The boy(s) is(are) back in town

Hi All,

I could definitely say I’ve felt better than I do right now. Last weekend, 15 of us ventured to Borneo to climb Mount Kinabalu. This was definitely the hardest thing I have ever done – I think the only thing I could compare it to is childbirth!! 8.8km distance and around 1.5km vertical. Going up in the rain, heat and altitude was tough….coming down was tougher – but the view at 5am for sunrise was certainly worth it. Pics will follow on FB when I’ve sorted through the 500 or so I took! You may get (un)lucky and see the ones of when I became a bit delirious up the top and while everyone was wrapped up warm as if they were going to go skiing, I decided to strip down to my boxers….

Talking of photos, I’ve signed up for a photography course. It’s pretty interesting and I compare it to driving a car. The basics are pretty easy to get a handle on, but moving up the curve is like trying to do 200mph at Monza without wrapping your car round a lamp-post.

I have actually had 2 other trips in the last few weeks since I wrote. The first was to a private island called Pangkil. 35 expats out here hired it out for the weekend and it was great fun. Then for Chinese New Year, a few of us headed to Boracay in the Philippines. A mission to get there involving many a plane, taxi and boat, but fine white sands and crystal blue seas made it worth the effort. See the pictures below.

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=60635&id=512991087&l=aa393

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=64242&id=512991087&l=6e386

I’m back in the UK/Europe in a couple of weeks so would be great to catch up. Plan is to fly into Paris for Fri 27th Feb to watch the France v Wales rugby game and spend a weekend there with the boys and my parents. Then I come to London for the week of Mon 2nd March to work in the office. Then back to Paris to see Diana and head down to the Alps to go skiing with Nick and Greg (and Dionne?) before flying back to Singapore. Let me know if anything interesting is going on

All the best, Jamie