Quick flight to Surabaya, only 40 mins but I gain an hour on UK time, so am now only 6 hours behind. So thats a whole day knocked off the jetlag recovery time when I get home – apparently it takes a full day for every hour of time difference to get your body clock back to normal.

Then its find a taxi, check it has seatbelts, get in, pay the fare and then as we set off we realise too late that the seatbelts are for show only and don’t actually work! So its a free white knuckle ride to the hotel, zipping from lane to lane, squeezing into impossibly tiny gaps with frequent braking participating in a couple of very close incidents along the way!

We arrive at the hotel at 9pm, so its a quick bite to eat in the hotel cafe and up to my room for 10pm. Oh good, free wifi – oh no – no signal at all!!!! Cant even get a strong enough mobile signal to ring home and check all is well….the joys of travelling.

Anyway its just a 1 night thing….I’m awake at 5.40am so I might as well get up as we are checking out at half 7…I feel like a proper business traveller!  No re-packing required….I only opened the suitcase lid!!

The mud flow is still going strong some 5 years after I last came to this area. It stems from an underground volcano that erupted in May 2006, and at its peak it was spewing mud out at a rate of 180,000 m³ of mud per day! The mud has a rotten egg aroma caused by the release of hydrogen sulphide, and as it continues to flow it is creating an unstable surrounding area as it begins to collapse in on itself. Geologists have predicted that Lusi as it is known in Indonesia, will probably flow for 25-30 years yet.

It has blocked one of the 2 main routes linking Surabaya and Malang (tonights destination), so the longer route will take almost 2 hours instead of an hour as it used to do (and in fact the journey was nearer 3 hours in the end!). The government keep building the retaining wall higher and higher to contain the liquid mudflow and the locals are very worried that the higher the wall, the weaker it gets and that at some point  the dam will burst free and swallow up more of the surrounding areas – villages and road links.

Our meetings in Surabaya included meeting up with an old friend and customer Mr Ah Lung….a lovely man and his wife who always lend us their driver and car when we are in town..he had recently visited the UK for the first time last month and so we spent an hour at lunch going through his photographs….many of them in my nearest city of Manchester, that I haven’t even visited myself!

Throughout Indonesia, there are many differing preferences for fragrances in general. Jasmine is always a safe bet, but some areas prefer it to be heavy and some prefer it to be a background note instead. Sweet candy like fragrances always go down well here  and light florals such as rose too. Grapefruit and sharp lime notes are deemed too sour, and cherry is too medicinal. Fresh, clean citrusy aromas tend to be found in most products.

As we make our way back to Jakarta for my last night in Indonesia, I am looking forward to a hot bath and a mojito before the long flight back to the UK. I hope you enjoyed my adventures here as much as I did

Have just had the very tiring drive down to Kuala Lumpur, 5 hrs involved, but Natalie and Wong are happy as the traffic was quite light  – sometimes the journey can have an extra hour or two added! One of the highlights was at the toilet stop. I found a little lizard secreted in the bushes catching the (very large) ants! It was very cute and kept cocking its head toward me as if to say ‘what are you looking at?’ The other point of interest on the long drive back to KL was passing through some amazing mountain formations known as the Lost World of Tambun…..wow, now I feel like i’m in some kind of Jurassic Park sequel!! Apparently there is a theme park secreted within the hills, so thats definitely on my to-do list – it really does look amazing.

So I arrive at the hotel in KL, The Gardens Mid Valley. I stay here each time I come now, I like the familiarity when you are so far away from home…..the bellboy recognises me ‘Ahhhh Miss Julie, you visit us again’ (he remembers me because the first time I stayed we had a long conversation about the English Premier League – he supports United and I support the mighty Wanderers!) I get the same room each time, I don’t even need to request it, they just check my record from last time….same again, its the familiarity that keeps you sane.

Unfortunately even though I have been in Malaysia since the weekend, for some reason my business card isn’t accepted - just what you need after a long tiring day. Anyway they know i’ve stayed there before and are quite happy for me to check in and for me to ring the UK to sort it out and the following morning the card goes through without a hitch.

I am picked up at 9am the following day to try and avoid the worst of the city traffic, and so it gives me plenty of time to get ready. On the way to our first appointment with a large cosmetics company, we pass the local Carlsberg factory. And do you know what??….the adverts are spot on……….Every Friday the workers are given free beer (as much as they want) after they finish their shifts…..now thats what i call keeping your employees happy!!! If I decide to change jobs at any point then it might be worth sending a CV off to Carlsberg just for the perks!!

I also learn about the largest flower in Malaysia. The subject comes up because we are listening to the local radio station (you spend rather a lot of time in the car travelling from one meeting to another), that plays a mix of 80’s and current UK pop music, so you can hum along to Kylie and Jason one minute and then be shimmying along to Rhianna the next. Anyway, inbetween the eclectic music there is a quiz that asks the name of this large flower…unfortunately he gets the answer wrong and thats the end of his chance to win 1000 ringgits, however Nat and Wong knew it, and then begin to tell me about it. It only grows in 2 places in Malaysia and even then, it is very secretive. It grows deep in the jungle and you have to trek a couple of days to catch a glimpse of it. It only flowers once a year and so if you do see it, it is considered very lucky indeed. Natalie has indeed forayed into the jungle for a peek and although she did find the plant, it wasn’t in flower at the time.

