The title of this blog is ‘the diary of a Traveling Quilt Teacher’… Oh how true it is….
I’m sitting in the Qantas club in Bangkok, earphones blocking out all the surrounding noise and concerto No 1 by Bach is soothing my soul. I traveled with a gal recently who was quite indignant at my comment that I often isolate myself when traveling…. Let me tell you folks its self preservation… said gal has never found herself in some of the situations I experience. Talking with my very experienced peers in the US… they do exactly the same… It was funny at a recent conference when we all realized that we carried the same comforts… ipods, speakers, and the mini comforts of home.
I’ve just had an interesting ride from my hotel to the airport… Now, road travel in Bangkok is not the best at most times… but at peak period it sure makes for an interesting trip. Keith and I have been in two accidents on this very road… Tonight I was the lone passenger in the mini bus that only had one gear. I understand that low gear is necessary in traffic… but it was all I could do from jumping into the front seat and changing gear as we hit 100 on a straight stretch of road….. The engine roared above the traffic noise and I thought that the over stimulated engine would seize at any minute. Suddenly we came to a screeching halt as a bus just pulled in front of us… this happened several times… and I was beginning to think, “Third time lucky”… My luggage slid around mercilessly and I looked up to see that I need not worry at all, we were very well protected 15 small statues and about 10 images were glued on top of the glove box protecting us… Silly Me.!!!!
Yes we arrived safe and after a quick wai and lots of smiles… the van took off for home still in the same gear.
Next to book in the luggage…. I’m a Traveling Quilt Teacher, I have luggage and I was given an extra luggage allowance in Adelaide by a high ranking Qantas official…. You know 45 KG instead of 20kg…Goodness how can you manage to teach with just 20 kg of luggage… and that includes your clothes as well…..Whoops, he forgot to notify Bangkok… and after polite smiles through gritted teeth and a wake up call to Husband Keith (who informed me it was midnight)…. Hmmm.. I paid the $350 excess and vowed to claim it back when the authority arrived…….. Jeez Joice.!!!!!!!!
So here I am in the lounge… in my own world… music, computer, my work and to heck with the one gear bus and the charming gal on the desk… I have a 14 hour trip ahead of me and I intend to sleep peacefully….
I enjoyed my experience in Bangkok… it was enforced rest in a way. A breather before the exciting days to come.
Quilting hasn’t been far from my mind though, I conversed with students via the internet, did a little research, wrote a little more of my book and took a range of photos of lotuses and leaves… one smart friend commented “is there anything else in Bangkok”? Cheeky…..
