Meeting Sofia

Near Sofia Airport, Bulgaria
April 2012

It's 620am on a sunday
My nose is completely blocked and my fever has just gone down
Having got up at a quarter past 5, the bright sunlight (a rarity in this part of the world) is hurting my eyes
Yet, i'm sitting at Heathrow Terminal 5, having spent Saturday evening triapsing down to London just to spend the night at a Heathrow Hotel
all because I want to go to a country where, according to my colleague from said country, taking the wrong taxi could end up with me being sold as a slave
-_-
it's especially poignant because i'd just watched Taken
although, to be fair, people could say the same about a lot of other countries e.g. Thailand which i used to travel solo to

There is a reason for my "stupidity"; i really wanted to go to this course
so i've packed about 20 quid worth of medication including a bottle of chinese medicated oil
and promised my mother that i will not leave the hotel by myself
it's not an empty promise; the schedule is 8am to 10pm everyday
-_-

so I eat okimonaki for breakfast; i can't taste it but the wasabi mayo definitely helps my blocked nose



and yes, that's a burmese novel i had read all the way on the tube the day before
it drew some very curious stares from strangers and made me gloat
"I can read a language you cannot.. haha!"
:P

the plane was full, and i didn't think Bulgarians were particularly gracious
because they were speaking loudly on the phone, and a couple cut my que while we were boarding
(very much in contrast to the Bulgarians i'd met at work who are unfailingly courteous)
i only cheered up when the sun shone and the sky became this beautiful blue



Getting closer to Sofia, I perked up even more because of the landscape
mountains - snow-capped, ridged, inhospitable-looking.. as far as the eye can see
i felt so limited by the small aeroplane window because of the angles



and this.. this just took my breath away, majestic, dazzling in the sunlight



when we landed, there was no chance of a kidnap.. because the conference organisers had sent a shuttle to pick us up
i felt almost spoiled!
the view from my room at Park Hotel Moskva
(not the best place to stay unless you're on a very tight budget; we were overcharged by the agent)