What time is it? Where am I?

I have so many things to blog about -- so many places we've visited ... so many things we've done in the past 6 weeks or so since we last properly blogged ... but IT'S BEEN CRAZY BUSY -- LOADS OF TRAVEL.

This past week I've outdone myself in travel - wild ride but holding up remarkably well!

Today is Monday 20th April and I'm in New York.

Monday last week I was in Sydney.
Tuesday last week I was in Hong Kong.
Wednesday last week I was in Singapore.
Thursday and Friday last week I was in Hong Kong (only one night in my own bed :( ).
Friday night - overnight to London.
Saturday and Sunday in the UK.

Brings us back to today in New York! I've just checked in for my return flight back to HK in 48 hours time.

Wild huh? My poor family don't see much of me at the moment.

All this travel made a wee bit more tolerable by being upgraded to First Class on the Cathay flight back to UK. I slept for 9+ hours. Spent two hours watching Slumdog (not had a chance to see it before now). I quite liked the movie - thought it a bit sanitised however. But OK. Felt very incongruous watching images of Mumbai slums whilst sitting in my First Class "suite" on board CX jumbo eating caviar (seconds!!) and sippling ice cold Grey Goose. (Suddenly got a taste for caviar and vodka -- we went to a friends' dinner party a few weeks back -- they gave us caviar which they'd recently brought back from Harbin in North East China ... it's a few tens of pounds for a massive jar there. Equivalent in Fortnum and Mason's would set you back a couple of hundred I reckon. Anyway it was GORGEOUS - but a habit I'll try to kick (hardly vegetarian after all!).

Saturday morning I arrived at my parents' house - early morning. They did not know I was paying them a surprise visit (to coincide with my Mum's bday). So that was great fun. England looked spectacular -- a rare and perfect Spring weekend. Bluest of blue skies. Blossom. Lambs frisking etc etc. Had a great lunch in a gastro pub near Stonehenge -- "The Black Horse" in Great Durnford. Fab food - pork in calvados/cream sauce for Mum; home made steak and kidlee pie for Dad ("I said Kidlee DiddleI?") and smoked haddock & spring onion fishcakes for me. Yumtastic.

Popped in on a couple of old friends who live nearby (Farmer Tim; Mike & Sarah and their new son "Jack" ... brother to "Daniel" ... yes they realise now).

Walking in the sunshine through the country lanes around Great Durnford made me feel a tang of homesickness -- but not too bad. Wish weather was better here in Manhattan -- chucking it down right now and a rather dodgy landing (wind shear) at JFK just now.

M

Tired, emotional and want to be in my own bed!

It's been a long month - hence lack of blog entries.


I've been travelling non-stop for weeks and I'm exhausted. In fact I'm writing this in the back of a taxi en route from the airport back to home in HK.


The last five weeks have been 4 days in each of Tokyo; Singapore and Beijing twice. Next week is Sydney and Perth (holiday thank goodness). The following week it's Singapore and then New York. Then the following week in Beijing and Shanghai.


Good for the airmiles. Bad for the nerves and for family life. I'm rapidly losing my hair - not to mention other things.


Why emotional? I landed 90 minutes ago. No sign of my baggage. No one around to tell us what's what. So I blew my stack @ one of the officials I happened to stumble across - he muttered stuff in Cantonese to a colleague which really sent me over the edge.

And, of course, this is the one time I leave my baggage claim receipt in the seat pocket of the plane. And follows loss of my Hong Kong ID card (major hassle getting a replacement - hope it turns up!)


Anyway - the plane was delayed in Beijing because the automated baggage system had broken. All baggage had to be hand loaded. This caused suspicion with Hong Kong customs and so certain bags were held back at random for closer inspection. Including mine. But no one thought to tell me - instead left me dangling for 45 mins.


Don't need this after a long month.


It's late and I need a drink and I need a holiday.


M