I’m back in the UK, for a couple of days at least. Will have to head out to Singapore, Bangkok and Istanbul over the next few weeks as part of my project. I’m not sure I’ll see anything besides the inside of the office and the hotel, but at least I’ll collect a few frequent flyer miles for my trouble.

International jetsetters that we are, Aude and I met at the airport yesterday morning. She was flying in from NY, I was flying in from Singapore. After spending most of the day in a jetlag-induced haze, we went out to dinner to celebrate her birthday. Given that our body clocks were 12 hours out of sync with one another, we spent most of the meal with me falling asleep into my plate (and without any appetite) and Aude absolutely ravenous because her body thought it was lunchtime.

Back to work tomorrow (boo!)

Another day, another room service meal. This time, a seafood bouillabaisse.

For the record, bouillabaisse is an incredibly difficult word to spell, as I’ve just discovered as I tried to type it for this blog.

Bouillabaisse

Hats off to the chef. Room service or not, it’s one of the best bouillabaisses I’ve ever had, and it’s loaded with no fewer than three lobster tails. Mmmm. (Although I secretly fear that there are three lobsters out there in little lobster wheelchairs, having given up their tails for my dinner.)

It was a bloody long day today — we’ve got a workshop on Weds/Thu/Fri this week and so we’re all working away feverishly to get everything ready in time for all the bigwigs to fly in on Friday and pass their verdict. Not helped by the fact that I decided to watch “The Good Shepherd” last night, not realising that it’s about 4,000 hours long. So my ‘early night’ turned into a reasonably late night… Not the best way to start the week.

My client is full of a cold and spluttering everywhere. My colleague has already succombed. It’s only a matter of time before I catch it…

What to do on a rainy Saturday in Singapore? Singapore Science Centre, I thought, hoping to catch the new Imax movie about the possibility of a massive hurricane in New Orleans (filmed three months before Katrina) and it’s post-Katrina follow-up. Since I was going all the way out there, I thought I’d go around the museum as well to see what was on offer.

The short answer was: not much, if you’re over nine years old. I was the only person there without small children in tow. The only exhibits that I found really interesting were the ones that were sponsored by corporate sponsors and clearly aimed at a different audience – I learned quite a lot about oil production from the exhibit sponsored by Shell, and even learned a lot about the work that my former company did to help them maximise their existing oil assets.

I also discovered the “Pharmacopeia Arts” exhibit, sponsored by GSK and Roche. It’s no wonder Aude went into pharmacy. When clever pharmaceutical companies can combine the wonders of chemical science with a little fashion, it becomes the obvious career choice for any teenage girl…

The “Pharmacopeia Arts” exhibit at the Singapore Science Centre

The CNS (Central Nervous System) Cowboy Hat!

The CNS (Central Nervous System) Cowboy Hat!

The Diabetes Spaghetti Strip

The Diabetes Spaghetti Strip

The Antibiotics Handbag (Prada it ain’t!)

The Antibiotics Handbag

Still, it was worth it all to catch the film – “Hurricane on the Bayou” – that was showing. It was absolutely amazing – both the breath-taking cinematography and the excellent documentary coverage of Katrina and her aftermath. The Imax experience really brought Katrina to life in a way that even visiting New Orleans in person couldn’t. If this movie comes to an Imax theatre near you, definitely catch the film.

I had my camera around my neck as I walked around Singapore… Here are a few more shots.

The famous Singapore Merlion, shot from across the harbour outside my hotel

Singapore skyline at sunset

Singapore skyline at sunset

The Singapore Merlion

The Singapore Merlion by night

Streetlights