Nearly Christmas in Qatar

From Qatar

They don't really do Christmas in Qatar (thankfully), but my hotel did have this token 'tree'.

Next trip I really must make time to get out and see more of Doha, as I am getting a bit tired of the hotel bar. 

Coldplay, O2

From Coldplay

Although I had seen many Coldplay performances on TV, mainly at various outdoor festivals, this was the first time I had ever been to see them live.  And based on this performance, I can confirm that they certainly know how to deliver the authentic stadium experience.  An amazing stage set with luminous graffiti, an array of dazzling lighting effects and Coldplay's usual blitz of coloured confetti, balloons, etc.  However, the stand-out moment was when the main lights went out and suddenly we, the crowd, were the main attraction as our wrist bands were simultaneously lit up, as if by magic, and proceeded to pulse in time with the music.

Oh, and the music was pretty good too!

Qatar again

From Qatar

Yet another trip to Qatar.  Apparently Vodafone is i-conX's largest customer, so there is virtually nothing that the company will not do to keep them happy, which includes making my consultancy services available to them on a regular basis.  So it looks like there will be several more visits to wonderful Doha over the next year or so.
This time we were staying in the W Hotel, which was certainly very comfortable indeed. This was just as well as there is not much to do elsewhere in tone, and the international hotels are basically the focus of all night-life, not only for us visitors, but also for all the ex-pats working here.

Dublin downer

Not a very jolly visit this time around.  The company has recently lost a fairly important account and this necessitated making three employees redundant.  This in spite of the fact that we have just won the biggest single contract in the company's history.  The senior management team were particularly despondent and it took several lenghty sessions in the hotel bar for them to regain even a fraction of their normal good spirits.

Hong Kong

I was expecting to have much more free time at my disposal for this part of my trip as I only had two shortish meetings arranged over the three day period. I ended up spending most of the time in my hotel room attending to various pressing work tasks that had accumulated over the previous few days. Ah! the wonders of life with the Internet.  
I was not too bothered by this as I reckon I have seen pretty much all of the interesting stuff in Hong Kong several times over. 

(not) Diving in Pangkor

The plan was to go to Pangkor for a couple of days diving with a few buddies from KL, before heading on to Hong Kong.  Pangkor is a smallish island of the west coast of Malaysia, to the north of KL and to the south of Penang.  The fact that the only airline offering a service to the island had ceased to operate this route last year should have served as a warning that all was not going to turn out as planned.  We ended up making the 6 hour trip by road and ferry.
Once there it transpired that my mate's information was somewhat out of date.  The only dive shop on the island, which he had used a couple of years ago, was now closed.  We decided to make the  best of it by doing some snorkeling instead.  This was also a failure as the water was so cloudy that visibility was less than two meters.  Apparently this is the case for a bout 50% of the time, depending on rain and other seasonal factors.  Not surprising then that the dive shop closed down!  The moral of that tale is: always do your own research beforehand.
Leaving aside the lack of diving, the island was pleasant enough and the beach we were staying at was pleasant enough.  Most of the other holiday makers were Chinese Malays, and the local restaurants seemed to  cater for their tastes, so we ended up eating some excellent Chinese food.

Capacity Asia 2011，Kuala Lumpur

Back in KL again for this annual telecoms conference, although it is two years since I was last here. This time no stand to man, leaving more time for networking, which is what this event is really all about. Some useful information gathered from the people I was planning to see, but as often happens, the chance meetings over lunch turned out to be the most fruitful. I may even have identified a new channel to market for our software.

In the evening I had time to revisit some of my favourite KL venues, including the street dining delights of Jalan Alor.

Phuket Hash

From Phuket 2011

This event was the main reason for stopping off in Phuket on the way from Bangkok to KL.  Several of my running buddies from the Petaling Hash (in KL) were over for the weekend so it made sense to kill two birds with one stone by meeting up with them for the hash. My efforts got off to a bad start when I missed the official bus from Patong to the hash site, which meant that I had to make the trip via tuk-tuk.  Unfortunately my driver had no idea where the village was that we were supposed to be heading for, so I ended up getting there 10 minutes late.  Normally this would not be a big deal as the hash runs are designed so that the slower runners (or late starters) have the chance to catch up with the leaders.  This did not work for me on this run, and I had rather a frustrating time trying to follow the disjointed trail, ending up at one point doing at least 0.5 km along a stream. I finally caught  up with the pack as they were on the home run to the starting point.  There followed the usual beer and banter that is the main objective of the Hash, after which I caught the official bus back to my hotel.  Unlike the Petaling Hash, there is no organised post-Hash meal, so I will be meeting up with my KL colleagues for dinner tomorrow.

View Patong in a larger map


Postscript: having checked my GPS track (blue) against the official route (yellow), clearly I took a wrong turn somewhere?

Bangkok Jinx

From Bangkok 2011

If I ever ask you whether you want to travel with me to Bangkok, remember to decline the invitation.  Clearly I am jinxed when it comes to this destination.  Over the past two years my travel plans have been thwarted by a Yellow Shirt sit-in at the airport, floods in southern Thailand, Red Shirt barricades in Bangkok, and now to cap it all, a major flood which is threatening to overrun the entire city as I type this.


