Sunday, January 27, 2008

Relief!

I spent the weekend in San Francisco on my way home visiting my friends Margo and Matt and their cute three girls (my girls!). I always have so much fun with them, and there is nothing better than snuggling and hugging the girls when I’m with them. We did the typical tourist trap of the Piers and Fisherman’s Warf and of course Ghirardelli square. The chocolate store at Ghirardelli was so crowded it was nerve wracking. I of course had to buy some cool turquoise jewelry off a street vendor. I loved it and I got it for cheaper than he asked, as I’m not a pro bargainer I was proud of just not paying full price which normally I would.
Frost Family Portrait
Margo and Hannah
Sophia and I
The Sea Lions at Pier 39

I got a great deal also on the hotel. It was through Priceline. If you haven’t used it you should! Go the name your own price route, and go low in your asking price. I basically said I wanted a 4 star hotel in San Francisco downtown area (so we could walk everywhere) and said I’d pay 80 a night (which now makes me wish I’d gone lower) and I ended up at the very nice Hilton downtown. If you aren’t picky about which hotel you stay at and you don’t mind not earning frequent stay points, this is the best way to go. I could have even chose a boutique hotel (which seemed a little risky, but in SF it probably would have been very cool). So we discovered that even on the 17th floor it could be quite loud in the city (which seriously never sleeps, just like Singapore, am I the only one who doesn’t party until 4 in the morning??). But hey it’s not like I paid full price, so no big deal.

Matt took one for the team as I called and took the girls home for the evening and let Margo and I have the rest of the evening and day in the city together. It’s always just such an awesome time with Margo. I was happy just shopping (when doesn’t that make me happy). We found H & M, one of the coolest stores, and its affordable. I bought some great stuff there. Then we went to dinner at a fun Irish restaurant which is clearly one of the more lively spots downtown. It was so loud and packed, and frankly a bit of a meat market which is funny because Margo and I were just laughing at it. We had a great dinner and drinks.

So the next morning we wander down to get Starbucks and I decided to return two things I’d bought the day before that didn’t compare to my last minute H&M finds. Plus quite frankly I need to be more fiscally responsible, so a few good things are fine, but more than that and I need to really rethink things! We just took our time and my flight out was at 1, so somehow in my head I just kept thinking 12 for my flight.

Um yeah… Noon somehow that translated to leaving the hotel near noon, and then Margo got delayed getting the car from the garage and as I was waiting it finally hit me that I was in fact an idiot! I should have been at the airport by that time. I’m going to blame jet lag, but really I was just being a space cadet. So when Margo finally gets to me, we are both stressed because we’ve both realized we are cutting it way too close. Not a great way to end a fun weekend with one of my favorite people in the world. I just decided it didn’t matter, I was stressed but I would get home somehow. I might have to take a later flight but I’m sure I could get something. So as I waited on hold to get the emergency travel number for work I tried to calm down as Margo frantically tried to navigate the city which she hates driving in. In the end I was on hold the whole way to the airport so I just ended up hanging up and getting to an agent at the desk faster. Where I found out the flight was 2 hours delayed and I was now more than on time! Seriously, I believe God had favor on us today. Margo could go home not feeling bad that I missed my flight (I called her immediately so she wouldn’t worry) and I could stop stressing about my last leg home. Relief. Yet again I am sure people can ascribe this to luck or convenience, but I know what it really was. My Father looks out for me even in the minor details of life. I can’t wait to take a shower in my own house and sleep in my own bed tonight.

Saturday, January 19, 2008

Change in plans...

So my original plan was to go on to Shanghai from Singapore, but as the week progressed it seemed pretty evident that the project here in Singapore needed the most help. So we cancelled my China portion of the trip. I'm sure I'll be there soon though. Its been interesting working with some of the different cultures. We are all very different people, and definitely our senses of humor are different. Already I've noticed that my Indian co-workers are very literal. Which when you are a sarcastic person with dry humor it doesn't really go over. I've also decided that they take more pictures than anyone I've ever seen. Literally everywhere I go there is a camera snapping pictures. I feel like I'm followed by the paparazzi. Which by the way... In my stop of in Seoul I am pretty sure some guy was stalking me and trying to take my picture in the airport. But when I noticed him he pretended to be doing something with his camera. Probably the blond hair.


