Not fair !!!!

Today while visiting temple #3 or #4 (we've seen so many it's hard to keep track) I couldn't take a picture. I pushed the button but the autofocus would not work. No bipping, no photo :(
I switched off the camera and started it again. You never know with electrical devices sometimes they need a bit of a reset. That didn't work.
I checked that the button on the lens was on the autofocus position as sometimes when changing lens it can be moved. But it was on the right position.
I moved it to manual focus and could then take a picture. But once back on AF, nothing.
I started to get desperate. I changed the lens to check whether it works with the other 2 lenses and if does. In other words the autofocus of my standard basic lens seems to be broken.
That's bad on day 2 of vacation. It was too early to call for help (namely Wolfram). I managed the rest of the day with the zoom lens and the wide angle. Not ideal but at least I could take pictures.
When it was time for Europe to be operational, I only heard what I kind of knew. The autofocus is broken i.e. I need to buy a new lens :(
That sucks, really sucks and even more when this happens when I'm on vacation and need the camera everyday.
I wished the hundreds of Buddhas we've seen today could have brought good karma but apparently not :(

Friendliness of Thai people

Each time we stop and open the map to decide where to go next, someone will offer advice. Thai people are very friendly and eager to help and advise you on what to do or where to go to experience their country.
Of course there are those trying to sell you something so we were initially suspicious and trying to limit those contacts. But quickly we discovered that some people genuinely want to help foreigners / tourists. So we listen to them and followed some of their recommendation.
It makes a visitor really welcome I have to say.

A day of temples

First day in Chiang Mai and we decided to explore the old city and its numerous temples.
Thailand is full Buddhist temples and Chiang Mai probably has the highest concentration of them. We spent the day walking the streets of the old city exploring one temple after the other.
We've seen hundreds of Buddhas. Different sizes, positions, colors, materials, etc. there is for sure at least one Buddha that will suit your taste.
It's quite impressive to see all those temples and the richness they contain. None are locked as people respect the temples. Something we see less and less in Europe unfortunately.
People are also quite religious. In all the temples you can see Thai people making an offering to the monks or Buddha.

Interesting thought

Sleeping late in the morning while on vacation.
Seems every time I'm on vacation I need to wake up before the sun to catch a plane, start a hike, drive to some highly visited area, etc.
It would be nice to take time to sleep, wake up when I'm not tired, have breakfast and start the day slowly.
Again just a thought as like they say: the future belongs to those who wake up early :)

Should we be worried?

There was a shortcut in the lobby which triggered a little fire. It was quickly extinguished.
I was on the terrace witnessing the scene.
Alice was in the bedroom. Scathingly no alarm went on.
Should we be worried?

Spending a few hours in Kuala Lumpur

We landed in KL around 3pm and our flight to Chiang Mai is only tomorrow morning. Thus we had an evening to spend in the city.
To occupy ourselves we creatively went to the nearby shopping center and found a massage salon. To give context, the last 2 hours of the flight were spent thinking about a good foot massage to release the tensions from the flight.
We enjoyed 45min of foot reflexology and 10min of neck and shoulder massage. The latter turned out painful. Seems I have some tenses muscles in need of relaxation.
Fully relaxed from the flight we went to Jalan Alor for dinner. We selected one of the restaurants on the street and treated ourselves with chicken satay, beans, lemon chicken and grilled chicken fish. No idea what species that fish was but it was prepared with cumin and was extremely good. That's one of the things I like in Asia: every now and then out of pure luck you get to discover fantastic dishes.
To conclude the day Alice went for leeches and I for mango ice cream.
If that's not a great way to start vacation :)

