…and this was us. Husband, daughter, grandson, self, sister, son-in-law and sister-in-law

After Cambodia, we continued our holiday to a more luxurious few days at Krabi in Thailand.

Hotel right on the beach…

I even did a bit of writing lying on one of those…

We were there for the Buddhist New Year, when much water is thrown…

And paper lanerns are let fly out over the sea…

…until they look like alien space ships about to invade…

and G&Ts as the sun went down were de rigeur…

The Angkor Wat temple complex (also early 12th century) was built as the state temple for the capital city. It is the best-preserved temple and the only one to have remained a significant religious centre since its foundation – first Hindu, then Buddhist.  It is supposed to be the world’s largest religious building.

And looking the other way, this is what you see…

View from the main temple building

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There’s a swarm of bees in this pix – just right of top centre

The real heyday of this city lasted just over a hundred years, the whole of the 12th century, when it sustained anywhere from 80,000 to 150,000 people. At the beginning of that century, London had about 18,000.

An entrance gate through the wall

Offerings at one of the ancient statues

900 years later, still standing

Bayon Temple, the heart of Angkor Thom. That’s us…

How we know a little about Khmer life in the 12th century

Note the lady with the tortoise which is biting the butt of the man in front…

Another example of present and past Buddhism

These towers were apparently used as the base for tightropes and acrobatics

I think the photos speak for themselves…

…to a wonderful piece of luggage.

If you have been a follower of this blog for sometime, you will know I am always travelling. To see the kids, to conventions, for my work, because we lived in Borneo for a time, and so on.

And I had a suitcase. It was made by Citymark. I had it for about ten years, possibly more. It was bashed and battered by every airline from here to Glasgow, Kandy, Sandakan, San Fransciso or Yogyakarta. It was used four or five times a year. And it never flinched. Its handles remained intact, its wheels spun, it stayed shut when it was supposed to, as it travelled around the world with either my husband or myself. It was plastered with travel tags – many of which fell off but others you can see in the photo.

During those ten years my husband went through an average of one suitcase a year. Usually the wheels snapped off, or the handles. He bought a hideously expensive “Made in America” brandname suitcase, thinking the cost would be worth it. The first time he used it one of the wheels disappeared and the pull-handle could no longer be pulled out. The second time he used it another wheel fell off. The third time he went to use it he didn’t even get it out of the house – it wouldn’t unlock, even with the correct digits entered. As he had accidentally put his ticket inside, we had to smash open the combination with a hammer, then repack into another suitcase — all while the taxi was waiting. So much for the expensive suitcase.

And all the while, my suitcase trundled along happily whenever it was used. Until one day, it finally, finally, expired. Someone managed to put a huge crack in it (even then it refused to fall apart) and the lid was bent out of shape so it was hard to close, and the locks wouldn’t align. Still those wheels and those handles were in perfect shape…

Goodbye Citymark. I wish I could find another like you, with sturdy metal shafts to the wheels…

I bought another suitcase today. I couldn’t find the Citymark brand.

Hush Puppies: you are under notice: I chose you because you were the only one I could find that didn’t have wheels just asking to be snapped off. But if your zips give up on me in under ten years, I shall be very, very unhappy, right?

And a piece of advice to travellers. Never buy a suitcase made in mainland China. You will be lucky if it gets to the front door intact…on your way out of the house.
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London, England, that is. To see my daughter.

And I just posted a blog over at Borders here on the subject of writing characters.
Today is the Grand National in UK, so of course, when there was a horse starting with the name “Character Building”, who could resist a flutter?

Sigh.
The best thing I can say is the horse finished the race, which is far from a guarantee in a jump event.

Most of the day we spent just walking the streets in glorious Spring weather. I’m staying in Soho, just off Oxford St, so close to everything.

Covent Garden market

My flight was Charlottesville to Dulles Airport (Washington DC), then Newark (NY – well New Jersey actually), then Stockholm and home.

The first flight was fine. Arrived in Dulles early. Found gate, plugged in and did some writing. Then comes announcement: delay because of weather over Newark. Doubt over what time would be taking off. Start worrying. Departure time keeps on changing. I have a three and a half hour layover in Newark, and it starts being eaten up… I know that when I get to Newark, I have to change terminals, get a boarding pass for my Malaysian Airlines flight and pass through security. No joke.

