Mel Born so sweetly

My flight out from Bangkok was at 9 p.m. I thought it was going to be ok cus its only a 10 hour flight so I was due to arrive in Melbourne in the morning the next day. I was all packed and ready to go. Jess had bought me a "monk's bucket" which is a sort of beach bucket style bucket that carries all the bare essentials for a monk to live, from a small blanket to a little orange juice, some water, a bar of soap, noodles and other little necessities. I also got a bag of apples and some biscuits and then headed off to the airport with the same drive I'd acquired when I first headed on out with from Portugal. The giddiness was there once more and the excitement was overwhelming. I ended up sitting next to an Australian guy who owned his own finance company or something. I wasn't entirely sure of what it was but I thank him for boring me to sleep. All in all, the sleep wasn't actually that comfortable and I awoke with still 4 hours of my flight left. We were delayed on the landing and with only 3 hours sleep, I was feeling pretty rotten... and not smelling very nice either. But the landing was a welcome one, under clear blue skies and warm winds. I grabbed my stuff and headed off the plane to the welcome feeling of finally being in Australia. All these months of anticipation culminating in that one moment I stepped off the plane. The build up had been grand and the zest to reach my destination a real mission. I gave my passport to the chap behind the desk and smiled. My bleach blonde hair not matching the photo gave him a reason to look up for a second time with inquisitive eyes. He asked me if I had anything to declare and I said that yes, I had "monks bucket" with "stuff" in it. He ticked off a box and then let me through. As I picked up my things off the belt, I had to join a line of people all looking to leave. I ambled slowly to the back of it and was suddenly stopped by a rather large Australian lady and a really cute dog. The dog whiffed around one of my bags and she said "Ooo, what have you found boy?". I turned a pale shade of white and my heart skipped a beat. Not for the first time on my travels! She grabbed a bag that was hanging from my trolley and peered inside. "Ahh, fresh fruit!", she declared, all a little too loudly. I tilted my head and frowned, a little confused, as she pulled the apples out of my bag. "Can I see you're emigration pass please!". I handed it over. "Why haven't you declared that you've brought foods in from another country?". Classic. Done by apples! She let me off with an apple warning. I felt mightily, appleingly relieved. Great stuff. I walked on out and faced Melbourne with a warm smile on my face.

Shooting For Nirvana

I think I found heaven. The sublime sunsets here give birth to a night life that breaths and lives blissfully aware of it's people and surroundings. There's something for everyone here and I think I found the thing I love most being broadcast at the top of it's game! Its a super cool pool hall where the games are refereed by three sexy girls per table. They clean the balls for you when they go in and even get the white ball for you when it drops. On top of it all, the games cost a mere 28p, the drinks are not too bad and they screen premiership footy. Is it heaven? Challenges welcome! They do have a selection of other tables which are just for big money bets but I didn't dare play on those. The bets range from £20 to £50 per match, normally first to 9 and are played by all the best husslers in town. It's like watching pro pool on the telly but live... and free. Amazing stuff! Steve, the boss of the place, asked me not to put the name of the place in the blog, but if anyone would like to know it... just email me ;-) I'm sure he wouldn't mind!

Santa for a day, Santa for a lifetime!

I don’t quite know how it all happened… but it did! In the first two weeks of my stay in Thailand, I’ve spent a lot of time with my sister, dropping Maisie off at school, having coffee’s with all the mothers of the children, doing “stuff” during the day and then picking Maisie up afterwards. I can’t say I don’t enjoy it cus I wouldn’t do it if I didn’t. Hanging around with single desperate housewives, enjoying coffees and air-conditioned 4x4s has always been a little dream of mine! The kids are wicked too. They’re like little coils of wound up energy. You know, I don’t think they should sleep because when they wake up, all they do is leave trails of destruction anywhere they go. And they get away with it too! But you gotta love them for it. Anyway, all this hanging around, chilling out and not doing much was bound to hit me some time. What I didn’t realize was that from one minute to another, somehow, I’d “agreed” to “volunteer” to become the school's Santa. I don’t quite know how it all happened although I do seem to recall there being offerings of wine and other little luxuries for my troubles. Apparently, last year’s Santa had fled the country and headed on back to the land of Engle’s for Christmas and they were desperate. It was one of those situations where everyone was smiling and laughing, and saying no would have raised or furrowed a few eyebrows. It all happened very quickly and it actually turned out to be amazing. Firstly, I had to go to a post Christmas morning bash where bucks-fizz was served to get me in the mood. Then I did a little dress rehearsal for all the mothers and after getting their approval, I was ready. The next day, the mothers and teachers had kitted out a little grotto, tree and all, and I saw almost 100 children, Ho-Ho-Hoing away in a funky costume. I was nervous as anything. I thought that once the ball was rolling, I’d be cool but the very first kid that came in, burst into tears! He was only two, admittedly! Still, it wasn’t the start I needed. However, once it got going, I seemed to fit the bill rather well. I can now proudly put "Being Santa" on my CV! Bring it On!!! I am available for children’s parties and Christmas bashes by the way! ;-)