Christmas 2005
25/12/05 14:14 Filed in: Christmas Letters
According to my records, last year I wrote the Christmas letter on 21st December. Today is 21st December, so officially, I'm NOT LATE with my Christmas letter this year! The Christmas tree in the photo is from Martin Place, Sydney.
Well, what a turbulent year! Reviewing the year's events, 2005 was a bit rough. As if to reflect 'real life', this has also been an unusual year for me too. Read on...
For one thing, I travelled a lot this year. All business travels, no personal trips. In January, I went to Waltham (outside of Boston) for a meeting. I mean, why else would I travel all this way there, braving the freezing weather, the US airport security, the screaming kids in planes etc? And it was quite bad really. It took us over 24 hours to get to Boston. We were suppose to fly to Los Angeles, then fly onto Boston. We ended up going via New York, stayed overnight without our luggage, flew onto Boston the next morning, and after getting to Boston, had to track down our suitcases, and then the cab/van threatened to break down along the way to Waltham. When we finally checked into the hotel, and told the guy at the check-in counter why we were one day late, he said "Welcome to America!" He gave us all an extra packet of 'home made" (hotel made) cookies anyway. That was nice.🙂
The room was nice - warm and cosy. I was able to webcam with my family and friends back home from the hotel, so it really 'shortened' the distance. I caught up with ex-colleagues and friends for dinner. It was a fun trip after all.
In March, I travelled 3 times: First was a one day trip to Melbourne, then a week in Thailand, then a week after that, ONE DAY in Korea. In April, I travelled to Guangzhou (the old Canton), China for 2 weeks, with a weekend in Hong Kong. In May, I returned to Guangzhou for a week. In July, I went to Taipei for a week. Then, the trip of the year: In November, I went to India for 10 days! I'm now a Qantas Gold frequent flyer member, and they actually treat me with respect when I board the plane now: Well, they actually smiled at me. I'm sure next year, when I go back to Bronze status, they'll drop the smiles too.
Highlights of my trips:
Thailand - I went to Bangkok for a week. The customer paid for us to fly business class, so it was very nice indeed. The Thai people are very nice. Typically, with our trips, it was all work. In this one, we were there to deliver a big training session, but we also had to set up 50 laptops for use during the training session. So the first few days were doing just that (see picture below)! We didn't get to see much of Thailand, but we did manage to sneak away at night to do some shopping - we start all bargaining with 50 baht (about 1 dollar)! They also had a river cruise which we went on.
Korea - Seoul. The idea is that I spend one day flying, arriving the night before, conduct a class the next day, and the day after I fly back. If you think that's bad, my colleague flew to South Africa to do just that, and the customs people really thought he was up to no good! They told him "nobody (flies all this way) to come to South Africa for one day!". Anyway, back to Seoul. The President of Ireland, Mary McAleese (WHO???), heard that I was going to be in town, so she decided to visit Seoul too. Naturally, she also stayed in the same hotel I stayed in. We know the Koreans take their security very seriously, because they put me on the floor where her staff was working, and there's a security agent (in cheap suit and a chair) guarding the floor. In addition, they wouldn't allow any photographs to be taken! I was trying to take a picture of the lobby, and the security agents came and told me no. I guessed they were saying 'no', because they crossed their wrists. But they spoke to me in Korean all this time! I asked them why. I demanded to know what security risks I'm posing taking photos of the lobby, when bloody Mary wasn't anywhere to be seen! So the guy, still speaking to me in Korean, backed off. This is how good they did their job! I had actually checked out (they wouldn't let me have a late check out), so I had nowhere else to go, so I decided to kill some time. I demanded to see the hotel manager, to complain of the mistreatment I received. He said "Perhaps you didn't realise, the President of Ireland is staying at the hotel." I said "If it was the President of the United States, I would understand, but she's only the president of Ireland!" So, after a while, they decided that the way to get rid of an irate customer was to just let him win. So I was given the ok to take all the photos I wanted of the lobby. They wouldn't let me take photos when I'm too close to the presidential limos, but nothing a zoom lens can't fix (see below)! By the way, I found out that the President was staying one floor above from me the night I arrived. How? From the room service delivery guy! 🙂
Guangzhou - Of all the cities in China, this is perhaps the worst one I've visited, so far. In April/May, Guangzhou is very hot and humid. You only have to stand outside the hotel for one minute, and you'll be wet with sweat. I did not venture out at all. Everyday, I went to Starbucks (conveniently located in the hotel), picked up my morning coffee, caught a cab to the customer's office. I avoided lunch when I can, and in the evenings, gone back to the hotel and had dinner in one of the restaurants there. Luckily, this is China, and they have a restaurant with food from various parts of China, so my menu had over 100 choices! Traffic is chaotic, but wait till you read about India! This customer is actually based in a traditional Chinese medicine university, so I've attached a photo of the campus.
Being a research centre for traditional Chinese medicine, they also have a 'herbary' to grow herbs:
Hong Kong - I had to train a class in Hong Kong for one day, so I took the weekend to go to Hong Kong and visit my relatives. A bonus surprise was that my cousin from New Jersey was also visiting, so we had a good time catching up, and then went shopping for DVDs. J I took the train from Guangzhou to Hong Kong, and the scenery from the countryside was quite nice. It was about an hour's trip, and the train fare was quite cheap.
