Saturday, June 25, 2011
Friday, August 31, 2007
Montreal, Niagara Falls, and New York City
So - I finally took a vacation - first one since January - and enforced (thankfully) due to the wedding of Mat and Michelle. The first week was spent in Montreal with M&M and their friends and family (and my folks) and the second week was spent with my folks driving to Niagara and back, then flying to NYC for a few days. 
Loved the holiday - Montreal was great - I really didn't expect much - never really considered it as a destination to go spend a holiday at, and I doubt I will be in a rush to go back - but it was definitely worth a visit once. Spent the first week slowly being introduced to Mats friends as they arrived from NZ meaning that every night was a new party, finished off with teh wedding night itself at which i danced myself silly - dont remember ever having danced so much at any party before, but hey - i enjoyed myself.
The drive down to Niagara was about 6 hours, which was about 3 hours more than I expected originally - which was fine, except it was pissing it down when we got there!! People had told me that Niagara Falls was a bit like Blackpool on drugs, and I can see why - what a crazy place, but in the morning the sun was shining and we rode on the Maid of the Mist etc etc - well worth the drive. The next day we flew to NYC. Was my first time in the Big Apple and I have to say that hte first few hours as we walked to Times Square from our hotel, were not pleasant - It was all too chaotic....but slowly I got into it, and really enjoyed the few days there, gettin to catch up with an old friend in the process. I particularly enjoyed chilling out in Central Park with all the weirdo's (one guy in a black bikini - hmmm)
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
Driving in SA
OK - so once again I am going to try hard to keep this blog up to date. And I have a few ideas for topics for the next few posts at least anyway....probably going to be a lot of bitching about SA, so I will make the point now that i do love this country, but there are a lot of things about SA that I still find quite unbelievable.
One of the things that you cannot get away from in Johannesburg is traffic. Public transport is next to non-existant, and more and more people are earning enough to own a car - i dont know the exact figures but someone mentioned something like 5 times the number of cars on the road as there were 15 years ago (during apartheid.)
This in itself is one thing that really needs sorting out, although I am not sure how as the road links are pretty good its got to be said. However, the worst problem is the state of the driving in this country, and it is not only a Jo-sie problem.
I am not convinced that most of the drivers on the road have ever even taken a driving lesson, let alone a test for a license. Just this morning, I had one guy in front of me driving for a few minutes straight down a road, with his left blinker on. He drove past several roads on the right. This is something i have also done in the past, it happens. However, the guy then turned his blinker off, and 3 seconds later decided to stop suddenly on the right hand side of the road, WITHOUT using his blinker to indicate it to me....this beggars belief in my mind.
Roundabouts here are a deathtrap. Noone seems to know how to use one. Seems that SA drivers are of the opinion that the first one at the roundabout has right of way - not quite true people. Driving on the highway is also a risky business. In most civilised countries overtaking is only allowed on the outside of the car (ie in the fast lane.) I am still to find out the actual law in SA, but whether its law or not, everyone here passes on both sides of the car if you are in the middle lane. This is so dangerous.
I have been here for 7 months now, and i have personally witnessed more accidents on the road in the last 7 months than i ever have in the past 32 years. Also, I broke my duck. In 15 years of driving I had never been involved in an accident where i was driving, until I lived in SA. I was practically stopped at a stop sign, and a guy came out of nowhere (we think he didnt see the stop sign until too late then saw it and swerved) and came in front of us and clipped the front right - see pic. Had I been 2 metres further forward he wouldhave rammed straight into my door...grrrr - he had the balls to say it want him as well - idiot.
One of the things that you cannot get away from in Johannesburg is traffic. Public transport is next to non-existant, and more and more people are earning enough to own a car - i dont know the exact figures but someone mentioned something like 5 times the number of cars on the road as there were 15 years ago (during apartheid.)This in itself is one thing that really needs sorting out, although I am not sure how as the road links are pretty good its got to be said. However, the worst problem is the state of the driving in this country, and it is not only a Jo-sie problem.
