Malaysia, 17 March

I woke up late and found a cockroach in my bathroom. Decided it was a one-off, killed it and photographed it. See above. Breakfast in the same place - getting a little boring now, but with great companions, L. from HK who is always a tonic, and wonderful C. from Greece (tho it took until the Monday before I remembered what she was called, oh dear). I then read the notice board by the SWEA desk and found that there was a designated breakfast restaurant for us on the fourth floor. However, I never got charged for eating in the wrong place. I went for a swim in the hotel pool, outdoors on the 6th floor. I was the only swimmer. It was heaven. A little boy was playing in the children's pool, his mother in the shade nearby. She was wearing hijab, but her face was fully visible. However, she was leaning her face forwards, covering it with her hands and soon she pulled out a scarf and held it in front of her face. The only man present was a bony old gardener who silently cut the grass around a tree with hand shears. Later someone told me that pale skin equals high status;, I think she was just protecting herself from the sun.

I went for a walk, this being my only "free" morning. So much traffic, so much noise... I really felt the life of the city going on around me. Crossing the street took forever, the crowds around me huge. The Monorail thundered past above my head - the carriages decorated in the coolest fashion. I met two Swea:s from China, who had been shopping for shoes. We had lunch in a little place near the hotel. I ordered an ice coffee, which arrived with a dollop of ice cream on top. Not thinking, I pushed the straw down into the glass. REALLY clever! There was coffee everywhere, but most of it on my pale cream satin skirt. L. had one thousand wet wipes in her handbag. Unbelievably, I got it all out.

In the afternoon, I attended the SWEA Western Europe ( also incl South Africa) Regional  Meeting. It turned out I was, at least at first, the only visitor and so was given a seat at the table. So nice of them. Soon the Legal Advisor arrived and had a long discussion with the Oslo President - about taxes and compliance. Got quite agitated it did. The meeting proper went very well. The Regional President is excellent at avoiding stifling formality without veering into the realms of sillyness. There were familiar faces round the table, and some new ones, and then Å., who has made a come-back. Lovely to see her. I had a little free time afterwards and caught up on my e-mail. You can see the view from my hotel room on the 64th floor above - you may spot me in there, too. Below, you can just see me at the poolside.

In the evening, there was a welcome reception by the pool.Finally that moment arrived where we said "Ooooooh, are you here? And you too? Oooooh, mwah!!! mwhah!! Mwah!" Usual speeches. The ambassador and his wife, a young couple  She told the story of how she became a SWEA member, long time ago, in Santiago de Chile. She had met the daughter of a SWEA London President, who had enticed her into the association. Of course SWEA no longer has a chapter in Latin America. I later found out who the London President was - my old friend I. Unfortunately, the Swedish Embassy is closing down later this year. I shall never understand the rationale behind these closures. SWEA International's Board was introduced; for every person appearing on the stage, a few personal details were added. "She likes to run along the shore in the morning"...An attempt to become the "People's Board?" The Committee for the World Meeting was also introduced and warmly applauded, in spite of this just being the beginning. Everything works so well.

In previous years, this has been the evening where a buffet is served and one leaves starving. Not so this year - the "light buffet" was masses of wonderful food, served at various "stations", one for meat, one vegetables, one pudding, etc. There was as much wine as you wanted, however, the way of serving it was a bit curious; a thimbleful poured into a glass, glass torn away from you the second you were finished (or just before), and a new glass with another thimbleful in it offered. They must have very large dish-washers. There was a raffle too, with the top prize being a painting by local artist Kuen Stephanie. It was won by B from New Jersey  -the roll containing the prize came with us everywhere on the trip to Borneo - on the boats, through the jungle....

I ended up at a table with several old friends and the new head of The Swedish Institute, who was due to speak the next day. An interesting new touch was the several activities going on poolside: batik making, henna hand painting, caricatures and calligraphy. Stupidly enough I didn't see this until the end. Too much chatting. I would have loved to have had my hands painted. However, I did manage a fairly early night.