Nice people thread part 4 - sugar and spice and all things

Generali

Mallotum_X wrote: »

Not spotted anyone with Iceland coloured red, has anyone been (as a tourist), as we are thinking of going next year for a short break.

A couple of mates have been. Fantastic, especially the glacier apparently.

Don't put any money into their banks though.

PasturesNew

I guess if I'd lived somewhere near to good/cheap travel, it might have been something that "people did". e.g. if I'd lived near to a ferry port where they did day trips it might have been commonplace as a teenager/young adult for groups to say "let's go on the boat this weekend" instead of sitting in a pub.

I lived in a small village and even the last bus back from town was at 10.30pm or so. No boats, no train, no airport. Travel wasn't something that was part of the lives of anybody I knew. And I've no actual desire to go alone anywhere... especially as I am awkward with strangers (who can find my thinking annoying).. And then it costs a lot of money to travel, so I've never bothered.

lostinrates

IT finally have sorted out dh's computer to go under or over or around the firm's skype ban, its just wonderful.

PasturesNew

lostinrates wrote: »

it finally have sorted out dh's computer to go under or over or around the firm's skype ban, its just wonderful.

fonesechs!!

Road_Hog

Mallotum_X wrote: »

Not spotted anyone with Iceland coloured red, has anyone been (as a tourist), as we are thinking of going next year for a short break.

My abiding memory of Iceland, is coming back home from Vancouver. There was a passenger onboard that hadn't bought insurance, and had felt ill before the flight. Basically he had heart disease and was too tight to pay for insurance. So although feeling very ill, he got on the flight and waited until we were close to Europe and then informed the staff that he was very unwell.

So, we all had a two hour delay (one hour for the divert and one hour on the ground) whilst we landed at Iceland and he was offloaded to go to the hospital. Several hundred people inconvenienced because he wouldn't buy insurance and check into a hospital.

I was up at the front bulkhead by the door and heard the steward asking (the medics) how much a pint of beer was, and the reply was £8 and that was December 2004. Don't think I'll be visiting Iceland any time soon.

lostinrates

PasturesNew wrote: »

fonesechs!!

well, not quite that wonderful, but now that office hours are over and he's working on his own time we are both just nattering and getting on with stuff at our own ends. Oh crikey, you did just remind me I left the elcetric blanket on a high setting when I turned it on an hour or so a go....better go and turn it down now...

michaels

No doubt for some very good corporate reason they decided to block the skype port and spend money implementing it, then they spend more money on IT support figuring out a way round it for FIR

Have to say I thought most would have travelled more than they have. I have an ex who visited Iceland for 2 days returning from the US having come over for the last month of my BUNAC trip and raved about it - I was most disappointed as I had been forced to take the 'official Bunac flight' at twice the price and no rejiavik stopover.

lostinrates wrote: »

IT finally have sorted out dh's computer to go under or over or around the firm's skype ban, its just wonderful.

lostinrates

michaels wrote: »

No doubt for some very good corporate reason they decided to block the skype port and spend money implementing it, then they spend more money on IT support figuring out a way round it for FIR
.

I just think its a stupid ban and its all been dealt with stupidly. There are huge numbers of people working away from home, not always without partners, although in that office in particualr there are lots of working week commuters from around EU who have left partners at home. It just seems stupid to make life more stressful and expensive for them. Although I've moaned a fair bit about this business there is lots more I haven't said and its been :mad:

Interestingly there was a memo about health care recently, saying too many people were ill too often...and it did occur to me that working people hard and making the environment more hostile couldn't be helping these figures. Its really interesting to see how culture has changed during the recession and how one or two people getting more power can change the atmosphere of a working environment.

zagubov

Road_Hog wrote: »

I was up at the front bulkhead by the door and heard the steward asking (the medics) how much a pint of beer was, and the reply was £8 and that was December 2004. Don't think I'll be visiting Iceland any time soon.

They largely shop in Glasgow of all places as its the nearest big shopping city that doesn't charge Scandinavian prices.

As regards the map, I'd mention I only get to include China because I visited Hong Kong and Macao. Never crossed into mainland China at all (thought it would be a bureaucratic nightmare).

Some scary construction work going on in those places. Multi-story scaffodling made of bamboo. Mate was in a lift in a building being constructed and the cable snapped and they all dropped until the brakes saved them. Very high death rate in the construction industry. Not a barrel of laughs.

Weirdest trip was (former) East Berlin after the wall came down. A NATO country full of Warsaw Pact soldiers. Like a Twilight zone episode!

Beautiful glamorous buildings that could be seen from the West and would house nightclubs or smart restautrants anywhere else. The nameplates were Bulgarian Trade Organisations or Cuban Fruit Importers Offices.:D

zagubov

Actualy guys if you've been to all those places can I shamelessly plug my Best Ideas I've Seen Abroad Thread so yiou can add anything you thought was done better in those countries than we do here

No salesmen will cal l:D
Plug over.:) .

Thanks BTW to those who already did post there.

PasturesNew wrote: »

fonesechs!!

Well done LIR on the restoration of Skype. In this day and age all liberal and broad-minded people agree that if consenting adults want to commit international telephony in private it's entirely a matter for them!