Thailand calling

The slave trade is nearing its end - soon the shackles will be released and I'll be on my way to my next destination. Only one more week to go. Last week, it was mulching time and picking weeds in a very long driveway for hours (with the tiniest of forks). There is a new invention called weed-killer, but it seems to be avoided here. It would get the job done in a quicker time, with less hassle/sweat in the midday sun. One of the neighbours came along at one stage, felt sorry for myself and another German, Ivonne, and gave us a few refreshing drinks (cider) over the fence. We hid behind the car, like two little school-kids not wanting to get caught; but of course, we were found out after we had disappeared into his office to have another couple!  After that, we had the weeds picked within 10 minutes...just goes to show you the benefits of having a drink in the afternoon.  But, all in all, the work hasn't been too bad and our hosts are lovely though.

Have had my last big weekend in Sydney with friends, celebrating Jamesy's 30th birthday, having food thrown down our mouths in a Japanese restaurant in the city and then  we all went off into the city centre to finish the night off. Have said my good-byes to most people - it keeps getting easier and easier everytime I have to leave. Gotta say - Australia has been fantastic. Have met so many wonderful people and had the best of laughs with them. So much better than boring New Zealand. If I ever decide to emigrate to a developed country, then it would be Australia and especially Sydney. You just can't get bored with this city - it's amazing and not once have I ever felt threatened or my safety in danger, nor have I witnessed brawls in/outside bars (unlike some crappy bars at home). People of all nationalities live side by side in harmony with each other and the Aussies have been so welcoming and friendly.  It's no wonder people are moving over here in their droves.

This time next week, I'll be somewhere in the skies, heading towards Bangkok, Thailand. My wee nephew Ethan (4) asked his mum, "Is auntie Mary going to Thailand to get some ties?!" - aww bless him. I can't wait to get there and this time I will be back on the road on my own again. Am really looking forward to the unknown, different culture/language, witnessing all these talked about lady-boys, chaos on the roads with mopheads, tuk-tuks, temples, Happy Buddhas everywhere and the sights and smells of SE Asia on every street corner. Think it may be a bit like Vietnam when I travelled there 3 years ago, but a bit more touristy. Got my Thai visa here in Sydney and have been able to learn a tiny bit of Thai to get me by, but no doubt the pronunciation will be completely wrong and I'll end up in Bangladesh or somewhere.

My plans for Thailand? Well, I'll be spending 3 days in Bangkok, then I'm off to Phuket. The plan is to stay in Phuket for about 2 weeks and then after that, I haven't a clue. Decided it's better not to plan too much in advance, as you never really get to do all that you want to, so I'll go with the flow. Hope to get into Laos and Cambodia and would like to do a bit of volunteering here at some stage, so will figure that out closer to the time again, but if anyone knows of any good places to volunteer from their own experiences, feel free to email me.

So what's the torture in Phuket that I'll be doing? Well, I'm joining the local Buddhist monks high up in the mountain side, shaving my head and going to wear an orange dress for two weeks and sit like a Buddha humming and haaing in the lotus position. Nah, just joking - that would probably be an easy way out. I'm off to a type of camp in the 38 degree heat with 90 something percent humidity to do lots of training (trying to get back into some sort of fitness after the lack of it the last 7 months). It's in a place called Chalong and here I'll be getting up at dawn 6 days a week to do a daily boot camp fitness (which is apparently pretty gruelling) followed by yoga, running, mixed martial arts and a bit of Muay Thai for self-defence...nuts, I know. But I love all that sorta stuff and can't wait. I'll be living on the camp in a wee room, with my own bed, shared bathroom and wait for it...a fan...what luxury. No doubt, it'll be like a sauna and I'll be sweating bucket loads. Have been practising my 'wax-on, wax-off' techniques when I've been slaving away here painting and polishing - move over Karate Kid.

Apparently I've been told that there's a high threat of terrorism in Thailand. The most recent being 3 terrorist bomb explosions in Bangkok in mid February. Have checked the Travel Advice and obviously won't be visiting certain areas and have to exercise a high degree of caution...blah, blah, blah...will just be like home again. But check this out: I typed in travel advice to Northern Ireland on the Dept. of Foreign Affairs here in Australia and they have warned Aussies of a 'severe' threat of terrorist attacks and basically to stay away from N.I. as they could be caught up in violence - oh please - how ridiculous. So Bangkok should be safer than Belfast then!  Won't have a computer with me either (as I've been using Audrey's and she'll be taking it back as she's returning home again) so probably won't be online as much as I have been here in Oz and not sure what the internet situation is like in my camp, so if ya don't hear from me for a bit, don't be worrying...I'll be too busy with my karate chopping/Muay Thai techniques; but I'll try and update when I can.