WORLD TOUR IS OVER - for now

My world tour is over.

What started out in May 2008 as an intended trip to various points around the world started in India and shuddered to a halt in Chiang Mai, Northern Thailand.

The reason for the halt was because of the 2008 worldwide financial crisis where the pound collapsed, stocks and shares followed and my wealth took a nosedive. So, I decided to stay put until it all blew over and then move on. Of course, the inevitable happened, the crisis didn't blow over and Chiang Mai became home. Even now (2013) the crisis's repercussions are still being felt so it's not over yet.

I left the UK in 2008 with a backpack, computer and dreams and will arrive back on the 10th August 2013 still with a backpack and computer but the dreams replaced with a wife and daughter.

Will myself and the family settle in the UK. We are determined to work at it but we have to bear in mind that for myself and Mon settling and being happy in the UK will be more difficult. Doris will be fine at 2 years old, she will not remember Chiang Mai in a couple of years. It's different for me and Mon though. Will the pull of Thailand, her family and friends, be impossible to reject for Mon. Will I get itchy feet again and start resenting having to do the school run every day. My feeling is that settling into a family life will be an easy transition for me. I'm enjoying family life now and looking forward to the future. I believe Mon likes family life but I realise at times the UK will be hard for her. I will have to ensure the transition to living in England is as easy as possible for her.

What will I miss about Chiang Mai;

1) The warmth and sunshine for most of the year. The Thailand summer is too hot to be comfortable.
2) The friends I have made here.
3) The wonderful wildlife. Beautiful birds and butterflies. Snakes that are so colourful they can be admired - from a distance that is. Amazing orchids and other flora.
4) Thai food when cooked  properly is amazing. The restaurants here are a treat with a wide range of food styles available. And all much cheaper than the UK.
5) The good side of Thai people, helpful, great sense of humour, always up for a party and carefree. The major religion in Thailand is Buddhism. The Buddhist stance of living for the day is something that Westerners could learn from.
6) The lovely bits of culture in Thai life. A good example is Songkran on the 13th April (the Thai new year). Apart from the stupidity of throwing water over each other the basic tradition is great. Older people will be gently doused with water as a gesture of respect and good luck for the coming year. Brilliant.
7) The lads who I've been coaching football for the past 4 years. They are all progressing well as footballers and people.
8) The amazing bright light which comes with a warm sunny climate. The light is best in the evening as the sun is going down. Its like a warm balmy August day in the UK except in Thailand it happens every day.

What I will not miss about Chiang Mai;

1) The summer (January to April) when it gets too hot and this coupled with the smoke season (February to April) is an awful time.
2) The Thai culture of not losing face which is so destructive and prevents progress in a lot of cases. Thai people would rather run away, lie, go on the attack or kill rather than admit they are wrong.
3) The bad driving here. Just 1 example. The other night I was driving and saw a car approaching with red lights. Obviously I thought the driver was reversing at around 80km per hour until I realised it was actually going forward. The driver had decided it was cool and looked great to paint his headlights red. How stupid. Also, the Thai people's idea of running vehicle's is not very safe. If they buy new they will have the vehicle regularly service, taxed and insured. However, as the vehicle gets older, they will stop giving it a service and will let the tax and insurance lapse. This means there a lot of very dangerous vehicles on the roads - craziness.
4) The way that many Thai people do not seem to have any common sense. I can quote many examples of this and all very frustrating. Although I'm no expert, maybe the lack of education can be blamed. Children have to leave school at 12 years old unless they can pay for further education. Obviously poor Thai people cannot afford further education. Lack of common sense is not just my observation, even Mon admits its a feature of Thais.
5) How Thai people will flout the law. If they do not like a law they will just ignore it. An example is not wearing crash helmets when riding motor bikes. The cost of a helmet is 200 baht and the fine is 250 baht - work that one out.
6) The animals that carry poisonous diseases, mosquitoes, snakes etc. All the time I worry about getting attacked.
7) The corruption that is prevalent here. I realise that corruption is prevalent everywhere (The UK politicians putting in fraudulent expenses claims as one example). Corruption in Thailand is open and an accepted way of life at all levels - from the government to the poor.
8) How Thai people are so dirty and are not bothered by great piles of rubbish everywhere. What is attracted to rubbish are rats and when rats come that attracts snakes. Somehow Thais don't see that or are just not bothered.
9) Not having to check every room in the house when I enter to make sure there are no mosquitoes, poisonous centipedes, cockroaches, rats, snakes or other dangerous creatures there. Yep, we've found snakes in the kitchen.
10) Thailand is not the UK.

