraged me as all i could think of is all those people's lives in Thailand whose livelihoods have been ruined with the flooding, and people working their butts off simply to be able to eat, and I thought to myself, how fucking pathetic. (excuse my language)

I went in to my office yesterday and the thought of going back to work just leaves me feeling sluggish. The other thing that I have been struck with is a sense of guilt - I started pulling things out of my storage and I thought to myself ... There are people in the world with nothing and here I am with all this "stuff" ... I don't need 10 towels and everything else that I have collected over the years.

Alongside this I have Yammie with me which is the one thing that I am happy about. In saying that I am constantly worried that he is okay and that I am keeping him busy, and the fact that life is just so different here. Technology is great though and he is able to talk with his family and communicate with his friends which make me feel better. My family have also embraced him as have my close friends and I am so very grateful to them all for this. I have also introduced him to a couple of people and I am hopeful that they can build friendships so he can create an extra support network. Of course we both have some feelings of separation anxiety I reckon as we have basically spent 24 hours 7 days a week together for the last four months and as I get busier there will be times when we he cannot come with me, so a job and friends are so very important.

....written a little later ....

..so I did some googling and apparently these feelings I am having are quite normal and there are a few things I can do about it ... So here's my list of ways to combat the melancholy ..

1. A few people have suggested that I could write a book about my travels ... I kind of like this idea so I'm going to spend a bit of time pulling all these experiences together into a semi coherent way ... Check back in a couple of years. :)
2. We have yammies work visa to sort out, so we need to begin this process.
3. I will plan a few "mini trips" for Yammie and me over the next three months.
4. I need something big to look forward to (and to work toward) so I will sit down and look at where we want to be in One to two years and work towards it, then it gives me a reason to put my head down and bum up to make some serious money so we can do it.
5. I will make an active effort to reconnect with old friends and have people over more - we are already doing this and I am really enjoying hosting at home rather than out at restaurants all the time.

Hopefully, these should all help kick start the next part of my life journey.

So, onwards and upwards... :)

Thanks for taking time out of your day to follow my blog. Cheers, Nick.

Bangkok, Hong Kong, Macau and Home ....

2011-10-13T15:42:00.001+13:00

Sorry about the delay in getting this post out. Between bad internet coverage, zooming around with limited time and long flights home, this post is overdue.....

Written last Friday

As I write this it is Friday morning and we will soon check out of the hotel and head to the airport. It has been a very nice stay here for the last two nights at Lebua at State Tower.

We met with our landlord yesterday so got the sign off of the apartment. We also dropped the car off. Thursday night was a farewell party for Yammie from his friends. We went to a huge place called "holland beer" where they had a stage about three times the size of the Auckland town hall with live music and great entertainment. A couple of the girls got fairly emotional as you can imagine as they have very little knowledge and understanding of my country except that it it a he'll of a long way away. Being very close, they are of course pulled between feeling excited for Yammie about this amazing opportunity and being sad about him leaving.

I have gotten to know them well and have grown to love his close knit circle of girlfriends as they are incredibly loyal with each other and as is the case with gen y? They Share all their highs and lows together. They have embraced me during my time here and I will miss them too.

"the girls"

Tonight, running down Soi Silom was a huge festival to do with the local temple which has caused chaos with the already bad traffic and has really encompassed everything I love about Thailand ... Throngs of people, crazy roads, a heap of cheap good food and great atmosphere.

Written on Sunday - hong kong and Macau

We left Bangkok on friday and had a short flight to Hong Kong where we had an easy run through imigration. We caught a taxi to the hotel where we were immediatly disappointed with the accom, but only three nights so we could cope. After a leisurly stroll to stretch our legs and grab abite to eat we crashed in to bed for the night where i proceeded to feel quite ill probably from a combination of bad food and a lack of sleep.

On Saturday we decided to head to Macau for the day but decided once we were there to stay for the night at the venetian casino and hotel where they have 3000 over the top hotel rooms aspart of a ridiculously large complex. It was totally worth it and shortly before we were due to leave I managed to win a bit of money which meant a bit of shopping and it had covered our weekend their. excellent! I bought a really nice wallet, Yammie a bag, and my mum a little gift. We caught the ferry back to spend our last night in Hong Kong before the long trip home tomorrow.

It is with a surprisingly heavy heart that I think about packing tomorrow and heading home. I feel excitement about catching up with my friends and family and of course having Yammie come to NZ with me and showing home round and seeing where life takes us, but I am filled with this huge sense of sadness that this trip of a lifetime is nearly at an end. It has changed me in so many ways and there is no doubt that I am worried about rejoining the workforce. I have definitely left a part of me in Thailand too. Coming to Hong Kong there are just so mNy stark differences. I do so hope Yammie doesn't get a shock when he finds that not everyone is open and kind and respectful of others.

Written in New Zealand

We had a very long trip home before getting the Spanish inquisition at the airport and been lead to a different area at the airport where we were questioned further, then after an extra hour or so at immigration we were allowed to go. Yay! We were in New Zealand.

Yay! In new zealand ... Cold, but we're home!

....more to come in a few days :)

Thanks for taking time out of your day to follow my blog. Cheers, Nick.

It's packing up time ....

2011-10-03T23:48:00.001+13:00

This morning we nervously made the trip to NZ immigration to pick up yammies passport which has now got his visa stamped in it. I must say it was a huge relief to finally see it and confirm that we had finally got the green light. We could now start the organization for jumping on the plane on Friday.

The first job was to re confirm our flights - first to hong kong then on to NZ three days later. The next was to organize to meet our landlord for a final inspection - this we do tomorrow. Next on the list was a tidy up of my beard and what little hair I have at a local barber who did an outstanding job if I do say so myself. Then on to buy a new big bag as I have collected a few extra clothes and a few nic nacs. Then on to the post office to send a box of stuff home by sea.

I have also booked us in to a really nice hotel here for our last two nights. Although 5 star, we got a super hot special for one night and for the second we are using our gift voucher we got from them during our last visit their which is one free night. Hopefully it will work out well because they can then ferry us out to the airport on Friday.

I've also got to do a few practical things for at home like get the power turned back on and phone. I also want to organize a bit of a party :)

We were very lucky to return to bangkok on Friday as the flooding up north has worsened with many of the main roads cut off and flooded. Millions of people have been affected with loss of farmland and homes and businesses flooded. It is a shocker that's for sure.

I am filled with a huge amount of excitement about taking Yammie back to New Zealand and obviously seeing my friends and family after a few months. I am also filled with a great deal of sadness as I have grown to really love Thailand and the people. I could actually happily live here if I found an appropriate job but that is maybe for the future. The focus now is enjoying my last few days "on the road"', helping Yammie get accustomed to a new country and culture and somehow get re accustomed with the idea of work!!

I am truly a different person to the one that left nearly six months ago and I wouldn't change a single experience, but I will wait to do a greater amount of reflection until I am back in New Zealand.

Things that used to stress me out seem somewhat irrelevant now that I have experienced new cultures and got first hand experience of hardships that people face, and one of the most awesome things I have recaptured, is the joy to laugh at life and myself. This is something that is quite magical in Thailand, and i think one thing that is misunderstood. We in the western world are obsessed with "things" but here, if you have friends and very little else, you can share a meal, have a hell of a good time and laugh about life. I really love that.

The generosity that I have been shown by those that I have met in my travels has been something I will forever treasure. I have been fortunate - yes, I've done and been to some "tourist spots" but I have had so many more enriching experiences wandering down the back roads here in Bangkok, or meeting communities through Yammie - experiences that to me beat any coach trip, or tourist day trip hands down.

Last night we went and had some dinner down the road at a road side stall - I nicknamed them "our friends" because I have loved their food - prawns, squid and Tom yum - authentic, not "falangafied" - and all for just a few dollars. I am really really going to miss the food and the propensity for Thai people to eat, and eat, and eat. I will miss the copious food stalls with questionable hygiene where I have never once got sick, I will miss the way people smile with genuine happiness when you try speaking Thai. I will miss people's genuine kindness with me and Yammie and their joy of celebrating a happy, loving relationship.

I have had the exact life experiences that I wanted, and after all, I didn't come to Thailand to eat steak and mashed potatos - I can do that at home. I came to experience new cultures, to understand how people live and to really experience the countries I have been through. I do believe I have achieved this..... Plus, I have managed to drink and eat my way through my travels, sometimes to excess, and still managed to lose 12 kg's.! ... Yay!

My life in a number of ways has and is not the most conventional you will come across - and that's how I like it.

Thanks for taking time out of your day to follow my blog. Cheers, Nick.

150 days traveling!

2011-09-30T19:14:00.001+13:00

Well, I cant believe it but I have now been traveling for 150 days and it's just about over. Honestly, could keep going for another six months quite happily. In one week we fly out to Hong Kong for three nights then it's the long plane trip home. Fittingly we are flying Air New Zealnd which will be yammies first experience of NZ culture apart from me of course :)

We have managed to get out of the hotel. I made a call to Avis and they were great. They had an office at Chiang Mai airport so organized for us to leave the car at the hotel and they wouldpick it up when the water had receeded enough to get it out and they gave us another one which we picked up at the airport.

The hotel had organized a truck to pick us up at the hotel and shuttle us across the flooded streets, then a minivan took us to the airport for no charge. I had been for a walk this morning and had contemplated trying with the car but so pleased we didnt as the water was very very high and we would have got swamped.

These pics are all roads not the river!

Now we are returning to Bangkok the focus of the next six days for me is kick starting my life again in New Zealand on my return. More on that later.

In the meantime I am trying to figure out how long I (and Yammie later) need to work before we can travel to another destination.

It's all pretty damn exciting really!

Thanks for taking time out of your day to follow my blog. Cheers, Nick.

Surrounded by flooding!

2011-09-29T17:12:00.001+13:00

Well, our trip today to Chiang Rai is not going to happen because we can't get our car out currently from our hotel as we are surrounded by water on all sides. The river has burst it's banks in a number of places and basically much of inner Chiang Mai is underwater including roads, homes and businesses.

I have just been for a walk and waded through thick brown river water to try and see whether we had a route we could take to get the car out. The problem is that it is a little car and not a four wheel drive. Looking at the local map there was one possibility apart from the two main roads which are completely underwater. Unfortunately wandering down the third option it was apparent that although part were not underwater, other parts of the road were deep with water but worse, for the locals, Manu of the homes were flooded too.

The thing is that maybe three streets away from the river is fine but because our hotel (holiday inn) is situated right next to the river it has made coming and going by car inaccessible. In saying that, Thai people seem to just get on with life with a smile and a laugh. Shops that are very nearly flooded are open, stalls on the side of the road are serving food and big trucks are dropping people off at work. See pictures below.

So, hopefully the river may have gone down just enough tomorrow so we can head off. We may cancel the Chiang Rai leg of the journey and head straight back to Bangkok but we will see how we go.

As I said to Yammie - the main thing is that we are okay. I had a huge breakfast this morning so I'm good for a couple of days. Haha.

We are lucky - we are just passing through. It is the locals with flooded homes and businesses I feel for.

Anyway, we will see what happens with the river in the next 24 hours.

Thanks for taking time out of your day to follow my blog. Cheers, Nick.

Days 146-148 Chiang Mai flooding

2011-09-29T03:50:00.001+13:00

So, after returning to Bangkok on Sunday from up north we stopped in to NZImmigration on Monday to drop off three more pieces of information they required. I am going to leave any comments on this for nowand will return to the topic when we have yammies passport back.

On Tuesday we ooed and ahhed about coming to Chiang Mai or not just in case we were asked for more information, but as we don't have any more information to give we decided to come anyway. We left at about midday and struck heavy rain and some nasty flooding on the way up which has caused much destruction to farmland.

I also managed to get a speeding ticket on the way out of Bangkok along the tollway. I was going more than a little bit too fast, but with Yammie beside me and a few broad smiles we negotiated the fine down to 200 bhat :) ... Yay!

As it was nearly 800 km's it was great to share the driving with my man who is doing a great job and really takes on board my constant suggestions (read nagging :))

Arriving at about 9.00pm we checked in then wandered down the road for some noodles before retiring early as it had been a big driving day.

Today the rain had obviously moved north as the river here has burst it's banks with much of the houses and businesses close to the river flooded. We actually unwittingly were in the middle of it as we were heading back to the hotel from looking at the Noi Su Thep Temple which was very impressive and had to cross the river to get to our hotel which is right on the riverside. We ended up driving through some deep brown river water that was fast flooding the streets. Thankfully our little car made it through nd we didn't get lost. I did say a quiet prayer as the water got quite deep and although I wasn't scared for our safety I did have visions of the car stalling and it would not have been a pretty site.

Below - flooding in Chiang Mai

(outside our hotel) - on the other side of the river much more severe.

Homes and businesses and roads flooded..

Tomorrow we are heading to Chiang Rai. :)

Thanks for taking time out of your day to follow my blog. Cheers, Nick.

Days 143-144 Party Time

2011-09-25T13:44:00.001+13:00

So, I had an amazing night last night....and no it wasn't because the all blacks and warriors won, but because i have been part of yet another amazing cultural experience, and after all, this blogs all about me :)

While you guys were all watching the rugby, we were out preparing for a small party which was part of the families farewell and best wishes for Yam and me. We spent the day tootling around the markets picking up fresh produce for the occasion and at around 7.00pm members of the village started arriving until there were about 30 people here. I was actually quite nervous as it was obvious that for part of it Yammie and I were going to be centre of attention :), so after out preparations, it was time for a quick shower then I put on my best clothes - my blue t shirt and jeans and sat patiently on the mat while people arrived. Initially our job was to make sure everyone had a drink. The men sat on one side and the women sat on the other side preparing the string wristbands for the small ceremonial part of proceedings.

Yammie and I then knelt on one of the mats and had some beautiful silk draped over us while individual people came up and offered prayers of good luck and such. After each person had done their thing we bowed in the Buddhist way and payed our respects to the person. At the same time that the string was put on our wrists there were two or three people touching our arms at the same time.

It was then time for some awesome food - everything centers around food in Thailand and we took a back seat and cleared plates, etc while the men smoked and drank a little more and the women chatted and chewed tobacco leaves.

By 10.00pm (which is very very late here) most people had left and there was just really Yammie and me and a couple of his friends who left shortly after.

I fell into bed exhausted but very happy and again so very touched by the family and the communities celebration and acceptance of our relationship.

The photo above is Khun Mere and Kun Paw (Yammies parents)

Tey ... Yammies very cute and naughty nephew

All in all yet another amazing night!

Today, we head back to Bangkok.

Thanks for taking time out of your day to follow my blog. Cheers, Nick.

Days 139-142 Lao, Chai Wan plus we got it!

2011-09-24T12:00:00.001+12:00

So, yesterday we got a call from our immigration guy who said that nzimmigration wanted to do a phone interview with both of us. This meant we finally had some traction!

Anyway, long story short, we got it! They have granted Yammie a four month visitor visa to New Zealand which means we can follow our plans ... Yay!!!!! Tomorrow (Sunday) we have to head back to Bankgok and on Monday pop in to the I migration office with two pieces of paperwork and hopefully we can pick up his passport at the same time.

Meanwhile, here in Chai Wan, I wanted to do something nice for yams parents as they have shown me such kindness and hospitality so we organized to take them to Lao for a days outing. When we arrived at the friendship bridge border crossing I had to get two pieces of paperwork - first a re entry permit for Thailand for my visa, and secondly a visa at the border for Lao. I managed to het these, but yams parents don't have passports so they needed paperwork as well. The whole set up at the border is disorganized chaos with people everywhere either trying to get themselves sorted and other people trying to "help" you. It really was just ridiculous. Anyway, after waiting a huge amount of time in the heat with yams little nephew as well it was decided that we would go down a couple of towns that border the Mekong and find a ferry or boat crossing as we also could not take the car for some reason.

Looking across the Mekong River to Lao...

We did find a spot but it was maybe not an "official" crossing so with a decent level of frustration we went to Ngong Khai instead and had a great meal and a wander through the markets. We will save the Lao trip for next year when we come back and we can organize a couple of nights over there.

With news of yesterday about the visa, we are having a bit of a party here tonight with a number of the families friends coming over.

Tomorrow, we head back to Bangkok, Monday go to immigration, then Tuesday head to Chiang Mai for a few days, then back to Bangkok at the end of the week with a week left to organize ourselves before getting on a plane and heading home. I am both happy and excited about seeing my family and friends again and very sad at leaving. I have now been on the road for around five months with three of those months here in Thailand. I have experienced so much - from being a "tourist" in tourist spots, to experiencing what is the true Thailand away from the bars, beaches and throngs of falang.

I can honestly say that because of all the amazing life experiences that I have had that I will arrive back in New Zealand a different man to the one that left. I will not take for granted any of the abundant things that my life has given me. I will talk more on that on my return.

Plus of course, how often do you leave for a holiday with one bag and arrive home with one bag and a man ... :)

Thanks for taking time out of your day to follow my blog. Cheers, Nick.

Days 137-138 Chai Wan

2011-09-22T12:01:00.001+12:00

So, the last couple of days I have been helping out on the farm. This morning we tore down an old partially falling down concrete outhouse style building with sledgehammer. We then moved the Bits of concrete with a home made wheelbarrow to the front of the driveway which had become bogged down with all the mud. Then after putting the concrete pieces down in the tracks Khun Paw (yams dad) smashed them up further until they were embedded. Essentially home made gravel. Now Khun Paw and Tawan (yams older brother) are strong men used to a lifetime of hard physical work and I was just so in awe of their hard work and resourcefulness. Nothing is wasted. From the food you eat, to theresources used on the farm to make stuff, or the way everyone pitches in with all of the different jobs.

I played my part and felt very much like the soft city boy that I am but was pleased to at least be an extra pair of hands. I am now on my third shirt for the day. :) I also managed to get multiple bee sting bites on my arm when I was weeding a part of the garden. After my initial fright and worry that they were some exotic buzzy thing like the one I got stung by in Malaysia, yam rubbed on some magic ointment and all was good.

After that we went fishing with home made bamboo fishing rods. I managed to catch a couple of little fish which we threw back.

There has also been a lot of rain with thunder and lightning. When it rains it truly pours and is a great chance to fill up the water tank out the back with the rainwater from the roof, as wells number of other pots dotted around.

Last night as the rain was pouring down and yammie was sitting with his folks chatting away and laughing with his little nephew, for the first time in nearly five months on the road I had a moment of really missing New Zealand, my friends and of course my family.

We are hoping for some news on the visa front today or tomorrow, then we can head to Chiang Mai on Saturday, but as with anything in Thailand, the dates and times are fluid :)

Thanks for taking time out of your day to follow my blog. Cheers, Nick.

Days 134-136 Chai Wan

2011-09-19T19:21:00.001+12:00

As I write this I am sitting on a mat at Yamies parents house up in Chai Wan Provence north east Thailand. We arrived on Saturday afternoon after setting off early in the morning. We are hopeful that keeping busy will speed up this waiting time. I have also planned that when we leave at the end of the week we will head west about 700 km's to Chiang Mai where we will stay a couple of nights then head south about 700 kms back toBangkok before hopefully having a week with good news on the visa front and packing and organizing for the trip home. Also, by then, I will have covered the vast majority of Thailand.

In the meantime, this week is time for yam to spend with his family as if all things go to plan he could be at the bottom of the world with me for a while before he gets back. His family have made me feel so welcome even with the vast differences of language, culture and lifestyle.

Yesterday morning we were up at the crack of dawn (actually, before that) and we went and had a meal with yams mums family in another village. I was given yet more gifts and another string around yam and mine wrists which is essentially like a blessing for our happiness and well being. Yesterday I also helped yams big brother build a bamboo fence at the front of their house and hopefully this afternoon I can help in the garden. I am loving being able to be an extra set of hands and it is helping burn off all the calories from all of the food we constantly eat. :)

I have now been in Thailand for about three months - the time has flow. By and as one of my friends commented on facebook about settling down to routine, I am a little concerned about getting back to "real life" with a thud on my return, but the beauty of this trip is that because I now well and truly have the travel bug again, I/we will just need to plan for the next one and it gives me a great reason to work hard and sell lots of houses!

Thanks for taking time out of your day to follow my blog. Cheers, Nick.

Karaoke (Thai style) and the police

2011-09-16T16:17:00.001+12:00

So, last night I had a great time and yet another new experience to add to the notches on the belt.

Two of yammies friends had birthdays (23 and 24) and his group of girlfriends had organized a Karaoke night out. They are all 20 something girls and they love to sing and dance. Now, when Yammie said Karaoke, I was thinking a bar with a big TV and singing in front of a whole lot of people, but no, it's much more upmarket than that.

