(Location: Shanghai, China) In June of 2014, I taught a mobile user experience design course in Shanghai. As with most of my work trips, the majority of my time was divided between the office, the Hilton, and a really unpleasant commute in between. We did manage to have a few good meals, one of which […]
(Location: Lake Tekapo, New Zealand) [one_half] [/one_half] Day 9: To Lake Tekapo From Queenstown we headed north, past disturbingly turquoise lake and rivers, to Lake Tekapo. We’d pre-booked a site, and it is a good thing we did because they were completely sold out. Our reason for this destination was that it is known for […]
(Location: Franz Joseph to Queenstown, New Zealand) [one_half] [/one_half] Day 8: Glacier Hike and Queenstown It was raining when we went to sleep, but blue skies and glacier views when we woke up in the morning. It was warm, sunny, and empty when we started the walk to the viewpoint, and clouding up, cooler, and […]
(Location: Weston to Franz Joseph Glacier, New Zealand) [one_half] [/one_half] Day 7: To the Glacier From Westport, we headed down the west coast of the South Island. The coastline here is breathtaking – steep cliffs, boulder-filled bays, and crashing surf. Our first stop was the blowholes and Pancake Rocks near Punakaiki. After a bit of […]
(Location: Wellington to Westport, New Zealand) [one_half] [/one_half] Day 6: From the North to the South Island The ferry from Wellington departed at 8am, and the crossing to Picton (on the South Island) took just over three hours. The sea was generally calm, but the boat had to travel very slow due to the narrow […]
(Location: Tongariro to Wellington, New Zealand) [one_half] [/one_half] Day 5: Easter Monday We continued south from Tongariro, past field after field after field of sheep. There are 7 million sheep in New Zealand. Pretty sure we saw 1/4 of them this day. Despite the hard lesson learned of being “homeless” on the first night in […]
(Location: Auckland to Rotorua, New Zealand) [one_half] [/one_half] Day 3: Heading South from Auckland We said a sad goodbye to the Hilton, with its fluffy towels, hot shower, and comfortable bed, and headed over to pick up the campervan. Those of you who know me know that I need a real incentive for camping and/or […]
(Location: Auckland, New Zealand) [one_half] [/one_half] In April of 2014, Good Friday, Easter Monday, and Anzac Day lined up nicely, meaning one could take three vacation days and get 10 days off in a row. This phenomena comes few and far between, so we took advantage of the time and headed to New Zealand. Because […]
(Location: Bangalore, India) In March of 2014, I taught a class in Bangalore. Unfortunately I spent the majority of the time at the hotel, office, and in traffic in between those two places. The most adventurous we got was a team trip to the city market… And our taxi driver disappeared so […]
(Location: Dubai, United Arab Emirates) In February of 2014, I was invited to teach a course in Dubai. In keeping with our “why not” philosophy, we decided to stay the weekend and visit with some friends in the area. Dubai is a quick (ha) 14 hour (7,251 miles / 11,669 km) flight from Melbourne. Arrival […]