At 6.30 (when I should have been landing in Newark), there’s an announcement – change in Gate number. Get over there quick, and the plane will leave as soon as you do. So we all rush off. When we get there, someone tells us the plane is not there yet. Then a pilot comes rushing past, glances at the gate info and does a double take. ‘Whoa,” he says, “that’s my flight. How come it’s here?” He was on his way to the gate we had just left.

Right. Anyway, he gets that sorted out, and yes, we are supposed to be leaving from this gate. We also hear that yes, there had been bad weather in Newark, but the plane had been taken for some kind of repair anyway…

We hang around for a bit longer. Finally plane arrives and we get to board. Then we don’t move. Seems there’s something wrong with the onboard computer. “Not to worry,” says captain, “happens all the time. We have to get the technician to come and reboot the cockpit.”

Oops. We passengers start laughing. Nothing else to do. It is now way after 7.30.

Technician arrives, fiddles around, lights go on on the cockpit console (hey this is a small plane, ok?). Technician gets off, we start taxiing, wondering all the time what can go wrong next.

After a strangely long time wandering all over Dulles airport taxi runways, we finally stop. “Sorry,” says pilot. “We were directed to another runway. Now we have to wait.” (I assume because we had lost our slot in the take off line.) We sit, and sit and sit.

Plane finally gets into the air at 8.15. We almost applaud. Great anvil black clouds on our left as we fly on into Newark. Land at 8.55. Off plane and in terminal at 9.05. No signs telling me how to get to the terminal I need. Ask questions.

Start running. Finally find airtrain to right terminal. Then rush to check-in counters. MAS counter not there. It’s 2 floors down on the arrivals floor. Rush down. Counters still open. Wow. Thanks MAS. Have to wait for another person to be attended to – same problem, her flight also delayed because of weather. (Find out later that she lives just a few streets away from me in Malaysia, in the neighbouring sub-division.) I am dishevelled, perspiring, panting.

Girl behind counter deals with me, records my luggage details (it had been booked, in Charlottesville, straight through to K.L.), hands me the boarding pass. Offhandedly she says, “We have upgraded you to business.”

I almost jump over the counter to hug her. But no time. Rush off to find gate. Have to pass through security. Take shoes off. Take out plastic bag of liquids. Take out computer. Put it all back again. Find gate.

And I am finally on the plane, sinking into the lap of luxury, fabulous service, good food, excellent wine, personal entertainment, a chair that becomes a bed. Meals are a dream. The cutlery is metal, not plastic that wouldn’t cut icecream. And it tastes delicious. The coffee tastes like coffee should. There is even a buttonhole embroidered into the spotless white napkin, for gossake. Oh, wow, if only plane travel was all like this. MAS business class: I love you. Just tell me what I have to do to get upgraded again.

I am in Kuala Lumpur, on time, well-fed and rested.

Was that the end of the story? Of course not. I am a member of the Noramly family, don’t forget.

My luggage is still in New Jersey.

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I leave the house in Charlottesville tomorrow. Four flights, three planes, two days (actually 31 hours in real time) later, I shall arrive at home in Kuala Lumpur. Do not expect sweetness and light along the way…see you on the other side of purgatory.

On the way between Newark Airport and Charlottesville, we stopped in Baltimore and went for a ride across the harbour and a walk…

Can’t say it had been high on my “must see” places, but it really was a lovely area to spend some time in. Baltimore on Chesapeake Bay has always been a working harbour.

The first photo is extraordinary – it’s a lighthouse which used to be standing on some rocks in the middle of the estuary – and it had a live in lighthousekeeper. One scary job in a storm, I would have thought. Now how can I use that in one of my books…hmmm….

Pix 2 has to be one of my favourite bookshop locations – on the waterfront, in a power house with Hard Rock Cafe to hand…

And here is one of the original ships of the American navy, the Constellation.

The rest are just interesting buildings. One of the nice things about the old town is the little decorative bits…