I have been very impressed by how easy getting into the airports is now (in my experience) compared with three years ago. It seems, and maybe I have been fortunate, that the interminable queues of the past are gone, and two or three people ahead for the passport control or security is the norm. What a relief.

The last few days in kl seemed to go very quickly. The pain session with the Pakman went by enjoyably, the visit to the doctor to have the stitches out (this time by a slender, elegant and clearly spoken Indian woman) had a pleasing outcome. The cut on the forehead has healed so as to be almost undetectable (so there goes the story of a duelling wound that I had been inventing) and the mega scabs on the knees are becoming smaller, while still looking like a serious case of the plague.

I went to a splendid Chinese temple, the Thean Hou temple, just a km or so from the central station. It’s on the top of a hill, surrounded by jungle and bathed in the sounds of birds, supported by the dull roar of the traffic on the nearby freeways. With a little imagination one could self delude into thinking it was the distant ocean.

It’s a pretty elaborate affair, and mightily peaceful.

It’s a great place to visit.

It’s dedicated to the Chinese sea goddess Mazu, and a few other goddesses and was opened in 1989.

There are a few signs and company names that have unintended suggestions in English. This one summed it up well…

The flight to Bali was effortless, I didn’t have to flap my wings much at all, and apart from bureaucracy at the immigration, it was all good.

Look in next time for what happens in Bali.

T