I am not convinced that most of the drivers on the road have ever even taken a driving lesson, let alone a test for a license. Just this morning, I had one guy in front of me driving for a few minutes straight down a road, with his left blinker on. He drove past several roads on the right. This is something i have also done in the past, it happens. However, the guy then turned his blinker off, and 3 seconds later decided to stop suddenly on the right hand side of the road, WITHOUT using his blinker to indicate it to me....this beggars belief in my mind.
Roundabouts here are a deathtrap. Noone seems to know how to use one. Seems that SA drivers are of the opinion that the first one at the roundabout has right of way - not quite true people. Driving on the highway is also a risky business. In most civilised countries overtaking is only allowed on the outside of the car (ie in the fast lane.) I am still to find out the actual law in SA, but whether its law or not, everyone here passes on both sides of the car if you are in the middle lane. This is so dangerous.
I have been here for 7 months now, and i have personally witnessed more accidents on the road in the last 7 months than i ever have in the past 32 years. Also, I broke my duck. In 15 years of driving I had never been involved in an accident where i was driving, until I lived in SA. I was practically stopped at a stop sign, and a guy came out of nowhere (we think he didnt see the stop sign until too late then saw it and swerved) and came in front of us and clipped the front right - see pic. Had I been 2 metres further forward he wouldhave rammed straight into my door...grrrr - he had the balls to say it want him as well - idiot.
Wednesday, January 24, 2007
JET Memories...
Someone sent me this link today - forgot all about it and surprised it is still up...but worth keeping this link for future reference..
http://www.jet-uk.org/jetreports/malcolm.html
http://www.jet-uk.org/jetreports/malcolm.html
Thursday, January 18, 2007
A new record?
Whats this - three posts in three days? unbelievable for me. Well nothing to say really either - this is more of a housekeeping post for me to remind me of the changes i made to the blog today - and also to add the picture on here so i can link back to it later.
Nothing to add re my new living arrangements - had a look at an apartment yesterday but was to small and dark...the search continues - oh yeah - there was yet another storm last night too - that makes 7 in 8 days....
Wednesday, January 17, 2007
Johannesbug Storms
One thing i forgot to mention in the last post was the mental storms that we are getting here - I have never seen anything like it. I have now been here 7 days, and we have had 6 pretty major thunder and lightning storms....they are extremely electrical - i have never seen lightning like it . Yesterday I was able to take a few shots my favourite of which is over thre on the right somewhere....
Tuesday, January 16, 2007
An update....
Wow - its been a couple of months since i last posted to the blog, and what a couple of months it has been...For reasons that might become apparent, i am not going to be able to go into loads of details, but here are the highlights....
Nov 29 - moved away from Germany.....my apartment has been packed up and shipped (see below) and I fly to Japan
Nov 30-Dec 22 - FIFA Club World Cup 2007 in Japan. Yup its the same event that brought me to Japan this time last year. Not going to say too much about the event other than I did not go to any of the games (Personal choice - wanted to catch up with mates instead) but the event was the easiest so far in my opinion. Loved being back in Japan, and was great to catch up with all the people that i did, as well as meeting a few new and interesting people along the way..
Dec 22 - Jan 8 - Christmas/New year - in the UK with Family and friends.
Was good to be back and caught up with a few people i havent seen in a couple of years - so all good.
Jan 8 - the big move. I moved to South Africa for a four year stint in preparation for the 2010 World Cup. I will still be travelling to other events too - but South Africa, and more importantly Johannesburg is going to be my base for the next few years.
I have been here a week now, and not much to say - I am looking for apartments, but biggest difficulty there is finding a reliable agent that wont keep cancelling on us. Currently living in some nice rented apartments in Sandton, one of the Jo-burg suburbs. Thats the biggest challenge about Jo-burg - it does not really have one centre - but more 5/6 different suburbs that are cool and i might like to live there...so before i can really look at apartments i need to work out where i actually want to live.
Downside to being here is that the new office (which opens in Feb - we are currently in temporary offices in Sandton) is going to be by the FNB stadium, which is almost in Soweto, and not in an area that i would want to live - so looks like i will have at least a 30 min commute to work each day - bugger...
