May 17, 2010
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Old things with new eyes... new things with old eyes.
Sometimes things look the same no matter how you look at them. And then there are times when something happens to make you see something in a totally different way. Having flown in to Hong Kong many times, I thought I had seen it, but this last flight took me in from the east, which was the first time. As the plane landed, I saw the island and then – at around 100 metres – the cloud cover. But then came the weird thing – the clouds were very thin, which meant I got to see the tops of the mountains as well, which made Hong Kong look very eerie.
As the plane approached the runway, I also noticed for the very first time that there is a 9 hole golf course mere metres from the airport perimeter. Very strange. Although, of course, not as strange as the full 18 hole golf course that runs through Bangkok’s old airport.
I got out of the plane, and watched as the light played with the clouds, heading off to get a coffee before my connecting flight to London. My first trip back to the homeland in over two years awaited, with the news that Sterling had plummeted. Not so good, as money had just been sent over from the UK to pay for the final part of the apartment. Still, as I sipped on my Lavazza latte, I realised there was nothing I coulf do about it, and anyway I was already missing Joanne.
Strange though – during my years of weekly inter-galactic travel, where I was out of Taiwan almost as much as I was in it, I did not miss the island quite so much. That is not to say that I didn’t miss home, or my cat – I did – just not as much as I do now. It seems that Rob has finally settled down, perhaps in many ways. Having the new apartment with the woman I love so much, alongside a new job and so much else, I don’t want to be away from Taiwan, from home.
And the new job has taken me in to a position where I will be away a little more often than I have become accustomed to over the last couple of years. When I look back and think that the tossers at Aeon only sent me to Hong Kong on business one time – sharing a room with 2 other guys – I realise how easy it has been to get used to staying at home, and just how happy and relaxed I am on this island that I call home.
Even spending some time with my parents did not hold the usual excitement – no disrespect mum and pops – as all I want to do really is stay at home with those who are most dear to me. With just a few months now to the wedding, I really don’t want to be apart from Joanne – the five or six months we have been back together have simply rushed by, and all I want is to be able to be there with her always.
The connecting flight took off later than planned, as the original aircraft had some problems, so we managed to get a replacement, and then when the meals were served, Cathay handed my veggie meal to someone else. So I got the standard replacement veggie meal, which was not so bad. With media on demand, I watched loads of TV and movies all the way to London, where no one seemed to know the football scores.
I had booked a car through Enterprise, but they had a problem with my license, a problem which Avis did not have, and so I picked up my Peugeot 207 and headed, alongside one of my new colleagues (my boss having missed the flight from Taipei!) upp north to Birmingham. As we drove up the M40, the scenes of the English countryside whizzed by, the sun going down slowly over the horizon. Beautiful rolling hills, green and yellow fields, cows and sheep, church spires and house rooftops, all came in to view. All of them a reminder of the England I grew up in, a country I left almost 20 years ago, a beautiful (if cold) place, which just does not feel like home to me.
I also realised that I had never been before to Birmingham – the birthplace of the Balti. After 5 days there, I understand why I had never been there. Apart from the Balti there is nothing really to mention. Crap football teams, no business, no industry, and no places of true interest except for a canal which is only in use for tourists. Perhaps not a dead city, per se, but really, I see no reason to visit the place unless you absolutely have to.
Apart from a couple of extremely good curries – and let’s give the city credit where it’s due, the south asian population there has some excellent chefs – the place is a crap hole. The NEC – the nation’s exhibition centre – is also neatly settled out of the city, but our hotel was not. It was really typical of the city – looked crap on the outside, and was crap on the inside. But it was cheap, and the company likes to live on a budget. Hey, I get a trip to the UK on Cathay, so I can take a cheap hotel for a few days.
I had one of the best curries of my life in one restaurant one evening, which was also excellent value. Especially so, as I managed to not have to pay for it. One of the things I love most about Taiwanese culture is that when you are with the boss for dinner, tradition states that the most senior person pays. That works for me. Thanks boss! But other than that, I will be very happy if I don’t have to return to Birmingham. Alas next year’s attendance at the expo has already been booked, and I have no plans to leave the company, so it looks like that plan has already been scuppered. Bugger.
As the expo came to a close, and we had finished packing everything in to the van, it was time to drive north-east to visit the olds. Mapquest said I would need 2 hours and 18 minutes to drive the 150+ miles, which would have been very wrong had I kept to the speed limits. Thankfully speed limits and I have an understanding, where I get to ignore them, on the sole condition that they also don’t hassle me. I made it in 2 hours and 14 minutes, getting in at just before 11, a nice curry waiting for me from the olds’ local tandoori. Nom nom.
A couple of beers and a good chat later, I retired to bed with a full and satisfied stomach. The next morning we headed to the supermarket so I could get my goodies – cheese, vegemite, peri peri sauce, cookies and of course, lots of beans. Pops and I headed to get a coffee, then a final beer and sandwich, whilst the mother got her hair done. She had made the appointment some time before I had said I would be there, and being the bustling city that it is, it would have been nigh on impossible to reschedule until September 2014.
The time came for me to say toodles to the olds, and so I drove down towards Heathrow, getting stuck in traffic where there was a minor worry about time (I had built in 45 minutes to my travel time for the jam) but still getting to the airport on time. I handed over the car, took the shuttle to the terminal, and checked in.
30 kilos. Oops. Cathay’s Akiko san was trying to be very nice to me, and wanted to only charge me for 5 kilos of the excess. This was then negotiated to 2 kilos, when I suggested that as I was 3 kilos underweight on the way in, that should also be waived.
“But Mr Fowler, I have to charge you something.”
“Akiko san,” I countered, laying on the charm, “the baked beans were on special offer – buy one, get one free for a 4 pack. How could I resist?”
“Beans?” she asked. “Too sweet for me.”
“But what about 7 year old plum wine?” I offered. “That is sweet too – and I bet you couldn’t resist that! Especially if there was a special offer!”
“Very true…”
Net result: no excess baggage payment. Motto: A little cultural knowledge goes a long way.
The flight home was long, and boring, and after a quick coffee in HK, I felt revitalized and ready for that last 90 minute hope across the sea to Taiwan, where my woman and kittens were waiting for me.
The days of no business trips are over. Rob’s back baby!
