Penang An Apology to my readers 24 to 27 November 2014

Dear readers I must apologise that it is now sunday the 30th of November and I am trying to catch up with the blog at long last, but I did so much with Paul in the time we had and have also been so busy that I have got very far behind with all of my adventures.  Paul had kindly sent me an e mail with lots of information about where we went and what we ate, all I have to do now is to sort that out when brain is working better and include in this, that will teach me not to get behind so much, but unfortunately at times its nicer to enjoy all the experiences than lie here typing using one finger.  So will see what I can do but otherwise will update when I return to UK more fully at that time I will also finally insert the photos that will I hope add to your reading of my trip.

But for now some notes as I remember not necessarily in sequence, Paul was very good in terms of helping me experience local food and to go to places where the less wealthy of Penang would eat and drink, often our quite delicious meals would cost a pound equivalent in our money, but I must admit there was still the odd fast food place along the way. I do realise that some of you readers will be impressed at this change,  plus now I am thinking of becoming a little more adventurous when I return home, but we will see. The places we went often were food halls in markets with lots of individual tiny stalls selling a whole variety of foods,  but very busy. As a contrast we also visited some of the very expensive shopping centres,  Paul explained that new ones were constantly being opened up but that then the older ones deteriorated through lack of loyalty on the shoppers part, but they all seemed to have these inexpensive food courts to eat at.

During my time in Penang sadly I never managed to meet up with Audrey as she was still unwell neither did I meet their 3 sons, but maybe another time if I am able to return which I  hope to do, we will finally catch up. I am pleased for Paul that he had settled so well in Penang and enjoys the life and culture, I dont blame him for wanting to spend the rest of his life here with his family he seems to of truly integrated into the culture and  found something to do with contentment in his life.

Personally I found the traffic difficult to cope with, I thought it was bad elsewhere but here every trip out it seemed people took their life in their hands,  I forgot to ask about how good the local bus and transport system was for people as we never experienced it. The weather generally was very hot and humid,  with occasional rain which was unbelievable in how heavy it was when it happened. There was an amazing mixture of cultures and religions coexisting here, but also between the rich and the poor with very expensive high rise condominiums and in the country small wooden houses where the local fishermen lived. The countryside generally was a lush green that Paul tells me is down to the mixture of hot dry and wet weather.

We talked about the effects of the tsunami it seems there, it did not have as much of an impact as in Thailand, it appeared to me that the rapid expansion of the city was taking a greater toll and at one area we looked at the former beach was now a dirty looking area of silt washed up each day by the tide, so much for progress.  As a total contrast we had looked at the main Buddest temple( will include more detail from Paul) it was a beautiful building in a fantastic setting but spoilt a little by the building work and the tourists such as us.

I totally enjoyed my trip here and do think much was down to Paul and his thoughtfulness and kindness and comprehensive knowledge of the area and culture as well as his kindness in coping when I was tired or needed a frequent visit to the restrooms on our trip LOL, so Paul thanks so much for everything, I do really hope that in the not to distant future to return here and maybe next time if Audrey is well enough we can all meet again.

As I have said readers I am sorry this is a condensed version of a  very busy enjoyable trip to Penang but selfishly I felt the need to enjoy my time here exploring but also catching up with Paul, so I will see if at some point I can expand it all for you. One of the odd things on this trip is I have lost all knowledge of what day or date it is due to all the changes, also I hoped to get lots of vitamin C and was worried that I would get burnt in the sun, my body generally is exactly as when I left home as I have had no time to relax on the beach even here in this beautiful setting, maybe next time.

Well finally it was time to leave, so I was up early which was as well as so was Paul, we set off for the airport which again was busy with traffic but we had lots of time, on arrival I checked in then we had some breakfast before I set off through security, the airport was tiny compared to many that by now I had visited,  I said my goodbyes to Paul and then on to the next flight, it was late boarding but ok, we were served a drink and sandwich, the onky oroblrm was the idiot in front who seemed to need to head bang the seat and keep reclining his seat which reduced my already restricted legroom, but it was a short flight and soon we arrived at Singapore.

