The Comeback. Shane Hodge
the Karts, “Promise” you kids, Luke and Dad will definitely be there next month, and no problem.
Vietnam was sensational, all I had expected and more. I took up the offer of my boss and spent the weekend being a tourist around Hanoi - what an amazing place. Vietnam was still very raw back then and had that incredible simple feeling about the place. Women still wore traditional dress sitting sidesaddle on motorbikes; hotels were old French style mansions. It was wonderful and I enjoyed myself but it was time to leave and head back home.
It was a Monday morning and packed my bags, booked the taxi for the airport and was now about to check out. I handed the Company Amex to the receptionist and waited for the bill, the next moment the receptionist said the fatal words” There is a problem with your Card”. I asked her to try again but got the same response a few seconds later ”Your Card don’t work”. Now all Hotel people are so nice when a visit goes according to plan but they seem to lose their sense of humour when the old credit card fails. The next question “ Do you have another Card” well that drew a blank from me as I didn’t.
So here I am in wonderful Hanoi, no credit card, a huge bill and one choice as in PAY up or you will be enjoying Vietnam for a long time.
I didn’t panic yet, I called my boss who was in New Zealand at the time and asked him why I am having problems with this card. He coughed and spluttered and said he would get back to me. A few hours later he did that. It appears the pot of gold that the Company was using to fund all this wonderful Global exposure and Travel and Glamour was in fact now DRY. My card had not been paid and moreover the overseas people that had been funding the deal had gotten nervous with the current Management and had sent auditors in to the head office to check the books. So until that is completed all accounts are frozen, sorry mate!
So while I was riding a rickshaw around Hanoi like a tourist enjoying Special Fried rice served with strange looking creatures mixed with it, the Company was in the process of having its doors closed and nobody told me. All I could think? This is not good.
The management informed me that if I did not find a way to settle the bill they would call the police. The thought of spending time in a communist jail did not appeal to me at all so I put my thinking cap on and wondered who to call for help and then my phone rang. It was my boss, he told me all will be ok and he can settle the bill but I can’t go home yet. I have to go to Indonesia, as the people who are paying the bill are the same people who have been funding the Company and they want to see me to discuss the future of the Business in Asia face to face. He apologised that I had been put through all this trouble he couldn’t tell me until the problems in Melbourne had been checked and now he was advised to get me out of there and over to Indonesia.
My heart was still pumping hard when he gave me the credit card details and I waited for the Hotel Manager to see if that worked, when he smiled I knew this part of the ordeal was over. Thank God as I was certain the Fried Rice in Jail would have more stranger creatures crawling in it compared to the Street food!
Money paid, I was on my way to the airport and on a plane to down town sunny humid Jakarta, but sadly again I would be breaking a promise to all the children yet again. But in my mind I kept thinking I had to get this job right, I had to go to Jakarta, all would be good soon.
I arrived in Jakarta feeling pretty worn out. The past few days had been a little stressful and I looked forward to meeting with the Funders, doing my tap dance and heading back home. So I quickly checked into the Hotel and then went off to my appointment. The meeting went well, they felt that Asia was going to work out for them in the end and they asked me I I would be happy to continue to work for them; I was fine and replied no problem. Then they dropped the bombshell, they would be happy for me to continue however, could I relocate to Asia as it would be much easier to do business from this region as that where the majority of contacts would be.
I thought about it overnight, I felt I could easily live in Asia. I could travel back to see the kids, family and friends and it would be a great experience for me. Little did I know I was slipping further and further away from the truth.
I went back to meet the principals the next day and said I would be happy to move and was there any particular place they had in mind for my relocation? They replied that Indonesia or Malaysia would be perfect. My recent visit to Kuala Lumpur was good, English was more common and the City was a little smaller so I decided that would be the place for me. I didn’t return home to Australia, I took the suitcases I had and flew straight to Kuala Lumpur and set up home at the Concorde Hotel.
The choice, ended up being the start of the road to the Comeback. That choice ended up being a twelve-year break from Home, Family, Friends, Children and Shane as I knew him.
Very quickly after I moved, the Asian financial crisis hit, the Indonesian Rupiah fell 80% of its value against the US Dollar in a matter of days. It was a disaster of huge proportions, the Indonesian funders ran, I was stuck with massive hotel bills, no money and not much hope. I should have bitten the bullet gone back home and started again, but I thought that I could ride out the storm and sooner rather than later all would be great again. I had far more chance in my mind of making it big again in Asia rather than trying to start all over in Australia. I was so wrong.
What followed was three years of incredible hard times, never returning o Australia and a gap in relationships that just got wider and wider. Things would improve and each time they did, like a drug addict I would say “Just one more hit” and not go home. Each time thinking I could make a little more money so I could go back a hero rather than a loser, each time forgetting another birthday or Christmas, each time not calling Mum and Dad for months on end. My father jokingly told everyone he thought I was in jail!
After three years a lucky break came and I was given the opportunity of a fantastic role with a telecommunications Company in Hong Kong - great money and conditions and again flying Business Class and staying at wonderful hotels. At this point I met Tracy and fell head over heels for her - a young dynamic Chinese lady. We met at the Hyatt Hotel in Hong Kong; she was dancing the night away I could not get over her energy and super smile. It’s a great story so I will share a little with you. I was so interested in talking to her, so I stood next to her and said “Hi” and all I got was a puzzled look, you see Tracy spoke no English; I really wanted to talk to her so I paid a waiter to translate for me. When the place was closing we said good bye to each other and exchanged phone numbers which was a bit strange as how could we communicate? Meeting Tracy sealed the choice of taking the job in Hong Kong and the next day I got the Company receptionist to call her and ask her to meet me for lunch, we had a great time courtesy of another waiter translator! Tracy and I became inseparable; she picked up English so fast that within three months she was so fluent. Six months passed and on my birthday in front of a house full of people I asked her to become Mrs. Hodge, I asked her in front of all those people as I knew she had to say yes so I wouldn’t lose face ha-ha.
Tracy and I got married in Hong Kong and were so happy; life was great as was the job.
Quickly the bank balance rose as did my self-esteem. Many times I could have zipped home to Australia to see and hug my children, visit Mum and Dad but chose to earn money and party at Lang Kwai Fong where the beer, cocaine and the Bullshit flowed smoothly and I enjoyed them all.
Soon after getting married an opportunity came up in Malaysia to be the CEO of a listed Company. It was time for a change from Hong Kong - the “party” town was almost getting to me so for the sake of longevity! My health? It was a good idea to make a move and off we went to Kuala Lumpur. I love the place and always have. The food is in my mind some of the best in the world and I have some great friends there. Tracy being the dynamo she is got very bored very quickly and she decided she wanted to open a little shop selling products from her hometown of Guizhou in China. It sounded like a great idea and she could make some money and get over the boredom so she opened a lovely little shop called Oriental Dream. Within a short period of time she had become the darling of the Expat Community in KL and she would often have ten ladies in her little shop drinking tea all afternoon, but god bless her she actually sold some things and scored a hit with the local media and overall she did well. The downside was Asia and my hunger for the dreaded dollar and success, made each planned trip home more and more delayed. Troubles