16 November 2007

Well we are together again. After a gruelling few days of long haul flying, the plane is resting as well as her crew back in Cairo and it seemed like a good time to fly Laurel out for a visit to her old summer place. First the flight work. Dale flew to Macau last week and required 10 overflight clearances from all of the countries enroute. The city leaves a bit to be desired and all agreed that Hong Kong had more charm. Nevertheless the fact that the Portugese have made such a significant imprint on the area is fascinating. There are only two languages at most places and one isn't English. The casinos are popping up in grand Las Vegas fashion. All the big names and even bigger buildings yet somehow the Chinese gambling culture seems a bit more serious and the city still hasn't captured the animated entertainment that it is seeking. I took a side trip across the border to China where I had good fun bargain shopping. A fine set of golf tools have been added to my collection, still no help to my game but they look perrdeee. The return flight took us up north as the routing was quite bizarre. You wouldn't think flying from Macau to Barcelona would require a stop in Riga Latvia up on the north coast but we were compelled to fly that way and after 13.5 all nighttime flying hours, we made haste to our boutique hotel in Spain for a short rest, walk thru the city and off to Egypt once again. So now we are here and Laurel has flown in to enjoy the weekend with our Cairo friends. The JW Marriott treats us so well here. When they found out Laurel was coming, they prepared the room with rose pedals - even on top of the poured foam bath, and delivered, fruit and a cake which made me look like a saint. Next morning we golfed in the most glorious weather. Since we had been in Cairo over the smoggy hot summer, we never appreciated the fine November weather they enjoy. Clean air, mild breeze and 25 degrees. Tonight, we leave for the Grand Cafe on the Nile for dinner and drinks with coworkers and friends. We hope to see Neil and MaryJean Crouch tomorrow. They are the fine folks from Comox that emigrated here after Neil finished teaching Joel his Highschool Art Classes. We'll let the photos say the rest.