The day I travelled out from the UK, the Thai government announced a five day public holiday to coincide with my visit, the aim being for all Bangkok residents to flee the city, or at least stay at home (presumably if they live in an upper floor apartment).  The situation had worsened by the time I arrived, with a quarter of the city already under water, and government warnings that the main river dikes were almost certain to be breached over the weekend, which would result in the inundation of the remaining districts.  


The figures are quite overwhelming.  Apparently the flow rate of the flood water from the north is 100 million cubic metres per second!  The only defence against this deluge are hastily erected sandbag emplacements around low lying buildings.   Since most of Bangkok is less than one metre above sea level, that means most buildings.  The picture above is of the defences at the base of Vince's apartment, where I was working until 2 hours ago.   We were listening to the news reports that plotted the advance of the flood waters along Bangkok's streets.  By the time it got to 10 sois from  the soi where my hotel was located, I decided it was time to make a quick getaway.  


Luckily I had already planned to travel to Phuket for the weekend with some buddies from Malaysia, for the Phuket Hash.  It was fortunate that I had booked in advance as the airport was crammed with Bangkok citizens trying to escape anywhere they could.  The ticket counters were queuing around the block.  So barring any last minute disaster, such as a tsunami engulfing the airport, I should be clear of the impending  flood within the next hour or so.


Aside from the flood, the two days in Bangkok were quite a success from a work point of view and we have now kicked off a major project with one of the mobile phone operators in Thailand, which will keep us busy for much of the next year or two.  I am not sure to what extent I want to participate in the follow-up project visits, bearing in mind my Bangkok jinx.

More Qatar

What can I  say about Qatar?  Back here again for a project kick-off meeting with Vodafone.  Not much to see or do in Doha outside work.  Night life seems to revolve aorund the international hotels, which are the only places you can get a drink in Qatar.  Some of these have some pretty decent restaurants and the occadional night club, but I am glad that we are only here for three days per trip. 
Looks like I will be back here a few times over the next 6 months.

Stockholm

From Stockholm

Back to Stockholm again for yet another presentation to Tele2.  Our hotel was in a rather nondescript place some way between the airport and Stockholm, but at least we were not under a flightpath this time around.  A somewhat less hurried schedule on this trip, with one day to prepare in advance of the presentation, then time for a night in town before heading back to the UK/Ireland the following day.

We were recommended to try the Gondola restaurant, which has a 12th floor bar and dining room with a view over Stockholm harbour, and serves typical Swedish cuisine.   This turned out to be a good choice.  I chose a pickled herring selection for my starter (see picture above) and reindeer for my main course.  Both were excellent.  I suspect the bill for the night was horrendous, so let's hope we win this contract.

Jessica's MA Graduation, Oxford

From MA Graduation

You may be wondering why we were attending yet another degree ceremony with Jessica.  After all, she already has an MSc, right?  The answer is that at Oxbridge they have this quaint tradition of awarding a MA degree to all BA students seven years after they enter the university, on payment of an appropriate fee.  The degree is not worth anything at all academically, but Jessica and her college mates decided that they would use the degree ceremony as a chance for a college reunion, and also combine it with a hen weekend for one of the group who was getting married in a few weeks time.

So we all filed into the newly restored Sheldonian Theatre to listen to a load of Latin spouted by the Vice Chancellor and his lackeys, accompanied by endless bowing and mortar board doffing (see video), which ended with the graduands receiving their degrees.  Then back to St Hughes College for some canapes and bubbly, before Jessica's mates and us parents / boyfriends headed off to the Cherwell Boathouse Restaurant for dinner.

Richmond - Windsor Cycle Ride

This ride, organised to raise funds for the British Heart Foundation, was part of Alison's pre-Ghana training programme. We elected to do the longer route, which at 60km was not too demanding.  A pleasant enough run through parts of the Thames suburbs that I had never really seen before.  The weather held out until after our mid-point tea break, after which it  began to bucket down.  I was actually quite grateful for the rain as it helped to keep me cool. I should have followed Alison's example and consumed an energy booster with my tea, as I was definitely running on empty for  much of the second leg, until I stopped for a much needed Mars Bar.  Meanwhile, Alison had been surging ahead thanks to her previous stamina training.  We both arrived in Windsor in rather a soggy state, but recovered quickly enough with a pint and a bite to eat.  Then back on the train to Twickenham and a well earned Sunday roast down at the pub.

View Windsor Cycle Ride in a larger map

Glynebourne

From Glyndebourne

Elisir d'Amore

Latitude, Day 3

From Latitude 2011

Sunday started somewhat brighter than the previous day, although the mud was still as sticky as ever. We managed to meet up with Jessica and co for the first act of the day, a Belgian choir by the name of Scala. A bit like an evolved version of Rock Choir, performing covers of rock and pop songs, together with some more ethereal numbers - very pleasant indeed. Next up for me was Carl Barât, who performed some crowd pleasing Libertines hits as well as some of his solo material.

Time then for an ice cream break, in the rain, whilst waiting for the Waterboys to come on. This was a very competent set, but it did not really get the crowd dancing around as much as I would have thought, given the Celtic exuberance of their songs.

After a visit to the Literary Arena, it was time to head back to the Word Arena for Lykke Li, followed by a performance from the reformed OMD. This was one of the highlights of the festival, for me at least, and judging by the reception they got as they stormed through 15 of their 'hit singles', this hit the spot for many others in the crowd who wanted to relive their '80s synth-pop youth.

