Hey guys,

I apologize for the lack of updates over the past few weeks. I’ve been really busy, first with finishing up the translation work I was doing and now working on some of my own projects.

A few days ago I had to go to Krabi town in order to have my visa extended by 30 days. My friend and I took the opportunity to meet up with some of the people that are staying in that area.

First we met up with Brook from www.businessbackpacker.com. She is a business consultant who has lived in Thailand for a year. Her work involves helping small businesses and individuals rearrange how they work so that their lifestyle goals can be met. She recently started teaching English at a high-school as well. She only spends around 4 hours a day teaching which still leaves her plenty of time to work on her own projects.

After that we headed over to Ao Nang which is a little tourist town close to some great beaches. There we met up with Dan and Ian from www.tropicalmba.com and Sean Ogle from Location 180.

Sean has only recently arrived in Thailand and is working with Dan and Ian on their projects. I was impressed by what Dan and Ian have set up, a real business that provides real products to individuals and businesses, not just your average information product marketing. Dan and Ian host a pod-cast called the Lifestyle Business Podcast which you should check out because those two guys are the real deal and know what they are talking about.

The next day was spent at Raleigh Beach, swimming in the gorgeous water and drinking fruit-shakes. It was good to get away from the computer for a couple of days and left me fully rested and ready to get back to work again.

Stay cool.

I know a lot of people are having a hard a time at the moment, people losing jobs, money being tight etc. Not a great situation, though in the greater scheme of things necessary and long overdue. I just wanted to put one idea out there today.

If you are reading this blog post then you are one of the luckiest people to have ever lived in the history of the humanity. Staying alive and prospering was a real challenge for the majority of our history and it is still the case for most people alive today. We have all the knowledge of the world within easy reach through the internet, can travel almost everywhere in the world within 24 hours and are pretty much free to do whatever we want with our lives. A heavy thought but one I need to remind myself of once in a while. Let’s not squander this opportunity.

If you do celebrate Christmas in your part of the world, have a great day! Otherwise just have an awesome time for no reason at all.

Stay cool.

There’s a little bar close to where I’m staying that I used to hang out at. It’s basically a small shack surrounded by bar stools. There you can sit out in the open watching football (soccer) on TV, meet fellow tourists and get tricked into drinking horrible Thai whiskey to the amusement of the barman. All good fun, but sadly no longer for me. I’ve been informed through my friend that I am no longer welcome at the bar or allowed on the premises of the bungalow resort next door which is run by the same people (I stayed there for a week when I first arrived on the island). My friends, through their association with me, are also barred.

So what kind of behaviour has led to me becoming a persona non grata? Have I been smoking pot on the premises with the Swedish stoner dude. No I haven’t. In any case a blind eye is turned to drug use and the stoner guy is back in Scandinavia courtesy of the Swedish embassy. (He was walking around naked shouting obscenities at people. Probably due to one too many ‘Happy Milkshakes’, milkshakes that include psychedelic mushrooms as one of the ingredients).

Was it because I was drinking too much and causing embarrassing scenes? Vomiting on the bar and singing ‘Hotel California’ at the top of my lungs? Not really, I prefer water and soft-drinks, only drinking the occasional beer or cocktail as to not cause offense to the staff. To be honest if I had the choice I wouldn’t drink alcohol at all, but being the ‘rich tourist’ means I sometimes have to compromise in that area.

Maybe it was because I was taking an interest in the local Thai women, accidentally chatting up somebody’s daughter, sister, girlfriend or wife? Not true either. I’m not attracted to Thai women and my only interactions with them are with the waitresses in the restaurants and shop assistants.

The reason I am no longer welcome at my local, so my friend has been told, is that I’m ‘too good with the tourist ladies, and steal them away’. Yes, that’s right, it turns out that I am in fact a ladies man. How they got this impression I’m not entirely sure. I used to be quite shy as a child and made efforts to be more outgoing and social as a teenager. This means that I make a conscious effort to talk to people around me. Old or young, man or women, it doesn’t matter. So when I was staying at the resort I remember speaking to pretty much everyone, including those that everyone else ignored like the old chain-smoking German couple and the Swedish stoner.

