Test week

History wall, weaver birds nests, at the Point

After such a full on couple of days in Penang I was planning to have a rest for the remainder of the week, but when Peter suggested a walk from Hougang to Punggol Point for Thursday morning I agreed. We walked through Punggol Park and passed the recently finished HDB about 200m from home. They have an interesting History mural out the front. It was a pleasant, but long, walk with some areas being rather exposed. I would like to head back along part of it in the future with my binoculars as we did see some birdlife. 
From the Point we caught the bus back to Punggol MRT, so after 2 and a half years I have finally visited the bus interchange at Punggol!
As I had not really caught up with Robert and Maria much since their return from Italy I caught up with them for a coffee in Kovan before work. It was good to see them.
The last couple of weeks have been rather difficult, wondering if I have done the right thing signing up for another year. I think perhaps visiting home is always a little unsettling, and then having Duncan here was so good but I guess I'll get over it. I am looking forward to having a weekend at home early in August. 
Singapore is celebrating its 50th birthday on August 9th and despite it being a Sunday, our directors have decided to close the business for the day. We also get Friday 7th off as it is a memorial day for LKY. Incidentally, there is currently a musical showing here about his life!

The week ended with drinks at Joe's on Sunday night with a special appearance by Richard, who worked at MAE until the end of 2014. He has returned to live in Yamba, and is actually the uncle of 2 of my old students from Lismore Heights Public...small world!

Penang

After work on Sunday Sally and I caught a taxi to the airport to meet up with the rest of the group heading to Penang for the weekend. As well as being earmarked on the MAE calendar for a weekend away it also happened to be Eric and Kathy's birthday on Monday. Unfortunately the Air Asia gremlins were at work again and our flight was delayed an hour and a half so by the time we arrived at our Penang hotel it was around 2am!
Monday morning was not an early start but Helen and I joined Libby and Eric for a roti breakfast at a nearby restaurant they knew of. I followed this with a wander to Sam's batik, a shop in which Libby has been a regular customer. There were so many choices it was all rather overwhelming. After Libby had made a couple of purchases we felt it was time for lunch across the road at the Kashmir, coincidentally the same restaurant Michael, Kathy, Helen and I had lunched at last year. 

After lunch we meandered back to the hotel and spent a leisurely hour cooling off in the pool before some of the group gathered in our room for some pre-dinner drinks and a catch up on the days doings. Then we headed off to De Happy Restaurant to begin the birthday celebrations. The restaurant was very accommodating and seemed genuinely happy to have such a large group of westerners celebrating at their establishment. They provided us with bowls of birthday noodles gratis, as well as chips and a fresh fruit platter to round off the meal. Added to what we had actually ordered, by the time we had finished eating I felt like I wouldnt need to eat for a week!'
A pleasant surprise was the unexpected appearance of Peter at dinner. Poor Libby had been trying to keep his attendance under wraps a process not made any easier by him being on the same floor as them in the hotel. He did his usual heartfelt poem for the birthday people which I am sure was greatly appreciated by them both.

After such a feast it was time to retire to our room so we could make a dint in the duty free alcohol we had purchased and which could not be taken back in to Singapore. Bob Marley made a special guest appearance and the evening deteriorated from there...there are stories which go with the adage...'what happens on holidays, stays on holidays!'

The hotel blackout curtains did a great job so it was not easy to drag myself out of bed to meet Libby in the lobby at 8 for a planned trip in to a National Park for some birdwatching. It wasn't till I got down stairs that I realized it was rather overcast, so after a trip round the corner for a Maccas pick-me-up, which didn't really do its job, we decided the conditions weren't right so we retired to our rooms. I slept in a bit longer before take a wander back up to Sam's where I made some purchases. Other members of the group wandered in with the same idea and I hooked up with Kathy and Bev for a wander round the lanes and byways finally sitting down for a delicious salmon salad in the place we had stayed last year.
Penang has developed a reputation for its quirky wall art, some of it paintings and more recently wrought iron work.

Cat wall art

Kathy and I meandered a bit more, exploring one of the clan jetties and an interesting shop Kathy had visited the previous day. Above the 100 year old shop, up a rather perilous staircase was a display chronicling the life of a Chinese man who had migrated to Penang last century. He had given his grandson a suitcase full of documents which the grandson had ignored for many years, but through his work he became interested in the history contained in the suitcase and has created a time line of his grandfathers life. It makes us appear pretty soft by comparison!

