Anticipation

In less than 5 days I leave for Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. In May Lee retired from 3M and promptly signed an 18 month contract with another company. This company hired him because of his extensive experience in Asia, so of course this job involves a lot of travel. He is currently over there, and has been there since the beginning of July. So, for the month of August, I’m going there too.

I can’t wait to see my husband, and I’m curious about Malaysia. We never managed to go there when we lived in Hong Kong; other destinations always had a higher priority. But now I’m going to have plenty of opportunity to explore Malaysia. On this trip I will primarily hang out in KL while Lee is working, but I’ll also accompany him on a business trip to Malaka, and we have planned a weekend in Langkawi, and also one in Hong Kong.

I’m a little anxious about leaving the house for so long, but we have a security system and our neighbors will keep an eye on things (so all you thieves reading this beware…). I wish at least a few tomatoes would ripen before its time for me to go. They are pale, but not even pink, at least not yet. The only positive thing about that is there will probably be plenty of tomatoes ready to pick when I get back. And cucumbers, beans, eggplant…

I will miss Harper a lot. She is such a great little companion, always up for whatever is on the agenda. I wish I could take her with me where-ever I go, but grocery stores and restaurants don’t want little dogs around, and in the summertime I can’t leave her in the car very often. She loves to GO, but she also loves it when I leave and she gets some sort of treat to make up for my absence. And even though I feel guilty about leaving her for so long, she will be beyond excited to be at Diane’s again.

I’m not looking forward to this long, long flight, even though I get to fly business class. 7 hours from Boston to Frankfort. 6 hour layover. 12 hours from Frankfort to Singapore. 2 hour layover. 1 hour flight to KL. That’s 28 hours total, not counting time at the beginning and end of the journey. On the way back I fly through Narita (Tokyo): 7 hours from KL to Tokyo. Almost a 9 hour layover (sheesh, what am I going to do in Narita for 9 hours? Its not enough time to go into Tokyo…). Tokyo to Boston, 16 hours, including changing planes in Newark. Crazy. We’re planning on doing this again this winter. Hopefully I can find better flights next time.

But once I get there it will be fun to explore a new city and the surrounding area. I’ll have a car and driver at my disposal and the area that Lee’s service apartment is in is supposed to be nice. It will be hot, humid and tropical, but that’s okay. I’ve done that sort of weather before. Lots of cool, loose clothing, and sweaters for the intense air-conditioning I’m sure to encounter.

I’ve been reposting all of my blog posts from Hong Kong into a new blog on blogger.com. It’s fun re-reading them as I go.  I’m only up to July of 2006, so in my posts I’m still a newbie, exploring Hong Kong, learning about hiking and the beaches, still thinking I’m going to be able to speak Cantonese! Click on the link on this page if you want to explore what’s out there. I’m determined to get all of the Hong Kong posts there before I leave for KL.