The website shares the accumulated chapters of my life, spanning seven decades of living, lessons learned, country migration, and personal growth. Thankfully, it is still a work in progress. An autobiographical storyline, dedicated to family, friends & anyone curious. The main goal is: (1) document my fantastically varied life journey, & (2) to share my retirement experiences and observations for a tranquil life in Thailand – for those who may be interested.
It has been said that the best stories are written with a passport, so after 75 years and countless miles traveled, I finally have a retirement place to share mine. Two citizenships, living in three countries, & numerous international and domestic travels, has broadened my perspective on life. It has allowed for my own personal growth, acceptance of differences & peace of mind.
What does a truly global life look like? It involves an endless string of goodbyes, beautiful hellos, fascinating new experiences; however, it took three countries and countless travel miles around the world to realize that sometimes, the greatest adventure is the view from your own back porch. I find that during retirement, time in Thailand moves at a slower pace than in previous years of our lives. My reflections are shared from the vantage point of an easy-paced retirement for 12 years, in sunny Thailand. It’s been a wonderfully diverse life with twists, turns & great adventures all along the journey.
Creating this website
I enjoy recollecting (while I can) and fondly reminiscing about my past to capture the varied journey so far. I enjoy sharing stories of my unscripted life over the years, along with the road that led me here to Thailand, & life today. This involves memoirs of earlier times in Canada, my roots, my RCMP career & early travel adventures, as well as my experiences in Australia, another working life, & extensive travels there. It also covers my wider, worldly overseas travel explorations for work & pleasure. Then, our Thailand retirement life in the Provinces of Chiang Mai and Nakhon Phanom, building our Thai country home & simple exploits enjoying daily outings among the people, food & cultural variations of Thailand.
Pages – Explore the “site menu” for links to varied life’s journey stories.
Posts – “click link” – Latest Blog Posts – random posts of Thai retirement life.
After living in Thailand for some time, my experiences suggest that “food for thought” sayings can reflect on the realities of life here, & may offer a way to live stress-free, such as:
- “The art of life lies in a constant readjustment of our surroundings.”
- “If you don’t like something, change it. If you can’t change it, then change your attitude about it.
- “As it doesn’t get better, it just gets different.“
I have written some thoughts about retirement living in Thailand & observations on what works best for me & why. Here is the article link: Art of the Pivot, An Observation of – Reflections on 12 Years Retired in Thailand
The Thai phrase “Mai pen rai” (ไม่เป็นไร), which translates to “it’s okay,” “no worries,” or “never mind,” also offers a guide for living here. It reflects a laid-back, go-with-the-flow attitude; it is used to dismiss small problems, accept apologies, or politely decline offers. In my view, the use of “Mai pen rai” is culturally significant: It represents a desire to avoid conflict and maintain a relaxed, harmonious atmosphere, often summarized as “no big deal.” This concept can, at times, be misunderstood, but I try to live by this attitude to ensure my peaceful & easy retirement life.
Our Current Retirement Location
Today, my spouse & I are living in North East (Isaan) Thailand, near the town of That Phanom, in Nakhon Phanom Province, situated on the banks of the mighty Mekong River, opposite the country of Laos. Thailand has been our home base for over 12 years, after first arriving in Chiang Mai (Northern Thailand) in 2014, and enjoying life in the popular tourist town until our move in early 2024 to the countryside in That Phanom.
We now enjoy a very different lifestyle, with laid-back, slow-paced rural country days on offer living in the small town & district of That Phanom, on the Mekong River in Nakhon Phanom Province. It is well known for the Buddhist temple, Wat Phra That Phanom. There are 12 sub-districts and 142 villages in the district of That Phanom. The small town, has a population of around 12,000, while the district has a population of 84,000. It is well supported with a Lotus shopping center, a variety of services, supply and food vendors. The atmosphere is primarily quiet, rural, and religious town with Mekong River frontage, that becomes very busy during major festivals. The most pleasant time of year is the cooler season during Nov to Feb.
Thai Construction Adventure
The project to build our retirement home began in March 2024, and we moved in just before Christmas 2024. We have aptly named our home as – R/Ace (Ron & Ace) Country Cottage. It sits on 3.7 Rai (1.5 acres) of rural countryside, a few kilometers from the town of That Phanom. We are pleased with the results of our design planning, the construction phase, fit out and landscaping efforts. It meets all our needs.