It is called the Borneo Rafflesia, and it turns out that it is not only Malaysia’s largest flower but the world’s largest! I found the following information on the internet, and hope you enjoy reading about it.

 In the year 1818, Sir Stamford Raffles was posted as Governor to Bencoolen in Sumatra which was then, the administrative centre for the British East India Company for Western Sumatra. Raffles’s interest in natural sciences was insatiable.

A respected and popular member of the Royal Society in London, Raffles arranged and persuaded a fellow society member – Dr.Joseph Arnold to accompany him on an expedition into the interiors of Sumatra. It was on one of these expeditions that they stumbled on a discovery which was to puzzle botanists for a long time. Unfortunately, Dr Arnold died because of jungle fever before presenting the report to the society.

Habitat

Rafflesia are endemic to Southeast Asia, and of the recorded 17 known species, the Rafflesia flowers have been found only in Indonesia – Sumatra and Java, Malaysia, including Borneo island and south Thailand. Rafflesias have small, brownish, scale like leaves and fleshy, foul-smelling flowers of various sizes from a few inches to a meter big in diameter. Rafflesia is classified as a parasite, which means it just takes the nutrient out of its host.

The Rafflesia can be found in tropical rainforests where the climate is continuously warm and humid, with very high humidity. The Rafflesia is rare and fairly hard to locate. It is especially difficult to see in bloom; the buds take up to 10 months to develop and the blossom lasts for just a few days and how many of these strange plants that survive in primary rainforest is still unknown.

Characteristic

The buds that form before blooming are the size of a cabbage. The large fleshy flower is the flower’s sexual organ. There is a deep well in the centre of the flower containing a central raised disc that supports many vertical spines. The sexual organs are located beneath the rim of the disk, and male and female flowers are separate.

The reddish brown colors of the petals sprinkled with white freckles, exudes the most unpleasant stench, similar to rotting flesh or carrion. Some people believe that the stench attracts flies and insects which help disperse the seeds.  In order for the seed to germinate, it was found that the vine of the host plant must be damaged in some way so that the filaments of the seed may infiltrate successfully. The damage to the host vines could be made by trampling hoofs of large animals. The seeds would then adhere to the passing animals’ hoofs and are transported to other places where they can find host plants to attach to.

So the next time you are out and about in the countryside having a stroll, take a minute out to have a good smell….then thank your lucky stars that the British weather is too wet and cold for the fetid Rafflesia.

So, thats all for my blog today, dont forget to check back for the rest of my Eastern adventures…….

Arrived in Penang after setting off a tiring 28 hours ago. I have been assured that it will take less than 45mins to get to the hotel, and that elusive soak in the bath! As I set foot out of the airport, the first thing you notice is a peculiar aroma that pervades the air wherever you go in Malaysia and Indonesia outside the cities. It is a mix of heat, durian fruit and rokok, and once you have been here and smelled it, then you instantly associate the smell with the Far East.

Durian fruit is the Eastern version of Marmite – known as the King of Fruits, you either love it or hate it. Some people regard the durian as fragrant; others find the aroma overpowering and offensive. The smell evokes reactions from deep appreciation to intense disgust, and has been described variously as almonds, rotten onions, turpentine and gym socks.Most shopping malls refuse to stock it at all, as the fruit odour is so pungent that you begin to smell it a good 5 minutes before you even see it! Animals can detect the smell of the Durian up to half a mile away.

The Rokok are the local cigarettes, and even for a confirmed non-smoker as myself, the intense flavoursome mix of cinnamon, cloves, dark chocolate and smoky woods has a pleasurable aroma. You dont even need to get too close to the actual smoke vapour as the whole atmosphere is pervaded.

I have been watching Nothing to Declare in readiness for my trip – a ‘behind the scenes’ show of customs in Australia, and as I walked through the green lane, I could see people lined up with open suitcases and rows of packet foods ready to be confiscated. You’d have to be mad to try and smuggle anything into the country here and to be fair, they do give you fair warning on the plane – our captain told us as we landed that any drug trafficking automatically receives the death penalty! Well, that was enough to persuade me that the free peanuts I hadn’t eaten could stay on the airplane and so I fished them out of the pocket of my handbag and left them firmly on the seat tray!

I slept really well, the bed is very hard, just fine for my back! Woke up to the sound of rain lashing against the window, and sure enough a storm was rolling in….but its hard to feel hard done to – I can just make out the vague shape of a mountain range across the sea vista…..the sound of the sea crashing onto the beach below my window is a sound to savour no matter how wet and wild the weather outside.

I think its time to don a loaned sou’wester and go for a wild n windy walk!

