Valentine's Day

So today is the day after Valentine’s Day, well only just or did I miss it? Depends what time zone you’re in. It also depends when you’re reading this I guess. Does it matter which universe you are in?

Anyway, for me I'm writing this on St Valentine's Day and I’m still here in Cambodia. The Chen is studying in France. I know, I’ll tell you all about that in a later post.

I was working from the Hotel today and I opened my inbox to find an e-card. I hope she doesn’t read this because I’m gonna post the card:

The Best I Keep To Myself

Sweet huh? I’ve been involved in the weird and wonderful world of dating on and off since I was 15 and without a big head; I’ve had my fair share. It’s very seldom I receive things as wonderful as this card. She will probably never know how much it means, but to an emotional guy like myself I'll tell you this means a lot.

She told me she had got me something and had had it shipped to Singapore, I wasn’t going to be there on Valentine’s Day but it’s ok she was late or the postal service was late - it actually worked out pretty well given the timings. You know as a guy, to be honest, you don’t really care about Valentine’s Day, well I dont anyway. It’s just another day you have to go out and actually do the dreaded task of shopping for things for someone that isn’t yourself. That's a task in itself but It’s even worse when it’s your girlfriend. A female. Something a male will avoid at all situations if possible. I decided to get her flowers and found a website delivering flowers in Paris, the selection wasn’t as nice as I’d been hoping I mean the price was seriously bourgeois  but the selection just didn’t match. Anyway, I'd procrastinated as usual, and although not 1 day before Valentine's I hadn't meticulously planned this. What did I expect?

I logged into Facebook earlier and was pleasantly surprised at The Chen posting a picture of the Roses and openly wishing me thank you. I mean, she’s a girl she loves flowers, and yes I didn’t get her favourite flowers, Orange Lillie’s. It’s Valentine’s Day, they gotta be roses right? I'll save the lilies for a very special occasion or when I'm in trouble (thanks Vicky!)

I’m surprised she did something like that on FB, because she’s not a very open type of girl. I mean she is when you know her but just because you’re on her Facebook doesn’t constitute you the right to actually know her. She's awesome like that.

It just has to be Red Roses right?

I love this girl, I really do and it’s outrageously frustrating the fact she’s in France. I always hated Geography, wish I was there in Europe with her.

-- March 8th -- xxx 

Happy Valentine’s Day

Sydney, Australia

So we move on, where were we, ah yes it was the last weeks of August and I was back from Europe, back from Shirley's funeral and back from my family, thrust straight back into the grasps of the Big D 7 Day working week.

Not for long though, I'd delayed this trip once before already because I had to be there for Shirley's funeral and this time I was going. My e-Visa was applied for, yes they make British Passport holders apply for a Visa in advance to traveling, actually do you blame them? I'd make us apply for Visas everywhere we went if history was allowed to speak for itself.

This was the first time I'd flown with Scoot Airlines, the new low cost branch of Singapore Airlines. They used the previous fleet of Singapore Airline planes so straight away you feel the sense of space over other low cost airlines such as Air Asia or Tiger. The flight itself, without the cancellation and amendment fee it was around 480 SGD for a return ticket to Sydney, that's around 240 GBP. Pretty good value if you ask me.

I endured the flight and arrived in Sydney airport, it was the early part of September and New South Wales was just beginning to recover from it's Winter. During the day temperatures in Sydney got close to 25 centigrade with a beautiful clear air, I couldn't feel any humidity. When the sun went down in true logical fashion it got cold, it was a climate I could very much get used to, not too indifferent from our own most magnificent Summer days.

Double Bay & Surrounding

Double Bay, Sydney - New South Wales, Australia

I picked a hotel in a harbourside picturesque suburb of Sydney called Double Bay. It is about 4km from the Central Business District of Sydney and well connected to the inner city by bus, train and boat. Later I was to find out from the locals that some of them are known to call the area Double Pay to which I personally soon became accustomed.

Sydney was the first time I've been away by myself and it was for 10 days in total, a pretty long time but I had my laptop and an extensive array of television stations to keep me company. My first feeling of landing in Sydney was how nice it was to be somewhere in Asia where English was the first language. Everyone in Singapore speaks English, and other than the Philippines I'd have to say Singaporeans have the best command over the English language of any Asian nation except when they butcher it from time to time with their hybrid word destroying logical defying tongue that is Singlish.

