I survived the protest in Bangkok

It was monday morning on the thirteenth of January.

Bangkok was her usual self; streets bustling with pedestrians, vendors and traffic of all sorts.

However, there was something different in the air today. Salary men and women were nowhere to be seen, and people had a different pace. They weren't rushing to get anywhere, instead, they were on a pilgrimage. 

The steady march of the people who've slowly occupied the streets, along with the determination in their eyes was a telltale that something big was going to happen. 

My girlfriend and I caught the sky train just after breakfast. The cabin was already populated with commuters as we entered, with more squeezing on at every stop.

With this influx of commuters, eventually the shade of the cabin was hued with a common theme; a spectrum of red, white and blue, which came in the form of clothing, flags and fashion accessories. 

Once in a while people would smile at each other, followed by an affirming nod. There was this sense of pride that filled the air, a togetherness that's usually seen at ball games. It made us feel safe, even though we knew things could change in an instant. 

As the sky train transited closer to Siam Square, you could start to make out the faint sounds of what appears to be whistles, which is not uncommon in Bangkok, but today seems to be more than a few being blown at a time. 

As we approached, the faint noise of whistles gathered and became a muted roar, like a rolling thunder continuously greeting the oncoming storm. 

The cabin doors opened, and with haste we were awakened with hundreds, if not thousands of whistles being blown in unison. The deafening noise compounded as one big sound wave which crashed through the cabin. 

The sheer volume alone occupied every remaining air space inside - It drowned our regrets and filled up our spirits to support the people of Thailand. 

It was a welcoming to the family I'll never forget. 

We were now at the epicenter of the protest - It was Shut Down Bangkok Day. 

Unlike what you imagine protests would be, this particular uprising was attended mostly by families, with many coming from the provinces. They booked out coaches with the very little money they had left, shared it between the community and supported each other so they could travel to the capital city and take control of the future of their country. For many, this was their first time in Bangkok. 

Because of this, they resorted to living in tents mostly around the main roads and parks, ultimately occupying the areas and transformed them into villages.

In an act of kindness, people donated food and water. Trucks of supplies driven by civilians were transported around Bangkok to all the different protest sites, feeding millions of protestors. It became a well orchestrated operation with big companies involved, but acted in anonymity as protection of their goodwill towards their stakeholders. Nonetheless, we knew who they were, and they were helping the country get back on its feet, despite risking a drop in their share prices if the investors ever found out.

The top tier hospitals of Thailand also set up mobile clinics and embedded them into the protest sites to look after the health and well being of all those who were protesting, irrevalent of which side they were supporting.
You could literally go in for a health check up, and even pick up your prescription at these tents conveniently between protesting. They also had trauma wards ready, with paramedics scattered through the crowds making sure a fast response could be attained in times of emergency. Otherwise, they were treating the occasional minor flesh wound caused by common outdoor activities, or the few people that suffered from dehydration.

Also, big stages were setup all around Bangkok to mark the centre of each protest site. They were so well constructed that Thailand's top musicians and entertainers booked them in between political speeches to organize concerts of a life time.

The only real issue at this point for Bangkokians and tourists was transportation. Unless you lived or worked conveniently near a BTS line, getting around was challenging, especially with most of the main arterial roads closed off or occupied by the protesters. However, we witnessed many private coach drivers running services as reinforcements to the government bus services, everything from twelve seater vans to utility vehicles rigged with bench seats crawled through the streets making sure people had sufficient transportation options. It was almost a protest movement in itself.

We were lucky to have stayed in an area called Pratunam. Which was conveniently located on the inner cloister of the Siam Square area, about a radius of five kilometres. In that radius, we had two protest sites at walking distance.

The best part was seeing all the street stalls flourish. It was easier than ever to navigate the steets safely, grab a bite to eat and do some gift shopping whilst experiencing an important part of Thai history being written in front of your eyes. 

Attended by millions from all walks of life and social classes, The 2014 Shutdown Bangkok - Restart Thailand wasn't just a protest. It was a celebration of love for the kingdom of Thailand.

This cultural call to arms is evidence of why Thailand has remained unoccupied since the beginning of modern world history. 

Power to the people.

Long live the king. 

ขอพระองค์ทรงพระเจริญยิ่งยืนนาน🙏

Exploding bacon, choking on pizza and the hard road to success.

