The Happy Hungarian

For some, the title of today's post may sound like an anomaly. My students tell me that there is no such thing as Hungarians' favorite pastime is whining. That is their continual comment, not my own experience. However, Balazs did have problems with an apathetic house manager and electrician when he called for us, creating a more than pleasant experience when the cheerful Hungarian electrician showed up at our door last night. Laszlo the electrician returned at 5:00 pm as promised. Balazs had written down all that he needed to know and he set off to work. Within forty-five minutes he had replaced the circuit breaker, hooked up the electric hot water heater under the kitchen sink, and changed our malfunctioning dimmer switches in the kitchen and living room. His final bill was 3,000 Huf LESS than what he estimated last night. We gave him an extra 2,000 Huf to ingratiate ourselves for when we may need him again. About three years ago, we had dimmer switches put in the kitchen and living room when we at the same time had the light fixtures changed and other electric work done. The electrician, one we lost contact with, went on his own to purchase all of the supplies he needed. What he returned with were dimmers with a sensor. They could be manipulated with a remote control; however, we did not realize this until he left. The way we found out was by using the remote on the television or DVD player, but also turning the lights on and then up and down in various lighting moods, but it never worked for turning them off without getting up and doing it manually. This was a cross we were willing to bear, but over time, something went wrong as it usually does. Remember electricity and I are each others nemesis. What eventually happened was that the lights would go on without any provocation from any remote. If someone sneezed, it would stimulate a Morse code light show with short and long bursts of illumination. If I could only remember dots and dashes from my boy scout days, I would be able to understand the signals that our living room was sending out to the street. The lights almost seemed to be taking revenge on us also as over time, they both would wait until we snuggled into bed at night and then they would alternately turn on and off in random patterns until we climbed out of bed to tap on the control pad repeatedly like training a puppy, hoping against hope that we could effectively get our desired results. Now we have regressed back to the simple on and off and even with low wattage bulbs, it is either a choice between darkness or stage lighting.

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Showing off

I had great pride in showing the new laptop to my class today. They were so excited for all of us. Our rooms at the university have cable Internet access, so I just need to get the Information Systems office to turn on the outlet in my classroom. With an Ethernet cable plugged in we can use the Internet in class with a projector we already have. It will be perfect; for some classes, we blog as a class and for others I am using the Writing Lab at Colorado State University. Now when there are questions or concerns about how to navigate or do something, I demonstrate it right in class and project it on the wall. On the home front, we still don't have electricity in the kitchen. Balazs called the building management's electrician, but said the man told him he was too busy to be bothered with such a small job. Later he called the manager again was given another name for another electrician. This one was more gracious and came over tonight at 5:00. He will be back tomorrow at the same time to fix everything. Fingers crossed! In another vein, I was contacted by another editor from Frommer's, this one the editor for the Eastern Europe book. She asked if I would be interested in updating the Hungary chapter for that book, knowing that I just finished the full book and the Hungary chapter of the rail guide. The deadline is July 15th, giving me plenty of time. Of course I accepted it.

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The New Laptop

The laptop I ordered for my use at school was supposed to be ready today, but I was not venturing there until Balazs was out of classes and could call for me. He called me at 3:30 to say his class was canceled and he would go with me to pick it up. They called him at 9:00 am to say it was ready. They had it hooked up when we arrived to show me that not only had my Windows installed, but also had it updated. The most important part was that the keyboard was an English one, which is why I had to special order it in the first place. I was charged. The B-man came home with me to reinstall Windows on the new desktop that was corrupted when the electric went out. I had to set him up in the hallway; we still don't have the electric fixed in the kitchen. I started loading programs on the laptop. We were like computer central. It was a good thing he was here. I installed programs that I had on disk and the strangest thing happened. When they installed, they showed up in Hungarian. The programs are English programs, so Balazs had to help me change the language setting back to English. If something can go wrong with anything electrical, it will happen to me.

