A new hope begins

The plan was a long time in the making but was finally coming into sharp focus as my birthday came around. Access to tax free super pension money on my 60 birthday along with a bunch of other things convinced me to make the move to Thailand on a more permanent basis. Finalising things in Oz and just getting here have been quite challenging plus many things have happened since arriving. The final days in Oz were consumed by making sure my good friend Gary’s last few items went to good homes. Easier said than done when you are emptying a complete home unit but mission accomplished. Deciding what to pack and trying to fit into the baggage allowance was a major challenge. Despite my best efforts & help from the digital scale I bought the suitcase exceeded my allowance by 4kg. Luckily the Jetstar staff took pity on me and gave me a pass… $100 saved. I haven’t travelled with 44kg baggage including large suitcase, golf clubs & carry-on bag before. So even getting it to the airport was hard work. For this I owe my friend Mandy Wilkinson a massive vote of thanks for getting me to the airport in plenty of time. Turned out we didn’t have to rush because on the way a message came through the plane was delayed 4 hours. Not happy Jan as this meant a midnight arrival in Bangkok and 1am at best to the hotel. Add 4 hours to local 1am and my body clock I was going to sleep after 5am and then getting up local time for breakfast at 9am local time. Eight hours sleep completed and I felt surprisingly good. After breakfast we pack to come down to Pattaya and the condo search.