So as this year ends I’m on the move again.I still have 5 weeks before I leave .I spent some time before Xmas at my sisters in Deniliquin a country town in NSW . I had a great time with my great nephew who travelled on the bus, a 4 hour trip, thank goodness for minecraft !!! It was hot and sunny , my sister has kangaroos my bro in law saved, a pool, we spent most of our time in that . I decided I want to rent a storage unit to store my things and I want to rent it in Deniliquin. easy right , no!! Noone unless they are big carriers want to collect my things then they want to charge hundreds of dollars all because of the borders closing during covid , they won’t do it incase they get stuck here in Victoria. My niece to the rescue she has some room and will store it in Melbourne until the trauma of crossing the border has passed and someone will come down and collect it then I will store it in a corner of my nephews shed , I am insisting on paying the same rate as a storage unit, so we are all happy now.

It used to be you would get a visa on arrival in Cambodia but now you either apply online for a tourist visa which you cannot extend or apply through the Cambodian Embassy for an E visa which can be extended this is what I am in the middle of I sent all the documents off on the 9th Dec, because of postage delays I tracked it and it arrived on 22nd Dec but now they are closed until the 4th Jan so I should get it back with my visa in it after that date , otherwise I will start to panic!! To get the PCR test for travel you have to book in to a pathology clinic and pay $150 that is not refundable , so do I do it now or wait until I get my passport back to book? It costs a lot postage, photos and the visa , the easiest part was booking the ticket yet last year that was my main problem . These last 2 years things have changed . rereading some of my past blogs when I was roaming around SEAsia how free it all was , I couldn’t do that now but I can go and stop in one place for a long time. The books are on the sea I believe .

The weather here has settled down a bit ,its going to be mid 20’s to 30’s for the next month or so . I spent Xmas at a cousins, it was a great day when you have known people all your life its rather lovely lots of amazing food , my cousin in law On made a scrumptious Thai beef salad, everything was the way it should be .

Will I be sad to pack up and leave again , sort of but the reality is I can’t afford to live in Melbourne, I’m old, I’m retired, I could go back to work , earn enough to live here ,get worn out but loose my freedom ,so I choose to leave . I am looking forward to returning to Cambodia to all my beautiful friends and setting up the library for the children .This time I have to go to Angor Wat , Koh Rong the island. Jeni is still there so will be good to catch up with her. My new landlord heads back in a week he is going through the whole process of packing up his place, storing things at his kids places making sure he has all his entry documents he has had his booster shot . i’m getting mine 2 weeks before I go .

Everyone is asking how long I will be away my reply is I don’t know. I sent off my manuscript 3 weeks ago , who knows they might love it and I’ll be a famous rich novelist in a few months which will change my life and I’ll be flying back business class to buy my penthouse apartment overlooking the bay, so who knows how long I’ll be gone . My son Ben is coming to see me all going well overthere in June .

Wishing you all a fabulous 2022, I’ll be writing more often as things are happening .

Stay safe until next time