You get your own private room with a groovy surround sound system and 1000's of songs to choose from. There are comfy seats and you can order food and drinks from the waitresses that pop in and out. It proved to be an awful lot of fun. The girls had an awesome time and I even managed to sing a few songs (English and Thai with the transliteration running along the bottom of the screen).

At the end of the evening I suggested we run the girls home so we put down the seats in the back of the car and we piled 7 people in to get them home. By now it was nearly 2.00am and a number of them had to work today, so I can only imagine how tired they all are.

On our trip around the city to drop everyone off, it was lovely as there were no traffic jams like during the day, but we did go through two police check points and at one I was stopped and had to get out of the car and do a breath test. The police seemed quite amused with a falang driving a car with a gaggle of young slightly drunk loud girls in the back.

Luckily my sensible shoes and responsibility taught to me by my mum paid off as I had only had a couple of glasses of beer through the whole night because I was driving, so there was no problem with the breath test and we carried on our way, with the policeman wishing me a good night. Yammie had got out of the car and looked really concerned, but I told him not to worry and reminded him that this was why driving a car is a serious business and you need to be responsible always because you don't know what's round the corner, whether it be a cop, or crazy driver, or truck across the road.

By the time we dropped everyone off and got home it was three o'clock in the morning so we fell in to bed, or rather on our mat we have on the floor to sleep on. As I write this he is still sleeping, but it is hard to change the habits of a lifetime and I was wide awake at 7.30am this morning checking my emails to see whether we had any progress on the visa front.

Aaron at Brookfields in nz has been great at communicating and apparently our application has been "accepted for processing and decision making" and now needs to be "assigned" to a "case worker" for "review and decision making" I think this is a flash way of saying they are busy and it is sitting in a pile on someone's desk.

So, this exciting wonderful mid life crisis journey continues ....

Thanks for taking time out of your day to follow my blog. Cheers, Nick.

Koh Samui and Ch Am

2011-09-15T13:11:00.001+12:00

On monday we spent the day being very indulgent which was just what was required. First it was a 4 hour spa treatment which consisted of a body scrub, massage, facial and foot massage. It was just awesome. Then some food and sitting on hammocks at the waterfront at the hotel then dinner out at one of the neghbouring beaches. After dinner we finished a completely relaxing day where I had a pedicure and foot scrub and Yammie had a manicure. Very blokey things to do really, but totally worth it.

After checking out of the hotel on Tuesday it was a long days drive to our next destination, another holiday location called Cha Am, which is just north of Hua Hin where we stayed on the way down. Luckily for us, yet again, one of Yammies friends came to the party and organized a great deal for us at the holiday inn resort where we have a great room. It is a huge place and seems to be very popular with english and German tourists.

In front of the hotel at Ch Am

Today we check out and head home to Bangkok.

Aaron, our immigration guy has been in touch to give us an update on our application. We have made it through the first two steps and as of Tuesday it was been sent to a " case worker" who will I suppose make a decision on the visa. We will wait for news. It seems excessive for a visitor visa but we will just have to continue to be patient I suppose.

Thanks for taking time out of your day to follow my blog. Cheers, Nick.

Days 126-128 Hua Hin and Koh Samui

2011-09-12T14:34:00.001+12:00

Hua Hin

After getting our application in on Friday we decided not to delay any longer and set off late Friday to drive part of the 700 odd km's to Koh Samui. It was great to get out of Bangkok and have a change of scenery.

We drove about 300 odd km's and decided to stop in a place called Hua Hin. This is where the Thai king spends most of his time at a large palace and residence, however, at the moment he is unwell and is still in hospital. After driving around in the dark trying to find accommodation we settled on a hotel not too far from the kings residence and on the "waterfront" it was adequate and served it's purpose. We wandered down the road to a local food stall for a bit of dinner and to pick up a couple of beers before turnig in for the evening. At 5.00am we were woken by the screams of a little baby in the adjoining room, and it didn't stop till they left at 8.00am, so I was a little cranky when we checked out. :)

The waterfront! From our hotel room.

Koh Samui

We left mid morning after a very average breakfast and I was driving. Yammie had done a great job driving a good part of the distance yesterday and I could tell he was keen for more as any new driver is. I was quite happy about this as I have now officially got over the roads here. The roads are very good, but as I have stated, they are just so boring. In fact there are so few corners that every time there is one they have multiple signs up and funny mini judder bars in the middle of the road to let people know.

Fairly reflective of the roads..

With yammie driving i could take a bit of time to search for a hotel for our stay in Koh Samui. There are literally hundreds of hotels and after sensibly being talked out of staying at a five star one i found that was excessively expensive, we settled on a little boutique one in Bo Phut right on the water and only $60 a night which is great.

View from our little bungalow....

We arrived with about half an hour to spare at the ferry fpr the crossing to ko samui and were fortunate as it was the last ferry for the evening.

Thanks to the ipad and google maps which has been invaluable to us everywhere including Bangkok, we rocked on up to our accomodation at about 8.30pm. After the long days ride, we were both stuffed so first went for a little walk down the road to get our bearings and stretch our legs,then crashed for the night. We are shpcked with how quiet it is here - it really is low low season.

Sunday we drove around the island a couple of times, ate a number of times and just relaxed in a new environment. Surrounding us are overpriced tourist restaurants so we have found a couple of local places where the food is proper Thai and the prices reasonable. Last night we finished the night off with a drink at the hotel bar where I proceeded to have three Mai Thais, which were two too many then had to sit up for a while to let the slightly "I've drunk a bit much" feeling pass. Not good for the waistline either or the snoring for that matter.

Today I am hoping to organize a slightly indulgent spa treatment as these seem to be very popular here.

Thanks for taking time out of your day to follow my blog. Cheers, Nick.

It's in!

2011-09-09T19:23:00.001+12:00

Written yesterday ....

So, we think we have everything in order except for the covering letter that is coming from our immigration guy in new Zealand. He's said it will be in my inbox by Friday morning our time so we can stop at the Internet shop and print it out on our way to the immigration office. We want to be at the office at 9.00am when it opens so we can get at the front of the queue. It has been an extremely long process to get to this point and I am hopeful that we have everything in order.

I am actually getting quite excited but nervous about the visa as I'm really keen to get Yammie back to new Zealand to meet my friends and family.

Written today ....

We have just returned from nz immigration where we have finally lodged our application for yammies visa to come to NZ. Neither one of us got much sleep last night when we turned the light off at 1.00am this morning after re checking the paperwork for the umpteenth time.

I was wide awake at 6.00am and went straight to my iPad and sure enough the covering letter from Aaron was sitting in my inbox. After a shower and a check that we had everything we headed to the Internet shop at about 8.30am with the hope that it was open. It was and I printed the stuff out and it was a short ride to the nzimmigration office. Unfortunately most of Bangkok were on the roads and we fought our way to arrive bang on 9.00am at the office. Then we struck a snag - there was roadworks where we were meant to turn in and because of the traffic and the terrible one way roads we ended up taking 45 mins! To do a big loop to finally arrive a shade before 10.00am a little frazzled from all the traffic and the fact we had been driving on empty for a good 10km's.

Anyway, we took our number and diligently waited for another hour and a half before presenting our application which the lady looked through, we paid the application money and now have to wait one to two weeks for the outcome. Thanks to Aaron at Brookfields we had an official cover letter from him addressed to the chief bangkok lady so we will just have to wait and see.

Although there is more waiting I think we just feel relief that at least it is now in the system. Also, now I can plan our next little trip away. Were going to head to Koh Samui for a few days, probably leaving tomorrow or Sunday. Yay!

On Wednesday just past we took a trip to one of the large temples here in Bangkok for a bit of fun and endured the intense heat to climb a million stairs to get to the top.

Also, on one of our trips to one of the large department stores, i just had to take a snap of the triple parking in the carpark building. Basically they line up an extra row of cars and you have to leave your handbreak off and in neutral so the car park wardens can push the car forward or back if someone needs to get out.

An auspicious day today ...

Apart from us lodging our visa application, and it been the 9th of the 9th which is apparently a good thing her in Thailand, i suppose i cannot go past the fact it is the first day of the Rugby World Cup and NewZealand, if the media reports are anything to go by, is gripped by a certain level of madness and mayhem around this.

I say good luck to all teams. Have a great time!

Thanks for taking time out of your day to follow my blog. Cheers, Nick.

De stressing at the beach

2011-09-05T20:28:00.001+12:00

We are still waiting on a document from our immigration guy in new Zealand, so this morning we took a couple of documents to be translated, I rescheduled my todays Thai lesson, we dropped off our laundry then picked up Bun who we haven't seen for a couple of weeks and drove a couple of hours out of Bangkok to Saen Suk to sit on the beach, eat some food and get a bit of seaair which has been very good for me as this sitting around waiting for other people to get things done for us so we can present our application to nz immigration is driving me up the wall and around the bend.

There is also some interest in my apartment which is great and this evening there were three appointments to view it so we will see how that goes. Of course, when I rent it out again, we will need to find somewhere to live, but my plan, hopefully not too flawed is that when we come back wecanspend a couple of weeks staying with friends and family and I can show Yam a bit of NZ then we find a one bedroom apartment and I go back to work at the beginning of November. That's the plan at the moment, but these things are of course subject to a whole lot of other things.

We have talked about a trip to koh Samui and also to return up north to udon Thani Provence to see yams family before flying out. Of course, we don't want to plan these yet until we have some certainty about his visa and if we have to go in to immigration for an interview or more information or anything.

So, we wait.

Thanks for taking time out of your day to follow my blog. Cheers, Nick.

I was a little bit stressed ...

2011-09-04T14:16:00.001+12:00

I wrote this yesterday....

So the last couple of days we have been gathering the required information for yammies visa. The reason it's taking longer than just applying for a visitor visa is because he obviously would like to work while in New Zealand which means a work visa down the track, so what we provide now will impact on that process, plus, because he is my partner this is another layer of complexity.

We have an immigration specialist from a friends law firm on the case, but communicating between two countries and having lots of questions about why we have to do certain things is proving to be very frustrating. Of course, it doesn't help that I am a control freak and want everything sorted yesterday.

Add to this the stress of getting anything done here, as every time we want to print something out we have to go to an Internet shop which entails sitting in traffic for extended periods of time and even finding somewhere that had modern equipment to scan and send documents proved to be a mission. It does take a long time to do anything here, like yesterday we went to the central police station to apply for a police check for him. It took the whole afternoon and we have to wait two weeks for the certificate.

I think too it is just the stress of wanting it to all go to plan, because obviously I want yam to get to new Zealand so I can show him around and grow our relationship further and give him an opportunity that he really wants and is not something that was even remotely possible for him a few months ago.

I also find myself starting to think about work again!

So as you can see there's a fair bit whizzing around in my head. The biggest issue for us though is that while we get everything sorted we are just kind of in limbo and can't really go anywhere until we pit the application in and get an answer.

Written this morning ....

I sent off a long email to Aaron, our immigration guy in new Zealand yesterday with a large number of questions and followed up with a phone call as he had kindly (or blindly) given me his after hours number.

I felt a lot better after talking with him and he had worked through each of our many questions. We now have just about everything in order and hopefully once we have two documents translated and have re written the applications fixing our errors, we can go to immigration on Wednesday and/or Thursday and lodge the application.

I have suggested to yam that after that we go away for a few days and go on another of our mini trips - I am thinking Koh Samui. If we can get their, then I would have covered a great deal of the country before heading home.

So, slowly, it's all coming together - one step at a time.

Thanks for taking time out of your day to follow my blog. Cheers, Nick.

Lawyers and NZ immigration

2011-08-31T13:47:00.001+12:00

Days 116-117

So, we are still working through Yams application to come to New Zealand. We thought we had filled in all the documentation then had to go to a lawyer to get a couple of things witnessed. Over here, this will cost you $40 per page that needs to be witnessed. This is outrageous as this service in new Zealand is done for free. How the heck could a Thai person afford 1000 bhat per page to be witnessed when they are earning 25bhat an hour. Crazy! The other thing the lawyers did of course was to put the fear of God in to us about the visa process. Even though they had never done an application to New Zealand.

So, once we got back to the condo I put my thinking cap on and thought surely with less than six degrees of separation in new Zealand I could find someone at home to help. Sure enough with a few turns of the cogs in the old brain I tracked down a couple of friends who work in a law firm who have an immigration specialist and after a couple of emails to my friends and a good word after a couple of hours I was on the phone to their immigration specialist. I am sending our documents to him for a review for very reasonable cost plus he has done many applications in Thailand for clients and has a couple of contacts over here at immigration, so it is just a waiting game while he sorts everything out and we will wait and see.

In the meantime I am practicing my Thai and doing my homework as I have class again on Friday. :)

Thanks for taking time out of your day to follow my blog. Cheers, Nick.

Days 111 - 115 Thai School

2011-08-29T14:03:00.001+12:00

The days seem to be rolling in to each other with nearly a week passing here in Bangkok.

I have enrolled at a local Thai language school and had my first three hour one on one lesson on Friday which was lots of fun. I also have an extra teacher here at the condo who is helping me when I get stuck. There is a lot to learn, the biggest problem being my limited vocabulary which I can only increase by learning words off by heart. This is proving to be a little bit challenging for the old brain and I have had to dust off the cogs and try and remember how to learn and more importantly store all the information. I have got my head around the structure of the sentences which is definitely helping. The language school is only a 500m walk from here which is great and my tutor is a lovely lady who smiles patiently as I ask the same questions over and over. Of course, I want to be able to speak fluentlynow, but need to remember that I need to crawl first before walking.

I also met a really nice Aussie guy up at the pool a couple of days ago. He worked here in Bangkok for 10 years and has since retired and bought a condo in the building with his Thai partner. He now lives off the rental stream from his two properties in Australia. He was very interesting to talk to.

We are also working through the quagmire that is new Zealand immigration and have filled out the forms and this morning need to go and get a couple of things witnessed by a lawyer then will go in to the nz immigration office tomorrow to see whether we have done it right. It is a little nerve racking but I suppose we just have to be patient.

I have also made a de vision about when we will go home to nz. Originally, I was looking at the end of November, but I have been a bit concerned about the fact that by t time we get home and see everyone, when I go back to work will be when it is just getting quiet and heading in to the lull that is dec/Jan so I have decided to get home in October, not December so I can have a couple of months to get a sale under my belt before Christmas I now haven't been working for over four months, and as nice as it is, I cannot sustain it at this juncture in my life. We were planning to go to hong kong on the way home with one of my best friends and his girlfriend. I am yet to let him know and don't quite know how to tell him, but I know he reads this blog so am sure I will get an email from him.there is always the chance that we could go to hong kong from new Zealand depending on the work situation.

If things work out in nz and Yammie likes it, and then we can successfully get a work visa for him, we can then save up and will definitely come back. If it doesn't work out then I will still come back again at some juncture. Looking around there are many opportunities here I reckon.

I have also started to give yam driving lessons which is proving to be fun. He has now driven around the block a few times and is starting to master driving in to the condo carpark. Yesterday we just about ran over the security guards, but luckily they know us now as do allthe small food stall owners down our soi (street) so they were able to see the humor in it. I know i have said it before, but thai people are really very friendly and i definitely will miss that when we leave. On Saturday when we went to pick up our laundry at a shop over the other side of the river, Yammie got us back to the condo in one piece. He is doing very well.

So, as you can see, life carries on and I have settled in to a regular pace of life quite nicely.

By the by, as I write this I am sitting on our (very) little balcony looking out at the vista and there is a large construction site a stones throw from here. They work 24 hours a day and it is going to be the tallest residential block in Thailand at 88 stories high and will take four years to build. I would love to see it when it is finished. It will be magnificent. Picture below -

Our condo "life@sathon" is the small one (27 stories) you can see directly behind the new massive one been built (88 stories) - it's going to be called Maha Nahkon - at the moment theyre still moving dirt, so nothing much to see.

Thanks for taking time out of your day to follow my blog. Cheers, Nick.

Some useless information ....

2011-08-26T00:46:00.001+12:00

On my observations around Thailand and here in Bangkok I have observed a few interesting things that are completely useless snippets of information but I thought I would share them anyway .... :)

1. There are 9 famous bridges over the river here in Bangkok of which I have been stuck in traffic going nowhere fast on four of them...
2. There are no road rules for going around roundabouts here in Bangkok .. It is each man to their own .... And rue the day if you happen to be near a bus or taxi because they do not wait for anyone....
3. In fact no one waits for anyone
4. The lane markings on the road are obviously indicative only and don't actually mean anything at all
5. Sometimes there are sets of lights in the middle of a roundabout
6. Sausages ... Thai people love to eat sausages but they aren't really sausages that we know, more processed ground up god knows what probably flavored in a food technologists laboratory somewhere
7. To drink water, you buy bottled water only
8. At the local 7.11 store (like an old four square shop) you can do pretty much everything - from buying bread, beer, acne cream or cigarettes to paying your power bill, topping up your phone and a myriad other things.
9. Quite often when laborers are working on a building site, they will build temporary accommodation for them on site.
10. If you say "ha" in Thai, it means 5 - if you accidentally say "he" in Thai it is much much ruder - basically a rude word for a specific part of a ladies body.
11. Before watching a movie at the movie theatre all people stand when they play the national anthem with a video of the King.
12. There is a certain way to bow appropriately - and I haven't quite mastered it yet.
13. Sitting for an extended period of time on your knees when at a temple is incredibly difficult and painful after a while if you are not used to it.
14. Thai people drink beer with ice (and I love the local beer called "Leo")
15. If you want to you can buy a packet of cigarettes called SMS for 30 baht (about a dollar) ... But they should be called SOS because they make you cough up your lungs.
16. When going to the toilet in a traditional toilet you use your left hand for you know what.
17. One more road one ... Speed limits are indicative only ... Actually, I think they mean go at least 40kms faster than the advertised speed limit
18. You can fit a shit load of people and stuff on ..... Scooters, trucks, 4x4's, bicycles, basically any kind of transport.
19. My favorite dish ever ... Raw prawns with garlic and chilli can be bought here at a road side stall for about $2 and is absolutely delicious ... Back home it would cost $30
And 20. I am in love with thailand and could quite happily live here for a few years .. The people are great, I love the hustle bustle and have got used to the great weather. :) I have no doubt I will return again,maybe even to work.

In the meantime though I have booked in for Thai classes ... :) ... They start tomorrow morning at a Thai language school only about 500m from the condo. I am quite excited as I am determined to be able to hold a simple conversation and have been enjoying learning a few new words every day. It has been a while since I have been a student so I am doing one on one tuition for 30 hours, 3 hours at a time, so by the end of September hopefully I can say a few more words than just how much and thank you :)

Thanks for taking time out of your day to follow my blog. Cheers, Nick.

All Black fans, I have the answer ....

2011-08-25T02:08:00.001+12:00

Now, as my family would attest, I am a bit of a failed kiwi because dare I say it, I am not a big rugby fan, but, always one to eye an opportunity I have the answer to new Zealand's most pressing problem about the cost of the all black rugby world cup jersey!

I was wandering down Silom road this evening on my way to buy a couple of DVDs and dinner when I spotted an All Black RWC "official" jersey. And, after trying out my Thai on the stall guy, I can buy one for a mere $16.

Now, if I set up a website in competition with Canterbury or adidas or whoever it is, I'm sure I could buy a 1000 or so for even cheaper and then on sell them for a mere $100 New Zealand dollars. Woohoo!

So there you go, it's the answer to new Zealand's rugby world cup jersey tragedy.

Thanks for taking time out of your day to follow my blog. Cheers, Nick.

Freemans Bay, Auckland fab apartment ...

2011-08-24T17:04:00.001+12:00

Hi all

My tenants are leaving mid September and my apartment has come up for rent again.

It's a fab three bedroom, two bathroom, two carpark, super large apartment with north facing views of the harbour. Fully furnished, just take your toothbrush and linen. Centrally located with a gym, pool and sauna in the complex.

Flexible rental terms from 3 - 24 months. Only $820 per week.

If you or you know of anyone who may be interested, please call my property manager Jono Cooke on +64 9 360 9005 to arrange a time to view or check out the link - http://www.harcourts.co.nz/Property/View/DEW01288/Auckland-Central-2F-47-8-Howe-Street and send him an email. Thanks.

Thanks for taking time out of your day to follow my blog. Cheers, Nick.

Day 110 - back in the saddle

2011-08-24T14:13:00.001+12:00

Well, it's time I find myself a bike to ride again. Amazingly, I have found two companies here in Bangkok that do rent out bigger bikes so we will see what happens after my enquiries.

Now, obviously this is for the purpose of riding outside of Bangkok rather than in the city. I have the car for that. So, for all my motorcycle mates who are no longer reading my blog because I've swung just a little off tangent, stay tuned as I Suss out the options. :)

Exciting!

Thanks for taking time out of your day to follow my blog. Cheers, Nick.