Back in the Obelisk Arena, it was time for Hurts, who I previously knew nothing about. We were treated to some more anthemic synth-pop, delivered with a very sumptuous, but slightly weird, staging. A couple of their songs were familiar from somewhere, and they clearly had their fans in the crowd. Interesting.

Not being too keen on the head-liners, Suede, I decided to watch the Eels for my final musical event of the festival. They put on a great show, running through a selection from their back catalog, and everyone went away happy.

Overall impressions from Latitude this year: an enjoyable three days, in spite of the wet weather. It was good to see live performances from some of the older bands who I had up to then only heard on record, but unlike previous year's festivals, I did not 'discover' any new act that I really wanted to add to my play list. Latitude still fills an important niche in the festival calendar, and continues to provide entertainment that appeals as mush to oldies like me as it does to Jessica's generation. It manages to do all this whilst being on a more manageable scale than, say, Glastonbury.

Latitude, Day 2

From Latitude 2011

The weather forecasters got it right. The rain arrived on Saturday morning and continued off and on pretty much all day. Luckily most of the Latitude site is well drained, so the resulting mud did not attain Glastonbury proportions, except in Tangerine Fields, where we had paid a small fortune for supposedly up-market facilities. But one of the good things about Latitude is the fact that all but a couple of the events are held in tents, so there is plenty of opportunity to keep dry.

I started my musical day with They Might be Giants, whose quirky songs some of you may recall from the '80s. Then into the Word tent to take in British Sea Power performing a lively set, which was hard to pin down stylistically, but was suitably epic in proportion.

Back outside again in the Obelisk Arena to see Seasick Steve, and the sun! A great performance of his own unique take on the blues, accompanied by ex Led Zep, John Paul Jones, on bass and mandolin. Some wonderfully dodgy home made guitars in evidence, but an amazing sound. Next up a band that I did not really know much about before hand: The Cribs. Not quite my thing, but entertaining enough anyway.

After some fine fish and chips, it was time to see Echo and the Bunnymen. I had not really been a great fan first time around, but on the basis of this performance I had to revise my opinion. They certainly have a few good tunes up there sleeve. I was not too bothered about seeing the day's head-liner, Paulo Nutini, on the main stage, and opted instead to see the Foals again (having previously been very impressed by their performance in Hyde Park a couple of weeks earlier). This time around their show was, if anything, even more manic than before and clearly a massive crowd pleaser.

We rounded off our evening with a visit to the Poetry Arena to see the amazing hop-hop poet, Kate Tempest, in action. She certainly knows how to string words together in a rhythmic stream-of-conciousness outburst that bowls you over.

Latitude, Day 1

From Latitude 2011

Well, day 1 for us at least. The Latitude Festival actually runs over four days and was already one day into its programme by the time we arrived on the Friday. No need to pitch a tent on this occasion as we had booked a pre-pitched tent at Tangerine Fields. So we just needed to inflate the air bed and don shorts and sunglasses before setting off to the arena, where we managed to meet up with Jessica and her friends without too much difficulty. We knew in advance that we would need to make the best of Friday's sunny weather, as the forecast for the rest of the weekend was pretty dire.

First up (for us) was a lively set from KT Tunstall. Not sure why she was not higher up in the bill as she has quite a strong pedigree on the festival circuit. Next on the bill was Bright Eyes: some nice tunes but spoilt by a rather pretentious performance from Connor Oberst.

Time then to move over to the Word tent where I took in an excellent performance from The Vaccines. Having now seen them at Hyde Park and Latitude, and listened to their début album a few times, I can confidently predict that they will be massive by 2012.

Back to the Obelisk Arena for the night's head-liners, The National. I was not really that familiar with their material up to now, but their set was enjoyable enough nevertheless, and the rest of the crowd seemed to be very appreciative. I have to say, writing this now, I can't remember as single one of their songs, but still, it was a good end to a good day.

Except, of course, that the day doesn't end with the main sage acts, as there is an abundance of other things going on at Latitude, including cabaret, poetry and later in the early hours, various dance stages crank up their sound systems to +11, to entertain the youngsters until dawn.

Get Rocking at the Boileroom, Guildford

From Get Rocking

At last our big day, and our chance to show our nearest and dearest that we are, after all, rock gods!

First off, the Boileroom is an excellent live music venue, with a proper stage and sound system, and able to accommodate an audience of up to 200. I don't think the four Get Rocking bands performing on Thursday night managed to drum up quite that level of interest, but the place was certainly full enough to generate a great atmosphere for those of us performing. We were not told in advance what the running order would be for the night, which was a cunning tactic on the part of the organisers, designed to ensure that all the supporters of all four bans would be there throughout the evening. On arrival we were informed that our band, Crossroads, was on third - not too bad, as we didn't have to warm up the audience and would have time to wind down while the last band played.

I'll leave you to make your own judgements about the artistic merits of the various bands, which can be sampled on YouTube at: http://www.youtube.com/user/GetRockingGuildford.

Our set can perhaps best be described as a mixed bag, with one or two technical problems on a couple of songs, but apparently according to my two totally unbiased fan club members (Alison and Jessica) the last three numbers were not bad at all (considering, etc, etc). The main thing from our perspective was that we had a blast being up there on stage and having a fun time playing. The entire set of six songs seemed to be over in a flash, and we all felt that we could have carried on all night if we had been allowed to.