FInally before i sign off - everyone always asks me about the safety aspect of south africa, and Jo-burg in particular. It is different down here, and it is worth taking more care than usual, but i have to admit i dont think it has been that bad so far - I so not feel particularly unsafe - although there was one evening when we ended up in a dodgy area in the car - but we quickly retraced our steps and got back on the main highway..I am suer there will be more on SA security in future posts.
Anyway - here i am, and this is where i will be for a while....as i am in temporary accommodation i no longer have internet connection at home so these posts may be few and far between for a while - but my intention now that i am here is to post more often with thoughts on the country area and people...
Nov 29 - moved away from Germany.....my apartment has been packed up and shipped (see below) and I fly to Japan
Nov 30-Dec 22 - FIFA Club World Cup 2007 in Japan. Yup its the same event that brought me to Japan this time last year. Not going to say too much about the event other than I did not go to any of the games (Personal choice - wanted to catch up with mates instead) but the event was the easiest so far in my opinion. Loved being back in Japan, and was great to catch up with all the people that i did, as well as meeting a few new and interesting people along the way..
Dec 22 - Jan 8 - Christmas/New year - in the UK with Family and friends.
Was good to be back and caught up with a few people i havent seen in a couple of years - so all good.
Jan 8 - the big move. I moved to South Africa for a four year stint in preparation for the 2010 World Cup. I will still be travelling to other events too - but South Africa, and more importantly Johannesburg is going to be my base for the next few years.
I have been here a week now, and not much to say - I am looking for apartments, but biggest difficulty there is finding a reliable agent that wont keep cancelling on us. Currently living in some nice rented apartments in Sandton, one of the Jo-burg suburbs. Thats the biggest challenge about Jo-burg - it does not really have one centre - but more 5/6 different suburbs that are cool and i might like to live there...so before i can really look at apartments i need to work out where i actually want to live.
Downside to being here is that the new office (which opens in Feb - we are currently in temporary offices in Sandton) is going to be by the FNB stadium, which is almost in Soweto, and not in an area that i would want to live - so looks like i will have at least a 30 min commute to work each day - bugger...
FInally before i sign off - everyone always asks me about the safety aspect of south africa, and Jo-burg in particular. It is different down here, and it is worth taking more care than usual, but i have to admit i dont think it has been that bad so far - I so not feel particularly unsafe - although there was one evening when we ended up in a dodgy area in the car - but we quickly retraced our steps and got back on the main highway..I am suer there will be more on SA security in future posts.
Anyway - here i am, and this is where i will be for a while....as i am in temporary accommodation i no longer have internet connection at home so these posts may be few and far between for a while - but my intention now that i am here is to post more often with thoughts on the country area and people...
Saturday, November 25, 2006
The Countries I have visited.....
Sunday, October 22, 2006
Ryder Cup - Ireland September 2006
The end of September saw me take my first trip to Ireland. It will not be the last trip to Ireland i hope - as I still need to see the country.
We got there on the Saturday - had a short briefing in Dublin City Centre, before heading out to the City West Hotel - we stayed at the apartments at the end of the hotel driveway, which was great on the first few nights while the other staff from Manchester were also there - couple of good nights gettting to know everyone.
I knew that i was there to assist with the transportation, but had no idea exactly what that would involve, until the Sunday morning, when I was asked to Manage the South Coach Park at the K-Club (the course where the Ryder cup was taking place) - there were 2 coach parks, and 2 park and rides and the coach park that i was in charge of was to look after apprx 30k people per day.
In theory there should not have been much to do. Bus Eirean and Dublin Bus had a load of staff to look after the busses, and really i was there only to make sure there were no problems. In actuality, it was perhaps the harest 6 days of work I have ever had to do. My "office" was on teh wrong side of the Security tents, and I could not see the coach park from the office - so I barely used it. The coach park itself was not tarmac, rather shale, which caused problems in itself. I also had three separate distinct areas (park and Ride, hotel coaches, and Private coaches) which i had to look after. So I basically spent most of my days walking around on the shale checking on the three areas. During the busy periods I was standing in the middle of the coach turning circle from where i could just see all three areas.