Security was long but I'd expected such, I'd watched countless hours of Border Control, Border Force and other such TV shows that show what seems impenetrable wall that is Australian Customs. When push came to shove however it wasn't anything new or spectacular, maybe they just didn't highlight me as a threat what with my bare white limbs. That's nice actually for once, airport staff treating me fairly, not asking me for the additional passport check of frisk down, seeing me and into my soul and realizing I'm a wonderful human being - I just likes to have my special 'relax' occasionally and I'm awesome.

I was moderately impressed by Double Bay and the surroundings, there was some pretty cool stuff a short bus journey away. It turned out to be a crazy short bus journey with an Italian consistently asking the bus driver who was solid and very non social at first but who over time was broken down by this innocent Italian mans repeated queries for "Here shark?" becoming joyful almost giddy.

The Gap @ Watsons Bay, Sydney.

The Gap and the surrounding Watsons Bay are both a short journey from Double Bay. Watsons Bay was named after Robert Watson (1756–1819), formerly of HMS Sirus, when he had to beach his three vessels at Camp Cove for many years because of their being potentially sold. Watson was appointed harbourmaster of the port of Sydney in 1811 and the first superintendent of Macquarie Lighthouse in 1816. The Gap is a place widely associated with suicide and campaigners pledge with orange poles with hotline numbers.

Lifeline Australia

The Centre

So I briefly toured the centre for a few across across the space of a few days while I was there. It's big but apart from being built on a slope it seems organized. They're buses all lined up not far from the Ferry Port transport depot taking you all around Sydney, other than that train stations are not far and are clearly signposted throughout the city. It's a busy city but its not Singapore or London rush hour busy, it's tolerable. Buses are full sometimes but they are too in Sunderland. The trains are big and robust machines, always plenty of space on those. A little shady at night though.

Sydney Opera House

Up close it looks like a space ship has landed in Sydney in that stye of the 1970's rise of Sci Fi. It's material and layout are alien looking, visible bolt holdings, faded paint and aged brown window panes give the exterior a dated feel. Step a few feet back however and symmetrically it's beautiful, all pieces of the opera house together like a perfect jigsaw, it's something that gets more beautiful the further and further you get away from it. The shot below was taken from the Hickson Road Reserve opposite the Opera house.

Sydney Opera House under the diminishing day

The Space Ship or Sci-Fi Turtles?

As is usual with these posts they often span multiple days or even weeks of composition before they are complete. Across these periods of construction I myself come in varying forms of creativity and productivity, two things pretty much directly based on my current state of hunger and sobriety. Right now, I feel like sharing some of the shots I take while I was there.

Of course, where would a travel blog of Sydney be without that shot of the Harbour Bridge?

The Bridge

Forgive me, but I took a few...

The Bridge & Beyond

From a few different angles...

The Bridge Walk

And a few different perspectives...

I walked across the bridge, I walked around the bridge, I walked underneath the bridge..a little bit and I even walked up to the touristy pylon to get better shots. I know what a vanilla tourist I am. Hey, what else can I say about the Sydney Harbour Bridge except that it's a pretty awesome bridge, it's got an interesting story surrounding it's creation and it makes the landscape beautiful both by day and night.

The Freshwater @ Sydney Harbour

The Freshwater shot actually came out of about 15 different shots of the same scene. I'm pretty new to photography and I'm not part of any group or photo cult so I'm not sure if every amateur photographer is like me. Does everyone takes 30 shots of the same scene and then painstakingly deliberate over them for hours and hours until you get one you like? I've no idea why I do this it actually encourages me to procrastinate and not go through my photos. I always find it's good to rope the girlfriend in at this point, mine does a wonderful job of severing any sentimental connections I may have had with the shots.

Fishing Down Under

A shot I got at the end of the night, my camera isn't very good at taking shots at night, well It's probably me being rubbish and the fact that I'm not using the camera right or the fact I don't have one of those war of the world devices, one of those tripods. I doctored the light and added a light filter to it. The original is on my Facebook page for comparison.