Hong Kong was just as hot, and I saw a couple getting married, getting their photos taken. How the guy can stand wearing the suit walking around in that weather, I'll never know. But this is what happened when the photo shoot was over (and they went home):
And here's a picture of Victoria Harbour, and Hong Kong Island (sorry I couldn't control the weather!).
Taipei - Been there, done that, so I didn't take too many photos. I stayed at the Far Eastern Hotel again, which is so far one of my favourite hotels. I also caught up with a family friend whom I've known since I was a kid. He's now working in Taipei, and he really showed me some very interesting places to eat.
India - Ahmedabad. Of all the places I DON'T WANT to go, I had to go to India! Ahmedabad, never heard of it. Since my return, however, I now hear it on Sky News that there's a cricket match going on there between India and Sri Lanka! And I can say "Hey, I know where that is!" I won't go into all the details, but this is the trip where I saw it all: from poverty to wealthy, and the constant search for meat dishes (that are edible)! See, Ahmedabad is a vegetarian state. So looking for 'non-veg' is a bit of a challenge. Your choices are: chicken, chicken, or chicken. Tough decision that one.
Remember I said that traffic was chaotic in Guangzhou? That was an understatement. That was calm and orderly compared to this. There are even camels on the roads! Check this out:
OK, the way I took the photo of the camel is this: the driver pulled up next to the camel, and just stopped the car! Mind you, there were many cars behind us. But in India, nobody follows traffic rules anyway, so no problemo! I was asked quite frequently if I wanted Chinese food (actually, more accurately, if I wanted "Indian Chinese" food). I looked around, and didn't see any Chinese around me, so I declined. It turned out to be an interesting trip and I must say, I ended up having a good time. I don't know if I'd be rushing to go back, but the people were very nice and hospitable, and that made all the difference. Here are the photos:
Top left was the first 'resort' the customer booked me into. There was a 'stain' in the middle of the bed! Top right is where my boss arrived and booked us into 'luxury'. The bottom one is on the way home, we stopped by Mumbai for one night and checked into the Sheraton - this one is beyond luxury! I really felt like I've rejoined civilisation. Here are some more photos of the Sheraton:
The woman in the last picture is Natasha, my colleague from hell. She threw a tantrum at me (in customer's office) because there's no water in the toilet! I must look like the toilet repairman. To read the exciting adventures of Bevan in India and his colleague from hell, please visit my journal site. If you are interested in the rest of my travel photos, you can visit my photo site. If you've forgotten the password, think Ali Baba.
So I guess that's what I did for work in 2005. I guess with all this travel, I've been busy for a change.
I still found time to attend my Toastmasters meetings despite all these trips. Never missed one meeting. The Indian trip threatened to break the record, but I worked out the schedule, negotiated with the boss, and managed to not miss the meeting and do my job. Toastmasters this year has been disappointing. I was mentor to this guy and I was helping him go for bigger and better things, when he betrayed me (I think he got carried away with his 'powers'). It's really like the guy was seduced by the dark side of the Force, except he was no Darth Vader. That was a very difficult period in Toastmasters, but luckily, we've now 'neutralised' the threat. Unfortunately, I think it cost me a couple of friendships in the process. But looking on the positive side, these are the people I would not want to go into battle with (i.e. wouldn't trust my life with them). They are there for the good times, but not the bad. But I will not forget my loyal friends who stood by me.
No major health problems this year, except that I tried to sneak up on Natasha at work (by running over wet floor) and the joke ended up on me - I was like Charlie Brown kicking that football and ended up lying on the floor, with an injured elbow which took months to heal. I also had a "one day" lower back problem, which with referred pain, gave me a sore bum for one day. I wasn't comfortable standing up OR sitting down. I literally was my own pain in the butt and the butt of all the jokes at work that day! So if you think I'm a pain in the butt, well, now I know what it feels like to be one too! I have been to physiotherapy for the past few months. It's good training. The physio has very strong fingers. I treat it as training in a torture camp - "I'll never give up our positions!"
My sister May started her assignment in Manila, so we see less of her, but with MSN Messenger, and Skype, things weren't too bad. One time, I took dad's laptop to the dinner table, and we had dinner and talked to her while she was on the other end of the computer. All we needed was to add a webcam and it'll feel just like she's home - and save on food too!
My sister Amy went to Melbourne in September and broke her foot. But she thought it was just a sprain so she walked around with a broken foot for a week in pain! Then she went into surgery to have the foot fixed, and was in a cast for 6 weeks. With May overseas, I was the 'designated driver' by default. Well, it was good excuse to tell the boss I couldn't go to India during this time....hoping that the project would then move on and I didn't have to go, but no such luck.
Mum and Dad made a couple of trips this year too, accompanied by Amy when she didn't have a broken foot. They had a class reunion in China and right now, in Singapore, having attended my cousin Eugene's wedding. I've been "Home Alone" twice this year, running around naked in the house each time. Just kidding. Then again, am I? Remember the movie "Working Girl" with Harrison Ford and Melanie Griffith? In one scene, she was doing the vacuuming in her underwear? Well, the thought crossed my mind to do that, but then, vacuuming is not my favourite hobby, so I ended up giving the idea a miss.
The family will all be back on Christmas Eve. It will be a late dinner, but everybody will be home.
On that note, I wish you a very Merry Christmas with your family and friends.
Here's to a calmer and safer 2006!
Your friend,
Bevan
