29.2.2008 von Jean Jacques.

Just came back from a week’s holiday in Egypt on the Red Sea. Went to El Gouna a few miles away from Hurghada which is very convenient since there is a direct connection between Hannover and Hurghada.

The plan was, despite winter there, to enjoy some sunshine and not do too much.

and indeed this is exactly what went on.

I did like the look of that bar…

Took however the opportunity to make a day trip to Cairo. Flying over the desert is always quite an experience. I do not think any photos can really show the colors and vastness of it all. By the way I used PAS (Petroleum Air Services) to fly from Hurghada to Cairo and would not recommend it to anyone. I shall in fact write a letter to complain about the lack of safety.

Cairo of course is an enormous town with 18+ million people. The pollution as can be seen on these photos is pretty bad.

However it does have quite a few things of interest and in particular the Egyptian Museum. To be recommended to anyone interested in ancient Egypt.

And of course the pyramids of Giza just outside town…

and the Sphinx… Rumors are that the nose was broken / shot down by some of Napoleon’s troops. This is completely untrue.

The last day was spent back in El Gouna. I think I would not mind going back there and this time maybe rent a house, rather than go for a all inclusive hotel (this is really not my type of things).

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18.2.2008 von Jean Jacques.

Had to shoot off to Berlin early this morning to pick up a new passport from the French Consulate. Did not have time for myself though, only time for a coffee on the PariserPlatz next to the consulate. Despite the miserable weather, the drive was good and fast. I made it back to the office by lunch time.

We should not forget how it looked like not so long ago when the wall was still up…

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17.2.2008 von Jean Jacques.

Saturday February 16th

Last day today and no work so there is little else to do but laze around the pool.

My flight back is not till 2am on sunday which means I have the whole day for me.

Friday February 15th

Found some time late afternoon to explore a little bit of the town. The traffic is so bad and the road so congested that it takes you hours to get anywhere.

Thursday February 14th

Made it to the office within 30 minutes today, which is this week’s record. The official average speed in town is 12.7 km/h.

Wednesday February 13th

Work work work. I am given to understand that it is sunny and hot outside.

Made it downtown in the evening (almost a 2 hours drive) for dinner at Delhi Darba on Colaba Causeway. Thank you for the tip Bob. Back at the hotel for a night cap around midnight. There was another wedding reception (the 3rd one this week) with approx. 2000 guests.

Quite a spectacle to watch.

Tuesday February 12th

Landed in Mumbai at 1am on Tuesday morning. Woke up to a fairly nice view of the Arabian sea. Could have done with a snooze on the beach but had to go to work instead.

Mumbai is as I imagined it would be. Very poor, dirty and very very busy.

People appear to be very nice though. Did not have any time to explore though.

Another wedding reception at the hotel this evening. Had dinner outside watching it all.

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10.2.2008 von Jean Jacques.

Amazing mild temperatures this weekend. Did a bit of clearing up in the garden and was able to enjoy a couple of beers sitting outside.

I also took the plunge and signed on with “Facebook“. It was worth it straight away as I bumped into my niece Marine… Also found Graham and his son as well as my sons.

Anyway early night tonight as I am off early to the airport tomorrow morning.

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9.2.2008 von Jean Jacques.

Feels like spring here today. I have even been working in the garden for a short while. After 3 weeks at home I am off again next week. Another first for me since I am going to India (Mumbai) for the first time. It is going to be a hard working week but I hope I can manage to see a bit of it all.

Apart from that, I have decided on a Chinese name.

Also, the Le Mans series have announced that there will be an event for the first time this year in Shanghai on the new track where a 1000 km race will take place at the beginning of November. I wonder if I shall be around for it…

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3.2.2008 von Jean Jacques.

I have been battling with a nasty computer virus for the past few days, but I think I did win in the end. Apart from that, I am more than overworked and have had little time for anything else.

Nothing really new to report regarding my move to Shanghai. I shall be there at the very beginning of March for a few days and hope I can find the time between meetings to finalize an apartment.

Despite the busy schedule, went to a new restaurant in Hanover called Al Dar. Well worth recommending as the atmosphere and decoration is very nice, the staff friendly, not overpriced and the food is very good and different.

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