[Charles-P]

Currently sitting near a British couple and overhearing their conversation, they are discussing Brexit and immigration.

The woman has said twice now,
“I don’t understand the delay, we should be using the army to round up the illegals and start shipping them out of the country”.

She has also referred to Polish immigrants to Britain as “vermin” and Bulgarians as “half breeds”. Her other bright idea is to fill in the Channel Tunnel, remarkably she thinks that migrants are walking through it on a daily basis.

Her husband is even more extreme, he favours shooting the migrants at Calais via helicopter gunships and using gas if that doesn’t work ! He thinks that the Polish government has a policy of paying for airline tickets for its criminals to travel to the UK. He also thinks the football world cup was “fixed” by the EU to ensure France won.

They have just heard my wife and I talking English and have asked to join us, should be an interesting evening.

[capetonianm]

I hadn’t realised that was you sitting next to us, Charles!

[canucklad]

capetonianm … : )

Charles, with a bit of humour and a few factually accurate comments, you might get your new friends to contemplate their reasoning’s …..
You won’t change their opinion, you might just get them to reflect on their thoughts, and why my Grandfather fought the Bosch and my Uncle was one of the first onto the beaches of Gold !!

enjoy, and if all else fails, remember you can double up on the Gin measurements !!

[Charles-P]

No they were both the full Gammon, we made our excuses and left. Really nasty, hate filled people.

Back in our room now and having an email catch up session with friends and family. One of our daughters is very pregnant so we are monitoring developments.

[Charles-P]

Dinner tonight is at the Shri Restaurant on top of the Centec Tower. The review reads,

“With its ceiling-to-floor windows it offers unparalleled panoramic views from nearly every table. Frangipani trees, water features and the general open-air feel make for a perfect place to unwind after a long day exploring the city. The objective of Shri Restaurant & Lounge is simple: beautiful home-cooked European food in a relaxed and ambient setting.” So we are looking forward to that.

We have had a very busy couple of days and have really burnt the shoe leather with multiple sites and trips. A relaxing evening tonight and day tomorrow before Friday when we depart for the next leg of our global Odyssey where we will be flying Vietnam Airlines to Kuala Lumpa, a two hour flight and I’m told their Business Class product is quite reasonable.

In KL we are booked into the Mandarin Oriental (stayed there before, excellent hotel and staff) – King Room with Park view. We intend to visit some old friends who have relocated there from London for business, go to the aquarium at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre, a stroll along the Bintang Walk and of course a climb up the KL Tower.

[Charles-P]

Well it’s been a magnificent few days here in Malaysia.

The Mandarin Oriental is a first class hotel and I strongly recommend it to forum members when visiting KL. We had originally booked a ‘King Room’ but there was some damage to our allocated room and we have been upgraded (we think) to a Mandarin Room which has master bedroom, a living room with dining table and a fantastic walk in shower. All this combined with a wonderful view over the park.
Quality of service here is of course superb and the food equally so. To date we have eaten in the Aqua Bar and the Wasabi Bistro – both well worth a visit even if one is not staying at the hotel. In addition to hotel dining we have also enjoyed Iketeru Restaurant (very good) and Nobu (not worth it, don’t bother) together with the utterly bizarre ‘Plane in the City’, a birthday surprise from my wife this involves dining in a parked 737 but also includes a cockpit trip and wing walking. The meal started with glasses of cocktails upon upon arrival in their lounge together with pieces of lobster in mini buns with lemon/lime dressing followed by a four course dinner menu supplied by the Le Meridien Hotel. O to have dined like that when I was regularly flying for business !

This morning we visited the aquarium at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre which took around an hour to walk through, I think the one at Dubai Mall is better but that’s just me. If you like aquariums, give it a visit. Later we had lunch with friends at their apartment and with them this afternoon we went to the Bintang Walk, an eclectic mixture of shops, restaurants and malls. Very vibrant and fun. I bought myself a rather nice green silk tie and some stylish matching jade cuff links.

Tonight with other friends and at their recommendation we are eating at Skillet At 163. Never been there before, report to come tomorrow.

[Charles-P]

Quick review – “Skillet At 163”.

Described as,

“Serving modern European cuisine with Asian flair” We found this a very pleasant restaurant. Our friends who live in KL are regulars here and we were greeted warmly.

