Woke Up Starving

I left the lecture hall for the hotel at 8 pm last night - it wasn't exactly night because sunset was just after 9 pm. The last meal I had was lunch, and dinner was just a cocktail affair just before the evening lecture. Reached hotel just before 9, shower, email, television and I was fast asleep by 10

Woken up at 5 in the morning by the grumbling in my stomach. I was starving. And all I had in the room was some fruits. After those were devoured, I had to wait for breakfast which were served from 6. Luckily the wait wasn't very long.

This morning, I plan to do a bit of walking in town if weather permitting in between the scheduled talk. I wanted to experience the charm of Lugano. As well as take some photographs of course.

So, off to the showers, and would be in front of the queue for breakfast.

The Second Morning

I decided to leave a bit later for the second morning as the transfer was too early for my liking. I therefore had a nice breakfast, and did a bit of surfing before taking the ride down.

The weather seemed a bit colder this morning. Possibly it would be raining as well. So, planning to stay indoors as much as we could although the town centre was just too picturesque for somebody like me. Maybe I would do an impromptu photowalk during lunch. Even the McDonald's here looked photogenic.

As for this morning, it was time to walk downhill to the bus stop. Lets see how the public transport work here ..... in Switzerland.

Off to Milano

Reached Schipol in plenty of time to catch the connection to Milan. Then, we would take the 90 minutes drive in a minibus across the Swiss border to our destination, Lugano.

After the tiring call, I actually fallen asleep even before the aircraft took off. I refused the inflight supper, and slept for almost 10 hours. Even my colleagues were surprised. My ex-boss only managed an hour sleep despite taking medications.

I would blog more about the KLM flight - on a 777-300, an aircraft which was actually longer than the 747 - which I only realised after boarding, along with 415 fellow flyers.

For now, I would have to switch off my mobile - boarding soon.

Reading on Lugano

It had been a long day. I only reached hone after Maghrib, and by the time I had ny shower and prayer, it was already dinner time. The boys had some test tomorrow at their Qur'an school, so they had to do a bit of reading.

That meant that I would be left alone in front of the TV after dinner. And no, I won't be watching Buletin Utama. Not my cup of tea. So, I decided to do a bit of reading.

Last weekend, I picked up a book on the Italian Lakes at Kinokuniya. So, I decided to have a peek into it. This had been my habit for my trips. The idea was that at least I would have an idea of what to expect and what not to miss when I got to the venue. So far, it had worked. I read about places to visit and shop at Atlanta. Nothing much but at least I knee what to expect. Of course I read about Kyoto before the trip, and the place was amazing.

I would be leaving for Lugano next Monday evening via Amsterdam and Milan. The scary part was, I would be in call on Sunday. Hopefully I could settle my admissions quickly and pass then in to my colleagues. It would be a tiring trip again from the looks of things.

Travel Entry Update

Since I kept getting called from the ward - a few ill patients last night - I decided to stay up a bit longer than usual. I actually ended up updating my links on my previous overseas travel.

I only managed to work on the Atlanta trip - which turned out generating quite a few links. There were entries from applying for the visa right up to returning to Malaysia and headed straight for multiple on calls. The highlights for the trip must be my first time in the A380. Atlanta was not much of a draw unfortunately.

The Kyoto trip has yet to be patched up yet. That would probably come in later. Hopefully I could make as many updates in my trip next week to Lugano. I had bought some travel books in preparation for the trip, looking forward to leaving next Monday evening.

But for now, I had to cover one of my senior colleagues who was away on conference leave in Stockholm. Extra work for me from the looks of things, but hopefully I could have some rest after that.