Back to the Future

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Having focused on Past Lives this week I have to say I have been in total awe of the wonderful creative bloggers who have contributed to the project. What gifted storytellers they are and I encourage everyone to spread the word so we can gain input from writers all over the world. A big thanks to the talented Vikki North from The Red Chair Gallery for collaborating with me to get this moving. We really look forward to keeping this project going for a while longer. Poor David, he may have more problems than he first anticipated....and it seems as though he will be in therapy for the long term.

Anyway, its back to planning my future life (mmm come to think of it, the next series may be Future Lives....).

I am planning a holiday in November for a significant birthday (yes I am turning 21 and my daughter who is 3 came up with the plan - yes, she is truly gifted...ok, I lie, she's really in her 20s but I had her when I was 8....). But any birthday over 40 is significant isn't it? Because it's just one more step towards ....well you know where.. I just hope 'my ending' is not as dramatic as some of our characters in the Past Lives series...

I have travelled widely but strangely I have never spent much time in Asia even though it is so close to Australia. I spent a few days in Singapore a couple of years ago which was very important to me because I got to see where my grandfather was a prison of war (Changi) for five long years. Plus, I got to do some fantastic shopping. Well, more than some actually. It was a whole lot more.

So, in looking at the options I checked out the top five holiday destinations declared by some World Tourism body for 2008. Normally I like to go off the beaten track for holidays but this time, given the timeframe, we'll play it safe. Bangkok is apparently the No 1 destination at the moment, followed by Buenos Aires, Cape Town, Sydney and Florence.

Sydney is not an option (for obvious reasons) and Beunos Aires, Cape Town and Florence are too far away for a 10 day trip. Although I truly yearn to return to Italy again, I would prefer to spend months there, not days.

So, it it is either going to be Thailand, Malaysia or possibly Bhutan. Bhutan is one of the most remote and little visited countries in the world. The interesting aspect to this country is that the King of Bhutan is more interested in the Gross National Happiness than in the GNP.

It will be hot and humid wherever we go at this time of year but look how close these destinations are (well around 8-10 hour plane trips which is close when you live down under).

And it looks pretty beautiful too. These are pictures courtesy of a friend who goes to Thailand at least once a year.



Has anyone been to Thailand, Malaysia or Bhutan and what did you think? Any advice or tips you can share?