Queen Victoria Building, Sydney Centre

Inside the Central Business District itself, this Romanesque Revival architecture icon, The Queen Victoria Building houses chic and splendid stalls with boutiques and personal tailors. Lot's of bourgeois cafe's and coffee shops where one can indulge on the finest imported coffee beans and the most prestigious sweet delights. Australian chocolatier Haigh's who might give Thornton's a run for their money have a flagship store in this mall. Be weary, this mall is chic but can be expensive.

The Royal Botanical Gardens

While I was walking around the City Centre, I had time a plenty and wanted to waste some. Instead of just getting drunk which doesn't take much effort I was close so decided to hit the Botanical Gardens in Sydney seen as though the weather was pretty wonderful, I was looking forward to a walk.

# 813

At the entrance to the park, just beyond the opera house, was this aesthetically pleasing little Red train, instantly made me wish I was 5 again. It didn't move this train, well maybe it did but not on this day it didn't. The kids or big kids could sit inside and have their photo taken with it. When I'm as loaded as Richie Rich I'm gonna have one of these throughout my home. That's a promise.

Bamboo Love Story

In the Botanical Gardens there were lots of plants, as you would expect from a Garden. A lot of the plants were generic and there were some huge gaping tree's, tree's fit for the Forest of Fangorn. There was a ton of bamboo and lots of it was 'modified' let's say, the majority of the modifications being symbols of love made on handheld strolls through the Gardens. It was a pretty beautiful thing to see, I took lots of photos and played with colours, contrasts, filters but in the end settled on the one natural one without a touch. Whoever JCW is SJA is with you all the way.

90mm Macros Lens Shot - Unknown Flower

I took my Macro lens of my Camera with me, figuring If I'd need it at some point and then the Botanical Gardens came into my itinerary, awesome I thought, there will be tons of strange lookings plants and flowers and I'll get ample chance for Macro usage finally! A 400 SGD lens that was gathering dust. It didn't get much usage as the lens is slow, hard to use, needs a lot of stamina, patience and time which I have none of. I took a few others but nothing breathtaking, no spider up close and no bee or winged beauty landing on it's treasure.


The Chinese Garden of Friendship

The Chinese Garden of Friendship is exactly what it says it is, it's a Chinese memorial garden located on the edge of China Town close to Darling Harbour in Sydney.  The garden was designed by Sydney's sister city in China, Guangzhou and were opened was back in 1988. They look pretty good for 24 year old gardens.

I was browsing China Town in Sydney with my camera hoping to get some nice shots, but as usual If I see a shot I walk and procrastinate until the shot is lost. I'm afraid to just go in there and take the photo, afraid to risk the rejection I guess. Nice how that personality trait shows itself in my hobbies. It's definitely something I'm going to get over. I came across the Chinese Garden by accident and decided to have a look around, part of the Garden was closed as they were filming a movie, the garden itself was closing early that day so filming could be done during the evening. We heard from the woman on reception it was the new Wolverine film. Haven't seen anyone of the Wolverine films but I can guess they're either pretty average or pretty shit.

The Chinese Garden @ Sunset

Sydney Temple

Ancient Words

The Dragon And The Fools

I spent maybe an hour walking around the garden, it was nice, nice to be inside the city while being outside of it. It's a soothing place, the walls, water and wildlife somehow block out the sound of Sydney and you quickly forget you're in the middle of a bustling city centre. I took a lot of photos as usual, 95% ending up being obliterated from my flash storage. One nice shot I got was when I was walking out. So in Chinese mythology the dragon is often seen chasing the sun, and sometimes the sun is pictured in it's mouth. Sometimes it's pictured on fire or coated in flame and other images show the ball cooled. The ball is actually depicted as a pearl and the pearl became known as the night shining pearl.

The group of four guys sometimes partially engaged sometimes fully engaged simultaneously trying to free the pearl from the Dragons mouth to no avail. It was obvious from just walking past it five minutes previous like I had done and notice it was never coming out, even from a distance it was clear the orifice was not large enough for the pearl to pass through but still they tried. To this day I'll never know if they were serious in freeing the pearly or whether they realized defeat very early on and continued out of sheer embarrassment. 


Bondi To Bronte Walk

Wanting to see Bondi beach and hearing from a group of German tourists that there was apparently an epic walk starting from Bondi Beach and ending at a place called Bronte Beach, it was 3km from one beach to the other and it was about 25 degrees centigrade, it was definitely not cold but I was looking forward to some sand and sea.

