Missing

Coffee walk to Sierra with Warner and having the barista already know what we want.

Caramel slice from Columbus Coffee after lunch.

Getting takeaways from Raviz on Indian lunch day on Thursdays.

Lunch bunch walk to Burger Fuel and eating at the park, followed by kicking some ball around before returning to work all sweaty.

Badminton after work.

Yum cha at KK or Enjoy Inn.

Driving to work early morning on Campbell Road listening useless radio shows.

Organising DNUG meetings, setting it up, having people over, chatting, having pizza, and tidying up afterwards.

Working late nights and having the whole building to myself.

Friday evening chats with Joe.

Coruba & Cola and chips on Friday evenings.

Driving to and from the airport.

Getting Singapore noodles takeaway from that Chinese joint with Jacqui.

My team.

Having Sheba come around with that contagious smile of hers.

Going to the movies at Sylvia Park.

Lunch bunch.

Treasure hunts, etc.

Sunny Sundays just chillin’ at One Tree Hill

Talking shit on communicator with Sasanka and Moses.

Piha and Kare-kare.

Summertime BBQ with Thiago, Karla, and Angel.

Labour weekend away on a house by the beach with the German crowd.

Road trips to Mt Ruapehu and spend the entire day snowboarding.

The waterfront.

Hanging out with Sasanka’s Sri Lankan crowd.

My ridiculously tiny red Clio.

The Thunder Chickens!

Training for the Auckland Half with Andrew and Szu-yu around the Panmure Basin.

Chatting to Terryll at reception.

Awkward goodbye speeches and birthday cakes.

The film festival.

Drive to Parnell or Ponsonby for Sunday brunch.

Our Epsom flat.

TFS – LGW

(sigh)

Tenerife

The bells in the tiny church of La Caleta are chiming 8 o'clock. Once they go silent, all I can hear is the distant muffled sound of Wednesday evening traffic in the avenue below, where the digital thermometer I've been watching all week is still hesitating to venture below the 26 degree mark.

Sitting here on the hotel balcony, feet up, watermelon juice to one side, Hemingway to the other, I can see the ocean waters as if lying still and on the horizon, the last few sun rays of the day shining through the rain falling over our neighbour, La Gomera island.
That pretty much sums it up. Life in Tenerife I mean. Or, life as a tourist, I should say.

Bar a walk to the local shop to stock up on mineral water and the odd visit to the nearby beaches, our routine here consisted pretty much of buffet breakfasts, lying by the water all day, and in the evenings walking down to the waterfront at Playa del Duque for a seafood dinner (papas arrugadas on the side, of course). Or beautiful Morrocan food and sweet mint tea at the Paris Marrakech.

I know that's pretty sad, and that I should have made an effort to leave the 1 mile radius around the resort to explore the island's nature and local culture. But when you live in cold and grey London, quarantined from the sunshine and the ocean, any second you can spend at the beach or by the pool is a treasured one.

But six days relaxing by the pool in this paradise island didn't feel like much, really. Time went by so fast and soon it will be time to go back to being squished in the tube at morning rush hour.

Oh wait. The sun is now coming down from behind the clouds in what is shaping up to be an amazing sunshine. It is our last day in Tenerife and it wants to say goodbye properly.

I will miss you too, Sunshine. Hasta luego.

LGW - TFS

Amazingly uneventful flight from London to Tenerife South. Only down side is that we had to wake up just past 3 in the morning to be at Gatwick in time for check-in.

Damn no-frills airlines, why do they only allow a single piece of carry on per person? Particularly tricky for women I suppose. And what if I am carrying a water bottle, or a plastic bag with some snacks, does that count as a second carry on? Do I need to dispatch my water bottle at the check-in counter??

Deep breath... count to ten... we're finally in Tenerife. Stunning view from the hotel. I'm relaxed already. Summer is finally here. Or, more appropriately: Summer, I'm finally here!

Cambridge photos

Gosh it’s been months we were there but I finally got around to putting the photos up on Flickr. Just a day trip to Cambridge, nice little town.

Sneak preview below. You can see all the photos here.

 

Slow Change

Surreal experience at the Sri Lanka High Commission today.

After being greeted by a metal detector (which I already expected) I walk into this tiny lobby where about 30 people were queuing up in no particular order hoping to reach one of the reception counters. Which one I should go to wasn’t exactly clear, as counters 1 and 3 had a paper sign out of a dot matrix printer that said, respectively, “Passport Renewals” and “Birth/Death Certificates”, none of which were the purpose of this particular visit, so I decided to push my way around to counter number 2 which read “Please Pay Here”.