Clan Jetty

Helen had arranged an afternoon tea gathering at The China House where the birthday people received a free party pack and choice of cake... and the choice was mind boggling. By this time my stomach was saying no more, so I settled for a refreshing juice.

Feeling rather bloated after all that eating we wandered back to the hotel via the Hong Kong Bar, an old haunt of the Smith's in their days teacher at Butterworth. It has been owned and run by the same family since 1955 and has always been a popular haunt for servicemen from the RAF/RAAF Butterworth days and visiting sailors and soldiers. Despite a fire in 2004 there is still a lot of memorabilia adorning the walls and Libby and Eric were able to find a photo of themselves celebrating Eric's 30th birthday...exactly 29 years ago...and they don't look any different!!!

As we approached the hotel Kathy and I decided that after all the walking we had done a nice leg massage was in order. Despite the pain it was very relaxing and floated over to our rooms to find a contingent ready for pre-dinner drinks, after all the alcohol had to be finished off. It didn't take too long, then it was a short walk up to dinner at The Bridge Restaurant a beautifully restored building where they served authentic Malaysian style food. This also meant no alcohol, which was probably not a bad thing! 

Wednesday morning came round very quickly and after an on-time flight we all headed off to our respective workplaces for a new working week...thank goodness it was test week!

Duncan's Visit

Today we saw a sign that there are expectations for increased traffic on the Purple Line on the MRT. For the first time I saw carriages where the were no seats, just standing room only. These types of carriages have been used on the busier lines for some time now and will just increase in frequency on the Purple Line over the next while. 
Duncan came along for our Monday walk and it was nice to be able to introduce him to my MAE 'family'. Despite the early start I think he enjoyed the walk and exploring an otherwise unvisited area of Singapore. Sembawang Park has the lovely Bealieau House which has been mentioned in a previous blog and boasts one of the last natural beaches left in Singapore...being guarded by a very fierce dinosaur!

After a quick turn around we met with the McRae's and Marias extended family at the Shangrila for one of their famous high teas. This was an opportunity to celebrate Maria's and Emma's birthdays. Somehow the staff got wind that I had also recently had a birthday and before you knew it there were three little birthday cakes on the table each with a card signed by all the staff. After we had eaten our full, and some, the younger members of the party went one way and the oldies headed to the Fullerton for an evening drink. The plan was to head up to the rooftop bar and soak up the view. The girls took the rather small, and very slow lift, up to discover the bar was closed for a private Daimler function so after a few snaps of the scenery we headed back to the boys. Meanwhile they had got tired of waiting and used the stairs only to find themselves in the middle of the private function, unchallenged! Of course they returned to us in preference. We then took up residence along the waterfront area and enjoyed a tipple.

After a less than early start on Tuesday we met up again at The Cat Cafe in Chinatown. You pay $10 to spend an hour with the cats, mostly rescue cats, with a cold drink thrown in. I know to many this would be a waste of an hour but it was a request from Duncan...he takes after his father as far as cats are concerned.
I said farewell to Duncan on Tuesday night...I will see him again in a couple of weeks when I have a long weekend in Australia due to Singapore National Day. 

Libby and I are doing some rewrites on one of MAE units of work so we spent a bit of time on that on Thursday and we had a day off on Friday for Hari Raya, "), also called Feast of Breaking the Fast. It is an important religious holiday celebrated by Muslims worldwide that marks the end of Ramadan, the Islamic holy month of fasting (sawm). The holiday celebrates the conclusion of the 29 or 30 days of dawn-to-sunset fasting during the entire month of Ramadan. 
I celebrated by going for a walk around Macritchie ending at Thompson Plaza, with Peter and June. I spent most of the afternoon/evening catching up on some nana naps!

A Quiet Week

In our absence there seems to have been a flurry of activity to prepare Singapore for National Day on the 9th August. This years is particularly important as it is celebrating the country's 50th Birthday so there are SG50 symbols on just about everything. Our Monday walk was one we have done many times from Bishan to Ang Mo Kio, but there were a few added decorations along the way. The significance of the Singapore-inspired cows is unknown except that the sponsor is moo-something. 
It is amusing that in this most law-abiding of countries the "cows under surveillance" sign was necessary. We have seen the sign about wild boar every time we have done this walk and it astounds me that it is in a very manicured park!

