The year in review, a delay yes, but so be it.
Top 5 experiences of 2010…
1. Greece. I love the place, have always been interested in the history and grew up with it through computer games and the like. It was great to finally be able to go there, visit the sites and spend some times on the amazing islands that litter the Aegean. Any excuse to go back and I’ll take it.
2. Spending over a third of the year in a hotel room in over 21 foreign countries. This year I travelled more than anyone else I know, visiting random places such as Karachi, Sao Paulo, Jeddah and Taipei all without spending a cent, awesome! Of course it was no holiday but it’s pretty cool to be able to do your job from a different country each week.
3. Oktoberfest in Munich; even though it was only one weekend that we spent there it was a fantastic weekend none the less. Beginning the weekend with Skydiving with a best mate you haven’t seen in years was good in itself but then to be followed by a day’s drinking in the Beer tents and no hangover on Sunday, priceless. Next year a must do on the list.
4. Supporting the All Whites throughout their 3 World Cup games, what a great experience that was to see the boys go so far and better yet to see the country get behind them throughout it all, long may it continue! To all those who thought they shouldn't win the Halberg Awards, live get real! It's about success against quality competition, when you only have a few other competitive nations or individuals competing, how is that success! The All Whites deserved it so suck it up and move on, or resign like some of you did who got your way for the last 20 years when NZ didn't compete on the international stage!
5. Living in a foreign country for the first time. Whilst the Danes pretty much all speak English, it has been an experience in a foreign country none the less. Different foods, drinks, cultures and ways of socializing have all meant that I’ve learnt a lot in the 6 months that I’ve been here.
Others experiences of note from this year:
1. Skiing in the Swiss Alps
2. Horse riding and dining in the Dubai desert
3. The general amount of weapons on public show in Karachi
4. 2 x 15 hour flights from Dubai to Sao Paulo and back in the space of 4 days
5. Both me and Dave being dominated at beer drinking by the local Taiwanese women from the office.
6. Seeing both ends of the socio economic spectrum right next to each other in Mumbai – 5 star hotel then right outside extreme poverty.
7. 2 hours in the Jeddah immigration line, tip for new travelers, when someone says ‘run’ when you get off the plane, do it! Otherwise it’s a good 2 hour wait in the immigration line for you
8. Extreme Earthquake in Taiwan whist up in a high rise! And what do I do, walk to the window to see if any buildings had fallen down…stupid Kiwi.
9. The Northern European winter – picturesque but damn annoying when it comes to cycling a road bike to work.
The awards for 2010 places to visit:
Best cities: Athens (see above), Sydney, London and Auckland (both great cities, clean, great weather, friendly public, safe and of course there’s no place like home.
Place I’d like to visit more of before deciding: Sao Paulo, we had a great night out and saw some pretty cool things during a half day travelling round but I simply didn’t stay long enough to make a decision on the place. Maybe a trip back in 2014 is on the cards? Dhaka also takes this award as if it wasn’t for the extreme congestion we might have actually been able to go further than 1km from the hotel.
Hottest women: Copenhagen followed by Munich and Sydney
Lack of women: Jeddah based purely on the fact that as a strict Islamic state, everyone’s covered up, for all I know they could be amazing but you can’t claim it if you can’t be seen.
Busiest city: Mumbai & London
Dirtiest city: Dhaka or Mumbai (too close to decide)
Most foreign city: Taipai or Qingdao, probably the most foreign of cities but at the same time everyone was very hospitable (except some random taxi drivers)
Friendliest city: Gothenburg, a shock entry but I don’t recall meeting a single rude person the entire weekend, what a great city.
Best beach: Greek Island by the name of Kefalonia, just north of Ithaca on the west coast of the Peloponnese, Greece.
City I feared most for my life: Hyderabad (only because the taxi driver was stoned & I thought he was going to careen of the side of the highway!) Surprisingly I felt quite fine in Karachi, thanks mainly in turn to the great bunch of expats that reside there.
Best food: hands down it has to be Greek; you just can’t beat a classic Greek salad, shwarma and Mythos beer on a hot day on the Greek Islands. Followed by some delicious Lebanese, surprisingly experienced in some great restaurants in Dubai.
Best restaurant: It’s a close one between Rhodes Mezzanine in Dubai or a Japanese place in Sao Paulo (I still can’t get over how good sashimi on Pringles can be!)
So now we’re moving into 2011 and of course the 2011 Bucket List has been released:
Bryan Adams Live in Concert
Take the weekend ferry to Oslo
Rock climbing out on the west coast of Norway
Watch the All Blacks dominate the World Cup
Head home to visit my new niece/nephew
Phil Collins Live in Concert - if he actually decides to put on a concert!
Complete all 6 continents (only Africa left now!)
Climb 1000m of a mountain higher than 2,000 m in the Swiss Alps
Visit Anton at Umea
Dog sledding & northern lights in the far north
Stay a night in an Ice Hotel
Run the Copenhagen marathon in under 3h 15m (May 22nd) - optimistic!
Have Sports Central business plan completed
See Liverpool play at Anfield
Have a 5 min conversation in French
Spend a weekend in every European country
Ride the Transfagarasan mountain road & visit the Peoples Palace in Romania
Swim in an ice pool in Russia
Visit the Eagles Nest in Bavaria
Visit some more of Greece
Spend the week at Oktoberfest
Tour Vietnam on a crappy old motorbike
Find a place to live (done!)
Pay off student loan (done!)
