A Few Days In Munich
Posted On Wednesday, November 29, 1989 at at 4:02 AM by AlvinI arrived in Munich to attend a Electronics conference here and Munich was absolutely swamped with people as this was the busy conference and exhibition period of the year - Paul, my room mate and I had no choice but to stay at The Sheraton, too bad ! Munich was freezing cold but luckily I had a few warm days to walk about the lovely churches and plaza.
Wine and Pearl - A week in Croatia
Posted On Sunday, September 10, 1989 at at 2:08 AM by AlvinI met my Serbian friend N, when I was studying for my Ph.D. at Surrey and he was on a Sabbatical Leave from Cambridge. We got on quite well, especially over a few glasses of red wine and even more famously on the topics concerning the opposite sex ! His wife coming from Zagreb, often cooked us a fantastic feast of Croatian foods !
When I first moved to Cambridge as a Post-Doctoral Fellow, I stayed at their apartment and we enjoyed many dinners together. It was through their recommendation that we visited their lands by the Adriatic Sea. In particular, we stayed on the lovely island of Korcula and made an enjoyable day trip to "The Pearl Of The Adriatic" - Dubrovnik. It was a lovely week-long vacation and we gained a better understanding of their home lands.
When I first moved to Cambridge as a Post-Doctoral Fellow, I stayed at their apartment and we enjoyed many dinners together. It was through their recommendation that we visited their lands by the Adriatic Sea. In particular, we stayed on the lovely island of Korcula and made an enjoyable day trip to "The Pearl Of The Adriatic" - Dubrovnik. It was a lovely week-long vacation and we gained a better understanding of their home lands.
The Cambridge Days
Posted On Sunday, August 6, 1989 at at 2:30 AM by AlvinCambridge (England) was a very nice town to live in and we spent 3 years here and met some interesting friends where the flow of beers was never fast enough to keep them happy. Below is a photo with the boys and girls: Dan (Low Temperature Physics), Paul (Nano Scale Semiconductors), Nalin (Optics expert) and Elke (an exchange student from Bonn enjoying learning her English from beer-induced slur-tongued Englishmen!).
We bought a house at the northern end of Cambridge near Newmarket Road and spent a few pleasant years exploring the city. We spent time walking around Parkers' Pieces, MidSummer Commons and the lovely greenery areas. Unfortunately Mandy had to commute to London to work and it was quite tiring for the poor girl. Often she was cheered up when she returned home and found the cats waiting by the door steps.
We bought a house at the northern end of Cambridge near Newmarket Road and spent a few pleasant years exploring the city. We spent time walking around Parkers' Pieces, MidSummer Commons and the lovely greenery areas. Unfortunately Mandy had to commute to London to work and it was quite tiring for the poor girl. Often she was cheered up when she returned home and found the cats waiting by the door steps.
Michigan (Ann Arbor) Conference
Posted On Saturday, July 15, 1989 at at 9:06 PM by AlvinBy a fluke of last minute luck, one of the professors (thanks Gerhard !) at the Cavendish Laboratory informed me that there was a last conference seat available at the Modulated Semiconductor Structures (MSS) conference in Ann Arbor and that the organiser there would fund for my accommodation and Cavendish would fund for my air fare !
Arrived in Detroit and was advised by the Airport Security Guards to: "Careful where ya go, in case ya get ya-self killed, ya hear ?"
Otherwise, the limousine to Ann Arbor was fine. I met up with the other conference attendees and amongst them was the Nobel Prize winner: Professor L. Esaki (of Esaki Diode fame) and it was an honour to attend his lectures during this conference. The conference dinner was superb and I made quite a few contacts from Japan and the US.
Arrived in Detroit and was advised by the Airport Security Guards to: "Careful where ya go, in case ya get ya-self killed, ya hear ?"
Otherwise, the limousine to Ann Arbor was fine. I met up with the other conference attendees and amongst them was the Nobel Prize winner: Professor L. Esaki (of Esaki Diode fame) and it was an honour to attend his lectures during this conference. The conference dinner was superb and I made quite a few contacts from Japan and the US.
Luxor And The Karnak Temple
Posted On Monday, April 3, 1989 at at 12:32 AM by AlvinWe almost did not want to get off the felucca as it was so relaxing sailing down The Nile ! But the sights of Edfu, The Valley of The Kings and The Karnak Temple were enough of an incentive I guess !
It was no wonder that so many fantastic stories surrounded the building of the Pyramids, the giant temples and the coding of the Egyptian hieroglyphics, as these sites contained artifacts which looked like they had been brought from a spaceship, how did any human manage to design and build these sites !
It was no wonder that so many fantastic stories surrounded the building of the Pyramids, the giant temples and the coding of the Egyptian hieroglyphics, as these sites contained artifacts which looked like they had been brought from a spaceship, how did any human manage to design and build these sites !
