New York!

I arrived in New York late last night. The head steward on the plane came to greet me, knowing my name and the company that I work for. He wanted to know that I was happy and that everything was ok. Not quite sure why I was selected for the special treatment. He was either under the misguided opinion that I am a big wig or contract negotiations are going on with BA at the moment.

The flight was fairly pleasant and uneventful. I was surprised by the number of families in Business Class at the weekend, not something I have seen before, but then I wouldn't class myself as an expert in these matters!

I decided to fly to Newark as I had heard customs was more efficient than JFK. I had disembarked, been through immigration and collected my luggage all within 40mins which I thought was pretty good. Sadly the drive into the city was slower with a 1hr queue to get into the Lincoln Tunnel.

I was hoping to meet my friend Nick for a drink last night, but when I called his number there was no answer. I decided to pop out for a short walk to check out the local area. When I got back to the flat I discovered that my shampoo had exploded all over the contents of my suitcase. I then had to spend a couple of hours cleaning everything up.

This morning I have been for a two hour walk round the city. I bought a map of NY before I left, which I now realise was a complete waste of money. It is virtually impossible to get lost in a grid plan city! The streets are quite empty and it is a bit chilly, but nothing a hardy Brit finds too tough.

The photo is the view from my lounge looking south down Third Avenue.

I take it all back!

After reading all the horror stories today I am quite pleased that I am flying from the big tin shed that is Terminal 4 on Saturday.

Waterlink Way: Part 2

I decided that I needed some exercise, so jumped on my bike to cycle along the Waterlink Way after my successful excursion back in February.

I covered 20 miles this afternoon, which was about the same distance as last time. I managed to go quite a bit further along the route as I didn't get lost and go on as many detours! I stopped at the Tescos in Shirley to buy some chocolate to keep me going. Negating any of the calories that I may have burnt off.

I cycled through a light snow shower and my feet got quite cold. The recent wet weather meant that it was a quite a lot muddier than last time and I had to give my bike a wash when I got back. I'll be hoping for some warmer weather next time for my feet!

Ed gave me some poor excuse about having a puncture, but I'll be sure to take him along next time.

I won't be experiencing the new Terminal 5

This post is a little self indulgent so please forgive me.

I'm flying to New York next weekend with BA, two days after the new Terminal 5 is due to open. I have been excitedly reading stories about how advanced the new Terminal is supposed to be and that they have spent something absurd like £60m on the lounges. I was looking forward to checking them out.

I checked my tickets this morning to realise to my horror that I am departing from Terminal 4, which does nothing to provide any mystique or glamour to international travel! I return to Terminal 5 but that only really affords you with an opportunity to experience how fast baggage reclaim and Customs are. Here's hoping that they are as good as the amazingly efficient Singapore airport.........

One of my tasks for today is to start packing, another side of travel that is less than glamorous.

Thailand Musings 2.0

I've recently been visiting a blog called Thailand Musings which has launched a brand new look this week. The site a lots of interesting cultural articles about the Land of Smiles and some recipes too. Check it out here.

* This photo has nothing to do with Thailand Musings. It is just a comedy photo of me in Thailand from last April. I'm about to enter a water fight with 5,000 other people. Despite the police protection, I lost.

Birthday and Bar Review: Green & Red

Last night I went to Green and Red Mexican Bar and Cantina, near the corner of Bethnal Green Road and Brick Lane, for my friend Emily's birthday. It is actually the second time I have visited the bar. I last went two years ago when I had dinner there for another former flatmate, Ed's, birthday.

Last night it was all about the downstairs bar. It is a very understated and cool venue with a relaxed atmosphere. The music was really up my street, a mix of funky house with a Latino vibe. I stuck to beer, but the bar is known for its cocktails and selection of tequillas.

My only citicism would be that the music was slighly too loud for us to talk freely.

Green and Red is run by the same group who own the Hawksmoor, which is an exceptional steak restaurant near Spitalfields Market. I last visited The Hawksmoor before I created this blog and have been looking for an excuse to return ever since so that I can review it for you..

Preventing another Civil Serf?

I tried to visit my blog today and work had blocked access to it. I had a momentary panic attack when I thought it was just my site, but then I realised it was the whole of Blogspot.