I was unable to stay for the usual lunch as I had a dental appointment to psych myself up for. A couple of hours later I was $500 poorer but no more gap! The denture is not particularly comfortable especially as there were 2 stitches in the gum as well, but I managed to join other MAE colleagues at Blue Jazz for welcome back drinks. After June had visited the toilet she insisted I go in and look at the back of the door...she thought the painting reminded her of someone!

We followed up with a visit to the Divine Bar so some of the uninitiated could witness the Wine Fairy at work. We also managed to have a small drink.
Tuesday was not an early morning start, but a few of us did spend the afternoon seeing the newest release of Far From the Madding Crowd. As we had not had a Cavies game of cards for a while, the three of us spent the night playing Phase 10.
I devoted most of Wednesday and Thursday to updating my blog with the holiday happenings, before returning to the dentist on Friday for the removal of my stitches.
After discussion with the MAE principal regarding my 2016 contract, some minor adjustments were made before I signed it...so I will be here for another year.
After work on Saturday night I had dinner with The Mcraes as both Anna and Liz were in town. We celebrated Elizabeths new job in time honoured fashion.'

Punggol Plaza reverberated with the sounds of SG50 for most of Sunday with cake decorating competitions and some dubious singing echoing through the walls.

  Duncan arrived back from his trip to Indonesia and we met up at Kovan MRT after work. We then joined the Smiths, Peter and Craig and Melisa at Grapevine for dinner and drinks.

Return to Work

After all the celebrating and catching up back in Australia is was a bit of a let down to return to Singapore on a flight that left the Gold Coast and hour and a half late, causing us to miss our connection in KL. By the time we got back to Rio Vista Helen and I were both exhausted.
It was straight back in to work on Wednesday before catching up with Libby over lunch on Thursday. It was exciting to hear of their trip to Ireland especially having visited some of the places they traveled to.
On Friday morning I joined Libby and June for a walk around Bidadari and Woodleigh Park, an area of lovely black and white houses in a leafy environment.

As we were walking back to the MRT at Serangoon we found the area beside NEX set up for a performance, another activity celebrating SG50. There were a number of sculptures created from cutlery and some very interesting plant holders!
It was lovely to come home on Friday night to a big hug from Duncan, who was just with us overnight on his way to Jogjakarta. He was headed there to complete his final course for his Masters degree and will stay a bit longer on his return next week.

Eric had brought some Turkish Delight back from his holiday and brought some of it in to share on Saturday morning. Unfortunately I rather like turkish delight but it is verry sticky and the first piece removed my tooth! I had been hoping it would last until my appointment on Monday but it was not to be...so I once again I spent a couple of days feeling like a hillbilly truck driver.
Kathy, June and I decided to go back to the theatre space after work on Saturday night for a wander around. We didn't stay long as the performance involved the audience interrupting and making suggestions about what çould happen next'! Not really our scene so we had dinner at NEX, an experience that made me very grateful that our MAE weekend occurs on a Monday and Tuesday! 
Week 1 ended with drinks at Joe's where we caught up with Steve who was replacing an absent colleague at Kovan and a friend of the Smith's, Sandy from Darwin, who was visiting for a couple of days.

June Holiday Part 2

It was great to be greeted by Michael at the airport after a long day/night of travelling, although the temperature change took a bit of getting used to. We picked Pauline up and had a very tasty breakfast in the surf club, overlooking Lighthouse Beach. After having a short reviving nap at Pauline's we headed up to Lismore to look for some warm clothes in the storage shed. On the way we caught up with Sue at her Saturday netball game. One thing led to another and we ended up at the Guests later in the afternoon for a welcome back drink, of which Michael was determined to have only one, so we cold drive back to Ballina. Of course that didn't happen, so after dinner at the local, and a few more drinks , we had a 'sleepover'. The eating and drinking seemed to become a theme for the week really!

Unfortunately this meant a very early start the next morning as we had to go to Byron, via Ballina, to pick Pauline up. The difference between my walking gear in Singapore and Byron was very marked. Despite the chill in the air it was a very pleasant walk up to the lighthouse and on the way back we saw a blue-faced honeyeater.

After lunch we caught up with Chris and Steve in their new abode in Ballina. It will be good to have her closer when I return to Australia. We moved on to dinner at The Shawsy before an early night as Michael had to work on Monday.
I kept up my Monday walking tradition meeting Chris and her friend Carmen for a gentle stroll along North Wall and were lucky enough to see a number of whales passing on their journey north, as well as dolphins and a variety of seabirds. Some of the rocks along the wall were very colourful victims of a ýarn bomber'. Sue came down for lunch and I taught the girls how to play Five Crowns.

heron, royal spoonbill, Australian ibis

Michael worked in Lismore on Tuesday so I went up with him so I had the car for the day. This gave me the opportunity to get a few things done and catch up with some old friends. We continued my birthday celebrating with Don, John and Rebecca at the Hoho, as it would be a bit unPC for them to come along on Saturday night.

