Blogs from Jönköping, Jönköping County, Sweden, Europe - page 2

With New Year's holiday announced last week Kay was very happy to receive four days off work, and by some higher power it appeared that both Joanne and I would be able to take time off at the same time. Such an opportunity cannot be missed out on and we immediately got down to discussing where we should all meet up, Bangkok being the master plan. Where to continue was not really obvious but the main challenge as always, is finding a ticket to Bangkok from Scandinavia on short notice (short notice in this case is anything under three months time...). Needless to say it looked rather grim, Thailand being a premier getaway for Swedes tired of the dark and miserable November, so after a customary check verifying that all the flights were full I started ... read more

Well, back at the hospital again. My eyesight has been pretty much blasted during the past few days and I get a new appointment with another doctor. They conclude that my vision is down to 0.3 and that maybe the medication wasn't the best thing to do. The infection has become worse since last time around and the general theory is that the cortizon that was supposed to blast the virus has mainly succeeded in disassembling the immunosystem instead. Nice going! The head doctor is summoned into the room, and he looks into my eye for a whole fifteen seconds before recommending even stronger medication and then disappears as quickly as he came, and I am starting to lose my faith in the system. Fortunately the doctor shares my opinion about leaving out the heavy stuff ... read more

"...or that burrito I had for breakfast" T-7 Hours. I got a confirmation for a room on the night of July 25th, which I will spend at the Comfort Suites Airport Bangkok Hotel. I need to get sorted on the packing, pay my bills and do some last minute errands, but all in all nothing to panic about. As the taxi arrives I am actually prepared to go, and make it without further hassle. Flights are pretty much on schedule too, and it is a sleepy day over at terminal two in Stockholm. Even duller is Vantaa airport, with only one scheduled flight left for the evening. I walk around the concourse for a few hours until it is time to board the plane. This is when things go pear shaped. I have not been paying ... read more

T-40 hours. Well, it is good to know that I never seem to learn from experience. Here I am again, juggling all the last minute activities. I draw the nicest of schedules weeks in advance, make research yet somehow always get stuck on trivialities and formalities. Apart from trying to tie up some knots at work before I leave for a month I am also trying to finish payments for my two outstanding trips. I went to my local bank today to transfer money to my trusted agent in Uzbekistan. Of course it didn't help that I took careful steps filling out all relevant forms when the clerk cannot even spell the country name. It also came as little surprise that the National Bank of Uzbekistan Samarkand branch office was not listed in their computer system, ... read more