A very long first part of the trip

Today is day 1 of vacation.
Of course it started pretty early as I had to get a few things in order before I leave but above all I had to pack.
Flight #1 was at 14:40 direction Amsterdam. When we booked we had 2 options. This flight with 5 hours in Amsterdam or a later one with a little less than 1h30. Given it's vacation and didn't want to risk anything we went for the earlier one. Truth is that the famous city hopper flight between Brussels and Amsterdam (30min flight) is very often late. Naturally today it was sharp on time. Murphy's law!
We started by trying to get seats on the emergency row to have more leg space. We were instructed to use the machines but it didn't work out so we queued at the counter. Of course the lady at the counter pushed back because for me to get a seat with more leg room I have to pay 30 euros and she was not equipped. Alice being platinum didn't have this issue and could be moved for free. So back to the machines. We tried 5 of them and after the 5th failure the lady attending the machines decided it was enough trying and moved me for free! Yeah!
That's a good way to get started.
Once this was done we still had 4 hours to kill which we occupied with a bit of shopping and relaxing in the lounge (thanks again to Alice's platinum status).
We eventually made it into the aircraft and after a disappointing dinner (I miss business class food and should have had food before hand) I was ready to face 10 hours of flight to fill in with movies. Which I did: super 8, transformers 3, ratatouille, Kung fu panda 2, ocean's eleven. Clearly the theme of this flight was movies with numbers in the title. I did save the latest Harry Potter for the return.
Despite so many movies it was a very long flight as I didn't manage to sleep at all :(

Testing the blogger app on the iPhone

If this works then I can blog from my phone when I'm in Thailand. Wouldn't that be great?

Time to pack for 2 weeks in Thailand

Yes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Nice surprise

A couple of weeks ago I received a call from Italy. It was payroll telling me they have received a check from the Italian taxes for me. Apparently there was a mistake when my taxes were filed back in 2005 and I’m getting money back.

I was surprised of course and obviously happy. After challenging the lady on the phone, she quickly told me that if the Italian government gives you money, you take it and don’t ask anything.

So I took it.

She mailed me the check and today I brought it to the bank.

Hopefully in 5 days from now I’ll be significantly richer. Just in time for vacation :)

To reassure everyone

We are not going to Bangkok which is flooded.
We've selected Chiang Mai in the North and Phuket in the South.
Should it rain which is likely in a tropical region, we'll hide under elephants' ears :)

7 days to go

Coming Saturday Alice and I will leave cold Belgium for warm Thailand.
This weekend we've booked hotels, internal flights, and other national park.
This weekend we've started to dream of riding elephants, getting Thai massage, learning how to cook Thai curry and above all paradise beach.

With this in mind, the busy week ahead should be easier to go through.

Candles

While at Ikea looking for a new laundry basket which we did not find I suggested getting some candles. It’s getting dark earlier every day and I like the atmosphere they create.

We got a bit carried away and bought not only candles, but also plates to put them on and even 2 lanterns to put by the windows.

I would have never believed Wolfram would agree to spend so much money on candles but he did. I’m looking forward to tonight when we will light them on.

My mum would be so proud

Temperature has dropped in Belgium, and this morning we saw the first frost in the nearby fields and on the car.

Today I put all my winter shoes and boots on the terrace and sprayed them with the product to protect them from the water.

For once I’m doing this before the rain and the snow hit us. I emptied 2 full bottles and even sprayed Wolfram's shoes while I was at it. No water will get through our shoes, I'm telling you!

I feel so proud and I know so will my mother. Yes mum, your education worked… eventually :)

What’s your father’s name?

Each time I travel to Egypt I need a visa which I can buy just before the custom desks. I land, walk to the customs, get the visa, queue and finally give my passport to the officer. Systematically they look at me, then back to my passport, then back to me and start speaking in Arabic. Each time I smile and explain I don’t speak Arabic.

“Why?”

“You have Arabic roots? Why don’t you speak Arabic?”

And there I go explaining my case which inevitably leads to: “what’s your father’s name?”

I don’t know why they need my father’s name, each time I enter Egypt AND each time I leave the country. By now my father’s name should be in all their systems. Each time I have to explain that my father is Lebanese, give his name, and address the question on why I still have the same name as him (i.e. I’m not married) and don’t speak Arabic.

I really wish they could put a note in the system so I can spare myself the whole story each time I go to Egypt and the extra 5 minutes with the officer. But apparently that’s not an option.

Maybe next time, I'll bring my father with me :)

Yummy breakfast

Knefe for breakfast!
What a great way to start the day!
And yes Joy I enjoyed it for you :)

Welcome to Lebanon

How many countries send you a welcoming text message when you land? Not many.
I know it's Marketing but it makes you feel more than welcome in Lebanon.
I love that country!

