Gothenburg

I have been working for a Swedish company for over a year now and have only been to Sweden once. I completed my second trip to Sweden last week. This time I went to Gothenburg and in fact went to the offices for the first time. The last time I was in Gothenburg we were off-site at a conference venue. This time I was also off-site but this time managed to get to the office and meet some of the people.

It was interesting for me that the team I was meeting worked in a cube farm.  Most of the marketing people I had come into contact with had worked in an office. This cube farm however had 'quiet rooms' along the way which enabled one to take phone calls and make phone calls to customers without bothering others or being bothered by others.

The breakaway was quite nice. Again I was in Sweden at the start of the spring.  The worst of winter was over and the weather was quite mild although a little chilly from a South African point of view.  The trees had not yet started blossoming but there was no snow on the ground so I expect that the spring will come into force within the next month or so.

The place we went to for our conference was called Mölnlyke.  The hotel itself was called Hallsnas and was quite a lovely conference venue. As the 'activity' (which is de regeur in Sweden) we did some archery with an Olympic silver medalist. It was fun and way better than the expected Swedish male bonding cliche of sauna or hot tub!

Indonesia - 1

I have travelled in various Asian countries before, but this is my first time in Indonesia. I almost came here about 7 years ago on a business trip. but it did not happen. So after such a long time, I am finally here. This is a short three day trip - a stopover if you will - before my trip to Singapore.

It takes a long time to get here. A two hour flight from Cape Town to Johannesburg, then a two hour wait in Johannesburg before a twelve hour flight to Singapore. There one waits at the interminable Changi Airport for another two hours before flying about another hour and a bit to Jakarta. So all in all a long trip.

Arriving at the airport in Jakarta was fairly pleasant. The airport is neat and tidy and very well signposted. As one approaches immigration there are payment points for the payment of visa on arrival. A cost of 25 USD (or as I did 35 Singapore Dollars) gets you a visa. This you then take with your passport to the immigration desk which is right next door. This also went smooth and seemlessly.

There was a short wait for the bags on a long conveyor belt. There were actually some of the people on the flight who had come all the way from Cape Town with me. So I was surprised that I was not the only one doing that routing.

The hotel taxi was waiting for me - they had my name on a board and everything. So I was quite happy that it worked out quite well. I was so very tired. but managed to get to the very comfortable Alhambra Hotel - check in, and get some rest. Fortunately, just before getting to sleep, I got a call from the guy who was to meet me. He told me that they were going to church and he would meet up with me later in the day. I took a welcome rest, got some sleep and awoke four hours later, refreshed and ready to meet Lars and his family.

I had a wonderful dinner at their house which his three daughters cooked for me. We spoke about work and God and it was a wonderful dinner and visit. I got back to the hotel feeling fully satiated and ready for a good night's rest. I chatted to a long lost friend on Skype who had been through quite a lot over the past three years since I last saw him. My news too was quite a lot that had happened, but it was good to hear from him again. After then chatting to my wife and sorting out some issues at home - I got into bed and slept like the dead.