You chose the wrong carriage—I'm here, I'm happy, I'm confident, and all I have to do is smile.
#confidence

Thriving in Siem Reap: Why Cambodia Feels Like Home for an Expat To those people who keep messaging me to make sure I’m safe in Cambodia: I think you only have half the story here.

People keep asking if I’m safe in Cambodia. I think they only have half the story — I’m thriving here.
#Cambodia
whothefami.substack.com/p/thriving-i...

Finding My Path in Cambodia: From Food to Standing My Ground Well, Cambodia is definitely a lot more sociable as an English speaker, but even still I am alone in South East Asia.

Quiet streets, street food, and the rush of life passing by. Cambodia shows me where I can really make a difference. #InsightfulTravel
whothefami.substack.com/p/finding-my...

I Came for You, Not the Landmark I’m not here for the temples.

I’m not here for temples. I’m here to meet you, human to human, to see your perspective.
#HumanConnection

whothefami.substack.com/p/i-came-for...

Just colours blurry lines

Balance efficiency and price — I’m not poor anymore, and I don’t have to be."
#selfsovereignty

I can deal with whatever life throws at me. I'm no longer drawn into chaos. His chaos is his.
#Resilience

Brett Gornall in Tashkent Uzbekistan

Six months, five countries, countless boundaries navigated. Now life feels easy, but I’m carrying the lessons everywhere.

#travelgrowth

The Melbourne City Flag

I've become so self-sovereign in the process — back in Melbourne, life feels like easy mode."
#melbourne

In Uzbekistan, if you’re lost someone will catch a train to help you. In Australia, people politely let you go ahead in line — but helping is another story
#HumanConnection

At the crossroads: Reclaiming Myself in Siem Reap I’m feeling the fear now, fully.

Feeling the fear now, fully. Crypto is getting smashed and I’m at a crossroads. No safety nets, no family to fall back on.
So I’m getting clean and rebuilding — writing the book, turning on paid subscriptions, starting again from Siem Reap. Let’s go.
whothefami.substack.com/p/at-the-cro...
#Writing

Stuck, Seeking and Finding Connection in Siem Reap I’ve landed in Cambodia.

Third day in Cambodia: food poisoning, isolation, relapse… and then a motorbike ride by the river with a shy ladyboy and peanut-strawberry ice cream.

Travel breaks you open — sometimes that’s where the real connection begins.

whothefami.substack.com/p/stuck-seek...

Cambodia: The Dark Warnings and Hidden Welcomes There are the scam compounds in Cambodia.

Scam compounds. War along the border.

Yet I’m by the river eating street food, meeting nothing but friendly people.

Funny how the country they warn you about can be the one that fits you best.

whothefami.substack.com/p/cambodia-t...

Perhaps this has been my initiation as a man. I’ve been on quite the hero journey.

Iran called.

They left a message. It reads:

“Dear Sir/Madam, we are urgently hiring for several high-level government roles. Please read our key selection criteria. Interviews will take place ASAP".

Kazakh Uzbek and Australian guy on a train to Tashkent in Uzbekistan

I belong everywhere if I’m ultra-confident.

Old post Soviet train in Uzbekistan Tashkent

I said hello like a local at the metro. The woman lit up. Here, people are proud of their heritage and language, and I feel completely welcome.

Japanese onboard a Japanese Train

I’m not trying to be fluent — just human.

Farang in Laos: Observations from the Road Less Traveled Don’t forget about Laos.

Laos left me conflicted.

Kind, reserved people. Visible poverty. Strange contradictions. I felt both cared for and concerned. I stayed longer than planned — but I also worried.

Some countries aren’t simple. Laos is one of them.

whothefami.substack.com/p/farang-in-...

It must be so exciting to actually launch the book now understanding all the work that goes into finishing them off congratulations 🙂

The Simple Euphoria of a Walk I’m early.

Don Det, Laos. Early. Nowhere to be for hours.

Mekong on my left, cows in the road, Bronski Beat in my headphones.

A small girl starts mirroring my fast walk and I realise — that’s my energy.

Music + movement + new country = quiet euphoria.

whothefami.substack.com/p/the-simple...

Slow Travel, Different Frequency Yesterday I arrived in Nakasong Province, Laos, at the port to go to Don Det Island.

Alone on Don Det Island, Laos. Coffee in hand, crypto vids in the background, writing freely. I’m not here to fit in — I’m here to build a legacy and capture life through insight.

whothefami.substack.com/p/slow-trave...

Your walk speeds up. Your brain speeds up. Your eyes dart. You merge in perfect motion — in flow, in style.

Group of Uzbeks a Japanese and Australian tourist taking a selfie with the barista at a street corner coffee shop in Tashkent Uzbekistan Central Asia

Uzbek language is opening up many cultural opportunities and perspectives I would never have had without it.

Japanese and Australian tourists at Chorsu Bazaar Tashkent Uzbekistan Central Asia

It takes a lot of energy to put yourself in a position to step into someone else’s perspective on the other side of the world — especially when the worldviews are very different.

Red Umbrella in the rain

A cheap stick with a hat on it to protect you from the rain — it’s a piece of junk. But in the downpour, this piece of junk makes me feel like an emperor in the rain.

I walk alone because I love to. It’s okay. Really. I can walk.

Want to understand Central Asia? Learn the languages.
Kazakhstan & Uzbekistan protect theirs.

Kyrgyzstan still remembers the Soviet Empire taking their best land.

Ha — but that’s not the point. I’m learning. Which language do I speak?

Plans Change, Freedom Stays I’m currently staying in Don Det, an island in the middle of Laos, and I think I can see Cambodia from here.

On an island in Laos, drinking banana coffee, watching the Mekong…

…while realizing Bitcoin might be topping and my trip could be over.

Shock → pivot → new plan.
Van in Australia?

Or AI crypto goes up and I keep going?

Either way, I’m building something.

whothefami.substack.com/p/plans-chan...

Booking a Bus in Asia is Rocket Science Booking a bus in Asia is like rocket science, I swear.

Booking a bus in Asia feels like rocket science.

Now I’m on an overnight bus to Pakse, in a shared bunker, thinking: this is my life right now — tight spaces, long roads, chosen uncertainty.

I’m writing my way through it.

whothefami.substack.com/p/booking-a-...

Falang, Asian, Chinese: Labels Travel Faster Than People It doesn’t matter where you come from in Australia — if you’re Thai, Lao, Cambodian, Vietnamese, Indonesian, Malaysian, or Korean, you’re going to be labeled “Asian,” or worse, “Chinese,” even if you’...

Being “Falang” abroad is strange — kids point, adults laugh, strangers talk in languages I don’t know. Perspective matters. Seeing the world clearly is rare, but it’s why I write from insight.

whothefami.substack.com/p/falang-asi...