2h30

That's how long it took to drive back from the university to the hotel.
36km or so in 2 hours and 30 min.
Just twice the speed I was walking in Paris except we were driving.
In case you wonder, insane traffic is back in Cairo.

Crashing a wedding party… with invitation

When Aurelie and Romain got married, she had offered her sister a table at the dinner to invite her friends (I guess so it would be more entertaining). That’s a first for me but after all different country different habits. When Aurelie’s sister decided to get married she returned the favor. That’s how we ended up to be officially invited to crash a wedding party.

Yesterday we dressed up and drove to the location. It was a posh looking wedding with lot’s of ladies in hat in the lovely Domaine des Bouleaux. Drinks and petit-fours were very good. Foie gras and lobster for dinner were also very good (except for the mushroom sauce with the latter). The highlight was clearly the dessert prepared by a team of chefs from Pierre Marcolini where the bride works. Inspirations around chocolate it was called… and it was excellent.

Challenge was that we didn’t know anyone apart from Aurelie and Romain so drink time was a bit awkward as we couldn’t really mingle. We then took the opportunity to send birthday wishes to Joy via WhatsApp with a memorable audio of us singing happy birthday to her. Dinner was easier as we were at their friends’ table so we could chat more. Party afterwards so nice with one of the best DJ we’ve experienced at a wedding.

Around 1:30am we left as sadly by back gave up on dancing before my feet.

WhatsApp

Yesterday I discovered WhatsApp, an application for smart phones that allows chatting.

I feel a bit stupid that it took me so long to learn about it. What was I doing? (I know working too hard)
The good thing now is that I will save a lot of money on international SMS while being even more connected with my family and friends.

Paris, the 20K race

We’ve been dreaming about it.

We’ve been fearing it.

We’ve trained for it.

It’s now 10am on Sunday October 9^th 2011. It’s raining cats and dogs like some would say (or comme vache qui pisse).

First impression is chaos. Somehow in Brussels in was better organized with different groups according to the level of the participant. Here it’s missing or we didn’t find it. It feels like a mess and if it wasn’t for the crowd moving in one direction we could get lost and miss the start.

Anyhow around 10am, the first ones are leaving, we are somewhere at the back and we make our progression through the bridge (Pont d’Iena) towards the starting line. Ambiance is good, people are nervous but happy, and ground is covered by all the plastic people used to protect themselves before the race. Slowly but surely we reached the starting line and here we go!

Of course it had to start by going uphill but we knew about it so we tried to keep a decent pace.

And a decent pace we kept during the whole distance. With around 8min10s to 8min30s per km, we had a pretty steady pace the whole time. Training is finally paying out.

The first 5 km went very smoothly and lonely in the Bois de Boulogne. 5 to 10 km were also relatively easy. After 10 km we started to feel the distance and clearly after 15 km, we wanted to finish (and not only because we really had to go to the bathroom). The last 5 km were really difficult but with a very strong motivation and always a smile, we powered through until the end.

2 hours 46 minutes and 54 seconds.

That’s an average of about 7.2km/h. Not bad for walking.

As much as I am proud of this accomplishment, a small part of me is disappointed. We were expecting a great race through Paris and it could have been really nice despite the rain if we didn’t have the feeling of being the last wheel of it. Organizers were packing out even though there were many participants to come, some of the volunteers on the side instead of cheering us up were suggesting us to pass the “3^rd gear” or “hurry up because they want to go home”. Most of the live bands stopped playing before the end. It feels like for any one taking more than 2 hours, you might as well not bother because except for your family and friends, no one will be waiting for you at the finish line.

Overall, I’m very proud of myself. And as my mother would say… who would have believed that me hating sports and sucking at it big time at school, I would one day power walk the 20K of Brussels and Paris in the same year!

PS: for the pictures and video… you know where to look.

PS2: I’m also very grateful to Alice who bore with me for the whole time. Alone it would have been extremely hard. Together it was easier thanks to 20 km of stories. Yep, women can talk for long:)

27962

That’s my number.

