My 1st Business Trip

This is my first proper business trip since I started working and I was sent to the exotic Bermuda Island!!! :)

Bermuda is a British overseas territory in the North Atlantic Ocean. It is the oldest and most populous remaining British overseas territory. Bermuda has a highly affluent economy, with a large financial sector and tourism industry giving it the world's highest GDP per capita in 2005.

Since it was my 1st business trip, I was a bit overwhelmed... luckily one of my colleagues in Bermuda sorted out all the work visa and accommodation for me! Phew...

He even came to the airport and drove me all the way to my hotel!! He checked me into the Hamilton Princess Hotel, which is one of the popular hotel for business.

Well... although it's not one of the many beach resorts in Bermuda, I guess it's quite pretty and nice in its own way... and it's closeby to the office so that I could walk to work and to the client's place!

Since I was quite exhausted from the travelling... I had room service for dinner... gosh, the luxury of having your dinner brought to your doorstep... definitely one of the perks while you're on business!! hehehehe....

Bermuda is an offshore financial centre, which results from its low direct taxation on personal or corporate income. As such, there are large numbers of leading international insurance, reinsurance, investment funds and special purpose vehicles companies that are based in Bermuda, making the territory one of the world's largest reinsurance centres.

I mean, on the morning where I walked to the office from my hotel... which is about 10 minutes walk away... I actually passed by 5 different brokers/reinsurers!

Bermuda is probably one island where you can actually find an abundance of actuaries!!

Since I was only there for a short business trip, it was quite an intense day... I was up at the office by 8.30am and didn't end until the client kicked us out of their office at about 6.30pm!!!

After the long day, I decided to go out and explore the restaurants around the city instead of having room service... I did a quick search on the internet and found this supposedly famous pub which is within walking distance of the hotel...

Tried some local dishes... Bermudian fish soup and their famous rockfish marinated in Gosling Black Seal (a type of local rum)...

I was really extremely lucky as I found out 3 days before my trip that Tuesday was a public holiday in Bermuda! (I was supposed to go from Monday to Wednesday)... which meant that I actually had one free day to explore Bermuda on the Company's expense... hehehehe.....

So on Tuesday morning, I set off to do some sightseeing...

Hamilton City Hall and Arts Centre...

Flatt's Village... apparently this is where my colleague stays... I guess the life of an expat here is not too bad!!!

And one thing that I notice... is that all the houses in Bermuda look exactly the same... they have the same architecture and designs... the only thing that differentiate your house from your neighbours is that you paint it in a different colour!! Which is quite cute considering that it made the whole place very colourful!

My colleague suggested that I ride a scooter to St George's town... it is quite common for tourist to rent a scooter to do sightseeing... but I was too afraid of riding on my own.. so I took a bus instead...

St George's town is a scenic UNESCO World Heritage Site and the oldest, continually inhabited British settlement in the New World. It boasts small winding streets with typical British Colonial architecture with fountains, gardens and squares, cobbled streets and plazas.

But unfortunately, since it was a public holiday in Bermuda... everything was closed!!! Boo hoo hoo... oh well, still I walked around and did "window" sightseeing of the Town hall, St George's Harbour, Somer's Garden, King's Square, St Peter's Church etc.

Since there wasn't much left to do... I took the bus to the beach... Horseshoe Bay beach is arguably one of the most beautiful and popular beach in Bermuda...

It's like a picture from the postcard... really awesome...

I really love this beach... the water was so blue... yet, it's clear and sparkling... the sand was really soft and had a pinkish hue to it (it's one of the characteristics of Bermudian beaches... and I think I remember reading somewhere that it's because of the crushed sea shells and corals that the sand is pinkish!)

Then there are the limestone cliffs that rise up on both sides of the beach which present a really picturesque setting... the weather that day was also fantastic... blue skies...

I ended up spending the whole afternoon by the beach... hehehe... the rest of the team for this project was in Hannover (Germany) and since it wasn't a public holiday in Germany they had to work and I was supposed to dial in for a conference call with them... I actually took the call by the beach... :P

Couldn't resist taking a pic of this cute little boy who was trying to build a sandcastle...

The hotel that I was staying in had a sister hotel which is near to the Horseshoe Bay... the hotel that I stayed in was in the Hamilton city... which is a more practical hotel for business while the sister hotel is more of a resort as it has a golf course and access to the beach...

And since I was a guest in the sister hotel, I could enjoy some of the facilities here... which I took advantage of since I need a place to freshen up after my afternoon by the beach...

The hotel also provides a courtesy ferry ride back to the other hotel in Hamilton...

Thought I'll take the ferry instead for a change and enjoy the breeze...

I also managed to have a quick tour of the Hamilton city before the it gets dark... well, on the first day... by the time I got off work it was already dark and so I didn't manage to walk around town at all...

Views from the pier and downtown city...

The Parliament House...

Sun set at the Harbourfront Restaurant where I had my dinner...

And the Barcardi headquarters which is on my way back to the hotel...

All in all, I guess I did quite a lot and made the most of my one day "holiday" in Bermuda!!! Hahahaha... the next day... it was hectic at work again...

And oh... just remembered something... which I found really funny... apparently in Bermuda, the official attire for men is BERMUDAS??!!??!! I found it hilarous to see men in bermudas, shirt, tie, suit jacket and knee high socks... even the guys at the office and at my clients wore this assemble lor... sorry the pic is not very good as I was trying to steal this shot without anyone noticing... hehehe...

And before I end... the highlight of my trip??? BUSINESS CLASS flight back to London... my 1st ever business class flight... and I'm absolutely bawled over the service that you get... my flight was landing at 6.30am in the morning and I had to catch a train down to Chelmsford to work at another client site, hence my manager allowed me to book a business flight...

The BA business class lounge... where you have unlimited free flow of drinks (alcoholic and non alcoholic), fruits, cheese, crisps, sandwiches etc. while you wait for the plane... the lounge also has various type of magazines and newspapers for you if you're bored... there's also free wi-fi for you to connect to if you want to surf the net...

Then on the flight... you get a seat which can be fully extended into a bed, plush cotton quilt, wash bag containing Elemis in-flight skincare and your own reading light.

There's also a kitchen stocked with a selection of hot and cold snacks and beverages... there's even luxurious cakes in the kitchen for you to eat in between meals!! And the in-flight dining is excellent... you get a 3-course meal... mind you, it's a proper meal with proper cutlery... not like those that you meal tray that you get on economy... I had a cous cous smoked salmon salad for starters, medium-rare beef fillet with garlic herb butter for mains and caramel cheesecake for dessert! Even the breakfast was great lor... you get a selection of fruits, yoghurt, bacon roll, muffins, croissant, fresh juices etc.

I think this is the first time I ever finished off all my food on the plane... and with flights like this even my motion sickness was absent!!! :P

And that's not all... when I landed at Gatwick.. there was an arrivals lounge as well... I could take a shower there and have breakfast before I actually get to work!!! And the arrivals lounge is like a hotel... I guess with the price that you're paying for a business class ticket... you get the luxury services....

It was really an eye-opening experience for me, I must say!!! But hehehe... sorry I didn't take any pictures while I was on the flight... didn't want to look like I didn't belong there... heheheeh...