The whole Get Rocking experience over the past five weeks has been one of the best activities in which I have ever had the opportunity to participate, and I only wish that I had been able to find something like this ten years earlier. I will certainly be looking for the chance to continue with live performing as part of a group in the future.

Amsterdam (again)

From i-conX

Same city, different customer this time. But still no opportunity to get into town for a proper night out, although at least this time we were next to the Amstel rather than the airport! Maybe next time we'll make it there?

Rock Choir, Woking

You've seen the 'Choir That Rocked' on TV. Now its time for the real thing, live on stage at the New Victoria Theatre, Woking! Whilst I have been plugging away at trying to become a rock god over the past few weeks, Alison has quietly spent the last couple of years contributing to the phenomenon that is Rock Choir. Usually, she would be singing with her local Richmond choir, but the organizers thought it would be a good idea to schedule their performance for the Sunday that featured the Wimbledon mens' final and Pulp's reunion concert in Hyde Park (see previous blog). So rather than drop out altogether, Alison opted to join in with the Kingston choir who were scheduled to perform on the Monday. Fortunately, because of the fairly rigid format of the Rock Choir franchise, this was not a problem as the choirs all tend rehearse the same song each term.

So it was that I found myself on a Monday evening in the New Victoria Theatre, Woking, to witness at first hand the power of Rock Choir. And pretty impressive it was too. The enthusiasm of the performers really comes across and they mostly seemed to be enjoying themselves enormously. Alison's choir leader, Jim, even managed to get us audience members up on our feet clapping and doing some fancy moves - which are an integral part of the Rock Choir formula - along with the performers. A good night out.

Pulp, Hyde Park

From Pulp

As I said in my previous blog, this is a week jam packed with musical events. Today was day three of the Wireless Festival in Hyde Park, and featured the return of the reformed Pulp as the headline act. I got the the venue somewhat late in the afternoon, having hot footed it from my Get Rocking rehearsal in Guildford earlier in the day. Nevertheless, I got there in time to see a couple of the support acts.

As I arrived, the Hives were kicking off their set. Personally, I found their materiel rather uninspired and the attempts of their front man to drum up enthusiasm from the crowd only made things worse. After meeting up with Alison and Tim, who had arrived earlier, we watched a set by TV on the Radio, who I had never really come across before now. Very enjoyable for this sort of occasion anyway. We all agreed to give Grace Jones a miss on the main stage, and in stead head over to catch the Foals at the adjacent Pepsi Max stage. That turned out to be a good choice, and we were able to enjoy their evocative and atmospheric performance whilst sipping ice cold mohitos.

Finally back to the main stage for the head-liners. We pushed as far into the dense crowd as we dared and prepared to be entertained. When the band came on stage, the whole crowd went wild, and things were pretty manic from then on. One puzzling thing, to me at least, is that much of the audience was too young to have been aware of Pulp the first time around in the early '90s, and the band have not been in play for many years up until their recent reformation. So how come the crowd all seemed to know the words to the entire Pulp repertoire? Most of the band were looking their age, except for Jarvis, who had always seemed a bit middle aged anyway. Paradoxically, and in spite of his beard, he was now the most youthful looking, and clearly still able to prance around the stage and climb precariously on the speakers.

The staging was pretty impressive, with some spectacular lighting effects and giant bursts of confetti at various points in the set, which predictably ended with their classic: Common People. This was the cue for the whole crowd to go absolutely berserk. A great end to a great show.

Arcade Fire, Hyde Park

From Arcade Fire

Today marked the start of a week that is going to be a veritable musical banquet. First off was Arcade Fire, taking advantage of the summer arena set up in Hyde Park for the Wireless Festival and other events. We had seen them towards the end of last year when they played at the O2. That had been quite an impressive performance, although their stage act had not really caught up with the scale of the venue.

But first, a few words about the support acts, which were possible Arcade Fire's own choice. We got to see some high energy performances for the Vixens, Beirut, and Mumford and Sons. The latter have really grown in stature since we saw them last year at Latitude, and are now more than capable of entertaining a large festival crowd on their own.

As an aside, the people who run the Hyde Park arena seem to have got drink vending off to a fine art, with the use of impressive production line techniques to serve beer rapidly to the masses. Unfortunately, the same organisers seem not to have realised that what goes in must at some point in time come out. That point came at the break between the support acts and the head-liners, when the queues for the loos reached epic proportions, thanks in part to woeful under-provision of male urinals, which would have freed up the portaloos for the ladies. In the end, many could not wait, with rather damp consequences for the ground around the perimeter fence.

Arcade Fire were with waiting for, and delivered an intense set that the appreciative crowd aah-ing and ooh-ing along with the bands more anthemic songs. Although their stage act is not particular elaborate, they still mange to keep up the interest levels by the constant rotation of band members from one instrument to another. A very versatile bunch indeed.

Arcade Fire seem much better suited to the ambience of the Hyde Park venue, as compared to the O2, and we went home thoroughly entertained.

Dublin

A flying visit to the Dublin office for more meetings. The picture is of the Finnstown Country House Hotel, which is where us out-of-towners stay when in Ireland. Its almost like a second home to some of us. You can tell that you have become a regular when the staff start calling you by your first name. A bit like the Major in Faulty Towers!

