Closing the door on another chapter

We've reached another milestone in the sale of our business. On Friday, we finally reassigned the lease for the showroom office space we’ve been renting in the building next door to our apartment. We’ve been advertising the space since April without any luck. We still have two years left on our lease and were on the hook for almost $75,000 in contracted costs if we couldn’t find a new tenant.

On Monday, our fortunes changed. The real estate agent managing the property contacted me to ask if he could bring a prospective tenant in for an inspection. They inspected the office on Tuesday and immediately made an offer to take over the lease. On Friday, they signed the paperwork and paid a deposit. Even better, they’ve agreed to take all our office furniture and fittings for a nominal price. As a result, we don’t have to remove these items and try to sell or dump them. It’s a wonderfully quick and clean transaction.

For the last three days. Garry and I have been furiously removing everything from the office, sorting through the residual assets and giving the place a final deep clean. After a day on our feet, we finally closed the door on a clean, empty office shortly after 5:00pm. Tomorrow we hand over the keys, and the new tenant takes over the lease. It’s almost six years - to the day - since we moved into this space. Another milestone achieved.

We also received the second of three payments from Artiwood’s new owner last Monday. This leaves one final payment to come in 30 days. We now have one more task to complete before we can finally close off this chapter in our lives. We still have two enclosed pallet boxes filled with toy samples to dispose of. These were used for trade shows in Sydney. I think I’ve found a charity in Melbourne that’s willing to take them.

As I look towards the future, I’ve started thinking about what comes next. One mantra keeps rising to the surface. Looking back on the last 20 years, chronologised diligently by this blog, I am certain of one thing. I want the next 20 years to be filled with as much adventure, discovery and exciting tales as the last 20 were. What that ultimately looks like, I have no idea. Then again, as 2005 began, I had no idea I’d be asked to relocate to Europe, rise to the top of a global company and eventually own my own business for more than a decade.

Bridging the gap

Infrastructure geeks like me got excited last week. After decades of planning, the Raymond Terrace Bypass finally opened west of Newcastle. I’ve previously blogged about progress on this motorway extension. This missing section of highway across the Hunter River and its broad floodplain has been in the works for decades.

Way back in 1998, the M1 motorway was extended from Minmi to Beresfield. This extension left just 15km of dual carriageway missing between Sydney and Coffs Harbour. For decades, proposals to bridge the gap collected dust. Eventually, in 2021, construction approval was granted for the missing link. The final design includes a 2.6 kilometre viaduct across the river and its surrounding floodplain.

Garry and I drove past the roadworks last month while travelling to Zoe’s wedding near Forster. At the time it was clear that the road was rapidly nearing completion. Last Friday, in the early hours of the morning, it was quietly opened without any fanfare. We can now drive all the way to Coffs Harbour without hitting a single traffic light.

Very soon you’ll be able to drive from Melbourne to Brisbane uninterrupted when the Coffs Harbour Bypass opens. This second project is currently running well ahead of schedule. It wasn’t due to open for another 12 months or more. However, recent announcements have confirmed that it'll open before Christmas. The Raymond Terrace Bypass also opened well ahead of schedule. I can't recall the last time a major infrastructure project finished on budget and ahead of schedule.

Naturally, I can’t wait to drive these two new sections of highway. Garry and I are talking about taking a road trip north to visit his friends Danny and Anges, or returning to Ballina for more time out on the farm with Liz and Adam. Watch this space.

Lunch sponsored by Jetstar

Retirement rules can be challenging. Garry and I are still getting used to booking activities without scheduling them around weekends, public holidays and commercial obligations. In other words, we can book an activity any day of the week, at any time that suits us, or that secures the best deal. Yesterday I did just that.

A few weeks ago, while visiting my brothers in New Zealand, I decided to join my brother Matt for a birthday lunch while he and Shelley were holidaying on the Gold Coast. I booked flights there and back for $112.00 via Jetstar. You read that correctly: $56.00 each way. I subsidised this price a little by cashing in the frequent flyer points I’d clocked up flying to New Zealand. I was also travelling with nothing more than carry-on luggage.

My flight landed on the Gold Coast shortly after 9:00am. By 10:00am I was pulling up outside the entrance to Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary. Matt, Shelley and I then spent the morning checking out some of Australia’s iconic native animals. Avid followers of this blog may recall that I visited this attraction in November 2024 as part of a business networking event.

