36 Hours Later......

I finally arrived home. Had severe delays out of Chicago and the plane landed this morning at 4:15 and I got home a little after 5. At least my flight went out & wasn't canceled, like so many were.

Day 15 - Rainy Day

Queenie and I were supposed to go for a walk around the reservoir this morning at 6:45 (before the sun came up), but she wasn't awake yet. By the time she woke, a thunderstorm seemed imminent and there had been a bright flash followed immediately by this very loud crack of thunder. But then nothing.

Queenie, Brian, and I drove over to the market area to eat breakfast (toast with this yummy jam that I bought some of) and to run some errands. As we left, it started to rain and has pretty much rained the rest of the day. There is a very nice breeze and all the windows are open. I have laundry hanging to dry - she didn't want me to bring dirty clothes home........and she has a dryer for what is still wet at the end of the day.

So the rain finally stopped - just in time for our shopping trip. Brian is playing in a concert next Saturday and needed a new white shirt, dress pants, and dress shoes. So off to Orchard Road we went. He looks quite handsome in his new clothes. And like all 12 year old boys, he hated having to try on all the clothes. He'd much rather wear his old t-shirts and shorts.

We had some extra time before our dinner reservations, so we stopped in Marks & Spencer for tea. It was nice to be able to relax and not rush rush rush from one thing to another. Queenie and Brian just got back from visiting her in-laws in Canada (her husband went with them, but he lives/works in Hong Kong), so they were happy to have some downtime as well.

Then it was off to East Coast - literally the east coast of Singapore - for dinner. We ate at a seafood restaurant called Jumbo and had satay, sliced fish, broccoli, and pepper crab. It was all quite yummy and the conversation and company was good. There was Queenie, Brian, Frank, and Sarah. Frank and Sarah were both running late, so we watched the water skiers for a while. There's a cable that goes all the way around a lagoon and the ski rope is attached to it and you can water ski.....without a boat! It's called Ski360 and is quite an ingenious idea. You don't even need your own equipment! The weather this evening was absolutely perfect and Frank said that in the 8 years he's been in Singapore, tonight was the first time he actually felt a little bit cold! There was a nice breeze off the water.

I can't believe that this trip is almost at an end. My flight leaves in about 6 hours and no, I haven't packed yet. My plan is to stay up all night so I'll sleep on the plane. I've had quite a bit of caffeine throughout today, so hopefully I'll be ok.

Is Singapore a place I'd come back to? Most definitely. But more as a jumping point....plus of course visiting Frank. I'd love to go back to Bangkok, plus Bali and Vietnam are apparently "must sees." Though there's no way you'll get me in the tunnels the Vietcong used - you can't stand up, so you need to mostly crawl, plus the door is shut and it is darker than dark and you can't see anything. With my claustrophobia, that just is not going to happen.

I encourage everyone to come to Southeast Asia at least once. Yeah, the flight is miserable, but if you have more vacation time than I do and can therefore spend more time here than I did, all the better. I feel like I've just finally adjusted to the time zone and I'm leaving.

So this ends the trip portion of my blog. Will I continue posting........we'll see. And I leave you with: Last Night in Singapore.

Day 14 - Hangin' Out in Singapore

You may be wondering what I did on Friday - not a heck of a lot. LOL. It was a nice day of relaxing. The owner of the luxury condo - Queenie - invited me to stay with her and her son Brian. It actually made the most sense, so I stayed. They are very nice and friendly. And just got back from a trip to Canada. Brian is 12 and on school holiday right now for 4 weeks. He's one of Frank's students.

Brian's lesson was Friday morning, so Frank came by and then two sisters have their lessons here as well - Claire and Felia. They're from Malaysia and also teach. Frank was hanging out in the evening with his friend Craig to watch the French Open and I was supposed to go to the Night Safari.

Queenie and Brian laid down in the late afternoon to take naps and never got back up. I ended up hanging out with Claire, who had stayed. Then her sister returned and we ordered in pizza and watched The Silk Road. It was nice and relaxing. So I really and truly did not much of anything. I should also mention that I did not have a key......

Pictures: With Claire and Felia

Day 13 - Grand Palace & Temples

Thankfully this morning was not quite as early as yesterday - pick-up was at 7:30. Not bad at all. And I slept so wonderfully last night. Which was a good thing, as I accidentally set the alarm for 7:20 instead of 6:20. Luckily I woke up on my own at 6.

So, on today's itinerary is the grand palace and several temples. I was again the first person picked up. The second couple was from Guam and very friendly. The second couple was from Hong Kong and addicted to their blackberries at the beginning of the tour. The third and fourth couples were from New Zealand, around my parents' age. Everyone was very nice and the group today really fit well together (unlike the day before, when everyone seemed very standoffish). Everyone kept volunteering to take my picture and one of the New Zealand women - Frances - took me under her wing.

