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We arrived in Geneva on 15 April 2007 by train. It was a 3 hours train ride. As it was a Sunday, all shops were closed. We checked into the Swissotel with spectacular Lake Geneva views. The SIHH watch expo is for trade visitors only and is dominated mostly by Richemont brands eg. Baume & Mercier, IWC, Panerai, Vacheron Constantin, JLC, Mont Blanc etc. As usual, we had back to back meetings from morning to evening. Unlike Basel, we didn't have to take any train, so it was easier and less hectic.
It was also my first time visiting "Watchland", the birthplace of all Franck Muller watches ! We attended the Franck Muller gala dinner featuring a concert by the legendary Tom Jones. We also attended the IWC event featuring the Da Vinci stageplay by Kevin Spacey.
It's that time of the year again, the annual pilgrimage to Basel, in the land of watches - Switzerland ! This time, it's in April. It's also my second trip there. This time, the weather was rather hot. As usual we stayed in Zurich and not in Basel. As usual, everyday we waked up at 6:30am to get ready for breakfast by 7:00am. Get to the train station by 7:30am and board the 8:02am train to Basel. It's an hour ride. By the time we reached Basel, we hopped onto one of the many trams that brought us to the exhibition site. The crowd was tremendous. This time, I knew my way and was easy to navigate through the huge exhibition site to reach my destinations. We visited most of the big brands eg. Patek Philippe, Zenith, Corum, Breitling, Omega, TAG Heuer, Chopard etc.
With back to back appointments from 9:00am onwards, we hardly had time for lunch ! We usually ate whatever we could find inside the brand's booth as there was really no time for us to go for a proper lunch. Anyway, it was no different for me coz I don't really enjoy the food served, it's always beef, venison, fish or duck ! What about pork, chicken, prawns etc, I wondered. After the last appointment at 6:00pm, it's usually dinner with the suppliers till late. Not too late though as we had to catch the 11:00pm train back to Zurich. We stayed 4 days in Basel before moving on to Geneva for our next leg. Basel trip is no fun but sheer work !