At the time, I got to hold a koala. The park has since stopped this practice. These days, visitors can only book a photo standing next to a koala on a tree branch. Yesterday we decided to forgo the photo opportunity. However, we weren’t disappointed. The koalas were out in full force, especially in the nursery section. The baby koalas delighted us with their antics.

We did enjoy one close encounter. In the Kangaroo zone, we were invited to stroke a few of the friendly marsupials. Matt was delighted. We also spotted a very young joey nervously popping its head out of its mother’s pouch. Super cute!

Once we’d had our fill of marsupials, snakes and birdlife, it was a short five-minute walk to the coast. The Swell festival was in full swing. This is the Gold Coast’s equivalent of Sydney’s Sculpture by the Sea event. We spent an hour exploring the artwork installed along the coastal boardwalk. We then retired to the Currumbin Beach Vikings Surf Life Saving Club for a leisurely lunch overlooking the beach, with the iconic Surfers Paradise skyline in the distance.

We spent the rest of the afternoon enjoying Happy Hour at the Burleigh Pavilion. Queue more white sand beaches and pounding surf as we sat by the window drinking cocktails. We finished my day trip with wine and nibbles at Matt and Shelley's holiday accommodation, just across the road from the Pavilion. I then took an Uber back to the airport and was back home shortly after 10:30pm.

It was awesome fun hanging out with my little bro and his wife. I'm glad I took the opportunity to celebrate his Double Five birthday. That’s $112 well spent if you ask me. I could get used to retirement.

An Austrian wedding

Next month my brother Hamish and sister-in-law Karin celebrate their 30th wedding anniversary. I cannot believe it’s been three decades. How the time has flown by. To get to the wedding, I booked myself a three-week round-the-world ticket. This was the first RTW ticket I ever bought. I recall sitting in the travel agent’s office, astounded by the concept as he suggested it as a great way to maximise the experience.

I ultimately booked an itinerary that had me fly to South Africa, where I spent a week exploring Joburg, Pretoria and Victoria Falls, before going on safari in Zimbabwe. I then flew to Frankfurt on 15 October and caught a train to Austria for the wedding, held the following day. Two days later I took Mum and Dad on a four-day tour through Prague and Berlin, before returning to Frankfurt by train. My parents stayed on in Berlin for a couple more days.

From Germany it was onward to Los Angeles for a 48-hour stopover, before making my way to Hawaii. Here I was joined by a good friend, Richard Knight, who was something of a party animal. It would be fair to say we spent the next three nights bar-hopping and partying with newfound friends collected along the way. If I’m honest, I saw very little of this popular island state beyond the beach and hotel. I finally completed my round-the-world circuit with an overnight flight home to Sydney.

A few days before flying out of Sydney, my hairdresser had convinced me to go for a bottled blonde look. As a result, I turned up in Germany with a tightly cropped flat-top haircut that was bleached pure blonde. I was going for the cool Billy Idol look. However, a week in the relentless African sun did a number on my stylish hairdo.  I ultimately rocked up with hair that had morphed into a subtle orange hue.  Let's just say it was the talk of the town when I arrived.   

As an aside, I never bleached my hair again until a hairdresser convinced me years later that they could bleach it in a way that it wouldn't discolour.  I took him at his word and gave it another go in 2000. This was the hairstyle I rocked up with on my first visit to Hong Kong (and Macau), where I also happened to meet up with Text 100's Global CEO, who was in town at the time. I later heard that my uber-boss was a little flummoxed by his Australian Managing Director's appearance. However, true to my hairdresser's word, my hair colour remained resolutely blonde until it grew out.

Hamish’s wedding was a cross-cultural affair, blending both traditional Church of England and European Catholic traditions. The guest list also included friends and family from around the world. My Uncle Rex flew in from New Zealand, along with my cousin Tim and his partner Robyn, plus my parents, my brother Matt and his partner Shelley. Karin’s relatives from the UK also flew in to join the festivities.

The wedding celebrations began the night before the ceremony with a large gathering at the Londoner pub in central Kitzbuhel. The evening became a kind of proxy bucks and hens’ night for the soon-to-be-wed couple. This venue also held special significance. It was here, on Christmas Eve in 1990, that Hamish and Karin first met.

Let’s just say it was a rather raucous evening. Furthermore, I would never confirm or deny that my Uncle Rex made an impromptu visit to worship the porcelain god shortly after returning to our accommodation.  Needless to say, a few of us were a little rusty at breakfast the following morning.