So here's to a new life back in the UK. I'll raise a glass of prune and apple juice to that one. 

NEW PHOTOS OF DORIS

Our Favourite Photo

Wow Mummy - that's funny

All these photos were taken between January and May 2013

Time for a nap

Fun in the water

DORIS IS GROWING

It has been over a year since my last entry and a lot has happened. The main piece of news is that we have a settlement visa for Mon - yeeeeeheeeeey. After much deliberation, sweating, research and manoeuvring the UK Border Agency decided to grant us the visa.  Next step is a life back in the UK.

I was back in the UK for a month over Christmas and saw the state of our house. After having 2 tenants (1 with 2 kids), damage and theft of numerous items the state of the house wasn't bad. All mainly cosmetic. We are due in the UK 10th August 2013 and there will be a lot of work to do but I know we can bring the house back up to how it was in 2008 - the year I left.

As for Doris she is now 2 years and 10 months old (on the 14th July 2013) and is really a great joy.

HEALTH: She has suffered from a few bugs and viruses over the past few months and three times needed a stay in hospital with an IV drip - not nice.
She was in hospital with tonsillitis, having her adenoids removed and a nasty intestinal virus. Maybe this is the result of her being in school where kids her age will pick up all sorts of bugs. Maybe it's all a result of the heat, unhealthy food and water of Thailand and all the nasty mosquitoes and other flying things that seem to carry copious diseases. Maybe it is just bad luck.
Her weight/height ratio is normal which is a comfort

EDUCATION: Doris has been attending a very nice and caring nursery school since May 2012 and it is brilliant how much she is learning.
Her main language is Thai which she practices with Mon all the time. Also her English is good. I'm sure this is normal but she never gets the 2 languages mixed up, Thai with Mum and English with me - no problems.
She is learning drawing and writing at school and can already write most of the 44 words in the Thai alphabet and some words in the English alphabet. She knows both alphabets well and also counts numbers up to 50 in both languages.
School is teaching her great social skills, motor skills and manners which will be good preparation for proper school.

PLAYING: Doris is full of energy, fun and has a joy of life and all its experiences. She is full of questions and wants to see, try and experience everything. I know this is normal but it's a healthy and comforting thing to see her with a thirst for knowledge and intrigue about life.
She loves riding her bike around the streets, doing jigsaws, playing with her panda, reading books etc etc. She is a great fan of Winnie the Pooh and will watch a DVD of Winnie plus all the other characters over and over. Dora and Diego (for those who know about kids entertainment) are another favourite DVD. An all round normal little girl.

PERSONALITY: She has a little stubborn streak which will be exacerbated by her age (terrible 2's etc). When she doesn't want to do anything or it's all going wrong she puts on a stubborn little look, a little rouge will envelop her face and her body language is all about a "I'm not budging," stance.
She is getting to understand that it's not all about her and is gradually learning to share, compromise and negotiate - all good skills.
She loves looking at herself in the mirror. The other day in a clothes shop she picked up some T shirts and were holding them in front of her while staring in the shop mirror and doing all the moves to show off the garments. Turning her head this way and that, moving her hips etc.  She caused a few laughs with myself, Mon and other shoppers.
Doris has her own 2 year old and sometime quirky logic. When asked to enter the bedroom at home which was empty and only had a table lamp on she said, "No, something in there might bite my bum." Another time I was ill and she said to Mon, "If Daddy dies you and me can live together." Both good logic.

