see the kids each month, visit Mum and dad and all the family and mates not much would change so away I went, at last an International Businessman!
My first trip overseas was to attend a Conference with the United Nations to be held in Bangkok. I was so excited I had heard so much about the place I could not wait to get on the plane.
Well Bangkok was great, sensational people, food, the conference was a huge success and apart from the Traffic which is shocking, and the worst case of food poisoning from a nasty street side Satays, I had a great ten days away and it fulfilled all I had imagined - great hotel, Business class wow I thought I had made it. Then came a call from my Boss in Melbourne.
“Seeing as you’re in Thailand” could you just pop over to Malaysia and do a presentation to Telekom Malaysia. I thought “no problem” and more excitement on the way. What I didn’t think about was it was my son’s Birthday and I had promised I would be back home for the party. Well I thought!! He will understand - plenty of birthdays to come, next year would be Ok and off I went to Malaysia. Another incredible place, awesome food, people and so nice the weather, I was in my element. I had called Luke and explained. He was a little upset but accepted my assurance I would see him in a week or so – “we will catch up, drive go karts son” I said, “all will be great” and I hung up the phone.
Meetings with Telekom went well and I was about to pack my bags and head home and then another call came. “Seeing as you’re in Malaysia, could you just hop on over to Vietnam and do a presentation there, it won’t take long and you can take some extra time and be a tourist when you’re done.”
So far I had been gone almost a month, but I thought “what a great opportunity”. But I also forgot! I was due to ride go karts with Luke, I was also meant to go along with Luke and visit the other kids in Casterton which is about four hours drive from Melbourne. Again I just simply made the call, “Promise” you Luke I will back in a week and then we will ride the Karts, “Promise” you kids, Luke and Dad will definitely be there next month, and no problem.
Vietnam was sensational, all I had expected and more. I took up the offer of my boss and spent the weekend being a tourist around Hanoi - what an amazing place. Vietnam was still very raw back then and had that incredible simple feeling about the place. Women still wore traditional dress sitting sidesaddle on motorbikes; hotels were old French style mansions. It was wonderful and I enjoyed myself but it was time to leave and head back home.
It was a Monday morning and packed my bags, booked the taxi for the airport and was now about to check out. I handed the Company Amex to the receptionist and waited for the bill, the next moment the receptionist said the fatal words” There is a problem with your Card”. I asked her to try again but got the same response a few seconds later ”Your Card don’t work”. Now all Hotel people are so nice when a visit goes according to plan but they seem to lose their sense of humour when the old credit card fails. The next question “ Do you have another Card” well that drew a blank from me as I didn’t.
So here I am in wonderful Hanoi, no credit card, a huge bill and one choice as in PAY up or you will be enjoying Vietnam for a long time.
I didn’t panic yet, I called my boss who was in New Zealand at the time and asked him why I am having problems with this card. He coughed and spluttered and said he would get back to me. A few hours later he did that. It appears the pot of gold that the Company was using to fund all this wonderful Global exposure and Travel and Glamour was in fact now DRY. My card had not been paid and moreover the overseas people that had been funding the deal had gotten nervous with the current Management and had sent auditors in to the head office to check the books. So until that is completed all accounts are frozen, sorry mate!
So while I was riding a rickshaw around Hanoi like a tourist enjoying Special Fried rice served with strange looking creatures mixed with it, the Company was in the process of having its doors closed and nobody told me. All I could think? This is not good.
The management informed me that if I did not find a way to settle the bill they would call the police. The thought of spending time in a communist jail did not appeal to me at all so I put my thinking cap on and wondered who to call for help and then my phone rang. It was my boss, he told me all will be ok and he can settle the bill but I can’t go home yet. I have to go to Indonesia, as the people who are paying the bill are the same people who have been funding the Company and they want to see me to discuss the future of the Business in Asia face to face. He apologised that I had been put through all this trouble he couldn’t tell me until the problems in Melbourne had been checked and now he was advised to get me out of there and over to Indonesia.
My heart was still pumping hard when he gave me the credit card details and I waited for the Hotel Manager to see if that worked, when he smiled I knew this part of the ordeal was over. Thank God as I was certain the Fried Rice in Jail would have more stranger creatures crawling in it compared to the Street food!
Money paid, I was on my way to the airport and on a plane to down town sunny humid Jakarta, but sadly again I would be breaking a promise to all the children yet again. But in my mind I kept thinking I had to get this job right, I had to go to Jakarta, all would be good soon.
I arrived in Jakarta feeling pretty worn out. The past few days had been a little stressful and I looked forward to meeting with the Funders, doing my tap dance and heading back home. So I quickly checked into the Hotel and then went off to my appointment. The meeting went well, they felt that Asia was going to work out for them in the end and they asked me I I would be happy to continue to work for them; I was fine and replied no problem. Then they dropped the bombshell, they would be happy for me to continue however, could I relocate to Asia as it would be much easier to do business from this region as that where the majority of contacts would be.
I thought about it overnight, I felt I could easily live in Asia. I could travel back to see the kids, family and friends and it would be a great experience for me. Little did I know I was slipping further and further away from the truth.
I went back to meet the principals the next day and said I would be happy to move and was there any particular place they had in mind for my relocation? They replied that Indonesia or Malaysia would be perfect. My recent visit to Kuala Lumpur was good, English was more common and the City was a little smaller so I decided that would be the place for me. I didn’t return home to Australia, I took the suitcases I had and flew straight to Kuala Lumpur and set up home at the Concorde Hotel.
The choice, ended up being the start of the road to the Comeback. That choice ended up being a twelve-year break from Home, Family, Friends, Children and Shane as I knew him.
Very quickly after I moved, the Asian financial crisis hit, the Indonesian Rupiah fell 80% of its value against the US Dollar in a matter of days. It was a disaster of huge proportions, the Indonesian funders ran, I was stuck with massive hotel bills, no money and not much hope. I should have bitten the bullet gone back home and started again, but I thought that I could ride out the storm and sooner rather than later all would be great again. I had far more chance in my mind of making it big again in Asia rather than trying to start all over in Australia. I was so wrong.
What followed was three years of incredible hard times, never returning o Australia and a gap in relationships that just got wider and wider. Things would improve and each time they did, like a drug addict I would say “Just one more hit” and not go home. Each time thinking I could make a little more money so I could go back a hero rather than a loser, each time forgetting another birthday or Christmas, each time not calling Mum and Dad for months on end. My father jokingly told everyone he thought I was in jail!
After three years a lucky break came and I was given the opportunity of a fantastic role with a telecommunications Company in Hong Kong - great money and conditions and again flying Business Class