Many of the guests, including the New Zealand family members and me, were accommodated in the neighbour’s house next door to Karin’s parents’ home. The neighbours were on vacation and had kindly made their home available to Hermann and Helen’s international guests. The venue was inevitably dubbed “New Zealand House”.

The wedding ceremony took place at the local Rathaus. That’s not a vermin-infested venue. Rather, the name is German for Town Hall. The happy couple looked splendid. Matt was Hamish’s best man, while Karin’s brother and I acted as witnesses on the marriage certificate. When asking me to witness the certificate, Hamish aptly described the request as, “I’d like you to witness our marriage, assuming you’re comfortable signing documents written in German that you cannot read. It’s something I do all the time”.

The reception afterwards was held at a restaurant in Reith bei Kitzbühel, a ten-minute drive from the Rathaus, before guests returned to Hermann and Helen’s iconic traditionally gabled mountainside home. Guests mingled on the lawn of their expansive backyard. Plenty of photos were taken as the gathering was somewhat of a family reunion on both sides. At one stage, a group of locals turned up and delivered a wonderful Bavarian Oompah band experience, complete with lederhosen costumes and traditional instruments.

It was a magical day. The weather played its part; although it was Autumn in the Austrian Alps, conditions were mainly cool and overcast. The crowd was filled with joy for the happy couple. Everyone was left with many wonderful memories. It’s hard to believe this all happened three decades ago. Congratulations, Hamish and Karin.

One final confession. I never packed a suit for the wedding. I thought about it at the time but decided this was a mountain wedding and my brother was never big on formalities. I naively assumed the dress code was smart casual. Although, if truth be told, I also wondered whether I could safely transport a suit across the globe, especially while on safari at a bush camp in Southern Africa. In hindsight, I wish I'd packed it anyway - just in case.

Hong Kong for the first time

In all my years of travel, I have very few regrets. I’ve made the most of so many business trips and explored the wider world. However, two regrets always stand out. One occurred while visiting London on business in 2002. At the time, British Airways was offering a special deal flying Concorde to New York. You could book a ticket on the supersonic jet in one direction and return on a regular Jumbo Jet for a remarkably affordable price.

I debated the merits of booking myself an indulgent weekend but decided it wasn’t a great look professionally. At the time, our tech industry-centric company had just spent a year closing offices and cutting jobs worldwide following the dot.com bust. While it was the right move politically, to this day I rue the day I turned down an opportunity to fly Concorde. A year later, the supersonic airliner was permanently grounded, and the opportunity was gone for good.

My second regret was one of sheer inertia. For several years in the late 1990s, I had several friends living in Hong Kong, including my longest-standing friendship in Australia with Michele Olsen. I’d always wanted to experience the hair-raising landing at Kai Tak Airport, the city’s primary airport until July 1998.

The airport’s geography meant that pilots were forced to fly down Victoria Harbour, plot their location using a giant checkerboard pattern on the aptly named Checkboard Hill, where upon they’d make a low-altitude (below 180 metres), 47-degree right-hand turn, ending with a short final approach and touchdown on a runway extending into the harbour. For pilots, this airport was technically demanding, as the approach could not be flown by instruments. It had to be flown visually, thanks to that notorious last-minute right-hand turn.

Sadly, I never did get my act together. As a result, when I finally booked my first trip to Hong Kong in 2000, the airport had long since relocated to its current location at Chek Lap Kok. Ironically, after so many years of procrastination, I ultimately visited the city twice that year. My first trip was a brief four-night vacation. I landed on the evening of 16 March and departed again on 20 March 2000. Three months later, I flew back to Hong Kong courtesy of a company called Network Asia, a regional tech start-up, to conduct media training for its top executives.

Michele went all out for my first visit. At the time, she was employed as an au pair for a wealthy expat family. The family had given her a convertible to drive as part of her employment. One evening, after meeting up for dinner, she decided to drive me over the recently opened Tsing Ma Bridge. This 1377-metre-long suspension bridge was part of a new highway linking the city with its new airport on Lantau Island.

Michele knew I was a civil engineering fanatic and thus decided I’d enjoy driving the entire Lantau Link that included a new cross-harbour tunnel, freeway system and the new suspension bridge. We made our way to Tsing Ma Bridge with the roof down in her employer’s convertible, enjoying the sea breeze and city lights at night.

The bridge itself was brilliantly lit with an impressive floodlit display soaring overhead as we drove. About halfway over the span, the floodlights suddenly turned off, as they did every night at 10:00pm. Decades later, I still recall the moment. Remember, we were in a convertible with lighting visible in every direction, including the suspension cables directly overhead. Hence, the sudden switch to near-complete darkness was truly dramatic.