Day 109 - my Swiss army knife

2011-08-24T00:07:00.001+12:00

When I left Auckland on my travels four months ago I packed a couple of things that I thought would eb useful. A couple of them have proved to be useless and a waste of space, and a couple of things essential and indispensable.

Useless has been the all weather mini towel I bought from Kathmandu and my bathroom hangup toilet bag. Both of them I could have left at home.

Indispensable have been the multi country power plug, the iPad obviously and my Swiss army knife.

The most useful aspect of the Swiss army knife has been the bottle opener (it has opened countless bottles of beer). I have successfully used the knife to put a couple if extra holes in my belt (and one large gash in my finger and fingernail), the tweezers Yammie has used and the can opener on a few occasions.

Today we went to the nz immigration service office here in Bangkok and talk about frustrating. Talk about making it difficult for people to come and travel and/or work in new Zealand. I have found it confusing and English is my first language.

The other thing I bought was a DVD player for the condo so we can watch some DVDs in English as the only channels weber are funnily enough in Thai. At $50 for the DVD player and about $3 to buy a DVD it has been great. By the time it is time to return to new Zealand I will probably need to send a box of stuff home ahead of time. I have managed to accumulate odds and ends. The great thing is that if things go to plan and I get my apartment at home rented out again we will have a few bits and pieces for wherever we are living. If worst comes to worst we can find homes for them here.

I am actually really enjoying Bangkok and could live here for a couple of years I reckon. Yes, the traffic is hideous but in parts it is actually a beautiful city and I have grown quite accustomed to the hustle bustle. I think too that after three months in the hotter climates, my body has become more accustomed to the heat which is great because there's no doubt it's pretty bloody hot.

I am getting better at having myself understood in shops now too. I just wandered down the road to get us a bite to eat from the road side stalls that are dotted everywhere and I managed to get myself understood and understand how much I had to pay.

Yesterday I had a seriously funny moment when I went to a food stalland had got Yammie to tell me what I needed to say and all the way down the road I was practicing the line .. I was going to say in Thai ... Can I please have the yellow noodles? ... Anyway, when it came out the poor girl looked at me like I was from mars and all the people eating stopped and had a deep conversation to try and work out what I had said, then one of them worked it out. We all had a good giggle and when she said it I would of sworn that I said exactly the same thing, but it seems that my strong new Zealand accent does workagainst me sometimes. I love these interchanges though as it is all practise and I find people so appreciative that I am at least trying.

Thenext couple of days we plan to hang around Bangkok while I work out where I want to go next and we try and get visas and stuff sorted.

Thanks for taking time out of your day to follow my blog. Cheers, Nick.

Day 108 - Temples, Food and Markets

2011-08-22T03:27:00.001+12:00

What a great day today.

It had been a week or two since we caught up with yammies best mates. All girls he studied with at university and who he worked with at his job here in Bangkok. They are really sweet and in their early 20's like Yammie, so a bundle of energy.

We picked them up this morning at 9.00am just around the corner from our condo and we headed off for our days excursion. Today is Sunday, and "Buddha Day" this is a very popular day for locals to head off to the temple for the day.

I have decided that Thai people love to especially do four things -

1. Eat
2. Buy stuff at the markets
3. Go to the temple
4. Talk

..... And today I can see why people love Sunday's. They can go to the temple and buy stuff including food at the markets near the temple while talking with their family and friends. Talk about madness and mayhem in a good way.

We arrived at the first temple where it seemed half of Bangkok was. It was a 40 minute drive out of the city. The first step after navigating the madness to find a park was to offer a donation then pick up a candle, a couple of incense sticks, and three little pieces of paper with tiny squares of gold leaf in them. Then we whipped off our shoes and hustled our way to a podium where you planted the incense and dropped off your flowers after a little bow of the head and pray. Then it was off to another room where you again bustled your way to the front tp offer another prayer then rub the gold leaf on a giant buddha. After this we went to the main area just to have a look. It was very cool!

Bustling with the 1000's ....

You rub the gold leaf on one of these statues....

Me with my new super short tropical heat friendly hair cut.

Yammie with his girlfriends

After this we headed to a local market where we enjoyed a great seafood meal and walked through the hustle bustle picking up little morsels of Thai food along the way. At these places we went to today, I would have seen 1000's and 1000's of people and I only saw one other "falang" all day. It was just brilliant. After the meal we split the bill and it came out to about $4 each. Brilliant!

From here we went to another hugely popular local Sunday tourist spot. It seemed that there were a number of overseized deities that people were worshipping here.

Yammie trying to work out where we were....

There was a large market here too, but we headed off to a floating market not too far away that was fascinating in the all the shop keepers were sitting in boats with their food cooking for people.

Yes, that is dirty brown water....

From here we headed to the final market for the day which was on the river again. Here we had yet another meal which when split came to a whopping $1 each.

It was then time to head back to the city. We have just arrived home.

A great day!

Thanks for taking time out of your day to follow my blog. Cheers, Nick.

Koh Chang photos

2011-08-21T01:24:00.001+12:00

So, were back in Bangkok now after a leisurely drive back to The city. It's actually only a couple of hours from Pattaya to Bangkok. I have uploaded my photos from the camera from Koh Chang. I hope you enjoy :)

On the way out of the big city .....

Toll booths....

One of the main arterial routes has literally been built above the city....

Even on the back roads, corners are few and far between....

From the mainland looking across to koh Chang

On the car ferry ... Wasn't quite ready for the photo :)

Cute..

The view from our little bungalow...

Yammie with Ay

One of the beaches :)

Seafood dinner at a floating restaurant

On the way for a days dip at a local waterfall..

Dressed for the bush:)

Beautiful

Swimming :)

Apart from the upset stomach, i really enjoyed koh chang. I found the island to be much less commercialized than Phuket and you could actually find quiet spots to enjoy.

Pattaya on the other hand was the other end of the scale and although pleased to say ive been is not a place i would probably hurry back to.

All in all though a great week discovering yet more parts of Thailand.

Thanks for taking time out of your day to follow my blog. Cheers, Nick.

photo update 1

2011-08-20T06:10:00.001+12:00

Yammie (Top) has kindly uploaded a few photos for me that he took on his phone so they can tide me over until we go back to Bangkok tomorrow where I can upload a few more photos, so thought I'd publish them as the text only blogs are a bit boring looking.

For those of you that are not completely computer literate :) (mum and Joan hehe :) ), just so you know, you can click on each photo and it will open up bigger so you can see it more clearly :)

So, I've discovered the local beer called Leo which is great on a hot day.

Swimming at the waterfall

Ok, so this one was taken a couple weeks ago, but i thought it was quite slimming so thought id include it anyway. :)

Thanks for taking time out of your day to follow my blog. Cheers, Nick.

Days 105 and 106

2011-08-19T23:41:00.001+12:00

Wednesday....

Had a great day swimming at a local waterfall, along with a gaggle of Russian tourists. By the end of the day I was stuffed and we decided not to brave the nightlife again and ended up having another early night watching a bit of tv listening to the torrential rain outside. We braved the hotel food again which was not a good idea and this time it was top that ended up feeling queezy!

Thursday....

We checked out pretty early and managed to time our arrival at the car ferry perfectly to catch it back to the mainland. While on board the short trip a couple of young Dutch kids backpacking with their parents made friends with us (I thought it was pretty cute of them, but actually I realized pretty fast that they were actuaLy angling to have a game on the iPad which cracked me up.)

It was a pleasant four hour drive to Pattaya with a couple of stops along the way and we arrived late afternoon and set about finding some accommodation for two nights. We stopped at a couple of places and settled on a very tidy reasonably priced room just off the main beach road. After checking in and wondering around the shops to stretch our legs, and a bit of food we retired for a couple of hours Kip before hitting the nightlife.

Arriving at the first bar we were underwhelmed by the whole scene and ended up going for a bit of a dance at a local club which was better. A few too many drinks and a couple of shows at the club later we wandered home with a late night snack along the way.

I have decided that I have now had my fill of crazy busy beach locations. Give me Waihi Beach any day over the hustle bustle of these destinations. We in new Zealand just don't realize how lucky we are I think. Don't get me wrong - I have loved each and every experience, but it has also made me appreciate the upbringing and life that I have lived.

You know, just because I am a "falang" traveling in Thailand does not mean I automatically want ..... It seems in this order too ...

1= A woman
1= A ladyboy
2= A man
2= A massage
3. A beer
4. A t shirt
5. A suit
6. A taxi ride
7. A "cheap" meal

Like everything in life There is of course a huge positive flip side to this and something I definitely love about Thailand and that is a magical word called acceptance. This is very different to tolerance which has menacing undertones. This I love about Thailand and Buddhism and something that we could learn a lot about.

Friday....

As we walked back along the beach today from lunch I couldn't help but think about the craziness of lounge chairs stacked and lined up row upon row along the beach and all the crazy activity that goes with it. Also, sitting out in the bay are large ships anchored up, with parasailers zooming around behind jet boats, bars crying out for business, music bleating away and smelly rubbish dotted around the streets, not to mention the guys accosting you at every corner wanting to zip you up a suit or two.

I am always polite to all who want money from me or to provide a great deal - I politely but firmly say "Mai ou Khrap" (not at all thanks) while bowing my head, now, im not one to usually swear but by the end of the day on the inside I am actually saying two words - the first starts with an F*** and the second word is off. :)

So, tomorrow we head back to Bangkok. :)

Thanks for taking time out of your day to follow my blog. Cheers, Nick.

Days 103 and 104 ... Ko Chang

2011-08-17T12:48:00.001+12:00

Written on Tuesday..

Yesterday we set off from Bangkok and drove 5 hours to Ko Chang which is a little island in the south east of Thailand. Smaller than Phuket Island, much of it is still unspoiled and we have a beachfront bungalow for $60 per night where we have booked in for three nights. We are also catching up with one of tops friends from Singapore who is here with her Scottish boyfriend. They are lovely. There is a definite advantage traveling in the low season as there are great deals to be had everywhere.

I have taken photos but I managed to leave the doodakey I need to upload my photos to my website on the table in the condo so the photos will have to wait for our return.

Yesterday on our arrival we grabbed a bite to eat at the hotel restaurant which was very average and proved to be my undoing in the early hours of the morning. in the evening we did go out to one of the local bars but to be honest we only had one drink because the bars were quite simply scary. The reason being that there were very few customers because it's low season so we were accosted by every bar owner and waitress to the degree that we were over it pretty fast. There was not really a chance to just sit and catch up with tops friends. I was happy to head home as my stomach was not terribly good and at 3.00am in the morning the stomach said, that's enough! I will leave the description at that point. :)

Written on Wednesday morning ...

After feeling very washed out yesterday because of the food incident we had a very quiet day with swimming in the pool and a massage. We met up with Ay and Alan and they took us to the most wonderful seafood restaurant in a little fishing village towards the other side of the island. It was situated like a pole house literally on the water. The seafood was caught that day and was fresh and lovely. We decided a quiet night was in order so we were in bed by 8.30pm and I managed to have a great sleep and feel pretty much back to 100% which is great.

Today we head to a famous waterfall where you can go swimming in a lagoon. Not sure what it's called. Will fill you in once we've been.

The plan is to stay here another night (we may stay abit longer) then stay a couple of nights in Pattaya on our way to Bangkok. I love not planning too much and just deciding as we go.

Thanks for taking time out of your day to follow my blog. Cheers, Nick.

Days 101 and 102 - Budgeting

2011-08-15T13:05:00.001+12:00

So, I sat down on Sunday to look at how much I've spent, how many days left and my daily budget from here on. I also looked at some of the areas that I would like to go to after our fun excursion up to the North East last week.

Today we head South East a little bit for a few days r and r in Pattaya which is another part of Thailand only a couple of hours away from here and quite a popular beach destination. In fact we're going to go a bit further for the first couple of nights. Will post pics.

On Saturday I decided that after having a car for the week last week, it was just too good to have wheels again so have rented a Honda Jazz (just like my friend Jens car in NZ - Hi Jen!!!!) it's compact and cute and is great to be able to come and go as we please. When I worked out the cost of our daily taxi rides, it really wasn't that much more to have our own transport and I am getting used to and quite enjoying driving in Bangkok. It is also great having a local to navigate for me and I am starting to get my head around the CBD.

Last night we went to the movies at MBK which is a huge shopping complex of multiple floors with the cinemas at the top. We watched a new movie (with English subtitles) which was an epic tale based on fact of the beginning of Siam. It was very good. While their I had to have popcorn and coke and I see that they have adopted the American habit of oversized everything. The small coke was so big I could have swum in it, and the small popcorn so ridiculously big I could have camped in it. Pretty obscene really.

It's a short post today as it's 8.00am in the morning and we need to pack and head off, so now I've finished my morning coffee I'll go and wake sleepy bum up and we can get going.....

....as an aside I just checked the NZHerald website and to all my friends and family back home, please stay warm and dry and take care of yourselves during the terrible weather.

Luv you all.

Thanks for taking time out of your day to follow my blog. Cheers, Nick.

Celebrating 100 days on the road!

2011-08-13T15:25:00.001+12:00

So, here I am 100 days after I began this adventure of mine. Never could I have imagined the interesting people I have met, or stories I can tell of my adventures. I am truly thankful for all the people I have met and places I have been to so far on this journey.

The kindness and generosity that I have come across through all the different countries, cultures and religions has just backed up what I have always felt about the human spirit - that at our most basic we are all simply striving for a sense of happiness, health and well being for ourselves, our families and those we care about.

I gather below a few of my favorite photos from the trip so far. This is by no means extensive and doesn't begin to cover the great stories I have, some of which I have shared on this website, and some of which remain in my head for those great memories in difficult times.

If this is what a mid life crisis is, then I want one every year.

Thanks so much for coming along on the ride with me. Obviously the nature of the trip has changed somewhat and it has become more about experiencing the myriad experiences and facets of life, rather than the focus being on the mode of transport :)

Whether it has been blown away by the beauty of the landscape like the pics below, or conquering my fear of flying, or navigating the crazy Bali streets on a scooter, or making new friends at traffic lights in Malaysia, or listening to the prayers at the mosques in the morning, or partying till dawn in Phuket, or falling in love in Thailand, or learning to go to the loo with no plumbing or loo paper, or pouring water over the face of a deceased person before they are cremated, or driving through the Bangkok traffic, or eating super spicy hot food, or sleeping on a concrete floor, or seeing true gratitude when I pay $3 for a meal for someone, or melting and being a sweaty mess in the heat, these 100 days have been a true blessing for me.

Mt. Ruapehu, NZ

Glenorchy, Queenstown, NZ

The Wild West Coast, NZ

Navigating Dansys Pass, NZ on a super sized cruiser

The South Island and navigating through snow

The wild west coast

NZ motorbike riding roads!

Navigating over ......

Beautiful beaches of the Gold Coast, Australia

Baby Bertha ... My scooter in Bali

A sunset setting in Bali

Luxury accommodation at my friends in Bali

Navigating Malaysian Roads .... Genting Highlands

Experiencing the crazy that are large cities ... This one KUala Lumpur, but Singapore and Bangkok too.

Blue Bertie in Malaysia

Getting lost in the middle of Malaysia

Making new friends everywhere I go

Getting stopped by the police .... Sexy ones too :)

CC Blooms in Phuket ... A home away from home

Scoopy ... My Phuket transport

Discovering the colorful aspects of Phuket nightlife

Making new friends and partying until dawn.

Meeting this beautiful man .. Who has helped me find my fun and laughter again

Singapore ... Going to the top of this incredible building... And drinking the most expensive cocktail ever.

Bangkok ...... Wow!!!!

Setting up a little home away from home in Bangkok

Being welcomed in to a family with kindness and generosity

The serenity and calm that is Buddhism

The crazy that are the markets in Thailand..

Being humbled by all these wonderful life experiences

Thanks for coming along for the journey .... Please stay with me as who knows where tomorrow will lead........

Cheers, Nick
Xxxxx

Day 98 and 99 - A new mode of transport and a fond farewell

2011-08-13T03:53:00.001+12:00

Day 98

After a lazy morning sleep in until 9.00am (usually we were up with the roosters at about 5.30am) today I had the fortune of taking the families "truck" for a spin. These are the most common form of transport in the area for the farmers (apart from the 125cc motorbikes of course) as they are virtually indestructible and can carry anything you can possibly think of. From what I can tell they are run by Kubota tractor engines. They are four gears with a huge gear lever floor mounted centrally. I didn't start off too well as I managed to get it bogged down in the driveway but I didn't feel too bad as Tawan managed to get it stuck too so with a trowel to dig out the mud around the tyres we got going after two tries and were off.

We went for a bit of a spin around the back roads through the rice, sugar cane and potato farms. They also showed me their grandfathers rice farm as well. The countryside was beautiful and i really enjoyed our excursion, even when i handed the reigns back to tawan and we managed to get bogged down again so i jumped off the back to give it a push and managed to sink half my legs and trousers into the mud and had to dig out my jandals as well!

Temporary accomodation for the workers when planting and harvesting the rice.

Day 99

We have now returned to our "home" in Bangkok after a seven hour drive back. I have just navigated Bangkok streets on a Friday night of a public holiday in torrential rain, so am pleased to be back. :)

Mid morning we enjoyed a meal with Tops mum and dad and I felt a sense of sadness at leaving as not only has it been a week of many firsts, more importantly I have been deeply moved by their kindness and generosity of spirit over the week.

They welcomed me in to their home, made me feel like one of the family and I will forever be grateful. Not to mention all the authentic made at home Isaan food I ate.

I have learnt a huge amount about both Buddhism and Thai/Isaan culture. You know, by western standards this community has very very little yet they are the first to give to family and friends when in need and will literally give their last baht to someone who needs it. When I look at the families I have met there is a huge responsibility for children to support their parents and to provide for them both time, resources and money and in fact what I have seen within this family is that and a huge sense of responsibility. There is also a great sense of community that flows along exactly the same lines.

On our departure Tops parents performed a small ceremony of tying string bands around both our wrists to offer us a safe journey home and also to support our decision to be together. I know that if things work out as it is still early days and down the track top is able to come to new zealand with me at the end of the year, i know that he will be offered the same warm welcome into my family.

Tops mum sent us away with the most beautiful gifts of hand made pillows, silk and mat for the floor for my family and again, i just had the most amazing time and it felt just so right.

I have been hugely humbled by this experience, and you know, we in the western world surround ourselves with "things". Those "things" become so very important, but what I have experienced in the last few days are people who will literally give you their one shirt off their back if it is required and who manage to find joy and laughter with friends and family.

Tops dad...

Tomorrow I return the car by midday then plan to have a relaxed weekend during which I will sit down and look at what the next adventure will be. At the same time I need to start thinking about a plan for the end of the year. One of my closest friends and girlfriend are looking at going to Hong Kong in mid November and have asked if I would be interested in coming of which of course I would be and it could be a great little mini trip on the way home as it is only a couple of hours away from here. The reason planning needs to be looked at now is that if Top is to come we need to sort out his visa and the like.

I'll tell you what - I never could have imagined the paths that this journey has taken so far. 2011 is cracking up to be a bloody interesting year, that's for sure!!!

Thanks for taking time out of your day to follow my blog. Cheers, Nick.

Day 96 and 97- discovering north east Thailand

2011-08-11T13:02:00.001+12:00

Day 96

After a great breakfast I insisted on cleaning the dishes rather than sitting round like a lazy bum. This consists of squatting in the back yard just away from the house and taking water from one big pot to wash the dishes, then rinsing them with water from another big pot. My legs are starting to get used to all the squatting and sitting cross legged on the floor because there are no sofas or carpet or anything like that. My knees still creak a little bit by the end of the day but they are better.

We then set off with tops big brother Tawan and girlfriend for a tour of the area that they had planned for me. We had an awesome day and luckily tops brother drove as we went quite a distance.

The first stop was to Ban Chiang Which is a famous museum in terms of archeealogical studies and discoveries. It was very interesting and very well done. After this I spied a coffee stand where I grabbed an iced cappuccino. I have been missing my early morning coffee so enjoyed it immensely. I also picked up a coffee mug for the condo as we only have glasses.

We then set off to another popular local tourist spot called Chum Chanod which is known for just a little bit of magic with a dragon that appeared. It was a serene spot and there was again some similarities with Maori culture with that of the Taniwha. There were a number of temples where the guys paid their respects. We then picked up a bite to eat which proved to be not so good for my stomach and about 20kms down the road an emergency stop was required which sorted that.

After this we headed to some well known markets Thasadej in Nhong Khai Right across the river from the Lao border where we stopped again for a delicious lunch. At the market we found a very cheap rug for the condo.

We then headed to the Thai/Lao friendship bridge to check it out. Not that we could get very close. Interestingly Thais can go to Lao with ease with no passport required, however, if I want to go I need a visa.