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Water, Lights, Third World

Last week there was a notice on the front door of our building stating the water would be shut off on the whole block due to the new apartment building they are building down the street. Each time this happens, we seem to have problems when they turn it back on and this time was no exception. The water went off on Friday morning, but when it was turned on again at 5:00 pm, our kitchen faucet just trickled water like an old man with kidney stones. Our building manager's office is only open on Tuesday and Thursday, but if desperate enough the water in the bathrooms were fine. Tuesday, Ron called the manager and within a couple of hours a two plumbers were at our door. It only took them minutes to discover that the problem was our water heater, which resides under the sink. They said it was shot and had to be replaced. I asked him to write down exactly what we needed so we could go buy it and then call them to install it. All of this was done with Balazs on the phone handing the phone back and forth. Balazs being only 22 years old, did not think of what to me were the obvious questions when he was speaking to the plumber, so we did a back and forth a number of times. Balazs has some short term memory issues when he is nervous. Ron went on Wednesday to get the heater. Balazs called the plumbers again and they scheduled us for today at 9:30, but shockingly arrived at 9:20. I went to physical therapy leaving Ron in charge. When I returned, the heater was in, but there is still no hot water. The plumber now has to get an electrician to fix the outlet down there that the hot water tank plugs into. In the meanwhile, we discovered that the wall that the computer was plugged into has no electricity at all, though none of the circuit breakers are off. All of the outlets and the wall lamp on that wall are kaput. There is something about my energy field or aura that does not do well with electrical items. When I was a child, we had milk machines. Put in a quarter and out popped a quart of milk. One time, I put in my quarter while my mother had the car running. As I was heading back to the car, I heard another plop. When I turned, there was a second quart of milk. This continued for 20 quarts, emptying the machine. My mother called the company when we got home to report it, but they told her to enjoy it. Once it was out, they could not do anything with it. They did ask her to keep me away from the machines in the future, though.

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Computer Store Shopping

Balazs called the computer store today to see if the computer was ready. They said it was ready, but he said they sounded dubious about it. We decided to try an outing there anyway. Across the street from the store, they have another store that only handles laptops. I had made the decision that since the university was not going to supply my office with a computer to use in the classrooms, I was going to do it myself and went to look at what was on offer. The first issue was getting an English keyboard. This narrowed the selection quite a bit and when we came to some decision of what would be the best options, they had to call and see if it could be fitted with an English keyboard. The salesman called, but they would have to call him back. We went across the street to pick up the desktop and returned. Still no answer. We went for coffee and returned an hour later to learn we had success. The model I wanted was available with an English keyboard; they could have it by Monday. However, it Windows is extra and only in Hungarian. I handed him my disk and code that I had just retrieved from across the street and we were set. Balazs mentioned earlier that he had a bad feeling that they had forgotten to return my disks or to install the WiFi card or both. Neither bit of his premonitions were were welcomed thoughts, but when we did find the disks in the box, at least he would have been 50% wrong in his predicting skills thus far. He carted the computer home for me so I did not hurt my back again. We set it up, found the WiFi card and all was going swimmingly when the electric went out. One minute later it is on again and we start again, but after three minutes of configuring, boom, no electricity. A minute later, let there be light and there was light and we said this is good. Turn the computer on, work away for a short time when darkness yet again. Primal scream number 48,475. We changed the outlet that the computer was plugged into. Started it up. Windows was corrupted. It would not start in normal mode, it would not start in Safe mode. To fix this problem, install the original Windows disk and press R for repair, was the message on the screen. But you don't understand, my disk is at the other computer store to be put on the laptop. I don't have it. The screen flashed "Your tough luck buddy boy". Personally, I think computers are getting to damn smart for their own good. Balazs was off the mark with his premonitions of the reasons for disaster, but he must have sensed something was going to happen and it did. So the new computer is sitting there as useless as its predecessor did until Monday at the earliest. Rainy days and Mondays always get me down.

