Impressions of a traveller Part II

Hola, Ciao, Servus, Sallut, Sawadee Ka, Hey there,

I am finally at the end of my one month time off in South East Asia and there is only one simple conclusion: It's been great!

I visited three countries, flew internationally five times, took one overnight train, several exhausting 5hrs + bus journeys, various means of public transport including metro, the Maglev train (at 431 km/h the fastest...), endless taxi rides, romantic boat trips, bamboo rafts, Tuk Tuks in all kind of forms, elephants (?!) and some thrilling motorbike rides through Bangkok's rush hour at a speed of up to 90 km/h (you see that I managed to get over my first bad experienced with the burned leg**).

While on the road I slept at various guest houses, bamboo huts in the jungle, trains, buses and at various hotels of my own chain (I must admit here that we have to learn quite a bit in regards to service at the London property......)

I met and socialised with un-countable nationalities and surely had the time of my life. I've seen ancient cities, lost treasures and modern architecture in perfection. By the way...it is true that before each movie people pay their respect to the king of Thailand for about 30 seconds...

I also noticed some interesting things: Cambodian people, especially the kids, speak better English than most Thais; the Chinese have so many people that there are around 4 traffic wardens at almost every crossing in Shanghai (don't even think of walking when it's red........**), Chinese are generally very trustworthy and polite (although that won't stop them from always wanting to be the first......queue jumping is a national sport).

I even came across some superlatives along the way......I went to the highest hotel in the World (Hyatt Regency Shanghai 54th to 85th floor of the Jin Mao Tower in Shanghai), had a drink at the highest bar on the 87th floor of the Hyatt Regency and rode on the fastest train (as said at 431km/h on the Maglev/Transrapid in Shanghai) and of course visited the gigantic temples of Angkor.

My luggage weight went up from 15kg to a total of around 38kg (Luckily the check-in agent let me off without paying for excess! Thanks again, Annett, for your negotiation skills at the Shanghai markets**)

I finished my vacation in style by staying the last night at the InterCon where I treated myself to a 3hrs session in their Royal Spa. (That can only be recommended!)
The Loi Krathong festival brought some fireworks and other displays with it which were really enjoyable.

Anyway, I'm at the airport now. Finished all my duty free shopping and just got word that my flight is gonna be delayed by 90 minutes. What a grey transition back into reality. I'll be back in London tomorrow, back at work tomorrow evening. I'll try to post the pictures asap although December will be a quite eventful month.....

In case I won't see or hear you before years end, I am wishing you now Merry X-Mas and best of luck for 2005. Hopefully we'll be in touch soon.

Take care & travelling never stops..............

Chris