Actually I left UNICAT on Tuesday 22/07 as of early dawn. Alas the “malignant one” was put at work. Indeed in the afternoon I put air-conditioning in work but it did not function. I stopped on a service area to check the system. I noted that the tank of coolant was empty. I called UNICAT, Mr. Ritter, who organized an appointment the following day at MAN Brugge workshop.
With help of a MAN truck driver, I found the junction of the road towards the industrial park where MAN workshop is. Rather than to wander there, I stopped at a cantonment of the firemen, there was a MAN truck. However nobody knew where this workshop was localized. I left with a fireman in a “red” van in its research; we found it after many mistakes and questionings. I bivouacked on the spot.
As of 8 a.m., the informed foreman of the problem dealt with my truck, carried out tests and reloaded the coolant. He gave me the instruction to drive and use air-conditioning then to check the level of the coolant. Alas the next morning the tank was empty again. I went again to MAN Brugge which checked all the system and detected a leakage at the level of the block of refrigeration, a small aluminium pipe presented a crack. The cause was due, according to the foreman, with the repair made by MAN Staiger in Dettenheim. After discussion with UNICAT, MAN Staiger will be in charge of work. I left MAN Brugge with the hope that the true breakdown was found. The following day the level of the coolant was normal.

 
 
Man-Brugge 
Brugge 
the 23/07/2008 

Setting my truck on quay

 
Quai 502 
Zeebrugge 
the 25/07/2008 

The Belgian quarrel

I benefited from my stay in Belgium, in Flemish country, to discuss with local people of a Belgium split between Flanders and Wallonia. These talks were with the foreman of Man-Brugge, perfectly quadrilingual, Flemish, French, English German, with the firemen of Brugge, bilingual, with a charming old woman met in the train to Brussel-Midi. All these French speaking people had the same speech with more or less objectivity. It arises that Flemish pays for economically less developed Wallonia, that Walloons do not learn the Flemish that they regard as a “vulgar” language however that ultimately this quarrel is purely political and shows the bankruptcy of the Belgian political community. Moreover all agree to cancel the comments of the media which want to attach the Flemish to Holland and Wallonia to France. It is to forget some sociocultural realities, the Flemish are catholic whereas Hollander are Protestant, Wallonia is decentralized whereas France is centralized, etc. Moreover Europe is a reality which could bring a regional solution to this question. But no politician at the level of Europe wishes to open this box of Pandora who could push other countries in such a way. At the moment of the writing this text, I do not know where is this quarrel,… linguistico economic.

On weekend in Paris I went to the museum of the Louvre where I discovered a nugget, a 9000 year-old statue of “Ain Ghazal” lent by Jordan. Of course I contemplated Mona Lisa lengthily by seeking the key of “Da Vinci Code”, a well-known book. Then the following day I plunged in the museum of Orsay where I in particular reviewed “Olympia” by Manet and the self-portrait by Van Gogh.

Aïn Ghazal 
Musée du Louvre 
the 26/07/2008 

 
Olympia, Manet 
Musée d'Orsay 
the 27/07/2008 

 
 
Autoportrait, Van Gogh 
Musée d'Orsay 
the 27/07/2008 

On the 28/07 I took a seat on a Malaysia Airlines plane from Paris to Kuala Lumpur then Kuching where I arrived on the 29/07 at 10:00, local time. The time lag of Malaysia is 8 hours ahead of GMT. I visited Sarawak, then Brunei while waiting for the arrival of Cygnus Leader vessel envisaged the 21/08 in Port Klang. It actually arrived Sunday 24/08.