One of the aussie tourist sites states the following:

But it’s the sunny, coastal views that bring walkers by the busload, that inspire and lighten the soul. There are few things more satisfying than watching the South Pacific Ocean roll and crash against the line of coves and beaches extending south from Bondi to La Perouse on to the entrance to Botany Bay.  

Let's see if they are right.

Bondi Beach

'

Bondi To Bronte

They were right. What can I say about the walk? It was stunning... a sensory overload of sun, white sands, turquoise water and colossal rock faces shaped by aeons of battling oceans. I was in a bit of a condition and the walk was challenging, if i was 100% it wouldn't be a problem but I'd think twice about getting my Dad or Grandad to do the trek. It's the heat that takes it out of you, drink plenty of water, not Whisky but water. 

Bondi To Bronte

Australian Castles

So I finished the three kilometers, there are handy half kilometer markers along the way. After Bronte it turns out that the walk continues, I'm not sure where to but that in total its actually 7km and not 8km. So I decided, just like a Johnnie Walker advertisement to Keep Walking. An old friend of mine Tamsin had let me know there was a pretty beautiful graveyard at the end of the walk and I'd googled to check the hype. My pictures hardly do this place justice:

The Waverley Cemetery, Bronte, Sydney

The Waverley Cemetery opened in 1877 and is a cemetery located on top of the cliffs at Bronte in the eastern suburbs of Sydney. It is noted for its largely intact Victorian and Edwardian monuments. The cemetery contains the graves of many significant Australians including the poet Henry Lawson and Australia's first Prime Minister, Sir Edmund Barton,who is interred at South Head. Funerals are conducted Monday to Saturday.

The cemetery is self-funded, deriving its income from interments – including burial, cremation, memorials and mausolea – of which there has been over 86,000. Waverley Cemetery was used during the filming of the 1979 Mel Gibson film Tim. The Cemetery was designed to function along similar lines to Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris and Kensal Green Cemetery in London

^{Waverley Gravestone}

I obviously from the above only know the name of the Cemetery, the rest is with direct thanks to Google.

What else did I do other than the touristy stuff?

Well I'm not sure if I ever mentioned a Filipino guy I know from work called Mightor, he resigned last year and moved to Australia to go back to University. I hooked up with him a few times and hung out at his new place for a while. I either didn't have my camera or I was drunk because I had the best food of my Australia trip; Thai food and Mexican food both close to his new place near Kings Cross station. I could have rounded this blog off with a few food pictures.

Thanks Australia. Until next time.

The Chen

I'm currently sat in a hotel that goes by the name of Riverside Suites, it's a small although I hate the word; 'boutique' hotel. When you get past all the descriptions and reviews trip (which are all positive by the way) and you actually come to visit this hotel you realise that it's probably one of the best hotels in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. If I'm honest it's one of the best hotels I've stayed in during my travels across South East Asia.

Oh yes I'm relaxed here in beautiful Cambodia, with an apartment perched on the mouth of the City at Preah Sisowath Quay. The apartment is a stones throw away from the Royal Palace and overlooking the Mekong River and the developing land behind it. I'm at ultimate peace here, the apartment is chic but comfortable, stylish without being extravagant. The people here are wonderful albeit the local Tuk Tuk and taxi drivers are a real pain in the backside. Food and amenities are cheap, there are some pretty decent restaurants too all the way across Sisowath Quay, some super touristy places where you'll pay 6-8 USD for a sandwich. On the other hand there are restaurants where you can get breakfast buffets for 2 USD and dinner buffers for 5 - 10 USD per person depending on your 'class' of dining. You can also get local hawker food for way less than 1 USD although I'd be careful after seeing the state of some of the markets round here.

This place gives me freedom, privacy and the sense of indulgence which when walking or dining on the front of Sisowath Quay can be morally put to the test. When you're tucking into a 10 USD steak that would cost you five times the price back home while women with missing teeth holding babies barely covered in tattered cloth asking are you for money. They don't go away either, they will sit at the edge of the street or on the curb and I feel atrocious for saying it but pester you all night, trust me it will be the last time you dine outside for a while.

Anyway, I don't want to talk Cambodia too much, that will be subject to another post entirely. I just wanted to give you some pretext for the reason I've done more posts than there are days as of late. I also want to be forgiven for talking about another girl so shortly after things ended with Cindy but it just turned out that way. That's life sometimes.

