Melbourne

We had a great long weekend in Melbourne that included time with friends, family, Josh's 30th Birthday, our firest AFL game and trips up both sides of the bay.
Melbourne is a great city - very easy to get around and lots of options in terms of restaurants, bars and nightlife.
We stayed with Matt and Chelsea for a couple of nights at their appartment in Albert Park - very close to the park itself and the beach.
Josh's 30th birthday on Saturday night was really good fun, as we went to a really good Chineses restaurant and on to a bar afterwards.
We took in Carlton Blues vs. Syndey Swans on the Sunday at the Telstra Dome, which was an excellent introduction to AFL as the game ended with only a 2 point gap and high scoring. It was great fun and meant I was addicted to AFL for the rest of the weekend when we did find ourselves in front of a TV.
We took trips up both sides of the Bay on Tuesday, despite the poor winter weather.
All in all, we had a great trip to Melbourne, enjoying the trams, arcade-style-streets and shops and the small city vibe.

Malaysia & Singapore

I arrived in KL on Tuesday, where I always feel very welcome and comfortable. The humidity is always a stark but interesting change to Europe and the heat is always nice.

I went straight to the office on arrival for a serious of catch-up sessions and discussions on new proposals, before checking in to the always welcoming [[Shangri La]] in nearby Putrajaya.

The service is always 1st class and the welcome Chinese tea after I had just settled in the room was fabulous.

I flew down to Singapore on Wednesday, on an early shuttle that flies every hour all day, to spend time with old friends, clients & new colleagues. It was a successful trip and although I didn't get to see a lot of Singapore, it felt like a nice place to live and visit.

I arrived back from Singapore on Friday night and caught up with a bit of work that kept me up until almost 2am. I felt I had earned a bit of relaxation - so today and tomorrow I will lap up the sunshine at the pool and have some local Malay food.

some photos attached... show the poolside view, the luxury of the room and the style of the internal.

Waterskiing and Tubes

We spent a brilliant weekend of weather in the Czech Republic this weekend being thrown around a lake a little over an hour from the city.
We travelled up with Dave, Mel & AJ yesterday, enjoyed the sun and water sports & then a barbeque last night, where we also had a taste of the locals 'malaria medicine' and Dave impressed us all with his fire breathing. We woke this morning & Tennille and I had a early morning swim across the lake.
After more water sports we drove back to Prague, went for some excellent Sushi at Seafood and then caught a movie.
Temperatures hit 35 degrees here today before a storm broke tonight to cool things down a little.
I am off to KL tomorrow so it was a great weekend with Tennille before we meet up again in Melbourne in 2 weeks.