Bangkok - The Beginning of the End

As the plane crawls to the runway, this is the first time in weeks that I've been able to stop for a moment and really reflect on the changes taking place in my life. Since my last days amongst friends and the emotional uncertainty clouding my goodbyes, I've sprung from the idle security of my Hungarian love nest and packed up my first home to potentially leave London forever. Although the unknown is unnerving and frequent panic attacks distract me from my purpose, I'm undoubtedly excited by the sudden feeling of movement and the relief that my life has seemingly rediscovered some direction. Our enormous Boeing 777 thunders down the runway and nudges me back to the present. You can really feel the weight of the plane and we travel so long down the path that I worry if we'll ever get up.

Twelve hours later I unfold my body and spend another miserable hour at Passport Control wondering how I always manage to pick the slowest queue? Still, my enthusiasm lingers and I step out of the airport to the unfamiliar chaos of Bangkok life. The first thing that strikes me is a flood of warmth, and a smell that sends me hurtling back to my childhood and the carefree holidays spent with my cousins in Singapore. Sweet nostalgia is so wonderfully comforting, and I happily lose myself in it until I'm tidied onto a bus bound for the city. The production assistant sent to greet me wastes no time in proudly declaring that he is in fact from Phuket and supports Newcastle United. He swiftly follows this introduction by asking me what religion I am, and gives nothing away when I tell him that I only go to church once a year to sing carols.

I make it to the hotel in time for my first Bangkok sunset, and after checking in and checkin' out my home for the next few months, I amble into what feels like a music festival only to find that it's actually the much publicised protests. Anyone could be forgiven for this rookie mistake, as the locals peacefully gather in the city centre on blankets with picnics and nationalistic merchandise. The mood is calm and positive as the political speeches are interspersed with performances from pop stars and school bands. The food is insanely good and after a satisfying trawl round the supermarket, I head home to commence battle with jet lag...

Although very fledgling, this experience feels so alien after three years spent filming in my beloved Africa. My emotions stir with the sudden realisation that this is where the closing of an enormous chapter begins. The coming weeks will trickle through an abundance of 'lasts', until there's nothing left but to bid farewell and move into the unknown.

Peaceful protest

Après Ski in Austria

What better way to start 2014, than a bold last minute decision to escape the city and indulge in one last hurrah before knuckling down to the New Year. This January, the post Christmas blues were well and truly blown away by a weekend in the mountains of Obertauern. With only ten days to go before filming begins, and a self imposed ban on dangerous sports, a ski resort may seem like an odd choice. However, with a little imagination and the company of good friends, this Salzburger town offers a remote and magical setting for some inspired R&R.

On arrival, the Austrian weather feels unusually mild. I raise an eyebrow at the ski paraphernalia bursting from the car and wonder if we've been a tad optimistic? The view delivers a lush vignette of middle earth rather than a fairy tale slice of Narnia, but I nestle down happy to be a passenger on the winding upward road to the unknown.

As we leave the city behind and drive further into the mountains, the light begins to fade and snow gradually appears as if bleeding up from the earth. Gingerbread houses are dwarfed in their surroundings and floppy fir trees are weighed down by their snowy burden. This icy design is transforming and after a brief dance with snow chains, we arrive at the chalet hungry for a hearty meal. The mountains feel so restorative and there's something very special about the energy of these giant peaks. A feeling of calm inhabits me and I find myself overwhelmed by the beauty of nature. Here, the night skies are as rich as velvet and the stars tease in a dazzling display. I breathe in the scene hoping that this feeling will last longer than the trip itself.

Obertauern offers everything you would expect from an Austrian getaway.  Amples of snow, robust wooden chalets, cosy restaurants serving weighty fare, excellent ski facilities and of course, the wild and wondrous Après Ski. Having dangerously tobogganed to my first one, I can confirm that non skiers are also welcome to this end of day party. It was here I was introduced to 'hammerschlagen', a seemingly simple game that involves hammering a nail into a piece of wood with the skinny end of a cross peen hammer. Having excelled in my first game, I then went on to lose miserably costing myself humiliation amongst strangers, and an expensive round of hazelnut schnapps.

On reflection, this type of getaway has something of the school trip about it. People are incredibly sociable and whether it's the snow or the activities on offer, it somehow manages to bring out the Peter Pan in even the most serious of visitors. I may not have skied, but a mixed bag of quiet contemplation and snowball ambushes recharged the batteries exactly as I'd hoped. As I recline on my deck chair with a mug of hot chocolate, I drink in the Winter sun and wonder at life's peculiarities. In less than two weeks, I'll be working fourteen hour days in the hot confusion of the Far East, and my lazy, hazy, piste-dreaming days will feel like a distant memory.

A Perfect Farewell