I want to go back to end of June, early July it was a couple of weeks after I'd broke up with Cindy and I was feeling pretty low, appalled at what I'd done to poor Cindy and encumbered by my remorse and guilt.  was feel. It was a Friday night and I was going to the bar at the Big D's main office in Singapore and I was meeting up with my roommate Enrique, an awesome America guy called Claude (not sure If I've mentioned Claude before but oh man that guy is epic) and an Italian guy called Giovanni who I hadn't met before. When we met at the bar Claude informed me, fully aware of my recent separation that he had invited a friend to the bar tonight, a very pretty Chinese girl, for the moment I'm only going to refer to her as Chen or The Chen, mainly for the clandestine atmosphere I want around this person while openly talking about her on here. Obviously.

I wasn't interested in anything female that evening and solely wanted to consume as much free alcohol as possible before the federal facilities police of the office kicked us out. I do remember however her being very beautiful dressed all in white with Jet black hair, pale skin and contrasting red lipstick. The physical attraction for me was instant, how could it not be the? The girl was beautiful. When she sat with us it was immediately clear she was educated and by educated I don't mean to sound like a pompous upper class aristocrat, but I mean the girl was properly educated and had a brain which had free will and the ability of free and radical thought. Originally from China but now holding a lion passport, the Chen had traveled with her family as part of her fathers job and had spent time in the States, Singapore and Thailand i believe. The effect of a high class education and this traveling to a member of the Peoples Republic of China has produced a one off voice box with an accent like no other. Some say German, some say America, some say South African, some say Martian. It's a hard one to pin down. Nothing of the Chinese remains in her vocal chords, listening to her speak her native Mandarin tongue to her family is a favourite past time of mine these days as it sounds alien but just lovely.

I paid her must less attention than she deserved and to be honest pretty much had fuck off written all over of face that night, actually I was a pissed with Claude for bringing a girl, shamefully we have what we call a 'No Taco' rule on Friday nights, our way of saying that no girls are allowed on board the party train until we're all trashed enough to decide that girls should be our number one priority.

After a few drinks I loosened up and started chatting with her and actually formed an upgraded attraction to her, she was physically stunning but also intellectually attractive. I felt she tried a bit too hard on the first night or maybe It me was caught off guard by the outspoken Chinese with a love for Uncle Sam.

By the time we got kicked out of the free bar it was just after 9pm, about 9.15pm to be more precise. We were all pretty hammered, we'd hit it pretty damn hard and I'm sure shots of Don Julio had been involved. I extended the invitation to The Chen of our migration to an Indian Belly Dancing bar in Boat Quay, about a five minute walk from the office which she didn't hesitate to accept.

Many more drinks and several hours followed, some of those hours were spent embedded in a corner of a staircase on Boat Quay with my hands on the legs of a beautiful girl. We kissed a lot, for short lustful bursts and for long passionate intervals. It was awesome, it was the first night for two weeks straight I didn't think about her.

That was that, I'd met The Chen, I'd let her go home with her mystery intact that Friday night without regret, I'm long passed the days where I want them on the first night.

I was hooked, taken back by her beauty. I was captured by her free spirit, her intelligence and I already loved her smile. Good things happen with this, I write to you nearly 8 months later and can confirm up to now everything is good, not ideal but could be worse I guess.

New Delhi, India

So around the time of Phuket, it might have been one month earlier actually in April 2012 the SEA Key Accounts team that I'm technically a part of because of my ties to the mighty - er - local and because of that connection I got to go to New Delhi in India as part of a 5 day event to discuss strategy and celebrate success, you know all that jazz.

The Dining Room @ The Westin, New Delhi

As the Key Account guys are pretty pimp in the corporate world and because India is outrageously cheap we got to stay in the five star Westin resort and spa. Apart from the fact that we had to share our rooms and I was sharing with the big boss, a burly aussie fella.

I'm not going to bore you any further by sharing details of this 5 day event and because of it I really didn't get to see much of Delhi so without further ado I'll share some photos of the trip..