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Happy Valentines Day

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Monday, Monday

It is Monday and I am charged as I boarded the bus to bring my Windows disc to the computer store to have it installed on the new computer. They said it would take an hour and then I could come back for it. Thinking ahead, I also brought the software for the monitor and the cordless mouse and keyboard. When I arrived at the store and was asked if I needed help, I said I was waiting for Peter. Peter was the salesman I had arranged all of my needs with on Friday. He asked me in Hungarian if he could help me and I showed him my paper with his name and all of the data HE wrote on it. When he looked up at me with a blank stare, I could tell there was no recognition happening, he had a short in his hardware. I could have been a new immigrant that had just arrived at the airport and made my way to the store for all of the familiarity we shared. After multiple attempts at trying to communicate with me in Hungarian, a point he seemed to have forgotten that my student warned him about, he went to get an English speaker. They did not have any of the computers in stock. As I repeated "But you said..." I was transported in time to a childhood of adult promises that were withdrawn at the last minute. A new offer was given. Leave my discs, they will get a computer by tomorrow and then they will call me to come pick it up before 6:00 pm. What could I do? They had me by the short circuits. Later, I called my student and told him the story. I could have recited his response before hearing it "Welcome to Hungary".

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Off to the Computer Wizard

Yesterday, Ron could not get the computer in the kitchen to recognize the WiFi connection. I was called to the rescue, but no matter what I did, I could not get it to work. I spent four hours uninstalling and reinstalling the software for USB WiFi adapter with no good results for longer than five minutes. Not being sure whether or not it was the computer, the USB or the adapter, I was at a loss for what to do next. The best solution was to buy a new computer. I could get a brand new one for $300. with a WiFi built in, Multi read DVD R/W and a whole lot more hard drive space than this one has, plus the USB ports would be 2.0, while these are the old 1.0. This old Gateway was bought while I was still in my doctoral program, so it is about 10 years old. It functions well for most things, so I thought I would offer to my friend Laszlo. Today, my sidekick student and I went to the computer store where he had called and they said they had the computers I wanted in stock. When we arrived, they said they had computers on hand, but would have to install the WiFi card. The computer comes without software, so I would have supply my own Windows. Their only offer is Windows in Hungarian for an extra fee, but that would be pointless for me. This computer mainly for the use of guests who really utilize it often. It is another of our selling points for those who do not have laptops, making it a high priority item. Ron also uses it often when school work, writing, or catching up on finances keeps me tied to the main computer. I was told if I had my own legal version of Windows CD, they would install it at no charge. I arranged to drop off my disk on Monday, had my personal interpreter ask if the salesman would be working, so I could ask for him and go it alone when I returned. It was settled. He wrote it all out, gave me his name and I was set. It will take me about four hours to install the programs needed on that computer that Ron uses when I am here at the main computer and we are ready to go. So now we are just waiting for Monday, Monday.

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Super Wednesday

In the US, it was Super Tuesday, but for us it was Super Wednesday with the time difference. Ron set his clock to wake at 6:00 am, but since we have left the States, I see politics through different lens. I woke at 3:30, could not get back to sleep, so decided to watch the results for an hour or so. I never made it back to bed; the results had me mesmerized until I had to shower and go into the university at 9:00.

Thanks to Democrats Abroad, we were able to vote in the primaries over the Internet. We had to register by January 31st and then received electronic ballot and ID numbers. Voting started at GMT + 13 hours on Tuesday, which early afternoon for us. Minutes after our eligible time, I had my vote in. Ron lagged behind for hours, with me hovering over his shoulder while he did. After he voted, I refused to speak to him for a few hours; we did not agree on our selection.

In 2004, the American Chamber of Commerce held an election function here in Budapest, which we attended. There was an overflowing pile of Democratic buttons and only a few Republican ones. Innocently, we thought this was a sign we were amongst like minds, but after pinning ourselves and joining the festivities, we found we were the minority of minorities. Others actually had the nerve to harass us for wearing the pins we did and it was not with humor either. Some were quite aggressive with their comments. Being high level executives with multinational companies from the US, it made sense at the time. Hopefully, they will host another such party this year. I am older, wiser, and have been working on honing my aggressive political skills.

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My Adopted Baby

For my birthday, my friend Daphnee adopted a rescue elephant for me. I get updates on her progress. She was found in a sink hole at one month old. The organization is: http://www.sheldrickwildlifetrust.org
I received a photo of her progress in January.