YouTube Channel
I was a hobby “YouTuber” during the 9 month building period, reporting weekly construction progress on my channel. If house construction & building experiences in Thailand interest you, more information is avsilsble in the “menu link” (Thai Home Build) above, – or – watch the full build series on this “YouTube link”.
Retired Tranquil in Thailand –
The outlook from our home is peaceful, with a nicely landscaped yard & gardens with views to rural bushlands & banana plants.
A Bit on Our Backgrounds
Web Host – I am an Australian / Canadian expat, enjoying life after retirement from a variety of interesting careers:
- Family Business – Service Station/Garage during my growing up/teen years
- Royal Canadian Mounted Police (a Canuk Mountie for 21 years),
- Australian Government Protective Security (Aussie public servant 10 yrs)
- Sydney Airport Security Manager ( aviation security specialist 13 yrs) & finally
- Australian Honorary Consul Chiang Mai (Aus Hon Con 8 years) – & my farewell to a working life.
My Spouse – & I have been together for 26+ years. He is a dual Thai/Aussie citizen having lived 20+ yrs in Australia with careers in restaurant hospitality & the medical laboratory industry. He enjoyed living in Sydney, travelling to many parts of Australia & joining me on enjoyable overseas trips. While happy to be back in Thailand, we consider ourselves as being fairly well-traveled and live a “life less ordinary”.
We take pleasure in our Thai country property, where life is slower, and enjoyment comes from a rural lifestyle. There is no shortage of activities to keep us busy around home, like maintenance & improvement projects, planning, creating & caring for landscaping & gardens, pet care, along with exploring the local food scene, touring the Isaan Region, and broader Thailand when we can. We also keep in regular contact with my family in Australia & the USA, as well as Ace’s family in Thailand.
Our Pets
While in Thailand, we have been accompanied by lovely pets. When relocating here from Sydney, Australia, we brought our two Burman cats, who had been with us for many years. Their airline journey was successful. Once in Chiang Mai we adopted a wonderful English Cream Golden Retriever (Lex) from a breeder in Korat. Then we added to our pet family by adopting a lovely Pomeranian, Izzy, from a Chiang Rai breeder.
We were a family with 4 pets until 2018 when Lindsay, one of the Burman cats died of kidney failure. Unexpectedly, on 21 July 2025 our beloved cream golden retriever of nearly 12 years, LEX, passed away while boarding with a Vet Clinic in Nakhon Phanom, while we were in Bangkok.
To view information on our pets’ stories here.(click link). The pictures are of Lex (Retriever), Izzy (Pom) & cats Lucas & Lindsay (Burman), along with AI portraits made from these photos.
Local scenery along the Mekong River.
One only needs to venture a short distance to take in the lovely scenery along the Mekong River. A short drive away allows us to explore and enjoy the infrastructure aspects of the larger cities of Nakhon Phanom, Mukdahan & Sakon Nakhon.
Our Time in Chiang Mai, Thailand
Initially, we lived in this wonderful Northern Thai city for 10 years, from 2014, & were happily engaged in a busy life. Initially, we were retired; however, after 2 years, I was selected by the Australian Embassy in Bangkok for part-time work, operating the Australian Honorary Consulate in Chiang Mai, which jurisdictionally covered the northern part of Thailand, on behalf of the Embassy, for 8 years.
I retired from this role in 2024, before moving to Isaan, Thailand. We enjoyed the Chiang Mai environment, it’s popular tourism aspects, large city infrastructure, our home, its garden, pets, some hobbies & several new friends. Below is a picture of our lovely home in Hang Dong, a suburb of Chiang Mai, in Moo Baan Sansaran 2. We had this home built while still living in Australia, knowing that a retirement move was inevitable. Read more about life in Chiang Mai – see menu links above.
BLOG STORIES – Check out intermittent ‘posts’. – Here is a link:
FACEBOOK – posting of day-to-day activity, house & gardens, and life on our Facebook. Check it out – Link Button:
YOUTUBE CHANNEL – My channel mainly covered the weekly build progress & updates when our house was being built in rural North East Thailand. If you want to see more on house building in Thailand, then check out this link:
BIO of LIFE REFLECTION – Here is a “YouTube link” for a video that is a snapshot of my life’s journey, careers, & family – up until my Sydney airport retirement, before our move to Thailand in 2014. It was shown at my retirement farewell function.
Retirement Reimagined: Thailand & My Odyssey 