One funny story is that I'd been cycling down Hsin-hai Rd. in Taipei one day, and due to my regular bike having a flat tyre, I was riding my 'spare' bike. This was a non descript 'old=man' style of bicycle, just black with two wheels and a springy seat. Steve was outside a restaurant and I cycled past and stopped to say hi. We'd chatted a while and then Steve mentioned he may be returning to Thailand to open a business, and on eyeing my bike up he added that if he did move back then I could have his motorcycle as long as I didn't sell it on - but in the same manner I gave it to someone else. You would not believe the motorcycle in question. It was a beautiful 40's maybe 50's style bike. A total dream bike.

So when I got Steve's e-mail telling me that he was leaving Taiwan and the bike was mine I was so pissed off! Why? Because I was in Viet Nam, travelling, and for some reason I hadn't checked my mail for a while so it'd been a week or so since checking my mail. No bike - someone else, of course, was only too eager to take care of it for him.

After dinner, it was just about time for me to go catch the airport bus. I thanked Steve for taking the time to come out and wished him all the best. He waited while I picked up my pack and we said goodbye as I boarded the airport bus.

Sitting next to me on the airport but was a Korean girl, Sunny, and I struggled to remember the Korean I hadn't spoken regularly for the past two years. I really need a refresher course. What a nice girl she was, on our parting at the airport she gave me her e-mail and decorative Korean bookmark.

On reaching the airport it was already 10 and I still had to find the emirates office and track down my tickets (Did I mention that I'd left them in Taipei at the check in office - Doh!!!) luckily I'd been met at BKK and informed that I'd been forgetful.

On enering the Emirates office I gave the secret handshake, and told her the password (okay, no secret handshake but I had been give a code to retrieve my flight tickets.) So Voila, or as the French say 'Zer eet ees!' and I had my tickets back. One small snag. After checking my tickets I found that... well, I'd been told to come to pick up my tickets 'the day before flying' seeing as I was flying at 1:00 in the morning - but no, not I! What did I do? I turned up a whole 26 hours before I was due to fly. Hey, I hadn't seen my ticket since Taipei! I was relying purely on memory on my departure date after being in Thailand two weeks.

Now I had a slight dilemna. I could go back to Bangkok and after meeting Steve again would have been a good idea - but I was kind of treading water and eager to get on to Dubai and then back to the UK. So I asked if the flight could be advanced. Well, I would come back to Thailand, that much was certain.

An hour or two later, after subtracting B500 for airport tax and spending the remnants of my Thai money at KFC (You want 'chic-ken') I was on the plane, winging my way to Dubai.