Hippy trippy TravelBlog Towers V2.0 - Emails from Kuala Lumpur, August 2011

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Mel




We are now in Kuala Lumpur. Lydia started puking this morning, and puked into plastic bags a number of times during the bus journey. I hope she is well by tomorrow, because rollercoasters and puking don't go well together.




We are meeting Ali tomorrow at the rollercoasters, in the Times Square shopping center, to have lunch while Lydia goes on the rollercoasters, or insists that Ali is way more exciting than the rollercoasters and has lunch with us instead.




Lydia lost and found




Mel




Yesterday, was one scary experience. Lydia was playing on the roller coasters in the Times Square shopping center for ages. I thought nothing of it, because she loves them, until the lights were being switched off and customers being thrown out. I stood there for around 10 minutes longer, waiting and peering into the darkened rollercoaster area. Then I started getting worried, and asked the McDonalds staff nearby what I can do to find a missing child. They wanted me to go to the security people 5 floors down, and there is no way I wanted to leave that area in case Lydia came back and found me and our bags gone. As well as that, if she couldn't find me, where might she end up when searching.
I then went to the security, when the McDonalds people said the security are already paging all the security people around the shopping center and would find her and make sure she got to me. To be continued in next email.




Mel




I knew by doing ESP that Lydia had company and was chatting happily, but was pretty worried about who it might be that she seems so happy with, and what there intentions might be.




I sat as patiently as I could manage in the security office, and did my best not to hinder them with questions. Why is it at times like that the worst missing child horror stories you have ever read come crashing into your mind. I kept imagining the expressions of the security persons faces changing as hours went by, from the 'indulgent' look panicky mothers the world ove' are given for their over reactions about their children, to casting worried glances at me before deciding who will tell me I should leave here now and they will call me if they have any news.




Then, a few security people with walky talkies came in, and asked me how many kids I have, and where the father is. I told them only one, and I don't understand where she could be, because she would never leave without me, and all I could think is she might be locked into the toilets of the roller coaster place and not able to get out, and they should look there. They said they found 2 kids. I then told them this is a likely scenario, because if she made a friend she would be distracted enough to forget to come to me when the roller coaster place closed.




Then they brought down the 2 kids, to find out if one is mine. I can see why they asked where the father is. There is no way those two. kids could be both mine and belong to the same father. The other one would definately have a Malaysian or similiarly dark skinned father.




Lydia at that moment couldn't have looked more like my child, with her European looks.




She was not at all pleased, that I sent police after her. I told her, there is no way I would take the risk of not doing that, when she is missing in a busy public place.




Dirk Jan




As I was in Nijmegen anyway, I went to visit a few people I know (in fact, the last ones I know in Nijmegen) and spent the evening having some beers with Gert-Jan (who is doing well, I'll tell you about some other time) before catching the last bus to Grave.




I'm hopping on the train tomorrow (friday) after spending the evening with Gert-Jan, I will crash at his place, which is conveniently next to the train station.




Dirk Jan




Back home.




Mel




I had coffee with Ali and another member of TravelBlog, auspicious, at the rollercoaster place, in the Times Square Shopping Center, while Lydia was giving me some peace, but giving the roller coaster people none. They kept having to give her new armbands to go in and out, because she had so many complaints about them not sticking properly, making her itch...




Me and auspicious talked about politics for two hours, while Ali cut in now and again with a comment. Then at the end, he told us he agrees with what both of us said. Congenial, isn't he? I told him we pretty much said the same thing. auspicious told him, that is a cop out, and he then admitted that he had been paying more attention to the roller coasters than to what we were saying. She punched him on the arm, and he said he is being oppressed. I made a comment about the irony of him being the one to say he is oppressed, when she is Asian(Korean American), I am Irish and we are both female.
Poor Ali! Looks like the whole world is comming to his doorstep to bombard him with the dreaded politics. :D

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