Iguana relaxing

Chilling out in Puerto Escondido, Mexico. Trying to emulate the local iguanas, who can bask on a rock motionless for hours, it seems. Myself, I need regular infusions of Corona and Sol to keep me going. Pass the lime.

Boarding pass

Went on my first flight with OpenSkies last month. Being based in London, there hadn’t been much occasion to use the service before. But heading out to New York for a Board meeting, I decided to take the time to make a quick detour via Paris.

The service was excellent in every way. Great seats, food and wine and good service on the ground too. Of particular note was the friendliness and professionalism of crew. Overall, superb.

For more information pop over to the OpenSkies website on https://www.flyopenskies.com/splash

Shanghai smog from my hotel window

I was away from the UK for 61 hours on my recent trip to Shanghai, travelling out via Tokyo and back via Helsinki. This somewhat less than direct itinerary meant that I spent more than half the elapsed time at airports and on aircraft, giving me only one afternoon and an evening in Shanghai… by no means sufficient to do justice to this most dynamic of world cities.

It is four and a half years since I was last there, and a lot changes in China in that time. What was most noticeable to me was how much worse the smog was. A reminder perhaps of the downsides of China’s enormous and rapid economic development.

Or maybe I was just there on a bad day.

Lobby feature

We realised that it had been some time since we had escaped for a dose of sun and relaxation by the pool. With only a five day slot in our collective calendars, we were somewhat distance and time zone constrained and settled on a few days in Dubai. It had been over 10 years since we had been there as a family and a lot has changed in that time. We expected big and brash and Dubai delivered… with golden knobs on. We expected hot and got 44°C. We expected some of the best hotels in the world and got palatial rooms, fantastic food and an attached water park, complete with ziggurat. What we didn’t quite expect was how expensive the place has become, for example the cheapest bottle of wine on the menu was £40 and a beer was £8. Ouch.

Where is everybody?

It has been great to exchange the business pressures of surviving the credit crunch for the task of trying to stay upright whilst skiing an expanse of fresh powder. Although I must admit that there are some similarities to the two challenges, on the whole it has been a pleasant escape. However, it was impossible to avoid being constantly reminded of the world’s problems. Whether it was the ease of getting a table in the restaurants or the length of the queues for the lifts, there were signs everywhere of the downturn, even though this must have been one of the busiest weeks of the year. What has certainly not helped is the weakness of the pound: suddenly everything is 30% more expensive for us Brits, and Val d’Isère was far from cheap to start with. At least the shops were running sales, so Amanda and Laura got some rather nice new ski jackets with a 30% discount. That made me feel better, almost.

House

We spent the half term holidays in the States experiencing all that is best about the american lifestyle. We stayed first with friends in Pennsylvania and then with friends in Massachusetts. Highlights included glorious fall foliage, wonderful (huge!) houses and Halloween with pumpkin carving and trick or treating. Shame we couldn’t stay another couple of days and experience the finale to the US election.

London Eye

We have Laura’s French friend Anne staying with us at present, which gave us a chance to do the “tourist thing” in London yesterday. Luckily, the weather continues to oblige and we had a great day. Madame Tussauds, lunch at Chez Gerard’s in Covent Garden and then a walk through the wonderfully reborn South Bank for a trip on the Eye. I love London in the summer.

Armadillo

Visited Houston to celebrate now being able to operate the route from Heathrow. Evening entertainment involved Armadillo racing. Very strange. I am in orange on the left and despite appearances, my Armadillo did in fact come through to win!

Dolphins

It is supposed to be one of the things you need to do before you die. I can definitely recommend it. This dolphin’s name was ‘Rascal’ and he was a real character. Fantastic!