Author archive
14 April 2006
Confusion I woke at 0630 for the 0730 pickup outside the school. After yesterday’s adventure, it’s hard to believe I have another one today. Yesterday with Americans and today with Europeans. The destination of our day out hadn’t been confirmed. I was told now that it wasn’t going to be Shihara but to the Haraz mountains, […]
13 April 2006
A Slow start Being Thursday, it is the weekend. I had arranged with British Tom and American Tom to join them on their day trip. At 1030, we walked to Medah Tahrir with the intention of catching a bus or shared taxi to Shibam (not the one in the east of the country but a […]
11 April 2006
Yemen? Yes, Yemen … in the corner of the Arabian peninsula next to the Horn of Africa (Ethiopia and Somalia) … one of few countries on the New Zealand’s government’s “no go” list, ranking up there with Iraq. Makes the previous trips to Beirut and Tehran seem tame right? The ranking ascribed to Yemen is […]
10 April 2006
Onward to Dubai and Sana’a With an 0210 departure from Singapore to Dubai, I was sleepy even before the flight departed. The Emirates flight was full. Fortunately I was comfortable enough to get a little sleep. Connecting in Dubai upon arrival at 0510 was slow. Transit security comprised of one x-ray station which meant […]
9 April 2006
Start of my adventure My brother dropped me off at Kuching International Airport in the morning. As it was a new terminal building, I explored it as much as I could before my flight to Johor Bahru. I did notice on the apron that there were ground markings for the Airbus A380! Seems like a […]
2 April 2006
I try to combine my world adventures with a visit to see family in Kuching. It was cheaper to fly from Johor Bahru across the border on a domestic flight to Kuching, rather than from Singapore’s Changi airport. Step-bro and his partner Josephine took me out for a very good dimsum breakfast at Lau Pa […]
1 April 2006
Today is a very special day as I embark on an adventure that most people wouldn’t even contemplate. I will be going to Yemen to study Arabic and explore the country. But first, I fly to Singapore. With an ETD of 1145, it was a leisurely wake-up at 0800 before heading to the airport. I […]
13 December 2005
The four of us landed in Auckland at 1130. On one hand, I was looking forward to summer and showing Mum around. But I was starting at new job. Jobs are hard to find at this time of year, just before Christmas and if one doesn’t take it, not much will come up until February. […]
12 December 2005
We flew back to Auckland, departing at 2025, with Mum and step-dad, who are coming to Auckland and Christchurch for a summer stay of nearly two months. We all managed to be upgraded into Business Class for this flight. It meant a lot for the comfort of them who are about 80 years of age. […]
11 December 2005
Above: Room service breakfast. After a room service breakfast of nasi lemak, corned beef hash and poached eggs, we got ready for our journey to Singapore. Flights from Bandar Seri Begawan to Singapore are pricey so we are doing it the cheap and hard way. We took a taxi back to Miri airport, a journey […]