On my way toPenang 24 November 2014

Today I got the correct day woke up early but decided to take my time with getting to the airport, checked e mail and websites, then had shower and dressed foot,  I was very clever and did a selfie on it so could see what was doing, then down for breakfast, Robs wife was there and very pleasant asking about yesterday,  discussed pizza man, she mentioned the bakery was also a strange company to deal with. I forgot to say had spoken to friend Paul about problems and my feet so he had offered to help out when i get there but pain much less today, finished packing, then off to the ferry.

Just missed but was ok for time, so caught next, not to busy, then to train for airport so different this time,  when got there signs said  to use lifts, but were long queues so used escalators instead.  Luckily remembered where to go, but still a long walk. At Singapore Airlines was the same nice young lady dealing with me, we quickly sorted me out and another young woman took me to the aircraft, what a busy large place it is, think I would of struggled if tried to do on own. There were quite a few people in wheelchairs waiting to board but we were very well dealt with, plane itself much better than many of the others and staff pleasant in dealing with everybody, so settled back to relax for a couple of hours, well no the flight is 6 hours I think, the times have changed yet again no wonder I dont know what day or time it is. Now the only problem was that I had dressed for the weather in shorts and short sleeved shirt, but the air con was very cold, even the young man sat next to me put an extra layer on, I mentioned it to one of the staff,  but nothing seemed to change so it was as well that they provided blankets which most people were using, eventually the temperature went up but not very much.

The food and drinks were good and decent portions, the entertainment system was also better and easier,  once I had worked it out and later I found it was suitable for the loop of my hearing aids and at present I am typing this on board whilst listening to a selection of their music, see only another 3 and a half hours to go so may have a sleep soon as I have to change planes so more time before I finally reach my destination. Oh I forgot to say that I was very privileged to have a very small unhappy child in the row behind me that let us know this by its crying, at least after a while it quietened down but has just set off again. At times like this the joys of poor hearing and being able to turn on T setting that cuts out lots of noise but can still hear the audio, even if there is a background noise, must investigate all this when return home. Other problem for me is hearing announcements above the plane roar.

Settled to watch nice but sad film after music session,  had slept briefly, well thats what it seemed to me. Then seems we were running late but I should be ok for my flight, but no time to explore Singapore airport now. Was asked to keep back when plane landed and would have escort to get me to plane to Penang, so did this, there was three quarters of an hour to  do so felt would achieve easily, err no wheelchairs not ready when landed so to help walked to concourse, not sure why but then seemed to wait for ever whilst man messed about with paperwork.

Finally with another driver we set off driving at speed through the airport which was huge,  other passengers seemed oblivious to our vehicle travelling at speed and sounding its horn, the driver said I may have to get a later flight, explained did not really want to do this, as had been on the go from early that morning, he went on the phone whilst driving err uum not sure was safest thing in the world but if it got me on the plane that was ok.

Well we made it with a few minutes to spare,  when tried to get to the seat there was one of those passengers who block the aisle whilst they sort out their luggage totally without concern for others trying to board and get seated,  the attendant in the end told her to sit down must say often its a man.

So the plane set off quite basic compared to other but is only a short flight, was given snack and a drink so doing blog to pass time on the flight as there seems no entertainment unless have their app downloaded, good news we are landing shortly do soon will catch up with Paul and Audrey it must be at least seven or eight years since we last met. Then on to hotel and a nights rest before the next phase of my adventure.

Well as hoped when I got to the airport Paul was there to greet me but unfortunately Audrey has some sort of flu type bug so not able to meet up as she does not wish to pass on to me, such a shame as i was looking forward to meeting her again after our brief time at their wedding.  We quickly loaded my luggage into the car of off we set. I forgot to say it was very hot and the humidity was high but have found that I am getting used to it now, the roads were very busy, not sure I would wanted to even try with people cutting in and out of the lanes, but soon we reached the hotel.

What a difference to one or two of the other places i have stayed in definately no creepy crawlies here so far, it was quite upmarket, the check in was swift, I was offerred an upgrade to a beach one for an extra £10 per night, so took that, I could see a beautiful view through the back of the hotel. Paul acted as porter so off we went, it was a very pleasant room, and the view stunning, he left me to unpack and said would call back later to go for a meal and see a few of the sights.

