Ugh. This is taking real effort to write. Because it's 1am and I'm tired and I've had a little drinky drinky drinky. But I'm determined not to quit this writing programme with my usual excuse of 'can't be arsed'. Even though I just had a mini brain snooze and forgot ho to spell 'determined'.

It's been a lovely day; Birthday Party day at school so lots of happy smiling children and cake. Much cake. A swaps party with all the teachers where I gave away lots of books and dvds and came away with a dress, a top, 3 books and, bizarrely, a bridesmaid's dress. Then a potluck dinner at my friend Anna's flat just over the road from me. A short stroll across Tai Kok Tsui and I was up on her 43rd flood balcony, most of Kowloon spread out before me and a view all the way to Nina Tower in Tsuen Wan. Behind Kowloon, Lion Rock and the hills to my right and to my left the docks, the sea and Stonecutters bridge. The whole view flooded by the lights of the highrises, the tiny cars, the streetlights and even, a rarity for Hong Kong, 13 stars in a clear sky. It's something I'll miss, the way it's such a huge varied city all squished into one place and yet you can look out over half of it and pick out the different neighbourhoods, see how close together it all is and how many people are crammed into each little pocket. Ah, I could attempt to wax lyrical on this forever. Instead I will finish with my favourite event of the evening;

Anna and I were having an intense chat about my trip to Jakarta and all the research I've been doing lately. I was going through some of the info I've picked up on Indonesian politics when she remembered she may have a book that would be of use to me. She walked over to her floor-to-ceiling bookshelf, and scanned the shelves. Pausing to think, she then reached up and took down a hardback book of average size. She handed it to me. Now maybe I'm a smidge childish, but when I read the title of this serious tome I almost doubled up with laughter, tears streaming down my face.

It's title? 'Lords of the Rim'.

Today I have: been eating A LOT of cake, been trying to create order out of chaos with my Indonesia notes, hugged a lot of children, found new favourite drink- vodka and pink lemonade!