Staying with Friends in the Historic City

Friends Peter and Shukri had invited me to visit and stay with them in Melaka.  I had only been there about 20 months ago, so it will be a nice relaxing stay without having the pressures of trying to squeeze in all the historic sights. My hotel was really handy being on the same train […]

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At the Sudanese Embassy (Take 2)

I arrived at the Sudanese Embassy on-the-dot at 0930 and walked to the back of the building to find the door closed.  The receptionist wasn’t in side; in fact there was no one in there.  I waited for about 15 minutes before someone opened the door. After a brief wait, Mr Sabri turned up and […]

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Back to KL

With a 1430 departure from Kuching to KL, I had a leisurely morning getting ready and tidying up after myself at my apartment.  My parents dropped me off at the airport and it was an uneventful trip to KL and then to the Tune Hotel in Downtown. I met up with an old school friend […]

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Family Time

Today I fly off to Kuching for a week to spend time with family.  It is a 1645 departure.  With an 1100 check-out from the Tune hotel (most shops don’t open till then), there isn’t much time to do anything before heading out to the airport. Just laze around in bed and finish up my […]

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At the Sudanese Embassy

I had 4h30 minutes of solid sleep and woke up before 0700. Being at the tail end of the time zone, it was still pitch black outside. I made up some milk-and-muesli for breakfast before hopping on the train to Ampang for the Sudanese embassy. While I can get a visa-on-arrival at Khartoum, there is […]

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Slow Journey to KL

I arrived into Singapore with a headache just after 1700. I had nearly 4 hours to kill before my connecting flight to KL.  Fortunately I had access to the SATS Premier Club (courtesy of a free old credit card). After some food, 30 minutes in a massage chair and being back at sea level, I […]

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Flying Off Again

Above:  Jetstar’s Business Class offering from Auckland to Singapore.  Sudan? Today I’m off on my Sudan trip. Sounds crazy? I’ve heard so much about Sudanese hospitality so I wanted to give it a try. I had to time this trip so as to avoid their harsh summers but also avoid the windy season on the […]

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Arrive home (blank)

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Urban pleasures of Hong Kong

As our departure to Auckland was 1920 in the evening, we didn’t need to leave the city till 1530.  That meant we had time for picking up a few bargains from the shops around Wan Chai and having a long massage.  We didn’t set out to buy anything but there are too many quality items […]

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Hong Kong nightstop #4

Today, we leave wintry Harbin.  But first, there’s more shopping to be done.  Kim’s wheelie-pack is nearing its useful life. We had seen a suitable super-light suitcase in the indoor market yesterday where I had bought my phone. We walked over to get it for CNY250 and returned to the hotel to pack. The morning […]

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