What have I been up to….??

Good question…!!

Right now I am safely ensconced in Room 2 of the Baan Chay Namm Resort, about 60 km south east of Bangkok… Simon and Lisa Thomas spent more than a month here, preparing for a special presentation to various BMW dealerships, and generally catching up on their admin…

I suggested to Trevor and Chenty that we check the place out and we have been pleasantly surprised by the peace and quiet of the resort… Far better to be out of the hustle and bustle of Bangkok itself in our opinion…

The resort consists of ten suites built over a rectangular dam... The muddy brown waters contain an impressive number of Koi...!!

We arrived here three days ago, after a very hectic day in Bangkok… We had our bikes serviced, collected video cameras we had flown out from the U.K., rushed out to the Immigration offices to have our visas extended, arranged to have new shoes put on the Big Fella, tried to get a new catch for my damaged pannier and then sat in nightmare traffic from about 5.30pm until well after dark, when we finally got onto the country road that led us to this resort….!!

It was a day to remember… and included leaving Pattaya earlier that same morning to ride to Bangkok…!!

Looking back towards the reception area, and the veranda where the internet reception is at it's best... It has been our "office" for the past three days...!!

There are many reasons why I have not been keeping you up to date, and I can now finally share one of the most important reasons with you…

Over the past year, my nicotine intake has steadily increased to the point where I have on most days managed to get through more than 40 a day…!! And quite comfortably, I might add…!!

Most of these while writing and editing my website…!! Much of my writing takes place in the evening as you can imagine, and I often opened a pack and managed to “kill it” before I had completed a posting…

On the 1st of April, I decided to quit, and have not had a cigarette since that day…!! I knew if I sat at my computer during the first week to ten days, I would probably have found the urge to “light up” overpowering…

Smoking and blogging had become like “eating and drinking”, or “kissing and cuddling”, difficult to do one without the other…!! Although I can’t quite remember much about the latter example…!!

My only option was to stay the hell away from Auntie Acer, apart from the occasional quick update of my trip stats or my Google Map…!!

Trevor unwittingly lends some moral support while we cross the Mekong River on our way into Vietnam... I had not informed my companions that I had quit smoking... I wanted to see how bad the first few days would be...!!

Doing the “cold turkey” thing has been an interesting exercise, and has reminded me of how big a role that “will power” plays in my life… and the lives of many of us, I guess…!!

I confirmed to myself again that “If I Can Think It, I Can Do It”… (But maybe riding my bike on the moon might be stretching things a bit…!! We’ll just have to see about that one…!!)

Conquering the habit in the way that I have, has been a boost to my confidence and given me renewed energy for the weeks and months that lie ahead… Being with Trev and Chenty have also made it easier, as they have never “partaken of the aromatic leaf” and been a constant source of encouragement…

It was all a cunning plan on my part, you see…!!

Anyway… I am back… I think…!!

While Big Red carries the Wilson’s away to Bangkok to meet their son Philip today, I will stay here for a few more days and try and bring you up to speed on the events of the past two weeks…

Prepare thy-selves….!!

©GBWT 2011