I can still view blogs via Google Reader but when you can't comment it doesn't quite feel the same.

US Visa: An alien with extraordinary abilities

I went to get my visa at the US Embassy yesterday. I had heard very mixed stories about applying for a US visa. Some people had told me that it was all plain sailing and others spoke of consular officials sending you away on minor technicalities seemingly taking sadistic pleasure in making you return another day.

I first had to clear security. Thankfully they seem to be removing all of the unsightly concrete bollards that have been blocking Grovesnor Square for the past six years and replacing them with some more attractive protective landscaping. The British policeman were all quite jovial and I think find all of the security measures a bit ridiculous. While the private security firm, who were providing the airport style security, were even more lax. The placed my bag in the x-ray machine, laughed and joked between themselves, and passed it to me as it came out without looking at the monitor once. I could have had anything in there!

Inside the Embassy it was all very painless, if a bit slow. I had to wait for 1hr 3omins to see an administrative clerk who checked all my documentation and took my finger prints. Then it was another hours wait before I got to see the Consular Official. My interview lasted all of three minutes (meticulous documentation!), paid my fee and I was on my way!

While I was at the Embassy I met a British girl who lives in New York and was back in the UK for three weeks to renew her visa. She is an alien with extraordinary abilities. I have a much more boring sounding E-2 visa.

An Englishman in New York

Those of you that know me well will probably be aware of my on / off New York saga. In the first bit of concrete news, I'm finally going to get my visa on Tuesday.

Still no idea when I will be leaving. Or how long I'll be staying in New York for. It would be no fun if this move was straight forward!

Interview with a Thai Policeman

I've just read an interesting article by Steve Cleary who does a two part interview with a Thai Policeman here and here.

This man is putting his life on the line for £260 per month busting drug dealers. He has to work an 8hr shift every day of the month with no time off, doesn't get any choice over where in the country works and seems to have to buy most of his own equipment.

I thought I would quote the bit below:

Many foreigners want to know this one in regards to policemen’s guns, bikes, uniforms etc… – What is Free and What is not?

The motorbike is free (patrol police = 2 cops/1 bike) but at the end of our shift we have to return the bike to the station. Only if we have special permission from our bosses can we take the thing home. As for petrol, we get 1,200baht in allowance each month (for one bike) but this is no way enough, on average we spend around 100 baht a day on gas. When we become a cop we get a gun for free, but because it is usually old and scrappy, if we have the money, we buy our own. If we lose it (same goes for the bike, walkie-talkie etc…) we have to pay for it and the police force charges us cops the full-price for anything lost. Take this battered police walkie-talkie which is probably worth just 3-4,000 baht (he shows me) if I lose it, I have to pay around 18,000 for it!
The police do have to pay for their own bullets (1 = 38baht) but in the case of special gun training we are given them for free. As for uniforms and boots etc…. we have to pay for all that out of our own pockets. One uniform costs around 1,800baht and a pair of boots is 1,500

I'm not making any judgements about where this is fair or not, better or worse than the Police in other countries, I just thought it was pretty interesting.

Brockley: The Bold Shopping Experiment

Having given away my car for the next four months and not needing any heavy or hard to find items I thought I would give Sanisburys a miss and see if I could do my weekly shop in a combination of The Shop on the Hill, Degustation and Dandelion Blue in Brockley this morning.

I was actually surprised at how well I got on. The three shops are selling quite a complimentary range of goods and you could pick up most things in a friendly atmosphere. They are all aiming at the premium end of the market so it was quite expensive, but there are some bargains to be had. I think the bread in Degustation is good value, as is the freshly sliced ham in Dandelion Blue.

I managed to get the fresh vegetables I wanted, but there isn't a very wide selection to be found. It must be difficult to stock a good range of vegetables when you aren't selling large volumes.

Brockley is definitely missing a good butcher or somewhere to buy fresh meat. Both The Shop on the Hill and Dandelion Blue sell a limited selection, but neither had what I was looking for. I had to make a trip to Drings in Greenwich this afternoon to buy what I wanted.

I am not sure I will be attempting it every week, but it was a fun little experiment and the shops are definitely good for buying treats and for when you can't face the supermarket.