Whistler - Day 6

I decided to take a day off skiing to allow my legs the chance to recover. Went on a snowmobile tour with Claire, which was good fun. In the evening we went to dinner with Blake - Bruce's partner at work. Great meal and a guided tour of their sumptuous chalet.

Whistler - Day 4

Continued to explore Whistler mountain with Jessica. Moving at a slightly slower pace now that Adam has gone back home. Apparently this is meant to be the busiest time of the year in Whistler, but apart from one or two minor lift queues, we often had the mountain all to ourselves with not another skier in site. Great snow and skiing conditions here, and a vast area to explore. Only downside is that it can get quite cold (-10 C) compared to Europe in Spring. Also, restaurants are not too numerous, and lack any kind of alpine charm.

Whistler - Christmas

Woke up on Christmas morning and could hardly move as a result of my efforts the previous day. Adam and Jessica went skiing with the Greens while Claire and I spent a leisurely day in the chalet. With all the snow around in Whistler, the scenery looks far more 'Christmas like' than we are used to in the UK, but strangely, the event seems much more low key here in Canada. Had a massive Christmas dinner with the Greens and their friends.

Whistler - Day 1

Uneventful Greyhound journey from Vancouver to Whistler on Sunday. Met by Bruce Green and taken to the Green's wonderful chalet in Whistler Creek.

Went skiing with Jessica and Adam on Monday. Adam acted as guide, giving us the benefit of his 4 days skiing experience on Whistler mountain. He still managed to lose us twice! At the end of the day I took my own way back to Whistler Creekside via the Peak-Creek run. This must be the longest continuous run I have ever been on - over 4500m vertical drop. My legs were like jelly at the end and I needed the apres-ski beer that was waiting for me at the bottom.

Great end to the afternoon in the Green's hot tub with a cold beer to hand. Excellent!

Vancouver - day 3

Started the day by walking to Jessica's old flat in Kitsilano. She was moving out today into another flat nearer to the downtown area. Took a bus out to the giant University of British Columbia campus to visit the Museum of Anthropology. This was very well presented and gave an informative overview of native Canadian art and history.

In the afternoon we went to the viewing gallery in the harbour tower to get a high level view of the city.

In the evening, met up with Jessica again in her new flat, before going to eat in another tapas-style restaurant in a rather dubious part of town. The picture shows Jessica by a steam clock in the Gastown area of the city.

Vancouver - day 2

Walked along False Creek to Vanier Park. Did the various museums there including the Maritime Museum, Vancouver Museum and Space Centre. Picked up a fair amount about Vancouver history and Claire learned how to dock the space shuttle with the ISS - a skill which is bound to come in useful sometime. In the afternoon we did the Vancouver Art Gallery, which has some interesting work by local artists. In the evening, we met up with Jessica and ate out at a sort of tapas bar. The evening ended with a visit to a local blues bar, which was reasonably entertaining.

Vancouver - day 1

Woke up at 4:30 and couldn't get back to sleep. Great breakfast at the hotel then met up with Claire. We did a tour of many of the attractions on Granville Island, where we are staying. Quite a few changes since I was here 5 years ago. Still very attractive with lost of tempting things for sale in the various galleries/shops/market stalls. I ended up buying a daft fur 'Biggles' hat.

After lunch in the market, we caught the ferry across the creek and went shopping in downtown Vancouver. In the evening, met up with Jessica and went to the Sandbar restaurant on the island for an excellent evening meal.

Bangalore

Almost failed to make it onto the plane as Singapore Airlines did not appear to have my booking. In the end I managed to get on after being wait listed. Business class flight, which was nice. Bangalore airport was as shambolic as ever. I failed to stop the porters from grabbing my luggage and was forced to pay $10 to get it back off them and onto my taxi.
Different hotel this time - the Ivy - on the outer ring road. Near airport and new office, but otherwise, the middle of nowhere. No good for getting to the centre of town, but OK for two nights.
The new Subex office is sill like a building site, but at least it will be convenient having everyone in the same place at last.
On Monday evening, I was invited to the Post-wedding party given by Rohan, one of the Optima development team. Good food, but not a drink in sight. Rohan took pity on me and got the waiter to smuggle me a beer or two.
Looking forward to getting home tomorrow.

Singapore - last posting?

This is my final day in Singapore for this trip - very wet so went to the Asian Civilisations Museum again in the afternoon. Last night I went to an Irish pub I had not visited before and they had a very good U2 tribute band performing. (Rattle & Hum from Australia)

Not sure if I will be back to Singapore in the foreseeable future as others are now handling this account.

Off to Bangalore tonight.

Singapore night life

This weekend I am staying in Singapore, which is unusual for me as I normally travel somewhere else in the region, as just about everywhere else is cheaper than Singapore. On Saturday I did some sightseeing, including Fort Canning, which I had never visited before. In the evening I paid my usual visit to the Crazy Elephant bar for some great blues playing. Today was the Singapore marathon which started almost right outside the hotel. I didn't see any of it as I was still asleep as they were coming in to the finish!