Amsterdam

Well, not actually Amsterdam, more Schipol Airport. A short trip to pitch our new product to i-conX favourite customer (pictured). No time to go into town on this trip, but still able to fit in a quick beer at our hotel before heading on to Dublin.

Get Rocking, Rehearsal #3

Your looking at 4/5ths of Crossroads - the band that's set to get the world rocking later this month. (I'm the other 1/5th) And what a fine bunch of musicians they are, with (from left to right) Ken holding us together on drums, Dave on lead guitar (and tuition - for me), Paul on bass and our singer and fine harmonica player, Trevor. I do my best on rhythm guitar and keyboards.

Rehearsals are going surprisingly well so far, now that Trevor has joined us. (We were without a lead vocalist for our first rehearsal) Personally, I am finding it very difficult to get to grips with doing funk, which is rather a drawback since 3 of our 6 songs are of this genre. But the whole thing is as much fun as I thought it would be and its great to get out of the bedroom studio and actually start playing with real people again for the first time in almost 40 years.

Only one more rehearsal next week, before our début gig at the Boileroom, Guildford on 7th July. Be there!

Qatar again

Back in Qatar again for the second time this year to run a workshop for Vodafone. A very fleeting visit as I am off to Dublin later this evening. Currently sitting by the hotel pool in 40 deg heat, cursing the fact that I forgot to bring my swimming shorts. But it looks like there will be plenty of opportunities this year to get it right, with the next trip out here probably only a month away.

The Big Lunch, St Margarets

From Big Lunch 2011

I joined Alison and her neighbours for this al frecso dining event. Certainly a very sociable crowd and loads of community spirit in evidence. Predictably, after 3 months of virtually continuous dry weather, the clouds that had been threatening all morning finally gave up the struggle to hold back, and the heavens opened. Luckily we had by that time finished the eating part of the Big Lunch and were well on to the drinking part, so a quick dash to the church for plan B was in order. This turned out to be well worthwhile as Alison won first price with her raffle ticket - a meal out at a local restaurant in St Margaret's. Not a fix honestly (Alison is a member of the residents' committee that organised the event).

Stockholm

My relaxing weekend in Topsham had to be curtailed because of a business trip to Stockholm to assist with a customer presentation. I say Stockholm, but actually we were in Bromma, which is on the outskirts of the city. To be precise, our hotel was on the final approach to Bromma airport; about 200m from the end of the runway! Not enough time to go into Stockholm itself for a relaxing post-presentation drink, so here we are, as usual, drinking in the hotel terrace bar (overflying BAE146 not pictured).

Budleigh Salterton

From Devon

We dropped in to Budleigh on our way to Topsham, for a weekend staying with Nick.

Apparently the town is referred to a "God's waiting room". A quick glance at the accommodation and some of the populace suggests that this is not an inappropriate description.

Although it was a perfect blue sky day at the start of a bank holiday weekend, we were just about the only people on the beach. Just managed to grab an ice cream before the last cafe shut up for the day at 4:30 pm!

Tower Bridge

From PWC

Today was Family Day at the new PWC office where Jessica works, near Tower Bridge, so a good opportunity to see what it's like to work in a modern office. Plenty of good places to eat and drink nearby, so we had Sunday lunch in a local pub before my tour of the building. We decided to skip the face painting, flower pot decoration and balloon blowing, and Jessica showed me around the office. Definitely impressive and very swish, as you might expect from one of the world's top consultancy firms. Clearly not short of a bob or two. The 10th floor boardroom is particularly imposing, with a view out over the Tames overlooking Tower Bridge.

After the tour we had a short stroll around some of the neighbouring streets. I don't think I had ever been to this part of the South Bank before, and I was amazed by the number of obviously posh eating establishments around there. The whole area is now very smart, and presumably equally expensive. In fact, I would go so far as to say that London's Thames embankments are way ahead of its equivalents in other major cities of the world. If you can't work at home, then I reckon this would be a great place to work.

Howth, Dublin

From i-conX

Things are looking up with my Dublin trips. The evenings after work used to consist mainly of long sessions in the hotel bar, checking that the quality of the Guinness was still up to scratch. But now for the second trip in a row, we have managed to get out for a dose of fresh air and see some of the sights in and around Dublin. On this occasion, the Queen had decided to visit Dublin (she obviously did not consult my Google calendar first), so the center of town was closed off for much of the time. However Mike, our IT maestro, kindly offered to chauffeur everyone to a very picturesque fishing village called Howth, only a few mikes north of Dublin. After a rather windswept walk we settled down in one of the many restaurant and bars in the village for a pint or two and something to eat. We were able to watch the Queen and co doing their handshaking think in Dublin Castle as we sipped our Guinness.

Publish Post

Venice, day 2-3

From Venice

Our exploration of the streets and canals of Venice is now nearly over. I think we have done reasonably well to take in a representative cross-section of what the city has to offer, including some of the standard tourist sights such as the Basilica St Marco, as well as a few locations that are off the beaten track. After warnings in the guide books about the poor standard of restaurant food in Venice, we were very pleasantly surprised that we managed to find excellent places to eat throughout our stay, even if they were on the expensive side.
The amount of boat travel was somewhat less than one might expect. We took a vaporetto along the Grand Canal to get to the island of San Giorgio the log way around, which gave us a chance to see the city from the water. However, we resisted the temptation to take a gondola ride and be serenaded by a tenor singing 'Just One Cornetto'. Not difficult to do at €100 for a one hour spin! Better value can be obtained by taking a tragetto ride across the Grand Canal in what is essentially a gondola, for the grand sum of €0.50!

