Here I am after my first week as Industrial Design Manager at Dell … I am completely shattered right now, but more as a result of two cats moaning outside my window at stupid o’clock in the morning last night.
It’s been a crazy busy few weeks and I have some serious catching up to do with friends and family back home – so, sorry if I seem to be neglecting some of you – you are all seriously on my mind … Joanne and Ele especially!
It’s been a while coming while I start work and get back into things, but I am finally sorting some photos from Bali. One of the highlights of the trip was three days mountain biking in the volcanoes in the centre of the island – an island that is much larger than I ever would have expected.
Bikes locked and loaded.
The guys at Bali Trailblazers had a pretty thorough set-up with good staff and equipment, in stark contrast to my adventures in Thailand where pretty much everything that could go wrong very much did so. The guide over the three days was Bali champion, and previous Indonesia #1, and boy did he give me a workout. Indeed, for the whole time I felt like he was in training, which may not have been too far away from the truth.
Pointing towards volcanoes.
Altitude.
The green, green fields of home.
Paddy’s Day
Road to Dell
Fields. No more comment.
Looking pretty pleased with myself!
Gratuitous bike photos at the end of the day.
And finally, a map of some of the riding and places that I was staying in on the island.
I am 29 years old today … sipping watermelon juice and just returned from a scooter trip around the volcanoes of Bali.
I'll be hooking up some mountain biking early next week, but before that there are some Bintang beers with my name on them.
After all my stress and anxiety and hard work and rushing around Asia and really feeling rather full up and not myself quite for the last few months, I feel like I am sitting on top of a mountain right now with everything happening down below me.
…. I am now in Shanghai Airport having a beer with my boss Corrado, after finishing a large pan-Asian design strategy project – crucially having a good response and teeing up a second phase. The key difference with the second phase is that I will no longer be working for DEM, but instead working as Design Manager for Dell in Taipei from the end of the month. That’s worth another post.
So…. what a way to finish my DEM experience – beer in hand and staring down the fresh-out-of-the-shrinkwrap Pudong Terminal 2. One day left in DEM, and then two weeks on beautiful Bali. Bloody well done me!
Reflected in the the immense windows of the even more immense Shanghai Pudong Terminal 2 … spot Corrado on the phone behind the taxi.
Say “ahhhhh”
I need to do some catching up on the old blog, but I always seem to
find a few minutes to e-mail in a post while I am in HK airport
(blessed by thy free wifi).
This time I am sadly working through the wait do the plane, and
arrival in “Asia’s World City” seems pretty pedestrian this time round.
Yes, I finally get to ride the infamous Hello Kitty Eva Air Jet. Awesome.
In the spirit of big surprises, it was only fair to jet into Shanghai to see Anke & Lars off before they head back to Germany to pop a sprog. So, an entirely self-indulgent choice for an expensive weekend that was worth every penny to see these guys in their natural setting.
Michael & Tanja had flown in from Singapore also for a nice weekend and we had just about managed to persuade A&L; that there not going to be any surprises, when I turned up at her door, loaded down with luggage bulging with Taiwanese bullshit that would surely set off multiple airport alarms if only they knew.
Street racing in Shanghai
The weekend was structured as a series of alcohol-fueled toboggan rides around the city, punctuated by extended periods of indulgent massage, good food and generally tuning back into the experiences we all shared in Taiwan together – which took all of 3 seconds.
Taxi rage
Shanghai is not the most walkable city, so taxi rides in all directions are necessary if you hope to actually get anywhere. The drivers in Taiwan and China do share a certain love of attempting to scare their passengers at every opportunity – usually by jumping red lights or feigning swerves towards static objects or oncoming lorries.
Where they diverge is in their respective communication and friendliness towards their clients – Taiwanese cabbies are a friendly bunch, and the diametric opposite of their colleagues across the water who verbally maul their passengers. In our case we can hardly blame them – we told him to ‘follow that cab’ that contained the lead group and was piloted by the Chinese Fernando Alonso. Particular skills were displayed in lane changing, cornering, and sudden braking. He also had no clue he was being followed, and knew only that he was in a rush to a vague destination. Our driver, on the hand, knew full well that the only person with the address was in the front car, and he desperately tried to keep up, until he exploded with rage, pulling alongside the other car and battering expletives to the bemused driver, all accompanied by a background soundtrack of snorting belly laughter and the flashing of cameras recording the event.
Hangover cure no. 163 – great food at a cute little Italian restaurant
Nice doorways in the area that is being saved, reclaimed and protected by the local design industry – much to the bemusement of the locals who would probably prefer a new shiny apartment building.
Inevitably, with Anke and Lars and a farewell party, a trip to a hot spring was in order for the afternoon. Now, I am usually (and perhaps slightly inexplicably) slightly ambivalent about these places, but I knew we had our heads screwed on when I saw the neon rising above the skyline. Think Club Med for Chinese people, combined with the very worst neo-classic Gothic / Greek / Holiday Inn architecture, and several thousand locals running around in ridiculous day-glo pyjamas. Welcome to Shanghai, traveler.
