Africa ... back on the road again ...

Picture 74773, originally uploaded by John Foong.

Back to Africa ... time for another 2 week TechnoServe project; lots of flying and 4WD-ing, crafting innovative solutions, and learning.

I'm a pretty darn lucky guy :)

Coconuts, everywhere!

Picture 75158, originally uploaded by John Foong.

Half of my project has been to explore how we could possibly get cocnuts replanted. Who would've thought that some 10-15% of the 20 million population are (i) dependent on coconuts and (ii) have never planted (successfully) a coconut tree?

Well ... problem to solve. Travelling to central Mozambique to check out who's doing it right ... and what we can do about it! :)

Eating cashew - fruit!

Picture 74639, originally uploaded by John Foong.

Yes, believe it or not - cashews are FRUITS as well as nuts. You learn something new everyday!

Enjoying Northern Mozambique - Pemba, this beautiful beach town - and checking out how cashews get replanted (pictured here with some government officials assisting the project). It's a tough one :)

Return to Oz!

Picture 74209, originally uploaded by John Foong.

Coming back to Sydney feels weird. Maybe it’s the jet lag? No seriously, it’s kind of like I never left – I still remember where all the groceries are kept in the aisles of my local Woolworths, loving playing my piano again. Despite all my traveling the last 20 or so months, Sydney remains very much home.

It was great to catch up with people, usual lawn bowls party, etc, etc.

And now ... off again, for another adventure! :)

Goodbye London (eye)

Picture 73849, originally uploaded by John Foong.

London ... it is a great city, particularly in summer (except on the underground tube service, where it’s like an oven).

I saw many musicals (6!)
... went to Wimbledon (though more time was spent queuing than watching tennis!)
... “sampled” much of London’s nightlife
... and made lots of friends (at least 3.5, at last count – that’s a 150% improvement!) …

Will miss you :)

Goodbye London Interns!

Picture 73821, originally uploaded by John Foong.

(pictured here on the London eye, this big cartwheel type thing that goes high above London!)

Google work was great … But what I enjoyed even more than the work was the culture. There were about 25 summer interns in London, and together they took us to musicals, tours of the city, dinners, parties, etc … great fun, and really cool people. The Google offices themselves are amazing places. Apart from the obligatory foosball table/pool table/giant connect 4, one of my best “friends” there was our Japanese massage chair –Shiatsu and I became very close. Apart from that, what other places give you free (unlimited … oh yeah) breakfast and lunch, with chocolate, fruit and a wide selection of snacks and soft drinks 24 hours a day? It was just like Vegas! (with some obvious differences)

The Netherlands ... land of windmills, and, um, contrabands

CNV00004, originally uploaded by John Foong.

Angie and I were lucky to even get to Amsterdam, given that the terrorist threat on London occurred just 48 hours earlier. In fact, both of our flights (in and out of Amsterdam) were cancelled – I just sneaked onto the non-Heathrow Saturday morning flight, and we had to fly out of Rotterdam (the #2 city in the Netherlands) on Sunday night instead. This initially seemed inconvenient, but actually was kind of cool as it gave us an excuse to visit Rotterdam and The Haig on the way.

Amsterdam is pretty unique. Apart from having canals everywhere (the greatest volume of canals in any city in the world!), it has drugs galore (some drugs have been legalized there). On almost every corner you’ll find a “coffee shop” which – as you might be able to guess – sells “cake”, and of course, coffee (I mean actual coffee; this isn’t a veiled reference to something more sinister).

Don't cry for me Barcelona

Picture 74062 - me posing in front of that lit up parliament building thing, originally uploaded by John Foong.

(picture - me in front of this old building they light up during summer, incredibly so!)

This place is unbelievable. Apart from beaches, a huge mall that leads from the city all the way to the harbour (La Rambla), some of the most unconventional architecture in Europe (this genius guy called Gaudi made all these buildings based on natural art forms – like lizards and caves and stuff), and a non-stop night life – we ate dinner around 11pm each night; it’s a place with fascinating history.

(Short soliloquy: I never knew I’d get so much into architecture and history, but I think traveling in Europe makes you do it. I even started reading history books each week – I think I read about 10 books over the summer!)

Another highlight was seeing FC Barcelona’s football stadium – the largest (apparently?) in Europe at 120,000. Ronaldinho sends his regards …