Past recent trips... Recently past trips.... Trips past and recent......

Past recent trips... Recently past trips.... Trips past and recent....Part 1

As I said I would do things a bit in reverse so going back to my last work trip the one prior to me being in the Congo....

I've been back to Malawi for work.... No pleasure just work, I wont detail what the work is; just the usual I.T. stuff, although I must say a weekend sitting by the pool,of a very passable hotel ( Mount Soche Hotel) in Blantyre while a bit boring was very relaxing.

Hotel

Hotel gardens

Chumba - Fish

Hotel Gardens

Menu - Fish and seafood are officially different

Gardens

Sorbet for pudding

 But as I say it was just work as usual, but the view from my office window does give leave for a bit of distraction.

View from Office window

Next time I go up I will endeavor to have a bit more to report on as I will take Pam with me, get a car and travel into the hinterland of Malawi i.e. up to the lake.

Then Pam decided we needed a bit of us time so prior to going to the Congo she took us to the Drakensberg for a bit of a break..........

Lubumbashi - Democratic Republic of Congo

Lubumbashi - Democratic Republic of Congo

Well here we go again, actually I didn't stop going .... been working in Malawi holidaying in the Drakensberg now working in the Congo, and let me apologise for the months of quiet... No I don't have an excuse...... and as usual no jewellery work on the horizon to speak of just lots of travel so....... 

As I said here we go again, I will relate over a couple of future blog entries - the last month of travels in reverse its easier that way.

I am currently in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), and how ironic it is that as I write I am sitting on the pool deck of the hotel (Le Grand Karavia Hotel) having a quiet beer as the sun goes down and my wife is updating me on the war going on in the north east with refugees pouring out into Uganda, all is amazingly quiet and peaceful here.
It is a bit surreal for me I must say, I've fought in a war so I know what it's like, now here I am sitting on a pool deck, sun going down, beer going down and a couple of hundred kilometers north a war is being fought...... Interesting.......

Interesting aside, not only are the journalists Tweeting about it as it progresses, but the M23 Rebels who are busy fighting are also tweeting about it.....interesting/odd/surreal....

Rebel Army Tweet

Beer on the pool deck

But anyhew back to my raison d'être I am here to do a site survey prior to confirm viability for installation of a new network and data storage system for our (my company) office located in the DRC.

The flight was "interesting" at best.... PS I like to call any situation going from yawn to the horrific "interesting"
The flight itself was just one long yawn 1164km of yawn in a plane powered by an elastic band (propeller powered).

I progressed through a good number of pages of Les Miserables interspersed with a few dropping off to sleep moments - flying does that to me - put me in a plane and I go to sleep.

Wheels down... coming into land, outskirts of Lubumbashi below

But the landing that was "interesting".......

Then into the hotel beside an idyllic lake........

Hotel

Lake in front of the hotel

Pool Area

Typical street scene on the way into town

 After a sizable bit of work we headed out for lunch at a nearby restaurant, where I had a local fish for lunch called Tilapia, absolutely delicious.

Restaurant for lunch

Beach Volleyball and soccer area next to the restaurant, lake in the back ground

Tilapia Lunch

So here we are .......

Location:Lubumbashi Democratic Republic of Congo