It's business

I was very excited and looking forward to my first business trip in the Asia-Pacific and it happened to be going to Melbourne Australia. My only worry was to get to the airport in time using public transport, usually not a problem but at 5 AM.

The night before a friend says he can bring me to the Pak Soi (end of the street that meets the highway) at 5:45. I think this is cutting it close but what the heck it is a sure thing. So I toss all night since fretting about getting to the airport so I get up early and at 5 am, head out to the street, with my laptop backpack, a small suitcase and my suit bag slung over my shoulder. A minute later out of the darkness comes a single light,  ahh a scooter taxi perhaps. The young man was not wearing an orange vest thus no scooter taxi, but I say firmly Pak Soi, and he smiles and I get on trying to balance my things on the back of the scooter. We arrive at the corner, I get off and offer him 40 Baht for his good deed. He smiles for his good fortune and off he goes. I flag the taxi and say airport, hurry. He speeds off , pulls a U, and goes down the back highway direct to the airport. Now at 5:15 in the morning there is little traffic and 15 minutes later he enters the departure lane for drop off. I give him a large bill , he smiles and says thanks... and I go, no, where is my change. He says he has none, but after  a couple of minutes forks over some change. [Note to self - bring small change for taxi!!] I get out and it is now 5:45 and I am way early. I was never worried!

The process was smooth and as we take off at 8:45 am, I noticed the plane was really dark. Quite surprised to see almost everyone settling in for an 8 hour nap during a day flight. So I open the computer and get right to my spreadsheets, focused on ensuring that all the items line up as I manipulate the keys... pretty hard level in Candy Crush this time..who has time to sleep! After a couple of hours, working, I settle in to the spreadsheet once again. The next day I awoke and noticed the view of my room looking out into the water past the sky rises.

Well the conference went along smoothly and met some very nice Aussies.... On the final day the conference finished mid-day so what can I do to pass the time. Aussies are fanatic about their football, and I did notice that the main bus station is right across form the football stadium so it is time to watch my first Aussie football game. But before I go, there is a casino across the street, better to just take a peak to see what a casino looks like. I enter the grand hallway of the Crowne hotel, massive pillars, space with waterfalls down the stairways..ok not bad, then I head left  to what appeared to be some slot machines at the entrance. I walk in (they did not check my id) and after a short walk was wondering what the fuss was about, I continue to stroll down the corridor as it opens up and I see hundreds more machines. Now this is pretty big I thought, as I continue walking in the same direction and there are more machines, poker tables, blackjack and the rooms just gets bigger. The casino dwarfs an American football field and that is just the first floor. So I casually sit down at the blackjack table and order 200 AUD of chips. I am thrilled to finally challenge these guys and show them my skills a this game. Wow pretty exciting stuff and will be sticking to my initial investment... as I did I really enjoyed the 2 whole minutes of my gambling career...Better bet on Aussie football.

The cool part was the bathroom, 3 taps and no sinks. Great washing your hands..water seems to flow towards the ocean..

Well off to Aussie football, excellent second half ( missed first half - lost the gamble). Gate keeper gave me 50 % off a ticket and really enjoyed the game, 1 point win for the Melbourne, Brisbane had a kick in the final  seconds but was blocked for the win.... Phone died of course so no pics. Then it was on the bus to the airport and home... Well one more stop actually, can't leave here without fresh licorice and chocolate covered licorice for Bridget of course.  I also managed to find some flat sheets for the bed, something we have found in Bangkok, apparently they don't use top sheets.  Well since there are no more conference brochures in the suitcase, maybe a couple extra bags of chocolate covered licorice will fit... don't ya think.