On our final day we took the vaporetto out to the island of Murano, which is famous for its glass workshops. Just enough time for an excellent final meal followed by a visit to the glass museum, before heading on to the airport for our trip home, and just making it to the departure gate with 2 minutes to spare.

Venice

From Venice

At last the destination for Alison's birthday surprise trip can be revealed - we are now in Venice! (maybe the title was a bit of a give-away).
This is possibly the only Western European city that was still on my to-do list, so I was really looking forward to coming here. After one day here, I can safely say that neither of us have been disappointed.
We arrived on a vaporetto from the airport, which has to be the way to get here. Our boutique hotel is in a renovated palace (sounds grand, but most buildings here seem to be ex-palaces), which is only five minutes walk from the vaporetto stop at St Marks Square, so we are close to all the main tourist spots. That said, I think St Marks Square itself must be one of the least attractive places to spend any time in, It is half covered in scaffolding while it undergoes reservations, and is crammed with groups of tourists being led around by their guides. To this add tacky souvenir stalls, pidgeons, palm court orchestras in overpriced caves, and you end up with my version of hell. Luckily , we discovered that by walking for less an five minutes in just about any direction will take you in to quiet alleyways and campos away from all the crowds. For me, this has been one of the most fun things about exploring Venice.
We have done several of the main tourist attractions on day one, including the Doge's Palace and several churches. The highlight of the day was an evening spent at the opera. Not the grand opera at La Fenice, but a small company with only four performers accompanied by a string quartet, performing in the rooms of an old palace.  We chose to go on an evening when they were performing the Barber of Seville, and although I am not really familiar with the story, it was a really amazing experience sitting so close to the performers that you could almost feel what was going on.  Each of the three acts was performed in a different room of the palace, and we in the audience had to follow them around.  A great night out, which I can highly recommend if you enter get the opportunity.

Grand Canal, Dublin

Normally it's virtually impossible to get certain members of the i-conX management team to shift themselves from their usual chairs in the hotel bar. So not surprisingly, when a four mile walk along the nearby Grand Canal was proposed, the suggestion was greeted without much enthusiasm. Mysteriously, that all changed when it was mentioned that there was a pub at the end of the walk, and we soon found ourselves striding along the towpath.

Being quite familiar with the Grand Union Canal right next to my apartment, I have to say that the Dublin Grand Canal was something of a disappointment. It looked like it had not had any upkeep for many years, being clogged with weed for much of its length. It also appeared to be totally devoid of wildlife, with not a heron or swan in sight, and no one bothering to fish along its banks. As we neared the end of the walk, there were more signs of activity, with a few decrepit boats moored up, and we did spot one rather lethargic duck.

Anyway, it was still good to get out for a walk and the chance to see some of the countryside away from the hotel. The pub did a good draft cider too, which went down well after our unaccustomed exertions.

Kuala Lumpur revisited

So here I am again, back in good old KL for the final part of this SE Asia trip. No plans to do anything in particular while I am here. The main aim of this trip was to catch up with old friends in this part of the world, and on the whole that has been quite successful, bearing in mind that most of them are traveling throughout the region on an almost continuous basis, and are very hard to pin down in terms of dates and places to meet. I am really grateful to all who have offered me their hospitality during my travels, with a particular thanks to David and Anne in Khon Kaen, and Colin and Soo in KL. Please drop me a line if you are ever back in the UK and fancy sampling the delights of Brentford.

Songkran

From Songkran

Songkran (Thai New Year) is officially celebrated from 13-15 April, in theory at least. In practice it seems to start earlier and go on longer. The main tradition associated with this event used to be the pouring of a cup of water over one's friends and relations to wish them good luck for the new year. This seems to have evolved over time to the extent that today's celebrations take the form of a mega water fight. All very childish, but good fun, up to a point anyway. I was co-opted to join a posse from the village where I was staying, who were heading into the centre of town to join the fray. We set off in an open topped pickup truck, laden with great barrels of water and things to throw it with. As we got nearer to town, the traffic slowed to a crawl and fire (i.e. water) was exchanged with nearby trucks and bystanders on the pavement, who in turn returned the soaking. Once in the centre, we joined the crowds in the streets, which had been pedestrianized for the occasion. There followed hours of wet mayhem, with numerous bands attempting to compete with each other on sound level, and a generally happy crowd enjoying the party.
I could only stick a day and a half of this, and opted for a quieter party in the village for my last day in Thailand.

