Tales For A Farang – Part 1

Tales For A Farang – Part 1
This is part 1 of a 2 part series called Tales For A Farang. All the stories documented here were taken during my travels in South East Asia during 2019. Click here for the introduction and my definition on what the term ‘Farang’ means.

Luck

Singaporean Local
We spent the evening watching a group of local men playing Singaporean/Malaysian checkers (locally known as dum).

In 2014 my friend and I wanted to go to a remote place, somewhere different from home. So we made our way to a small cabin in Finland.

I remember so vividly on New Year’s Day, 2015, after the count down, we had caught the aurora borealis. As the lights waved across the sky, one stream took the form of a serpent-dragon! It stayed long enough that I was able to capture a picture on my phone. There was no mistaking that it was a dragon; the shape of the head and jaws looked completely identical to the dragons you would find in Chinese mythology. Luck has been with me since. My full time job is to travel now!

Open Heart

Chiang Mai, Thailand - Night Market

The power behind amulets mean nothing if you do not have an open heart. To have an open heart means to find true happiness. Happy and happiness are not the same however! Happy is momentary. Like having money — when you spend it, you are happy in that moment. Many people mistaken money for happiness, and so they chase money. Happiness is something that happens over time, and must be worked on. And so an open heart is like a blossoming flower, opening one petal at a time.

Buddha preaches the middle way. I believe that is the way to true happiness, and that is my life’s philosophy.

Choices

Thailand - on the train
I remember this moment so vividly. I was on the way to Bangkok from Chiang Mai — it was the evening of Magha Puja Day in Thailand. The air quality thick with humidity and tasted of watered down soot. As I hopped on the train I was hoping to myself that I would be seated next to somebody who I’d get along with, so I could get out of my head if only for a moment.

David: I’ve been on the go, travelling for more than a decade. I’ve never really struggled with ‘missing’ people back at home. With the life I’ve chosen, most of my childhood friends are no longer really friends. I mean, initially we tried to keep in contact. I’d go back to Switzerland, we’d hang out — once a week would turn into once every two weeks, into once a month.

The thing was, as I moved around more and more, there was less in common between myself and those who stayed. It was almost as if I became sort of an alien. My way of life just didn’t seem familiar to their way of doing things.

A lot of the people I call my friends now, I met during my travels. It made a huge difference too when I met Eman. Finding a partner that shares the same values makes this journey a whole lot easier.

Eman: The question of laying down roots, starting a family, calling a single place home is definitely something that creeps up every now and then. You’d think that at some point the question would stop surfacing — but everyday a choice needs to be made, and I just go with it.

Slow It Down

Chiang Mai, Thailand - Traveler

Broke my collarbone just this past Saturday. I was off-roading on my motorbike when I hit a minor ditch and it flipped me over the front of my bike. I’m appreciating all the moments where I realize how much I rely on a functional arm. I’m quite the fitness enthusiast, so I’ll have to figure out a way to modify my activities.

It’s odd, as this isn’t my first rodeo with extreme activities, but I’m taking it as a lesson that I should slow things down a bit.

The last decade of my life has been a roller coaster. I hit it pretty big with a construction gig, got lucky with some housing investments, and not so lucky with my marriage. Money came and went, the construction company had gone bankrupt. But I’ve taken what I have and spent it on self improvement. I’m from the UK, home is currently in Australia. Every year I’ll make my rounds from Europe to see family and back home — Thailand is sort of the mid way point so I’ll spend a couple weeks here. I figure this way, I’ll find something that ignites my passion for the next business. You never know who you meet when you’re on the go!

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