31.05.2004

Last day of spring (must be the jet lag) :-P

Well here we are in Bangkok on the last day of spring. Our travelling companion on the flight was Udo, a homeopathy practioner of german descent from Coogee who tagged along in the taxi to Khao San road where we stumbled exhausted into the nearest guesthouse. We managed to take in our first off-the-street pad thai - clearly outrageously overpriced at eighty cents.

Just round the corner a drink-stall owner whipped up a fresh fruit juice in a blender with a sneaky drop of sweetened condensed milk. Did we want to drink here, or take away? Drink here, most definitely. So when we were handed the juice in a little plastic carry-bag with a straw I was a little bemused. We sat there sucking down the moorish things anyway, just as a major monsoonal downpour sent every Thai and his dog scurrying to pack up shop. The humidity is more than bearable but the rains are always so welcome.

We managed to locate a better guesthouse today just to the north of Khao San road - Sawasdee house. A quieter tree-lined street with a ground level open-air travellers lounge - exactly what should be prescribed when staying in Bangkok. All wood-carved elephant seats and corner-cushions on floors, and quiet conversations, and a multitude of accents and backpacks and rapidly emptying juice glasses.

So today will be all about Cambodian visas, Ko Chang bus times, and currency conversion. If all goes to plan we will probably head down on the five hour journey to Trat tomorrow morning to make the ferry across. These damn books are heavy and my back will surely lead a mutiny against my eyes unless they start devouring the words quickly - I've started on Life of Pi and I'm already hooked.

Off to organise. Summer here we come.

19.05.2004

Headspace

I can almost hear the 'clack-clack-clack' of some roller-coaster getting dragged up to the apex. The nervous anticipation that any second now we're about to go screaming down this ricketty wooden slope leaving behind the waving family and friends at the turnstile queues to the ride...

I'm lurching from feeling ridiculously excited to thinking "What-the-hell-are-we-doing!". Panic attacks quickly give way to an urge to scream off to the airport *right now* and get on the next stand-by flight to somewhereoverthere.

It really is... I mean really, really, really is... daunting leaving everything and everyone behind to forge out with no plan and half a clue.

These last one-and-a-half-weeks will go faster than it takes to write out one-and-a-half-weeks I think. So many people wanting to catch up for a drink, dinner, a chat, farewell, au revoir, so long - at work - at play - final packing preparations - storing - boxing - cleaning - organising - administrivia - etcetera etcetera etcetera!

Our heads will be spinning like propellers once we get on that jet. To be honest I can't even empathise with the Justin in Thailand at the moment - right now in my scatty, erratic, mood I can't enter any sort of relaxed headspace. I do have a feeling it will rock very hard once we have an expanse of time - months and months and months to take each day as it comes...and at the end of the rainbow waits cold-but-buzzing, exciting-not-dreary, old Londontown for us to explore. New places, spaces, faces, races to get to know I guess.

We are going to look back on our current cocooned existence and be amazed at how we've moved and explored and grown by the time we return and fly over the bridge and Danielle once again sheds a tear seeing Australia after many years. I think I might even too.