Our final stop was in Udon Thani which is a large city about 70kms away from Tops family home. We took a detour to the "Big C" which is a huge department store with everything you can think of, kind of like food town and farmers combined, but on steroids.

It was a great day out and by the time we arrived home we were all stuffed.

Day 97

I had suggested that Tops parents might like Togo somewhere in the car as they don't have one and maybe there were some relatives they may like to visit. We set off very early with his parents, his little nephew and two other relatives as well as a couple of chickens and four hours later we arrived at our destination where we enjoyed a great lunch and it was obvious that tops parents had a great day out catching up with their relatives.

The trip was beautiful with the countryside very green and of course rice fields everywhere. I was absolutely stuffed after a large days drive.

Tops mum and nephew....

Today we relax as tomorrow we head back to Bangkok.

Thanks for taking time out of your day to follow my blog. Cheers, Nick.

Day 95 - Isaan Buddhist Cremation Ceremony

2011-08-08T22:12:00.001+12:00

Well, you could knock me down with a feather at the moment, as I have
learnt so much today and had a most privileged experience with Top, his family and all of the local community. Talk about an eye in to a new culture and how it ticks. I honestly am blown away by so much and how sensible so much of what they do is.

I have lots to talk about today so I am going to break it up in to parts -

Of a practical nature....

1. The toilet - :) Now, I don't want to get too graphic but I am getting the hang off going to the loo. Now, just to make it clear here, there is no toilet paper and no flushing or anything like that,so it is amatter of whipping your daks off, doing your business then using a bucket with water and manually cleaning yourself.

As a side issue, the whole squatting thing is very sensible because it aids your actions, as it were, and minimizes the cleaning process. :)

The death and cremation process...

2. The community - when someone dies in the community, everyone comes out to help, assist and celebrate the persons life. This is a great way of doing it I reckon. In fact, until the cremation ceremony, no one in the community is meant to work at all. People cook, sit with the body or sit outside eating or drinking or talking or playing card games. Most of the older women in the community sit in the room with the body, chewing on tobacco, talking or just sitting.

3. The monks - monks rely solely on donations of money and food. They came twice to the aunts house to pray before the body was taken to the temple for cremation. (as a side issue, kneeling for an extended period of time is bloody difficult)

4. The cremation ceremony - this is amazing - first the body is moved from the house to the cremation area at the temple. Everyone in the community jumped on to all available transport and made the short trip to the temple. Here the body is first placed beside a raised open cremation area and there are more prayers while everyone got a small cold drink. Then, everyone is given a little candle to put in the open crematorium. After this, everyone gets a small glass of water to pour on the head of the deceased. Idid this and was a first time for me. You get to see the body and everything. After this the body in the open casket is moved on to the open crematorium and a fair among of gas is put on to it. Then it is lit and lollies are thrown in the air and there is lots of laughing.

Top explained to me that although it is a sad occasion. People are happy because there is no more suffering for the person and it just means it is time for them to move on from this world. I think this kind of thinking is brilliant!

I have just shared a meal with tops family at his house and am feeling very fortunate that I have had this snapshot in to this part of life (and death) here.

Thanks for taking time out of your day to follow my blog. Cheers, Nick.

Day 93,94+ - a true local experience

2011-08-07T18:49:00.001+12:00

Written on Friday...

So, an exciting thing happened today!

We went shopping as I wanted new trousers as not only are my two pairs I have travelled with looking the worse for wear because of excessive use and heat, they are so big on me as I have lost a bit of weight and I'm over spending half my time pulling the bloody things up.

Anyway, the exciting thing is not only did I find some jeans I liked and they were $20 a pair, they are a size 38! I haven't been out of the 40's for a while so am feeling pretty pleased about that!

I also found three shirts, one of which actually fits properly as they didn't have changing rooms in the shop and I guessed. Oh well, it's good motivation to grow in to them. :)

So tomorrow I pick up the rental car and we head about 600km's north east of Bangkok to an area near the border with Laos where we will stay a few nights at tops parents place then meander back to Bangkok over a couple of days.

Day 94+ - a truly special experience ....

I feel incredibly privileged to be staying with tops family here in Isaan country. Yesterday we picked up the car and set off on our journey. It felt great being behind the wheel of some transport again.

About two hours before we left, Top received a phone call to tell home that his Aunt had died in the early hours of the morning, so it was good that we were heading to his family home so he could be with his family. I was a little nervous about it, as i didnt want to impinge on this time for the family, but Top assured me it would be ok and sure enough it has been absolutely brilliant! We arrived in the early hours of saturday evening after leaving Bangkok at about 1.00pm.

When we arrived we went straight to his aunts house where she is lying in state in a covered casket until the cremation ceremony at the temple on Monday. Very similar to Maori culture, all the family and many of the small local community were present with everyone doing their part preparing food, or sitting with her body. Also, everyone sits around and plays dice games.

I was immediately welcomed by his parents and brother with his mum and dad although not being able to speak either Thai or English and only Isaan, I felt immediately welcome. We went in to pay our respects to his aunt and then we sat with some in the community before heading to their house. The locals all looked at me with much interest, in fact everywhere I go here I get stared at as we really are out in the countryside so not many falang (foreigners) make it out here.their house is situated on the edge of a little community about 30km's from the nearest little town and 70km's from udon Thani a big city in the area. Unlike NZ, where our cell phone coverage is crap, there is cell phone coverage here.

Tops family home is typical of the area, with no running hot water in the house, an outhouse style squat toilet and tub to bucket out cold water for your shower. I have had a lesson on the use of the loo by top which i was very thankful of. Tops parents sleep outside under an outside area, and we have a space inside with fans just for me as they have no air conditioning obviously and everyone sleeps on the floor.

They are so incredibly accepting of the whole gay thing, in fact the thing that his mum is most worried about is whether Top will move away and out of Thailand.

Today we went early to the markets. Normally, if his mum needs to go, she walks a couple of kms then catches a bus for an hour or so to the markets. On our way back we stopped at tops aunts house again and ate some food, then came back to the house for a small afternoon nap before yet more eating. Tomorrow is the cremation ceremony at the temple which should be very interesting.

I haven't got used to everyone staring at me quite yet, but I am sure the more days I am here, the more the community will get used to me. Top did warn me that it would be like that and that everyone knows that he has met a falang and it is obviously more out of interest and not negative in any way.

This is not the Thailand of the tourist posters, but an area of hard working local folk just trying to get on in life.

I am so thankful for the kindness that has been shown to me.

Out of respect to tops family I have not taken any photos of their home but hopefully will get some of the local area.

Thanks for taking time out of your day to follow my blog. Cheers, Nick.

Day 92 - Good morning Bangkok

2011-08-04T18:15:00.001+12:00

I had a great nights sleep last night! I am Getting used to the new bed which always helps. Not convinced about the pillows though - I love the cheapest thinnest pillows there are so will go searching for a couple.

I woke up this morning to beautiful weather so couldn't resist taking a couple of snaps from my little smoking balcony. We are quite lucky that right beside us are low building so we have quite an expansive lookout and we are also on the quieter side of the building.

Today i booked a car so i could surprise top by taking him back to where his family farm is in the north east of thailand. We will be gone for a week taking a night to get up and back and maybe three nights at his parents place. I am quite looking forward to heading out of Bangkok and seeing some of the countryside. We were going to go on a bike but I kind of ran out of steam yesterday so will look again on our return to Bangkok.

On another note, one of my best mates in NZ told me about Skype which I downloaded on to the iPad this morning. We talked for over an hour. It is brilliant and means if anyone has Skype I can connect with them and talk just like on the telephone, but for free which is brilliant!

Did I say that Thais love to eat? I just wandered down the road to go to the 7/11 and the soi was crawling with people out eating at all the stalls on the side of the road.

Thanks for taking time out of your day to follow my blog. Cheers, Nick.

Day 91 - motorbike and clothes hunting ... Plus Thai school

2011-08-03T15:46:00.001+12:00

So today I am heading out to do some motorbike and clothes shopping.

Over the last nearly 90 days of traveling I have lost a bit of weight and as a result my trousers are annoyingly big and baggy and I spend half my time pulling them up which is great but as a result I am not looking at my most fashionable :) Now, I know this is not overly Important when traveling but to be perfectly honest I am a little bit tired of wearing the same clothes day in and day out.

I have also identified the first motorbike shop to go and have a look at because I have been chomping at the bit to get back on a bike. I am unsure yet as to whether I go down the buy or rent avenue. It is clear that when I get a bike it will be for outside of Bangkok not in Bangkok. The traffic here is horrendously bad and it seems to me that everyone is going nowhere fast. Taxis seem to be the main mode of getting around and they are pretty cheap. A ride a few kms to your destination seems to cost about 2-3 dollars.

Like many Asian cities, Bangkok never seems to sleep and it is amazing the activity at 2.00am in the morning. I think it probably has something to do with the weather as it is cooler at that time of the night. Also, Thai people love to eat and you can find something to eat from a little stall basically anywhere at any time of the day or night.

The other thing I am investigating is becoming a student for a week and going to Thai school to try and get my head around the language better rather than just a few words. I real like the language and find it very melodic. Of course it has it's very own written language and alphabet so it would be really using every one of my brain cells, but I'm always up for a challenge!

This could be Auckland :)

Thanks for taking time out of your day to follow my blog. Cheers, Nick.

Day 88 - 90 ..This is a long one ....

2011-08-02T19:40:00.001+12:00

Day 88 - Bangkok awaits....

Written on Sunday night .....

As I write this I am sitting at the Phuket domestic terminal waiting for the flight to Bangkok. Joining me on the next adventure is Mr. Top.

Good bye Phuket....

Top and I met at the hotel in Phuket on the first day I arrived and we've become great friends which has blossomed into a new relationship. After lots of discussions, Top has made the decision to leave Phuket and travel with me to Bangkok. It has been a big decision for both of us, and one that has felt right.

Sometimes in life new roads are created and we have chosen to take this one and see where it leads. Life is too short to worry about the what ifs and finding all the reasons not to give something a go. Since the first day I arrived in Thailand we have pretty much spent every day together and had a great time while getting to know each other. It is early days and not something that I was expecting or looking for but lovely none the less ....... we have an opportunity to find out whether this could be long term or not so we've made the decision to give it a try, rather than spend years wondering what may have been? Now, 8 months after the break up of my 8 year relationship i feel ready to dip my toe in again as it were.

Continued on Monday....

We arrived in Bangkok yesterday afternoon and came straight to the hotel which is a completely over the top 5 star hotel for the price I paid for a cheap motel in Westport in New Zealand. We have a beautiful suite on the 54th floor with outstanding views of Bangkok.

Hello Bangkok!

The view from our hotel room ....

We organized to meet a couple of Tops friends the first night we were here and we headed out to one of the 1000's of roadside eateries for some great local food.

After a great night we arrived back to the hotel and then promptly had an unpleasant experience with the hotel porter, who misunderstood our booking and made some derogatory comments. I don't normally get riled by these things, however the hotel porter was way out of line, and the inferences made were a slight on my character . I was so insulted by the comments I couldn't sleep, and made a formal complaint. We met with the general manager of the hotel this morning and I felt he was very sincere in his apologies and I do believe it was a procedural error as opposed to anything terribly untoward, but still, this doesn't change what happened, and although I am fairly thick skinned, it is super important that management are made aware when such things happen.

As a result we have one extra night complimentary whenever we wish to use it and one of our two booked nights is now free as well as a written apology from the hotel. As well as this we must have been red flagged as all the staff have been so ingratiatingly nice and polite since this incident that it has been somewhat over the top and I am looking forward to checking out today. I detest bigoted non respectful behavior, but I also detest insincerity.

This is the first time in my life that I have seriously complained and made a major scene, and I believe with this issue it was completely and utterly warranted. Anyway, moving on.

Onwards and upwards as they say, and this afternoon we went and checked out the first apartment I had found over the Internet. It is very nice, in fact brand new, in a great location, fully furnished right down to the knives and forks, all brand new. It comes with a basement carpark and the complex has a roof top pool and gym and 24 hour front reception service. All this for $182 NZ per week! It is also situated in a great central location.

This evening we went and saw another apartment in the same complex, but higher up the building, better views, slightly bigger and 1000 bhat a month cheaper so about $172 NZ a Week! I signed up on the spot.

Continued on Tuesday....

We are now ensconced in my new base for the next three - four months and I love it! It is not large but totally comfortable for two and new, clean and tidy and actually a he'll of a lot bigger than many of the shoebox apartments in Auckland. I've just had a swim in the roof top swimming pool which is superb. It is an extremely modern apartment block (only 1 year old) in a great central location and even comes with a carpark for the bike.

24 hour security guards and on site managers.

Roof top swimming pool... (plus gym)

View from the bedroom...

Living area leading to the bedroom with the kitchen off to the left and bathroom out of view.

Kitchen and balcony... (sorry, amateur photographer!)

Dining...

The 4 below ...from the rooftop area

All this fully furnished with carpark for $172 NZ per week! AND, it's got air conditioning!

Tomorrow night i am keen to celebrate as I am so happy with this!

Cheers, Nick

Day 87 - one final big night out

2011-07-30T22:42:00.001+12:00

The tickets are booked for Sunday to Bangkok and i will bid farewell to Phuket island which has become like a second home. I cannot tell you how much i have enjoyed my time here and yes, there has been a fair bit of partying included which i have actually thoroughly enjoyed as it is not something i regularly do or experience to this degree at home.

Thursday night I did nothing and went nowhere so I could get better. This proved to be sensible and on Friday we had a fairly quiet day as it was Tops day off and as heading to Bangkok on Sunday it was important to have one final big night out. I thought it would be pertinent to make it Friday night as the thought of traveling on a plane the morning after a big night was not something I wanted to do.

I have also learnt that to get through a "big night out" on the town I require an early evening nap of a couple of hours so I have the juice to make it through :) one thing about Thailand which is similar to much of Asia is that the population tend to be night owls. At 3.00am in the morning the restaurants are buzzing with locals and there are people everywhere.

So, at about 10.00pm after my nap we headed off on the scooter, first to the infamous Bangla Road we here we had a drink at one of the many bars and again soaked in the crazy atmosphere with the tourists, hawkers, bar girls, dancers, loud music, food stalls and general madness and mayhem.

Bangla Road .... Dream Soi for men seeking love for one hour, one night, one week or a lifetime :) .... Or just wanting a damn good night out!

After a short time there and a couple of photos for the album :) we headed off to grab a bite to eat. It was then time to go visit one of the bars where I have got to know the owner and staff very well. After this bar closed it was time to head to "sanook" - a local live music spot where there are only really locals rather than farang. Here we enjoyed live music, a bit more food, some fine whisky and a Turkish style smoking pipe. With much laughter and dancing (which has been great for my figure) we saw the night out before wandering home at around 6.00am......again!

Sing, Sam and Tom

This is Sing ... The long night finally caught up with him....

Gotta love technology ....

It was a fitting way to end my time here on Phuket island and I will miss all the new friends I have made and incredibly interesting people I have met. I will return here, that's for sure :)

So, tomorrow, it's check out time, then a short flight to Bangkok where I have booked what looks to be a very nice hotel for two nights while I organize appointments to view some apartments to rent. As soon as I have done this, I will find a bike and look to get out and about a.s.a.p.

Thanks for taking time out of your day to follow my blog. Cheers, Nick.

Day 85 and 86 Bronchitis, Bangkok and grasshoppers

2011-07-29T14:48:00.001+12:00

Today I am having an extremely quiet day having done a great job of getting a nasty bout of bronchitis. The staff here have been great and yesterday afternoon I headed off to the doctor to get some medication and have a check up. Sure enough, I had a fever, a nasty cough, phlegm and bronchitis. The doctor was great and very thorough and I now have a number of pills to combat all of the above. Yesterday and last night I was well looked after and today I have done virtually nothing as I am keen to get the sweats under control as it's not a very nice look, that's for sure. The annoying thing is that it was completely self induced as I fell asleep a couple of nights ago on top of the bed with the air conditioning on, blowing full tilt onto me.

I am planning to be on a plane on the way to Bangkok on Sunday so am keen to get this sorted.

On a slightly funnier note, a couple nights ago I feasted on grasshoppers, slugs and beetles or cockroaches. They were roasted and I quite enjoyed the grasshoppers, but not so much the slugs and beetles. I am not sure whether my stomach enjoyed them too much as I think they could be the cause of my iffy stomach!

The weather here has been quite volatile the last week or so with rain and wind coming in irregularly with lots of moist heat.

Today I will book for Bangkok and I have to say that I am really excited about a number of things.

Firstly, finding an apartment that I can base myself at and setting up home as it were so that I spend some time not living out of a bag. Secondly, I will have an opportunity to buy a decent big bike with a lot more choices seeing that Bangkok is so large and a third reason that I will talk about in a few days when i have worked out some of the practicalities. I already have the first journey on the bike from Bangkok sorted in my head - up to the north east of Thailand to the Isaan area, and the second will be to Chiang Mai. I also plan to go to school in Bangkok to learn some more/better Thai.

Yes, it is true Bryan :) that my plans have changed somewhat but that is the beauty of life, sometimes when you least expect it, new roads are created.

Today and tomorrow will consist of going slow so that i can kick the bronchitis. I actually feel okay. It is just at night when i get an annoying cough which stops me from sleeping that its a pain. I am hopeful that i will be so stuffed tonight that i will have to sleep.

Thanks for taking time out of your day to follow my blog. Cheers, Nick.

Sick,sick,sick!

2011-07-27T15:41:00.001+12:00

So, here I am a couple days close to checking out and I feel like absolute crap. I woke up this morning with a fever, sore throat and horrible dry cough. To top it off my Stomach is iffy too.

I actually felt it begin to come on yesterday so took some preventative measures from my first aid kit with some panadol from home, not that it did any good. I had a massage a couple of days ago which sometimes interestingly does cause me to get sick, however, I think the most likely scenario is a couple nights ago I fell asleep on top of the bed with the air conditioning unit going full bore and I think I may have got a very nasty chill.

Anyway, I am drinking lots of water, having been taking panadol for the headache and got some brightly colored pills from the pharmacy so we will see how I feel tomorrow.

So, I'm heading back to bed now and I'll see whether I can sleep this off.

Thanks for taking time out of your day to follow my blog. Cheers, Nick.

Day 80 - Back at CC's

2011-07-24T21:18:00.001+12:00

Written yesterday ...

So, after an early evening arrival back at the hotel last night with poor old Top having to have a brief rest before starting the midnight shift at the hotel, I sat up for a while to keep him company and at about 2.00am headed to bed.

Today consisted of breakfast out then a very quiet day to recharge the old batteries before the mid year Christmas party this evening. Now that most people have left I am ready for a late night swim before collapsing again in to bed. The party was a success with a cabaret show, free flowing drinks and food for about 40 people. (and just for the record, after my first weeks excess, I have minimized my drinking big time)

Tomorrow I spend a bit of time contemplating my next move. Of course, with the visa now stamped it has eased the concern of running out of time. I am looking at a number of options as last week I went around a number of bike shops and there was potentially a problem with hiring from here as they were not keen on me taking the bike further than Phuket island and of course they wanted to keep hold of my passport which although i understand why, as they don't have first party insurance here, I am not keen to leave it as I could potentially be traveling for a while and if Malaysia is anything to go by, I am bound to get stopped by the police so I will like to have my passport handy. On closer inspection at the one shop I found that was prepared to let me take the bike, I found the bike to be seriously lacking in terms of it's condition so this got me to thinking about new plans ...

And I do have another plan which is beginning to look very promising.

It would entail flying to Bangkok from here (about an hour away), renting a flat for the three months I am still in Thailand and thus having a base. For around 15,000 baht a month (about $600 or $150 per week) I can potentially get a brand new one bedroom apartment in a new block with swimming pool and onsite gym. (I've been googling and asking around) I have also decided that while in Bangkok I may just take some Thai language lessons. Getting an apartment will be a great opportunity to "set up house" so that I feel like I have a home over here plus it will ultimately be a much cheaper option for me than doing the hotel thing and i can really immerse myself in the culture.

I am even thinking that I may buy a bike in Bangkok and then sell it when I leave. Now, don't panic. It sounds as if I am setting myself up for the long haul but rest assured, at this stage I will be heading back to New Zealand for Christmas. By this time I reckon I'll have pretty much exhausted my budget and will then have to make some decisions as I will need to go back to work at the very latest in the New Year. In saying that, I am not ruling out returning to Thailand in the New Year to work, but as it is very very early days and I have no idea how I will feel in another couple of months, I am making absolutely no drastic decisions.

Thanks for taking time out of your day to follow my blog. Cheers, Nick.

Singapore!!!

2011-07-23T07:06:00.001+12:00

So, as I write this I have just returned from a whirlwind three days in Singapore and what a great time I had!