Ireland was not kind to us weather wise. It rained almost every day, and I can tell you it is not pleasant to be standing in the rain all day long. Blisters upon blisters on my feet, shin splints, aching back, aching miscles - it was nasty. WE were up at 04:00 each day to be at the coach park by 05:00 and we generally left the south coach park at 21:00 and went up to the north park, from where we went home for about 22:00. 6 days in a row of this was not pleasant.
The icing on the cake came on the thursday evening. It was about 20:00 and I was stanidng right in the middle of the coach park, when suddenly Hurricane Gordon hit. The weather man tells me that it was gusting at 120mph, which I have no idea what it feels like - but this wind was strong, and almost immeidately we evacuated the park - evacuated everyone that is, except for me, who had to stay behind and make sure everything was staying where it was and was not being blown away :-) That was a strange experience - somewhere that has been so busy was evacuated within 10 minutes, and suddenly i was alone, rain lashing down (and up!) wind blowing everything over, and not having anything to hang on to!!
All in all and weeks after the event, I actualy enjoyed the week, but I will be in two minds as to whether I do that again in a couple of years time.
We got there on the Saturday - had a short briefing in Dublin City Centre, before heading out to the City West Hotel - we stayed at the apartments at the end of the hotel driveway, which was great on the first few nights while the other staff from Manchester were also there - couple of good nights gettting to know everyone.
I knew that i was there to assist with the transportation, but had no idea exactly what that would involve, until the Sunday morning, when I was asked to Manage the South Coach Park at the K-Club (the course where the Ryder cup was taking place) - there were 2 coach parks, and 2 park and rides and the coach park that i was in charge of was to look after apprx 30k people per day.
In theory there should not have been much to do. Bus Eirean and Dublin Bus had a load of staff to look after the busses, and really i was there only to make sure there were no problems. In actuality, it was perhaps the harest 6 days of work I have ever had to do. My "office" was on teh wrong side of the Security tents, and I could not see the coach park from the office - so I barely used it. The coach park itself was not tarmac, rather shale, which caused problems in itself. I also had three separate distinct areas (park and Ride, hotel coaches, and Private coaches) which i had to look after. So I basically spent most of my days walking around on the shale checking on the three areas. During the busy periods I was standing in the middle of the coach turning circle from where i could just see all three areas.
Ireland was not kind to us weather wise. It rained almost every day, and I can tell you it is not pleasant to be standing in the rain all day long. Blisters upon blisters on my feet, shin splints, aching back, aching miscles - it was nasty. WE were up at 04:00 each day to be at the coach park by 05:00 and we generally left the south coach park at 21:00 and went up to the north park, from where we went home for about 22:00. 6 days in a row of this was not pleasant.
The icing on the cake came on the thursday evening. It was about 20:00 and I was stanidng right in the middle of the coach park, when suddenly Hurricane Gordon hit. The weather man tells me that it was gusting at 120mph, which I have no idea what it feels like - but this wind was strong, and almost immeidately we evacuated the park - evacuated everyone that is, except for me, who had to stay behind and make sure everything was staying where it was and was not being blown away :-) That was a strange experience - somewhere that has been so busy was evacuated within 10 minutes, and suddenly i was alone, rain lashing down (and up!) wind blowing everything over, and not having anything to hang on to!!
All in all and weeks after the event, I actualy enjoyed the week, but I will be in two minds as to whether I do that again in a couple of years time.
Sunday, August 27, 2006
Russia - August 2006
OK - so I am currently in Moscow working on the FIFA U-20 Womens World Championships. I love this event - the last one was U19 - in thailand two years ago - there is somethingabout the womens events that is just nicer to be involved with.
Have been here since Aug 6th - gotta say that i really do not think much of Russia. It might be just the people, but they all seem so miserable. OK - i learnt that to smile in Russia is to show weakness, which explains why they all seem so serious all the time, but they will not do anything without first making sure you realise that they are going out of their way for you. Even passing the salt for christs sake - its ridiculous.
The city of Moscow itself seems quite nice. The architecture is amazing - huge impressive buildings and wide streets - and its clean, as far as no litter on the ground. However there is a lot of polution here which has left its dirty gray mark all over everything over the years.