Sailing Down The Nile
Posted On Thursday, March 30, 1989 at at 12:19 AM by AlvinOn arrival from the overnight train from Cairo, we visited the Aswan Dam and the must-see sight of Abu Simbel, before boarding a Felucca to sail back down The Nile River. As the story went, Abu Simbel was completely transported, almost piece by piece, from the Upper Nile to make way for the building of the Aswan Dam, and was later accurately re-constructed and re-assembled, further down The Nile - impressive engineering !
The Nile being the source of life for the Egyptians, was teeming with activities and we saw Nubians farmers, fishermen as well as children springboarding into The Nile - a picture coming straight out from ancient times ! The banks of the Nile were either covered with green oasis or the land was populated with interesting riverside towns, the houses looked primitive but very were well organised and clean. Here's Mandy with a few girls she met on the felucca !
The Nile being the source of life for the Egyptians, was teeming with activities and we saw Nubians farmers, fishermen as well as children springboarding into The Nile - a picture coming straight out from ancient times ! The banks of the Nile were either covered with green oasis or the land was populated with interesting riverside towns, the houses looked primitive but very were well organised and clean. Here's Mandy with a few girls she met on the felucca !
Walk Like An Egyptian !
Posted On Tuesday, March 28, 1989 at at 12:12 AM by AlvinAfter the hard slog leading to the completion and award of my Ph.D., it was time to pick up our travels again. We flew in to Cairo and visited the famous Sphinx and Giza Pyramids. These were impressive sights and were somehow very familiar as we had seen and read so much about them for so long, they did not disappoint.
It was incredible to notice that the world famous Giza Pyramids were just 5 minutes walk from the nearest Cairo suburbs and if we had not been choosy in taking our pictures, we would have taken (in the photos) people's homes and terraces, probably with them eating dinners and watching TVs. As in many world renowned sights, the locals had a ring-side seat and they got to see the Pyramids EVERYDAY !
We left the tourists behind and ventured into these suburbs where we met many friendly school children and had a slightly better understanding of their lives lived under the shadows of the Great Pyramids. We would be taking the overnight train to Aswan tomorrow so we headed back to the hotel for an early night.
It was incredible to notice that the world famous Giza Pyramids were just 5 minutes walk from the nearest Cairo suburbs and if we had not been choosy in taking our pictures, we would have taken (in the photos) people's homes and terraces, probably with them eating dinners and watching TVs. As in many world renowned sights, the locals had a ring-side seat and they got to see the Pyramids EVERYDAY !
We left the tourists behind and ventured into these suburbs where we met many friendly school children and had a slightly better understanding of their lives lived under the shadows of the Great Pyramids. We would be taking the overnight train to Aswan tomorrow so we headed back to the hotel for an early night.
Celebrating With Old Friends From Stanbridge
Posted On Friday, February 24, 1989 at at 1:09 AM by Alvin
The Ph.D. thesis and oral examination went without many problems, only one question that I had to think for maybe, 5 minutes (it felt more like 5 hours when you didn't know the right answer, though) to come up with a satisfying answer. After the examination was over, party time with my old mates from boarding school days !
I had known Guy and Graham since my boarding school days in Stanbridge Earls School, Romsey. It was a boarding school of British traditions and I learnt to bully the juniors, jumped the dinner queue , turned on the cold water when the others were having a shower (no, just kidding); really, I learnt to play rugby, hockey, squash and even cricket in Summer while making sure I passed my A Levels. I would always remember that I was treated very well by the Headmaster and the teachers. As a result, I enjoy watching and following all these sports till this very day. Below is a photo of our winning Rugby Seven's team - I could recall their names this very day - Robert Myers, Adam Lee, Bill Drey, Chris Davis, Dave Waghorn and Anthony Smith, amazing !
In the shared dormitory, I was on the top bunk bed and Guy had the lower deck and countless funny stories resulted (we don't have enough kilobytes here for that now, I'm afraid). To compound matters further and made daily lives even more interesting, we shared the room with a heavy metal rocker ! I had since been converted to listen and even enjoyed at times, head-bang when LedZep and Black Sabbath were being played on the radio ! I guessed Marcus (the rocker) did a good job in converting me, he should be real happy to know that.
In the shared dormitory, I was on the top bunk bed and Guy had the lower deck and countless funny stories resulted (we don't have enough kilobytes here for that now, I'm afraid). To compound matters further and made daily lives even more interesting, we shared the room with a heavy metal rocker ! I had since been converted to listen and even enjoyed at times, head-bang when LedZep and Black Sabbath were being played on the radio ! I guessed Marcus (the rocker) did a good job in converting me, he should be real happy to know that.Here we were celebrating the completion of my Ph.D. over a great dinner cooked by Guy (in the middle). Cheers boys !