The Lovers Statue at The Kingdom of Dreams

The Demon King at The Kingdom of Dreams

The Theater at The Kingdom of Dreams

We had one free afternoon where we whisked on a bus and taken though the insane Delhi traffic. I've been in some pretty mental traffic in both Bangkok and in Jakarta but this was horrendous, Indias roads are tumultuous and deadly. Vehicles overtake with low performance engines, dangerously risking the lives of those on board and those of the oncoming traffic. Everyone does it, cars, bikes, buses, trucks. The condition of the roads too, like 1940's Europe after the Blitz or a brief dose of the Blitzkrieg. The towns and villages we drove through were eye opening, they were the poorest streets and people I've ever seem. TV adverting and organizations such as Comic Relief are good at getting us tearful with starving African children montages doused with even more massive attack but I was really here, standing on my own two feet witnessing the poverty with my own two eyes, it was as much eye opening as it was dismaying.

These places that I visit and the experiences they provide me will have some positive impact on my life, I know it. I can feel it already.

One awesome thing about India trip, beside the food, was the Bollywood show we went to see at the Kingdom of the Dreams. The Kingdom of Dreams was a small entertainment village containing food hall and restaurants, shops and stalls, music and dance and a theater for live performance. Playing while we were there was a show about a Gypsy prince called Zangoora. Most of the work group left at the half time interval but I stayed to watch the full thing. How would I describe a live bollywood show? It's like a louder, more colourful pantomime. An amazing experience. I love Bollywood however I can imagine after watching 20 or 30 of them (or maybe much much less) the novelty sharp wears off.

I have to go back to India..

Phuket, Thailand

So where were we? I want to go back to May 2012, Thailand, Phuket with my family... been quite a while since the last post I've been meaning to continue the Ever Placid Journeys Across Asia by Jack Smith piece but usual story - bugged down by work.. but not fully, I've got good news to share with you for a change. First of all, let's talk about Phuket.

Father, Sister and Mother on Pa Tong Beach in Phuket, Thailand

 Singapore

So my parents came to visit me in Singapore, I'd been there 8 months excluding my Christmas Break back to Europe. For my Sister and Mother, there first trip to Asia and for my Father his second, after a clandestine business touring both Beijing and Shanghai some years prior.

I'd planned to plan the trip meticulously desperate to show them as much of South East Asia as possible in the 12 days they were here. My original plan was actually rejected by both parents who were not willing to Country Hop as frequently as I'd set out. So we settled on three places; we'd do a few days in Singapore and I'd let them relax and show them the basics of the little red dot. The second place would be over to Cindys place in Johor Bahru for dinner and drinks spending the night. The next day we'd hop on a plane and go to Phuket in Thailand for a few days before finally coming back to Singapore for the remaining 10 hours of their trip. It was done, all flights were booked, the itinerary complete. I'd surprisingly enough procrastinated little during this set up and was very much looking forward to see them. By this point, the 5 months from January through May was the longest single period of not being with my parents. When I'd lived in Amsterdam home trips had been frequent because they were short and cheap, but with Singapore it's the exact opposite, long and expensive.

I waited for them at Changi airport the morning they arrived, I had the day all planned out and I was looking forward to it, it was May 14th i think or there about. They'd come over because it was my birthday, turning 27 and being I think my first birthday away from home. I covered there trip on my post 'On Turning 27'.

So after three days of skulking around Singapore that evening after finishing work Cindy drove from Tuas to my place at Paya Lebar to pick them us up. She took us all the way back to the Tuas Checkpoint on the borders of South Malaysia towards her place in Gelang Patah. My sister of course fell asleep instantly in the car, she was probably warn out by the intense humidity of Singapore but it could also be the fact she'd been shopping at Orchard on the final day, the 5 file stretch of malls and department stores in Singapore. My mother and Father unusually quiet the back of Cindys car as we drove through the checkpoint putting rubber on Malaysian roads.

Gelang Patah, Johor Bahru, Malaysia

Cindy with to be fair a minute amount of assistance for myself, I was swanningaround more than anything else. We had asparagas wrapped with bacom she made this Prawn Dish we'd been having recently, we got the menu from her friend Rajesha's house - Marianara Prawns Tamil style, something like that. We had friend been hoon and rice plentiful, with beers. I showed off that night to my hearts content with the chopsticks, impressing the parents, their boy from Sunderland can eat like the Chinese they probably though, wrong or right I loved every second of it. Seems a bit sad now when I look back, I've matured a lot since then. Really I have.