I havent been to red square or the kremlin yet - hope to in the next few days.
Football wise - I had the pleasure of looking after Finland, Canada, China, Nigeria, and North Korea at my team hotel. All home now except China and North Korea, either of who to be honest could win this tournament as they are looking prety strong. Anyway - for the record, a list of games that i have been to:
Aug 18 - SUI vs MEX (2:4) - Dynamo
Aug 18 - PRK (North korea) vs GER (2:0) - Dynamo
Aug 20 - FIN vs CAN (0:2) - Podmoskovie
Aug 20 - CHN vs NIG (3:0) - Podmoskovie
Aug 24 - MEX vs PRK (0:4) - Dynamo
Aug 24 - USA vs FRA (1:0) - Dynamo
Aug 26 - BRA vs NIG (2:1) - Torpedo
Aug 26 - CHN vs RUS (4:0) - Torpedo
Aug 31 - BRA vs PRK (0:1) - Lokomotiv
Aug 31 - CHN vs USA (0:0 - CHN won on penalties) - Lokomotiv
edit: Since I wrote the above the final has now been decided - it will be between China and North Korea - which i predicted during the group stages. I think and hope that North Korea will win it - first it would be a huge shock, and second China have gotten there through the kin of their teeth - they dive, they defend, but they do not attack and are luky to be there at all.
Have been here since Aug 6th - gotta say that i really do not think much of Russia. It might be just the people, but they all seem so miserable. OK - i learnt that to smile in Russia is to show weakness, which explains why they all seem so serious all the time, but they will not do anything without first making sure you realise that they are going out of their way for you. Even passing the salt for christs sake - its ridiculous.
The city of Moscow itself seems quite nice. The architecture is amazing - huge impressive buildings and wide streets - and its clean, as far as no litter on the ground. However there is a lot of polution here which has left its dirty gray mark all over everything over the years.
I havent been to red square or the kremlin yet - hope to in the next few days.
Football wise - I had the pleasure of looking after Finland, Canada, China, Nigeria, and North Korea at my team hotel. All home now except China and North Korea, either of who to be honest could win this tournament as they are looking prety strong. Anyway - for the record, a list of games that i have been to:
Aug 18 - SUI vs MEX (2:4) - Dynamo
Aug 18 - PRK (North korea) vs GER (2:0) - Dynamo
Aug 20 - FIN vs CAN (0:2) - Podmoskovie
Aug 20 - CHN vs NIG (3:0) - Podmoskovie
Aug 24 - MEX vs PRK (0:4) - Dynamo
Aug 24 - USA vs FRA (1:0) - Dynamo
Aug 26 - BRA vs NIG (2:1) - Torpedo
Aug 26 - CHN vs RUS (4:0) - Torpedo
Aug 31 - BRA vs PRK (0:1) - Lokomotiv
Aug 31 - CHN vs USA (0:0 - CHN won on penalties) - Lokomotiv
edit: Since I wrote the above the final has now been decided - it will be between China and North Korea - which i predicted during the group stages. I think and hope that North Korea will win it - first it would be a huge shock, and second China have gotten there through the kin of their teeth - they dive, they defend, but they do not attack and are luky to be there at all.
Saturday, August 26, 2006
Audiobooks......
I think I am in the process of learning something about myself. I think I am learning that i cannot sit still and just listen. I have to be doing something to keep myself occupied, and it has to be more than just aural stimulation.
I am learning this because for the first time ever I am trying to listen to an audiobook. I recently found a webssite called audible.com which basically sells audiobooks. I joined on a yearly subscription, not for the books, but for all the old radio shows they have on there ("Just a Minute", and "I'm Sorry I havent a clue", for example) However this month, with one of my two credits, I "bought" the audiobook Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke. I had wanted to buy the book for a while, but I decided - why not have a listen - perfect for long drives, or falling asleep to in the evening....
WRONG! I cannot listen for more than 5 minutes before either falling asleep, or, and this is worse, osing concentration and focussing on something else, like what i will have for breakfast tomorrow, or why did I forget to do my laudry yet again! This lapse in concentration means that I eventually have to stop the audiobook, rewind, and listen again. Easy? no! How do you know where you stopped listening? I invariably end up listening to 2 or 3 minutes of the same part again before it gets to something new.....and then I lose concentration again.
