Back from Germany and something from the inbox..

Germany was good. The daughter enjoyed seeing her old mate again and the two of them, three with the mate's little sister, ran wild all weekend.

Often there are women on the radio here in the UK moaning about looking after kids and especially when it comes to going on holiday, always worrying about what to take and how to entertain the kids. It really isn't that bad to be honest. Now having been clocking up miles with daddy-daughter travel over the last few years I can honestly say that I recommend it in some ways., it's no half a bad as people say it is.

We've made more flights from UK to Thailand than I care to mention, I've been to Laos with her, and Austria and Singapore. The two of us have driven through Malaysia, traveled overland from Istanbul to the UK and now driven from England to Germany and back. Did it drive me crazy? Not a bit. We had a great time. Drawing pad, pencils and crayons, book to read, cuddly toy or two, music CDs that she likes and the patience for hours of mindless conversations. Fortunately I haven't fallen into the trap of buying a seat-back DVD player yet.

Here's an amusing one from the inbox:

During a visit to a mental hospital recently, Harriet Harman asked the director what the criteria was, which defined if a patient should be institutionalized. Well replied the director, first we fill a bath with water, then we offer them: A teaspoon A teacup A bucket And ask them to empty the bath. Oh yes I understand said Harriet, obviously a normal person would use the bucket, as it's bigger than a teaspoon or teacup. No said the director. A normal person would pull the f###ing plug out. Do you want a bed near the window or the door ???


Back from Germany and something from the inbox..

The comfort of technology and another trip...

Having one of those moments when everything just seems to fit into place. Perched comfortably on the sofa with laptop in hand and connected through wifi to the internet I'm busily planning an entire trip online whilst sipping a cold beer and watching an excellent film, Layer Cake. Sometimes I just love technology.

I'm taking the daughter to Germany for the weekend to visit one of her old mates from school in Bangkok who is back home for a month. The temptation of the budget airline was strong but I managed to resist and keep my new found environmental credentials intact, well almost. I guess train would have been the better option but more expensive, so we're driving.

From the comfort of the sofa with one eye on a great movie I can book and pay for the ferry crossing, get an exact route and map and print it all off, calculate the fuel and mileage, arrange and pay for European breakdown coverage, arrange and pay for European insurance, and sip an ice-cold Stella. Now all that's left is to battle through Friday afternoon traffic around London getting down to the ferry port, and that will be a challenge.

The comfort of technology and another trip...

Meme time, MUSIC...

OK, so I've been tagged with one of these so now my turn to have a go. Having completed a short overland trip I found time, when the daughter was sleeping, to kick back and plug into the iPod. This got me thinking about music and travel. About music that you associate with journeys, music that is a must for a long journey, and generally, well, music. Here goes.

5 - You're going on a long journey, what five albums MUST you take with you? Albums that you need to listen to regularly.

4 - What four albums/songs do you most associate with a journey or travel experience? You know, the ones you listen to that instantly transport you back to a place and time.

3 - Your three favourite songs of all time?

2 - Two feel good songs, the ones that are guaranteed to lift the blues and put a smile on your face.

1 - Absolute, overall, undoubtedly the best album of all time, in your opinion.


5 - You're going on a long journey, what five albums MUST you take with you? Albums that you need to listen to regularly.

The Dreaming, Kate Bush
Protection, Massive Attack
Exile on Main Street, The Rolling Stones
Tears for Fears Greatest Hits
Led Zeppelin 1 by Led Zeppelin

4 - What four albums/songs do you most associate with a journey or travel experience? You know, the ones you listen to that instantly transport you back to a place and time.

Give out but don't give up, Primal Scream - Working in Hong Kong early nineties, late nights walking home from Lan Kwai Fon (spelling) full of beer, happy and with this CD played real loud through the headphones.

Greatest Hits, Sade - Also early nineties but this time Samet Island, Thailand and being in love (sorry about this) and alfresco sex on an almost empty beach. Happy days!

This used to be my Playground, Madonna - At the end of my first backpacking journey I was on a plane to London from Hong Kong back in the days when planes were usually half empty and you could smoke. I remember being in a blissful drunken haze and drifting in and out of sleep listening to the in-flight music selection. For some reason everytime I drifted into conciousness this song seemed to be playing, must have heard it a dozen times. As a result whenever I hear it it takes me back to that moment. Again, happy days.

