It's not all fun you know! Getting the call from the EU project team, to fly out to some distant land and help the locals implement UN resolutions. Here for an example is my lasting memory of Bangkok - the view from my hotel window.
Apparently there are also temples like Wat Pho and Wat Phra Kaew, and the Grand Palace - none of which I saw, even driving to and from the airport. And instead of amazing and vibrant nightlife, I had a brief glimpse of one 'red light' area, next to a market selling just about anything you could want, as long as you don't mind counterfeit.
Next stop last November was Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia, altogether a much more interesting city. Same sort of view from the hotel, but of gleaming new skyscrapers such as the Petronas Towers - Completed in 1998 to be the tallest towers in the world, they held the distinction until 2004 when Taiwan built something bigger. Here's a picture I took one evening, together with a shot of me leaning over to take it. A Malaysian colleague is helping me.
Back to Malaysia in January, and hosted by the Customs training academy in Melaka. You may know it best as 'Malacca', a small port overlooking the Malacca Straits with Indonesia on the other side. One of the smaller Malaysian states, I found it both friendly and charming. Its strategic position meant that it has been under Portuguese, Dutch and British ownership over the years, finally achieving independence in 1957 with the rest of Malaysia. It is a magnet for tourists at the weekend, but as you can see all the main sights in a day or two, it is pretty quiet during the week. We were pleased that, on this occasion, our hosts left us to fend for ourselves in the evening so that we could explore - and enjoy the local food. We ate fusions of Chinese, Malaysian and Indian, washed down with copious quantities of Tiger beer. We ate from street vendors and in back street bars, one of the highlights being an Indian meal served on a banana leaf. Great idea - no washing up. Although you can walk everywhere, there are lots of rickshaws around, gaily decorated with artificial flowers and with a sound system on the back, booming out Malaysian music. Must go back!
It's not just me you know. Ellie has been 'posted overseas' for a few weeks in the Channel Islands, where I joined her for the Valentines Day weekend. She was working on Monday, so I went on an explore, walking from Vazon Bay to L'Islet on the north west coast of the island.
