June 22, 2007
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Down
UnderIt
was one of the swiftest long haul trips on record – zooming off to
Sydney for less than 48 hours from Taipei, via Hong Kong. Cathay
Pacific once more looked after me well, although there were no
business class upgrades (yet again – I'm going to have to complain
about this lack of free upgrades soon).I
was greeted by my good friend, partner and client with whom there are
several shared interests, all business. Despite meeting him during
the Computex show (see post passim) there were greater details to
discuss about our proposed project, and this would require some
lengthier discussions than one could possibly have in Taipei during
the show. Of course, the offer of a free trip to Australia in no way
at all affected this decision.I
arrived on time in Sydney, Ash waiting for me, and we went to get a
coffee to relax with before setting off to the office. Driving along
the motorway, it started to rain, a taste of what was to come, and we
got to the office in northern Sydney, met up with the guys there,
headed out for lunch at a very nice Indian restaurant and then went
back to Ash's place for a more quiet and relaxed discussion.Place?
More like Palace. The guy lives in a massive place, with enough space
in the kitchen to land a helicopter, about 16 million bedrooms, and a
swimming pool in the garden. Actually, the swimming pool IS the
garden, and there is very little else as the pool takes up the vast
majority of the space available. With the cold and rain it was not
really tempting to go for a swim, but I could see how it would be in
summertime.As
we entered the abode I was greeted by a man who I could hardly
understand. It was a discussion about football, which is a topic I
hardly ever shy away from (unless it is about the Manc Scum or the
Morecambe game – see posts passim), and the conversation partner in
question turned out to be Ash's wife's father (follow that?) who is
(I believe) Croatian, and used to be a rather good footy player in
his day.A
quick cuddle with the very large white kitty (name – I did not
really find out) was followed by the real reason I had gone there in
the first place (no matter what you MAY think!) – business talk.
Our thoughts and ideas for the project are pretty much on a parallel
plane, so there is very little to report on that, and we came to what
could be described as an agreement for the next few years on a
partnership. All very cosy.Ash's
wife (who also works at the company) returned a little later to the
home, and we ate a home made dinner of pasta and garlic bread (molto
delicioso) followed by a pack of Timtams (that is to say, the pack
was eaten mainly by your fat, if humble, chronicler. I left one or
two for Ash, as I did not want to take advantage of his fine
hospitality.The
sleep I had that night was restful – after an overnight flight with
no sleep, it was also very welcome. I had a late brekkie – which
kind of turned out to be lunch – of crumpets (fried, not toasted.
Seriously nice) and Vegemite. After that came a quick trip to the
mall, for the epic shopping tour.On
the way to Australia, I took 2 suitcases, one of which was going to
be used as hand luggage for the return trip, the smaller one placed
rather comfortably inside the larger one. This turned out to be a
VERY smart move on my part, as the shopping tour saw a large amount
of purchases: cheese, chocolate, Timtams, baked beans, peri peri
sauce (oh yes), wine and cat food. With a suitcase limit of 32 kilos
being strictly enforced at the airport, I finally went home with 2
suitcases, each weighing 25 – 30 kilos. Cathay Pacific, a company
which loves me loooooooooong time, had no issues with this rather
excessive amount of luggage, but I am getting ahead of myself tad
here.Before
the trip had started, I was given the task of bringing home
eucalyptus leaves – Emily saw my stuffed koala at home, and I asked
her if she wanted one too. She said "No, but bring me what it
eats."A
simple task for a man such as myself. Way too simple in truth, and so
I decided to go a step further – find a stuffed koala WITH
eucalyptus leaves. The local shopping mall was not really tourist
oriented, but Ash knew a market where they might have what I was
looking for, so off we zoomed in his rather massive Toyota, inside
which he could probably land his helicopter. The mission was a
success – I found exactly what I was looking for, so we headed back
home. Given Ash's health problems I did not ask for a tour of the
city, so we returned to the Palace to relax a little before the
feast that was dinner.We
had arranged to meet Dean, the chief technical guy, for dinner; a
Greek Aussie, mad as a hatter, but highly intelligent, and probably
the biggest shit stirrer in the history of the universe. We had an
amazing dinner, the discussion going around 4-wheel off-road driving,
camping, Monty Python, the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, The Young
Ones, Stem Cell research and religion, as well as messy divorces and
resisting the urge to murder your ex-wife. The last topic was not
something I could relate to, but I showed the right amount of
sympathy all the same.After
stuffing my face with as much Indian food as my belly could take
(which is actually not a small amount at all) we headed back, and I
realised why he needs a powerful car – it is to transport fat
bastards like me around. It was supposed to be an early night, but
did not end up that way as we watched TV – a load of episodes of
Master Chef, which was quite a funny and entertaining show.
Entertaining enough for me to forget the fact that I had missed all
the Aussie Rules footie games.My
parents know from personal experience that I am not a man who worries
about early morning flights, and with a 7:30 AM flight to Hong Kong,
it was a very early start for Ash to take me to the airport – I
hope he managed to get some more sleep when he got home.Now
I am at the point where Cathay Pacific checked me in without charging
me excess baggage (which is worth a free upgrade any day) and after a
rather disappointing coffee, off we flew. The only thing that was
remotely interesting on the flight was the fact that the airline
strewardess (what is the politically correct term for that today?)
asked me to close the blind so people could sleep, 40 minutes before
landing. I just smiled at her, and politely refused. After all, I was
reading my book."But
you have a light for that here sir," she informed me, pointing
me to the reading light that I – as a frequent traveller – had
absolutely every knowledge of, despite my refusal to use it during
the daylight hours.One
Paddington Bear stare later, my blind stayed up, giving me the
natural light I needed. I don't think I will be getting any upgrades
in the near future either. The connecting flight to Taipei was
delayed just a tad, but I still got home in the evening to a very
relieved little furry purry kitty, who was instantly delighted with a
pouch of the finest Australian Whiskas money can buy.Needless
to say, it was awesome to sleep in my own bed once more, with a
little silver tabby purring at my feet all night long. One of the
joys of inter-continental travel is the return home, especially when
you are greeted by such a special baby.
