.jpg)
Previous entries
Nine Things I will Miss about Thailand
Remembering the Austin Allegro
Bring in the Old, Out with the New
I am Reviewing, My Situation...
Today I will Mostly be Eating...
Archives
Adventure is Out There
So quickly do things turn around. From Ploy having to pawn some of her gold so we can keep everything running for the business we are now buying that gold back, my new Dell workstation computer arrives next Tuesday, I shall probably purchase a new laptop next week and we treated ourselves to a new TV, I have another article due to be published this month, we are still awaiting another payment and are very likely to receive another order very soon. And after all of that we will still have money in the bank and to top it all Ploy's agency job is also starting to bring money in. And finally I may be able to recover some of my pension money from the UK using these QROPS schemes which although parasitic, for me at least, mean something instead of nothing.
Money goes to those who have it (or at least a little bit of it). When we had no money everything seemed to put further drains on our empty piggy bank, like the TV breaking down or customers paying late. When we have a little money customers pay quicker and a cold caller might actually bring in a little money from nowhere.
It was my birthday last week and it is our intention this year to celebrate a little at Christmas. Attempts to find somewhere for a spot of turkey and sage and onion stuffing on Christmas Day have been thwarted by the silly prices some places are asking and not wanting to travel all the way to Bangkok just to fight obese and drunk foreigners in a pub for a luke warm brussel sprout. But we have found our old Christmas decorations and the tree we bought from Singapore seems to have weathered its travels well enough so we intend to decorate the house a little this Christmas and perhaps we can find a small turkey in Bangkok to cook ourselves.
And as we settle even more comfortably into life here I have began to get a little itch to return to the UK for a short holiday. Although Ploy and I love each other's company we also like very different things in a holiday; both being only children we also retain that need for our own time and independence. If we stayed in Thailand I would take a few books (and my new laptop!) to Koh Chang whereas Ploy would prefer the bustle of a big city. I like to spend hours in classical CD shops and art museums (not something easy to do here anyway) whereas Ploy tolerates that only because she loves me. And if we returned to the UK together we would have the hassle of getting a visitor visa for Ploy and I really don't need further form filling at this point. So I thought of returning by myself.
A further prompt for this came from an article about the world's best airlines which Singapore air was top of yet again. I instinctively went to check prices for the flights to London on Singapore Air and they were 48,000 baht which is quite reasonable for that level of service. However I still only have Silver card status and even after that trip am still short of the necessary Gold card miles. So I looked at Eva Air who I know fly direct to London from Bangkok; (travelling via Singapore either means an overnight flight which I don't like - you arrive early morning in the UK and no hotel will let you check in, or you stay overnight in Singapore for the early morning flight from there which adds expense but also wastes a day of the holiday). And I remembered they also had executive economy seats which from experience on Thai airways are well worth the little extra. And there they were, 67,000 baht for executive economy on Eva, number 11 in that airline review and I also noticed they fly to LA, San Francisco, Toronto, Vancouver and New York, all with executive economy seating, the US being my most frequent destination as we have most customers from there. And flying executive economy with a Silver card from them also gives you access to lounges and faster check-in. Why didn't I see this before. So it looks like goodbye Singapore Air after 11 years together, I will miss you.
So 3 days in London with perhaps one of those days a trip down to Portsmouth, (my home town), meals at Porters or the Lancaster hotel (not the best food - although it used to be very good - but the places have fond memories for me), visits to Tate Modern, warm dark beer in musty pubs, CD shops, Foyles bookstore, (no longer the biggest in the world but big enough), and then the train to Edinburgh for three days there, meals at Creelers and Monteiths, trawl the pubs and walks along Portobello beach. I am looking forward to it. Immensely. Perhaps later in January or early February while there is still a frost on the ground and log fires in the inns, (and assuming I can find our warm clothes from Canada). A chance to recharge batteries before making 2013 an even better year than this one.