I saw a lizard! I swear it was one of the komodo types, properly swaggering in the distance, but the moment I tried to find it amongst the rocks it completely disappeared! (when I mentioned it to Wong later, he thought i had been very brave to try and find it, brave warrior woman that i am!)

Tonight was a litte surreal, we started off with a trip to the Hard Rock cafe for our evening meal – which was fine in its own way, quiet though, and they sat us underneath Noel Gallaghers guitar, I mean come on, I’ve only just left Manchester – at least give me an American…. but hey ho, they did make an amazing Mojito

The evening ended with Nat n I waltzing on the dance floor to Pitbull, leaving poor Wong holding his head in his hands in complete despair!! Well – you only live once…..

Dont forget to stay tuned next week for my further adventures down in Kuala Lumpur.

There has been a blogging gap of 2 weeks, but don’t worry, all is not lost. I have been over to the Far East meeting up with 2 of our local agents in Malaysia and Indonesia.

I had wanted to blog as I went along, but for some reason couldnt access WordPress, and so I did the next best thing and hand wrote the notes instead. So, I will still write them in the present tense so that you can enjoy the journey with me….

For those of you that don’t know me personally, here is a bit of background information. I am a single mum in her mid forties, with a full time job and a dog! This combination ensures that I am always running about, never quite finishing one job off before starting the next and living alongside a set of permanent butterflies resident in my stomach. I am never quite fully ‘in the moment’ – always worrying about the list of jobs I need to do tomorrow, or by the end of the week. This also has the added effect of never appreciating the work that I actually do complete. This is also the reason that I seem to be (more and more) forgetful or absent minded these days. Its because I am never thinking about the job in hand. For example on my way to the airport I was feeling quite good about how organised I had been in the run up to my 2 week trip away. Sorting Sammi out at home, enlisting various friends, neighbours and family members to be surrogate parents, agony aunts, and food providers. Making sure lists had been handed out to all and sundry with telephone numbers, college times, details of whereabouts in the world I would be at any one time, dog ‘letting out’ duties for when sammi was at college all day, etc etc etc.

Oh how clever I was, all organised and all under control. I had even pre-booked the carpark for a cheaper deal. As I approached the barrier I realised I needed my credit card for entry so I rummaged around in my purse, found the card, dutifully inserted it and hey presto, the barrier opened. With a queue behind me (I know even at 5.30 in the morning!!) I put the card on my knee and proceeded to trawl the carpark looking for a) an empty spot, and b) somewhere easily recognisable for when I return to play hunt the car in 2 weeks time. This dutifully done (Red 10) I lugged my case from the boot, collected my laptop and handbag and proceeded to the free bus stop to wait for the ‘every ten minutes (yeah right!)’ bus to arrive to take me to the appropriate terminal.

All well so far….

I found the check in desk without too much hassle and took my turn in the queue. I arrived at the desk, presented my passport and wrestled my suitcase onto the belt. ‘can I take the card you made the booking with please ma’am’ and it was those 12 words that sent me into a state of panic. The card HAD been on my knee as I parked the car, and I know now that i didn’t remember doing anything else with it.  They wouldn’t let me leave my case (security risk of course!), so there was nothing for it but to get myself and my luggage (complete with dodgy broken wheel from the last time I flew) back to the carpark. Apparently there is no quicker way than getting the bus back (I had to ask in case someone pitied me and offered to drive me over there in one of those cute little airport buggies with the flashing lights – but to no avail). The bus driver did a double take. I had to sheepishly explain what had happened, but you know, he was lovely. Told me he would wait whilst I jumped off, and retrieved the card. As I go to my spot (red 10) there on the floor, on the gravel, outside my door was the offending article! I think I was just lucky that it was still so early in the morning that it was still sat there awaiting my return. Anyway, back on the bus I jumped and like Groundhog Day relived the past hour of my life!

Alas this was not the only mishap I had before even getting to the airport lounge. I have to admit that I was feeling a little smug, after all, karma was on my side, I found the card, the checking in lady had swapped my seat….all was well. Well until I hit the X Rays. There isn’t a choice anymore, you HAVE to go through the bodyscanner. Its not that I don’t appreciate the risk factors involved, but to be quite honest, I felt a little violated. I don’t want some random stranger to be looking at the outline of my body – I mean I spend quite a sizeable chunk of my free time wandering around the Trafford Centre, buying clothes to disguise it!!

Anyway as I said, there was no choice, but in the flustering few minutes after the scan, I collected my belongings from the x-ray tray, trying to collect everything before the next tray comes clattering down the ramp, I managed to drop my boarding pass through the rails into the bottom of the counter. I don’t think I was flavour of the month as they stopped the machine and had to spend a good 5 minutes poking with anything they could find that was long thin and pointy before miraculously, someone managed to fish it out.

You’ll be happy to know that that was the extent of my travelling woes, and believe me, on previous trips, things haven’t gone that well!!

I will update again on Thursday with details of my time in Penang.