And I'm still jet lagged and catching up on everything! And still writing SPY GLASS - it's going slow and I had to nix about 30 pages - a tangent that led to nowhere.
My trip was wonderful and I'd love to write all about it, but my wrists are sore from working on SPY GLASS all day.
However here are some highlights:
In Dubai (the United Arab Emirates (UAE) - seeing Ski Dubai - an indoor ski slope - not kidding - it had a ski lift...yes a ski lift INSIDE the building with snow and everyone wore parkas, hats, gloves. It was huge and the outside temperature was about 90 F and 90 % humidity.
We also saw the world's only 7 star hotel. It's shaped like a sail and is out on the Persian Gulf. I also put my feet into the Persian Gulf - it was very very warm - bath water!
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia - climbing 272 steps to a temple inside a cave. I made it to the top, but didn't see any bats - just chickens, roosters and a whole monkey family.
I also felt the earthquake in Indonesia. I was in my hotel on the 23rd floor writing when the building started to sway and kept moving. I thought it was a blast of wind, but when I went to the big picture window - none of the trees were moving. The shaking lasted about a minute and I moved to the door just in case.
Spending the day in Melaka (aka Malacca) with author Glenda Larke was great fun! Read all about it and see pictures on Glenda's blog. Here is a link: http://glendalarke.blogspot.com/2009/10/two-sfnovelists-on-day-in-malacca-aka.html
PS: I don't think I look cool and collected in the picture Glenda took of me - my hair was super frizzy in the humidity!
PSS: I'll be interviewing Glenda when her new fantasy novel comes out in March 2010 - I love the title: The Last Storm Lord