SUBMITTED PHOTO
HAPPY COUPLE: Former Oromocto firefighter Dave Rousseau poses for a picture with his wife, Ae. The couple married in Thailand on Dec. 28, 2006
Rousseau: You can buy your own island in Thailand
Michael Staples
This world
Published Wednesday February 28th, 2007
Appeared on page C8
When it comes to grabbing life by the horns and taking the good from the bad, Dave Rousseau is among the best.
The one-time member of the Oromocto Fire Department decided a few years ago that he wanted a change in his life - one that would put him a world away.
Rousseau decided the best place for him was the Far East.
Once there, he quickly traded the snow and cold for a new beginning, one that included a healthy dose of year-round warm temperatures and sunshine.
Instead of navigating the streets of New Brunswick's capital city or responding to emergencies within Canada's Model Town, Rousseau regularly explores the Thai capital of Bangkok and the resort area of Phuket, known for its seemingly endless white, sandy beaches and equally astonishing resorts.
He has homes in both locations.
Rousseau has been working with a couple of startup companies for more than a year.
One of the businesses centres around training individuals for disaster and emergency response in Asia.
The other caters to healthy and active retirees who are looking for a home away from home.
"There is plenty of paradise around here if you can afford it," Rousseau said in a recent e-mail. "As a matter of fact, you can buy your own island."
Rousseau spends most of his days shuttling between Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand.
But life in "paradise" has not been without its challenges.
Rousseau was at his home in Phuket two years ago when the deadly Boxing Day tsunami struck.
The level-nine earthquake triggered a deadly wave that swept across the Indian Ocean at the speed of a passenger jet - killing as many as 200,000 people, including 15 Canadians. More than 1.5 million people in 11 countries were left homeless.
The former firefighter witnessed the death and destruction first-hand.
While Phuket was not as badly affected as Khao Lak and Phi Phi Island, as many as 250 people lost their lives.
It was enough to send home many Canadian expatriates living in the region, but Rousseau remained.
The region has slowly rebuilt itself and, in Phuket, the beaches have never been better.
"Since the tsunami, I have kept exceptionally busy," he said.
But, said Rousseau, things just keep happening in the country.
On Sept. 19 of last year, Thai military leaders staged a bloodless coup while Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra was at a meeting of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
Retired Gen. Surayud Chulanont was appointed interim prime minister in October.
Rousseau was in Bangkok on New Year's Eve when as many as six bomb blasts rocked the capital, killing at least two people and prompting the city to cancel its major New Year's Eve celebrations, just as revelers had begun to gather ahead of the countdown.
No one has taken credit for the blasts.
"Got a bit of a scare - not so much because of the bombs - but rather because of the fact that there are over 10 million people here and mass crowds in Asia don't appeal to me in the event of a crisis," he said.
"As you know, onlookers and panickers always provoke more havoc. Multiply that here by a hundred and include all the emergency response and police."
While 2007 has been a good year so far for tourism, occurrences such as the Bangkok bombings or bird flu continue to hinder the flow of tourists into the country, Rousseau said.
"None of this is new, however, as it has been happening for years upon years. Truth is every country is the same."
What may interest or surprise a lot of Rousseau's friends in the Fredericton and Oromocto areas is that the career bachelor has been bitten by the Far Eastern version of cupid.
Known for some of the most beautiful women in the world, the Far East was just right for the former firefighter. Her name is Ae.
"I married a beautiful Thai lady on Dec. 28, 2006. Well-educated and from a good family, she also runs a small business and we have plans to continue being entrepreneurs in real estate and manufacturing over the next couple of years."
With a new love in his life, Rousseau said his future is wide open. He said he has learned over the years to never have a closed mind and to never give up on what seems to be impossible.
"After I plant my roots deeper and stronger here, I hope to bring my wife back to Canada for a journey and work with my sisters Lisa and Angela and my brother-in-law Hiran Perera in their prosperous and well-planned-out dreams.
"Together they have started a new international company for wellness and active living. Their website can be found at http://www.walkingspree.com."
Rousseau said he is convinced that family businesses can become fruitful if given the right mentality and attitudes for success.
"With all of our diverse backgrounds and experiences, we are far from strangers to helping people get on the right track in healthy living. My personal plans would be to help expand them throughout the Asian region once firmly planted in America."
Michael Staples is a reporter/editor with The Daily Gleaner. His column on the people, places and events of this world appears every second Wednesday.