The great news is that the purpose of the trip was to get an extra three month visa for Thailand and I was successful, so I can now stay until the end of October which is just awesome news!

I am so pleased I got the company here in Phuket to organize the paperwork because there was a relatively easy wait in a queue on Thursday at the embassy to hand it all in where people were been sent away because things were not right on their forms. When I rocked up to the window I had everything in order and in under a minute it was all stamped, they took my passport and I returned today at 2.00pm to pick it up with the visa inside. I am now back in Thailand and have lots of new options.

Before leaving to Singapore on Wednesday I paid my bill here at the hotel and for two weeks worth of accommodation, food, some alcohol, washing done, daily scooter rental and odds and ends it came out to approximately $62 per day. I have now booked in for a further three nights or so depending on the next step.

Singapore

What an interesting city. Super well organized it had some incredible architecture and was extremely clean and tidy. It was also stinking hot. Top and I did a fair bit of walking, as well as taxi taking and wandered through multiple shopping centers. The cost of everything is actually very high with the Singapore dollar and new Zealand dollar fairly comparable. I bought a few little gifts for my friends here, a $3 ring watch from Chinatown which was working very well until I jumped in the pool this evening forgetting I had it on, and one tshirt.

One of the most memorable aspects of the trip was our little jaunt to Marina Bay Hotel and Casino. It wasn't the casino that was memorable, as they are all alike inside, it was the incredible architecture of the place. It also has the most phenomenal roof top area with a swimming pool, outside observatory and dance clubs all on top of a 57 story building. The views were staggering and the pics below just don't do it justice.

There was also an open air bar and restaurant up top and we couldn't leave without buying one drink their, so two cocktails and $60 later!!!!! We left. The funny thing was that usually it costs $20 to just go to the top and somehow we got into the wrong lift and ended up going to the top with all the super wealthy hotel guests (there are 3000 hotel rooms!) and ended up getting up the top for free, so really the cocktails were cheap if you factor that in! We had contemplated having dinner up their but after the cost of the cocktails and the fact that Top wasn't that keen on the height issue, we sensibly returned to the ground floor where we walked through all the posh shops dreaming of winning lotto. Whenever a shop has only three items in the window display and no prices, you know it's expensive!

Our cocktails at $30 a glass!!!!

Of course we also went to Chinatown and I did contemplate buying an iPhone 4 for $300, however, thankfully I didn't as it was quite obviously a knock off. While in Chinatown we sampled some local food and i crunched my way through some chilli crab. I decided that although tasty, i probably used more calories trying to get the meat out of the crab than in ingested. Give me a crayfish any day over crab.

We also tramped around the shopping centers as Top had some cosmetics he needed to buy for a couple of friends back here in Thailand. The great thing about the shopping centers was the air conditioning, however, like in Kuala Lumpur, I just found the number of choices ridiculous.

The taxi services were like Singapore super efficient. The hotel was a little disappointing, however, it had a good shower and a comfortable bed and was not too far away from anything.

All in all it was a great little side trip.

Thanks for taking time out of your day to follow my blog. Cheers, Nick.

New Friends around the world

2011-07-19T15:42:00.001+12:00

Days 74,75 and 76 - A Time for Reflection

One of the most wonderful aspects of my travels since I closed the door of my apartment 76 days ago and bid farewell to my "suited" life for a while has been the new friends I have made from all over the world. Occasionally people's eyes pop out when I say I am traveling by myself across south east Asia. I can see them thinking and some have said to me, but you must be so lonely? ....are you crazy? ... And parts of it On a motorbike? On the contrary, dear sir and madam, not only does it give me full and utter control over what I do, where I go and the like, it has also meant that I am not constrained by itineraries and time frames as can be evidenced by my extra three weeks in Phuket.

Now, in saying that, your life and experiences are what you make of them and you probably could be a lonely old fart if you wanted to, but I choose not to be like that so have engratiated myself on fellow travelers, staff at accommodation, shop keepers and locals alike. As a result I have made some great friends as I go along. For example, yesterday I received emails from fellow travellers Hubert and Bernadette from Austria who stayed here last week as well as travelers from Holland - Marc and Herlind who I met on the side of the road in a town in Malaysia who did what i did and packed up their lives and have been traveling only by local transport around the world. There was the lovely couple from England who made me laugh and gave me a great tip to cool down when I'm super overheated. There was the English chap here last week who like me was having a mini mid life crisis,and another lovely young couple who were doing the same as me except started in china and are working their way down the map instead of up.

Of course, the other advantage of traveling by oneself is the ability to strike up friendships with locals and I have struck up a number of friendships. And Of course, there are all my new Facebook friends :)

Usually, for someone to do something as crazy as taking an undetermined amount of time off work, pack up his life in to boxes and buy an air ticket and go and spend a decent portion of his life savings, there is usually an event that is the cause of this madness. For me, it was the break up of my long term relationship at the beginning of the year and it is time for me to let it go. Over the last three weeks i Think that I have done a pretty good job of dancing and drinking this away, and now it is time to move on in both the practical sense and in my heart too. I have grieved enough. God I'm melodramatic!

While here I have met someone sweet and kind who has done a lot to help me regain my sense of fun and laughter and joy of life. Leaving next week will not be so much fun and for the first time, I have a greater sense of sadness about leaving this port than I do of excitement for the next leg of the journey. In saying that, the epiphany on this trip is that I am in control of what paths I take. I do not regret a moment of my time here.

A few weeks ago I made a comment on here about whether you had thought about at what point you went from dancing in the rain fully clothed to not going out because you didn't have an umbrella. Well, the three weeks here have been about dancing in the rain again.

Oh my God! I just re read this post so far - it's abit serious. please feel free to move on if it's not your cup of tea :)

So anyway, on to more practical matters - I went and picked up my visa application yesterday that I need to take to Singapore with me and you wont believe it, but it's literally a book! - it must be 40 pages. See below.

Tomorrow I fly out to Singapore and Top is coming with me which is going to be heaps of fun. He will also be able to give me a hand at the embassy if required.

A couple of days ago an Australian couple arrived at the hotel and last night we took them out to dinner in Patong then for a drink as they were keen to experience a bit of the craziness that is night time Patong. We had a fantastic seafood meal. I'm thinking I should become one of those guys that takes tourists to places and gets a commission from the business owners. :)

I've actually got really slack about taking my camera anywhere as I just tend to have the motorbike key, a bit of cash and my smokes. It's all I really need in life I reckon :)

So, the next post will probably be on my return from Singapore. Please cross fingers for me that they approve the 90 day visa or else my plans will have to change yet again.

Thanks for taking time out of your day to follow my blog. Cheers, Nick.

Day 71,72 and 73 ... I think

2011-07-16T20:46:00.001+12:00

Tropical storms

The last few days has seen some fairly changeable weather with tropical stormy wind and on and off heavy rain. As a result the beaches have been fairly empty and the shops fairly busy.

A couple of nights ago my friend and I were caught up with some torrential rain while out on the bike and by the time we arrived back to the hotel we were soaked through, however, people just tend to keep riding as it stops as fast as it starts and within a relatively short amount of time you are dry again.

Dinner out

I have enjoyed dinner out with new friends. I have got to know the owners of one of the businesses here as well as the lovely manager of the hotel and I enjoyed a fantastic meal out last night at a very popular local eatery. The other advantage of getting to know some great locals is they have made a few calls for me in regards to a big bike so hopefully by the end of Monday I will have sorted everything out before heading off to Singapore on Wednesday to get my visa organized.

Public holiday

Yesterday was a public holiday so as life goes was fairly quiet around the place. The hotel has had an influx of new guests in the last couple of days which is great for them as it has been fairly quiet the last few days with only two or three rooms occupied. Of course the upside is that we get the staff and hotel to ourselves while it is quiet.

Big Buddha

Today my friend Top who works here at the hotel and I went and checked out the big Buddha which is on top of one of the hills around here. I really liked that it was free entry with no tacky tourist stalls and you could give a donation if you wanted.it also gave us some great views of Phuket island which was awesome.

Top..

The next few days.

After finishing this blog I am going online to find and book the trip to Singapore next week. Monday I have to go and pick up all the documents to take with me and also get a couple of passport photos done as well as providing a couple of other pieces of information and go and check out a couple of the big bikes another friend has found for me then Wednesday I fly out for two nights and come back Friday in time for the mid winter Christmas party here, before heading off on the Monday or Tuesday.

Tomorrow I relax.

Thanks for taking time out of your day to follow my blog. Cheers, Nick.

Day 70 - The Singapore Sling .....

2011-07-12T14:25:00.001+12:00

Well, I have inched a step forward in my progress to head around Thailand. After a fairly extensive search of the possibilities I have now instigated "the plan" which will hopefully see me riding off Phuket island on Monday 25th July.

I have procured a local lawyers firm to put together all the paperwork required for a 90 day non immigrant visa. As per all the options, I still need to head out of Thailand, and in fact to Singapore which is approximately two hours by plane away. I set off this morning by scooter to the other side of th island and met with them. I have a couple of extra documents to organize for next Tuesday and they will prepare all the visa documents that I need to take with me.

So, the next step is to book my flight for next Tuesday night and accommodation in Singapore for three nights, then I will return to my home away from home here in Phuket for three further nights before heading off on Monday the 25th. In some respects, going to singapore is quite good as it means I am not retracing my steps.

This Wednesday I will take the bike I have found for a spin for one day to check that it is okay before hiring it for an extended period of time on my return from Singapore.

It is good to finally have a plan in place.

Thanks for taking time out of your day to follow my blog. Cheers, Nick.

Days 67,68 and 69

2011-07-11T15:32:00.001+12:00

Yes, I am still here, and yes, I know what you're thinking ... When the hell is he actually going to get on a bike and head round Thailand. well, that's a bloody good question.

It may be somewhat blindingly obvious that I am finding it extremely hard to motivate myself to move from here. I am rather enamored by the people, the culture and just the joy of life that I see.

Needless to say then that I have been having a great time. I have had a great tour guide who has shown me the sites and I have met many locals who have been lots of fun.

I have found out some more information about sorting out the visa issue. I basically have four options -

1. Use a company and go on a mini bus to Penang and stay overnight but this entails an 8 hour minibus ride that just doesn't excite me at all.
2. Do the same thing but by plane
3. Do the same by myself to any destination outside Thailand.
4. Get a company to fill in all the paperwork and this way I could actually get 90 days and then fly out myself.

I am tempted to do either no 3 or 4

I will keep you posted. I should have my decisions made by the end of tomorrow.

Cheers, Nick.

Thanks for taking time out of your day to follow my blog. Cheers, Nick.

Day 66 - Relaxed and Content

2011-07-07T19:29:00.001+12:00

I have just extended my stay here at CC Blooms for a further 9 days while I sort out my visa and a bike and I have to say that I haven't felt this relaxed and content in many many years.....and just as an added bonus I have kindly had an upgrade to a larger poolside room with separate bathroom and kitchen.

As well as the staff and location here, I love how it feels like a home and not a horrible hotel room or resort. It is small enough (about 20 units) that I have got to know the other guests and staff. I have also spent a bit of time with a couple of the staff to help them with their English and in return I am getting some help with my Thai. I have said to them that by the time I have finished, no one except new zealanders will understand what they are saying in English. :) I have met a lively young couple from Austria, a couple from England and a very well travelled Frenchman.

If you go to www.tripadvisor.com and type in cc blooms you can see reviews of this place and what is interesting, and now i understand why, people keep extending their stays here as they just don't want to leave. It is a different world to the large resorts in patong where all the action is and surrounded by craziness and tourists are pumped in and out as fast as they can go.

Last night I got to bed at a more respectable hour so i could reset my sleeping patterns after a few very late nights.

This morning I spent two hours with a local real estate agent to learn about how buying and selling property works here, more out of nosiness than anything and it seems to me there is plenty of scope for further development and increases in property values.

Tomorrow, I will go and try and get myself organized in regards to the visa. I am also heading out the door this afternoon to go and check out a bike shop I have found, as well as to go to a couple of shops and grab some food.

Yesterday, or one of the last few days (they seem to roll in to each other very easily) I found a great local market somewhere in the back streets of Phuket town where I had some great food from the food stalls.

While I get myself sorted, don't be surprised if I do not update my website every day, as I really don't want to bore you when I have little to say. :)

Thanks for taking time out of your day to follow my blog. Cheers, Nick.

Day 65 - irony in the first degree....

2011-07-07T05:35:00.001+12:00

Before leaving New Zealand for my travels, many people when I explained what I was doing had said to me to be careful about what I ate on my journey, especially the road side stalls and such. Well, I chose to ignore all those comments and have eaten anything and everything from any place as local looking as possible. This has served me well through Indonesia, Malaysia and here in Thailand.

Now, fast forward to this evening where one of the guests where I am staying suggested that we go and have dinner at a posh looking "western style" restaurant on the beach in the middle of tourist central. Great idea, I said. So off we went, and when we arrived my alarm bells rang, not for dodgy food but for a huge bill as there were no locals dining at the restaurant, only "falang" (foreigners).

Sure enough, not only was the bill horrendously overpriced but I am now feeling somewhat seedy as well !

....update... Stomach feeling more settled. :)

Thanks for taking time out of your day to follow my blog. Cheers, Nick.

Day 64 - making some progress

2011-07-06T02:09:00.001+12:00

So, today I set off to immigration to find out about visas as I only got the standard 30 day visa on entry to Thailand. It was my fault really as I should have done my research more thoroughly. So, after a big loop of Phuket town I finally found immigration where I spoke to a very helpful chap who explained what I have to do. Apparently, it is quite common.

So, I need to do what they call a "visa run"where I pop over the border to either Penang or KL both only about an hour and a half away and go to the thai embassy where I apply for a 60 day visa. Why you can't just do it here, I don't know, but those are the rules.

So I have decided to stay at my accommodation for a further 9 days and mid next week I will organize a bike then leave here, do the visa run (which does entail a night outside of Thailand I think, then come back in, pick up the bike and off I go.

I also managed to get my cellphone sorted and also Internet on the iPad for while I am on the go, so that is great. I was going to find the bike shop today but after my couple of hours looking for Thai immigration and the cell phone shop I have left it for another day.
:)

Thanks for taking time out of your day to follow my blog. Cheers, Nick.

Day 63 - sleeping ...

2011-07-04T19:59:00.001+12:00

So, I was going to go and do those few jobs I had planned, but in the end I slept for most of the day as I went out last night and was shown around the bars and clubs .... I had a great time and I danced the night away until sunrise and made a heap of new friends. It would be the only time in 20 years that I have exited a bar to sunlight.

I always find that if I can get to know a local, I get to go to some of the non touristy spots, which is what happened. One of the staff here who I have got to know took me out, I met some of his mates and we ended up in a really local bar, where I saw only one other tourist and I'll tell you what, Phuketians can party! ....and of course, the partying was extra celebratory because the elections had just taken place.

Al in all, a truly awesome night ...

Now, where's the black coffee ..... :)

Thanks for taking time out of your day to follow my blog. Cheers, Nick.

Day 62 - Ladyboys and being a slob

2011-07-03T18:33:00.001+12:00

So last night I was keen to go out to the local bars to experience the nightlife, however, the bars were closed as legally they had to be the night before the Thai election apparently. I still went out on Scoopy to experience the night stalls and tacky tourist shops that are lined in most of the busy built up areas.

I also found a show called "Simons cabaret" that was an extremely g rated stage show with Ladyboys. It was quite obviously a highly choreographed show for the tourist. They bused everyone in, did the show, sent you out the exit and herded the next lot in. It was an impressively choreographed performance with a cast of probably 50 and impressive stage. Sadly, I couldn't help notice that so many of the performers looked so incredibly bored, however, understandable with three identical shows a day.

However, so I could document another interesting experience - here's a couple of photos :)

Pretty impressive looking "ladies" really ....

Following on from this theme, :) while scootling around i had to take a snap of these neon lights....

So, with the bars closed i was back at my accom by 10.30pm where i chatted to the barman then bid my good nights.

Today, so far, i have been a slob ... I did get up early and popped down to the beach for an early morning dip which was very refreshing. On my return here, a bit of breakfast then curled up on a lounger with a good book, the occasional dip in the pool, with lunch thrown in.

Later this afternoon I am heading to Phuket town to look at some markets as I need a couple of new cheap t shirts, then I may catch up with the managers of my accom tonight and have a drink at the bars in Patong.

Tomorrow, i have a busy day - i have found a place, i think to get a sim card for the phone, i am also going in to phuket town to immigration to see what i can do about my visa. Also, I have found a big bike shop that I'm going to go and check out, so maybe a good thing I am having a lazy day today.

Thanks for taking time out of your day to follow my blog. Cheers, Nick.

Day 61 - I love Phuket

2011-07-02T20:08:00.001+12:00

Well, I have spent the day exploring on my new two wheels - wait until you see her - she already has a name - it's Scoopy - as you might be able to see in the picture. She's gorgeous. Not really a blokes scooter, but I don't mind :) ... And I know I will get crap for months from my motorbike mates .... But, then again, I'm not stuck in the middle of winter :)

Meet "Scoopy"

I have rented her for four days while I find my bearings.

As I said last night, I love my accommodation. It is off the beaten track up a very steep hill. It only has 20 rooms of which only 5 are full at the moment. This must be why it's only $45 per night.

In fact across the island it is very Very quiet. This is the low season everyone is telling me ... And I love it. It is so great to be here. I enjoyed Malaysia, but this has such a greater sense of personal freedom. I realize the whole island is a holiday destination, however it still has a very different feel.

Also compared to Bali, the roads are a lot better, and compared to the vacation spots in Malaysia and Bali, there seems to have been a lot more thought gone in to planning and use of available space so that even though it is full of tourists the coastline retains it's beauty as can be evident by some of the photos.

This is Patong ... I am staying two beaches over near Kata.

My spot for an 11.30am beer....

I had a late lunch and another beer here.... :)

I spent the day today scooting round on scoopy :) i managed to get round the whole island - it was fun getting my bearings.

I have also seen a number of big bikes here so I will see what the choices are on Monday. I also saw three absolute plonkers who were obviously tourists and had hired harleys for the day and were weaving in and out of traffic in shorts and jandals like they owned the road. They were tossers of the first degree.

After my late lunch at the vantage point (above), I will head back to my accom and have a dip in the pool and a little late afternoon nap before heading out to patong tonight to check out the nightlife.

It's all good!

Thanks for taking time out of your day to follow my blog. Cheers, Nick.

Malaysian Map

2011-07-02T12:43:00.000+12:00

Ok, I think I've got it sorted.

Click HERE for the link to the map of my Malaysian journey.

Thanks Brian.

Cheers, Nick.

Good bye Malaysia, HELLO Thailand.

2011-07-02T02:18:00.001+12:00

Thank you Malaysia. I had a great time and I will return. In one of my next posts I will write a review of the Malaysian leg of my journey. On that note though, my friend Brian, known as Masterbry in the kiwi motorbike fraternity has kindly mapped out my Malaysian leg of my journey. A huge thanks to bryan. I can't seem to do it on the iPad. Here is the link - I can't seem to embed the map

We tried to be as correct as possible

http://maps.google.co.nz/maps?saddr=F-50-2,+Jalan+Teknologi+3%2F9+Bistari+De+Kota++Kota+Damansara&daddr=Rawang,+Selangor+Malaysia+to:Batu+Caves,+Selangor+Malaysia+to:Bentong+Malaysia+to:Karak,+Pahang,+Malaysia+to:Route+2+to:3.5140299,102.569304+to:Maran,+Pahang+Malaysia+to:Gambang,+Pahang+Malaysia+to:Kuantan,+Pahang,+Malaysia+to:Balok+Perdana+Malaysia+to:Kuala+Rompin,+Pahang+Malaysia+to:Mersing,+Johor,+Malaysia+to:Batu+Pahat,+Johor+Malaysia+to:Kuala+Selangor,+Selangor,+Malaysia+to:4.04512,100.80514+to:Jalan+Feringghi,+Batu+Feringgi,+Penang,+Malaysia+(Batu+Ferringhi)+to:Kota+Bharu+Malaysia+to:Jeli,+Kelantan,+Malaysia+to:D29+to:Route+59+to:Unknown+road&hl=en&sll=3.420208,102.66449&sspn=2.387836,3.139343&geocode=Fb1GMAAds-cNBiGuxX0Bgx3K4w%3BFQLdMgAdmQcOBilfBOvNUkLMMTFGbgKD-E93wg%3BFU6lMQAdglsPBilzFhL-FkfMMTGwCM1-nQJh2A%3BFUXJNQAd5wQTBinPnSIzNwXMMTGOzBCylBDIFQ%3BFQkHNAAdLgAVBikX0zLSZR7MMTF8lnD4VPfYUQ%3BFbDHNAAdkWkZBg%3BFa2eNQAdWBUdBilvcXqHcs_OMTFcF9izItXGFg%3BFVawNgAd8lcgBik7W7r529XOMTGxf5yxxVviSw%3BFa25OAAdy3YlBimZxKe2v8vIMTFL7TCkdnl9dw%3BFU1dOgAd_JgoBikF4Cbo-LnIMTFiTyH7qhZMpA%3BFYZcPAAdzVMpBikBnwBupqLIMTGq_Xz1uSR0oA%3BFaq6KgAddxErBimzgikBDonPMTFx_9JiTUx5tQ%3BFQosJQAdulYwBiklfgc9jUvFMTH5oQJRC3JPrA%3BFXkhHAAd8tgiBilTUi0z11bQMTFHjJ1bn1d5DA%3BFUDjMgAdJxMJBikvg_IoM4vMMTEdgcDML1gF3A%3BFUC5PQAdFCoCBim5A2_VyDnLMTGyVMbO-GTYAA%3BFcptUwAdvJD5BSHykWLyVWPhgQ%3BFR1qXQAd6z4YBinhog56wq-2MTEwFagyg4370w%3BFQDoVgAdK_ARBikxWn8YejG0MTF8hk3eh3WjYQ%3BFdJlSgAd47ITBg%3BFTpeRAAdDOMKBg%3BFUVFMAAdC-gNBg&mra=ls&via=6,15&z=8#bmb=1

As I write this I am on my Air Asia flight to Phuket. Air Asia is a huge budget airline which is so big it basically has it's own terminal a fair distance from KLIA called the LCCT - (low cost carrier terminal). To get their i took an airport bus that went from KL Sentral (the main train/bus station in KL) direct to LCCT. It cost 8 ringit - about $3 and took one hour. If going to KLIA from Sentral, there is a high speed train service that takes 28 minutes.

