Robert & Hootoksi visit Europe, May-June 2005
May & June 2005 by Robert Tyabji, June 2005
We hadn't been to Europe in years, so we tripped off on a 3-week visit to Scotland, England and Switzerland. We gratefully acknowledge Malaysia Airlines for carrying us there and back in their characteristically efficient, timely and friendly way, and on a rock bottom fare to boot. How do they do it? They carry 40,000 passengers every day, and Malaysia now receives 20 million tourists a year. At the risk of repeating myself, I have to say that the BA flights we took, and flights on other western airlines I've flown with over my 30 years of UN travel, pale in comparison to MAS. Why are these airlines unwilling to learn from Asian carriers? It's true that charm and warmth are very difficult to corporatize, but nevertheless in fairness I have to say that British Midlands (BMI) staff were exceptional in this regard.
The weather was gorgeous and the friends and relatives we got to spend time with were absolutely wonderful. Our special thanks for blatant generosity and shameless hospitality go to Stewart and Di McNab, Elizabeth and Tom McKee, Hillan and Homi Sethna, Colin and Gulchi Phillips, Cyrus and Rifat Pundole, Ronni and Feroza Gimmi, Cawas Mamoo and Roshan Mamee, Oliver Steiner and Maria, and last but by no means least, Leo and Tanya Lalkaka and their effervescent kids Jason, Liam and Tara. And it was a treat to get to catch up with our old friends in Lincoln, Paul and Jenny Whitehouse.
The highlight in London was Mel Brooks's latest musical The Producers. H and I laughed so hard we nearly burst at the seams and I left with a completely sodden handkerchief. What a show!
The Scottish Highlands were breathtaking and I will never get enough of hiking in those hills and forests. If only the lochs weren't so cold! And afterwards there's ABSOLUTELY NOTHING like a wee dram of single malt in good company. On that subject, a visit to the Famous Grouse distillery is recommended. They put on a multimedia presentation at the end of the tour, after tarrying in the tasting room. The audio and visual projections are interactive and completely surround one, even on the floor, a most interesting experience after imbibing the company's range of blends, malts and single malts......
At Stewart's we were lucky to catch Meehan's 18'th birthday celebrations which included an all-boy visit to the local pub with Meeps doing the ordering (for the first time, legally speaking) and a scrumptious dinner with visiting sisters Kate and Fiona at a remote but famous restaurant overlooking a misty loch. This was a special treat for H and I as the last time we'd been together with Stewart's family was an age ago on a lonely beach in Yemen watching the dolphins frolicking in the shimmering waters of the bay. Memories flooded in, of desert crossings, nights spent on cool starlit dunes, and Toyota Land Cruisers stuck in the sand. Ah, life is good!
A few days spent in Glamis with Elizabeth and Tom McKee also brought back images of partying on a Somali beach and trying to make out Halley's Comet in a panoply of dazzling stars. Tom drove us around to see Glamis Castle, the 15'th century Dunnottar Castle, now in ruins, and to enjoy a picnic lunch in the low hills of the northern Scottish countryside. Elizabeth was as bubbly and Tom as steadfast and unshakeable as ever. What a couple!
As always, Zurich was stunningly beautiful. To me the city has special sentimental significance as it's my mother's hometown and memories from my many visits as a child and youth are still strong. June is a wonderfully romantic time to be in Zurich with a loved one. The city's boulevards, cobbled side streets and old town district, lakeside parks and walks were alive with people taking a break from work, dipping in the lake or just relaxing in the sun. There's even a pontoon for nude sunbathers! I had never seen so many Africans around before, singing, playing the djimbe and kora and chatting with the locals over coffee. I could chill out there forever!
Adil is settling into Zurich nicely. He uses his bicycle so has quickly learned to find his way around the city. His girlfriend, the sweet, affectionate and attractive Eli, came down from Hamburg specially to meet us and we had a memorable day walking the city and the lakeside parks with them.
Canton Ticino in the Italian speaking part of Switzerland is where cousin Ronni has a summer house overlooking the Lake Maggiore valley with its steep vineyards and quaint villages with the city of Locarno in the distance. Ronni took time off and drove us over the Gotthard Pass into the Ticino valley and up the mountain to his cottage outside the village of Agarone. It was as memorable as ever; the last time Hootoksi and I stayed here was on our honeymoon but the vineyards are as verdant as they were then, the stone houses as inviting, the people still speak Italian over glasses of wine and locally-distilled grappa, and the food is as delicious.
It was wonderful after so many years, to spend time with my cousin Ronni and his wife Feroza, Hootoksi's cousin. as well as Hootoksi's Uncle Cawas and Aunt Roshan, their son Kaikoo and grandson Leo and his family.
I can't help remarking on the charms and attractions of Switzerland. It's sparkling and everything is tip-top. Swiss trains are a marvel. Everything works perfectly and right on time. Inside, the compartments are nearly soundless, and the ride is as smooth as a luxury car's, although one still has to place a teaspoon in one's coffee cup to prevent spills when the train is ascending or descending a mountain. The ubiquitous precision is natural and effortless. The food is scrumptious. The people are courteous, and their highly evolved code of behavior is universal, even among the youth we came across on the street. In contrast with the shameless behaviour that we've sometimes witnessed in England and Australia.
So it was that we returned to KL with singing hearts and full of resolve to go back to Europe ASAP. Driving through the new Europe would be a fascinating enterprise. But what of the costs? Everything is so, so expensive, yet we never felt that it wasn't worth it. That familiar suspicion of being taken for a ride, of being ripped off, never bothered us. My view is that Life is too short -- and worrying about costs only shortens it further.