Unlike many Restauranteurs, I dove into this business eyes shut and head first;

no back up funds, no experience, no plan and no team. I basically had no clue to what I was doing. 

But what I had was a vision, a sprinkle of passion, and a whole lot of heart.

..and I worked so hard, 

God, I worked so hard.

However, I still went under four times, financially.

I was so desperate to make ends meet that for a good few months which followed my negative financial position, I was doing dinner service in conjunction with breakfast and lunch as well.

That meant a solid sixteen hour day for me - six days a week.

..and to give you an idea of what that's like, my day consisted of; 

In the morning, (straight after I shopped for produce), from 8am until 4pm I served all day breakfast and lunch. After that, I'd do the orders and the accounting then rest until 6pm to open for dinner. When the day was over, I'd do all the cleaning and wouldn't get to sleep until midnight. 

Rinse and repeat. 

Desperate times called for desperate measures. The business was basically on life support. 

I could've easily pulled the plug but didn't because I had faith - I persevered. 

But luckily it wasn't for nothing. 

We managed to financially break even in the months which followed. I wouldn't say it was smooth sailing, but the business thrived against all odds. 

It started to take on a life of it's own, and I could see a positive trend in the business. 

However, at the fifteenth month (or so) my business faced an issue to do with human resources, and it effected me more than it should have. 

Therefore, for physical health and mental health reasons, I decided to cancel dinner service and reevaluated my business plan.

Despite the slight hardship I went through with the above mentioned issue, I quickly regrouped, and as one door closed, another door opened, and amazing people walked through it.

Without delay, I rounded up an amazing crew with a collective passion towards the success of the business. 

We had means, we had motive, and so we readied our ship and took it straight into battling waters. 

Initially, we launched with an internet marketing campaign. At the time I was hesitant towards signing the contract because I was concerned that we might not have enough resources to accommodate the campaign, plus the profit margins were really low. 

Although, realistically it was worth a try and I had nothing to lose so I agreed and we ran the campaign.

On the day that our campaign went live, the marketing manager called me to inform that we've successfully sold upwards of two hundred coupons in the first two hours. 

Then by midday (after the fourth phone call from him), we'd already clocked up four hundred sales - rejoice!

The campaign went on for another two days, and needless to say, we had an amazing response from the public. It was actually phenomenal. 

As a result, for a solid six months afterwards, my restaurant was packed with customers.

We'd easily turn the whole dining floor three times over during breakfast service, moreso on weekends.

I remember being so proud to finally put in an order for twenty kilograms of coffee per week with my supplier. A number which isn't easily reached for your little neighborhood café that's off the beaten track - it was definitely a personal milestone. 

We were cooking so much bacon that in several instances, we had two huge paella pans on top of two wok burners sizzling a never ending amount of bacon to assist our grill plate. Like Spartans at the hot gates, we had big pan lids as shields, and spear-like tongs to control the neverending onslaught from the army of exploding bacon rashers.

All jokes aside, it was a huge financial balancing act in order to salvage profits left over from the running costs of the campaign. Everything was closely monitored; every kilogram of bacon, every individual egg. Even down to every gram of coffee was accounted for, to the point where it was a set back if we lost a shot of espresso (which is about eighteen grams of coffee).

The honeymoon was short lived as for a different turn of events, another wave came and almost capsized our ship.

This time, the challenge was so above my head that I seriously believed that it was the end of Duke's Lounge - so much that I strategized an exit plan.

Then one day, after close of business, my crew sat me down to comfort me, and proposed to me that they'd do everything in their power to help out with the situation. We brainstormed and a couple of them raised their hands and offered to exchange their labour and expertise for nothing. 

They had love for the business, and immense trust in me to keep the ship afloat, to make the right decisions and show them better days. 

With that trust and respect given to me, I had no other option but to pull up the sails, take the helm and foreward the ship into the eye of the storm.

My crew took on most of the day to day operations of the business, and my friends helped me out with the administrative work, leaving me with one job to do; make amazing coffee.

Financially, this was also an all in move as we reinvested every cent into the business to rapidly build it up and take it as far as we could. 

Of course, we were left exhausted after a few grueling months of battle, but our morales were high, so we kept fighting, hoping for better days to arrive.

