Hong Kong skyline, as seen from The Peak

I had meetings in Mumbai last week, and I need to be in Beijing next week for another series of meetings.  There are no direct flights between the two places, so I used my schedule as a good excuse for spending the weekend in Hong Kong – one of my favourite cities in Asia, and culinarily-speaking, probably my favourite place in the entire world.  It was a chance to recharge my batteries, visit old friends, and eat some good food.

Mumbai flight schedules are terrible, but mercifully my Cathay flight took off as scheduled at just before 2am.  I managed to settle in quickly and grabbed about four-and-a-half hours of sleep, arriving just before 10am in Hong Kong. 

My colleagues in Mumbai had presented me with a gift before I left.  What was meant to be a generous gesture has instead turned into a bit of an albatross around my neck.  I’d very carefully packed my suitcase to manage my two-week, three-city tour with nothing more than hand-luggage, but now that I’m lugging along a piece of artwork as well, my plans have been scuppered.   My bag went into the hold, and thanks to the efficient ground services at HKG airport, was waiting for me as soon as I’d cleared immigration.

My friend Sean was waiting for me, which was a real treat.  Flying as often as I do, it’s very rare to be met off the plane anymore, except by the airline representative, hotel rep, or driver.  Aside from flying home to see my parents, it’s rare for anyone to meet me off the plane.  But it’s great to see a familiar face.

Posing next to the mini-busses at The Peak. Mini busses, full-sized Matt

Sean dropped me at my hotel for a quick shower and change of clothes, then we headed out for dim sum at the Kee Club where I proceeded to make a pig of myself.  After eating, uh, “delicately” in Mumbai for the past week, I was ready for some real food. 

They take their food seriously in Hong Kong. Here I am posing with a giant meatball and an oversized tray of dim sum.

I managed to stay awake through lunch, then headed back to the hotel for some serious power-napping.  Got up in time for a quick drink at Sean’s apartment, where I finally got to meet his adorable daughter for the first time after more than a year of Facebook photos.  She lives up to her billing, and is even more adorable in person than she is in the photos.  We hit a local Japanese place for sushi, then followed up with a quick drink at the bar at the top of my hotel.

After a blissful ten hours of sleep, I got up late and wandered the streets around my hotel, grabbing a quick breakfast of pork-and-cabbage buns at one of the local shops.  There was a lot of pointing and gesturing involved.  Sunday afternoon meant more dim sum, this time at the Grand Hyatt with Sean’s extended family, something of a tradition and an event I’ve enjoyed with Sean and his family every time I’ve visited Hong Kong.  Loads of good food, including a roast pigeon ordered especially for me.  (Thanks, Sean!)

From my "food with a face" files, this is roast pigeon at the Grand Hyatt, Hong Kong

After lunch, we headed up to the Peak for a short walk and a coffee.  Though it’s been seven years since I’ve last been here, and the skyline has changed somewhat, it still reminds me of my first trip to Hong Kong.

I’ve got one more evening here, and half-the-day tomorrow – tonight’s dilemma is basically “what should I eat?” followed by tomorrow morning’s dilemma of “what else should I eat”?  Then off on a plane to Beijing, where I won’t have to ask myself that question.  The banquets have already been arranged – all I need to do is turn up.

I seem to bring bad luck to China every time I visit.  Last time I was there, newspapers were printed in black & white and all entertainment was suspended as a mark of respect to those killed in the earthquakes.  This time, it was the mudslides that meant all entertainment was suspended again.  Not exactly what you want to see when you’re trapped in a hotel room with nothing else to do!

Beijing skyline in the summer sunshine

Back in Beijing for three days of meetings, and greeted for the first time by warm, sunny weather.  Every other trip I’ve made to Beijing has either been clear but freezing or warm and hazy.  Definitely worth going out to do some sightseeing!

View from the Four Seasons hotel over the Worli skyline in Mumbai. Our offices are beside the circular building on the left-hand side of the photo.

Back in Mumbai for a three days of meetings.  Managed to avoid the worst of the monsoon rains, and even managed to get a room with a view of the water this time instead of the slums.

My trip nicely summed up a lot of Indian culture.  Coming out of the airport, I was greeted by a cacophony of horns and the ubiquitous trucks and rickshaws with ‘Horn OK Please’ painted in bright colours across the back. 

I ate dinner at the hotel restaurant the first night, a hugely-expensive Asian-fusion place.  It wouldn’t be my first choice of restaurant, but it’s convenient when you’re jetlagged and don’t want to venture out.  I figured I’d order something straight-forward and quick – two orders of sushi rolls.

I counted 14 chefs and at least a dozen waiters for the ten customers in the restaurant. Yet still it takes more than 30 minutes for an order of tuna rolls and an order of salmon rolls. India at its chaotic finest!

