Through the 1980s and early 1990s I had traveled greatly in SE Asia. My love affair with the region began on a trip to the Indonesian island of Nias off the coast of West Sumatra. It was wild in those days and a paradise for Aussie surfers like me.
Being footloose and fancy-free I was able to continue my travels through Indonesia and later onto Malaysia. But the day I crossed on foot at the border of Kota Bharu and Thailand was a day I shall never forget.
It was 1982 and some immigration authorities were still stamping “S.H.I.T.” on passports – suspected hippy in transit. My appearance was compared to a picture of a right hippy and I passed muster and was allowed into the Kingdom of Thailand! Phew!
It was here that I fell in love with a people and a country where I stayed for nearly ten years teaching English in Bangkok and, unusually for a foreigner, learning to speak, read and write the Thai language fluently. Not exactly disillusioned by the 1992 coup in the country (one of several in Thailand during my time there) but mindful that I needed to earn money I reluctantly headed back home to the North Shore and regrouped.
With the emergence of the Internet, I was lucky to ride another big wave and life was good. I married an English woman and settled down in a lovely three-bedroom home that we would eventually own. But I always hankered for those carefree days in Thailand and spent some holidays there showing off my language skills whenever I could!
When tragedy struck during the pandemic and my wife died I decided to head back to Thailand to perhaps rekindle the past in some way. I never imagined that I would so quickly form a relationship with a lady I met on the front desk of a hotel during Thailand’s tourism recovery post-Covid.
I’d been completely familiar with men who met brides on the internet and fell foul but this was different. The lady in question was nearer my age and very family orientated and had no wish to move abroad. To cut a long story short we married two years later in a charming ceremony in her village in the stunning north-eastern province of Loei.
I decided to contact a real estate agency and sell up in NSW. The firm I employed for this was quick and got me a price well above what I was expecting. It was unnecessary to cut all ties with Sydney, however, as I had a small rental property that could be our base on trips back there.
Fast forward to 2024 and I’m still working part-time in web design while the “mansion” in Loei is being built. For just a fraction of the money from the Australian house sale we are building a house following Aussie building codes not Thai.
Now I should really retire and play golf!