(Plenty of 'business meetings' at the pub after work also helped kept everyone motivated.)

Not long after, I was invited as a guest to the Sydney Morning Herald Good Café Guide awards night of 2012, and truthfully, I wasn't planning on attending. I was exhausted after work and the last thing I wanted to do was congratulate all the winners while at the same time remind myself of the terrible position I was in, compared to everyone else. 

But, my dear girlfriend talked me into attending by telling me that I at least network with people in the industry so they know who I am, and consume all the free food and drinks so we didn't have to worry about dinner.

So there I was, at the awards night, feeling very insecure about myself and my business.

I positioned myself near the caterers and ate all the canapés and the craft beers as they came.

Then all of a sudden during the awards ceremony, as I was stuffing my face with this gorgeous pizza, Duke's Lounge was called as one of the winners for the 'One Cup' award, an announcement I never thought I'd hear in this lifetime. 

There was confusion which filled the room before anyone applauded because no one had heard of Duke's Lounge until that very moment. 

Hell, I was still confused myself, and best believe me when I say that I almost choked on that pizza which was still making its way down my throat, as I tried to hold down tears of joy at the same time. 

It wasn't a pretty sight.

I yelled out a 'woohoo' and the applause began as people turned to look at me, and for a moment in time I felt like I was sitting on top of the world.

Then I came to a realization;

Yes, I'm that new kid in town. 

Yes, I won that award. 

Yes, I'm still almost broke, that's why I'm eating all the canapés because I'd rather not pay for dinner afterwards, 

but yes, I'm extremely proud of myself because I built this business with my bare hands and I'm finally doing something right with it.

It was a night I'll never forget. 

Hard work pays off, and don't let anyone tell you otherwise. 

Brighter days will come as long as you stick to it - believe in yourself and others.

Myself, and my crew included, gave it everything we got; blood, sweat and tears. 

We never backed down even when we faced imminent death.

Most importantly, we understood what it meant to became a family. 

We cried together, we laughed together, and we succeeded together. 

In hindsight, it was certainly the glory days filled with great lessons and stories. Even if we didn't make a cent, it did put us on the map and opened up more opportunities which followed. 

The memory of it in itself is priceless.

Duke's Lounge was more than a business. It was a symbol of hope, hard work and unconditional love.

We continued on for years to come, growing our family with amazing people who found each other in a small suburb called Randwick.

Thank you for walking through the door, thank you for believing in me, and thank you for believing in the business.

- Forever grateful.

P.S. We also won another cup in the Good Café awards the following year, and just for good measure, we kept featuring in many national publications as one of Sydney's leading café restaurants, too.  

Ten quotes from songs that hit my heart strings - Part one

As a musician, I have a lot of love for music of all types and genres. 

I could probably say that I love music more than I love coffee - and that's a huge statement coming from me. 

There's no argument that music makes the world go 'round.

We've all witnessed songs that have brought people together; lovers, families, enemies and nationalities.

We've witnessed songs that have empowered individuals and inspired revolutions.

But also sadly, we've witness songs that were the cause of senseless destruction.

Sometimes a simple verse, or a particular line from a song can jog the wildest memories or take you on an emotional roller coaster. It could make you laugh, cry, or even make you fall in love all over again. 

So, on a lighthearted note as we move on, for Part one of this blog topic, I've chosen lyrics from my easy listening collection, and without further ado,

Here are quotes from songs that hit my heart strings:

1. I'm feelin' electric tonight. Cruising down the coast goin' 'bout 99.

2. Can you imagine no love, pride, deep-fried chicken?

3. I could be the one to take you home, Baby we could rock the night alone.

4. It's not always rainbows and butterflies - it's compromise that moves us along (yeah).

5. Someday I'll wish upon a star, and wake up where the clouds are far behind me.

6. It feels like something's heating up, can I leave with you?

7. I'll never let your head hit the head, without my hand behind it.

8. ..and all that glitters is gold - Only shooting stars break the mold.

9. Only know you've been high when you're feeling low, only hate the road when you’re missin' home.

10. Super Nintendo, Sega Genesis. When I was dead broke, man, I couldn't picture this!

..Now here's a challenge!

Can you name all of these songs without having to look them up? 

and while you have a think, I'll leave you with an impromptu kitchen party at Duke's Lounge: