Woke up this morning with a might headache.  Probably through dehydration.  I had drunk about 4 liters of water yesterday but probably still not enough, given the altitude and all the exersise.  Unfortunately it stayed with me all day.

Got up this morning and discovered that there was loads of fresh snow on the ground.  So obviously made an effort to try and get out there earlier.  Didn't quite succeed, and again got the 09:30 bus.

The new snow fall was really nice light powder.  The bad news was that it had fallen onto yesterdays choppy runs, and as such it was very, very quickly quite hard going.  It was also snowing all through the day, and currently at 21:00 here is still snowing, if some what rather pitifully now.  Let's hope it's snowing better up the mountain.

Like on any powder day, you can't stop for anyone and you have to try and find those lines quickly.  As there is very little off piste allowed here in Happo One, nearly all the fresh tracks were taken really quite early.  However as the snow was falling all day, things soon filled back up again, only to be ridden again.

I spent most of my day looking for areas where there wasn't the multitude of the weekend warriors.  And also on the look out for more terrain.  I also made a considerable effort to make sure that my technique was good today.  Earlier in the day it' didn't start off great, but those snow legs soon came into their own.  I was soon riding the chop better than I have ever done.  My angulation and inclanation was nearly always spot on.  This made for some really successful riding, as I charged through the chop and powder with less effort and more style than previous.

I must admit that I spent most of the day riding to be what I have found to be the best run in Happo.  I took a couple runs over one side above the ridge and in the trees, but it was hugely tracked out and really quite icy in places.  The other side was quite moguled.  It is something I do have to say about happo, is that there are a lot of moguls around the place.

I ended up going down this really nice cat track and ended up at the far right (looking at the piste map) of the resort where I had lunch.  With my iPod video, I find that whilst eating lunch, I can also watch part of a movie.  Todays movie was the start of Pirates of the Carribean. 

After lunch I just headed back up to my favorite run (need to remember the name of the thing and update this blog entry!).  Did that for a while, headed to the top of the resort, did a few runs there and was heading down the left most run when I decided that my legs had had enough for the day.  So I continued down to wait for the bus.  Unfortunately I had missed the bus by a couple minutes and had to wait a while for the next one.  Thankfully there are heated cabins that you can wait in.

Snowbeds." src="http://www.internetwideworld.com/Snowboarding/Tokyo,%20Japan/Tokyo%2020080128/_w/20080201_jpg.jpg" align=left border=0 galleryimg="false" hmargin="5">

I woke up early this morning as I didn't sleep that well.  So, got up and checked out todays travel itinerary.  Get to Tokyo station, buy tickets to the Shinkansen (Tokyo - Nagano Bullet train), get on the train arrive Nagano, get bus tickets, get on Bus, arrive Hakuba (Happo station stop) and get taxi to Snowbeds.  Hmm.  Sounds complicated but it wasn't really.

I checked out of the hotel at about 09:30 and walked to the Tokyo station.  It isn't that easy with a big board bag and another holdall bag, but it wasn't too bad as I am used to it.  As I had checked out the way to the station and what entry to the station to take it was quite easy.  It's best to enter from the South East entrance, as this is exactly where platform 22 is, for trains to Nagano.  The ticket office is there too.  It cost about 7,500 Yen to buy the ticket and have a reserved seat.  Once on the platform there are signs to tell you where each carriage is going to stop, and outlined on the platform where you are to stand to board at a specific entrance.

The train arrived and the passengers got off.  A little bemusing to myself was that no passengers attempted to get on.  Instead a cleaner for each and every carriage got on and proceeded to clean and dust every single part of the carriage.  Try getting service like that in the UK?  We were eventually allowed to get on.  Thankfully at my end of the carriage there was somewhere to safely stack my board bag and put my holdall, which was nicely out of the way.  I then went and took my seat.  Man, these bullet trains are wide and spacious.  The seats are in rows of two and three, each seat having ample elbow and massive leg room.  So much so, that my feet were barely able to touch the seat in front.  Only trouble was that my seat was an aisle seat and I didn't have much opportunity to look out of the window.  Booo!  I do think however, that on the left I got to see Mt Fuji, but couldn't be sure.

A measly 1½ hours later, and about 170Km, I arrived at Nagano.  This is where the first bit of confusion occurred.  There are two exits from the station, each of which are signed as having bus stops.  The exit you want is the east exit.  The other exit goes down some stairs into an open area, and this is not the way.  Once you are on street level, there is a souvenir shop and this is where you buy the ticket for the bus.  Once you have the ticket make your way all the way to the end of the bus stop lane, stop number 6, and this is where the Hakuba bus can be found.  It wasn't long before my bus arrived and I climbed on board.

If you have ever taken a bus to a ski resort before, you'll know that there isn't really that much to look at.  Lots of mountain passes, little villages and usually a river or two.  Unfortunately this was mostly the same, interspersed with massive concreting of the mountain sides to stop the hillside coming down onto the road.  After a couple stops I arrived at the Happo buss terminal.  I took my bags to the information center and got them to call me a taxi which duly arrived.  I loaded my bags and was shortly outside Snowbeds.

When I entered Snowbeds I must admit that I was a little shocked at just how many people were there.  Apparently the place can handle up to about 30 at a time!  Mind you, I'm not exactly sure what I actually thought the place was going to be like!

I've had a very brief show around the place and paid my 28 days accommodation fees.  I've also had a chance to meet some of the people whom are residing here at the moment.  Every one of them seam like good people, and are from all over the place.  New Zealand, Australia, Sweden, Wales, America, to name but five.  A real cosmo crowd.  The place is nice too.  Lot's of space and it's very tidy.  Probably one of the benefits of the owners residing here too

All I need to do now, is work out where the bus arrives tomorrow and what bus to take.  Then get a lift pass organised.  Shouldn't take me long to get settled though.

I got up again early today, and had breakfast and generally caught up on a few things.  I wanted to also avoid the peek travel period as today I wanted to get around a bit more, and not walk about so much! (My poor feet couldn't take much more).

I walked out the hotel and headed straight for the Shimbashi station.  I purchased a pack of 11 tickets for 300yen journeys.  With these I was covered for reaching every area of the Tokyo metro limits.  I don't know why they say that getting your way around the Tokyo metro is so difficult, it's quite easy really.  The only trouble is the stations them selves.  I find them confusing and difficult to navigate through sometimes.

I hopped on the 'Ginza Line' and headed out to the Shibuya neighborhood.  The Shibuya neighborhood is famous as being 'groud zero' for the youth culture, and also for the Shimbuya crossing.  This crossing is often featured on TV with the flood of humanity that the green light unleashes every few minutes, beneath glowing neon signs that tower overhead.

I initially had a look at the Hachikos statue, the story of which reminds me of 'Gray Friars Bobby', then headed on up into Udagawacho and the stores.  Something I didn't realise is that most shops in Tokyo don't open until 10:00-11:30!  So I had a wander around for a bit and ended up in a Starbucks as the wind was chilly today.  Ok, so Starbucks isn't very Tokyo, but I have to admit that I like the late's!  After than I headed on out for another wander and ended up in Tower Records, and this store is the largest in Tokyo!  I eventually bought just on CD!  It was "Tokyo Luxury lounge 3" with is a dance/lounge/electronica fusion style album.  I also got a free promotional Daishi Dance CD, entitled It gets me downs" by Yoko Ota.  Sweet, will rip them to my iPOD later tonight.

I then decided to hop onto the metro again and this time get to the other end of the Ginza line, and head for Asakusa.  I however hopped off at Ueno instead which is in the Shitamachi neighborhood.  I wanted to go see the Ueno-koen (Ueno Park) and the numerous museums, templates and shrines.  I had a good wander around the park and took quite a few good photos.  There was a small market being held in the middle of the park and there was some really interesting pottery, and Japanese art for sale.  I entered the Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Art, but it wasn't really for me.  It was a show on Japanese calligraphy.  Whist the writing is so much more elegant and artistic than any western language, I just couldn't really get into it with not knowing the language.  I appreciated it for it's art instead. but there is only so much writing you can look at.

It was getting on into lunch time, and so I headed out the south of the park and into Ueno Okachimachi Chuo dori, which was a bit of a down market collection of shops and stalls.    It was a little seedy but nothing to worry about, and I even had a chance to have a quick look into a "Love Hotel" where you can have a room for an hour or two, or the night *wink* *wink*.  As it was a bit seedy I did struggle to find somewhere where I wanted to eat, but eventually settled for this restaurant which was up on the 1st floor.  It not something I think as westerners we are used to so much, in that in Tokyo (and I'm sure the rest of Japan) there is always something on the second, third, fourth, etcetera floor of the building.  So, just because you can't see into the window doesn't mean that there is nothing there, or that it can't be any good!  Take my advice, look up and have a look at those doorways.  I again had the noodle soup with grilled pork dumplings.  Oh my, if I was to live here I'd probably get really fat, and have to become a sumo wrestler.  I do love Japanese food (except Sushi and Sushimi, as I don't like fish!).

I hopped on to the Gina line again and headed on to Asakusa, which is the low city of old Edo.  It's center piece is the Senso-ji temple.  There is a lot going on around this area, with loads of small stalls, shops, temples, shrines, rickshaw's and more.  Look out for the giant lanterns, and also throw a few coins into the temple grates and pass on a prayer.  I had a good mooch around the various stalls and was on the lookout for something to send home to the folks, but they didn't quite have what I was looking for (don't want to give it away, they might actually read my blog...*might*).

It was getting much colder now, and I was getting tired.  So I decided to head on back to the hotel.  I didn't want to do what happened last night.  I had planned to go to Roppongi last night for a couple beers, but fell asleep and woke up at 22:00!  So, got back today just before 16:00, and started to write the blog and upload some more of my photos.  You can see the photo's here.  Eventually I will get them added to my GPS tracking and have them push-pinned to the exact location on the map that they were taken at.

I earlier posted that I was planning to go snowboarding for Winter 2008 in Hakuba, Japan.  Well, it's all booked!

My current work contract finishes on Friday 25th January.  So, on the Friday night I plan to go out on the piss with friends.  To fly to Japan takes 12 hours and you arrive the next day due to the time difference.  So, rather than flying on a Saturday and arriving on a Sunday, or traveling to London on a Sunday I thought that I would leave departing the UK until the Monday 28th.  I fly out with Virgin Atlantic on the Monday 28th to Tokyo-Narita airport and arrive the next day.

I've always, since I was a kid wanted to visit Tokyo.  This is the perfect opportunity to do so.  So, I've planned for a couple nights stay in Tokyo at a hotel near Shimbashi station.  I plan to do some of the usual touristy things, and more specifically since I am a geek who likes to drink I'll be going to Shinjuku for the gadgets and Roppongi for the nightlife.

Then on Friday 1st February I'll be heading to Hakuba where I'll be staying with Mitch who runs a backpacker hotel called www.snowbedstravel.com for 28 days.  Man are they cheap, and they come extremely highly recommended from "Rodo" a friend of mine.

You should check out the snow reports for the resort.  Oh my dizzy aunt, there is so much snow.  In the last 3 days there has been some 300cm of snow!

Then when the sad day comes on Thursday 28th February, I'll start heading back to old blighty.  It would be too much trouble getting from Hakuba easily and making the flight, so I decided to stay in a hotel near Narita airport for the night then fly the next day, the Friday 29th February.

Again, because of the time zone difference I'll arrive back in the UK, still mid-day on the Friday 29th February, just in time to go out on the piss with friends again

Let me know where you are going for this winter, or if you are heading over to Japan around the same time, let me know as I'm always willing to meet up.

I have finally relented.  I have had my old 60Gb iPod for over 4 years now and whilst in the whole it is perfectly adequate, it is starting to show it's age.  The reasons I have justified the purchase to my self are:

• I managed to scratch the screen in practically the first week of having it (oops).
• The battery isn't lasting as long as it used to, and I use the thing virtually all day every day.
• My vast collection of music and audio books is now topping out the 60Gb.
• All of which unlike most people, I own the original CD's.
• Import quality is set at 56Kb and in the very small AAC+ format (therefore 3^3 smaller than a normal MP3).
• My current iPOD is the iPOD colour, and does not have the video capabilities.
• I'm going on vacation shortly to Las Vegas so need the entertainment for the long flights. (I could buy it in the USA but need to fill it up before going!)
• I can afford it!

So, I finally bought one from Amazon.  Got the black 80Gb version for £185 with a coupon discount and express delivery.  Should receive it in the mail tomorrow!

Can't wait. http://www.apple.com/ipod/ipod.html

I have long been interested in getting a big, wide screen TV.  After all, I do watch a lot of it, and a lot of movies.  So, today when I came across this article on the Pioneer Web site that says "The World's best flat screen TV", I was obviously going to be interested.

These "world's best" are Pioneers 8th generation plasma displays, and from the pictures on the site I cant really disagree.  However the proof will be actually seeing these in the showroom next to other TVs.  The apparent secret for the screens being the best is that the black levels are 80% deeper than what was previously possible to produce, and they have an amazing contrast ration of 20,000:1.  They also support full HD resolution (1080p), and not the cheap 720i that most current screens have (article on the difference between i and p here).

If I was to buy such a TV, I would really have to move apartment, otherwise it would be completely wasted in the hole that I currently live in!

I read an article today on the BBC Web site, about how BT are developing a motion-sensitive laptop, or more accuratley a device to attatch to the laptop.  The device, which is very much like the Nintendo Wii controler, I think is an idea but not a very good one.

The reason for the controller is apparently to help people with dissabilities  or the elderly.  I don't see that as it's primary use.  Why?  Because it wopuld be like using etch-a-sketch for these people.  How often have the able dodied 'just missed' that menu option, when using the mouse and clicked on something else?  What about those users who do not have full motor control?  Why not give them the same controls as an etch-a-sketch, the knob to move up and down, and the other knob to move left and right?  Would be much easier and simpler!

I see the primary is in the games industry just like the Wii controller.  But why bother?  When you can already buy such devices that are already much better?

Call me a cynic, but I personally think that it's the usual self promotion.  It appeases the share holders as BT are in the news, and it justifies them spending money on this department.  It also makes them look like they are trying to help the disabled and elderly.  If you have a look at the photos.  The laptop that the device is being used on is tiny.  Surely the laptop is too small for these disabled people to be able to see the screen clearly.  There is no way you would be tilting a normal laptop, they are simply too big.  Besides, who can afford such a small laptop, have you checked the prices of those things?  It's almost certinally to expensive for the disabled and elderly to justify.

To me, it's a good try, but too late and completley impractical at this level and target audience.

I am a big music fan (and am really into audio books), and always have been.  So much so, that I have had three iPods since they first came out (various stories attached, but not here), and I currently have a 60Gb with color display (not the video version).  My current iPod is suffering a fair bit now from a number of ailments.  Such as it's near full, there are loads of scratches on the screen, the battery is not as good as it was, and it occasionally just stops in the middle of playing (I think the phone jack is buggered as it's extremely loose with all earphones!).

As such I have been watching news about the iPod for a while now, and there has been very little news about the iPod for a while.  Especially in the news about a new bigger/better version.  The current version is the Fifth generation iPod (also known as iPod with video)  That was until today.  I came across an article that 'hints' that there may be a new version in the works.  The article (viewed here) is a little sparse on actual concrete news, but does follow the patter that Apple seem to follow when a new product/version is due.

Obviously I'll wait for the next version to be out in the wild before making any decision.  Especially as the current iPod is still in operation and should be for a while (fingers crossed).  I wouldn't mind getting some video content on there either!

A friend of mine recently got one of those digital photo frames, and I must admit it looks really cool.  Well, in a similar style, I found this:

Men's Digital Photo Wallet

Leather wallet features a removable digital photo viewer. Don't carry a wrinkled paper photo of your kids in your wallet. Our new handsome leather wallet includes a removable digital photo viewer that stores 55 color images. Easy USB photo transfer from your PC. 1.4" screen. Better still, the viewer is rechargeable—no batteries to buy! Classic men's bi-fold wallet is soft black Nappa leather.

At $50 is must be worth a punt.

The following is a letter I received from the Doctors at the "Spital Davos", who treated me after my injury.  It was mostly in English but there were some typical translation errors!

===========

Davos, 29.01.2007

Sehr geehrter Herr Kollege

Nachfolgen berichten wir ihnen uber die ambulante Behandlung vom 29.01.2007

Dignosis:	AC Joint dislocation Rockwood ii-lll left side
Amanesis:	The patient fell while snowboarding
Findings:	Swelling and pinpoint tenderness over the AC joint. High riding clavicle.  Piano key test positive. Painful hyper-adduction test. Neurovascular status intact.
X-Ray:	AC joint ap: no bony lesion Bilateral weighted panoramic X-ray: Dislocation in the AC joint of more than clavicle width.
Therapy:	Rest Mefanamin acid 3*500mg per day for analgesia
Procedure:	Rest for one week For further clinical controll the patient will report to your medical practice.

Mit freundlichen Grüssen

Dr. Barbara Inauen Ärztin Notfall / Gynäkologie

Dr. Thomas Perren Co-Chefarzt Chir./Ortho.

======

This is the X-Ray.  You can see on the right the difference between it and the other shoulder (which is my left).  The lump is also extremely prominent on my shoulder even now, almost two weeks later!

I didn't get up as early as I wanted to, as I didn't set the alarm on my phone quite right. Still, I was up and after breakfast I headed on down to buy my lift pass all by 09:20.

I bought my lift pass and joined the bustle on the Jakobshornbahn cable car to the mid station and changed over to the other car to the top. I switched on the GPS tracking and watched it track my progress up the cable car.

At the top I got the camera out and took some photos, as it was a lovely clear day. Then strapping on the board I headed down the cat track to the top of the Stadlersee. Seeing that everyone went off to the right, and feeling good I ignored the pack and headed off to the left in to some off piste that looked good.

OK, so it probably wasn't the best idea, as I found that the snow was very crusty and that my board set-up wasn't quite right. The piste went off to the right, and I generally followed the tracks. They all started to converge and ended up that there was only really 1 way out. I took a quick photo and eventually made my way around to the Jatz Quattro lift.

On the way up the lift I noticed that the park was just to the left and decided to give it a go. First up was a little kicker. It wasn't actually a very good jump, yes the takeoff was nice but the table was about 3m and the landing had zero real transition. So you either had to hit it perfect, hit the knuckle, or miss the transition and land on the flat. First time, I was too cautious and landed on the table.

After that was the 'monster pipe'. Not really a monster but a mid sized pipe really. As is typical, one side of the pipe was ice and the other soft and slushy. Can't say I rode it very well but was a good warm up. So went around again, with virtually the same results.

I decided to ride more of the mountain, and generally rode every piste that was available, without having to take the big long Brämabüel T-bar.

Along the way I tried a few 180's. The front side were OK, but nothing special, but at least the were there. Only tried 1 back side, which really wasn't that good. I also took the opportunity to get some switch riding in on some of the icy black runs. The switch held up really well, even if it was only sliding turns. Will have to try and work on the carve switch turns!

I eventually headed down to the Jschalp for some lunch about 12:00 and chilled for a bit. I also checked the GPS, and liked the results. (More on the GPS to follow).

At about 13:00 I headed back up and started to cruise around again. I headed off piste again down under the main cable car. The snow was OK here but it was quite heavy going so decided that it really wasn't a good time to go off piste yet.

So headed on over to the park for another few rides through. This time however I attacked the small kicker more and made a great smooth landing. Again the pipe riding wasn't good, but it was first day after all. Around again I completely overshot the landing on the small kicker. Not good for the knees! Rather than risking the knees I decided to put in some more runs.

On the way down to go and get the cable car back up again, it happened...

 

I was cruising along on the piste, not particularly fast (later, according to my GPS tracking, 77kmh) or trying to do anything special, but the nose of the board dug in and it slammed me hard into the ground! I flipped in the air a couple times before crashing to the ground and sliding for a bit before stopping. I knew instantly that I was really hurt! There was massive pain in my left shoulder and it clicked at the slightest movement. I was sure that I had broke my collar bone. I must admit that I was shaking, a little dizzy, nauseous, and my entire body was tingling. I started to check myself out. Everything was moving OK, including my left lower arm and fingers, but anything on the shoulder was agony. I could feel that there was a lump there that should not be there, and that I was in trouble.

As there was no one around I picked myself up and rode down to, the cable car. I had a quick look around and could not see any first aid facilities, so took the cable car to the base.

At the base I asked the ticket booth for where the hospital was. I was told that it was a street up and about 1km along the road. I headed off and was soon in the hospital A&E department.

After filling in the form, I showed them my European Health Insurance Card and my Travel Insurance, and there were no problems.

After waiting for a while I was shown into a cubicle and waited. A junior doctor called Bill saw me first. He talked to me and assessed my situation to make sure that it was only my shoulder that was the problem. It was at this stage that I could see the alarmingly large lump on my left shoulder. He gave a quick examination and put me down for an Xray.

After another while I was taken to Xray, and returned to my cubicle. After another wait a different junior doctor called Barbara (shift changed) checked me out, and sent me for another closer Xray. This one was difficult as I had to hold weights which was extremely painful.

Later when she came back she informed me that the ligament has detached from my AC joint, but there was no break. To get it fixed I could either live with it or have surgery, but wanted the main doctor to have a look and talk to me about my options.

Left alone for a while a lot of different thoughts went through my head, before the top doc came and talked to me. After reviewing the Xray and giving me a check, he confirmed what Dr Barbera told me, that it was either surgery or see how it heals. He told me that he advises that we go cautiously and see how it heals for a week before deciding if surgery is needed. After a few questions I had, and firm assurances that surgery is still an option later, I decided to take his advice and let the natural healing process have a go.

I was given a letter for my doctor, some pain killers, a CD with my X-rays on it (Ill post them on-line when I get a chance), and helped into a sling and sent on my way.

I asked about the bill, and the nurse said she didn't know of any and said to ask at the A&E reception if there were any. The reception was closed, so I went to the main reception and they said they did not know of any bill. So I could only assume there wasn't any. So I left the hospital and headed back to my apartment.

I immediately ran a deep hot bath and called my insurance company. After a couple minutes of handing over my details we were all done (need to FAX my paperwork to them - Who still uses FAX???), and I sank into the bath.

That night was not an easy sleep, despite taking a couple pain killers. Not only was my shoulder killing me, but the whiplash was also starting to make its self felt.

My travel to Davos (Switzerland) didn't get off to as good a start as I hoped.  Firstly, the bus didn't come.  Then I found that the train station was not open!  So I hopped into the first cab I could get and hot footed it to the airport.

Once at the airpirt, everything went extremely smoothly.  Check-in was almost instant, along with getting through security.  So I managed to have an early morning coffee and chilled before the boarding call.

Getting onboard the flight was also super quick and easy.  There were hardly any people on the flight, and we were ready to go way before our departure time.  Because of this we actually had to wait for our slot.

The flight was uneventfull and smooth.  As usual I waited until we were as near to Paris as possible, before going to the toilet

Getting off in Zurich and getting my luggage was a breeze.  It was so quick and easy, that I was able to get my bag and a ticket for the early train, and still wait for it to arrive!

The train ride to Davos is really easy, even if it does involve three trains.  I used the Swiss Rail Web site to give me the full itinary, which included all of the stations on the way, departure times per station, and also the platform for each connection.  Typical Swiss rail efficiency, noting like the very poor service we get in the UK.

It was at this point that I switched on the GPS tracking, to give it a burst in a foreign land.  There will be a lot more to follow on the GPS stuff soon!

Once I arrived at Davos Platz, I got out the Google map I printed and dragged my bag up to the appartment.  It was a reasonably comfortable climb.

I was greeted at the appartment complex by the manager/owner.  Unfortunatley for me he didn't know any Englis and I know no Swiss, so the paperword was alittle laborious.  He then showed me up to the appartment and arrund the various facilities.  To say that I was happy with the appartment would be an understatement.  It easily has to be one of the best I have stayed at in europe when snowboarding.  It has everything inluded.  For those who have gone to France, they will appreciate this.  It had all kinds of clean freshly laundered towels, linin, soap, dish cloths, toilet paper, bin bags, storage for boards including drip trays, a radio cassette player, direct dial telephone, TV with about 40 channels (ony 1 English speaking), and the list goes on and on.

So I unpacked and settled in, before going down into the town and having a look around Davos Platz.  I forgot it was a Sunday, so had to rely on the "Coop Express" to get the essentials, like water, and then called it an early night.

Luck 1

On my way home the other night I popped into the local shop to buy some essential groceries.  Whilst there I thought I'd buy a lottery scratch card.  I saw that they had this new scratch card that you can win £40,000 per year for life, and thought I'd get one.  It was a fiver (£5) per card!  Almost decided not to bother, but bought it anyway.

Got home and after a little phaffing around, I eventually got a penny out and started to scratch.  A little into it, I found that I had won a fiver (£5).  I thought, hay, at least I made my money back, and thought that was it.  I carried on scratching away at the rest of it, as I don't know why but I get a perverse pleasure out of making sure that I scratch off all of the area.  Low and behold, I found that I had another win, this time £6 squid?  So, I had a look at the ticked, and found that you could win up-to 15 times on the same card!  Cool.  So, I was now with £11 squids in winnings, and a clear profit of £6 squid.  It wasn't over yet, I found later down that I had won another fiver (£5).

There we are, my luck had come in it's "three", and I was £11 squid better off!

Luck 2

Later that same night I noticed that there was some mail on the table waiting for me.  I picked it up, and it was a letter from the Tax man! *gulp*  Normally a letter from the Tax man is bad news, but not today.  I opened it up and discovered that I'd been given a nice hefty repayment!    Fan-blinking-tastic!  A couple grand plus, to add to my lottery winnings.

Luck 3

Actually, I'm still waiting for luck number 3!  Perhaps this weekend I'll get lucky?

I came across this news article today (BBC: World Economic Forum 2007) that goes some way to explain why Davos is very popular at the moment, and made me getting my booking that much harder.  Apparently the World Economic Forum have a meeting at the end of January in Davos every year.  Doesn't sound very economic to me!  How much does it cost for all of the delegate to travel and stay there?  Not very green either!  All that travel of the attendants, but also, what about all that extra food transport costs?  Surely it must make more economic sense to have the forum in a more eco/economic location!

Today I got the address details of where I'll be staying whilst in Davos snowboarding.  You can see where I'll be by going to Google Maps, here. Sunny position. In the house: bar, lounge, sauna (extra) solarium (extra) table-tennis. Lift. Shop, ski bus stop 300 m. Mountain lift 500 m. Apartments on and above the 4th floor have wonderful mountain views. 1-room apartment 33 m2, partly renovated in 2002: living/dining room with 2 sleeping possibilities, TV and radio. Kitchenette. Bath/WC. Balcony. Please note: only 1 dog accepted. Apartment is situated towards the back of the building.

So looking forward to it!