So - is it me? I thought maybe its just a boring book - but actually I am quite enjoying it, when I am listening to it. I just think that I am not cut out to simply sit and listen (something my mother and several girlfriends will probably agree with no doubt!) - I have to be doing something else at the same time. But of course then, I wouldnt actually be listening to the book.
ah well - I got through one hour of the book so far...only another 31 hours to go - I might be finished by 2010!
I am learning this because for the first time ever I am trying to listen to an audiobook. I recently found a webssite called audible.com which basically sells audiobooks. I joined on a yearly subscription, not for the books, but for all the old radio shows they have on there ("Just a Minute", and "I'm Sorry I havent a clue", for example) However this month, with one of my two credits, I "bought" the audiobook Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke. I had wanted to buy the book for a while, but I decided - why not have a listen - perfect for long drives, or falling asleep to in the evening....
WRONG! I cannot listen for more than 5 minutes before either falling asleep, or, and this is worse, osing concentration and focussing on something else, like what i will have for breakfast tomorrow, or why did I forget to do my laudry yet again! This lapse in concentration means that I eventually have to stop the audiobook, rewind, and listen again. Easy? no! How do you know where you stopped listening? I invariably end up listening to 2 or 3 minutes of the same part again before it gets to something new.....and then I lose concentration again.
So - is it me? I thought maybe its just a boring book - but actually I am quite enjoying it, when I am listening to it. I just think that I am not cut out to simply sit and listen (something my mother and several girlfriends will probably agree with no doubt!) - I have to be doing something else at the same time. But of course then, I wouldnt actually be listening to the book.
ah well - I got through one hour of the book so far...only another 31 hours to go - I might be finished by 2010!
My World Cup
So - unlike I predicted - England didnt win it - what a surprise.....for my memory - these are the games that i saw live (ie at the stadium)
June 10 - England vs Paraguay (1-0) - Frankfurt
June 13 - Korea vs Togo(2:1) - Frankfurt
June 17 - Portugal vs Iran (2:0) - Frankfurt
June 20 - Sweden vs England (2:2) - Cologne
June 21 - Netherlands vs Argentina (0:0) - Frankfurt - quite possibly the dullest game ever!
June 25 - England vs Ecuador (1:0) - Stuttgart
July 1 - Brazil vs France (0:1) - Frankfurt - this was straight after watching England get knocked out by Portugal on TV!
July 4 - Germany vs Italy (0:2) - Dortmund
I dont know if anyone else felt this way - but I really felt let down by this world cup. A lot of people blame FIFA nad their interpretations of the game, but I blame the teams - they came not to lose - very few teams came to win - certainly Italy did not come to Germany with attack in mind. Seems that this is the way football is going these days - Look at Greece wining in 2004 onthe back of defending for 89 out of 90 minutes.....
June 10 - England vs Paraguay (1-0) - Frankfurt
June 13 - Korea vs Togo(2:1) - Frankfurt
June 17 - Portugal vs Iran (2:0) - Frankfurt
June 20 - Sweden vs England (2:2) - Cologne
June 21 - Netherlands vs Argentina (0:0) - Frankfurt - quite possibly the dullest game ever!
June 25 - England vs Ecuador (1:0) - Stuttgart
July 1 - Brazil vs France (0:1) - Frankfurt - this was straight after watching England get knocked out by Portugal on TV!
July 4 - Germany vs Italy (0:2) - Dortmund
I dont know if anyone else felt this way - but I really felt let down by this world cup. A lot of people blame FIFA nad their interpretations of the game, but I blame the teams - they came not to lose - very few teams came to win - certainly Italy did not come to Germany with attack in mind. Seems that this is the way football is going these days - Look at Greece wining in 2004 onthe back of defending for 89 out of 90 minutes.....
Saturday, June 10, 2006
Finally - Its here
After more than two years of living in Frankfurt and working ma ass off - the world cup has started - my first game was England 1-0 Paraguay - glad to have been there - may the English team get better though - I truly believe they can win this world cup - but they have got to do better than they did today.