Luang Prabang

From Luang Prabang

My decision to travel to Luang Prabang by bus turned out not to be a good one. For a start, Lao buses, even the so-called VIP one that I took, are a lot older and more cramped than their Thai counterparts, so anyone over about 5' 8" tall is going to find it extremely uncomfortable. The road from Vientiane to Luang Prabang is one long series of s-bends through the mountains, with the result that it is impossible to get to sleep as you are thrown from side to side. Luckily it was too dark to see outside from where I was sitting, but another British tourist commented afterwards that it was quite frightening to see how our driver negotiated the narrow road and managed to just avoid the oncoming traffic. Oh, and I forgot to mention that instead of offering passengers in-journey snacks, as they do in Thailand, the bus attendants hand out sick bags, which were put to good use by several passengers. We finally arrived in Luang Prabang at 5:30 in the morning to the sight of lines of orange robed Buddhist monks heading back to their wats, having received their daily alms from the townspeople.
Luang Prabang is a charming town in a very picturesque location on the banks of the Mekong. Making it a World Heritage site was certainly a smart move, as the end result is that a tremendous amount of effort seems to have gone in to restoring dilapidated colonial buildings to their original glory, and all new buildings seem to adhere to this style. A similar amount of effort appears to have been devoted to restoring and maintaining the numerous wats that are dotted though out the town. I gave up traipsing round these after the first half dozen or so, as once you have seen one seated Buddha figure, you have to some extent seen them all.
Because of my late booking and the looming Lao New Year, I was not able to get a guest house on either of the two main roads in the old town, and had to settle for a hotel a little way out from the centre. This ended up working out quite well, as it featured a large riverside garden for chilling out in after exhausting trips round the town. It was only about 10 minutes walk from the town centre, but the hotel also provided free bicycle hire and I made use of this on several occasions to get around more quickly and explore slightly further afield.
Like everyone else I know who has been to Luang Prabang, I was wone over by its charms and would have liked to spend a few days more getting to know it even better. Perhaps somewhere to return to another year when I have more time? Meanwhile, back to Thailand, but this time I think I'll fly!

Vientiane, Laos

From Laos

So, after a two day bus ride (including an overnight stop in Khon Kaen), and several years of meaning to get around to it, I have finally reached Laos. First impressions are that it almost indistinguishable from Isaan (North-East Thailand), as the people all speak the same language, Lao, and look the same. Apparently this is due to the historical fact that Isaan used to be part of a much larger Lao kingdom until it was grabbed by the Thais.
Although I am normally fairly relaxed about making up my travel arrangements as I go along, the very short notice nature of this trip has caused a few logistical problems. Firstly, I had not realized that the Thai New Year is also celebrated in Laos, so every form of transport is either fully booked or the prices are hiked for the few remaining seats. The other unforeseen issue, having not read my guidebooks beforehand, is that the journey from Vientiane to Luang Prabang, although it is only about 300km, takes over 11 hours by bus via the twisty mountain road! You end up losing a day just for this leg of the trip unless you fly, which is of course much quicker but not cheap. My compromise solution is to take an overnight bus on the outbound leg to Luang Prabang , then fly back to Vientiane at the end of the trip. The only drawback of this approach is that I will miss seeing the spectacular mountain scenery on the way there.
Vientiane itself is a quaint mix of French colonial architecture interspersed with Buddhist temples, although it has to be said that it is not nearly as impressive as some of the best that Thailand has to offer. There is only really enough tourist stuff here to fill one day, so my whistle stop schedule is not unrealistic. The weather here is currently too hot to wander around in the middle of the day, so I just did a quick orientation of the city yesterday evening, and will be spending today revisiting the museums, etc, that are only open during the day.

Bangkok

It's been about nine months since I was last in Bangkok. Having got some work commitments out of the way, the highlight of this visit was meeting up with Vincent, our man in the i-conX "Bangkok Office", i.e. his living room. (Even though I had already spent a couple of days with him in Dublin the previous week). Our aim for the evening was to visit a bar that Vince had discovered, which served an extensive section of Belgian beers (Vince is Belgian by the way). His report turned out to be correct - the bar boasted more than 40 beers, each served in its own unique glass. There was no way we were going to sample all of these in one sitting, but we did our best. I think we had about 5 each. Being Bangkok, there was plenty of visual entertainment on offer for occasions when the conversation flagged. I don't remember anything about the evening after about glass 4.

My original plan for this trip (or at least version C) involved a trip to Koh Lanta to do some diving. However this was again frustrated (I had also had to forgo a trip two years earlier due to the Bangkok airport sit-in) this time due to extensive flooding in southern Thailand. The scenes of devastation on the TV news were reminiscent of post-tsunami Japan. So my plan D is to head north to Laos for a few days, before returning via Khon Kaen for the Songkran (Thai New Year) celebrations.

Trinidad Carnival

From Trinidad carnival

Having previously only experienced the Notting Hill Carnival, I was intrigued to see how the Trinidad Carnival would compare, since it is in a sense the template on which our UK event is based. Many ingredients are the same, including the bands of dancers, the booming soca music, the flamboyant costumes and the steel bands. However, the scale and atmosphere are totally different.

Arguably the main difference is that the Trinidad Carnival is an opportunity for everyone to join a band and party (play mas), with the result that the largest bands can number over 4000 players. Conversely, there are far fewer spectators than than at the London event, with the beneficial consequence that it is relatively easy to move around the streets from one viewing location to another, with no crowd pressure to worry about. Since the band are only judged on their costumes and dancing prowess at three locations around the carnival route, there is no particular incentive for the participants to put on much of a show in between. So they don't! What you end up with is a sort of moving street party, with massive bar trucks handing out liquid refreshments to the band members, who seem to spend most of the time on their mobile phones chatting to their friends further up the road.