Boat we took a tour on for dinner- Dinner wasn't so good, but the ride was. This was where there were the "paparazzi" everywhere.


Singapore seems to be just as much of a melting pot as the US. They have a ton of ex-pat's and are trying to attract more people to their little Island. There are Indians, Chinese, Malay's and more I'm sure. The food seems to be a mix of many different areas. I've been pretty good with the food, but yesterday I'd hit my limit and my new friend Jodie and I found an Italian restaurant in her Lonely Planet book and it was so fantastic. Seriously we couldn't eat any more rice! Oh and did I mention that I have a Starbucks across the way that I'm having breakfast at every morning... Some things are just nice when they are familiar. I did try an "American" breakfast in the hotel for room service... Their sausages were seriously like hot dogs. I couldn't eat them. The rest of the food was close enough.

The Singapore people are very friendly. The land here is very limited so they actually buy land (literally dirt) and add it to the Islands to give them more space to build and grow. Indonesia is only one kilometer away so they build to the south. So far it feels very much like Hawaii, but more Asian of course. Oh and my hotel is in the center of the hugest shopping district. Its literally malls in every direction. Its dangerous for me. I think I'll be checking out some of the sales tomorrow.

I took a cheesy tour today with the group from work, actually two tours with a stop in Chinatown for some Dim Sum. All of Chinatown is getting ready for Chinese New Year so it was really festive and fun.

Singapore Merlion- This is the symbol of Singapore and we saw it on our "cheesy" tour. Singapore means Lion City.


Dim Sum- This is a traditional Chinese New Year Dish, they only get it for New Year so they were very excited. Part of the fun is that everyone takes their Chopsticks and mixes all the ingredients together. It was really yummy. Its shredded veggies (I think...) and it was quite yummy. Chopsticks are not my forte, but I tried...




Some of the crew I was working with at a great resturant in the "ex-pat" area of Holland village. Awesome atmosphere, very mod and very good food!







Drunk Couple at the Bar- Seriously couldn't resist this one. We are at a bar that is literally under the escalator on Orchard Rd (huge shopping area). There was a live band that took requests and the lady slumped over was yelling to the band for a while and then about 15 minutes later I looked back and she and I presume her husband were slumped over asleep in their chairs. It was HYSTERICAL. Sorry its so grainy... Took it on my crackberry, I mean blackberry.

Chinatown- Putting up decorations everywhere. It was very festive and there were ton's of cheap souvenirs to bargain for.


Chinatown Stall- I think this was some kind of dried meat, like a sausage. They were all shriveled and weird. I didn't try one, but decided it was worth a pic.



Chinatown temple-

Sunday, January 13, 2008

Tiny blessings, with some tiny bubbles too! (Day 1 in Singapore)

Well my first trip is here. I am heading to Singapore and then to Shanghai for 2 weeks, with a lovely stop on the way home to see my dear friend Margo and her family in San Francisco. I was equally looking forward to and dreading this first trip. The weeks leading up to this were packed with holiday activities and last minute travel and work preparations. The stress of traveling to Asia for the first time was definitely getting to me. Would I make it, would I get lost, what would I eat etc… Worry can just kill you. First my visa was held up at the Indian consulate for a week because I had applied for the wrong type (tourist instead of business) after attempting for a week or so to work this out with everyone at work on vacation I called and the visa was approved for tourist anyway… A blessing, because I needed my passport to get the more timely Chinese visa and back to me in time to travel. It arrived just in time. A coincidence? Not really. In my world there really aren’t coincidences but divine interventions, and I think this was my first. Thank you…