Now the local Thai guys have a habit of falling in love with pretty much any Western (Developed Country / 1st world) girl that speaks with them for a few minutes. I think it’s because they spend a lot of time listening to cheesy love-ballads which has affected how they experience the male / female dynamic. So all the time that I thought I was being cool and courteous by introducing my Thai ‘friends’ to any women I was talking with, maybe they were actually growing resentful of me? The problem is that most Thai people just don’t speak English that well, so any attempt at a conversation with a Western girl quickly falls flat. Obviously my tales of high-adventure and my quest for fortune and glory are just leaving them in the dust, while I cruise off into the sunset on my moped with a girl on the back. Yes, in my imagination!

I think there are other factors at play, the fact that I moved from their resort to a different one 2 minutes away and being perceived as being cheap because I don’t want to drink a bucket of Jack Daniels, Red Bull and Coke every night could be playing a part. Anyway, there are plenty of other places for me hang out in the evening, I just hope this island isn’t so tight-knit that I get banned from other bars.

This incident does bring up the interesting topic of what kind of behaviour is deemed acceptable between the sexes in different parts of the world. For example the south of Thailand has a Muslim influence and the locals will ask that tourists to make sure they are dressed conservatively when away from the beach (that means not walking into a restaurant in a bikini).

Many parts of the world don’t share our decadent Western ways and places like Saudi Arabia, Indonesia and Iowa aren’t comfortable with public displays of affection. The basic rules that you should follow are:

1. No hugging or kissing in public. Couples holding hands is usually ok, but check first.
2. Sex on the Beach (or on the Road as I saw in one bar) is just a cocktail. Not something you should do in certain countries like this couple.
3. Don’t chat up the locals. Many countries have a tradition of arranged marriages. People meet through friends and family. The girls you meet at the bar are probably ‘professionals’.
4. Dress appropriately. Bikinis are usually ok on the beach but anywhere else women need to be covered up. Guys can usually get away with t-shirts and singlets.
5. Observe the locals and do as they do, and if in doubt, just ask.

Have you had any experiences like this when travelling? Maybe you accidentally offended someone or had to fend off enthusiastic advances from the locals? Discuss it in the comments section.

Stay cool, stay awesome.

Right now I’m sitting in a nice air-conditioned cafe on the island of Koh Lanta, off the west coast of Thailand, drinking a cool Mango shake. Myam, myam!

But let me back up for a moment. I spent the first two weeks after my last day at work getting vaccinations, packing stuff and figuring out what I wanted to take with me. My parents were kind enough to keep hold of most of my things, mostly clothes, saving me from using a storage facility.

Although the initial plan was to go to Thailand with one other friend, in the end two other people decided to join us. So on Wednesday the 18th of November the 4 of us boarded a plane to Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia, we stayed one night to recover from the 13 hour flight and from there flew to Krabi in the South of Thailand. We had arranged a mini-bus to take us to the island of Koh Lanta and 4 hours later we were chilling on the beach. I won’t lie… it was actually overcast for the first 3 days! I waited till the sun came out to take pictures though. Now the sky is clear and the temperature is probably in the high 20’s or early 30’s (Degrees Centigrade).

Over the past few days we’ve been looking for accommodation that we ca stay in for at least a couple of months and that provides us with all the facilities we need, not too far from the beach, close to bars and restaurants and with WiFi internet included.

We rented scooters and combed the island, speaking to expats, locals, estate agents and property investors. It’s been quite hard work searching for 6 hours a day, but we have settled upon an arrangement which should allow us to work towards our goals. It’s been quite challenging satisfying everyone’s needs and wants. In fact not everyone is completely satisfied. It’s was sometimes frustrating because I’m used to travelling on my own and don’t need to think about anyone else but myself. But we’re not just here for a holiday and we’ll have to compromise on some things in order to get work done.

Other than looking for a place to live we’ve been doing Yoga and short meditation sessions on the beach, having the occasional massage and have spent time chatting up Swedish / Canadian / Dutch tourists at the local beach bars in the evenings. Hard life.

Anyway, this is going to be the first proper week of work, exciting times!