When I look back, I feel very fortunate to have had some amazing experiences and met some fantastic people around the world in the course of my work.

One of my roles before I moved to Hastings saw me traveling to the Cook Islands for work – delightful, it is a place I love to holiday!

We did work hard on the work trip though, with the good folk at the embassy and in the Cook Islands Government Departments, to make sure that we could assist with funding and expertise for some crucial infrastructure projects.

I have also been fortunate enough, while working for Allen & Clarke, to undertake contracts with the World Health Organisation (W.H.O.) in Ha Noi and Beijing, and contract negotiations for the Union in Bangkok.

The best part for me was getting to know some of the local people. There are some amazing and very clever and hard-working people working in government, NGOs and WHO trying to help make part of their local wold a better place.

From a tourist perspective, seeing the places was also brilliant. I found a smile and friendly attitude was a great way to make everything better. The xe om (which I was told literally means “motorcycle hug”) scooter taxi drivers in Vietnam wondering why I would (in the humid heat) walk a kilomere or so to the office, who stopped trying to sell me a lift and smiled and waved, once they’d seen me wearing an Ao Dai (the lovely Vietnamese traditional outfit).  Stallholders selling me things, where we’d negotiate in a friendly bargaining session, who were amazed to find me paying more than I’d negotiated them down to (for 50 cents or $1 NZ, the bargaining had to be done, but didn’t have to be stuck to!).  The lovely lady in the store at my motel in Beijing, who I bought an amazing red padded chinese jacket from, where we tried to teach each other some English / Mandarin…

Above – a few photos from 2 weeks in Ha Noi, which went far too quickly.

Below – a very few of the photos from my 4 (3+1) months in Beijing and some of the friends I made there.

One weekend in Bangkok… well a few days, including some weekend “downtime” ahead of our negotiations. So many juxtapositions, old and new.