Wednesday began as a quiet day with a walk along Shelly Beach which gave me the opportunity to curse my lack of binoculars again.  After lunch I strolled over to Chris and Pam's, another pair who have moved to Ballina since my departure. Michael came by to pick me up on his way home , and inevitably we ended up enjoying pizza with them. 
After receiving lots of birthday messages on Thursday morning Sue, Pam, Pauline and I headed over to The Belle General for a low key birthday lunch. It was a bit like going back in time as this cafe is in the shop that Michael and I owned when we first moved back to the area in 1988. It was also where we lived when Duncan was born. Although the external appearance hasn't changed much the interior is very different. In the afternoon we introduced Pam to Five Crowns before Michael returned from work for a tasty home cooked meal. It was also the first day since my arrival that it hadn't rained for at least part of the day!

Laughing kookaburra and spangled drongo, rainbow lorikeet

Michael worked in Ballina on Friday which meant I was able to have the car for the day, so I headed up to Lismore again. One of the long term cleaners from my old school was finishing up today and Jodie suggested I come along to catch up with everyone. I was a bit unsure at first but finally decided to go along and it was good to see some of the old faces...it would appear that some things never change.
After a leisurely start to Saturday we drove up to Byron to catch up with Duncan and Bianca. Duncan joined us for lunch at the Beach Hotel, where we connected with Helen and her friend Michelle. Then it was time to prepare for another birthday celebration. This one was held at Ballina Manor, which has had a number of uses over the years. It was built by the Methodist Church in 1924/5 for the North Coast Girls College. The school closed in 1930 and the building served as a guesthouse and boarding house before being úglified' in to flats. In 1999 demolition was approved by the council but a new owner elected to restore it and re-opened it as a classy guest house.

 Michael did a great job organising a wonderful birthday, with delicious food and drink and an amazing cake. It was a great pleasure to have so many friends in the one place together. It also gave me the opportunity to wear something other than the orange sweater I appear to have been wearing all week!

Old Friends

Colleagues, old and new

Bianca's mother had invited us to go to 'The Farm" for brunch on Sunday morning, so after the swim we headed out to this new venture.  To quote from their blog:

We're big on sustainable farming and getting back to traditional methods of growing food for the community. We’re 100% spray and chemical free. Our ultimate goal is to Grow, Feed and Educate, and The Farm provides a space for all of these elements to come together with our farm residents, Three Blue Ducks Restaurant & Cafe, The Bread Social, Flowers at The Farm, Milkwood Permaculture courses and Farm Yoga.

The owners have spent an amazing amount to develop this place and, being the new trendy place in Byron there were big crowds. Judging from the car park a large number of them had traveled down from north of the border to test it out. The food was tasty, the presentation very modern and if we had been inclined we could have joined a yoga class after eating. Instead we chose to stroll around the grounds to look at tomorrows lunch!

Lunch was not needed after such a tasty brunch so we took Helen for a walk to show her our local sights stopping in at the Shaws Bay Hotel, where we found some of Michael's swimming buddies listening to the band containing one of their offspring. Then it was a gentle stroll up the hill before a night of pasta and Phase 10.

infamous site of the bicycle crash, the Big Prawn, Osprey.

Monday was the first day of Michael's holidays so we took Helen for a tour up to Lismore and surrounds. As she was keen to see some of the wildlife that New Zealand can't claim to have we were able to show her some koalas climbing around in the trees near the Koala Hospital. Injured/sick koalas are nursed back to health here before being released back in to the wild, usually where they were found but you can usually count on seeing some in the eucalyptus corridor around the centre. After checking out all the places she has heard us talking about we dropped in to Sue's to hand over a pack of Five Crowns...I expect some of them to be able to play it by the time I return!

We finished our Australian visit with a visit to the Ballina RSL club for dinner. It is in a superb location overlooking the river and the food is definitely a step up from the old style 'rissole' menu. Helen and Pauline tried their hardest to get me enthused about the poker machines but really how much fun is there in pushing a button, over and over and over! Tuesday morning required a very early start to catch our flight, from the Gold Coast...which incidentally left an hour and a half late which had rather disruptive consequences for our connecting flight in KL!