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7 Degrees of Separation

I went to my therapist today, continuing my back therapy, though I have not had problems. Now it is more preventative than healing. I offered to correct the English on his web site when he asked me about my book. I went to the Frommer's site to show him and clicked on their bookstore. Low and behold, my book was listed. I had no idea. It is slated for April 21st release.

We then started chatting about his clients. He mentioned he had three American clients while I was on vacation, so I asked how they found him. He said Craig's List. I only heard the name, but knew nothing more about it.

When I came home, I Googleed it and found they have a Hungary page. I immediately signed up to post an ad for our B and B. After submitting the post, I was looking at their list of categories spotting one called "Writers". When I clicked on it there was one ad. An online magazine was looking for a travel writer to write an article on Budapest. After looking over their site, I decided to send my C.V. and the samples they asked for. Within minutes, I received a response saying I was exactly what they were looking for and they asked if I wanted the job.

They only need 2,000 words and it is an update of their article from a couple of years ago. I could write this in hours, not months like the book took. It is easy money. I accepted and they are sending me a contract.

Maybe those silly e-mails that threaten you to send it on to 10 friends and make a wish are not so silly after all. Being superstitious about not sending them, I have been guilty of clogging friends' e-mail boxes with them all the time saying I want to be a travel writer.

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Steam-Hammam

We watched the movie Steam - The Turkish Hammam for the second time last night. It is an Italian movie sub-titled in English. The next morning, we booked tickets to Istanbul for spring break. The last time we were there was in 2000, so we are due to return.

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The Old Old Me and the New Old Me

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Another Resolution

Tomorrow, we have a cleaning service starting. This was also on the NY Resolution list. When I am teaching, I have no motivation to clean, but do it as needed with Ron doing the bulk of it. However, since he is retired it only made sense that he should enjoy his retirement as fully as possible. We have not had a cleaning person since our Polish friend Artur left here for Germany. Artur was a white tornado and cleaned better than any person I know other than my grandmother. At the time, we did not need nor want a cleaning person, but Artur could not find a job not having residency, so it was a mercy offering on our part. Actually, we really had no choice. He came over one day on a social call and started cleaning to show us how well he could do. Feeling too uncomfortable to stop him, privy to his financial situation, we bit the bullet and let him go on. However, we were quickly spoiled by his scrupulous hunt for dust bunnies and when he decided to leave the country we mourned the loss of a friend as well as a cleaning person.

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The New Year's Resolutions

One of my New Year resolutions was to get a new refrigerator. We went out today and looked at them and bought a much larger one than the one we have. For six years now, we have been getting by with a refrigerator that is not much larger than the types you buy for a dorm room. They deliver on Thursday and although it is only 50 centimeters wide, it is 178 centimeters tall. It has a wine rack and the freezer has drawers. It will be so exciting to have a freezer, but since frozen food is not common here, I am not certain what we will fill it with, but we will find something. One resolution to check off of the list. The second resolution happens on Thursday also. On the way back from the appliance store, I stopped at my hairdresser and booked an appointment to have my hair colored. After being au natural for three years, I have come to grips with not looking at this old face in the mirror any longer. The reason I quit coloring my hair in the past was the efforts it took to color my mustache and beard too. Now they are both gone and I won't fuss with it myself, but have it professionally done. More resolutions coming up.

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Our Travel Log - Updated January 16, 2008

