Arrived back home yesterday morning, of course usual mess trying to buy tickets (office was closed even though trains were running). Got back at around 7:30AM (strange experience on train with someone who obviously was 'high' offering to help me with my bags). Decided I needed some home cooked food, so picked up joint of ham and some vegetables from local shops. One thing I like about the new house is having some of the best butchers and fruit/veg shops in Cambridge. Made some soup (Scottish recipe) and some cooked meet for...
In Shanghai now, arrived late last night from HK. I always forget how polluted Shanghai is, so when I arrived late night (foggy) I was surprised at just how bad things were. On a positive note, managed to win the the bet with the person I was travelling with that we be in our repsective beds by midnight (made it by 2mins).The past 2 weeks have been pretty manic with lots of travel, late dinners, meetings, conversations. I'm presenting late this afternoon, the slides are done, so taking this time to catch up with things now -...
One of the big things I really like about travelling in Asia is the quality of service you (usually) get, particularly in Japan, Korea, Hong Kong, and Taiwan- China hasn't really got used to the service thing yet. When you travel a significant amount and spend a lot of life on flights and in hotels you really do appreciate good quality service, more specifically the little touches.It's amazing, for example, the difference an Asian cabin...
Distaste, in an otherwise very tasteful countryI must admit I've never found anything in Japan that I'd describe as 'tacky'. Yes, lots of flashing lights and noises, but it is actually quite relaxing. Therefore, imagine my shock when I spotted this at the the duty free:WTF ? Yes, it's a plastic dog that you plug into your USB port and it pretends it is trying to have 'relations' with your computer ! Why ? I particularly like the slogan "USB meets love".What always surprises me about this stuff is that there are actually factories...
Arrived in Seoul (more on that later) yesterday. However, upon arriving in my room tonight, spotted this in the corner (added):Are they trying to tell me that I need to exercise...
Last week spent in Japan (in Korea now but been super busy). Had an excellent time- best trip for a long time. I guess in part it was delivering a talk that was already prepared (unlike the usual where I'd be writing the slides on the flight over) and also got a chance to have good dinner most evenings and walk around for a change. Spent some time with great people, made me realise even ore that I miss going to Japan (as I don't get the...
It feels like I just got back and I'm on the road again. I'm writing this on the train to the airport, this time for a 3 week trip in Asia on a seminar track.Here's where I'll be going:* Tokyo (spending weekend there, gadget inventory expected to be high)* Seoul* Taipei / Hsinchu* Hong Kong (stopover at weekend)* Beijing* Shanghai* ShenzenThe good news is that for all the places, save for Tokyo, I have a set of common (own) slides to present (just a few tweaks). For Tokyo I was hurriedly capturing (using Snapz Pro X on the Mac...
Today's travel has been a misery, but thankfully I knew that in advance so minimised the stress with planning. I have the option to have a car take me to the airport, but I hate that as it's inefficient, uncomfortable, and wastes time (can't use computer easily and always stuck in traffic). Public transport is a much better option- when it runs that is !No it's not leaves on the line (as they have a new Leaves on the Line timetable). First Capital Connect drivers have gotten religious fever and decided that Sunday is a day of...
Sorry for the lag of blogging recently. I've been so busy with the house move and travel for work (about to go another 3 weeks on the road again). Not helped by still not having Broadband at home (thanks to the mess that is BT). However, the good news is that there's been plenty of blog fodder !Anyways, our first instalment is something that I just had to take a picture of when I visited the local Cambridge garden centre. I think it summarises...
