The Butt Ugly Weblog

I did a lot of business traveling from Calif to Asia and Europe in the 80s and 90s. I met with a lot of the people who did installation and maintenance on the systems my firms were selling. In every location GB, F, D, E, CZ, DK, S, CH, Singapore, Japan, Australia, Tibet and half a dozen sites in China and more) these people would organize evenings and weekend entertainment - little trips to their favorite restaurants and shops, jaunts to museums, favorite nature walks, local sports events, whatever. Life was never boring and was never lonely.

My fallback plan, one that was very rarely used, was to contact my friend in town, who has done more traveling than Fodor, for tips on a particular locale. One tip he gave me I actually used in London when I was doing a lot of work with IBM. Half a dozen of us had been working together for several days getting the equipment ready for BABT to test. The last day we finished about 4 and I suggested that we head over to the Waldorf on the Strand. They complained that it would be way over budget but I convinced then that it would be worth it. At that time the Waldorf had a prix fixe "pre-theater" dinner for about 13 pounds sterling, not a bad price at all. It was a traditional four-course meal, including a glass of wine and a sherry with the cheese. At the end they would roll in several different carts for you to select desserts to die for, liqueurs, and cigars (these three were extra). The service was excellent and invisible. The Brits were totally astounded. One nice bonus was that when you arrived, the maitre d' would discreetly ask which performance you'd be attending. If you were going to the theater and you were running a tad late with your dinner, a member of staff would ask if you wanted to have a taxi waiting and let you know about how long you had left before you needed to scoot along to the theater.

-Tod

--Tod the Ecphorizer, 12-Dec-2007

These days people just go home to their family; travel is so commonplace. Often there is dinner, but still - socializing with people you work with is not the same thing as socializing with friends.

--JanneJalkanen, 12-Dec-2007

So, would you like to share your travel details with me on Doppir?

--Mikko Särelä, 17-Dec-2007

Mikko, I'm not sure to whom you're directing your question. If it's me, you can contact me at my email <tod@ecphorizer.com>. In the meantime, I'll have to discover what Doppir is (I assume it's not a new airline like Doppler Air...).

-Tod

--Tod, 18-Dec-2007