Farewell to Thailand, Hello to Australia!

So we have been back in Australia for exactly 1 month now and it has and continues to be a real adjustment.  The weeks leading up to our departure of Thailand were busy and confusing.  We had Visa dramas, freighting dramas and real estate dramas plus add to the chaos a 4 week old baby and 2 kids under 5 I am surprised we survived with so few arguments and mental breakdowns.  Thankfully we were blessed with a very easy and content baby in Kai, he is a real pleasure to be around. 

So in a nutshell we packed up our house in Pattaya and the rule was anything that didn't fit into a moving box was to be given away or sold.  We had plans on freighting all our belongings home on a container ship but all the quotes we received from the removalist companies were ridiculously over priced and we worked out that we didn't own enough of value to warrant such an expense so we decided to sacrifice the bigger items and save about $3000 AUD!

So each day for the 3 weeks before we were due to leave I packed as many boxes I could in between breastfeeding, nappy changing, school drop off and pick ups and preparing dinners etc etc etc.  Strangely enough I got it all done with minimal fuss. 

A problem arose when approximately 8 days before we had to leave our immigration lawyers informed us that our visas had expired and we had 7 days to leave Thailand.  Then 3 days later they ring back to tell us that they made a mistake and we didn't have a 7 day grace period and we would be fined for each day we overstayed our visas.  This created a roll on effect with our freighting company because they couldn't ship anything to Australia under our names if we didn't have current visas.  This was a a hiccup we could have done without and I lost a few nights sleep stressing about the delay it would cause at the airport when we attempted to go through Immigration in Bangkok airport.  But I needn't have worried, we allowed for plenty of time to check in and they even have a special office for overstay fines as it is quite a common occurrence in Thailand, phew!  4000 baht later and we paid our fines and were free to leave the country.

Before we left however we had plenty of final good bye beers with our neighbours and last minute play dates for the kids with their friends, my girlfriends took me out on a big girls night out bender and we amazingly stayed out on   the town til 4am!  It was a great send off.

Khun Juk our lovely maid,
she was sad to see us go.

On the day of our departure we had our maid, Khun Juk in to clean as we packed our final bits and pieces into our suitcases and threw away any last minute rubbish, I was nervous about leaving the house and wanted to make sure that it was in a clean and tidy condition when we left so not to give the SP 5 office manager any reasons to kick up a fuss.  Which he shouldn't anyway as we willingly forfeited our 2 months bond as we were leaving with outstanding utility bills and owed a months rent (the bills hadn't arrived in time for me to pay).  We popped over to our neighbours house for one last beer and farewell just before it was time to leave, it all felt very surreal and surprisingly calm, we weren't rushed at all.  We booked a minibus to take us and our 5 suitcases, 4 carry on, 3 car seats, 2 prams and 1 portacot to Bangkok airport and as our flight wasn't until midnight we left nice and early to have plenty of time to plastic wrap the seats and pram, check in, deal with immigration and then eat dinner and change the kids into their pj's before it was time to board. 

at Bangkok airport

I had imagined myself feeling relieved and invigorated when we finally got on the plane to leave Thailand but I found I was feeling sad and a bit flat.  I was very excited and happy to be heading home don't get me wrong, but I was feeling the loss of our dear friends we had grown close to in Pattaya as I knew there was a very good chance we may never see any of these wonderful people again.  They will carry on in Pattaya, some will go onto to other countries to live and work, some will return to their home countries.  I honestly do hope that those friends who return to Melbourne in the future do become part of our lives again and I hope to make a real effort to see them again.

Our flight to Australia was calm and pleasant, the kids mostly slept, baby Kai woke only twice to feed then straight back to sleep, Judd was happy with movies and computer games while Lillie just pottered about doing her own thing.  I was very impressed with the way our kids handled the flight and again we had other passengers commenting on how good they were.  We were met at Melbourne Airport by my mother in law and her partner and one of our good friends who offered to help us cart all of our luggage in his wagon.  The kids were very happy to see their grandma and pa again and were full of stories for them. 

Melbourne Airport with Ninny and Pa

It was freezing cold, drizzling wet but we felt so refreshed to be back on Aussie soil and breathe the fresh clean crisp air again.  I don't think I have complained once since being back about the weather, I am enjoying every bit of being cool, comfortable and back in my comfy jeans and boots.

It was interesting to see how the kids handled the dramatic change in weather.  Judd loved it, he run about in just a T shirt most days, refusing to put on a jacket or jumper.  He has 3 times as much energy now and is eating everything I cook and put on his plate, even vegetables.  He says constantly how happy he is to be home again, I don't think he ever really liked living in Thailand, he is warm blooded and never handled the heat well, much like his mother I think.

Lillie had to be rugged up in several layers and she loved having all new clothes and fancy big jackets and boots.  She is slowly getting more accustomed to the colder weather and I should imagine it would take her some time as she has spent more of her life growing up in Thailand than she has in Australia.  But the change in their behaviours is amazing, they are happier, more energetic and love to run about our little unit and roll about wrestling on the carpet.  It has made such a big move that much easier having them settle so well.  Baby Kai is no problem at all, he has even started sleeping longer at night now.  He eats, sleeps and poops and is a very happy content child.  He has just this past week been smiling everyday and I even got a little laugh out of him too. 

 Marcus seems to have settled OK, he doesn't particularly like winter weather and his work is different and longer hours but I think with time it will be alright.  I feel some guilt when I see him tired and its too dark and cold to go running or cycling because it was mostly for me that we came home, he would have been happy to stay and work and live there longer.  But he says he is happy to be here and I now have to pull myself together to become the wife I used to be and not the miserable anxious person I turned into.

Since being home I have been surprised to find I am still having anxiety attacks in the afternoons, not as severe as they were but small things trigger them and I still worry that I am going to get some bogan neighbours that will annoy me once we have living back in our old house.  It is ridiculous that I fixate on something so stupid as noise from outside, I have this little voice inside my head asking me why can't I just ignore people and their behaviour like everyone else can.  But I must say it is definitely getting better and easier.  I am happy to sit up at night with Marcus and cuddle on the couch and watch TV now, whereas in Pattaya I would run and hide in my bedroom every night willing sleep to come so another day would end.  Now I fall asleep instantly, I wake up better and I have more energy and tolerance with the children.  It has only been a month so far and I am happy with my progress and I hope that in time and a new exercise regime I will be feeling fitter, healthier and happier again.

If I was to look back on our 2 years in Thailand I would have to say it seems like it went by in a blur, thank goodness I thought to document as much as I could in photos and in this blog.  I have many regrets about our stay there but I definitely don't regret our decision to move and to experience a different way of life.  I have learnt alot about myself, some good some bad.  I have broadened my way of thinking, I have learnt to be more patient and I am extremely grateful to have been given the opportunity to live abroad with my family.  Would I do it again? YES.  But maybe not with small children.  Marcus and I have worked well together and I feel that if we can survive the ups and downs of living, working, raising kids and even having a baby in Thailand we can survive almost anything together.  We have come back stronger and more united and on the same page on what we both want from our lives together.  I started this blog and titled it A New Beginning and I believe it was but now I would say that upon our return to Melbourne this new chapter that we have started will be just as exciting and full of adventures and I plan to explore and travel our own country a bit more and learn to appreciate what we have right here on our doorstep.

I thank my loyal readers for following our journey but I now must bid this blog farewell and close the chapter on our Thailand adventure.  I may start to write again soon, but on what topic I am still yet to determine.

Sawatdee Ka
Khun Allison. xx