Angie, The Rolling Stones - Picture the scene: late at night in the dimly lit communal lounge of a backpacker hostel in Hong Kong 1992. Half a dozen or so strangers gathered around and high as kites on various substances. One guy, a slightly morose heroin addict starts telling his tale. The love of his life was in Taiwan. They had been together for many years and were deeply in love, they both had good jobs and life was sweet. But the relationship was a secret. Being Chinese she couldn't tell her father that she was hoping to marry her foreign boyfriend. Then he finds out. Our young hero is thrown on a plane by his girlfriend and flies to Hong Kong to excape possible death at the hands of the girl's father. He's waiting for her but she hasn't come. She isn't going to. He's given up work, started shooting heroin and his life is in a mess. The only thing he cares about is his distant girlfriend and his guitar. With tears in his eyes he starts playing and singing this classic Stones song on his guitar. It was a surreal moment and I don't think there was a dry eye in the house. A moment that will stay with me forever and this song will always remind me of that night.

3 - Your three favourite songs of all time?

Didn't realise just how hard this one would be.

Thank You, Led Zeppelin
Gimme Shelter, The Rolling Stones
Wish You Were Here, Pink Floyd

2 - Two feel good songs, the ones that are guaranteed to lift the blues and put a smile on your face.

Let me Entertain You, Robbie Williams
Lola, The Kinks

1 - Absolute, overall, undoubtedly the best album of all time, in your opinion.

In reality it would be a joint fist place with many others but if one album then:

Blood on the Tracks, Bob Dylan


Tags:

The Lost Boy - Interesting to see how he copes with this one, will dance music feature highly?
Lisa at Something Something - I enjoy her weekly eighties feature so it will be interesting to see what she comes up with here, sure to be good.
Sensei-Katana - I'm thinking heavy rock here as he heads for Afghanistan.
Escape England - No idea but look forward to seeing.
Lillian at My Thailand Diary - Mum of three, Swiss and living in Chiang Mai, I have no idea what to expect.

Meme time, MUSIC...

Rain, trouble in Thailand and whatever happened to competitiveness in schools????

I was feeling glum last night due to the intense and prolonged rain. It poured it down all afternoon and most of the night. It was the full British rain experience; heavy thick dark clouds, continuous drizzle which regularly turned into great downpours and that feeling of overcast misery. Ah yes, the great British summer that I remember so fondly from my youth. Though to be honest, the weather has been fairly good so far so the odd lapse can be accepted I guess.

However, it seems that a drop of the falling wet stuff is small beer by comparison to what is happening over in Thailand (where I've recently returned from living for those who don't know). Outbreaks of malaria, missing billions, emergency decrees in Bangkok, fear of the entire education system in the south being closed down through violence and terror, and on and on... I must admit that life here does seem somewhat dull by comparison when the only thing I have to complain about is the rain and high prices.

The daughter has her first sports day coming up. I'm probably more excited about this than she is, as long as dads aren't expected to make fools of themselves in any way. I've been harbouring proud father images of the daughter winning a race or throwing a ball the furthest or generally winning some activity or other that three year olds do.

However, in this day and age of political correctness it seems that my dream will not come true. Having put her in a public (private for you non-Brits) girls school to escape the silliness of the education system here I find that it's even permeated into the private sector. Yes, they are creating a sports day that has neither winners nor losers. Just people taking part and being happy about the fact they are taking part. For fear of someone being disgruntled at not winning anything, and presumably then feeling that their human rights have been violated in some way, everyone will be a winner. Well yippee-dee! I haven't established whether or not this madness continues throughout the school yet, but if it does there will be a school change coming her way.

How will we ever beat the Aussies at any sport if we are going to take the competitiveness out of competitive sports?? When I was at school I won races and lost races (though lost more often than won, I seem to remember). In some things I'd either win or do respectably well and in others I was just a joke but it never bothered me. I couldn't stand football when I was a kid and reluctantly minced about the pitch like some kind of spanner that shouldn't have been there but I don't appear to be scarred by it in any way. The country is going completely bonkers! Can someone explain??


Rain, trouble in Thailand and whatever happened to competitiveness in schools????

Cigarette Accessories Reviews..

