Like DSA 2006 back in April, we were at another defence exhibition only this time in Karachi, Pakistan. My apprehension was soon laid to rest as the local organisers as well as the other foreign exhibitors who were great folks whose company I enjoyed. Whenever we got together, there usually was loud chuckling and sometimes there were incredible belly laughs, which I believe began for the first time when we tried to figure out what the acronym “CIP” actually was. Nope, ain’t tellin’. There were Barry and Martin from Australia, John from England, Bernard from the Czech Republic and sometimes we were joined by Jean-François from France, who was our neighbour in the exhibition booth next to us. All of us were ably and excellently cared for by our Pakistani attachés (so to speak) Shah, Shamir and Arsalan. I was chained to the booth most of the time because the […]
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Karachi is Sunny but Cool
Today Hikam and I took a drive around town with a tour guide / taxicab driver. The idea was that we’d tell him what we needed to buy on a souvenir hunt and he’ll know the best places to take us. Although we tried very hard, we couldn’t find a T-shirt that reads My Friend Went To Karachi and All He Got For Me Was This Lousy T-shirt. In fact very little T-shirts were sold at the souvenir stores. They mostly have leather and fur goods, onyx-carved trinkets, ornate metal-ware and beautiful cloth for traditional wear. Like Malaysia, there are lots of motorcycles on the streets but wearing helmets are voluntary. Other unlikely vehicles found on the streets of Karachi is this human-powered banana-carrying cart and the donkey cart. We missed an opportunity to take a photo of a cart carrying metal drums (stacked at least 10 feet tall) drawn […]
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So There We We Were At Jinnah International
Hikam and I arrived at about 2025 local time via the Pakistan International Airlines flight. It was enjoyable. I think I slept four out of the six hours airborne. The inflight movie was Pirates of the Carribeans – Dead Man’s Chest. Luckily the hotel transport people were waiting for our arrival. One less thing to worry about. It’s now almost 1000 local time in the morning, and we’ve had some breakfast. Access to Wireless LAN in only in the lobby on the ground floor and on the 6th and 7th floors. So, here I am in the lobby trying to get some information down the internet tubes.
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Next Week I Fly To…
…Karachi, Pakistan. The journey will be nested between the coming two Saturdays. Since the company is small I have to run around getting stuff done in preparation for the trip. Between this and the course assignment – that had me on edge for weeks until I finally submitted it one week late – I had no time updating this here weblog. Heck, I didn’t even have time to come up with some artwork which I promised myself I’d come up with for recreation time. A stand-out moment during the running around would be last Friday when the Airline employee looked at me (when she realised I was booking the tickets for myself) and asked with a tinge of disbelief, “You’re the one going?” Hopefully by two weeks we’ll have some photos of Karachi here. (And hopefully we’ll have internet connection at the hotel there.)
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Job Done – Heading Home
I forgot to mention in the previous post that Sam and I spent the night at Ambhara hotel. It was quite a comfortable place to stay, with a shopping mall (whose name escapes me for now) right across the street from it. For some reason we were too lethargic when we arrived all we could do after ordering room service – I ordered the nasi goreng pelangi – is fall asleep until sundown. That night our contact met up with us at the cafe downstairs for the next day’s big meeting preparation, then Sam and I went to the mall across the street where he had bakso and I had nasi goreng omelette. I had no idea it was nasi goreng dumped on a humongous omelette – which was delicious, so I ain’t complaining. After the big presentation the following day, we had to head back to the hotel to […]
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Meanwhile In Indonesia
Greetings from Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia. Arrived this morning, I’ll be here until tomorrow for a presentation concerning work and work-related work stuff. The good news is I got some pictures. The bad news is that the pictures were only taken when we reached our hotel room. Here’s the view outside the window. Unfortunately it’s behind the hotel into the alley, you can pretty much see nothing. Here’s the bathroom. You can’t go wrong with picture of the hotel bathroom. Meanwhile behind the cupboard that holds the 21 inch TV, there appears to be signs of life. It’s Sam, Earth’s Supreme Avionics Commander, checking his email and planning for the future of the industry on the planet. Of course, he has to write down his plans first. And finally because Sam is around, I get my picture taken when I’m on one of these trips unlike Germany and Singapore. […]
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Asian Aerospace 2006
While I was at work at the Asian Aerospace 2006 exhibition way down in Singapore, I took photos of some of the exhibits. Walking around the corridors, I realised that I needed a better camera. Preferably one with at least 4 megapixel doohickey. Oh, and also one without a broken battery cover panel.
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Stuttgart Pics
As promised here are some images from my weekend walkabout in Stuttgart. I thought I didn’t take a lot of good photos there because of my need to walk quickly to cover a lot of ground, and searching for internet cafes so I could communicate with Malaysia 7 time zones away. Flughafen Stuttgart, interior shot of the check in area, in the departure hall level. The parking lot and main entrance into Flughafen Stuttgart. Hotel Am Wilhelmsplatz, where I stayed for two nights. Cozy, but I prefer the charm of the Ochsen Post Hotel myself. Wilhelmsplatz, looking towards the direction of Holzstraße, immediately in front of the Hotel Am Wilhelmsplatz. I took this when I wasn’t really familiar with the city streets so I can’t remember where this was. Two shots of Theodor-Heuss-Straße early Saturday morning. I’m really disappointed I didn’t get a couple of pictures of the weekend crowd […]
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Outbreak
It was all over the news when I was in Germany. The H5N1 had been detected in dead wild swans at the northern coast of the country. The H5N1 virus, as all but those hiding incommunicado in underground bunkers since 1962 would know, is the strain of bird flu virus that can and has infected humans if they consume avians. Now, less than 24 hours back in Malaysia, what do I hear? Gombak chickens within, of all places, the capital city of Malaysia have been detected with the deadly strain of virus, and more have been culled in the immediate vicinity. And I would like to stress about the infection of the Malaysian chickens: It’s not my fault. 😉
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Hotel Ochsen Post
I got back from the airport today from a training in Germany. While there I stayed at Ochsen Post Hotel in the village of Tiefenbronn not too far from Hausen, where I had my training. The hotel is right in the middle of town, where dozens of dummies are placed on trees, walls, lamposts and roofs, which heralds the oncoming Carnival. One thing the hotel has an abundance of is atmosphere. You have to be there to experience it. Here’s the lobby area, with its green walls and old decoration. According to the person at the front desk the building was constructed in 1630. An upright piano in a corner of the lobby, close to the front desk. The door and hallway into my hotel room (14), at the third floor of the building. The mirror on the left there kind of said I need to lose some weight. On […]
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It’s Been Awhile Since I Saw…
…SNOW! Thirteen years. Here we are again. Damn it’s cold. And the Autobahn is jammed up. And Hausen seems to be a really nice, quaint litle hamlet. Pictures will be up when I have the chance.
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Returning to Form, but Slowly
I still can’t believe it. I’m getting my passport renewed. I’m buying cold weather gear and one of those new-fangled bags with wheels and a retractable handle (which is pretty neat). I’m brushing up on things like “planetary gear”, “autorotation”, “rotor profile drag” and “combining gear box”. I’m planning how best to absorb the teaching techniques of the course so I can teach others how to operate the avionics hardware effectively. I’m trying my best to figure out how to get the test model installed in time for the Defense Services Asia exhibition in April. And I’m reading the online version of Rotor and Wing magazine. If I can pull this off, I believe I can start buying trade paperbacks again every month.
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