Then on to more tiny blessings… My travel was booked a little last minute due to my quick transition to my new role and the holidays in the midst of everything so I couldn’t get the normal Northwest flight to Singapore that everyone usually takes and alas the only bookings available were through Singapore Air. When I told everyone at work I was going through Singapore Air they were quite jealous, but I had no clue what that meant. Well I soon found out that they are the BEST airline in the world. My seat in Business Class (that’s right we get to go Business Class and I am so grateful) was the size of a comfy leather recliner which converted to a quite comfortable bed with all sorts of great storage compartments and your own personal entertainment center, full of my usual addicting shows and movies. I sat back after a lame 4 hour layover in SFO in my cozy seat with a complimentary glass of Champagne prior to departure thinking… Finally I’ll be able to get some good rest and sleep! It had been a very frantic week full of late night packing for the trip and getting up to get a 7:30 flight, this was not my idea of a good way to start the trip off. The flight was uneventful, and except for an annoying stop in Seoul where we had to actually disembark and re-board a different plane, the 20 hours (that’s right 20 hours) went fairly quickly and comfortably. I never once wondered when the food was coming, and I swear every half hour a stewardess came by with something delectable to eat or drink. The guy next to me and I totally enjoyed laughing over the luxury of it all and that we just needed to fly this airline to get some normal R& R. I have really no idea how much it cost as I didn’t book it, but I’m pretty sure it’s out of my normal budget range.

I arrive in Singapore and there is a wonderful driver standing with my name on a sign right outside of custom’s waiting to drive me and tell me the joys of Singapore all the way to the hotel. My first observation was, nice BMW then hey they drive on the wrong side of the road here (a carry over from the British colonial days I’m sure). He was very fun and told me all sorts of fascinating things! I didn’t even need a tour guide when I had this guy. My second observation was that I couldn’t believe that at 1 in the morning everyone was still out downtown eating, shopping, and going to movies. Don’t these people sleep?! That’s all I wanted to do. You’d think it was 8 pm with the number of people out and about. I arrived and my room booking was in a very nice club room, which was another tiny blessing because everyone else I work with was booked in a lower level room (which I was moving to the next day), because of some booking confusion between the Singapore office and ours. So for my lovely first night I had a very luxurious room with a massage chair that I sat in for about an hour to work out the knots from traveling. What a nice first day/night (pics below).

In the midst of the stress and preparation for this trip I find that the tiny blessing and tiny bubbles I received along the way were just what I needed to ease my fretful mind. I’m not sure why I’m always surprised at how I am cared for, but I know I have a divine father who is as always wanting to give me good and perfect gifts. Always just what I need when I need it. That is true peace.

Pic's of the First Glimpses of Singapore

The first lovely room I had.
The fantastic massage chair:
The view:

The second room, which smells like smoke (yuck). Not bad, but still I have to compare to the beautiful first one...



My new friend at work, Hana, and one of the colorful buildings of Singapore:








Saturday, January 12, 2008

Let's Start at the Beginning

Welcome to my new travel blog! The purpose of this blog (web log for my not so techy friends) is to keep you updated on my travels and observations along the way. The title is a reference to one of my favorite books Travels with Charley by John Steinbeck. It is Steinbeck's memoir of his travels across the US in his Camper Rocinante with his french poodle Charley (I know some of you will LOVE that he named his Camper!). I don't have a dog to bring on my travels but I do have my trusty laptop and camera (which sadly do not have names, as I am just not that kind of girl). I hope to just share my thoughts as a novice traveler to parts of the world I have never been before.

How and why am I doing this travel? Well for one I took a job with our Asia Pacific region at work which now has me supporting our Asia Pacific countries and I'll be traveling to all sorts of places in Asia to do this. I do consider it an amazing blessing to travel the world and see things I would have never done on my own and all on the company dollar! Believe me I am traveling much better like this than I would on my own money. I've never been to Asia and this will definitely be an adventure for me.

I hope you'll enjoy my observations and maybe I will inspire you to travel more.