Singapore slings (4/11 - 18/11)

So it as a long but direct flight over to Singapore. Gotta love Singapore Airlines! Plus got to try one of the famous Singapore slings on the plane, not a huge fan though. So I got in at a ridiculous hour, as normal, caught a cab to the hotel and was pleasantly surprised when I found I was upgraded to a suite... nice!

View from my room, outdoor, inverted fountain

I had a free day to get ready for the office, which was good. I slept. A lot. But that's what happens when you fly that far east. I spent the next week really getting ready for the project as I was a week earlier than the rest of the team. No big deal. There was a random fashion show in the mall that I cut through to get from the hotel to the office... very weird but I swear there was a minor UK celebrity in the mix, Gok Won. Who knows.

yup, ice skating rink in the mall... 80+ outside..

I did get to do some sightseeing on the weekend. Singapore is a crazy mix of Asian cultures along with an obvious British Colonial influence. I took a doubledecker bus tour and saw a lot, but of course was caught in a rain storm... they always seem to spring up when you don't need them to in the tropics. There is a great restaurant and bar area but it never seemed to get out of hand. Some of my friends describe Singapore as an Asian Switzerland, all very nice but a bit sterile. I personally liked it and could see how it is a desirable place to live. So a bit of sightseeing in, a few nights out, couple of trips to the casino and lots of interesting food and nice people. Finally it was off to the US for Thanksgiving.

Um Bongo Um Bongo... its off to the Congo (DRC - 22/10 - 4/11)

Ok so they don't really drink Um Bongo in the Congo... After the roundabout Europe trip it was off to the DRC via Joburg again. Its alway fun leaving Zurich Saturday, arriving in Joburg Sunday morning and then catching a Monday moring charter up to the Kolwezi.

We were in Joburg long enough and just in time on Sunday to see the fianls of the Rugby World Cup. There was a little plaza near the hotel with restaurants and things where they had a large outdoor screen set up. So I got to see NZ finally not choke and beat France in the final 8-7. I wish SA had made the final, it would have been much more entertaining considering I was in South Africa.



By the time we go to the camp, my head was just as bad as it ever had been. After a day or two I went to the camp doctor. When the first thing the doctor suggests is surgery, in the DRC, you get a bit worried. While I am sure he would have been fine (after all it is the hospital run by our company), I made arrangements to be seen again in Switzerland.

We spent two weeks in the DRC and it is still one of the oddest, unpleasant places to work. Not that its bad, its just not at the top of my favorite places to work list. However about halfway through the first week, I got a call from the boss. We had a bit of a personnel change and now instead of heading to a coal mine in South Africa next, I was off to Singapore... to the office... but I had packed for a month in the mines... So after a long,hard two weeks in DRC, it was off to Johannesburg, bought a few shirts real quick and off to Singapore!!