		Our Travel Log – Updated January 16, 2008
	Country	Dates
1.	Argentina	12/99
2.	Austria	12/98 (Vienna), 1/02 (Innsbruck), 4/03 (Vienna), 9/04 (Vienna), 1/04(Vienna), 7/05 (Vienna), 7/06 (Vienna) 12/06 (Vienna), 10/07 (Linz)
3.	Belgium	7/03
4.	Botswana	1/07
5.	Burma	12/94
6.	Cambodia	1/2008 Phnom Penh, Siem Reap
7.	Costa Rica	12/96
8.	Chile	1/98, 1/2000
9.	China	12/94
10.	Croatia	6/02 Rijeka, Opatica, Zadar
11.	Czech Republic	12/98 (Prague), 10/07 (Cesky Krumlov)
12.	Denmark	3/05
13.	Egypt	12/1999
14.	England	9/01 (London), 9/01 (Manchester), 11/01 (Bath), 11/01 (Harwich)
15.	Estonia	7/05
16.	Finland	7/05
17.	France	12/93 (Paris), 7/11 (?? and Paris), 12/05 (Paris)
18.	Germany	12/98 (Berlin), 1/99 (Berlin), 12/01 (Cologne), 7/03 (Cologne), 12/03 (Cologne), 8/14 (Berlin), 1/05 (Cologne), 6/06 (Berlin, Dresden, Leipzig)
19.	Greece	12/93 (Athens), 10/05 (Athens and Thessaloniki)
20.	Hungary	12/98, 12/07/01
21.	Ireland	10/01
22.	Italy	12/93 (Rome), 12/93 (Florence), 1/02 (Venice), 7/04 (Milan, Brecia, and Lake Como), 8/05 (Rome and Tivoli), 6/07 (Rome and Tivoli with Earl)
23.	Japan	12/94
24.	Luxembourg	1/05
25.	Macedonia	4/02
26.	Malaysia	12/07 Kuala Lumpur, Melaka
27.	Morocco	4/04
28.	Namibia	12/06
29.	Peru	12/97
30.	Poland	12/98 (Krakow), 2/04 (Krakow)
31.	Portugal	12/04
32.	Romania	3/04
33.	Scotland	10/01 (Edinburgh, Glasgow), 8/06 Edinburgh), 8/07 (Edinburgh, Rosslyn)
34.	Singapore	1/95
35.	Slovakia	3/02 (M and R), 11/02 (Bratislava), 3/03 (Kosice), 1/04 (Bratislava), 6/05 (Komárom),
36.	Spain	5/03 Madrid and Barcelona
37.	South Africa	12/05 (Cape Town), 1/06 (Pretoria), 1/07 South Africa
38.	Sweden	8/04 (Stockholm), 3/05 (Malmo)
39.	Switzerland	7/04 Zurich
40.	The Netherlands	11/01 (Amsterdam), 7/03 (Maastricht) 4/07 (Amsterdam, Leiden, Den Hague
41.	Thailand	1/95
42.	Turkey	12/2000
43.	Uruguay	12/97
44.	Viet Nam	1/2008 Chau Doc, Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), Ha Noi, Ha Long Bay
45.	Wales	10/01
46.	Zambia	1/07
47.	Zimbabwe	1/07
	United States:
1.	California	1 1/03
2.	Colorado	11/94, 7/99, 9/01
3.	Florida	1/96
4.	Iowa	12/95, 8/02
5.	Massachusetts	7/98
6.	Michigan	10/97, 8/2000
7.	Nevada	9/97
8.	New Jersey	12/95, 3/2000, 9/01, 8/02, 1/03
9.	New Mexico	5/94
10.	New York	12/95, 8/02 Visa
11.	Oregon	4/99
12.	Pennsylvania	12/95, 9/01
13.	Utah	7/95
14.	Washington	10/93
15.	Wyoming	9/01

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A Month Later, the Adventure Ends

It is just past midnight, but we are up, brushed our teeth yet again, dressed and ready to meet the taxi. As soon as the elevator doors open on the ground floor, the third desk clerk we have seen today announces our taxi is here and waiting. Once again we confirm that it is a set rate for 90 Ringgits for the ride and are assured it is settled. The driver’s command of English is as impressive as ours is of Malay, so the ride is quiet.

Being an international flight, we need to arrive two hours early to check in. The driver pulls up to the airport departure curb within forty-five minutes, giving me pause to think of the fifteen minutes I could have spent sleeping or writing or anything but sitting in an airport. The fare, we are told, is 130 Ringgits. When we dare to suggest the rate was 90 Ringgits guaranteed, the driver’s command of the English language was well enough to say there is a nighttime surcharge. We paid it and moved on, grateful for the fact we still had enough Ringgits for a coffee inside.

