Author archive
17 July 2026
Repeating Tianjin’s Italian concession I headed out about 0730 to revisit some of the Italian buildings that we drove past last night. From my windowless room, I didn’t realise it was drizzling until I stepped out from the hotel. But it didn’t deter me. After crossing the river, I saw a building which I thought […]
16 July 2026
Going to Tianjin Last night was my second night sleep after flying east and it’s usually my worst sleep. I think I would have made it through the night without half a tablet halfway through the night if I hadn’t been worried about the early wake-up at 0630. D arrived late last night and today […]
15 July 2026
Slow start I woke a couple of times through the night, thinking that I had slept the whole nights but each time it had only been an hour or two. Surprisingly, I fell asleep till 0530 when I thought it would be a good time to wake up. It is 2330 in Poland, so I […]
14 July 2026
Arriving in Beijing About 2h30 before landing, the crew commenced the second service. It appears to be the Air China way to serve drinks, then the meal and follow-up with a second drinks round before collecting in. That means one doesn’t have a drink handy with the meal as there is no preset water. So, […]
13 July 2026
Yesterday was an easy day, spent partially indoors. I had started the day with the hotel breakfast which was cheap for Poland at PLN35 (NZD18). And I made good use of the hotel room. With the grey day, I did my rehab exercises and made good use of the internet before I go behind the […]
11 July 2026
I took one brief final walk around the scenic areas of Gdansk before breakfast, then left for the railway station around 0930 to catch the train around 1000. It was an uneventful ride in a conventionally-configured train to Warsaw Central, taking about 3h10. Time went quickly as I tried to find alternative accommodation in Beijing, […]
10 July 2026
Going to Malbork On the way here yesterday, I had spotted from the train, huge awesome brick castle. I looked it up and decided that it would be feasible to visit, if I consider myself to have seen enough of Gdansk. After an awesome night sleep, I woke at 0645 and was out at 0715 […]
9 July 2026
More of Lodz After my quick nightstop in Lodz, I move on to Gdansk by train today. But I have some time in the morning to explore a bit more. I walked to the south of the old city to a development called OFF (as it was off Piotrkowska Street). It’s a drinking and eating […]
8 July 2026
Leaving Belgium I reached the airport around 1045. Fearing the long waits that Kim experienced yesterday, I was delighted that everything went smoothly. It was a slow walk through crowds to get airside but there was no waiting for security. And because I was flying to Poland, another Schengen country, there was no immigration. I […]
7 July 2026
World Cup I woke up to news that Belgium had defeated (4-1) the USA in the World Cup. That wouldn’t normally mean much to anyone else but Belgium but it was significant to many people today because a few days ago, President Trump had contacted the FIFA head to have the red card given to […]