Once I arrived at the terminal there were a heap of air Asia staff their to assist. I did have a blond moment when I tried to electronically check in and I couldn't read my own writing of my booking number, however, after trying a couple of combinations I got their in the end. I did have a moment that I had accidentally booked the wrong date.

Air Asia is a sleek operation where you can self check in over the net or at booths and then just drop your luggage at a counter basically. The other cool thing about it is when you board the plane you actually walk out the terminal doors on to the Tarmac and then walk up the stairs to the plane.

Now, so far my experience of "low cost" airlines has been really good. All it really means is if you want to eat or drink something you have to pay for it. The cabin crew of both virgin blue and air asia i have found to be polite and professional with the same levels of attention to detail. The seat I have seems no smaller than the seat I had on Malaysian airlines which is a full service airline.

I have arranged to be picked up at the airport and taken to my accommodation. I have also started my research on renting a big bike and it looks as if it is possible which is great. I will fill you in when I have more details early next week.

Although I like to go with the flow for much of my travels, I do like to have my first couple of days accommodation booked when I land in a new country or destination then it gives me a chance to take a breath and get my bearings as it were. I am actually looking forward to spending a few days r and r. It is funny because this is my third attempt to go to Thailand. The first time about 15 years ago my then partner and I broke up just before we had the chance to come and the second time earlier this year my now x partner and I had booked our flights and accommodation but then the wheels fell off and I didn't get here, so maybe it's a sign that I was meant to come by myself. :)

Now writing from my accommodation .....

I chose a slightly bohemian small place to stay at in the hills above Kata Beach and I bloody love it ...it's called "cc blooms" I will take some photos tomorrow in the light. At the moment I am sitting at the bar looking at the view enjoying a cocktail before I take a dip in the pool.

My new friend ...

Now, I do have a rather large dilemma though. Immigration would only give me 30 days in the country of which I can extend for one more week. The only other way to make it longer is to leave the country and then come back again, so it is a spanner in the works in terms of my time frame.

For some reason like Malaysia I thought I could automatically get 90 days. I need to find out how I can work around it. It might mean hiring a bike for three weeks and popping out over the border for a day then coming back. I am not worrying about it tonight though. I am just pleased to be here, so I will worry about it on Monday.

Anyway, I will sign off now so I can enjoy my second mojito :) hehe.

Thanks for taking time out of your day to follow my blog. Cheers, Nick.

Day 59 - Today, big bikes, tomorrow, Thailand.

2011-06-30T19:57:00.001+12:00

Well, I can't believe how fast the time flew on the bike. The 10 days just shot by so very fast and tomorrow I head to Thailand.

Today I met Faizal and Tore (the guy he took on his guided 5 day tour) and we went first to a couple of bike accessory shops and then to the largest bike shop in south east Asia .... And boy was it big - it had every type of super bike you could imagine as well as every type of Ferrari car you could imagine. I only got a couple of photos, but the one that stood out was this one .................

...and this one ...

Yes, that right, its berthas cousin, a twin coloured c109 just like her. Now bikes are very expensive here because of the tax ... Bertha would cost about 85,000 ringit which is about $35000 - roughly double her cost in new zealand.

I had a moment of sadness as i hoped she was okay tucked up under her cover back home. She would have had such fun on this journey. Next time, no matter how much it is or how difficult i'm bringing her with me. Just for me, i put one of her below .....

Oh ok.... One more....

Below ... Tore, "Big Nik" (one of the owners of the shop.) and me.

A couple more of some of the bikes on display ...

Lots and lots of Ducatis....

And then to top off a bike looking day today, walking back to my hotel, a motorbike cop was trying to sort out the traffic ....

I decided that instead of catching the train i would fly to phuket as its only an hour and a half and then i can put my feet up and relax for a few days while organising the Thailand leg of my journey, so tomorrow afternoon I fly out and say farewell (for now) to malaysia.

Thanks for taking time out of your day to follow my blog. Cheers, Nick.

Day 58 - smelly poo, windy roads and the 32nd floor

2011-06-29T21:57:00.001+12:00

Having stayed the night last night in the middle of Cameron Highlands, I had a relaxed morning as it was only 200 odd km's to KL to drop Burtie off. Setting off late morning I had to change trousers as I had had a run in with some kind of animal poo on the road yesterday which had done a great job of covering half the bike, the right leg of my jeans and my right shoe. I was hoping that the heat would dry it and then I could get rid of it, but with the moisture in the air, all that happened was it got smelly! So now I'm back in KL I need to find a laundry a.s.a.p. I am in fact contemplating chucking them away and buying a new pair in Thailand because I have lost a bit of weight and I need to put another couple holes in my belt as I spend half my time pulling my pants up because they want to fall off. Anyway, that's all a bit personal, but there's the smelly poo part of this blog entry :)

Leaving Cameron highlands heading towards KL I was greeted with brilliant windy roads and could have been transplanted back to some of our roads at home. Check out the photos below.

YouTube Video

After about 100 odd km's of this I then rejoined the main north south motorway which is three lanes either side and has a speed "limit" of 110km's. Now to many drivers here this means 150km's an hour so you need to keep your eyes peeled, but is a bit of fun in itself for a while.

Amazingly I found my way back to Faizals office where I dropped the bike off, had a bite to eat with him and then was brought back to the hotel where I have booked in for two nights (the same one I stayed at before). Now, if you have been thinking about doing some riding in Malaysia, Faizal and Malaysian Motorcycle Getaways ( www.ridemalaysia.com.my ) are the people to see. Shoot me an email if you've got any specific questions.

Good bye mr blue burtie ... Thanks for the good times...

Now when I arrived back at the hotel, I don't know whether it was because I was served by the big chief of operations, or whether it is because I am a returning customer, or even if he took a bit of a fancy to me, but I am now ensconced on the sub penthouse level (32) in a one bedroom apartment with free wireless Internet and breakfast thrown in, and all for a very very reasonable rate. Yay!

The view from the room ....

The plan from here is - 1.go to laundry, 2. Catch up with Faizal for lunch tomorrow, 3. Book a ticket to fly to Phuket from here on Friday (tickets are very cheap), 4. book some accommodation for a few nights in phuket so I can acclimatize to Thailand, 5. sort out a motorbike for my travels and 6. hang ten in the touristy part of the country while the general election takes place.

I have to say that I have throughly enjoyed Malaysia, and yes, it's been damn hot, but the people have been great and I have had a real insight in to the lives of people right around the country.

Thanks for taking time out of your day to follow my blog. Cheers, Nick.

Day 57 photos and video

2011-06-29T21:03:00.001+12:00

Not really a swimming river ... :)

Along some real back roads...

Don't mess with the logging trucks :)

On the way to Cameron Highlands ... Incredible roads...

From tonight's hotel...

YouTube Video

Thanks for taking time out of your day to follow my blog. Cheers, Nick.

Day 57 - woohooo, it's a racetrack...

2011-06-28T23:18:00.002+12:00

I am having problems with my Internet connection and can't upload my photos. I will have to do them tomorrow in a separate post.

This morning dawned and after a deep restful sleep, a hearty breakfast, a shower and a shave, I was ready to go. I felt like a new man as the shower in the room was especially good.

I again studied google maps carefully as I was heading from Kota Bharu towards Cameron Highlands but I wanted to take a couple of back roads to get to the spot where it began. And boy, did I take some back roads. One of them was very rough in bits and I was again stopped twice at police checkpoints but both times the police just said hi and waved me on. I found some great scenery along the way as well as some huge logging trucks that took up the whole road.

I also managed to get some kind of sting from a strange bee looking creature on the side of my head while I was traveling along one of the most remote pieces of road surrounded by dense bush. I had visions of getting an allergic reaction and collapsing in a heap in the middle of nowhere so the next person I saw I stopped and comically tried to explain I had a sting and was it super poisonous. Well, she just laughed so I gathered I would be okay so carried on :)

After turning on to the Cameron highland road I was immediately greeted with the most amazing road. Just like a race track the corners were gentle and continuous. Raftn, if you are reading this, I thought of you - you would have been salivating with excitement at the thought of you and your triumph heading round every corner. What was even more amazing was that I had the road basically to myself. It was some serious motor biker fun, I can tell you. In fact for pure riding joy, it's again right up there. It makes me wonder what it will be like tomorrow when I head down the other side and back to KL where I will drop Burtie off to Faizal then start to organize the next leg of my journey.

I am currently sitting at the hotel enjoying an overpriced beer watching as the rain pelts down. It literally started when I pulled in so timing couldn't have been better.

Tonight I have a bit if planning to do. I have nothing organized from tomorrow onwards so need to make quite a few decisions. I am really looking forward to heading to Thailand where I am hoping things will be cheaper as I have spent more than I would have liked to in Malaysia as things, although slightly cheaper than new Zealand are not super cheap.

My current plan is to stay two nights in KL then head firstly to Phuket for a few days r and r while I organize a bike. I also want to take a few days chilling as the Thai elections are this Saturday and there is an expectation that there may be a little trouble so maybe sticking to the Phuket area while things cool down could be the order of the day.

I thought by now I may be ready for a few home creature comforts and company, but to be honest, I have met so many interesting people along the way who have shown such friendship and kindness that this could just be a life changing experience. I have just found the whole experience so freeing. It is a real privilege to travel and observe people going about their everyday lives. I have found people to be warm and friendly in Malaysia.

The other footnote i want to add is how lucky we are in new Zealand with our space and smaller population. One of the many other areas we are lucky with are our beaches. It is so evident here that any development in these areas needs to be done with much consideration otherwise pristine areas just become mini cities with pollution, filth and over zealous building. Our planners (Robert) need to be very aware of this.

Thanks for taking time out of your day to follow my blog. Cheers, Nick.

Day 56 - Into the jungle I go

2011-06-28T00:27:00.001+12:00

Waking up this morning in Penang I noticed a bit of noise outside and peered out the window to see torrential rain, however, what seems to be normal here, within 20 minutes the rain had gone completely.

Today I had some of the best riding so far on this trip. In fact I would rate some of the roads today up there with the best in the South Island.

I had been tossing up as to whether to make the long trip across the country at the top of Malaysia to the coast and Kota Baru or whether to go directly to Cameron Highlands. I decided to head to the coast and I am so pleased I did. I had an awesome riding day today. It was even worth the sore bum as Burtie is not nearly as comfortable as Bertha. In saying that he handles superbly on the twists, you just need to be wary with the use of the breaks.

In Penang these guys were tootling along deep in conversation while riding ...

Heading over the bridge again....

Now this is a good use of available space i reckon.....

I studied google maps this morning carefully as it was going to be a bit of a mission to navigate the first 100 or so km's through the maze of roads, but as it happened it wasn't too bad. I basically found my way off the island and stuck to the north south highway. I did overshoot my first turnoff, but really just added on another 40km's or so. The road signage is really good and as long as you pick a couple of main places to remember and the numbers of the roads, ultimately you head in the right direction.

In no time I found myself on some really back roads heading towards Gerik where I would pick up the west east highway no 4 towards the top of Malaysia. The back roads leading up to and this highway turned out to be the highlights of the Malaysian roads so far. I have also found the locals in some of these more remote areas to be incredibly friendly with nods and smiles when I try to use my limited Malay. Every time I stopped for a photo or smoke most locals going past would wave and smile and give me a friendly nod.

It must be quite a site when a hot and sweaty short red faced man takes off his helmet and smiles profusely while saying good morning and thank you over and over in malay. :) I can't even imagine what it sounds like with a thick kiwi accent - the funny thing is, sometimes I struggle to get myself understood in English !

On the west east highway It was mostly one lane each way with extended passing lanes on either side. I see what Faizal means about sticking to the left because some of the local drivers and not terribly good at sticking on their side of the road, and some of the passing maneuvers would make the strongest man quiver.

I had one "moment" when a large tour bus coming the other way as I came up over the brow of a hill decided to turn in front of me to access the entry to the stalls as the top of the hill. Burtie coped admirably with my defensive swerve maneuver and we missed the bus, or rather, the bus missed me. :) it wasn't actually that close, it just felt like it.

This took me through some thick jungle and up in to the mountains and passed a huge man made lake called Temenggor which was created when the Temenggor Dam was built. The other huge advantage of course was that it was noticeably cooler as I was higher up. Both Burtie and I enjoyed this road immensely.

I even enjoyed being stopped in the middle of nowhere by the police who were checking id's. The chief seemed more interested in where I was from and the fact I was traveling all around Malaysia. I was also flabbergasted at the size of the guns his team were holding. Interesting for one who is not used to the police carrying guns let alone submachine guns.

The road looped through the mountains and I stopped a number of times just to soak in the tropical scenery.

About 80 or so km's out of Kota Baru, the roads returned to the usual hustle bustle that I have grown accustomed to.

For you trike lovers out in internet world.....

Tomorrow i head back toward kl, probably to cameron highlands as i need to get the bike back on wednesday. I will be sad to say goodbye to burtie. There is something so incredible freeing about being on the bike.

I have lots of planning to do for the next few days. The thai election is this weekend so i will probably stay around phuket for a few days until there is a sense of calm or otherwise. I am quite excited about the Thai leg of my journey. Here in kota baru i am actually not far from the border. In fact, i have a thai tv channel on at the moment so i can practice some of my thai.

A long but very satisfying day on Burtie.

Thanks for taking time out of your day to follow my blog. Cheers, Nick.

Day 55 - a busy social calendar

2011-06-26T23:45:00.001+12:00

Who would have thought that traveling around the place I would have people to catch up with? I had two engagements to fit in to my day today - one with Faizal from Malaysian Motorcycle Rentals, and also to catch up with my new friends from yesterday before they headed home.

This morning I received a text from Faizal who was heading off for a quick jaunt around the island before heading to Ipoh with his group. Being on my own journey, I am not the ultra planning type so when I received the text I was still in bed, thinking about getting up. :) They were staying about 15 minutes from me so I didn't have much time for a shower and a shave :) so I just threw on my gear and organized a meeting point. I also had to zip in to reception and make sure I had booked my room for tonight as well.

So, I met the guys on the outskirts of Batu ferrenghi for a quick rendezvous as I had also organized to meet my new mates at about 11.00am as I had missed catching up with them the night before.

Me pulling up complaining about something :)

Faizal...

So i rode with Faizal and the young fella from Norway he was showing around. By the time we scooted through where I was going to meet the guys, it was about the right time so I bid my farewells to the two of them.

I had arranged to meet the group at the home stay they had lodged at for the night, where I proceeded to be fed the most gorgeous brunch. The group had a good four hour ride back home as they all have to work tomorrow, and before leaving the island they wanted to go to a couple of the markets which is where we went. On the way there was a small problem with one of the vulcans as the battery had fried itself, but a quick swap over of batteries and we were off again.

Thanks guys ..... You rock!

At about 3.00pm the group headed off and we bid our farewells.

I just want to take a moment here to say a HUGE THANKYOU to them for their kindness and generosity over the last two days. I have just had a blast!

I decided to stop for more water then head back to the hotel as I have a big ride tomorrow, probably to Cameron Highlands. This is of course why the "self guided" option for me works because I can make plans as I go :)

All and all, a great day!

Thanks for taking time out of your day to follow my blog. Cheers, Nick.

Day 54 - A Huge Day today

2011-06-26T03:16:00.001+12:00

It is now 10.00pm and I have just managed to get some accommodation sorted in Penang as basically the whole island is booked out as it's a Saturday night and "bike week" but what a great day it's been, even if it did start at 5.00am this morning.

Last night I stayed the night in Kuala Selangor, a sleepy fishing town about 350kms south of here. It was obviously a popular spot for locals and it sounded like it was right next to the mosque. Now I know I've made a couple of comments about this before, but it is amazing being surrounded by the sounds of the prayers through the loud speaker systems.

I recorded a little bit at 5.45am this morning to give those of you who have never heard it an idea of what the praying sounds like and at the same time learnt about the different calls to prayer and such. It is fascinating and as I said before, Islam is obviously for the dedicated.

YouTube Video

Chalet accomodation, off the beaten track ... Clean and tidy with own shower and toilet and tv. - about $50 for the night.

This morning i set off and after barely 10km's I stopped to fuel up and there was another big bike at the service station (they are few and far between because of the cost) and as it turned out this was a local with his 12 year old son on the back of his ninja.

At the next lights he pulled up and asked me where I was heading. I said Penang and he said great, follow me, I am meeting some friends and we are going, so around the corner I went and I was greeted by the most wonderful sight - half a dozen cruisers including a couple of vulcans and harleys, so I pulled up a chair, made some new friends and I set off with the group to Penang through some back roads. Now, for those kiwis reading this, when I say back road, I actually mean really busy roads with not that many corners - there are cars and small bikes EVerywhere.

Check out the handlebars on the orange Harley...

At the lunch stop a guy on a versys like I am riding pulled up, and the guys in the group thought he was my friend, and next thing he's joined the ride too. He was really interesting. His name is Charles and he is an expat Aussie who has married a local, converted to Islam and they live in Penang currently. More about Charles later.

Anyway, we had a great ride to Penang then went over the very impressive bridge to get to the island.

After a trek through the built up areas we went up and over and the guys from the motorcycle group split off to go to their accomodation. Charles kindly offered to lead me to Batu Feringgi where i planned to stay the night and i had arranged to meet Faizal and his group for dinner and a drink in Georgetown.

Well, lots of the places were booked up and those that werent were so incredibly expensive and overpriced in my opinion, i said no on principal. I thought, well there'll be another one around the corner. Well, there was, but usually it was full. I must have gone to 15 hotels then Faizal texted and suggested one, where I went and they said they were full but they had another site that had one room available, so off I went again in the now dark, and in the horrendous traffic (I am never complaining about Auckland traffic again) and after another half hour I found the place and collapsed in a hot sweaty mess.

On the way to Batu Ferrengi, Charles suggested we stop at one of the stalls on the side of the road and have some Durian, which we did. This is a well known asian fruit with a strong odour. Its taste is very strange - a little fruity and a little vegetably.

Charles and yours truly.....

After our pit stop it was a short ride to Batu Feringgi where Charles bid me farewell as he was long overdue home, and this is where my frustrations on finding accommodation began (see paragraph above)

A huge thanks at this point must go to both the guys from the group and to Charles for their generosity and kindness today. In fact the guys are out at a big bike show tonight but i am just too stuffed to go.

For a lad who loves the solitude of our South Island roads, the sheer heat, amount of traffic and activity everywhere can be somewhat tiring and even a bit overwhelming. I was also meant to have met faizal but kind of missed him too, so a bit of a bummer, but hopefully tomorrow i will get a chance to see everyone again.

For now, it is time to hit the hay.

Thanks for taking time out of your day to follow my blog. Cheers, Nick.

Day 53 - up the West Coast with little facial hair...

2011-06-24T22:49:00.001+12:00

This morning I left Malacca and began my trek up the west coast with the goal to arrive in Penang tomorrow, but before I tell you about today's adventures I must tell you a funny story about what happened last night.

