Mar 9, 2014 - De laatste week in Xi'an

De laaste volle week in Xi'an is aangebroken. De voorbije weken zijn snel voorbij gegaan. Afgelopen dagen eindelijk ook hier lente. Gisteren (zaterdag 08-03) temperaturen boven de 10 graden en vandaag, zondag 17 graden en onbewolkt. Echter, als je de AQI bekijkt van Xi'an dan is het nog steeds 200+ oftewel nog steeds erg ongezonde buitenlucht, smog. Ondanks de zon blijft het een beetje heiig. Na de relative rust op het werk heb ik me de afgelopen weken (en de komende week) wat meer nuttig met de werkzaamheden hier kunnen bezig houden....

Mar 6, 2014 - Nepal

March 1-6 Kathmandu – a sea of humanity, cleaner than it used to be; we did not need to wear a mask – but still there is a lot car emissions and garbage lying around. Can’t understand why the government doesn’t hire the unemployed (30%) to work on the garbage issue….would make a huge difference and give people more pride in their city. We stayed in a beautiful hotel – the Dwarika Hotel and had a lovely suite. We met the owner – Mrs. Ambica Shrestha , a Skal member in Kathmandu, and had tea on our first morning with her. Of course that led...

Mar 1, 2014 - Hong Kong

We left Toronto last Sunday and arrived in Hong Kong 30+ hours later (via Brussels and Delhi - Don't Ask). The only casualty on the trip was the bottle of scotch we had bought as a gift for a skaleague friend of Thom's in Hong Kong. It was left on the transport shuttle in Hong Kong and now some Chinese worker is sipping nice Double Black Johnny Walker... We stayed at the Hyatt in Kowloon and were upgraded to a suite with executive club privileges - which included breakfast and afternoon cocktails and appetizers - Very nice indeed.....more...

Feb 22, 2014 - Week 3 in Xian China

Zo, hier weer een verhaaltje vanuit China. De werkweek is rustig verlopen, te rustig in feite. De klant bepaald hier hoe snel het een en ander opgestart wordt in hun nieuwe fabriek. (met klant bedoel ik de fabrikant van die mooie smartphones luisterend naar de naam S4 of Galaxy enz.) Zij hebben hun eigen planning en passen die aan hoe het hun uitkomt. Dit is erg lastig voor mensen die naar China zijn gekomen om in hun fabriek te werken. Het is gewoonweg niet van te voren te zeggen wanneer onze machines opgestart gaan worden. Dus er zijn...

Feb 21, 2014 - Fabulous Hong Kong

Our first journey to the Asian Continent Well we have the ugly 1:30 am Cathay flight to Hong Kong … so after check in we head to the Fairmont for our usual drink of champers …. that should help us sleep! In the end we leave late a little after 2, so after a wine and some dinner we pop a sleeping pill and cross our fingers for a little shut-eye. We arrive to full on fog and can’t see HK at all ..it is now 7:30 am their time and we did manage some sleep so all and all feel pretty good and of course excited to be in HK for the first time. Our...

Feb 18, 2014 - Day at sea

Today is our official first day at sea. We're in the South China Sea, heading toward Vietnam. The fog has lifted, although it is still overcast, but it is a bit warmer today. On previous cruises, we have held on to our passports, taking them with us when we leave the ship, but it works out somewhat differently in this cruise. Yesterday afternoon, we had to turn in our passports and immigration documents to the Hong Kong authorities. So now we have no passports, just a receipt. The cruise people said we would get them back tomorrow when we...

Feb 17, 2014 - Setting sail for Hanoi

Even though we boarded the ship yesterday, it was not scheduled to depart from Hong Kong until this evening. Consequently, we had the option to leave the ship today and do some more sightseeing. The weather, however, did not cooperate with us. Although it was not raining, the temperature was in the high 50s, and fog kept visibility down to the point we could not see across the harbor. We decided in the morning that we needed a day at sea to prepare for tomorrow's day at sea. So, after breakfast, we found ourselves some comfortable chairs in...

Feb 16, 2014 - Hong Kong

On our last leg of the trip, we find Hong Kong to be the antithesis of our South Pacific voyage. The high rises are so high, we are literally above the clouds. Far removed from a barter economy, we are in the heart of capitalism, even in a communist country. Shopping malls for luxury goods are everywhere and filled with people. The mall below the Ritz Carlton is called Elements, and its quadrants are named Water, Wood, Metal. A huge, colorful horse's head for the "year of the horse" orients us to the middle of the mall. We descended further...

Feb 16, 2014 - Kowloon; Boarding the Ship

The Hong Kong marathon was held today and really messed up traffic. We walked from our hotel to the place where we hopped off the Big Bus yesterday expecting to hop on, but there was no bus. It was rerouted because of the marathon, and never came near the place we were waiting for it. After about 45 min of waiting for the Big Bus that never came, we took the subway back to downtown and the ferry terminal. The Star Ferry is the line that connected Hong Kong Island to the Kowloon Peninsula for many years. It runs frequently and efficiently,...

Feb 15, 2014 - Hong Kong

We left Chicago with the intent of escaping cold weather, but no one told Hong Kong that. The temperature was unseasonably chilly, in the mid 40s, and we piled on what little cold weather gear we brought and went outside to begin our sightseeing. . Our first stop was the tram that took us to the top of Victoria Peak, the highest point in Hong Kong. The peak tram is considered one of the premier tourist attractions in Hong Kong. We were actually a bit disappointed in the sight. Although the views were great, the tram let us off in the...

Feb 15, 2014 - China-avontuur Peter, deel2

Zo, het is nu 17 Februari. Tijd voor een update. Qua werk is gaat het zijn gangetje. Er worden deze week wat nieuwe machines opgestart dus het wordt wat drukker waarschijnlijk. Verder ondervinden mijn collega's die de machines afregelen, af en toe wat problemen waar cultuurverschillen aan ten grondslag liggen. Zij moeten direct samenwerken met Chinese collega's en dat wringt soms. Zeker als Samsung hier ook nog eens tussen zit. Ik zal jullie de details besparen. Uiteindelijk komt dat wel goed. Verder nog steeds temperaturen rond het...

Feb 14, 2014 - Arrived in HKG

The flight from ORD to HKG lasted 16 hours; it's one of the longest in the book. The sound on my video wasn't working well, so I didn't catch up on my movie watching, but I got quite a bit of reading done. While on the flight we met two other parties who we're going on our cruise. We landed on time in HKG, and, within about 45 minutes we had cleared immigration, picked up our bags, cleared customs, and were in a taxi heading for our hotel. By this time were we pretty well out of it, but I do remember noticing how congested with high-rises...