I’m back and I’m backblipping!

Just to let you know that Mrs CBL and I are safely home after a tortuous journey which lasted 37 hours taking us from Kuala Lumpur to Brunei then on to London before arriving in Aberdeen some 37 hours* later!

We are indebted to Trailfinders, the travel company, not only for arranging our safe return home but also for covering the cost of our flight with Royal Brunei Airlines. The Royal Brunei Airlines, in turn, gave us a free upgrade to Premium Economy Class which made the 14 hour flight a more comfortable experience.  It may not have been the business class flights we had booked with KLM but we are grateful to RBA for that gesture and for stepping into the breach and ensuring that we could travel home without further delay.

The Malaysian Government had placed the country in lockdown without any prior notice. We had to leave the next day thus missing out on the second-half of our holiday in the Cameron Highlands and Penang.

A few years ago Mrs CBL read two books by the author Tan Twan Eng, “The Garden of Evening Mists” (set in the Cameron Highlands) and “The Gift of Rain” (set in Penang) and inspired by these stories was looking forward very much to visiting these places.  I knew both would provide me with the opportunity to capture lots of colourful and interesting images, especially the street art in Georgtown.  Alas it wasn’t to be.*

We spent a wonderful week firstly in Melaka and then Kuala Lumpur, two very different cities but both fascinating.   The Malaysian people we met, admittedly mostly from the hospitality sector, were very friendly and helpful doing all that they could to ensure we enjoyed our visit and we would  return home with many happy memories ... we most definitely have!

I have a few days of backblips to share with you starting with this one of our visit to the Islamic Arts Museum.  Unsurprisingly the museum was very quiet so there was no need for social distancing!  Lots of interesting exhibits to see making the visit all the more enjoyable.