One more week to go 26 October 2014

It seems so long ago since my first chat with my son about a trip to the Grand Canyon, that developed into this marathon of 30 days away with over 60 hours in the sky, 5 countries and 10 destinations for me. Now there are three of us the latest addition is Gulliver Chico Glasser, see previous blog for more about him, dont forget to follow him on Facebook, he hashis own profile and will keep you up to date with his travels as well as photos with me.

They will be with me on my first leg to London that origionally was just a train trip, but thanks to you Maggie is now going to be an exciting adventure, with visits to the Poppy garden at the Tower, then a trip down the Thames by boat, a meal at the O2, then cable car across the river before a train trip to Docklands.  If I time it right it will then be a trip to Heathrow after rush hour to rest before the start of the real trip with our first adventure in New York.

So far it seems we are going to visit staten island ferry, the Statue of Liberty, the memorial to the Twin Towers and the Air Sea museum, but the first adventure there will be to find our hotel, as it involves a trip into the centre first.

After a few days there we travel to Vegas hopefully to visit the Grand Canyon, it came as a surprise that it gets cold in Vegas and the Canyon so it could affect our ability to get there and my sons planned bike ride on the Rim, but we will see. I am still hoping for the chance to meet up with my Buzzer friend Geri if her health is up to it. My son informs me we are having a look at casinos and the Strip is obviously going to be included, think may need to hire a scooter to help cope with distances.

My son then travels back home then its me and my new trusty friend Gulliver Chico Glasser for the rest of the journey. If you read back a little you will read about him, he is with me to promote ME Chronic Fatigue Syndrome awareness and promote our local group as well as encourage people to sponsor him on the groups behalf.

The next leg is to Auckland for a couple of days, then to Oz, Port Douglas, Ayres Rock, then Sydney. I have found a place there to stay where  whem I come in on the ferry there are spectacular views each day of the Opera House and Bridge at each destination it will be an adventure.

Then its onto Malaysia with a trip to visit my friend in Penang followed by a trip to Singapore and finally to Shanghai before returning back to London again for the last leg home.

Its thanks to Sue at Ace Travel2 that its all been possible,  thanks Sue for all your time and patience over the months in the planning and sorting out paperwork for the trip as well as encouragement with the mammoth task, I must stop making lists as my luggage will be overloaded with them.

My visas are in place,  Sue is coming this week to go through all my paperwork to make sure I have my E tickets transfer and hotel vouchers, my GP has sorted out my prescription and  I should have a letter from her, so there are no issues for the medication I will be carrying for pain relief. I have had all necessary inoculations and more recently my flu jabs and just to make sure, have travel insurance to cover the trip.

After I thought about the cold in New York and possibly Vegas and the Canyon, I have made sure that I will have sufficient clothing that will cope with the hot and cold weather, I have tried packing my case and everything I can think of is going in and it is still under weight,  sorry have not included yet all of Chicos clothes some kindly donated by Caroline and  Mandy, do another task for me. I have decided as I am travelling with Chico that this time I will not take my SLR camera rather, my tablet, compact camera and recently purchased camcorder to record what I see on my travels and also to copy onto my blog but also to keep copies to show when I get back home. They will take up less room and be more inconspicuous I hope as I travel around.

Although it is now so close I still have not sorted out the best way to deal with money in the various countries, despite advice from my friend Paul which has been helpful on the subject and other aspects of my trip. But will finally resolve this week, its so complicated with a range of currencies to deal with in particular when I first arrive at destinations in the different countries and the first few hours whilst I find my bearings, so different as a lone traveller than with an organised trip, but much more exciting I hope.

Well I will close for now, hope you enjoy the read and will continue to follow the adventure as it unfolds.

An update on the last 12 Months in My Life

Some thoughts about the last 12 months in my life and about the 12 months

It has been a strange 12 months I achieved some positives but failed some of the other things I hoped to have done

I feel that Sagazone has definitely had an impact on my life in the last year, at this point in 2008, I was feeling lonely and isolated unsure about what lay ahead, also having problems with my health.

