Pride comes before a fall.

Or so they say.

I might have remembered this had I not been so distracted by delight at my own organisational brilliance.

Five weeks away? No problem.  As long as the technological gods are smiling.   They weren’t.

Eight hours before my flight out, my laptop decided it too wanted a holiday and despite my repeated attempts at cajoling and coaxing it back to life, it steadfastly refused to play. (And apparently swearing doesn’t become more effective no matter how far up you turn the volume.)

A brief Singapore stopover momentarily restored my faith in the form of a small but (I was soundly assured) effective replacement laptop.

By the time I realised I’d been sold a piece of equipment whose operation requires tertiary qualifications in Information Technology, I was landing in the Cambodian boonies and three Singaporean sales-assistants were falling about with laughing with another “stupid traveller” tale to tell over beers on Friday night.

My well orchestrated ‘foreign correspondent’ plans, meanwhile, were lying in pieces on both sides of the equator.

With some calm and capable guidance and assistance from home – thank you Kim Goldsmith and Steve Cowley (legends, both) – and some reluctant but necessary persistence on the part of this techno-luddite, I’m on my way to being back on track.  Kinda, sorta.

Reinforcements are on their way – and now I’m at the mercy of the Postal Gods – and in the meantime I’m fumbling my way around just enough to get through.

So this is all by way of explaining and apologising for a disappointingly slow start to this whole blogging business.

If you don’t hear from me again soon, assume those gods have again conspired against me, and I’m curled up somewhere in the foetal position, dribbling and mumbling something about torture and Singaporean sales assistants.