Saturday, May 13, 2006
Sunday, May 07, 2006
back - kind of
Been a while since I was on here - but have finally found some time to make a few changes to the menu over there on the right - added Big Si's blog - added my current book, and also added what I think is a cool little widget which will randomly show three of my books when the page is refreshed....I will only ever add books that i have bought to it - but check out the Library thing site - kind of interesting....
Anyway - lots more to say - but with World Cup looming large - I doubt I will have many updates in the next few weeks.....
Anyway - lots more to say - but with World Cup looming large - I doubt I will have many updates in the next few weeks.....
Sunday, January 08, 2006
Return to Japan.....
So - December 2005 was the month that I went back to Japan, after almost 4 years away. The reason was work related of course - the FIFA Club World Championship TOYOTA Cup 2005 - bit of a mouthful - but an interesting event and one that I was Event Manager (for accommodation) for, so was a good challenge for me. A lot of work as usual, but becasue it was Japan, I made sure I had time to play as well - so not much sleep this month!I have spent 6 of the last 12 years in Japan, and there is a reason for that - I LOVE it! There is nowhere where I have felt more at home, and I include my own country in that! Sure there are things I miss from back home, but there is more I miss from Japan, when I am not there. The last
month has really given me another taste for that lifestyle, though I am not sure my Liver could stand up to the battering I gave it for too much longer, as a plaque on teh wall in Germonimo's in Roppongi will attest to (15 different shots in one night - Heiland Zack!)So - what did I do there - not a lot really - didnt venture out of Yesbisu or Roppongi, but didnt really need to either. highlights included going to Gompatchi - the inspration behind the restaurant for the crazy 88's scene in Kill Bill and of course all the wondeful food (Yakiniku - mmmm) but really it is all quite a blur, as there were far too many B52's around. If you dont know what a B52 is - dont try and find out (and no, i am not talking about the planes!
Anyway, all being well, this event will be repeated in Japan again in 2006, and I shall be venturing into other areas such as Shibuya, Shinjuku, etc etc next time....
Thursday, October 20, 2005
Castalla, Spain
Woohoo - finally got a vacation! Went down to visit Phil in Spain. He is living in Castalla, a small town about a 30 minute drive north of Alicante.....seemingly in the middle of nowhere, but actualy not too far from civilisation. Wine and good conversation is probably what i will remember most from the trip, that and being incredibly jealous of Phil living in this cool little place (had to keep reminding myself that i also enjoy my own life ;-)The streets of Castalla (at least the old town where Phil and his family live) all look like the picture on the left, small and narrow, and countless cars try and navigate their way through, having to suddenly reverse back.
Dont really feel like i did an awful lot during the five nights i spent at Castlenel, , and that might have something to do with the wine. Within the first 5 minutes of being in Town, I had been taken to the local alcohol shop, and purchased 5 litres of wine for just over 5 euros......and it was good wine too - none of that oddbins 2 quid stuff!) Needless to say, lots of wine was consumed over the past few days, and i am not sure how long it will take to recover.
I did manage to make it up to the castle that dominates the skyline of Castalla. Really is a lovely town, and as this was my first real trip to Spain (other than a week in menorcca when I was 10
years old) it was nice to be able to go somewhere where there were not many (if any) other tourists, and to see a little bit of the old (and real) Spain.Other highlights of the trip included Alicante, Murcia, and Elx (Elche), as well as fire poi in the main square of Castalla.
Really enjoyed the trip, and if anyone is intrested have linked to Phil's (Goatboy) Blog on the right hand menu.
Sunday, September 25, 2005
Machu Picchu
OK - so after an unventful 3 weeks in Lima o far, where i have seen nothing but the football stadium, two hotels, and one restaurant, something finally happenned to get me interested again.
Just when i thought i was going to die of despair at not being able to get any time off or any free time to explore, my office actually told me to take a day off and join a trip that a few people were making, all at the companies expense. Turns out the trip was to Machu Picchu, and here are a few pics.
