My first of many assignments in Jamaica was to Ochos Rios and I was working alongside Chef Willy Brand. Many other assignments followed working in tandem with Willy and he and his wife became great friends both in Canada and away. Willy was from Holland and his English was s bit fractured. One day he was demonstrating Puff Pastry to a number of the kitchen staff in the hot kitchen. He folded and rolled and folded again Then said “now we all go into the cooler to rest” Returning a few hours later the pastry was a soggy heap and a bunch of cooks were fast asleep in the walk-in cooler! Some months later I had a contract with the Jamaican Tourist Board in Negril. My first meeting with the director was scheduled for 10 am. Smartly dressed carrying a briefcase with my laptop I arrived on time but no director! I waited a while then asked a secretary when the director would arrive. “Soon come” was the reply. So I waited and got the standard Jamaican reply “Soon come” Finally I asked “where is the director “ “0h director in Miami but soon come!” I never really got used to the Islander idea of flex time but resorted to saying The start time of a meeting is BARBARA time, not Island time which more or less worked. My program with the hotel associations, who were mainly my clients, Was to hold a major topic Lecture once a week to which each property could send the appropriate staff, then to stay at each hotel for a week during which time The manager or owner could get help on their particular problems. This worked out pretty well except when I went To a major conference hotel in Kingston and the manager announced I was in charge of running the hotel for two weeks while he went off on vacation!

A girlfriend really wanted to go to Cuba but she didn't have a lot of money. Anyway, I agreed to go with her if she made arrangements and found a small cheap hotel.
We arrived at a really nice property, Well cared for, very clean, and a great pool. The next day we sat around the pool amongst a lot of beautiful-looking young women and not one man in sight.
I casually mentioned the lack of men to one young lady“Oh the customers only come at night,” she said, We were staying in a high-class brothel! We had booked and paid, so we stayed! It took a long time for that girlfriend to live that down though.

l took my teenage son to Cuba shortly after my divorce.  Things were in short supply at that time.

A B 52 was the in drink at the time and ge sornt hours at thr bar trying to convince the bar tender to make them, to no avail.  He also sang "One Ton of Melons "to a popular tune at that time.

He had his first diving lesson there.  Funny the things you remember from so long ago.

i do remember going into Havana and seeing all the magnificent mansions turned into appartment buildings and all the old cars on the road.

I remember seeing a shirt, one shirt in the centre of a store window and went inside asking if they had the shirt in a different size only to be told that was actually the very only shirt they had in the whole store.

In the evening we went to the famous show.

walking into this magnificent building I was in awe at the incredible architecture, the art, magnificent  soring painted ceilings, the beauty of it all but  what was more amazing  is that we walked through some red curtains into what we thought was the theatre and we actually walked outside!  and there in the gardens amongst the trees were all kinds of tables and chairs and people sitting around having drinks and food and the entertainment was everywhere in this tree itgrn the next moment on the stage in the corner the next moment somewhere else. I think it was one of the most incredible experiences I've ever had in in show business 

 

 

My writer friend Dennison Berwick has arrived for a few days from Bangkok. (google him he has several interesting books on Amazon) He is taking his sailboat around Newfoundland, following some old trading route. He has some amazing pics of icebergs. I am planning to use one as a base for a picture quilt when I get home.
Yesterday we went to the hotel and restaurant supply house. What an interesting place, kind of like 4 Cosco's a Futureshop and Sobeys in one huge building.
Dennison has a Thai friend who owns and operates a small Italian Restaurant called Pregos in the old city, very close to where I live so that is our hang out now.
Don't ask me why a Thai owns an Italian Restaurant but the food is really good and reasonable prices too.
This weekend there is a jazz festival we are planning to attend. It's also the umbrella festival in a small town nearby and a kite festival about an hour's drive away. So much to see and do. I have been to the umbrella festival before. The whole town seems to work at making huge paper umbrellas and fans, hand-painted with the most intricate designs. I would love to bring one home but A.C. would charge a small fortune to get one on the plane, so I will just look and enjoy.

Today the bank of Thailand announced the printing of a new 50 bhat note. On it will be a picture commemorating King Naresuan's victorious elephant duel against the Burmese Crown Prince in - get this 1592. It reminded me of all the incredible history that surrounds me every day.
There are over 300 Wats (temples) in Chiang Mai, more than there are in Bangkok and I walk past at least a dozen of them every day. Most of the time we are so busy looking at the shops, the market stalls, and the sidewalk cafes and restaurants that we forget to look up.
So tomorrow I am going to take a tour bus trip up the mountain to visit one very special temple. The story is that a Buddhist found a bone belonging to Buda. He thought he should build a temple to house it but could not choose a place to do this.
So he tied the bone to the back of an elephant and let it roam loose in the forest.
The elephant walked past a number of spots that would have been great locations for a temple and kept going up the mountain. Eventually, it stopped to rest, and soon after, it died. So a temple was built on that very spot high in the mountains.
Every night I look at that mountain and see the lights of the temple. Tomorrow I will visit it again. I did go up there a number of years ago with my dear friend Bernadette
but have never returned since she passed away. Tomorrow I will think of Bernadette as I make my journey up the mountain and climb the 65 steps to ring one of the bells for good luck.

I had an assignment in Bangalore India. En route, I had to stop in New Delhi and when I arrived there I was met with the news that my client was in jail for selling alcohol!
My booking agent said not to worry he would find me another client in a few days. I had always wanted to visit Nepal so I traded my Bangalore ticket for a flight to Katmandu.

Looking down during the flight I mentioned to the flight attendant that the view looked like the icing on a wedding cake “That Madam is Everest“ was her icy reply. Duly chastised I gazed in wonder at the sights below.
My small hotel was a collection of small cottages each with a wood stove for heat. Each night the maid placed a large pan of water on the stovetop to create humidity.
I walked and walked all over, took a couple of trips, and generally acted like the tourist I was. One day I was watching a machine embroiderer Create one-of-a-kind T-shirts, my camera dangling from my wrist only to find, when I looked down my camera has been snipped off. Sadly I lost all my photographs.

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