Sometime in the Summer of 1993, we arranged a rendezvous in London. She was having her school vacation and I was on a two-week official visit. On the day I reached London I called her and by three in the afternoon we were already having tea together at the lobby of my hotel.
In between official visits, We would explore London on our own. On one occasion, we hopped on the canopy of one of the city's double-decker which plied all over starting from the Piccadilly Circus terminal passing through places some of which we have only read about in books and magazines, like the Hyde Park, the Trafalgar Square, the Tower of London, the London Bridge and the like. We also ran around Trafalgar square feeding and chasing birds, quite bemused by how free and well provided they were. We mused that we too were free, free in the midst of the sea of people in the heart of London, a city often frequented by the rich and famous, kings and royalties, the free and the powerful. We too were there free from the prying eyes of judgemental people.
Dinner time was fun time. We would go restaurant-hopping and with her expertise she would make the order and educate me on the etiquettes and fine arts of western dining. On a couple of occasions, just to feel quite at home, we went for Chinese in restaurants which unfortunately did not serve quite the dishes with the Malaysian flavor we were accustomed to.
On one occasion after dinner, we walked in and around Hyde Park till past midnight quite unaware of a ban on visits past ten o'clock. We were informed of this later by friends who were quite concerned with our conspicuous absence the previous night. We were lucky we didn't get caught, and all for the better because she was due to return to Lausanne, or she would have missed a few days of lectures slouching in some British lock-up.
My official trip included also the Netherlands, France, Spain and Italy. Unfortunately, Susan could not accompany me in that leg of my trip. So as she flew back to Geneva, I continued my trip on my own to Amsterdam, Paris, Madrid and onward to Rome and the Vatican City, very much missing her company which could have added much to the romantic flavor of the whole trip. While in Rome I climbed the Tower of St. Peter's where I scribbled my name and hers all over in graffiti.
Dinner time was fun time. We would go restaurant-hopping and with her expertise she would make the order and educate me on the etiquettes and fine arts of western dining. On a couple of occasions, just to feel quite at home, we went for Chinese in restaurants which unfortunately did not serve quite the dishes with the Malaysian flavor we were accustomed to.
On one occasion after dinner, we walked in and around Hyde Park till past midnight quite unaware of a ban on visits past ten o'clock. We were informed of this later by friends who were quite concerned with our conspicuous absence the previous night. We were lucky we didn't get caught, and all for the better because she was due to return to Lausanne, or she would have missed a few days of lectures slouching in some British lock-up.
My official trip included also the Netherlands, France, Spain and Italy. Unfortunately, Susan could not accompany me in that leg of my trip. So as she flew back to Geneva, I continued my trip on my own to Amsterdam, Paris, Madrid and onward to Rome and the Vatican City, very much missing her company which could have added much to the romantic flavor of the whole trip. While in Rome I climbed the Tower of St. Peter's where I scribbled my name and hers all over in graffiti.
