Travel plans

I’m flying out to Kuala Lumpur on Sunday afternoon, and of course, this means I need to pack for the trip.

My usual modus operandi when it comes to travel preparation is that I make a list of things I need to bring. Everything goes on this list.

I’m having a bit of a dilemma at the moment, though.

Part of my dilemma: I’m not sure whether to bring my Tablet PC or not. It’s quite heavy, for one thing, and for another thing, if I bring it I’ll have to make sure I don’t go and lose it or drop it or something like that. I’ve already checked with the hotel I’ll be staying at (the Sheraton Subang), to see if they have wireless net access or not – they don’t unfortunately, although they have assured me that they do “have Broadband”. M’s checked the Tablet for me, and apparently the wireless card doesn’t seem to be working well on it, anyway. Still, having the Tablet would mean that I could at least draft emails and blog posts in the comfort of my hotel room and then store these on my USB drive for easy posting… Oh, and now I’ve just noticed on the hotel’s website that there is “High Speed Internet Access in All Guest Rooms (Charge)”! Decisions, decisions…

This is the first time I’ll be travelling for work so it’s going to be an entirely new experience. I’m going to have to make sure I keep a record of all the time taken for travel – my flights and any taxi rides between the hotel and the college will count as work time – and all work-related expenses. I’ve got a ‘travel expenses journal’ that I’m supposed to list every expense in. The ‘expense types’ include ‘Airfare, accomodation, meals, fares, entertainment/hospitality, communications, laundry, other’. My airfare and accomodation have both been paid for, so that leaves everything else. I’m glad they’ve included communications in the list of expenses. Apparently I’m allowed one phone call home a day at work’s expense. I wonder if Internet access will also count as part of the communications allowance… “But I needed to check my email, Your Honour!”

The second part of the dilemma is something I always experience whenever I travel: what shall I bring to read? During the day I’ll be far too busy to read or even think about reading, but at night while I’m lounging around I have to have something I can read. The travel read is a bit of a security blanket, I have to admit, because in reality I won’t read all that much – I’ll look at local tv and the local newspapers, and I’ll be out and about – I’m hoping to catch up with people like my godparents, and an uncle, who still live in and around KL. At this stage I’m thinking of reading My Family and Other Animals by Gerald Durrell. It looks light but with some substance, and like it could be enjoyable… I hope?

Categories: travel