On another occasion, Michele picked me up from my hotel, drove us up Victoria Peak to enjoy its iconic harbour view, and then across Hong Kong Island to spend an afternoon wandering through the eclectic markets in Stanley, a beachside town on the island’s rugged southern coast. I also remember this being the first time I met her future husband, David, who was enjoying a wild time in Wanchai celebrating St. Patrick's Day (on 17 March) with other expats. 

As you can see from the images above, I took time out to explore the bustling street markets in Mong Kok, including its famous bird, fish and flower markets. As a first-time visitor, I also did the classic tourist thing and watched the Noonday Gun being fired in Causeway Bay. 

On my penultimate day in town, I booked myself a day trip to the former Portuguese colony of Macau. I caught the high-speed ferry to Macau, and then on a whim, caught a helicopter back to Hong Kong. You can read about my day in Macau here. On Monday, 21 March, I caught an overnight flight with Ansett Australia back to Sydney, flying via Brisbane.

As I noted earlier, a few months later, I unexpectedly returned to Hong Kong on business. At the time, I was managing the account of a new regional internet service provider start-up company called Network Asia. Michael Dunn, the regional marketing manager, was an expat Brit who’d spent many years living in Hong Kong. He took a shine to me and asked me to fly up from Sydney and spend a day media training their senior executives. I flew into Hong Kong on Saturday 17 June and back out again on Wednesday 21 June.

At the time, the dot.com boom was peaking, and like all well-financed start-ups, Network Asia was splashing cash like nobody’s business. I was flown business class to Hong Kong and put up in the uber-lux five-star Mandarin Hotel in Wanchai. Michael was happy to fly me in on the weekend so that I could catch up with friends before starting work on Monday. My first working day wasn't exactly exhausting. It began with a planning meeting and a leisurely lunch at the exclusive expat Press Club in the Mid-Levels district. 

The company’s headquarters were equally extravagant. They were housed in a high-level office building in Wanchai. The company’s entrance lobby, halfway up the building, was a multi-level atrium with a lush garden wall and Feng Shui water feature. I couldn’t believe I was looking at an indoor waterfall flowing high above the street below. Unsurprisingly, two years later, the company ran out of funding and closed its doors in 2002.

I’d return to Hong Kong regularly for many years on business, particularly after becoming the Regional Director for Asia Pacific in May 2002. I was also in Hong Kong during the 9/11 attack on the Twin Towers in New York in September 2001. After leaving Text 100, I continued to visit Hong Kong once a year to attend an industry trade show and meet with some of Artiwood’s Asian-based suppliers. I maintained this routine until January 2020. We stopped attending these events after the COVID pandemic. As of today, the trip I took from 6-8 January 2020 was my last visit to Hong Kong.

This final trip is worth a special note. In the months leading up to this visit, Hong Kong had been racked by increasingly violent and desperate protests. Between March and November 2019, hundreds of thousands of people had been regularly turning out for rallies and marches to express opposition to a bill allowing extrajudicial detention and extradition to Mainland China. As the months passed, the protests became increasingly violent as Mainland-sponsored vigilantes began attacking protesters and the police responded with increasingly aggressive tactics.

These protests reached their most desperate moment in November of that year when protesters took control of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) in Kowloon and blockaded the Cross-Harbour Tunnel. The protest siege ended when police eventually stormed the campus. Sadly, these protests were in vain. A revised version of the extradition bill was eventually passed into law in May 2020. I've illustrated these dramatic events using images pulled from Wikipedia.

By chance, I found myself attending a meeting with a supplier at their hotel near PolyU in January 2020. As I exited the station, I found myself standing in the heartland of the student protests that had taken place just seven weeks earlier. Temporary hoarding and residual graffiti were still visible as I walked to my meeting from Hung Hom metro station. It was another of those special moments where I’ve been privileged to experience a headline-making, or historical, location first-hand.

On a more positive note, this final business trip also included a dinner with Angie and Ivan, owners of an organic plush toy brand we distributed. My hosts generously entertained me at VEA, an exclusive, intimate fine dining venue overlooking central Hong Kong. We were treated to a selection of vintage champagne and Kristal caviar, followed by a series of delicate dishes individually curated, prepared and presented by a private chef working in an open kitchen at our table.  It was undoubtedly one of the most decadent evenings I've ever spent in all my years of business travel.