Phuket, Thailand

The next morning we jumped into Cindy's car and she took us across to Changi airport so we catch our flight to Phuket. Cindy would join us one day later not being able to get the Friday off from work. A couple of hours later and we were in a taxi from the disaster of an airport in Phuket to our hotel which was near Karon Beach. I remember booking it on Booking.com and thinking this place really cant be 15 GBP per night with breakfast included per room? Each rooming having a flat screen TV, en-suite bathroom with bath & shower and king size bed. I'd booked three rooms, one for the rents, one for my sister and one for me and Cindy. It was just short of a couple of hundred pounds for the three rooms for the 4 nights.

Temple Guard at Wat Suwan Khirikhet School - Phuket, Thailand.

The hotel was perfect, and walking distance from the beach with several shops, bars, restaurants and a small market near by. It had a rooftop pool with bar and pretty good buffet breakfasts. The view from the pool bar was pretty damn awesome.

I've got such fond memories of this holiday, being so far away from home, the feeling that I'd arranged all of this, I brought it all together, I'd paid for hotels and arranged flights and done everything in such a joyous manor. I was proud of myself for once and by god I love my family. I felt such emotions for Cindy during these few days, he tenderness was always there, no matter what mood she was in. She was such a wonderful girl.

Cindy and my Dad

We relaxed, we did a bit of sunbathing, we did some swimming, we did a lot of drinking, we did a lot of eating. It was a holiday full of emotion, it was a holiday full of abundance and of love.

Restaurant Seahag - Phuket, Thailand- Maybe the best Thai Food I've ever eaten.

Pa Tong Beach, Phuket

The night we went to Seahag, the food is amazing there if you're ever in Phuket you have to eat there. Try the Massaman Curry or the Monkfish Curry, both amazing. I remember too that I lost my patience with Cindy and I shamefully enough can't remember why. If you ever read this Cindy I'm so sorry for that moment in front of my parents, looking back it was a clear sign of my immaturity.

I apologized for the evening and we made up. The next day we did something I haven't done in eleven years years. We went shooting. Memories of Florida 2001 came flooding back. Me and my father that trip had gone out one day in the car on International Drive and we'd come across a shooting range. Having asking my parents for BB and Paintball guns every birthday for living memory and consistently being refused, knowing my parents never thinking it would be worth asking I gestured towards the shooting range and nodded to my father, in utter amazement he nodded accepting my gesture and we fired some low caliber handguns that day, that was the day I broke my firearm virginity.

Cindy getting her revolver 101

One of the fondest memories I have from this holiday is when Cindy and I decided to get a little, non-x rated 1 on 1 time. We took a taxi upto one of the most beautiful Sun Set spots I've ever been to, a placed called Promthep Cape.

Cindy embracing the Sunset at Promthep, Cape

Sunset at Promthep Cape

Despite having four full days in Phuket, time being it's useful bastard self went by ever so quickly and before I knew it we were checked out of the hotel and heading towards the airport bound for Singapore. How can I summarize my first visit to Phuket? A place stigmatized from the sex industry that saturates the city, beautiful beaches, beautiful food, beautiful Thai people and culture in gorgeous surroundings. Does the occasional tourist drunken Tourists and the lady boy degrade the City's image? I don't think so, for me it adds to the character of Phuket, it's noisy and sleazy but at the same time stunning and beautiful -a true gem of South East Asia.

An ornament in a locals yard

Cindy carving our presence but only until the next tide - Karon Beach, Phuket.

We landed in Singapore and Cindy went back home to change, I took my parents back to my apartment when they did all they took a last minute shower before we went for dinner. My parents had been pretty good with broadening their taste buds in Asia I decided to take them to one of my favourite fish restaurants in Singapore; fish & Co. We met up with Cindy again and had fish and chips on our final evening before collecting my families bags and accompanying them back to the airport. The trip to the airport was as if in slow motion, a massive attack soundtrack would have been an accompanying side dish to the journey. I think a lot all the time, too much I'm sure but I couldn't help thinking how lucky I was to have parents like these, to have a sister like I do. My family are truly beautiful people and so was Cindy. I was and still am a very lucky man.

Thank you to Phuket, Thank you for Cindy, Thank you for Family.