There was quite a disparity between the major league bands, with their legions of dancers, elaborate costumes, and fleets of support vehicles, and at the other extreme a group of a dozen or so mates in fancy dress outfits with a battered pickup truck full of beer. What they all had in common was that they were all sharing in a great party. And it has to be said that the big bands did put on an impressive show as they passed the judging stations.

It's hard to overstate just what a big deal carnival is for the people of Trinidad and Tobago. For many residents it forms the focal point of their year, with months of preparation leading up to carnival week. Maybe next time I should pay to join a band and experience the real thing?

Port of Spain, Trinidad

From Trinidad carnival

We are currently in Trinidad for a couple of days, including the world famous carnival experience!

Tobago Panorama

From Tobago 2011

Not much to blog about since my last post. We have been spending most days just lounging on the terrace, reading with the occasional game of Scrabble, and drinks with the neighbors.
However, things are starting to get more lively with the run up to carnival week. Here in Tobago we have been following with interest the rehearsals of our local pan band - the Black Rock Katzen Jammers - who have got through to the pan finals, to be held in Trinidad later this week. In parallel they have been rehearsing for the finals of the Tobago Panorama, a sort of battle of the bands. Last night we went to see the finals in Scarborugh, where we were entertained by 10 bands from all around the island. Although we were perhaps rather biased, I have to say that the Katzen Jammers put on by far the most impressive performance of the evening, and were rewared by ecstatic cheering from the crowd.

We did not stay to see the results of the judging, but I'm sure that our band will have secured the top position. As we left the concert arena (i.e. car park) the Jammers were busy loading their drum kit onto the ferry to Trinidad. Good luck to them in the T&T finals!

Return to Tobago

From Tobago 2011

It's now day 2 of a two week break at Alison's villa in Tobago. Supposedly, we are in the dry season now, but we seem to have been on the receiving end of several fairly intense downpours each day, so everything is looking rather lush outside, as opposed to the scorched brown that would usually be the case at this time of the year. At least it is warm, and a welcome change from cold grey Brentford.
The villa is surrounded by a bird sanctuary, and we are visited by many different birds, who come to see what morsels might be on offer on our balcony. The rather fine specimen in the photo is a motmot (its tail is even more impressive but I didn't manage to get it in the photo).
My aim this holiday is mainly to do as little as possible, apart from reading and practicing guitar, interspersed with a frew Carib beers and the odd G&T. So far, this is working out as planned!

Skiing in Meribel

From Meribel

We are now two days into our ski holiday here in Meribel. Not very adventurous, having been here or in the next valley many times now, but it still has a lot going for it. Not least is the reliably good snow conditions in the Three Valleys. Although it has not snowed here for over two weeks, the condition of the pistes is still excellent thanks to a lot of snow at the beginning of the year, a substantial investment in snow making systems, cold air, and a very efficient pisting crew. The result of all this has been that we have enjoyed some excellent skiing on perfect pistes.
I have also had the pleasure of introducing my travel companions to the delights of Meribel après ski, including the institution of drinking toffee vodkas at the Rond Point. As usual, our fellow chalet guests are a very sociable bunch and the evenings seem to pass very quickly. no time so far for Scrabble or Pass the Pigs!

Qatar

From Qatar

It's difficult to know quite what to make of Doha. Pretty much everything seems to have been build in the past few years, and although it is clearly in an Arab country, it comes across as a very international city in terms of the architecture in its business district, and the people on the streets.

Even the souq I walked around this evening looks as if it has been built for a film set, with a crowd of extras sitting smoking their hubbly bubblies.

Not too sure whether I would want to live here for any length of time, but the climate certainly beats London at this time of year.

Sightseeing in Paris

From Paris

It was great to have the chance to revisit Paris after a break of more than 15 years. I used to stay there for a few days every month over the 5 year period that I was working with France Telecom, and I was interested to see what had changed in the intervening years. Not much as it turns out.

We decided to limit ourselves to 2 hours of museum/gallery viewing per day as anything more gets rather tiring. We started just down the road at Le Louvre, which had been undergoing extensive renovation last time I was there. Now that the works are completed, it is more impressive than ever, with several airy indoor/outdoor galleries. Of course, in 2 hours one can only scratch the surface of what is on offer here.

After a series of leisurely strolls interspersed with coffee breaks we eventually got to the Eiffel Tower at dusk. The plan had been to go up to the skating rink on the second level, but we had not reckoned with the lengthy lift queues on a Saturday evening. In the end we decided to forgo the ride up the tower and instead amused ourselves taking silly photos.

From Paris

Birthday surprise in Paris

From Paris

The mystery is now revealed. My birthday surprise from Alison is a weekend in Paris!

This was my first visit to Paris since the opening of the new Eurostar terminal at St Pancras - an impressive start to the trip. Our hotel in Paris was perfect in very way; a great location near to the Seine, the Louvre, and the Pompidou Centre, cozy decor, and friendly staff. To cap it all, Alison had told them that it was my birthday, so we got a welcome bottle of Champagne.

The highlight of our first day was an excellent meal at the renowned La Coupole restaurant, complete with entertaining waiters and some interesting people watching. Afterwards, I needed the long walk back to the hotel to work off some of the calories consumed at the meal. The effect on Alison's feet was somewhat less beneficial.