A Portrait of Alex as a Young Man

Last Day in Phuket

February in Berlin

First We Take Berlin

I went to my last cross fit workout in Phuket this morning.  Eric had tailored the workout in my honour with each drill starting with a letter that spelled out "Good bye Ian."  Of course, I wasn't able to complete the drills within the allotted time.

Today feels like every other day in Thailand, but it isn't.  Today is the beginning of a new chapter.  I will pick Alex up from school, play, swim and then go to the airport.  I will then fly to Berlin via Abu Dhabi for meetings at the MSF office on Friday.  I will then leave that evening for the return trip to Phuket, returning Saturday evening.  The following Monday morning we will fly to Tashkent, Uzbekistan via Dubai.

The last time I was in Berlin was 1982, when it was east and west.  I remember going through Checkpoint Charlie to visit East Berlin for a day.  I understand that it's a museum now.  This past August we passed through Berlin when we were travelling from Denmark to Prague.  I remember thinking that I wouldn't mind visiting there again sometime.  Well now I will have my chance as after my red-eye flight my Thursday is totally free.  With temperatures ranging from 0 to 5 degrees outside I will also get to the test the jacket I bought a few weeks ago in Singapore.

Thipp and Alex visit family in Laos for a week

Life's a Beach

Almost time to say farewell to Thailand

It’s a quiet Saturday night at our house in Phuket.  This is because Thipp and Alex have been in Laos for the past week.  If I could only be watching hockey right now it would be perfect.  Regardless, I’m enjoying this calm before the storm as our close to three month stay in Thailand is about to come to an end.  This Wednesday night I will be flying to Europe for meetings, returning to Phuket on Saturday.  Then early the following Monday we will be on our way to Uzbekistan.

Someone asked me recently if living in Thailand was what I expected.  I had to think about this for a while.  While our time here hasn’t been perfect, it has been pretty close.  Phuket is busier and more developed than I had expected and I don’t like that we have been reliant on a car for everything from going to the beach to getting groceries.  Still, these are minor complaints.  On the other hand, I can think of many things that we have enjoyed and I’ll list some now:

- The gracious and friendly people of Thailand.  I can’t think of having had even one negative interaction during our time here;

- It’s safe (as long as you’re not driving a motorcycle) and fairly clean;

- The weather (as long as you are near a pool or in an air-conditioned gym);

- The food – and when we got tired of Thai food there was a great wood-fired pizza place with an Italian chef just down the road;

·        -  Our Thai house – except for sleeping we were outside on the ground level almost all of the time we were home;

·         -  Having Alex’s pre-school next door was perfect.  Each day walking home he would pick a fallen flower to give to his Mom;

·         - The gym – Thipp enjoyed her hot yoga and was just starting to make some friends.  My cross fit was great and my fitness level has definitely improved;

·         -  Modern amenities – I’ve mentioned the shopping malls in a previous blog story.  Another example was how this week I was able to get my camera repaired at the Cannon store in Phuket Town.  If we had lived somewhere more remote this wouldn’t have been as simple;

·        -  International airport – it made it easy to get here from Canada via Hong Kong and for other trips to Singapore, Laos, Europe and Uzbekistan.

Phuket may not be the perfect paradise, but it was the perfect place for us at this time in our lives.  I’m sure that there will be many times in the future when we will look back fondly on the time we spent living in Thailand.

Thailand Luxeries

My stereotype for Thailand includes untouched nature, thatch-roofed restaurants, and chaotic open-air markets.  While some of these do exist there are also many modern conveniences.

As I try not to spend much time in shopping malls in Canada, you could imagine my horror when discovering that they also exist in Phuket.  Central Festival, appropriately located in the middle of Phuket Island, has all kinds of shopping conveniences.  We have been there several times over the past few months and I actually don't mind going, although it certaintly conflicts with my imagined Thai experience.

Another advanced activity for Thailand, for those who can afford it, is medical care.  Medical tourism  is big business for Thailand as foreigners come here for a variety of medical care.  I've recently had to use the Bangkok Hospital - Phuket for medical tests and inoculations required by MSF and Thipp has also had need to use their medical and dental care.  The care has been fast and excellent.  In addition, with wages being low the hospital is able to provide parking attendants to help you find an open spot, a shuttle bus to get you the 200 metres to the hospital entrance, and well-dressed hostesses to greet you at the door.  You feel like you're checking-in to a nice hotel.

So although all my stereotypes for Thailand have not proven to be valid, in many cases where there are exceptions it's for the better.  However, I still enjoy the more traditional Thai experiences and on that note it's time for me to wander down the road to my local thatched-roof restaurant.

Bangkok Hospital - Phuket

Central Festival shopping mall - Phuket

Singapore Scenes

Singapore Swing

Our Thailand visa required us to exit the country within two months of arriving and then re-enter.  We considered a number of "border run" options and decided to spend a long weekend in Singapore, just a ninety minute flight from Phuket.

Phuket has been described to me as where "east meets west," as you can find evidence of both cultures in abundance.  In comparison, Singapore is where "west moved east," as it has the appearance and feel of a western city, but with better weather.  I remember being disappointed with Singapore the first time I visited there in the 1980s because it didn't really feel like Asia.  Now that is one of its appeals.

We didn't actually do all that much while we were in Singapore.  We were a bit overwhelmed by all the shopping malls on Orchard Road.  We found places for Alex to play and took turns venturing into the shops to find books and other items that we will need for Uzbekistan.  In the afternoon we would return to our hotel room so that Alex could nap and Thipp and I and my credit card could rest and recover.

Everything was so clean and orderly.  The metro system is awesome and it was nice to have sidewalks and pedestrian crossing lights.  However, after three days we were all content to return to our home in Phuket.