As starter I had the crab meat on toast which was light and well seasoned, to accompany it a glass of Van Duzer Pinot Gris 2006.
For the main I chose their Lamb Loin which was well cooked (nicely pink in the middle) with a bottle of Ribera del Duero although am unsure which one as this was chosen by my friend.
For pudding I went with the passion fruit sorbet and coconut lemongrass ice cream which was delicious.

I understand from my friend they offer a fixed price business lunch which a well which I would recommend for forum members seeking to entertain a client.

Later today I have an appointment at the famous Allen Khoo men’s tailor who will measure me for a new suit. This recommendation courtesy of ‘LuganoPirate’ – thank you for that.

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LuganoPirate

[GivingupBA]

Charles, I’m turning green with envy – private Falcon jet from Nice to Muscat, all that lobster, 5-star hotel stays … while I drive my Skoda to TESCO for 10 quid’s worth of food … Don’t get me wrong though, it’s fond envy and vicarious enjoyment, please keep writing, I’m enjoying it a lot! Like anyone I’ve had highs and lows in my life, and you bring nice memories of the highs back. (Still getting highs, I’m off to HKG in the CX J cabin soon).

[Charles-P]

Now in South Korea. Full report to follow. We have been up country on nature Safari here

[Charles-P]

GivingUpBA

In my experience life is a series of challenges, victories, setbacks and rewards. I do know that for all the financial advantages I have over many others it is the love of my wife which is by far my greatest gift. This trip is really my thanks to her for a lifetime of support.

1 user thanked author for this post.

GivingupBA

[LuganoPirate]

[quote quote=879571]GivingUpBA

In my experience life is a series of challenges, victories, setbacks and rewards. I do know that for all the financial advantages I have over many others it is the love of my wife which is by far my greatest gift. This trip is really my thanks to her for a lifetime of support.[/quote]

How very touching and a sentiment I fully agree with Charles. Well said, well done, have a wonderful weekend, continue to enjoy the trip and regale us with your travels.

1 user thanked author for this post.

GivingupBA

[Charles-P]

Early evening here in Seoul and time for an update. This leg of our journey has been a little different in that we went for an extended hiking and camping trip through the Bukhansan National Park. We had read about this online and decided after all the “five star” life we have lived so far on this trip we should go for something more energetic.

The national park is stunning but the hiking is hard going at times and requires a good level of fitness, for the first couple of days we were very sore and tired but as the body adapted we became more and more agile. We climbed the Baegundae Peak, the highest point in South Korea and a real challenge, not the place for anyone scared of heights ! We employed a guide for the entire time we were in the park and this was money very well spent. He was a former South Korean soldier who had taught jungle survival to young troops and despite being nearly sixty years old he was far fitter than me. He had an extensive knowledge of the local bird life and I was able to tick off a few new species for my ‘life list’ Camping in the park is by prior arrangement only and rangers do come and check passes to ensure one has the necessary paperwork (South Korean can be somewhat bureaucratic). They are however extremely hospitable and we got used to being offered fruit, sweets and local pastries by nearly everyone we met while walking.

Our campsite was partly in a cave and this gave good protection from the weather which was welcome as the temperature can drop at night. Via our guide I discovered the local “firewater” called Soju. Our guide also showed us the complex set of rituals that must be observed by the drinker, these become more and more difficult to remember as the drinking continued.

We are back in Seoul city now staying at the Four Seasons which has a bar called the “Charles H” – this of course I like very much. Tomorrow we move on to Tokyo where in an unexpected surprise we will be meeting up with my late brother’s wife who is in the country visiting friends.

In the interim between this report and my last we have also become Grandparents again with my daughter giving birth to a healthy boy of eight pounds who has been named Tristan Alfred. We are very proud.

[capetonianm]

I am enjoying reading about your trip – and congratulations on becoming grandparents, even if it’s ‘again’.

[Charles-P]

[quote quote=881780]congratulations on becoming grandparents, even if it’s ‘again’.[/quote]

I have long said that being a grandparent far outweighs the joy of being a parent. All the fun, all the love, all the excitement and then when the little rascal is full of sugar and thoroughly overexcited hand back to parent 🙂

We will take a short break from our RTW trip to fly back to London and see him next week. For my son-in-law’s parents this is their first grandchild so a lot of excitement. I spoke to my “opposite number” who is a Barrister and he was already planning a law degree for the boy while his wife is currently emptying Hamleys in London.

[Charles-P]

My wife and I must unexpectedly return to the UK next week from Tokyo (see birth notice above). Any recommendations from the forum as to airlines or routes ? We will fly Business or First and would like to sleep for most of the journey.

Thanks.

[Author]

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