Back in Blighty
Jan. 17th, 2003 11:24 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
whotheheckamiWell, I'll post this when I'm back home, but I'm writing it whist flying at 38,000 feet over the Iran/Iraq border! One hopes that the pilot knows what he's doing because I am aware of sufficient weapons systems and sore that sufficient numbers of nervous and/or gung-ho people down below. Most worringly, some of them are probably Americans!
We're a little over 5 hours from London and I really should get some more sleep, but I'm listening to a copy of Meatloaf's Bat Out of Hell I sort of stole from Singapore Airport. Honestly, it was just resting in my baggage cart when I got to the departure gate. I remember finding it and putting it on the cart along with some other stuff. Paying for the other stuff, but not realising that the CD had slipped beneath one of my cabin bags. Oh well I guess I've had a fairly kleptomaniacal time over the last 24 hours. Somehow I've acquired a Tangerine form a tree full of them in the hotel's reception. They were part of a decoration for Chinese New Year and I'm sure they won't miss one - after all, I was being dared by my boss. Suitably encouraged my boss and I also did an alcohol induced lightning raid on a display board holding a poster for the forthcoming concert byNorah Jones . I had tried to get the hotel concierge to get me one, but the lovely little chap had busted a gut to no avail - even going to the extent of phoning up the printers who had produced the posters for the promoters. He left a series of messages on my voicemail and sounded so distraught when he realised that he had failed - bless. I made sure my feedback note mentioned him.
The hotel feedback note that I wrote for my stay at the Swissotel Stamford was a glowing as the one from my first stay. Unfortunately, Singapore Airlines will again, not be receiving any plaudits from me. Guess what? The bloody, bollocky, bollocks seat has failed on me again - and on about 5 other business class passengers. We'll all be playing musical chairs before landing as the staff try and find us alternate seats that are actually working. Meanwhile I'll put my mind to composing a suitable reposte to send to their Director of Customer Services. Any ideas? I wonder if anyone has some HE I could use?
Route Update: We've just crossed into Northern Turkey (the Kurdistan bit) so I'd hardly say I'm feeling safe yet!
I've done a lot more corporate socialising (getting pissed) this trip and the terminally hungover part of me wishes that Moin had been on this trip. He is Muslim and hardly drank when I was out with him. I've revisited a lot of places and have eaten lots of street food without any drastic ill-effects.
My gut bacteria had probably adapted to the local food and bacteria when I was here before Christmas and had not reverted back to blighty bacteria! Sorry Tats!
The culinary highlight of this trip will have to be the pepper crab we had last night at Jumbo's sea food restaurant - superb and much better than the chilli crab that we also ordered (and the prawns in black bean sauce, steamed vegetables, sizzling venison in ginger, 10 chicken satay and fried dough balls)
Fun drinking experience would have to be the Raffles Long Bar - Knocking back twofors of their local beer whist throwing peanut shells at each other- apparently, it's a tradition!
So, to some things up. It was a good trip and I certainly achieved my professional objectives and my profile with the Asian General Managers has received one helluva boost. This will probably have the downside that they will want we to do more Systems Audit and Project Management Consultancy work in the region. This is worrying me because I have missed everyone so much more this time.
I need to do some serious thinking and reflection on what I'm gaining professionally from these trips, what I'm losing from being separated from those I love and the professional risks involved if I say that I don't want to do more long-haul travel.
Route Update: Flying over the snow fields and mountains of Northern Turkey and are about to fly out over the Black Sea - hopefully the local navies are not running any surface-to-air exercise!
Music: Meatloaf - Paradise by the Dashboard Light
Book: Still reading Havanna Bay by Martin Cruz Smith
Mood: Wanna be home, wanna be home
We're a little over 5 hours from London and I really should get some more sleep, but I'm listening to a copy of Meatloaf's Bat Out of Hell I sort of stole from Singapore Airport. Honestly, it was just resting in my baggage cart when I got to the departure gate. I remember finding it and putting it on the cart along with some other stuff. Paying for the other stuff, but not realising that the CD had slipped beneath one of my cabin bags. Oh well I guess I've had a fairly kleptomaniacal time over the last 24 hours. Somehow I've acquired a Tangerine form a tree full of them in the hotel's reception. They were part of a decoration for Chinese New Year and I'm sure they won't miss one - after all, I was being dared by my boss. Suitably encouraged my boss and I also did an alcohol induced lightning raid on a display board holding a poster for the forthcoming concert by
The hotel feedback note that I wrote for my stay at the Swissotel Stamford was a glowing as the one from my first stay. Unfortunately, Singapore Airlines will again, not be receiving any plaudits from me. Guess what? The bloody, bollocky, bollocks seat has failed on me again - and on about 5 other business class passengers. We'll all be playing musical chairs before landing as the staff try and find us alternate seats that are actually working. Meanwhile I'll put my mind to composing a suitable reposte to send to their Director of Customer Services. Any ideas? I wonder if anyone has some HE I could use?
Route Update: We've just crossed into Northern Turkey (the Kurdistan bit) so I'd hardly say I'm feeling safe yet!
I've done a lot more corporate socialising (getting pissed) this trip and the terminally hungover part of me wishes that Moin had been on this trip. He is Muslim and hardly drank when I was out with him. I've revisited a lot of places and have eaten lots of street food without any drastic ill-effects.
My gut bacteria had probably adapted to the local food and bacteria when I was here before Christmas and had not reverted back to blighty bacteria! Sorry Tats!
The culinary highlight of this trip will have to be the pepper crab we had last night at Jumbo's sea food restaurant - superb and much better than the chilli crab that we also ordered (and the prawns in black bean sauce, steamed vegetables, sizzling venison in ginger, 10 chicken satay and fried dough balls)
Fun drinking experience would have to be the Raffles Long Bar - Knocking back twofors of their local beer whist throwing peanut shells at each other- apparently, it's a tradition!
So, to some things up. It was a good trip and I certainly achieved my professional objectives and my profile with the Asian General Managers has received one helluva boost. This will probably have the downside that they will want we to do more Systems Audit and Project Management Consultancy work in the region. This is worrying me because I have missed everyone so much more this time.
I need to do some serious thinking and reflection on what I'm gaining professionally from these trips, what I'm losing from being separated from those I love and the professional risks involved if I say that I don't want to do more long-haul travel.
Route Update: Flying over the snow fields and mountains of Northern Turkey and are about to fly out over the Black Sea - hopefully the local navies are not running any surface-to-air exercise!
Music: Meatloaf - Paradise by the Dashboard Light
Book: Still reading Havanna Bay by Martin Cruz Smith
Mood: Wanna be home, wanna be home