There were a number of things I hoped would happen, such as another trip to The Isle of Man, to see the things I had not managed to visit on my last trip, to travel to a number of viaducts and take photos of their stunning beauty, I also wanted to have more social contact with people rather than just stay at home all the time.

What in fact happened was initially I became more involved in the fantasy forums on Sagazone, I doesn't result started to meet new people at the gatherings, gaining friends as I went along, if you follow my blog you will of read mine & Debbie’s story which seems to of progressed very well and has brought me great happiness so far and a whole new range of happy experiences, the best which was the lovely thoughtful Christmas presents I received from her.

I have been to Spain twice this year once with my friend Brian for another of our photo expeditions & one on my own as detailed earlier, this last one reminded me of how lonely I felt on my own & texts were the big thing that kept me going at that time.

I have now also been to a number of meetings involving Saga and enjoyed meeting a whole range of lovely people at various places, who I would never normally of come across, also through Saga I have got chatting to a range of people on one of the forums, reading of their exploits on a daily basis & the ups & downs in their lives, in fact one of my dilemmas is how addictive it has become, even more so as people open up more and others join the group.


One of the things I have missed is being part of the Blogging community on Saga & reading the exploits of Honeycook Funky Farmer & others, as well as on here, also the strange pleasure of telling the tale of incidents in my life to an interested audience, maybe that should be one of my resolutions for next year to start up again.

One of the loveliest things that happened this year apart from meeting Debbie was to actually meet my long distance friend Sofi briefly in Birmingham for a few short hours before she had to return home again

Regarding my health I have now been extensively checked for a number of things no thanks to the NHS but still do not have any firm answers about how to become pain free at present, I started treatment with Gail a physio & have nothing but thanks for how she has helped me with the physical health problems I have, but what a strange set of exercises I have had to do to assist me on the path

I have been unable to do some of the things I hoped for last year, such as trying to do something constructive in relation to the people in the town in Zambia I wanted to visit, or to go on a safari

I did not manage to get to Penang to meet Hamster my friend & his wife, I have to accept it was partly my fault but then he came over here working anyway, so maybe we will finally meet up again.

Nor did I go on my travels round the world as I hoped to do, not sure why really I suppose a combination of health & being to busy enjoying myself doing other things so the time passed for it to happen, plus I struggled in coming to terms with giving up work & managing .

One of the other things that I enjoyed were the meetings with Brian Andy & Stewart on our outings into the local shopping centre, discussing important things such as how scary the new Master was in Dr Who and similar important topics to long & boring for you the reader to have to put up with, but which provided a pleasant interlude in our lives

Well what about the new year, firstly, at present I am trying to organise a once in a lifetime trip to Disney for myself & the family in the summer, I thought it would be so easy, but the hardest is trying to plan for a party of six, and get my head round all that needs doing for it to happen.

I am off on a special holiday in March for a week with Debbie, which I hope will be all that we wish for

Possibly at some time Brian will get another passport & we could be off on our travels again to who knows where, surely not Scarborough & the dragons again

If I can plan it I would still like to visit the Isle of Man & finally get to those viaducts in various parts of Britain, its just setting the dates I feel that prevents it.

Forgot to say I made a resolution to lose weight this year, but people have been tempting & feeding me to much food so far, this year, but I really must make an effort from this week
I saw the consultant this week & he feels giving up work is the right thing to do, also that they will try to give me injections in spine in the hope that this time they will work, but if not maybe at long last the operation will be carried out but not before I have been on my special trips

As a result I have now spoken to my boss & committed myself to finishing work at the end of March or early April, which is a little bit scary but we will see

Finally giving up work at this point in life seems to make sense, because in reality I should of finished back in 2000, but have now done another 8 years which have taken their toll of my physical health & been quite stressful more & more as the type of work I have been doing has become more complex & stressful and possibly it is time for other younger people to take on the battles so that I can have some quality time for myself

Having said that I have a feeling I will continue with some sort of voluntary work in fact the next activity is the annual concert to try to resolve in the next few weeks, which I will give you an update on when hopefully it is a greater success than the approx £5 we made last year

Finally I hope you enjoyed the read & will continue, sorry forgot to say to those of you who have followed my Blogs I really will try to do better in this coming year