So, after just a few weeks I'm heading back to Bratislava. It will probably only be for a few days and because I don't know exactly what to expect, I've decided to travel early so I can be raedy bright and early on Monday morning. Plus, it gives me a chance to get there by a slightly different route and take a quick look at Vienna along the way. I noticed last time that there are three ways to get from Vienna to Bratislava: bus, train or boat. The bus is fast and easy from Vienna airport (but I've done that [View Full Entry]

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And so, week 5 on the road and I seem to have landed in Qatar. Actually not quite five weeks, I think I got a few days at home but it just didn’t work out. I kept leaving my laundry in a bag, ready for collection but honestly, the service was rubbish. Or perhaps I’m jinxed - the hotel here managed to lose my trousers for a day and I had to wear shorts to the office. A drop in standards I know but I think I can be excused - it did reach 42C yesterday. The flight out was uneventful [View Full Entry]

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So with just 72 hours at home after returning from Toronto, it's back on the road. Or more accurately, back to the airport - Gatwick this time. I've been tracking the weather forecast and Bratislava currently has some very unseasonal thunderstorms, so it could be fairly unpleasant. However, I expect to be working pretty much continuously, so it probably won't matter! There are few direct flights to Bratislava, and even fewer at sensible low prices. However, Vienna is only 40 miles away so I'm flying easyjet to Vienna instead and planning to catch the bus. A word in favour of easyjet: [View Full Entry]

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A quick entry as I'm packing to get ready to fly home. To be honest it's been a fairly underwhelming three days since the trip across from Seattle last Sunday. I'm staying in the "downtown" quarter or more accurately the University quarter (downtown). But the students are on their 14 week summer vacation (they have it tough....) so there's only the post grads and those with no homes or whose parents have disowned them. That means the tourists stand out more and believe me, there's lots of them! The district is actually quite grubby (bit like Oxford Street which is always [View Full Entry]

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Look, if you can think of a better title, perhaps you should be writing this blog! I left Richland on Friday evening and after a week there, I'd become quite attached to the place. Most of my previous US trips have been to the big cities (New York, Washington DC) so it was unusual (for me) to visit a relatively small town. I'm guessing but I reckon the population of Richland can't be more than 70,000. The traffic is quieter, the people are friendlier and (this may be the clincher) the weather last week was brilliant. I wasn't sure how long [View Full Entry]

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Back on the road again, after a month or so at home. The next few weeks will be busy and will test (even my) patience with airports and airlines. On the plus side, I don't have any flights on United because that would probably push me over the edge..... A long journey yesterday, from London to Seattle via Calgary. The flights with Air Canada were good - not too full, friendly service and even the food was better than average. The crew did their best to get away from Heathrow early, but to no avail. AS usual at the world's worst [View Full Entry]

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Straight back from India, then out to San Diego on business for 5 days. That didn't go smoothly, so by the end of the week I was totally exhausted and ready for home. The only high spot was Saturday when I got the whole day free, so caught the ferry across the Harbour to Coronado, then rented a bike and cycled round to the Pacific shore. Just sat on the beach, thinking "Next stop, Hawaii". Still, here's one of our few group pictures from India - I don't need to tell you where it was taken! From left to right, (back [View Full Entry]

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Friday evening and it’s proving harder than I expected to find an internet connection so goodness knows when this one will be sent. It’s been another long day after a train ride yesterday which took 3 hours - but was delayed for 4. Since we Brits introduced railways to India I suppose we’ve only got ourselves to blame for the delays. So we got in finally about 9 pm, straight into dinner, followed by an early night. We’re in Ranthambohre which is the smallest of the Indian National Parks but home to a number of tigers in the wild. The n [View Full Entry]

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Writing this on Tuesday afternoon but not sure when I’ll post it. There is an internet connection at the hotel but I don’t think it’s too reliable. The flight was fine so I can recommend Turkish Airlines for the future. But the journey from the airport to the hotel - well, it lived up to my expectations! After changing my money, I decided to pay a little bit more than usual for the taxi, hoping that the promise of “radio cabs” and luxury A/C cars” might mean the drivers also had a map. I’m just too gullible! When they say “radio [View Full Entry]

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I'll be travelling out on Monday morning, April 6th. Not too early thank goodness. The flight is with Turkish Airlines which is a bit of an experiment, but generally they get good reviews, so we'll see! Anyway, they were £300 cheaper than BA. I arrive into Istanbul late afternoon, then a couple of hours wait before leaving for Delhi. It's about 4 more hours flying time but taking account of the time shift, it will be 3 am Tuesday before i reach India. No pickup arrangements at Delhi but I'm not bothered about that: I've done it so many times now [View Full Entry]

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