Borneo Malaysia and Ghana November 2014
Blog 2
Borneo, Malaysia and Ghana November 2014
The advert said ‘accounting expert wanted for international travel’ my initial reaction was, ‘that’s me that is’. Emails, phone calls and two weeks later it was arranged that I would act as external expert on an inspection trip to a private university in Borneo on behalf of the University of Cumbria. Excited I was. When the travel itinerary came through I was to fly to Dubai from London and meet the team from Cumbria there for onward travel to Kuala Lumpur, and from there to Kuching, Borneo. This sounded very jet set and interesting, but half way to Dubai I suddenly thought, I don’t even know what these people look like, I have a name and that’s it. My connection in Dubai was short so had no time to act like an international spy offering sideways glances at people in the hope that they would figure out who I must be and approach me.
After connecting with the team from Cumbria we travelled onto to Borneo and had some rest before a very nice meal, apart from one thing. Never eat Durian, I was told it was a speciality, Durian ice cream, tasted like mud, and that was putting in nicely!!!
The next day was working, we visited the university, my role was to quiz the accounting staff and check they had the correct specialist knowledge and material. A beautiful lunch and lots of good company ensued.
For our evening meal we went to a local heritage and culture centre, more beautiful food and some looking at the crafts and local produce. A talk about how Borneo was referred to as pirate island, hence all the skulls in the imagery. The next day we off home, at this point I was leaving the team as they headed back, I had some meetings to conduct in Kuala Lumpur for my own University to help with recruitment.
An evening in KL which took in the Petronas towers, easily the most beautiful buildings I’ve ever seen, and a walk round Chinatown market (which is an experience in itself) was very relaxing, the next day I had meetings all morning before a long trip to Ghana for more teaching. Again I was travelling through Dubai, where it tickled me that the Bureau de Change offered both English pounds and Scottish pounds. I didn’t think the referendum had taken place yet!!!
Another flying visit to Ghana to teach for two days followed, this time my driver took me to visit his family and round the local market, he was very happy to tell me that his son had been lucky enough to win one of the 6 primary school places available in his village. Again varied backgrounds can bring enlightenment and appreciation of your own experiences.
I had been to 4 countries, taken 7 flights, in 4 time zones, and all in the space of 8 days. This sounds not good, but all it has done it convince me how much I love visiting other places and learning new things