The next day I caught an early flight to Hyderabad for the day.  Having flown a number of domestic Indian sectors, I think I’ve seen it all. Seatbelt signs routinely ignored, people standing up while the plane is still taxiing, seat swapping, the lot. And a very different sense of ‘personal space’ that we’re used to in Europe. No one bothers to get out of their seat to allow you access (eg, someone in the aisle seat getting up to let someone reach the window seat). They prefer you to crawl over them, no matter how limited the space.

The thing that always gets me, though, is deplaning in India. Rather than deplaning by row, there’s always a mad rush for the door with people climbing over one another to get out. On my flight from Hyderabad, I was in the (ugh) middle seat, and immediately upon reaching the gate the guy at the window was trying to crawl over me into the jam-packed aisle. I don’t know what he thought he was trying to do, or if he figured that I preferred to stay on the plane, or where he thought he was going to go once he’d passed me? Presumably onto the lap of the chap sitting in the aisle seat?

Still, we had a good series of meetings in India and it was a good investment of a three days.  Off to Beijing next for another three days of meetings.

Not many updates on here recently, but then again, I’ve had an unprecedented six weeks at home.  I’ve just about gotten into the swing of things in Basel.  I’ve stopped asking Aude to arrange a ‘wake-up call’ each morning.  I don’t look for my newspaper outside the bedroom door anymore.  And I’ve grown accustomed to the fact that, no matter how hard I try, the cats simply will not give the same respect to the ‘do not disturb’ sign on the doorknob that housekeeping does.

Back on the road again for a very quick trip to Bangkok to host a two-day workshop, then onto London for a day of meetings.  It was my first trip to Bangkok since the riots, and it was reassuring to see that everything was getting back to normal.  Same friendly faces in the hotel (many of whom now recognise me) and same smiling faces in the streets.  It’s always a pleasure to return to Thailand.

Since I was stopping over in London, I decided to throw some business BA’s direction.  It was the weekend after the Basel Tattoo, and it turns out the entire Royal Air Force Fife & Drum Brigade was on my flight.  That excitement aside, arrived in London and briefly got my first taste of LHR T5 – but, disappointingly, it was only an amuse bouche as my flight was leaving from T3.  Headed to the lounge for a quick massage and a light dinner, then boarded the flight.  Managed to snag my favourite seat, 63K, on the upper deck and settled in for a great flight – it reminded me again of how much I like BA’s product and service, and I still think that their seat is wonderful for its privacy and their bed is the most comfortable in the sky.

I arrived in Bangkok mid-afternoon.  I had a great seafood dinner, and treated myself to a two-hour massage – the perfect antidote to a thirteen-hour flight.

My workshops went well, although my head nearly exploded after a four-hour discussion of the finer points of Thai Withholding tax.

Another great BA flight, this time shared with the Australian Men’s Volleyball Team, and a short-sleep later I was back in London. Aude took the opportunity to join me in London for the weekend.  We hit the sales hard and came back loaded with full suitcases, and we also had a chance to visit with old friends and Aude’s brother and sister-in-law. 

Back to London to enjoy a healthy full-English breakfast

I’d forgotten how grubby London is.  Maybe I’m spoiled because I live in Switzerland, where everything is clinically clean, but London really is gross.  Streets covered in rubbish, dust, newspapers and vomit.  Is this really the cultural capital of Europe?

We arrived back in Switzerland on Sunday evening, just in time to be treated to a wonderful fireworks display for Swiss National Day, also marking our first year in Switzerland.  It was quite a week.

Sunset in Mumbai

Life has been busy with a lot of travel over the past month, including three weeks in Mexico and the US.  I’ve got a bunch of photos that I need to upload when I have some time, in a case of ‘Where was Matthew’ instead of ‘Where is Matthew’.  But for the moment, Matthew is in Mumbai for the week.

We’re staying in a different hotel than we normally do, located much closer to the centre of the city and many of the historic landmarks.  They’ve managed to arrange waterfront rooms for all of us, affording us some beautiful views over the water at the Mumbai skyline.  Despite forecasts for heavy rains (it’s the beginning of the monsoon season), the weather has remained mostly dry and the sunset last night was spectacular, with the sun hanging low in the sky.  Like so many cities, the dusky light hides the reality of the dirt and grime, transforming a grubby collection of buildings into a picturesque skyline.

I’ll be here all week conducting workshops.  We’ve got a big team dinner this evening, but the rest of the week is free, so we’ll hopefully be able to do some sightseeing this time.  Despite my many visits to India, I’ve rarely had the time to venture out of the hotel.  Now that I’ve got some fellow travelers with me, maybe that will change.