I've been asked to link exchange with a blog about cigarettes and their accessories, the link is now on the blogroll and also here. Quite an interesting blog from a girl in the States mainly about cigarette accessories, rather than ciggies themselves.

Funny how even now I still find the itch to smoke when faced with things like this blog. I COULD MURDER A CIGARETTE!!!! And just to make it clear, I'm not endorsing smoking I just like the blog. Why are all the good and enjoyable things in life so bad for you????

Cigarette Accessories Reviews..

Nostalgia...

Well, I guess it was going to happen eventually. I have had some thoughts and feelings that I suppose could be interpreted as missing Thailand. Shit, there goes, I said it. Never thought it would happen. It all started when I was having a clear out of old things and found a pile of old papers from my university days. It's not that I spent too much time looking through the papers but they reminded me of a time when I was very much in love with Thailand.

I found Thailand on a backpacking trip before I went to university, gap year I guess you call it. Anyway, it got under my skin, as did Asia in general, and I found it hard to get away. My summer holidays were a shade over four months which was great for going to either Hong Kong or Thailand, but I even managed to sneak off for the short Christmas and Easter holidays. I just couldn't keep away. I even opted for a project on the HSBC headquarters in Hong Kong as an excuse to go there to research and take photos.

Thailand seemed somehow different in those days. I'm sure I've changed too but I can't help feeling that Thailand has definitely changed for the worse. Development was still in the early stages and people weren't quite so brash and ostentatiously vulgar as they are now. Many islands were still very much undeveloped and Bangkok's streets were thick with pollution and the air dense enough to cut with a knife (not that that is a good thing). I made some good friends who I still stay in touch with today.

On one occasion I fell in love with a young university student. It was love at first sight. I won't embarrass myself by going into too much detail but I got in her car, took one look at her and fell head over heels (she was a friend of a friend by the way). I remember she had a Utah Saints tape playing at the time which has meant that fly-by-night group will forever be in my mind (I think the track was 'Something good' - very catchy). She spoke excellent English, was gorgeous, knew about the world and western history, was educated, rich and reminded me of Kate Bush for some reason. Not quite sure which of those was the most important but we stayed together, often with more 6000miles between us, for about four years.

There were good times and bad times but generally I have some awesome memories of my early life in Bangkok and on Samet with her and I can't help getting bogged down with nostalgia whenever something reminds me of that time in my life. I hate the fact I'm getting old and would happily go back to being eighteen years old and doing it all again, even with mistakes and painful moments. It's not her that I pine for but my youth and probably the best years of my life. I'm older now and the world has changed. Gone are the days when I could spend twelve hours on a half empty plane, smoking like a chimney and getting quietly pissed whilst heading out east to do more of the same in a small hut on a paradise-like island for about a quid a night. Then I didn't worry about things like health and the environment and didn't have a single responsibility, just selfish desire for pleasure. God I hate getting old.

Sorry for the slightly morose post, I blame that recent burst of nostalgia and the more recent game of badminton followed by red wine which has left me feeling this way. So anyway, all this has got me feeling that I miss Thailand in some way. I hope this doesn't last, there's no way we can go back now, surely!

Nostalgia...

Short update..

So, too long since I last tapped keys on this blog. The move back here has left me with virtually bugger all time. I just never seem to have the time to regularly read all the blogs on my list nor update my own.

Life goes on. Everything slowly coming together, well I hope so anyway. Not a huge amount to report other than daughter related things, work and house hunting. Oh, and trying to work out how to finance house purchase in the land of ever increasing house prices without selling the existing one.

Got this in the mail today so I thought I'd share it:

Larry gets home late one night and his wife, Linda, says, "Where in
the hell have you been?"
Larry replies, "I was out getting a tattoo."
"A tattoo?" she frowned. "What kind of tattoo did you get?"
"I got a Fifty Pound note on my privates," he said proudly.
"What the hell were you thinking?" she said, shaking her head in
disdain.
"Why on earth would an accountant get a Fifty Pound note tattooed on
his privates?"
"Well, for one...I like to watch my money grow.
Two...once in a while I like to play with my money.
Three...I like how money feels in my hand.
And, lastly...instead of you going out wasting money on shopping,
you can stay right here at home and blow Fifty quid anytime you want."
Larry is recovering nicely in hospital

That's it for now.

Short update..