What is it with me and travel? Why can't I simply stay put for a while? Ah well, no harm in seeing the world I guess and especially not in seeing good friends. I had missed Suzanne and her kids when she visited NL so I decided this was a good enough excuse for a long weekend in LA. I needed one more BA flight to retain my status in their frequent flyer progam anyway. It will be slightly scary since I will be flying economy out to LA for the first time in many years. I am sure it will be fine. Leaving November 18th!
Still looking for an interesting overnight trip out of Santa Monica. I have done the highway 1 multiple times so I want something else. Maybe to the south? Maybe to Joshua Tree National Park? If you have any suggestions not involving the coastal route, I am game!
October 8, 2010
October 5, 2010
Bye Bye Bali
The last 4 days I had in Bali were not the most relaxed ever. The hotel I stayed at (The Breezes) should be avoided like the plague. Way too noisy with drunken Australians and they really don't have a clue how to run a hospitality business. Luckily the GM of my 'regular' Sofitel allowed me to use their facilities during the day. I am covered with either mosquito bites (hotel's reading) or bedbug bites (my reading). Thank God I am not too itchy.
Image for illustrative purpose only :)
I have also decided that I have had a Bali overdose in the last 5 years. I need a change of scenery, especially since it is now extremely busy here once again. Good for the locals, bad for the regulars. It also changed a little. It reminds me more of India now. Traffic is an absolute pain and I have now realized that by staying in 5-star hotels I have been missing some of the complete incompetence that is also present here.
Balinese traffic
The problem is that I really liked Timor Leste and the best way to get there is via Bali. Ah well, I will take one for the team!
I am now in the lounge at Denpasar airport. It will take me around 19 hours to get home. Not too bad. Tomorrow at 15:00 I will collect my new Mini Convertible. I fully expect the sun to be shining. See you later!
Image for illustrative purpose only :)
I have also decided that I have had a Bali overdose in the last 5 years. I need a change of scenery, especially since it is now extremely busy here once again. Good for the locals, bad for the regulars. It also changed a little. It reminds me more of India now. Traffic is an absolute pain and I have now realized that by staying in 5-star hotels I have been missing some of the complete incompetence that is also present here.
Balinese traffic
The problem is that I really liked Timor Leste and the best way to get there is via Bali. Ah well, I will take one for the team!
I am now in the lounge at Denpasar airport. It will take me around 19 hours to get home. Not too bad. Tomorrow at 15:00 I will collect my new Mini Convertible. I fully expect the sun to be shining. See you later!
October 2, 2010
Bye Bye Timor Leste
It was a hectic week, but a successful one. I think we have succeeded in what we wanted. It is all down to the slow wheels of the unpredictable bureaucrazy (no typo). I hope Logica and the WFP will get their ducks in a row quickly.
Whomever the architect will be who goes to Timor Leste for at least 4 weeks: I envy you! I wish I actually had some IT skills so I could do the work myself. Unfortunately I can't even program my way out of a VCR so fat chance. This is where he/she will be working.
The WFP Timor Leste Field Office
The last couple of days were rather nice. I met some more interesting people like Bas, a Dutch former teacher who advices the minister of education. With his length of 2.07 meters he stands out rather a lot. It was good to talk to him and hear that he ministry of eduction is interested in our solution too. I did not get a chance to meet that minister. Who knows, maybe next time. Bas is a really nice guy and he has some great ideas. We need to keep the plan simple and not include more stakeholders than absolutely necessary though. In round two we will include the distribution of school supplies. I promise.
I also met the local 'geeks' from an NGO called Catalpa. They are doing some really cool stuff on Timor Leste, half of which is too complicated for me to understand. I am glad I met them since they bring a lot of local expertise to the table!
In a meeting with the resident geeks (self proclaimed) from the NGO Catalpa International.
I won't put you to sleep with a summary of all my meetings and more shoptalk. What was nice was the day before last. We took a nice drive to Manatuto, which is about 2 hrs east of Dili. Unless you are being driven by the driver of the WFP. He is a regular Louis Hamilton on these roads and averages about 90km/h on winding, narrow roads full of potholes. I never felt unsafe though. He knew what he was doing.
I will let the pictures do the talking from now on. Please remember they were all taken from the passenger seat of a car bouncing around and doing at least 50kph...
Sometimes we went a bit slower...
The intention of the trip was to visit one of the regional warehouses. It was a surprise to see that they already used computers and Excel to manage part of the process. No connection to the Internet though and conditions were rough, to say the least.
They did their job pretty well considering the circumstances. They fill and empty this warehouse a couple of times per week.
These are the people doing all the hard work.
Louis looking for spiderwebs... :)
It is important that the 'Malai' (foreigners) show their face every once in a while, since this makes the local workers appreciate how important their work really is. They are a proud people but they can be in need of a bit of encouragement too...
On the way back the weather had turned and I did not take too many pictures. We stopped at a local village to get some water and I had the chance to finally take a picture of the people we are doing all this for!
I am back on Bali now and relaxing at the pool. The report is ready and all I need to do now is nothing. I am good at that. I will try and post some more tomorrow.
Whomever the architect will be who goes to Timor Leste for at least 4 weeks: I envy you! I wish I actually had some IT skills so I could do the work myself. Unfortunately I can't even program my way out of a VCR so fat chance. This is where he/she will be working.
The WFP Timor Leste Field Office
The last couple of days were rather nice. I met some more interesting people like Bas, a Dutch former teacher who advices the minister of education. With his length of 2.07 meters he stands out rather a lot. It was good to talk to him and hear that he ministry of eduction is interested in our solution too. I did not get a chance to meet that minister. Who knows, maybe next time. Bas is a really nice guy and he has some great ideas. We need to keep the plan simple and not include more stakeholders than absolutely necessary though. In round two we will include the distribution of school supplies. I promise.
I also met the local 'geeks' from an NGO called Catalpa. They are doing some really cool stuff on Timor Leste, half of which is too complicated for me to understand. I am glad I met them since they bring a lot of local expertise to the table!
In a meeting with the resident geeks (self proclaimed) from the NGO Catalpa International.
I won't put you to sleep with a summary of all my meetings and more shoptalk. What was nice was the day before last. We took a nice drive to Manatuto, which is about 2 hrs east of Dili. Unless you are being driven by the driver of the WFP. He is a regular Louis Hamilton on these roads and averages about 90km/h on winding, narrow roads full of potholes. I never felt unsafe though. He knew what he was doing.
I will let the pictures do the talking from now on. Please remember they were all taken from the passenger seat of a car bouncing around and doing at least 50kph...
Sometimes we went a bit slower...
The intention of the trip was to visit one of the regional warehouses. It was a surprise to see that they already used computers and Excel to manage part of the process. No connection to the Internet though and conditions were rough, to say the least.
They did their job pretty well considering the circumstances. They fill and empty this warehouse a couple of times per week.
These are the people doing all the hard work.
Louis looking for spiderwebs... :)
It is important that the 'Malai' (foreigners) show their face every once in a while, since this makes the local workers appreciate how important their work really is. They are a proud people but they can be in need of a bit of encouragement too...
On the way back the weather had turned and I did not take too many pictures. We stopped at a local village to get some water and I had the chance to finally take a picture of the people we are doing all this for!
I am back on Bali now and relaxing at the pool. The report is ready and all I need to do now is nothing. I am good at that. I will try and post some more tomorrow.
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