The place was so hot it might as well have been a sauna. A tiny third world oasis right in the middle of London – were it not for my formal work attire which made the whole experience miserable. But thinking about it now, if you come to London from Sri Lanka you probably don’t need an air conditioner even in the summer.

So after handing in my papers and paying for the visa fee, I am told to wait. After waiting there for a few minutes I’m thinking that they are probably going to process the visa on the spot and call me in for an interview as they are doing for most people waiting there. That would be good news, since the website says it takes a couple of days to issue the visa. Well, after 15 minutes of wait they come back with my change (£7) and a receipt – passport to be collected in two days. 15 minutes waiting for my change!! Feels just like home.

Summer

It's summer in London and this week temperatures are nearing 30 degrees. The overall feeling around the city is that of a natural disaster looming. Public announcements in the underground give instructions as to what to do in case someone falls ill and advise people to carry water bottles in the tube. The city council is urging businesses to relax the dress code and allow people to wear shorts to work. The end of the world is near, etc.

At first I found it all very amusing. But just try walking onto an overcrowded tube in this heat during rush hour whilst wearing a suit and you will start taking the announcements seriously pretty fast.
It's not that bad in the morning, but by 4 p.m. all the heat emanating from each of the 4 million souls that travel on the underground every day has worked things up to such a state that you are properly steamed by the time you leave the train.

Other than that, I don't mind the heat. It's good for once going outside without carrying a coat. And a spending a sunny afternoon at the local park is worth all those hours sweating in the underground sauna.

Belgium Photos

Photos of our three day trip to Belgium are finally online.

Below is a little preview, check it out here for all the photos of Brussels and Bruges: http://www.flickr.com/photos/meurer/sets/72157617261173017/

 

MUC – LHR

Another gorgeous day in Munich. I wake up early and leave by myself to explore the city one more time. It’s 7:30 a.m. on Easter Monday and the city is very quiet. The Englischer Gartens, where just two days ago thousands of people were enjoying the sun in the park is now virtually deserted bar a handful of more athletic types going for a run or walking their dogs, or both.

Even at Marienplatz, Munich’s tourist hub, only a few earlybird tourists venture out for some photos and are rewarded by beautiful light as the sun comes up over the Residenz. It’s just after 9 a.m. when the first café opens. Unfortunately it’s time to go now.

Our last meal is at Munich Airport, but not before I load my backpack with €20 worth of German chocolate. As for lunch, we’re spoilt for choice, really. Aside from the standard food courts, there is an open square between terminals 1 and 2 with shops, bars, and restaurants. We go for traditional German food (thankfully, for the last time – there’s just so much sausage and sauerkraut one can handle over a couple of days) I just realised that we waited for our flight for about three hours but time just flew by! I certainly didn’t mind spending time at the Munich Airport. As far as airports go, this is a good one to hang out at. Plus, things are so effortless and organised. Kudos to the Germans.

Landing in London in about two hours. Home sweet home.

Crazy man’s castle

Today we went southwest to Neuschwanstein to see one of the world most famous castles. Certainly Germany’s most famous one. I’ve wanted to come here for a very long time, even before I set off on my travels five years ago.

Neuschwanstein. Now there’s a mouthful. Why to Germans have to make it so damn hard? I spent the best part of our two hour train ride too Füssen trying to get the pronunciation just right and failed miserably. I mean, I sort of get it: neu… schwan… stein. I just can’t say it all in one go. But I digress.

As far as castles go, this one is actually quite new. It was built in the late 19th century by the king Ludwig II of Bavaria. Well not really. It was in fact built by a bunch of slaves whose names sadly never made into history. It is a homage to Wagner, the king’s favourite composer, who ended up never setting foot in the palace.

The matter of fact is that the castle is simply fantastic. It sits high on the top of a mountain with breathtaking views from all of its windows. It is apparently the most photographed building in Germany but it’s the interior, where photography is prohibited, that makes it truly worth the visit. The architecture and decoration of the few rooms that were actually completed before the king died are so fairytale-like and ridiculously over the top that they could only be the work of a narcissistic lunatic. Gold plated walls, meticulously painted ceilings, furniture sculpted from solid wood, columns in the shape of palm trees, and swans, lots of swans. Ludwig was in fact declared insane and died under very suspicious circumstances before most rooms in the palace could be completed.

Great day trip. Could have been much shorter though, had we known thousands of people around Bavaria would have the same idea. We ended up queuing for tickets, and having to wait around for the best part of the day before it was our turn to start the tour.