There are some new photos of Doris in the next blog

MORE PHOTOS OF PRANBURI BEACH

Me and Mummy

Me and Daddy

Me and Mummy

Daddy's telling me a funny story

A few ZZZZZ's in the afternoon

What are we doing now?

On the way to Breakfast

HOLIDAY AT PRANBURI BEACH, THAILAND APRIL2012

Looking Cool in my Oversize Shades

Lovely Fish Restaurant

This is a nice room

Having a dip

So this is a beach and that's the sea

Do you like my hat

Myself, Mon and Doris plus Mon's cousin's daughter, Kookai (not sure of spelling) spent a wonderful relaxed few days at the Evason Hotel, Pranburi Beach, Hua Hin. Doris was introduced for the first time to a beach and sea. She was fascinated by the tides and would run away from the water when it came in. Here are a few photos and as usual, pictures are often better than words.

A BIT ABOUT DORIS

Every month I look online at what to expect from Doris's behaviour and at nearly 18 months she is bang on target. Currently she has a food fad where one day she will eat veg and fruit and other healthy stuff. The next day brings a complete refusal of these foods. Apparently all very normal, which is a comfort.

She is learning fast and we are at a stage where we have to watch what we say and do as she copies everything. Her vocabulary is being added to daily and sometimes it is a complete surprise the words she repeats. The other day she looked at a picture of a bird and said "Vulture," accurate but where did she get that from. She uses more Thai words than English as she spends more time with Mon, her mum, so that is natural. I'm sure she will start to wonder why things have 2 names, Thai and English. I know this will cause many moments of confusion and hilarity in the future.

Doris's motor skills are on the up and up. She nearly walks up and down stairs without help, can put a very simple jigsaw together and open a screw top. She draws on one of those magnetic boards that swipe clean all sorts of squiggles and explains they are ginkos, mice, birds etc. Doris can put coins into a piggy bank - I hope she will carry this habit into adult life.

Doris loves watching DVDs of the Telly Tubbies and Barney.

Telly Tubbies is a phenomenon that passed me by 15 years ago but I'm now well up to speed with the personalities of Dipsy, La La, Tinkey Winkey and Po all the way to the colour of their uniforms. They show film of kids performing normal everyday activities but for some reason they show every film twice in the same episode. I wonder why.

Barney is a big pink and green T.Rex character, which the Americans have inflicted on the rest of the world. If you haven't seen it there is usually 4 kids having adventures and doing song and dance routines with Barney and his mates Baby Bop and BJ. The thing I have a problem with is not that a child befriends a pink and green dinosaur. It seems normal for kids to have imaginary friends and even the adult James Stewart had a big white rabbit called Harvey at the end of his bed - for those of you old enough to remember. My problem is that at frequent intervals Barney and the kids break out into song and perform a perfectly choreographed dance routine. I don't know about you but I've been a kid, been around kids, have worked with kids but I've never seen them break out into a song and dance routine every few minutes. Totally unrealistic.

Doris loves books and her favourite play is to look through books and repeat the stories to herself. Every day we have to read various stories about Frogs, Jack and the Beanstalk, the Gingerbread Man, Goldilocks, Red Riding Hood etc. over and over again. She loves doing the actions and making the sounds. Maybe she will become a storyteller.

Doris loves to dance. Every time music comes on she is jigging around and as time goes by her rhythm and timing are improving. Maybe she will be a dancer or performer.

Doris is very lucky to have Mon as her mum as Mon is fantastic with her, is committed 100% to the upbringing and well being of Doris. They play and laugh together such a lot that I can see in future years they will be chatting nine to the dozen and I will not be able to get a word in edgeways.

Its good to know that Doris is healthy, happy and so far so good on the parenting front. She is a joy and I'm looking forward to many happy years together with her and Mon.

MORE MODELLING PHOTOS OF DORIS 17 MONTHS OLD