Back to Civilisation

Todays trip from Pulau Weh may not have been as eventful as the trip there, but it still felt like the proverbial 3 day camel ride.

We were up just after 6am to drive over the on other side of the island via it's smooth (ha!) roads. After watching a lady give the ferry a rhythmic blessing with incense - important part of the maintainance team here in Muslim Indonesia - we were on our way to Banda Aceh. A mad taxi driver (is there any other kind?) took us at light speed to the airport with its inexplicable pre check-in X-ray and three sets of immigration to clear. What is it with the third world's love affair with bureaucracy?

We waited a quiet couple of hours then there was finally movement on the runway - men with clipboards, motorbikes clearing the runway of animals - and an actual aeroplane arrived. A nice shiny one. Ahhhhh, I bet it's even got air-con. (I am so ashamed - when did I get so creature-comfort mad??)

So we are back in Kuala Lumpur now, freeloading once again at Paul's groovy pad in Titti*snigger*wangsa.

Alex cooks up a storm in the kitchen.
















KL cooks up its own storm around the KLCC (Petronas) Towers.

It is raining buckets, off & on, and lightning is flashing all over the place. One was really loud & close - it was a bit scary. Very pretty and exciting though.