I felt like a bite to eat so went for a wander with the intention of grabbing a bite to eat at one of the local spots. On my wanders I found yet another mall and while having a nosy I spotted a hairdresser. I had been kind of keeping an eye out for one as my hair looked and felt a bit ragged. Anyway, I popped in to Yoong Goo and the nice young man Mr. JC took me aside and "scanned" my hair to see what condition it was in. Apparently my scalp was in a terrible mess! Anyway, he went ahead and gave me a special treatment that included a lovely head massage to remove all the ookie bits and get it "ready" for cutting. He had very strong fingers i might add :)

An hour later my head felt like new and the manager Mr Yoong decided he was going to cut my hair for me. I asked him if he would be able to trim my beard for me and he said yes and I said, not off but nice and short. Well, with the sheep shearing clippers he launched in to the trim which was actually removing my beard altogether. After my shock and horror after the first couple of swipes it was too late, and my goatee that I've had for 20+ years was gone! So now I have a clean face. I did manage to save the moustache so actually I now look like a new Zealand traffic cop from the 1970's with my handlebar moustache. :)

Yoong did a Nice job of my hair and the misunderstanding was my fault - I apologize if I looked like a stunned mullet and they say change is good so when I get the courage I will take a photo of the clean shaven me and share it here. :)

So, back to today. I have had a good ride and managed to see the sea a couple of times today which I always love. I also made some new friends.

At one of my pit stops I pulled up at what looked to be like a park beside the sea. I parked up under the tree and sat down. I then noticed that it was obviously the point at which the school kids were picked up to be taken home by the school bus.

They were all looking quizzically at me and the bike, then one of them - the brave one wandered over and said hello. Well, as soon as I said hi back and started talking to him, all his mates came over and within 30 seconds I had an audience of about 20 local school kids.

I got a photo of all the boys and said I would put it on my website, so if you do get to look at this, a big HELLO from New Zealand Nick to my new friends I made - here's a picture for you - you could get your teacher to copy it and print it out and put it on your classroom wall :)

As well as this i had a couple of other picturesque stops along the way and a good amount of highly trafficked roads. I think that "driving in the countryside"has a very different meaning over here than at home.

Much of the travel today felt like i was lurching from one built up area to another . I also visited Port Douglas a popular resort area, and i got a couple of snaps to give you an idea of the sizes of some of these places.

Somehow I managed to navigate my way around KL and through a large city called Klang. While stopped on the side of the road I found some accommodation in a place called Kuala Selangor. It looks to be popular with locals and is kind of chalet style accommodation. Tidy and cheap.

Ps. I had the most amazing curry puff today from a road stall - but not like those tiny curry puffs you get at restaurants, this was an oversized gigantic one about the size of an omelette - delicious!

Ok, so here it is .... No goatee after 20 years :)

Thanks for taking time out of your day to follow my blog. Cheers, Nick.

Day 52 - Malacca - a rich history

2011-06-23T22:02:00.001+12:00

Today I put my tourist hat on and went wandering around Malacca. Well, to be honest I took the bike and rode around then parked up and went for a walk.

Malacca over the years has had a number of colonial influences which can be seen in some of the ruins and also much of the architecture. From the red colours of some of the buildings to the terrace style shops and homes around and through Jonkers Walk. It is also obvious that there is more development in the surrounding areas where they have reclaimed land and are building new hotels and the like.

Jonkers Walk and Chinatown were both fascinating, however many of the shops catered purely for the tourists with tacky clothing and "I've been to Malacca" type stuff, however there were also ample opportunities to buy some "traditional giftware" and get a foot massage as well if you wanted.

In true Malaysian style there are also a number of large shopping malls and open air markets as well that I spotted in the surrounding area.

You can also hire a chap on a brightly colored rickshaw to take you around the streets.

Rickshaw anyone?

I stopped right in the heart of Jonkers Walk and had a very tasty vegetarian dish for lunch (can't remember what it was called) as well as a beer to help it down.

I also wandered down to the water where I could see the port and large ships that looked to be doing some kind of sand dredging. It is very interesting as Faizal pointed out to me that on this side of Malaysia the water is very green as opposed to the east coast where it is bluer.

After a fairly casual wander around I headed back to the hotel for a late afternoon nap before heading out tonight for a bit of dinner. I spotted a couple of places on my travels today that I may return to tonight.

I have taken it a little easy because I have managed to get a sore throat, I think from the air conditioning last night and from constantly being in and out of the hot and the cold, so an early night is in order tonight as I have a decent riding day tomorrow to head north so that on Saturday I can meet Faizal and his tour group in Penang.

Thanks for taking time out of your day to follow my blog. Cheers, Nick.

Day 51 - Mersing to Malacca

2011-06-22T23:01:00.001+12:00

I set off reasonably early this morning from Mersing and although there was no stand out scenery, just really a continuation of the same, I did enjoy the riding roads today.

Last night in Mersing I went for a leisurely stroll in to town as I was quite peckish. I ended up doing a large loop and ending up at the beach front where it was obviously a popular early evening spot for locals.

At the food stall I bought the most scrumptious dinner - two steam buns with yummy stuff in them and these other deep fried things that were chewy and you dipped in a sauce. Both were fantastic along with a cold iced flavored lychee type drink - and all this for a grand total of about $2.

I sat at the beach and devoured the food and watched as sun set. Around this time the prayers began through microphones at the local mosques of which there were a few. What also happened was that just about everyone disappeared almost immediately and it was quite eerie, but really calming. I decided this was my cue to wander back to the hotel which was obviously popular with either local businessmen or local tourists. Interestingly in Messing I did not see one other "western tourist" in fact they have been few and far between on my travels so far since leaving KL.

So anyway, after a little breakfast at the hotel this morning I set off again and soon found my rhythm on the bike again. I have found that apart from sitting in an air conditioned room, riding the bike is actually when I am the coolest. I have also been lathering myself with sun screen because as soon as I put it on I sweat it off. The roads today were great fun and I enjoyed a couple of stops along the way. At one spot in the middle of nowhere I stopped for petrol and the young chap who served me was very interested in my travels and his eyes popped out when I explained my journey. He was a very nice young man. At another stop I arrived on the outskirts of a town and decided to go exploring a little. I found a brand new suburb sprouting in the middle of nowhere. The development and pace of building toward the west coast especially is very obvious.

New suburbs sprouting up..

At one point in the day, the heavens opened and there was a torrential downpour. I took refuge in an empty stall on the side of the road as I don't have any wet weather pants and I wanted to put the cover on my bag. I managed to get a couple of snaps of it. After 10 minutes it stopped and in another 10 minutes it was stinking hot again.

At another point, there was some major road works and i laughed to myself as i could again see comparisons with new zealand - just like our ministry of works, malaysias equivalent has lots of blokes sitting around seemingly doing nothing while one bloke is doing something. :)

I have decided to stop in Malacca for two nights sp I can take a day to be a bit of a tourist and have a decent look around, plus it gives me a chance to do some washing and take a break from riding in the heat of the day. Malaka is obviously a populalr tourist destination with large chain hotels and some interesting architecture. It has a rich history both in terms of Malay history and at different times Dutch, Portugese and English colonization.

Thanks for taking time out of your day to follow my blog. Cheers, Nick.

Day 50 photos

2011-06-22T15:45:00.001+12:00

My friend :) at the police checkpoint.

Development everywhere

Water tower I think?

Mosques everywhere

Some roads very similar to nz

Lost

Spot the odd one out

Thanks for taking time out of your day to follow my blog. Cheers, Nick.

50 days of my mid life crisis journey so far ...

2011-06-21T23:44:00.001+12:00

I have a lot of great photos from today but I am having problems publishing my post today so they will have to wait until I am somewhere with wifi.....

I can't believe I started my journey 50 days ago. It has gone so fast! To celebrate the fact I was stopped twice today at checkpoints where the police were checking motorbike licenses. Luckily Faizal had given me the appropriate card to show them along with my New Zealand drivers license. Both times no problems and I was waved through. The first time it was such a novelty that I asked the serious policeman who looked like he was in charge if I could take a photo of him, at which he agreed - not that he shows it :)

So, i decided this morning to set off from just north of Kuantan, and head south and see how far i would go. I was very aware that yesterday i had seen a bit too much sun and was pretty tired so i decided to stop earlier today rather than riding till nearly dark. It would also give me a bit of time to chill out. I have rocked on up to Mersing just in time too as there is the loudest thunder outside.

There were some great little stretches of road today and pretty good on the traffic front as well. I did manage to get lost once though when I thought I'd turn down a side road to try and find the sea. I ended up at what looked like an abandoned ferry building but managed to find my way back to the main road okay.
Development everywhere....

Mosques everywhere...

I also stopped for lunch at a beachside spot just out of ...... Where everyone seemed to stop and stare at me when I wandered inside, not in a rude way, but more in a quizzical, I wonder what his story is ? The woman who was working their was very patient as I stammered my way through ordering the Penang soup ( I think ) which was very tasty and super cheap along with the bottled water.

Oops....lost!

Do you see the odd one out?

I managed to get a heap of great photos today while i was riding

If you're wondering about the route i took, basically, yesterday i went from Kota Demansara to Kuantan across the country via a whole lot of back roads, then today I went from Kuantan straight down the coast and have finished up at Mersing. Tomorrow I plan to head back across the country and end up in Malakka.

As a side thought, now I've done a few hundred km's on Blue Burtie, here are my feelings about him -

He is an easy bike to ride, however, not nearly as comfortable as Bertha. On berth I can liter rally ride for as long as I want and not get a tired body, hover, the parts of my body that hurt with Burtie are my legs and my bum. I am just not used to the riding position. The one good thing about his height is that if I want to have a stretch I can while riding which is great. Cheers, Nick.

Thanks for taking time out of your day to follow my blog. Cheers, Nick.

Day 49 - Tropical Forest, west to east Malaysia

2011-06-21T02:32:00.001+12:00

It was with excitement that I woke up ready to check out and begin the next exciting part of my journey. I was greeted by Lazi at the hotel door who took me to Faizals shop where we completed the paperwork and had the safety briefing.

It was then time to load the bike. Faizal had offered me a large top box which I seriously thought about taking, however, I was determined to take my back pack with me. I had thought ahead and had carried my favorite bungy cord with me from NZ, plus a couple of Faizals and voila, my bac pack fitted on the back with a bit of kiwi ingenuity. (and in 400+ kms today the tie downs worked brilliantly)

After fuelling up around the corner i set off and almost immediately got lost. I not so cleverly thought that if i headed towards the sun i was heading east and that was the direction i wanted to go but of course the roaring network doesn't quite work like that ! I had decided the night before that I wanted to get across to the east coast and get away from the "big city" for the first couple of days. With this false start about an hour and a half later I found myself heading back towards KL again so jumped off the bike and used the fab iPad google maps to orient myself to head in the right direction.

In typical difficult fashion I had decided that I didn't want to use the main arterial route that linked the west with the east, but wanted to use the back roads and get a sense of the countryside. This proved to be heaps of fun.

Most of the roads could have been any back roads in the south island of new Zealand, apart from the extreme heat and tropical forest and palms growing everywhere :) it was fascinating traveling these roads and riding through small communities.

I also met a couple from Belgium a similar age to me who were backpacking around the world and only using pubIic local transport.

I could add more, but to be honest, I'm stuffed so am heading to bed now ready for new adventures tomorrow where I plan to head either up the coast or down the coast.

I am loving being self reliant again :)

Thanks for taking time out of your day to follow my blog. Cheers, Nick.

Day 48 - Petronas Twin Towers

2011-06-19T20:53:00.001+12:00

Well, I headed off to the twin towers today first on the monorail then on foot. I have also being trying out my limited Bahasa Malay with at least a smile from those I have spoken to. Once I got to the towers I found out that the maximum number of tickets had been sold for the day so no chance of making it up the top as I am heading off early tomorrow. Serves me right for leaving it to the last, however, not to worry, I wandered around the mall underneath, yet another megamall. The upside was that I finally found a pair of clip on sunglasses for my prescription specs which has made a huge difference to walking around outside and will be a welcome addition while on the bike.

I also grabbed a bento box for lunch (Malaysian style) which was very tasty and went for a walk around kuala lumpur city park. By then it was stinking hot with 100% humidity as it started to rain, kind of. I decided to catch a taxi back and jumped in a discount taxi where I bartered with the driver as he wanted to charge me an exorbitant amount to take me back to the hotel.

Petronas Towers

Shopping

Looking towards KL city park..

I am now back at the hotel and will sort out my packing tonight at I have an early start with the taxi guy coming at 7.45am to take me to the bike shop.

I am really keen tomorrow to head across the island to the other side so I can enjoy some cooler riding through the hills and maybe stay at a smaller community tomorrow night. I am hopeful that Faizal can lead me out of KL as I have visions of spending the whole day going in circles.

I am really interested to see what the cell phone coverage is like. I am also fully prepared (I think) to utilize the local public conveniences as opposed to the "western style" toilet. :) Thanks Bali for the practice.

Thanks for taking time out of your day to follow my blog. Cheers, Nick.

Reflections on my trip so far ...

2011-06-19T14:29:00.001+12:00

I am deliberately having a quiet day today as I head off tomorrow on the bike and I need to spend some time looking at routes and stuff, so I thought I would take a pause to make some reflections of my trip so far -

1. New Zealand motorbike trip - 7500kms, three and a half weeks

I am really pleased I decided to do this before heading offshore as I had an awesome time and it just reminded me how incredibly lucky we are with our beautiful country - the scenery and the wide open spaces.

2. Gold Coast Australia - 10 days catching up with an old friend

Again, I really enjoyed this component of the trip. It was great to be able to be shown around by a local and great to catch up with my old friend after 20 years! Of course, it is merely an Aussie version of New Zealand. (with a few more tall buildings so not much deep and meaningful to say)

3. Bali, Indonesia - 10 days staying with friends

I found Bali an exciting yet slightly strange place. The obvious touristy nature of Bali left me pretty Luke warm however again living with locals I was able to see beyond the tourist hype and get a better picture of life in Bali.

I found it very difficult to get my head around the dual economies and the fact that there were tourists with lots of money and locals with very little money trying to get a slice of the money. I couldn't help but think that there was some exploitation that went on at both ends. The hedonistic nature of Bali for tourists was obvious - partying till all hours of the morning and anything you could possibly want was available for the right price...and running behind all this was a deeply conservative and religious country.

I feel I met people who were at both ends of the spectrum - those who embraced the influx of visitors because it meant money in to the economy, growth and development, and those who felt resentment at this influx of people in to their country. I can also understand both points of view.

Of course the traffic and sheer number of people in a confined space I have already spoken about. The other aspect that amazed me was the juxtaposition of expats with money and the push and pull factor of the local economy - without these xpats and tourists many of the businesses would not survive, however expats were building large homes that locals could never afford to buy and these were tucked away and not so tucked away beside paddy fields and local homes.

Also evident was the importance of family and many of the young men and women going to Bali to try and get a slice of the dollar so they can support their families back home.

4. Malaysia - a week so far

I have only seen a small snapshot of Malaysia so far as apart from my little ride yesterday, I have not left the confines of KL, however, I really like what I see.

It is obvious to me that Malaysia is in a cycle of major development and is forging ahead in leaps and bounds. There are a number of things that I have observed that are very similar to New Zealand, and things that we can take some lessons in.

There are two factors that obviously are at the forefront of this push - the importance of family and education.

Education is everywhere and the importance of moving forward as an individual and a family unit is to further your education. As a teacher I have always believed this to be the case and it is surely a cornerstone of the countries success to date. A major similarity with new Zealand is it's multi cultural makeup and the fact that people are just getting on with life to try and make life better for their children. Also, Malaysia is leaps and bounds ahead of us in terms of technology - well, in the big city at least.

The one area that I think they need to be very mindful of, as we and many other countries have fallen in to the trap - when you get a taste for spending and growth and material success, (and looking at the size of the malls and the availability of choices for people, malaysians love to shop!) is that people do not shop themselves in to debt by overspending and paying "on credit". Banks seem to be pushing the credit card mentality and this is a dangerous slippery slope. Trust me, I have experienced it first hand.

As a side note in regards to the shops - personally I have found the sheer number of choices overwhelming - it might sound silly, but there are like too many choices. Yesterday, it took me an hour to decide where to eat, and when I contemplated buying a new cell phone to take home with me I left the shops because it was just like information overload - there were like 100's of cell phone shops and in each shop there were 100's of choices - just too much for me. I think that's why I don't like shopping malls. When I think about when I was a kid and we used to go to chart well square in hamilton for a new pair of school shoes and there was like one shoe shop - Hannahs to choose my shoes from. How times have changed.

I have found people to be very helpful and friendly.

KL does need to sort out it's terrible gridlock though. This is always a growing pain of a developing city. Pollution with all these cars on the road is and will become a big issue in the near future I think.

Conclusion

When traveling by yourself you are in a privileged position to be able to just stop and watch. People watching is one of my favorite things to do when traveling as you can learn a lot about a society just by observing. Of course, asking lots of questions is the other thing I like to do, as my friends and family will attest to, so whenever I get the opportunity I do this. My goal is always to know someone's life story by the time I leave their company as again it gives me a much greater understanding and appreciation of how a society ticks. This is the joy of traveling to me (and trying all the local food of course) not so much the "tourist spots"

I think that some of the worlds politicians should do what I like to do, because if they just took a moment to look and listen they would understand that Most people In the world want pretty basic things - someone to love, a job, a roof over their heads for the family, enough food on the table and a sense of belonging. It makes me so deeply sad when i watch the news and see the conflict around the world - enough i say - lets just get on with life. How the hell does fighting a war help the taxi driver who works 7 days a week to feed his kids and pay his bills?

Ask any teacher of 5 year olds - when they have 20 kids sitting on the mat in front of them, the kids do not see differences - they don't see colour, or religion or class - they just see a friend, or not a friend. Maybe adults could learn something of this. Yes, I know life isn't that simple and I am an idealist, but why shouldn't it be that simple?

It seems Pretty straight forward to me really - education, jobs, love and a sense of belonging.

Thanks for taking time out of your day to follow my blog. Cheers, Nick.

Day 47 - woohoo, a bike, a bike, a bike

2011-06-18T19:35:00.001+12:00

As I said in yesterday's post, I had arranged to meet Faizal from Malaysian Motorcycle Getaways this morning for a complimentary half day ride out to Genting Highlands so I could get used to the bike...... What a brilliant bloke.

We had an awesome morning winding our way up to and down from the Genting Highlands. It was a great opportunity to get orientated on my bike - a nearly new Kawasaki all purpose bike. I have nicknamed him Big Berthas Big Brother - Blue Burtie. He is a lot higher than Bertha, but I can still touch the ground :) .. And he is of course so much lighter than the old girl with better handling around the corners.

I thought the bike handled very well and I am very excited about Monday when I will start my 10 day self guided tour. I even think that i may be able to attach the backpac on the back which would be great.

It was so great to be back on a proper bike after my 10 day break in Australia and Baby Bertha in Bali. I was seriously going through withdrawal symptoms.

Blue Bertie .. My new best friend :)

And what a professional and knowledgeable guy Faizal is who has an obvious passion for riding. Get a couple of bikers together and it's like long lost friends. I also met one of his business partners, Nick who was riding a very impressive bike that had the same stature as Bertha.

If youre looking at riding in Malaysia, these are the guys to come to. Head and shoulders in terms of professionalism and customer care if you ask me. You can check out their website at www.ridemalaysia.com.my .

Blue Bertie

Coming down the other side :)

Nick and Nick .... :)

That's me

(Thanks to Nick and Faizal for a couple of these photos - i have nicked them from Facebook :) )

So after a great morning ride it was back to the hotel and tomorrow I will zip along to the Petronas towers before an early check out on Monday so I can make the most of my 10 days.

Thanks for taking time out of your day to follow my blog. Cheers, Nick.

Day 46 - Muslims, Motorbikes and a taxi.

2011-06-18T00:48:00.001+12:00

Another interesting day to chalk up on this journey. The intention was to head out to a couple of motorbike shops then go and do a bit of sightseeing and it kind of worked out like that but not really. :)

After my morning breakfast I headed off for the day, first to buy some more bottled water then to go and find a couple of the motorbike shops before heading further afield this afternoon to meet the owner of the one motorcycle rental place I had found. I optimistically thought I could maybe walk to the first shop, however, it soon obviously turned out that I couldn't.

After a short break to take refuge in another huge air conditioned mall I was resigned to a taxi ride, however the taxis here are not too expensive. BTW, Akbar my afternoon taxi driver said there were 70,000 taxis in the city. - this is excessive if you ask me! Anyway, my morning taxi guy dropped me to the first shop where I had no luck - they didn't sell bigger bikes, however, he did point me in the direction of a couple of shops that did. I decided to walk the distance and being in a local area I was enthralled by the amount of markets and people hanging out.