The boys are back in town (but sadly missing Markus, although we all spent the entire time terrified that he would storm in on us … especially while sitting butt naked in the sauna!)
“I would like to add one thing”
I can see you!
Happily detoxed, I was happy to see that retoxing services were also available inside the premises.
Luckily, Gerhard and Klara had planned a big house party in his place for the middle of the weekend, and in full Easter theme, they had dressed up as rabbit and chicken. As the alcohol flowed, the costume somehow managed to migrate its way round the party, inevitably ending up with Michaell Lars and I, and predictably howling laughter from the ladies.
The Easter Bunny
Das Rabbit
Abused animals
Luckily, the guys had planned a final Oesterbrucker (or however it is spelled) and this capped off a really great weekend of good food and good people and bad alcohol (I can still taste the Jagermeister, Gerhard). With any luck I should be able to pop in to see the guys again while on business in a week or two, and of course I am sure to see M&T; before too long in Singapore. But what a weekend.
Preparations
View from their apartment down to the boats chugging by below.
Team Taipei (minus Markus) in full effect … with ‘Made in Taiwan shirts that I believe everyone will cherish for eternity.
Inexcusable behaviour by ‘fake’ flat eric and the Easter chicken
Here I am, sitting in Hong Kong airport eating a hot crossed buns
(two, if I am being truthful) for the first time in four years. Part
of the collateral damage of living abroad is losing connections with
the festivals and annual habits from home that help form your own
personal calendar.
I am no religious person, but Easter is one of those times of the year
that helps punctuate the start of the good weaker, and living in a
culture where that does not exist can be quite hard -especially as the
disappointment usually sinks in on November 6th that you just missed
Guy Fawkes night. Again.
And Easter? Well I don’t even like chocolate that much, but what I do
love is a toasted hot crossed bun laced with melted butter and served
steamy hot. I didn’t get the toasted bit, but I did make up for it
with the butter. Happy Easter everyone!
Destination: Shanghai (Secret) … photo by the Helds
Our teacher, Austin, arranged a school trip for us today to visit the catchily-titled Taiwan Museum of the Institute of History and Philology. The name might not be world-class, but the exhibits certainly are, and they have a very nicely designed exhibition space. I was impressed.
The Oracle Bones
I was especially excited to see the ‘Oracle Bones‘, since I have recently finished reading the book by the same name by Peter Hessler, which punctuates his observations of modern Chinese people and the changes taking place in the society with a history of archeology in China. The ‘Oracle Bones’ are the roots to the written language, and were used by priests to divine the future, based on the inscriptions that they marked. It’s almost certainly worth another post, when I am feeling more academically inclined.
Walking around the museums in Taiwan makes me think back to my Grandfather, who was an amateur scholar of Chinese porcelain. I have no doubt that if he was still alive today I would have weekly requests to visit the museums and gather information. He never had the chance to visit Asia, and sometimes I wonder if I am in some way finishing off his work. Certainly, I wonder if my interest in Chinese culture indirectly comes from my childhood memories of his precious collections – especially the Ming dynasty vase that my Dad thoughtfully dropped me into head-first when I was but a wee nipper. Again, a story for another day.
Is there something we should know about?
I had a few photos left over to post from my time in Hanoi, Vietnam, so here they are below. I have to say I was really taken with the city (along with the excellent French bread available everywhere), and I believe I should come back some day to experience some of the nature.
Crowds at the Hoam Kien Lake in the middle of Hanoi
Lovers look to the future
Making wishes for the future
The Cathederal by night
Ubiquitous telephone wires – which is ironic, seeing as I had WiFi access for the whole time walking around, amazingly!
And I thought the tangle of cables under my desk as bad
Advertising on the walls for tradesmen and other services
Ho Chi Minh’s shrine
A lady walks through the square – the weather was hazy but her had somehow stood out
Cell phone usage, like everywhere else in the world, seems near universal
Views out of the airport across what is surely the shiniest floor in Asia
Hangin’ in Hanoi
I spent the morning wandering around the ancient back streets of Hanoi’s old merchant district, and despite the hazy weather, the sights (and sounds) are pretty intoxicating.
It’s quite hard to form a fully rounded opinion, but from looking at the buildings and seeing people riding their real Vespas, I am getting the impression that the Vietnamese have taste. This is sure to evaporate as soon as major wealth hits the middle classes, but for now I am quite impressed.
The buildings are surely my favourite thing about the place, and there is a really rich tapestry of elements and influences that make for super hustle and bustle semi-European feel. It’s no surprise, but it really reminds me of some of the French quarter in Shangha, and although it might be a vain hope, I do hope it avoids the wrecking ball. A generation of development and this could turn into te best
cafe district in Asia.
Anyway, enough from me. I am still amazed that I seem to have wireless access wherever I go
A close shave