Me and MDO, have finally got our winter snowboarding on the move.  MDO is going to stay with a friend of his in Davos, and I've managed to get myself an apartment sorted.  MDO spent last winter in Davos, so head on over to his blog for some information about his experiences.

Getting it all organised wasn't without its trouble though.  I tried searching on line for a very, very long time to find a company that provides accommodation in Davos from the UK.  All of the bit tour operators have Davos available in their resort list, but do they actually have any availability, nope (tried their on-line systems and didn't find a single week where they even offered any! - so what's the point in having it available - stinking advertising steelers!).

Accommodation

Anyway, it looks like I'm going to be staying in a 1-room apartment which was partly renovated in 2002.  It's called the Apartment house "Parkareal",  has a living/dining room with 2 sleeping possibilities, TV, radio, Kitchenette, Bath/WC and a balcony. Unfortunately for me the apartment is situated toward the back of the building. However, that should mean that it is nice and quiet, and it should make the maintenance of my stick (snowboard) easy.

Does anyone know where this "Parkareal" is actually located in Davos? Please let me know if you do!

I eventually managed to book it with a company call Iglu Ski, who have deals with InterHome.  I honestly checked every single on-line travel agency I could find on the Internet (find via search engines/portals), Teletext and also a number of high street travel agents too.  Companies like Thompson simply didn't have a thing, or if they did, they were trying to charge £1,900+.  That much for a two week holiday, for 1 person is daylight robbery.

Flights

I've arranged a flight with Swiss Air to depart from Birmingham International on Sunday 28 the January and I fly to Zürich.  From there I need to take a train to get to Davos.  Three changes, doesn't make it an easy one, but i have personally found that the Swiss rail system is usually fantastic.

Train

After arriving at the airport, you need to take a train to the resort.  Davos is one of a few rare resorts that you can actually take a train to.  Normally you have to take a bus, which is not all that pleasant.  Especially as you have to go up wyndy roads (usually at quite a high speed) and since I get travel sick, it's a killer.  Always makes me feel ill for the rest of the day, and most of the next day.

You can get your rail travel information from this Web site: http://www.sbb.ch/en

Station/Stop	Date	Time		Platform
Zürich Flughafen	28.01.07	dep	12:13	3
Zürich HB		arr	12:23	17
Zürich HB		dep	12:37	11
Sargans		dep	13:33
Landquart		arr	13:41	2ABC
Landquart		dep	13:47	5BC
Grüsch		dep	13:54
Schiers		dep	14:00
Küblis		dep	14:11
Klosters		dep	14:28
Davos Dorf		dep	14:50
Davos Platz		arr	14:55

Insurance

Last year, as I did a very long term trip (4 months in Whistler - See my blog from December 2005-April 2006) and took out a special insurance policy.  This year I have gone back to Snowcard.  I've found them to be quick, reliable, and reasonably priced.  Also, as MDO had a bit of an accident last year and claimed insurance, I know that they actually pay, unlike some unscrupulous/cheap insurance companies!  Did my usual, bought more insurance than I actually need, after all you can't have enough.  This was especially brought home to me, given the experiences of Tim (Day 11 - Whistler, 8th January 2006 - A bad day. A REAL bad day.) that I was with in Whistler.

Equipment

Today I started to look at all my snowboarding equipment.  I bought a new pear of boots recently, and haven't had a chance to use them on the slopes yet.  So, all of next week, I intend to wear them in the evenings to try and ease the break in period.  I have also been looking at getting a new stick (snowboard).  This is because my K2 Zeppelin 157 has a cracked rail.  I think that it will hold on for another couple weeks, but will take another one of my boards just in case .

Man am I looking forward to the trip.  It's been such a long time.  My only real worry, is that I have had an ankle injury since May, that has refused to go away.  Then a couple Thursdays ago when playing football, I really hurt my knee.  Still limping around, and it's very tender.  Let's hope that It'll be better by the time I get on to the snow.

Let me know where you are going this winter, I really am interested.  Especially as I intend to get at least another week later in the season, so may see you there.  So, leave a comment...