Writer's Notebook - James Rafferty Blog

Langkawi and Datai Bay

What's a good reward for taking a trip that requires around 29 hours of travel time in airports and on planes?   Well, ending up on a bay in the tropics isn't a bad one.   I'm here for a conference, which is described on the web here.  The location is Langkawi, which is an archipelago off the coast of mainland Malaysia and is actually part of Malaysia.   

I'm staying a a hotel and resort named The Andaman, which is described in its online ads as being located within a virgin tropical rain forest.  From what I can see, this is absolutely true.  Outdoors, we can hear the constant sound of insects including one that sounds alternately like either a tea kettle boiling or a high-pitched drill.  When I stepped into my room, the decor was sharp, reminding me of the W in the US.  Even better, my room has a fantastic view of Datai Bay.   

Here's what the room looks like: 

And the view: 

The weather was warm and humid, but not uncomfortable.  The air was hazy, which is apparent in a few of the pictures.   The temperature this morning was about 90 F or 35 C.   The reception area and most of the common areas of the hotel are open air.  This is the tropics and the clothes that feel right are short sleeve shirts, shorts and bathing suits. 

After getting settled and doing some business email, I was ready for lunch.   I walked downstairs to a restaurant that is on a terrace overlooking the pool area.   Here, the menu was diverse.  I wanted something light, so I decided to get a vegetable curry.   The waitress asked me if I would mind it if the dish was pretty spicy.  I've been eating Indian food for years, so I told her that wasn't a problem.  She came by a few minutes later with a choice of several different breads.  I took an olive roll and slices of French bread.   Next, the curry and rice arrived.   The rice was white and served in the shape of a pyramid.   The curry was nicely presented and lived up to its billing.  It was both good and very spicy.  Here the bottled water was a must.  Between that and liberal amounts of white rice, my mouth and throat were cooled down enough so I could eat it.   About half of the vegetables were familiar, such as peppers and carrots, but several were unfamiliar.  Fortunately, they all tasted pretty good and the vegetables had the right kind of texture, just a little bit crunchy.   

The views from the terrace were spectacular, so I decided to go take some pictures after lunch.   

Here is another view of the bay: 

All of this whet my appetite for the real thing, so I headed back to my room to don my swim trunks.   I went to the bay first.   The beach has sand of a fine consistency.  It's very easy to walk on and sticks to everything.   I walked out to the water.  The temperature was very comfortable, probably around 80 F.  I started to swim and very quickly realized that this was salt water, not fresh water like the lake swimming to which I am accustomed.   Nonetheless, it was pleasant.  By now, the sun was out in full force, so my pale skin quickly started to feel the effect.   I did a few laps back and forth, then decided to try the pool.   

The pool was a cooler than the bay and very refreshing.  It was also in a more shaded area, so I was able to swim longer.  It felt great.  Here is a portion of the pool, which also shows the densely packed forest that surrounds everything here: 

Between the two swims, it now really feels like I'm in the tropics.   I'm still recovering from all of that travel, but I'm off to a good start.   If things go as planned, I get to play golf tomorrow at a fine looking course which is nearby.   The business meetings also begin tomorrow.   

Riding the Eurostar

Last week I had my first chance to take the Eurostar train that runs under the English Channel. My reaction --- do it when you get the chance!

I was writing in my journal throughout the trip. Here are some excerpts:

Blazing past the rolling green meadows of northwestern France, while Frank Sinatra and Jimmy Buffet offer a soundtrack of Mack the Knife on my Ipod. Speeds approach 200 mph; the train glides silky smooth o'er the tracks --- no annoying roars from jet engines. To my left, giant white windmills spin with a light breeze. Here's a a furrow cut through miles of early bloom farm land. There's nothing like this in the U.S. We speed along at a rate that's nearly twice as fast as New England's Acela.

The musical pace picks up with the robust hard piano chops of Ektar, playing a song called Place St. Henri. It's the real deal, courtesy of a hot young jazz group --- the instruments are piano, drums and bass, but it sounds like there is much more. We're still in France, but soon will dip below the English Channel.

Paris itself has a new novel form of transport --- bikes for rent. According to a French colleague, the first hour is free, then you pay about one Euro per hour. I saw several people using them during my 2 day stay. They can be dropped off at any of a series of bike racks set up throughout the city. One thing about Paris --- there is something new on every visit. Of course, you have to compete for road space with cars, buses and pedestrians, but the new approach is still very popular.

On curves, the train tilts on banked rails --- very cool. I just saw a sign for Calais --- the edge of the sea should be near. It must be colder here in the French countryside. The white of snow is blended on top of the green. In the background, David Gilmour sings "Wish You Were Here". Indeed!

Now, we're finally in the chunnel, 1 hour and 45 minutes into the trip. We did have a couple of stops along the way or we would have been here sooner. I took the moment to reset my watch to Greenwich Mean Time. The tunnel is dark except for occasional lights on the sides. Twenty minutes later, we emerge into the English countryside. It's very different here. The landscape is much hillier and has more coarse vegetation. We just passed a road sign that indicates London is 40 miles away. We've got to be going at least 160 mph, which is evidently new for the English portion of this trip. I'd heard that the new tracks and newly refurbished station on this side just opened last November. We had one more stop in Ebbsfleet, a rustic community and then went through a landscape that included sheep and livestock in the foreground, with tall gray windmills and factories in the distance. Our final stop was the St. Pancras station. The last time I was in the UK, it still ran into Waterloo station, but that was the old route.

The St. Pancras station is impressive. It is big and glassy, with lots of new shops and elements of ongoing construction in the background. My first thought --- this is a harbinger of 21st century transportation. Consider this: Each car held about 80 people and the train had 16 cars, offering a capacity of 1280 people. No small wonder that this train is starting to make money. Plus, we are right in the heart of London and were only a 20 minute cab ride from our business meeting. This was a very good experience. I'd be happy to do it again and don't miss dealing with the Heathrow or Charles de Gaulle airports a bit.