The end of the week is at hand! Sonia and I are making our separate ways back to HK tonight, I from Tokyo, and Sonia from Bangkok.
Suit fitting tomorrow, plus catching up with a colleague who we first worked with in the UK, and who moved back to NZ. He is up in Hong Kong at the moment, so it will be a good chance to say hello after a few years.
Had intended to play squash over the weekend, but I found out that the guy I usually play with is planning to spend the weekend in Macau. Oh well.
Just another weekend at home, I guess. While M&D are off squandering the inheritance traipsing around Alaska, Canada, and north-western US.
Friday, August 31, 2007
Sunday, August 26, 2007
Japan
Well I (Andrew) am back up in Tokyo again, and have just realised that it's two weeks since I updated the blog. I'm going to be more heavily involved in the work here over the next few months, which will be nice. Japan is a great country, and Tokyo can be a very fun place to work.
Right now it's the height of summer, and temperatures are very high. When I flew in, the sign at the airport said 36.2 degrees. That was at about 3pm. If found out in the paper the following day that some of the cities had posted 40.9 degrees.
Japan is very energy-conscious, and the air-conditioning is not used as liberally as HK. As a result it is very warm even at work - desk fans keep the air moving, but you need strong deodorant. Does not turn into a problem at the office, but by the end of the day it's a relief to walk back and have a shower.
I've just got back from the gym, where I sat on the bike and watched a traffic jam form as a result of a minor nose-to-tail accident on the motorway. The jam was still growing an hour later, and the cars had not been moved. Looking down from level 22 of the building, it did not look bad (the accident, that is), so it's a bit of a puzzle why they did not get on and clear it up. The view from the gym is pretty good and I could see the traffic banked up for kilometers into the distance.
More later.
Right now it's the height of summer, and temperatures are very high. When I flew in, the sign at the airport said 36.2 degrees. That was at about 3pm. If found out in the paper the following day that some of the cities had posted 40.9 degrees.
Japan is very energy-conscious, and the air-conditioning is not used as liberally as HK. As a result it is very warm even at work - desk fans keep the air moving, but you need strong deodorant. Does not turn into a problem at the office, but by the end of the day it's a relief to walk back and have a shower.
I've just got back from the gym, where I sat on the bike and watched a traffic jam form as a result of a minor nose-to-tail accident on the motorway. The jam was still growing an hour later, and the cars had not been moved. Looking down from level 22 of the building, it did not look bad (the accident, that is), so it's a bit of a puzzle why they did not get on and clear it up. The view from the gym is pretty good and I could see the traffic banked up for kilometers into the distance.
More later.
Saturday, August 11, 2007
Our first Typhoon
Well we can now say that we have survived our first typhoon. Not difficult when you realise in retrospect that the rain was heavier during storms in KL. Yesterday afternoon we all came back from lunch and found the office buzzing. It came out that the HK Observatory had raised the warning level to T3, and advised that they were expecting to raise to T8 around 3:30. That meant that HR is expected to send an email telling everyone to go home (they close the office). By about 2:30, we were still waiting. Then all of a sudden the email was sent.
The taxi ride home was fairly uneventful, although the roads were already a bit messy around the south side - leaves, small branches, etc. The weather closed as the rest of the afternoon wore on, but by 6 or 7pm, it looked like it was just a bit windy.
Sonia was flying back in from Bangkok last night, and arrived safely at 10:30. Then I eventually get a call from her saying that she'd been waiting in line for a taxi at the HK station, but there were none coming. Turns out most of the taxis take the opportunity to go home. By about 12:30am, she was still no further ahead, having tried waiting for a bus as well (they had suspended the route we use). I went downstairs and was able to get a taxi straight away, so I came into town, opened the door so Sonia could get in, and back home we went.
All a bit of a palaver - the weather really wasn't that bad. Still, if we could have a few more during work hours, there will not be too many complaints.
The taxi ride home was fairly uneventful, although the roads were already a bit messy around the south side - leaves, small branches, etc. The weather closed as the rest of the afternoon wore on, but by 6 or 7pm, it looked like it was just a bit windy.
Sonia was flying back in from Bangkok last night, and arrived safely at 10:30. Then I eventually get a call from her saying that she'd been waiting in line for a taxi at the HK station, but there were none coming. Turns out most of the taxis take the opportunity to go home. By about 12:30am, she was still no further ahead, having tried waiting for a bus as well (they had suspended the route we use). I went downstairs and was able to get a taxi straight away, so I came into town, opened the door so Sonia could get in, and back home we went.
All a bit of a palaver - the weather really wasn't that bad. Still, if we could have a few more during work hours, there will not be too many complaints.
Sunday, August 05, 2007
Summer in HK
A quick note about the weather.
As we came out of the apartment this morning, it was raining. This is pretty unusual at the moment - the weather has been fine and clear for maybe six weeks in a row. A huge change from the early days when we arrived. At that point the smog was so bad you couldn't see the Kowloon side, or out to Disneyland at Lantau Island. The only way we knew where Disneyland was was because the fireworks cut through the smog each night!
Now, it's clear and sunny every day. We get a great view across to the islands, and from the office I can see right through to the hills behind Kowlooon.
However it does get hot. Hotter in fact than KL, which was consistently 32 degrees. Now, we are facing year-high temperatures each week. Last weekend they reported we hit 35.5 degrees. Yesterday seemed pretty hot, but I doubt we got that high. Will see what the paper has to say.
Summer runs through until early September (I am informed) so I guess we'll be seeing more of this.
As we came out of the apartment this morning, it was raining. This is pretty unusual at the moment - the weather has been fine and clear for maybe six weeks in a row. A huge change from the early days when we arrived. At that point the smog was so bad you couldn't see the Kowloon side, or out to Disneyland at Lantau Island. The only way we knew where Disneyland was was because the fireworks cut through the smog each night!
Now, it's clear and sunny every day. We get a great view across to the islands, and from the office I can see right through to the hills behind Kowlooon.
However it does get hot. Hotter in fact than KL, which was consistently 32 degrees. Now, we are facing year-high temperatures each week. Last weekend they reported we hit 35.5 degrees. Yesterday seemed pretty hot, but I doubt we got that high. Will see what the paper has to say.
Summer runs through until early September (I am informed) so I guess we'll be seeing more of this.
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