Singapore in Beijing

Loads of things have happened since my last BLOG entry. To cut it short, at least for the moment, I am still profiting from a terrific time in the "capital of the north", lots of learning opportunities and all this among a great cirle of friends in an interesting, since sometimes inspiring while sometimes "surprising" country.

One of the memorable moments lately was the visit of one of my dear Swiss buddies, Päddele aka CK aka PatriCK in Beijing. He is currently working for DHL Singapore, who, for whatever reason have decided to make him managmene Assistant in the CEO office. Well, I guess they will find out later on, once it's too late.. ;) Congrats Buddy!! Ah, you probably all know the feeling: you meet someone again that means a lot to you, after a long period of time at a place where you wouldn't have really imagined meeting, ever (Well, the latter may be a big word in a world as small as the current one): Terrific! It was also a pleasure to meet new people with whom Echo and I, as Parkie expressed it, "clicked" from the very beginning of this weekend:

• The infamous Aditi, sweet looking but with a devilish tendency and an iron fist... ;)
• Shweta aka Gupta - calm, for the ones that do not know her, witty, charming (well, not if you happen to be her victim of the moment... ;) and more straight forward as every German can ever be.
• The German, who is actually Korean but, no, really German Parkie aka Wei qi master.

Some of my memories of this weekend, that actually lasted from Saturday until Wednesday (nice weekends they have down there in Singapore, hey;)

• How to destroy an apartment in 4 days - Up to 8 persons in Echo's two bedroom apartment. The result was a big, fat but incredibly "homey" mess. YES, people come over (again) and feel inspired!
• International cooperation - when authoritarian sweeties talk, subjects have every reason to fear. Cooperation, secretive and hideous, among subjects will continue. YES, times will change (sometimes)... ;)
• The fall of a "champion" - While Swiss may not yet be experienced enough, Korean/German breeds are of a different calibre. Our sweet, self-proclaimed Wei Qi master Echo lost, lost, lost (have I (who has lost twice against her so far) already mentioned it: LOST. Hard defeat in the early morning. YES, after the defeat against Parkie, the one against a Swiss will follow..
• Feeling welcome in Beijing implies (getting to) know(ing) Baijiu - First time in Beijing? Even first time in China (even though this does not really matter)? You need to get to know the infamous (and incredibly yäääääk) Baijiu. While eating a savoury Beijing duck we, my mei mei aka sis Sheila and I, made sure that CK, Aditi, Shweta and Parkie really felt welcome and at home. 4 shots of Baijiu it was. YES, Shweta was even funnier afterwards and Parkie, well, let's talk about the colour of the Chinese national flag.. ;)
• Cheap flight to Singapore and how to get some additional holiday - You have any info about either one of the two? Let me know!

A pleasure it was! Anytime again!