Last week for term 2

Disaster befell me on Sunday morning shortly after arriving at work when one of my front teeth 'dropped', as the children here say. I spent the day feeling like a hillbilly truck driver, but still managed to join colleagues at Timbre bar for end of term drinks.
Fortunately this weeks Monday walk was an evening one so I spent the morning visiting the dentist. The good news was she restored my tooth, but it is only a temporary fix. I am scheduled for some more permanent work when I return after the break. Hopefully the glue lasts until then!
The evening walk was to Sentosa, 'The State of Fun' according to the advertising. Universal Studios and the Aquarium are on the island along with a Casino. Many of our students go there for their holidays! but it was my first visit since living here. It was very busy and colourful but not a place I am likely to rush back to.

At the end of the walk we gathered at Marche at Vivo City to celebrate Bev's birthday...another one falling during our break away.

The Birthday Girl

On Tuesday morning I met up with Libby to do a walk through Bidadari. Bidadari Cemetery is a defunct cemetery in Singapore. There were two sections: a Muslim section, at the base of Mount Vernon, and a Christian section. The area has been slated for housing development so unfortunately the natural woodlands, ie bird haven, will disappear over the next year or two. Graves have been exhumed and The Bidadari Memorial Garden has been set up at nearby Mount Vernon Road to commemorate the cemetery.

As we were wandering we were passed several times by a very fit looking individual doing laps of the area. At the end of our circuit he stopped for a chat and it turned out he was stationed at the nearby Ghurka Regiment. The Gurkha Contingent  is a line department of the Singapore Police Force from the South Asian country of Nepal. Members of the GC are trained to be highly skilled and are selected for their display of strong discipline and dedication in their tasks. The principal role of the contingent is to be a special guard force, and it is currently used as a counter-terrorist force. There are about 2000 men stationed here.

I caught up with Robert and Maria for coffee before work on Thursday afternoon as they were heading to Italy for the holiday break. 
On Friday Libby and I took a 'birdy' walk in Punggol. We saw about 20 varieties of birds birds before getting rather wet which requiring us to cut the distance a bit. Along the Punggol Waterway there are a number of different art illustrations including this rather quirky representation of Accident.

After drying out it was time to meet with Renee to discuss the possibility of a contract for 2016.

After a delicious birthday lunch and cake with my colleagues at work on Saturday I didn't really need to eat much but I had joined with Libby, Eric, Robert and Maria at Joe's in Kovan for dinner. When I returned home my fellow  'cavies' had decorated my room with balloons so of course we had to have a small 'toast' before bed!

June Holiday Part 1

After work Sunday night it was a quick trip to the airport, where I met up with Helen for our flight to Bangkok. On arrival we joined the long taxi queue. After a few phone calls our driver finally located our hotel we settled in to our room with a short Baileys before retiring for the night.
After breakfast we headed off to explore the Kho San area. As we found on our last visit very little was open so early so we wandered aimlessly before finding a very tasty looking bakery where we purchased lunch which we had by the canal at our hotel. By the time we had finished lunch the backpackers had cleared out of 'our' pool so we cooled off for a while.

The woman in the neighbouring travel agency tried to convince us that the train to Kanchanaburi was not running but doubting Thomas's thar we are we didn't believe her. Off we went for our first tuktuk ride only to discover that she was in fact correct and that a section of the line is currently closed for maintenance. Helen was mightily disappointed as nothing in all her research had mentioned this fact! Our tuk tuk driver had waited for us and offered to take us to someone to get minibus tickets. It took about an hour of waiting and many phone calls to organise minibus return trip and taxi to airport. The agent sowed many doubtful seeds in our minds and we feel we were a little ripped off, but it was all sorted.
We returned to the Koa San area and restored the equilibrium with a foot/ leg massage before drinks and dinner. We found an establishment that made VERY strong cocktails with a buy 2 get a third one free so we did! I also convinced Helen to try pad Thai, which she did and declared it to be very tasty.

The next morning we were up early for our minibus pickup for the trip to Kanchanaburi.
Kanchanaburi was established in the 1830s, although the ruins of Muang Singh to the west date from the Khmer period. On entering the town (called Muang Kan by most locals), visitors may notice the fish-shaped street signs. The fish in question is the yisok, a small freshwater fish and the symbol of Kanchanaburi.  