The airport boasts signs that it was rated the WORLD’S BEST AIRPORT FOR 2005 AND 2006. Makes you wonder what happened to them last year. It was like entering a ghost town in the Wild West, the lights were on, but no one was at home being the first impression. When we looked at the monitor, there was not check-in gate listed for our flight. However, I saw a very long line and went to investigate it and then joined the queue only then asking what the line was for. Ron had a smart mouth remark about my finding a line and having to join it needlessly. Well, it turned out that this line reaching three blocks in length was the line to check in for our flight. Good grief, we were here slightly more than two hours early. What did these people do, camp out here as if they were starting the sale of concert tickets?

I had concerns about this many people fitting on a plane regardless of the size, but then realized that every man in Arabic dress with a turban had his whole tribe here to see him off. They took so many pictures of each other, you would think it was a wedding or they were witnessing the second coming.

We stood immobile for twenty minutes. Not having binoculars, we could not see what was happening at the beginning of the line. Word finally reached us via carrier pigeon that the computer system was down and they could not process anyone, hence the wait. The computer system is down in the WORLD’S BEST AIRPORT FOR 2005 AND 2006? Now we know why they were skipped over for 2007. Now I wondered whether I should have concerns about the airport or Qatar Airlines. Placing the blame on the airport was less fearful than thinking an airline could not keep its computer system functional. Please let the control towers computer be working that is all I ask at this unreasonable hour. It took another fifteen minutes before the line started to creep along like a caterpillar on tranquillizers.

By the time we checked in, we had reached the time of boarding for our flight. The only satisfaction was that there was still a whole village of people behind us waiting to check in also, giving a one last chance for a cigarette. When we left for the gate, there was still a lengthy snake of luggage carts nose to tail with anxious travelers hoping the plane would wait for them. At the gate, we boarded the plane immediately. Having a 2-4-2 configuration, we were lucky to have the two seats on the right side of the plane. Again, each seat has its own monitor featuring over 50 international movies in English or sub-titled, 150 TV episodes, games, and so on. Miracles do happen, in spite of lines, we left the gate only five minutes late. The first leg of the journey would be seven hours and forty minutes to Doha, Qatar. The first meal was breakfast with a menu of choices. Observing the flight attendants was interesting. They rarely spoke to each other even when serving food together. Likewise, they rarely spoke to the passengers unless absolutely necessary. When they came around with the hot towels, for instance, they never asked if you would like one, they just handed it to you with their little tongs. Either you took it or you didn’t. When they collected them, they did not utter a sound, but put the container in front of you to dispose of the towel wordlessly. Is this an efficiency scheme, I wonder? Avoid unnecessary speech to get the job done?

After one movie, The Nanny Diaries, a cute flick, I was out for the count. Another interesting observation for me was that people stayed in their seats the entire flight. There was no roaming, stretching, or other activity. Perhaps it was the hour, but it was an anomaly from any other flight I have been on.

When we landed in Doha, although we were still in a secured area, we had to go through security again having ourselves as well as carry-on luggage x-rayed. Our next flight was already boarding, regardless of the fact that it was not due to leave for another forty-five minutes. When we reached the gate, we had the show our boarding tickets and passports yet again, before going through yet another security check point. Then once again, we had to show our passports and boarding tickets. Talk about compulsive behaviors. This plane had a 3-4-3 configuration, but was half empty. Still, there were three of us in our section, which sent Ron hunting for a better territory as soon as the seatbelt sign was off. This time around the flight was four hours and thirty-five minutes and shared monitors with no choice of movies. I watched the first movie, but missed the title. I will have to search for a movie with Jimmy Smits and Lyn Redgrave to see what it is. Found it, The Jane Austen Book Club. I thought I had slept after this, but when I opened my eyes again, Ratatouille was playing, so I watched this yet again. All in all, we would without hesitation fly Qatar Airlines again. Their being frequent flyer partners with United increases the appeal too. The flight landed in Vienna on time without incident.

Austrian Passport Control and Customs has to be the most relaxed in the European Union. The Passport Control officer barely looked at my passport before stamping it and telling me to have a good day. There was no one at Customs just as in the past, so we sailed through quickly and efficiently.

