Author: Y C

Oooph-fast fast fast

Hectic day…. actually since the past couple of days.  Yesterday I came in, bang bang, from the airport, having faced a bit of a daily at TPE.  Apparently HK was faced with a ‘red rain’ warning meaning the strength of the rain was very high.  Second level below the ‘black’ level which would’ve effectively shut down the city.

Quickly stamped through, got onto the hotel shuttle bus and then hooked up with FC & P- to head over to meet up with my friends at North Point office for some great dinner. Pics forthcoming…

Then headed out to LKF for some drinks at Balaikia (sp?) which is a Russian restaurant.  There shared a couple of bottles of Stoli with the gang and met up with a couple more friends from the office and got “warm” in the fridge.  Was cool :).

Then after that, went to another lounge bar with KTV and drank some more whisky and then passed out around 4am last night.

Wacking up to overcast skies looking into HK from the Sheraton Hotel & Towers.  Wonderful!

Hooking up later with FC, P-, friend Wilfred for brunch here at the Sheraton.  Then my cousin from Dongguan will come in last this evening to join us.

 

 

My own Amazing Race ….

Back in Sydney, yesterday flew the red eye from Taipei to Sydney for a quick project meeting.  Sometimes, in this line of work, f-2-f is the way to go as virtual working doesn’t work so effectively.  Back at staying in Sheraton on the Park and enjoying Sydney much.  People are just so nice, pleasant and down to earth to talk to, even over work issues.

Ordered in room service, prime tenderloin, apple pie and cinnamon ice cream.  Catching up on my personal projects on the side, watching TV (I don’t have at home), and just chilling not dealing with all the work issues.

Flying back tomorrow morning to Taipei, then on Friday I’ll be flying to HK and hook up with FC and P-.  I’m confirmed.

Then my June month looks like 2 HK trips, 1 London trip, 1 Singapore trip, going into early July, one KL trip.

Whew….

Fly away ..

Catching up on some blogging now at the Dynasty Lounge in Jakarta international airport before heading back to TPE.  Been on the road now for 8 days, KUL -> SIN -> CGK (Jakarta Airport code).  Glad to have missed the Typhoon up north but the weather down here has not been normal either.  Lots of rain in the early and late mornings.  In Malaysia, flash floods due to heavy rains is a real danger on the road.  Hills around the KL -> Ipoh -> Penang highway get washed away forcing the road crews to rebuild around the clock.  Making it harder is the fact that the soil around Malayia is soft redish sand/clay like substance.

It’s a lot of work traveling getting to know people and learning what’s going on.  Met a few really nice and smart people.  Impressed with the folks here in the Jakarta office.  Wish I had them.  Team and relationship building along with skills development are the driving forces now. 

What I haven’t figured out yet is that although it’s only 1.5 hours away from Singapore, Why is Jakarta an hour behind?  I’ll have to take a look at the map again.  I thought they’d be in the same window.

Jakarta is a city of 11 million people, sprawling megapolis and quite beautiful, even though areas of it area quite poor.  In between Manila/Makati City Philippines, and KL.  Food delicious and the people here are just so warm, friendly and welcoming.  Refreshing compared to Taiwan despite the Taiwanese reputation for being friendly people.  My colleagues took me to Hotel Borobudur Jakarta which is famous for its oxtail delicacies and boy, it didn’t disappoint.  I’d love to come back again soon.

Not-so-looking forward to a busy travel schedule the next 6 weeks.  I’ll be headed back to HK a couple of times, KL again, London, Singapore again.  In between I’ll have to find time to move.

Ouch.

Happy trails folks and be well!