I must have walked in to an area with lots of Muslims as there were plenty of men heading to the local mosque for prayer. Friday is essentially like the weekend for Muslims and is known as Jumu'ah. I think this means "Friday prayer" (if any of my Muslim friends are reading this and I am incorrect in any way please do let me know).

After a fairly long walk I found the shops the original guy told me about and they did have a small number of bigger bikes, but they were so expensive this was just not a sensible option.

By now it was about 2.00pm and stinking hot.

As I stood on the side of the road all the men from the local mosque came out. It is obvious this is a religion for the devout and i respect that. Coming from a secular society that is somewhat lukewarm about religion it is very interesting to observe.

I had organized to meet the guy from the rental company at his shop which was a good 25 kms away in outer Kuala Lumpur so I needed a taxi. I flagged down the nearest taxi and Akbar pulled up. We set off and it was a long way away. My poor old taxi driver got very lost and we took a good two hours to get their which was a combination of horrific traffic and not finding the address which as it turned out was a serious needle in a haystack. I was on the phone to the rental guy who was obviously very very rude over the phone to my driver. My taxi man was on the phone to his brother to try and get the directions. I think he was getting yelled at by everyone for not knowing where to go and I felt very sorry for him as i found him a genuine honest man trying to make a living for his family. He works seven days a week, has seven kids and even though we did get very lost I found the afternoon in his company fun and very informative.

When we finally arrived at our destination I asked him to wait as I was only going to be a few minutes to check out the bike and get a bit more information. After a discussion with the owner of the rental shop we have arranged for a half day ride tomorrow free of charge to see whether I like the bike and then if it's all go I will organize to rent it for 10 days from Monday including helmet, jacket and gloves. Not an ideal timeframe but am looking forward to getting back on a bike. He also gave me a website for travel advisories as at the moment tourists are not recommended to travel through southern Thailand so I will make a decision in that regard later.

Anyway, after a quick chat and making arrangements for the ride tomorrow, my driver and I set off again and immediately came across some of the worst traffic jams I have ever been in. By this time we were firm friends and were smoking away and laughing at how the afternoon had unfolded. (well, I was, he felt bad and kept apologizing but I really didn't mind as it had been a very interesting afternoon.)

By the time we arrived back in central KL, the traffic was at gridlock so once we came close to the monorail and moved two car lengths in four traffic lights changes I suggested we stop and then he could head off to his brothers place as his elderly father was not well and I could walk the rest of the way.

....rapidly going nowhere fast....

Men in uniform...

After a fond farewell and swapping contact details I set off on foot and after multiple km's on foot (faster than the stationary cars) I got back in time to pick up my laundry and buy some more bottled water before arriving back in the hotel a sopping wet sweaty exhausted mess !

Tomorrow, I get to finally ride a proper bike again - yay!

Thanks for taking time out of your day to follow my blog. Cheers, Nick.

Day 45 - smelly clothes, motorbikes and shops

2011-06-16T22:09:00.001+12:00

After an ok sleep I awoke early as I wanted to spend some time exploring. Top of the list was a laundromat to wash all my smelly clothes. I set off this morning after a very western breakfast at the hotel and a quick check in to home. I am sure i was looking slightly strange carrying a woolworths plastic bag full of dirty clothes. I am staying on the edge of what is known as the Golden Triangle so not very far to some large shopping centers and Chinatown.

After a fairly slow meander along road work infested roads I found my way to the first mega shopping mall, one just for computer stuff - there must have been eight stories of shops with only computers and phones and stuff. It was aptly named Computer City. (Plaza Low Yat) It was just ridiculous! I did manage to find a shop to get a sim for the iPad so I can have Internet access on the go for very very cheap which is great. By the time I had done that it was time for a sit down in the air conditioning.

Plaza Low Yat..

Then it was across to another super sized shopping mall called Berjaya Times Square which was like Westfield St Lukes on steroids x100. I was amazed by the proliferation of American shops such as Starbucks, borders and the like. This mall is not cheap and prices were comparable to NZ easily. I did lash out and buy a phrase book and map for my travels. I did also escape to an air conditioned food court for a bit of rice and selected morsels that tasted nice but I have no idea what they were. For someone who detests shopping malls, the one benefit is obviously the air conditioning.

Berjaya Times Square ....

Still with my laundry in my bag as I had no joy finding a laundromat (well, i did but it was too expensive) I jumped in a taxi and went to one of the bike shops I had noted down and had a chat with the owner.

For cash I can buy a bike, however, they are not that cheap, but was good to know that if I can find one this is a possibility. Tomorrow I am going off to two other shops - one a motorbike rental place so am hopeful I can make progress so I can move out of the big city early next week.

On my return to the hotel and with a determination I set off again and have found a laundry place where I have left my clothes and hopefully tomorrow afternoon I will have clean clothes to wear as I now literally only have the clothes I am wearing :)

Views from my accommodation ... Development everywhere.

Tomorrow morning I plan to go to the motorbike shops in the morning, then Petronas Towers in the afternoon.

Thanks for taking time out of your day to follow my blog. Cheers, Nick.

Say hello ...... :)

2011-06-16T21:30:00.001+12:00

I have noticed that the number of daily hits on my blog have increased which is great, however it is hard to know whether anyone is actually reading it and I would love to know who is apart from the regular folks who comment.

SO, if you do check in and read my entries, click at the bottom of this one where it says comments and make a comment. You can sign in anonymously if you want, but do leave your name because thats just rude. :) It's really easy to do :)

I look forward to hearing from you.

Cheers, Nick.

Thanks for taking time out of your day to follow my blog. Cheers, Nick.

Days 43 and 44 - Asalamalakum

2011-06-16T03:31:00.001+12:00

I had a great 10 days in Bali. I have definitely found the amount of people and traffic and tourists an attack on all the senses. There is just so much going on all the time. I also need to say a huge thanks to david and Ian and their team for the most wonderful stay at the villa. I have been incredibly fortunate to have had such a luxurious base and may just take up the offer to return on my homeward journey.

I have managed to spend my time doing not an awful lot and it seems to have flown by. The last two days we went out for a couple of meals, we were cooked a feast and I lolled around in the pool.

One upside to this tropical weather is that I have lost some weight. I don't know how much, but my t shirts are a little looser. I think it's a combination of the heat, the water I have been drinking and the occasional exercise. At this rate, heading to KL and north, where the weather is even hotter and more humid, in 3 or 4 months I will be a little waif, well, maybe not, but all the same, it's all good.

I have also spent a bit of time doing some research around riding roads in Malaysia. I am determined to get a bike sorted sooner rather than later as I am chomping at the bit to get out on some decent roads again. The plan is to spend the next few days in KL doing a bit of planning. I do need to make sure that immigration gives me as long as possible in Malaysia as the current plan is to spend six weeks on a bike doing a big loop of the country then returning to KL to drop the bike off then take the train from KL up to Thailand. I will know more once I have done a bit more research while hopefully settled in at my accommodation in KL.

So, it's a three hour plane ride to KL from here and when I finally arrive at my accommodation I will try and get this post published.

Update -

I am now in my little apartment accommodation in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

First impressions? - the airport was a well oiled machine and they are determined to keep track of you here as all foreigners have to provide a fingerprint on this funny little machine at immigration. This is apparently to keep track of illegal immigrants. The upside is that I must have looked okay as no questions were asked and I have a 90 day visa stamped in my passport. Once I grabbed my bag I was waived through customs and I was out. Before jumping on the high speed train into the city I popped out for a cigarette and was immediately hit by the sheer heat and humidity. Immediately I started sweating profusely but luckily I had packed a little towel in my carry on for this very reason.

The other observation is that it is quite obviously a Muslim country. I am waiting to hear the call to prayer tomorrow morning and am really interested in learning more about this most populous religion. Once I leave the big city I am sure a blond, red bearded, short and not so slim kiwi lad sweating profusely will attract just a little attention. The final observation is the fact that English is so widely used as in fact an official language of the country apparently.

The high speed train took 28 minutes to get to the city. After popping out I took a detour to grab a sim for my phone. They laughed when they saw my phone. We are way behind in NZ I think. I then booked my taxi and paid at the taxi kiosk and had a ride in a Mitsubishi tredia that had done 550,000 km's ! To my accommodation where I am now.

Anyway, I am quite stuffed so will turn in for the night so I am refreshed for exploring tomorrow - firstly to a laundromat to do some washing. :)

The new experiences just keep on coming thick and fast !

PS....my thoughts are again with the people of Christchurch at the moment. You guys take care of yourselves !

Thanks for taking time out of your day to follow my blog. Cheers, Nick.

Day 42 - Not very p.c.

2011-06-13T19:50:00.001+12:00

Last night I started to think about the next leg of my journey. When I looked at my ticket to Kuala Lumpur I realized I was going to be arriving very late like about 11.00pm, so it would have been 1.00am before I made it to my hotel in the city that I am looking at booking. That is if could work out where to go. Basically it would be through immigration then a half hour high speed train ride to the city then somehow find my way to the hotel so I de ded to change the time I leave here so I get in at a more reasonable hour. The best ticket available means I arrive at 7.00pm not 11.00pm, but is a day earlier so I will Leave here Wednesday not Thursday.

So off to the airport to the Malaysian Airlines office I went on Baby Bertha with the hope I could find my way there and back. I tried to get some photos along the way. (below)

This is a quiet road ....

Smoking while riding .. Not very pc but very Indonesian. :)

Below the road to Davids house....

Ps... Lots of dogs around so the rabies shots were a good idea.

I am quite looking forward to getting to Malaysia and hiring a bigger bike so i can see a bit of the countryside and be a little more self reliant.

Thanks for taking time out of your day to follow my blog. Cheers, Nick.

Day 41 - Missing in Action

2011-06-12T19:57:00.001+12:00

Because of my day sleep yesterday i have successfully stuffed up my sleeping patterns. As a result i was wide awake at 3.00am this morning. When the guys got up and we had our morning fresh fruit i was actually feeling a little queasy in the stomach which may have been the start of a little Bali Belly as they call it, however, i had some mixture that David gave me and a couple of bits of toast and i felt a little better. I did manage to have some lunch too so hopefully that is the sum of it. I think it is probably a combination of too much sun, an attack of the senses when riding baby bertha and a few too many drinks and late nights.

On that note, have I told you about the road rules here? That's right, there are no road rules .... Seriously.

In saying that, I am learning that it is organized mayhem with kind of an unwritten code with people generally patient with polite beeps of the horn.

Here is an example - when turning off the road to the right, generally on the bike you swerve in front of oncoming traffic then ride a few meters on the wrong side of the road before turning on to the side street.

I had planned to go with my local guide to look at a couple of beaches further afield today but unfortunately he is missing in action. I went to our meeting place this morning three times but he didn't turn up. I do hope he is okay as i did enjoy his company. Of course, he may have got a better offer elsewhere.

So today I have been sitting poolside relaxing in the shade with the boys' which has been lovely.

I have also been researching accommodation for when I arrive in Kuala Lumper. I would like to have the first 3 or 4 nights booked so I have time to organize/find a motorbike rental company and also to see some of the sights in KL.

With time fast approaching to hop on the plane later this week the days seem to have flown by.

Thanks for taking time out of your day to follow my blog. Cheers, Nick.

Day 39 and 40 - The Beach and The Clubs

2011-06-11T22:43:00.001+12:00

A great day today with an extended stop at the beach where I also had a pedicure which sorted out my tired feet :)

In the evening I danced the night away until the early hours of the morning.

Today I have slept the day away and this evening my friends are taking me out to dinner.

Short and sweet today as have zoomed around and feeling a little stuffed.

Thanks for taking time out of your day to follow my blog. Cheers, Nick.

Day 38 - personal local guide

2011-06-10T14:35:00.001+12:00

After a leisurely morning at the villa meeting some of the guys friends I headed off with Iain for a spot of lunch and a beer at the beach. At the same time we were their I was able to organize a personal tour guide for some of the local sites.

I headed off with Artem on his bike and after a long ride through main streets, back streets and everything in between we arrived at Tanah Lot to look at the Hindu temple.

Along with 1000's of tourists and school children it was an interesting site which was also filthy with rubbish and shop stalls everywhere. Kind of strange for a religious site.

My favorite part was sitting watching the sunset behind the temple. We also caught a show after dusk which was quite obviously for tourists. There were elements of traditional dance but not really my cup of tea.

By this time it was about 8.30pm so we had a decent ride back to town where we enjoyed a lovely meal at this cool restaurant that I could probably never find again. There were tables in Bales around a lake and very very nice well priced food.

At the end of the evening Artem took me back to his place as I was very interested to see how the locals live rather than just the tourist facade. I really appreciated the time he spent showing me round and I think will organize another day out.

All in all another great Balinese day.

Thanks for taking time out of your day to follow my blog. Cheers, Nick.

Day 37 I got lost again (in a good way)

2011-06-08T21:36:00.001+12:00

So today was the day I was going exploring. I slept in a little after my late night so was a little slow to get organized. By the time I was ready to go it was nearly 12.00 and David came as well and we went first for a bite to eat at a local roadside eatery then to get a key cut for me.

Lunch with bottled water at a local spot ... About $1.20

After bidding the boys goodbye I proceeded to navigate the craziness of millions of bikes, people and cars. Somehow I made it to the epicenter of action, Kuta beach. I parked up, paid the motorbike attendant and went for a walk along the beach where I was accosted by hawkers. I was looking for a couple of t shirts to buy so began the negotiating and proceeded to overpay for them but enjoyed the interchange.

Kuta Beach ... Very quiet actually.

After leaving Kuta Beach I got seriously lost as I navigated the throng of millions. There is just so much to take in.

A few bikes .....

After an hour or so I somehow recognized some buildings and god knows how found my way back to the area where I am staying. By now it was time for a beer so I rode down to Petitenget Beach and popped in for a beer at the local bar then went for a walk then a swim. After the swim I met some of the locals and enjoyed another beer. :)

A newly finished resort

David and Iains beach....

I have now returned to the villa and will have an early evening nap as I am contemplating heading out again tonight for a bit of the nightlife again.

It is a lot of fun I have to say. :)

Thanks for taking time out of your day to follow my blog. Cheers, Nick.

Day 35 and 36 - Big Berthas little sister

2011-06-07T19:47:00.001+12:00

Day 35

Yesterday was a long day with an early start to catch the train to the airport then a long plane ride to Bali. When we touched down in Denpasar I was very pleased to arrive. We had been handed out the arrival cards on the plane and I was feeling just a little bit nervous as my doctor had given me some antibiotics to bring with me just in case I got sick so I had to tick yes, I did have drugs with me - prescription drugs of course but all the same the wording of the document was not brilliant so I had ticked the same box that also said narcotics. Anyway, better to declare I decided.

Walking through the airport we were almost immediately accosted by the crazy set up. First, to a very long cue to pay for the temporary visa which seems to just really be a money making venture. Then to a humungous line for customs. Behind me was an Aussie miner taking two days off to have a bit of fun in Bali. He was a character. After an hour or so wait in the smelly hot line the customs officer stamped my passport and I had to go and claim my backpack. I had my backpack wrapped in glad wrap in brisbane before I
Left and was very pleased I had as by the time I picked up my bag it was one of the last and was sitting on the floor surrounded by the baggage staff who were keen to help me carry it. I declined and then went through the Final part where I went through no problem at all and he didn't even look at my bag.

Ian had been waiting for me for ages so we headed off and caught a taxi back to the villa. After dumping my bags and having a catch up we set off for a bit to eat on the little mopeds they have. We navigated the crazy traffic with me pillion on the back of ians bike with David on his bike with his friend Adit. After a true Balinese mei gore g we headed home. Ian took me through a tiki tour of Kuta and showed me the sites of the clubs where the bombings occurred as well as the crazy tourist district.

After arriving back in the villa I collapsed in to bed and slept very soundly.

The Boys' Villa

Day 36

I have a bike! - Bertha baby sister - Baby Bertha - here she is

She's not pretty but like the other 1000's of bikes on the roads she does the job nicely. This morning after a dip in the pool, adit kindly took me first to get some Bali money then to hire a bike. For $7.50 a day I have her for 8 days so I now have transport. This is David and ians main form of transport around the island.

This afternoon we went for a tour around some of the local beaches so we joined the crazy traffic, me on Baby Bertha and the guys on Adits bike. Mum dont read the next bit :) - Protection consists of a helmet, one rear view mirror, beach shorts and sandals. Oh and your horn to beep at people. Whole families ride these little bikes. I will go out tomorrow and get some photos to show you. Just incredible !

Lunch on the beach

What does amaze me is the juxtaposition of large places being built for ex pats right beside ramshackle huts and rice paddies.

I have now returned to the villa for a late afternoon swim and nap. This evening Iain and I are going "out on the town" to check out the nightlife. I might even dance a little. :)

Thanks for taking time out of your day to follow my blog. Cheers, Nick.

Day 34 Last day in Aussie

2011-06-05T23:27:00.001+12:00

Tomorrow I fly out to Bali. I am very excited but also a little sad as I have greatly enjoyed my Australian stopover.

Today we took a boat trip around the waterways taking in some of the magnificent homes around Chevron Island. I found a brilliant company called Bluewater Cruises that were outstanding. For $15 we had an hour and a half cruise around the waterways and a free beer at the pub afterwards. I highly recommend it.

Below is a snapshot of some of the properties. One interesting point to note is that I was quite surprised by the fact that some of the homes were quite rundown however these sat side be side by absolute mansions.

After our beer when we hopped off, Ian took me for one final drive around a couple of other areas - Benowa Waters and Emerald Lakes.

I have thoroughly enjoyed my week in the Gold Coast and catching up with my long lost friend. We have not been short on things to talk about or do and true friendship is one where you can pick up where you left off. I look forward to returning here again.

(..Don't forget you can click on the photos for a larger view..)

Yes, a fake Statue of David at Emerald Lakes ..... Tacky i reckon. :)

Tonight I pack then it's an early trip on the train to catch the plane to Bali...so a 5.30am wake up. It may be a couple of days before I update again while I arrange Internet access, etc.

Bali here I come!

Thanks for taking time out of your day to follow my blog. Cheers, Nick.

Day 32 & 33 Beach Swim/Dreamworld

2011-06-05T00:05:00.001+12:00

Day 32

After a leisurely sleep in then a walk to find a takeaway coffee, a jaunt to Australia Fair shopping centre was in order to get me a discounted ticket to Dreamworld for Saturday as well as some tropical mosquito repellant for Bali and Malaysia. A nice walk around Southport then back to the apartment for an hour or two.

Southport.......

Then it was time for a swim in the sea. I couldn't come to the gold coast and not go for a swim. Swimming in the sea would have to be one of my favorite pastimes and I would seriously look at moving here just so I could swim every morning. I swam strictly between the flags as there was a bit of a rip. I thought the water was incredibly warm actually and must admit that i do love the beach hereOnIon the evening I managed to fall asleep on the couch pretty damn content. No dancing the night away for me!

I am loving this not working caper. :)

Day 33 - Dreamworld

Good morning day 33....

YouTube Video

I really enjoyed my day and found the rides pretty good. My favorite bit though were the watersides - I haven't done that for probably 20 years.

I did think that the amusement park was very run down and in need of a serious face lift. Plus, the lunch hamburger was horrendously expensive and the most disgusting "food" I think I have ever eaten.

It was great fun though, and I enjoyed meeting a number of Ians friends who were a friendly bunch :)

At the end of the day we piled in to the cars and headed to "outback jacks" for dinner in Southport then in to Main Beach for ice cream.

One more day, then a mad pack on Sunday night.

Monday morning will be on the train early to catch the plane to Bali with a fond farewell until next time to my friend Ian who has been so incredibly generous with his time and sharing of his local knowledge.

Thanks for taking time out of your day to follow my blog. Cheers, Nick.

Day 31 - Tourist Central

2011-06-02T20:04:00.001+12:00

This morning it was time for a change of accommodation so after the check out at Jupiters, thanks to one of Ians friends, I am set up in a self contained apartment in the heart of Surfers. It has great views, even when sitting on the loo :) and a number of pools, gym and sauna. Very nice indeed.

Lunch was at a cafe on the beachfront where a major redevelopment is underway. They have created a new boardwalk and dumped tones of sand on to the beach. It is looking really good.

(pic from google images)

After lunch a walk around all the tacky shops was in order and a stop in at the sales centre of the soon to be completed "Soul" apartment complex which looked incredibly impressive and for a minimum of 1.6 million Aussie dollars the cheapest still available apartment could be yours with a simple $5000 down on your credit card! One would hope those buying would check they have available funds first.

Views from the accommodation .... Circle on Cavill.

Circle on Cavill (from google images)

This afternoon i had the most relaxing nana nap and tonight is dinner in which will be very nice.

YouTube Video

Thanks for taking time out of your day to follow my blog. Cheers, Nick.