Of course when we arrived we were far too early to check in so we wandered in to town. We visited the Thailand-Burma Railway Centre and the War Cemetery. The Museum is extremely well done.

Our hotel is on the corner of New Zealand St and not far from the bridge over the Kwai River so we wander up to have a look before dinner.

Our delightful hotel staff arranged for our delivery to the bus station to catch the 9.00am bus to Hellfire Pass. I think everyone thought we were a bit crazy...catching a public bus? What were we thinking! It cost a whole 37 baht ($1.60) for a 2 hour bus ride. We were of course the only western faces and the air con was the open windows with the fans being switched on when we were stationary. We both enjoyed the trip and were grateful to the conductor who indicated when we should get off as there were no obvious signs from the road.

The Museum/ walk at hellfire Pass was very moving and the headsets with POWs stories added to the atmosphere. It was very humid but we still managed some stairs without collapsing. The second transport adventure of the day was a 20km trip on the open road in a tuktuk with a non-English speaking man and his young son, the last 2km in the pouring rain! We certainly knew we were alive!
The last leg of our journey was a 2 hour train ride back to Kanchanaburi on the original Thai-Burma Railway. By the time we got back we both felt like a couple of dogs who had had their heads out in the breeze for hours...which we had...so it was a quick turn around the nightly market before eating. We realised we hadn't really eaten since breakfast, except for some Pringles and a chocolate bar washed down with a diet coke...healthy living!

We had a very lazy day on Thursday in preparation for a long day of travelling on Friday. After a sleep-in and late breakfast we wandered up to the Bridge to see the train crossing over and then through a bit of a forested area on the other side of the river. It was about then I decided I SHOULD NOT LEAVE HOME WITHOUT MY BINOCULARS! I did see a couple of birds, the ever reliable yellow- vented bulbul and also the sooty headed bulbul. I could hear a barbet but couldn't see it and we also saw a few unidentifiable little birds. It would appear that no-one here gets the idea that there are tourists that might like to do short nature walks. All the Eco treks seem to involve riding elephants and rafting on the river...perhaps an opening for someone!
After a meander through the tourist tat shops it was back home for a swim in ' our' pool before exploring the Japanese monument over the road. Then we went back to check out the train crossing the bridge again before taking a long boat ride on the river. In one direction the number of 'party boats' were mind boggling. I cannot imagine how noisy it must be in the season and what pollution they must contribute towards the river...let alone how they all make enough money.
In the other direction we went totally away from the built up areas and saw a number of birds which I could not identify due to a lack of binoculars and the speed at which we were travelling! I could see a great opportunity for an entrepreneurial nature lover to instigate a gentle tour of the river to view birds as there seems to be no shortage of them. I am fairly sure that one we saw was a malkoha and there were a number of water birds along the banks too.

We followed up our time on the water with another relaxing massage before dinner.
Friday began with a bit of excitement...while waiting for our minibus pickup I decided to have a last turn around the Japanese memorial opposite us to see if I could spot the kingfisher and barbet I could hear. Alas I could not but I did have an encounter with some Thai wildlife when I almost stepped on a Small orange snake!

The next excitement? was the lack of a minibus. Despite paying for arrangements before leaving Bangkok it didn't appear at 8 as arranged. Thankfully one of the hotel staff had excellent English and a few calls later all was arranged...or so we thought. The original arrangement had us arriving at a bus station in Bangkok to be met by a taxi, all prepaid, for transfer to the airport. In reality we left an hour later than expected, took an hour longer to get to Bangkok than the outward journey had taken and were then left on the side of a very busy road somewhere in Bangkok! After one false start in a cab...not our prepaid one, Helen went to a nearby business and found someone with rudimentary English, who obligingly called the taxi driver. After 45 minutes by the roadside we finally made it to the airport, about 20 minutes away. We had plenty of time for a game of cards before leaving on different flights for our forward journeys. Suffice to say there will be one Bangkok travel agent who will be getting a 'do not use" on TripAdvisor.

The first leg of my journey, Bangkok to KL, went by quickly spent chatting to a young American boy of Phillipino/Malay Chinese descent on his gap year. On the second leg KL to Gold Coast I had an aisle seat with a woman beside me and no one in the window seat. I suggested she might like to take the window seat so we could share the spare seat. She declined saying she wanted to lay down later! She spent quite a bit of time sitting across the two seats and trying to get comfortable. After about an hour I said to her" are you really not prepared to share the space? " to which she grunted and so no more words were exchanged!

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