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Go! Smell the Flowers: One Journey, Many Discoveries - Softcover

Wheat, Jim

 
9781780996905: Go! Smell the Flowers: One Journey, Many Discoveries
Softcover
ISBN 10: 178099690X ISBN 13: 9781780996905
Verlag: John Hunt Publishing, 2013

Inhaltsangabe

Go! Smell the Flowers will appeal for people looking to make a change in their lives; from CEOs to secretaries and armchair travellers. From the Winelands of South Africa to the markets of France; a Machu Picchu proposal, a detox spa and a Buddhist blessing on a Thai beach, it is a journey of discoveries with a surprising and unexpected end.
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Die Inhaltsangabe kann sich auf eine andere Ausgabe dieses Titels beziehen.

Über die Autorinnen und Autoren

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One journey, many discoveries. Now living in Shanghai and smelling the flowers, Emma Wheat is beginning the next round of adventures in China.

Jim Wheat is a writer and artist from the heart.

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One journey, many discoveries. Now living in Shanghai and smelling the flowers, Emma Wheat is beginning the next round of adventures in China.

Jim Wheat is a writer and artist from the heart.


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Auszug. © Genehmigter Nachdruck. Alle Rechte vorbehalten.

Go! Smell the Flowers

One Journey, Many Discoveries

By Jim Wheat, Emma Wheat

John Hunt Publishing Ltd.

Copyright © 2012 Jim and Emma Wheat
All rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-78099-690-5

Contents

Acknowledgements...........................................................viii
Foreword...................................................................1
How to use this book.......................................................3
Prologue...................................................................4
Chapter 1 All that Glitters................................................11
Chapter 2 Wine and Braai...................................................39
Chapter 3 Flowers and Family...............................................78
Chapter 4 Cafes and Coffees................................................96
Chapter 5 From Shampoo to Shaman...........................................121
Chapter 6 Peruvian Proposal................................................150
Chapter 7 Fires and Festivities............................................188
Chapter 8 Thai-ing the Knot................................................215
Epilogue part I............................................................243
Jim's Epilogue Part II.....................................................252
Emma's Epilogue Part II....................................................262

Excerpt

CHAPTER 1

All that glitters


Emma

This is the life, or is it?

'All that is gold does not glitter; not all those that wander arelost,'

JRR Tolkein


"More Champagne Madam?"

This was the life. This is why I had come to Dubai. Glitteringparties, sparkling dresses, handsome men in their dinner jackets,uniformed waiters wearing spotless white gloves delivering anendless supply of champagne in sparkling crystal. Hmm ...

I don't think so.

I had just spent five months in my second job since leavingthe British Embassy, this time as director of sales and marketingfor the Dubai office of a UK-based company. My role was to setup and launch a branch of the company that marketed a range ofluxury goods, including cars and jewellery. This meant that I hadto meet and mingle with many of the 'top' people in Dubai; thechief executives, the Sheikhs, dignitaries and decision makers.

The party invitations flowed as freely as the champagne.Finally I was beginning to sample the other side of life in Dubai.There were parties at Dubai's seven star hotel, The Burj Al Arab;launches of new companies and brands, with British royalty anda handful of local celebrities present too. There were luxury carsas giveaways and guests wearing bespoke jewellery to die for. Itwas a far cry from the life of a teacher that I had experiencedwhen I arrived.

It was fantastic to start with, don't get me wrong, but after awhile, the shiny veneer became increasingly tarnished. When Ilooked closely at what lay beneath, it could be shallow, boringand in some cases, plain unpleasant. In fact, after ten years it hadbecome more and more difficult to hide my complete disinterestin the high life after all - and the people living it.

All the same, I was enjoying a lifestyle that I would not be ableto afford in the UK; manicures, pedicures, waxing, hair appointments,coffee and my ironing done for me - all had become partof my normal everyday life and I felt that I was changing into aperson that I didn't recognise. I was torn. Was I the same personthat had once dreamt of owning dogs, horses and an open log fireto sit by? Was this new life the life I really wanted?


Jim

Reality check

'Ours is a world where people don't know what they wantand they are willing to go through hell to get it.'Don marquis


"Nice one, Jim," said Paul as my ball rolled with a gentle plopinto the eighteenth hole. "Not enough to win the game, theGuinness is on you back at the Club House."

"Whatever you say, Boss." I replied shaking his hand throughgritted teeth. I hated losing at golf and never let the boss win if Icould help it.

We were on the smooth green turf of the Nad Al Sheba golfcourse and I had been in Dubai for almost three years.

This was no ordinary golf course; not only did it offer floodlitgolf until midnight it also played host to the world's richesthorserace - the Dubai World Cup. Big occasions like these teasedme with buffets that confirmed the world really was my oyster,lobster and king-sized prawn. Shared hangovers and topping upthe next day was the currency of expatriates and one I was happyto trade with. And yet for some reason, here I was, using the clubas my solace for feeling lonely and empty.

My life in Dubai just wasn't sitting right. Whenever I pressedthe pause button and allowed myself a scrap of quiet time it feltuncomfortable. I experienced immense feelings of isolation, guiltand greed like never before. My day-to-day life saw me sittingbehind a lap top, locked up in a head office all day. Was this justificationfor my so-called 'higher' education? Not only had themarketing spend and sales results increased during my tenurebut so had my waistline and blood pressure. I'd shot up from 90to almost 100 kilos and my waist had gone from 34 to 38 inches.I had suddenly become known as 'Big Jim', but for all the wrongreasons.

I was fed up of using the last notch on my belt and despite thehairdryer of heat that hit me every time I got out of the 4x4 afterwork, returning to my flat to change before jumping into myroof-top pool still made it hard to feel refreshed. The combinationof sauna, cold shower and pool even stopped doing thetrick as I failed to settle after work and relax to enjoy my privilegedsurroundings, maintained so carefully by the facelessIndian workers that I had begun to call by name.

"Good morning Meester Jim," they would beam as I floppedinto my pool before or after a hard day of emailing.

Sometimes I'd manage a grunt, and to go as far as lookingthem in the eye. As we began to exchange smiles, it got methinking. Where did these guys come from, when did they haveholidays? What did they eat? What did they earn? Their meagrereality provided me with some form of a benchmark whilst I wasbusy pitying my privileged existence. How did they feel beingbarely paid, largely ignored and probably taken for granted?What about the guy who filled my jeep with petrol? The poolcleaner? The countless subservient security guards who referredto me as 'Sir'? What had I done to deserve this accolade from astranger?

These were the much ignored foot soldiers of Dubai whomade the place work as they crouched down in their overalls inthe midday sun or greeted everyone with a smile inside the air-conditionedrestaurants. Thanks to all the so called self-helpbooks I read by gurus like Phil McGraw, Tom Peters and DeepakChopra I now realise that all that was happening was a bout ofintrospection. They call it 'self-discovery' but at the time it feltlike downright misery. I was sick and tired of returning 'home' tomy bachelor flat after another hard day of typing and shouting asarcastic 'Hi, honey I'm home,' or a 'Home honey, I'm high,' outto the imaginary life partner who was waiting for me at thedining room...

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Verlag
John Hunt Publishing
Erscheinungsdatum
2013
Sprache
Englisch
ISBN 10 
178099690X
ISBN 13 
9781780996905
Einband
Taschenbuch
Anzahl der Seiten
269
Kontakt zum Hersteller
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Verantwortliche Person
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