Love in Asia the Final Chapter - When Worlds Collide

In chapter 1 of this tome, The Nav took you through the challenge that is winning a successful date with the divine Ms X in his search for true love in Asia

In chapter 2 The Nav shared with you the exhausting joys of being smitten, and how life, the Earth, and the Universe all become just bit players as one is inexorably caught up in the excitement of being on the verge of true love in Asia

Sadly here in chapter 3 The Nav will share with you how the move from infatuation to love just "ain't that easy." As his trusty Mum sagely put it, "Infatuation is like a blinding white silk curtain blowing in a sunny warm sea breeze - the sound of the ocean surf close at hand. Love you have to build - brick by bloody brick!" Actually, The Nav’s Mum was responsible for the 2nd part of this opinion, but you our informed reader should get the gist of it

So after a tumultuous few months of passion, and ponderance, and more passion, The Nav put the divine Ms X on a plane home for her long summer holidays - along with that trusty 7 year young human Rottweiler son gnashing at The Nav's knees. With long looks and romantic whispers, he promised that yes, he would fly there and join her for a week - “there” being a developed western country where The Nav would spend a King's ransom that would have paid for two months of golf in Thailand - in his undying devotion to that divine creature

Weeks of tossing and turning and insomnia later, with just one thing on his mind - which wasn't his day job - The Nav used taxis, trains, planes, cars, ferries, maps, and a computerised GPS navigation system to travel further in 26 hours and do more navigational work than Marco Polo did in his life-time; until eventually this wordly gypsy finally found himself at her family’s front door - exhausted

There followed a fabulous - but bloody expensive - week with her clan and their pet canines including that 7 year young human Rotweiller, and The Nav had an absolute ball. But being inexperienced in things to do with love there was one thing that he hadn't factored into the equation, the dreaded 10 year long boy friend - from 10 years ago - still sneaking around in her home town, a candle for her still flickering in his dark. Most men look ahead and seek to conquer life, but most women look back and remember the warm happy times in their past. And against this 10 year assassin of future happiness The Nav had no chance

So after a week of being on an emotional roller coaster, The Nav turned around and re-tread his steps back to home base Hong Kong - mentally drained and bloody confused. Back in Hong Kong there followed phone calls and emails back to the divine Ms X in her home country and all appeared well - until her return. Rushing back from an Indonesia business trip, train home, picking up ‘Monty’ the British Racing Green Mini, The Nav headed back out to the airport to collect and deliver his charges safely to their Sai Wai abode. Flight two hours late due to Typhoon delays, biorhythms at a low on a late Sunday night, and finally there they were. Loading Monty with enough bags to supply Rommel in the Siege of Tobruk, the mini pocket rocket of metal, humans, and baggage shot down the Hong Kong motorway to her home

Safely arrived, The Nav like an Afghani camel driver up and down stairs, delivering all that baggage to her 2nd story abode, a quick few beers and then shunted out the door, he wasn't sure what was going on

Within the week, brief local phone calls, terse and tense, words of passion crushed, and finally her phone slammed down in his ear - twice. So that was that. The end of the end. A few further quiet dinners as "friends", The Nav listening to how Ms X would always love her 10 year lover - but she could never go back to him despite his pleadings when she was recently there with him. The Nav thinking so this is how some people make millions - writing self-help books on how to try to understand women, that thing which is more complex and more confusing than the wiring system in an Airbus A380 Super Jumbo

Cracked but not crushed, hurt but not handicapped, The Nav remained morose - for a few weeks. Then it was off for golf week-ends in Pattaya and Phuket, beach holidays in Bali, sailing regattas in Hong Kong, and theatre and dinners and balls. Because at the end of the day life, the Earth, and the Universe don't stop - and there is much more writing that needs to be done to explain "how this earthly worm turns" to you our loyal reader

What would The Nav have done differently had he been faced with this Everest-like challenge ? Well as a good friend in ‘Godzone’ country opined “while we have a tendency to say we learn a lot through these ‘trials’, I inevitably find that had we had the opportunity again knowing what we know, that we would do the same thing again. The difference between man and rats I think.” Sage words from a sage muse

In summary what has The Nav learned from this tale of love FUBAR ? Don't fight the past. But if you do, use arsenic

This is The Nav. Measuring himself up for prison garb