There is no turning back now. We’ve registered a few months back, we’ve trained for as many months, we drove all the way from Brussels. This is it.

Tomorrow, Paris, 20K, wish us luck!

Brussels – Paris: 7 hours, door to door

A bit before 7pm, Alice, Wolfram and I met in the parking lot at work. We transferred our luggage into Alice’s car, already packed with Pampers boxes for her sister, and quickly hit the road. On Sunday, Alice and I will walk the 20K of Paris!

After a bit of traffic jam on the ring, it got better and we started to have a good speed. When Alice noticed that the man in the car near us was waving at us. He by-passed us so we ignored the waving. A bit later he actually slowed down to be at our level on the other lane and was making signs again. This time, as it was on my side, I looked. Based on his signs, we might have a flat tire, although it didn’t feel.

In doubt we stopped at the next exit only to realize that indeed the left tire at the back was looking pretty empty. We drove to the nearest gas station, giving Wolfram the opportunity to demonstrate how great the Navigon GPS app is on the iPad.

Pressure in the tire was only 0.8bar. That’s very low. We filled it up and waited to see what would happen. After 15min, we had lost 0.1bar and after a lap around the parking lot, another 0.1bar. There was only one possible conclusion: the tire was losing air.

Alice called the assistance so they would come and change the tire. We had to wait 30-45min during which Wolfram offered to get us a Coke at the nearby Quick. We’re not big fans of Quick and believe it or not, even their Coke tastes bad.

Eventually the assistance arrived, changed the tire, and confirmed it was not a real tire i.e. we cannot drive more than 80 km/h. At this point, still being in Brussels we decided to drive back to work to get Wolfram’s car.

Of course we hit traffic jams on the ring… 2 hours after we left we were back on the parking lot.

We transferred everything from one car to the other, including the Pampers as we all agreed that “there would be no Pampers left behind”. Alice and I visited the toilets (thanks the Coke) and at 9pm we were back on the ring, direction Paris. Round 2.

We drove easily across the border and decided to stop at the first service area for some food. Food for us and for the car as it was asking for oil. Having called the assistance already once, we were not so keen on repeating the experience.

Around half past midnight we arrived at Alice’s sister place, somewhere in Ris Orangis, unloaded the car and inquired for a gas station. For about 80 km, we were in the now classical situation: the gas light is on, I’m stressed, I want to stop and fill the car as soon as possible while Wolfram is playing it relaxed and cool about it, claiming he can still drive another 100km at least. The longer he drives the more I stress especially when the car is showing that there are only 4km worth left in the tank.

We drove to the nearest gas station and filled up 60.2 L of gas… apparently we still had 2 L in the tank i.e. enough for 20km. I don’t want to know.

With a full tank we made our way back to Paris, to the Ibis hotel where my mum was supposed to stay but given we were coming so late it was making sense we take the room there so they can all sleep at my sister.

2am, we’re in the room, exhausted. It only took us 7 hours to get to Paris!

Lang Lang - 74 Seconds of Virtuosity

That's for my mum.

Sh! - Chut!

Wolfram is watching the (Apple) keynote... :)

Vote

Early November there are 2 long weekends in Belgium. Alice and I decided to leverage them to take 2 weeks using only 7 days of vacation. After debating for 2 months on where we want to go, bouncing between Egypt, Morocco, Asia, Italy and many more, we decided yesterday for Asia.

Using our hard earned miles we’ve booked tickets to Kuala Lumpur. Once there we’ll fly to a nice place in South East Asia. The question is where?

Options are:

-          Thailand

-          Vietnam

-          Cambodia

-          Indonesia

Question for you is the following: where would you go? Which one would you recommend?

Are you ready?

1 week to go and the question I keep hearing is “are you ready?”

I guess we are. We trained hard, sometimes more successfully than others, but we kept on training.

We are motivated which is probably the most important element.

So let’s see what will happen on Sunday. Hopefully we’ll make it in less than 3 hours.

Even more importantly we hope not to be the last ones. Given we will be walking when the majority will be running, so we just hope we won’t be the ones just before the “end of race” car.

Wish us luck!