After more than a year in a squalid Cambodian prison, filmmaker James Ricketson spent his first morning back home walking on a Sydney beach before heading to a phone shop to sort a new SIM card.
The 69-year-old endured more than a year in a crowded Phnom Penh prison on spying allegations he long denied before receiving a royal pardon on Friday.
He landed exhausted and in shock in Sydney on Sunday night still singing the praises of the nation that locked him up and planning a return trip.
However, his family isn't so keen on letting him leave the safety of home just yet.
"I would be hesitant about him going back immediately. I think the political situation needs to settle down very much," older brother Peter Ricketson told reporters on Monday.
"The main thing now is to chill out, have some time to reflect on what's happened (but) I think I'd get a kick in the pants if I gave him firm words."
The filmmaker was arrested at a political rally in June 2017, accused of spying and sentenced in late August in a trial that was widely criticised by human rights activists and politicians in Australia.
He described his time in prison as a "lovers' quarrel" amid a "20-year love affair" with Cambodia.
"I love Cambodia, I've always loved Cambodia (and) I don't love Cambodia any less now because of what has happened," Ricketson told reporters at Sydney Airport.
"If anything I love it more."
"I'm looking forward to going back and doing all I can to help poor Cambodian families get houses and in any other way I can."
Ricketson said there was "room for improvement" in the way the Australian government handled his case, but declined to elaborate on Sunday evening.
"I do have a good story to tell but now, at the airport, is not the right time to tell it."
Nephew Bim Ricketson, who along with daughter Roxanne Holmes greeted the filmmaker at Sydney Airport, said his uncle remained positive about his time behind bars
"He's a very adaptable person, very resilient, very positive," Bim told reporters on Monday, before acknowledging his uncle would need medical attention soon.
Asked what his uncle was doing on Monday morning, Bim said: "Right now he's getting a SIM card for his phone - he's at the Telstra shop."
"But he was this morning walking on the beach at dawn and enjoying that freedom and just being amazed at his current situation compared to where he was 24 hours before."
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