We bought tickets on the CAT train to the city center for nine Euros each, a hefty amount, but were in the center in sixteen minutes. From here we had to take the U3 subway seven stops to the Western train station to board our train to Budapest. We had bought round trip Budapest>Vienna>Budapest tickets, but we were uncertain about needing a seat reservation. Ron went to inquire and was assured we did not for an EC train, though an IC, we would have. After getting some snacks we boarded the train for the last leg of our journey; all was well….for the first twenty minutes and then the conductor arrived.

After taking an extraordinary long time looking over our tickets, he finally started ranting in German. When he realized he could have had a German shepherd understand more of what he was saying than we could, he switched to English. It seems our tickets expired in 2007. After having full faith in the ticket seller at Keleti train station that she understood we were returning in 2008, we never did do a double take at the tickets. Tickets to Vienna include three days of public transport in Vienna, so we erroneously believed that the three day span written on our tickets was the public transport piece, not the train ticket itself. We were faced with two options: pay for the seats or get off at the next station, still paying the full price, but having to wait four hours for the next train. With some sense of impending doom, I had held back Euros for our trip home, perhaps some intuitive thoughts prevailed. Our tickets cost us 30.80 Euros ($49.13), an outrageous amount considering a round trip ticket is only 29 Euros. Normally, I would have been irate at this unnecessary expenditure, but my philosophy this whole trip has been that we deserve it and we have the money for the first time in our advanced years, so what the hell.

Something was different on this train trip. When we had left, the Austrian and Hungarian Passport Control had made their way through and stamped our passports. Now, the Hungarian patrolled through the car, but never stopped. I had read that Hungary was joining the Schengren Treaty where the borders were coming down for EU members who qualified, but I seem to recall it was not going into effect until much later in 2008. What will these former controllers have to control in the future; will they become jobless?

As is usual, the Hungarian train conductor makes his rounds after leaving the first Hungarian stop. For some reason, they came as a gang of three. Did they get advance notice of our defunct ticket? With flourish and a quick twist of the wrist, I produced the ticket almost freshly printed by the Austrian conductor. His Hungarian counterpart looks at it and hands it to his band of not so merry men and they start squawking like chickens that sense danger in the henhouse. Then he informs us that our ticket is only to the Austrian border. What the hell, we spent 30.80 Euros just to get to the Hungarian border? Trying to explain our situation was an exercise in futility, even after showing our original ticket with only one punch mark showing we went to Vienna, but had not used it to return. A half of unused ticket was wasted because of that three day writing on it. Again, we had the same two options as before. However, this time, I did not have Hungarian forints in reserve, not thinking we would need them until arriving home again. Tickets to get us back to Budapest would be another 9,896 forints ($56.90). By some miracle, Ron happened to have a 10,000 forint bill in his wallet and we handed it over to the three musketeers. Our return trip home cost us $106.03 more than it should have when a normal round trip fare is only $42.47. Is this karmic retribution for not tipping the cab driver at the Kuala Lumpur airport?

When we arrived at the Keleti station, I wanted to kiss the ground and would have except for fear of diseases. Now I had someone buy me an annual transportation pass, but little good it was doing me now sitting at home waiting for me. I had to hunt down a transport ticket for the bus.

We were home a half an hour finally getting here at 5:30 pm local time, but five hours earlier in Kuala Lumpur and dead tired even if getting long naps during twelve hours and fifteen minutes of flying. Downloading e-mails and Microsoft updates that were missed over the last month, all of a sudden the electricity in the whole apartment goes out. Let me think, who else did we skip a tip on for this to happen. With a candle in hand, Ron climbed the ladder to check the circuit breaker. He flipped a switch, but nothing happened. I do remember paying the electric bill the day we left, so what gives. Aha, there is yet another switch next to the electric meter. I flipped it before flipping out completely and viola we were illuminated once again.

Pushing myself to stay up, I made it to 10:30 pm. Ron crashed at 8:30. Now the adventure is just a collection of memories stored for future reflections.

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