Finally home...

I stirred from my sleep, waking up and realising only then that I was that tired. Having been infected with an irritated throat and a runny nose did not help the fact that I felt exhausted. I looked outside the window, and below fluffy clouds could see land...

A port in fact, with a sprawling city with chequered roads and densely placed blocks of buildings, and immediately I recognised that the plane had begun to fly by the southern city of Kaohsiung. I thought of my relatives who live down there, imagining what they must be up to.

For the next half an hour, the plane slowly descended, and more and more of Taiwan came into view. I tried to figure out the structures, the rivers, the mountains and identify what they could be. Fields of rice, narrow and shallow brooks, dense cities went by below me, and moment by moment my longing to be home increased as we approached.

It has been a long, long trip away, even though it has only been ten days or so. Somehow, the stress of presenting in front of a crowd, the oppressively hot and humid climate of South East Asia, the inconveniences of eating 'rough' while on the road, and the ups and downs of trips with friends made the trip away feel so much longer.

Glad to be home...