Machu Picchu is an inkan temple about a 3 hour journey from the Peruvian City of Cuzco. Its located at the top of a mountain at about 10000 feet (not sure of exact height, but thats close enough) It was an interesting journey....
Machu Picchu is an inkan temple about a 3 hour journey from the Peruvian City of Cuzco. Its located at the top of a mountain at about 10000 feet (not sure of exact height, but thats close enough) It was an interesting journey....After a party the night before, and getting to bed around 01:30, I had to be up at 3:30. In a taxi at 04:00 to join the rest of the group (34 of us) and a bus to the airport for a flight to Cuzco at 06:00. Arrived Cuzco abotu 90 minutes later where we got on a minibus to some place the name of which i cant remember how to spell or promounce. At 10:30 we then got on a train that took about 90 mins to get to the town of Machu Picchu, at the
bottom of the mountain. We then had lunch before we got on another bus, this time to go up to the old inkan "Citadel."Was so glad to finally be there - was totally exhausted, but by god it was worth it as I hope the few pics in this blog entry show. It was especially bad, as, being so high, climbing around was tough, and at one stage i thought i was going to pass out from altitude sickness. But all was good. Sadly though, we only had time to spend 90 minutes at the top of the mountain, and so we didnt get to see everything, and I will certainly go back at some stage, hopefully to spend a few days there......but thats not the end of this story........
We then headed back down the mountian in the bus to catch a train at 16:20, then a bus again at 18:00 back into Cuzco where we arrived at about 20:00. So by this stage most of the group were on about 36 hours with only a couple of hours sleep (if an - one or two had no sleep the previous night) but as we drove into Cuzco, we realised that this city is much much better than Lima....so we decide to go out and get some dinner. I think we managed to find THE worst restaurant in the whole of Cuzco. The peruvian food was good, but the spaghetti and meat dishes were all left narely touched.....on the menu however, I had spotted something i had never seen on a Menu before...Roast Guinea Pig. Now, i am of the opinion that when it comes to food, you should try everything once...at lunh, I ate Alpaca for the first time (not bad, but not my taste), and I was tempted by teh guinea pig, but was really hungry and wanted to opt for a safe Pizza...but managed to persuade another of our group to go for it with the Guinea pig. I am not sure what we were expecting, maybe pieces of meat, skewer or something, but we certainly were not expecting this.......
Sunday, September 11, 2005
Looking for Paddington
Well - knew i wouldnt be posting very often to this blog, but had intended to post more often than this. Typically I started it at a bad time....am now in Peru for the U17 World Championship (footie) and am living in plush Swissotel in Lima.
Now when I go on these events, i dont get to leave the hotel much, and after having been here for 4 days now, I have left this hotel exactly twice - to go to another hotel, so dont go expecting any deep meaningful insights into Lima or Peru here.
However I have been practising my espanyol quite a bit, and have had to sit in endless meetings conducted in Spanish, with me trying to work out what is going on, and surprisingly i am actually understanding quite a bit more than I thought I would.
If anyone ever wants to learn Spanish - I whileheartedly recommend buying "Spanish by Michel Thomas" as a good start to the studies - I am 8 hours through his 8 hour cd course - and feeling pretty confident about the language - and this is after a year of hating it at uni.....
Anyway, not much to say right now - just had a burning desire to write in here - going to go take a few hours rest now, as I need some sleep.
Buenos Noches!
Now when I go on these events, i dont get to leave the hotel much, and after having been here for 4 days now, I have left this hotel exactly twice - to go to another hotel, so dont go expecting any deep meaningful insights into Lima or Peru here.
However I have been practising my espanyol quite a bit, and have had to sit in endless meetings conducted in Spanish, with me trying to work out what is going on, and surprisingly i am actually understanding quite a bit more than I thought I would.
If anyone ever wants to learn Spanish - I whileheartedly recommend buying "Spanish by Michel Thomas" as a good start to the studies - I am 8 hours through his 8 hour cd course - and feeling pretty confident about the language - and this is after a year of hating it at uni.....
Anyway, not much to say right now - just had a burning desire to write in here - going to go take a few hours rest now, as I need some sleep.
Buenos Noches!
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