Our first stop was Wat Traimit - the golden buddha. Because of the camera issues, there aren't too many pictures from today (you'll have to wait until I have the film developed). So I'll have links to images of the different items. This buddha was covered with plaster so invaders wouldn't know that it was gold - and then it was promptly forgotten that it was covered with gold and remained hidden under the plaster until it was being moved to a new location in 1955, when the plaster cracked and the gold beneath was revealed. This is a "working" temple and while there, we saw a monk come to meditate. The grounds were very touristy, though.

Then it was on to Wat Pho - the reclining buddha. Let me tell you, this buddha is HUGE. About half a football (not sure if he meant American football or soccer) field in length. The best view is actually from the feet, so I hope those pictures came out ok. The reclining buddha is actually dying, as he's lying on his right side with his feet uncrossed. It's best to lie on your right side as it's better for the heart, but the uncrossed feet indicates that he's dying (the fact that he's reclining may also indicate this, but I'm not positive).

Finally, time to see the Grand Palace and the Emerald Buddha. We were unable to go to the Royal Funeral Hall, as the body of the current king's sister was lying in state. She died in January and they are building her funeral pyre, hoping to finish it by October and to have the ceremony in November.

If you want to know more about the Thai king and his family, you can read about him here. And you definitely have to read about the king's son - his personal life is like a soap opera! Speaking of the son, the tour guide thinks it was probably his first ex-wife that I saw the other day, as she is still very much involved in charities and the like. Though I found it surprising that she would ride in one of the king's yellow vehicles and have the royal anthem played for her when she left. But then, what do I know?

Speaking of yellow....you may wonder why the king's cars are that color. The king was born on a Monday and that day's color is yellow. The king is very much loved by the Thai people and in support of him, on Mondays almost everyone wears a yellow shirt. They wear them other days of the week as well, but Monday is a very particular day. The queen was born on a Friday and her color is blue.

The Grand Palace is no longer the residence of the royal family, although they do come here for different functions. One major reason they come to the Royal Palace is to visit Wat Phra Kaew - the emerald buddha (this one we could only take pictures of form the outside). This is the most important icon for the Thai people. Most of the time in the Royal Palace was spent walking around (I got a bit sunburnt).

The tour guide today was very good and was quite open to all sorts of questions. Apparently traffic in Bangkok is not considered "bad" until about 11:00, when the shops opens. Siam means dark, bulky peasant, so the name was changed to Thai, which means freedom.

So, I would be remiss in not mentioning the current political situation in Thailand. There were protests against the government and there were rumors of an imminent military coup, which did not occur (at least so far). The demonstrations have been peaceful. This BBC article gives a good overview of the situation. Where I was staying was no where near the protests and in fact, on the tour of Bangkok we went past a street that the protests were on - it was further down the street and I didn't see a thing.

The final stop was at a gem shop, where I bought myself a sapphire ring. It's very simple and pretty. One of the funnier moments of the day happened on the way back to the hotel. First of all, everyone was taken around individually at the gem shop, so I never saw any of my fellow tourists again. The gem shop has vans that go back and forth to the hotels, so I was in one of those. Along with a family from India who talked so loud, I was very happy when they got off - randomly on the side of the road, but they had a guide so perhaps they were going somewhere for lunch. So now it's just me and the driver. We get to a light and are turning right. Keep in mind that in Thailand you also drive on the left side of the road (so at home, this is similar to taking a left hand turn). We are far back in the line of traffic and the lane is both for turning left and going straight. There was no one coming in the opposite direction, so the driver pulls in to the other lane and makes the right hand turn at the light - and promptly gets pulled over for doing it. The traffic stop only lasted about 2 minutes. The policeman write up a ticket and off we went.

So, back to the hotel for my final hours there. I decided on lunch at the hotel and ate at the Greenhouse again, where I had eaten the first night I arrived. This time I ordered a chicken ceasar salad - unlike any I ave ever eaten. There was lettuce and chicken, a side dish of bacon, ceasar dressing, and this thin bread, that had lettuce between it - but I don't think I was supposed to eat it as a sandwich. I know - you're surprised that I didn't have any more pad thai. I'd already eaten it at this restaurant, so I decided to try something else.

Now back to the airport, and of course I arrived early. The airport in Bangkok is very nice. It's all one big terminal, with rows going from front to back with the ticket counters. Then once through immigration, there's a huge shopping/dining area before you even get to your "terminal" to go through security (x-ray). I had some Thai baht left, so I did a bit of souvenir shopping and had a hotdog (it wasn't very good). At the gate, there were international telephones that I could use with a credit card, so I called home. It was great to talk to Mom & Dad! They sure were surprised to hear from me.

The flight was uneventful. I arrived back at the luxury condo and much to my surprise, it wasn't Frank who opened the door but Queenie, the owner. Frank had mixed up her return date. But it was ok for me to stay there, so I did.

Pictures: Emerald Buddha & Grand Palace

Day 12 - Bangkok & Beyond

Last night after I got back to my room, I discovered that I needed to be in the lobby at 6:20, not 6:30 for this morning. So I ordered complimentary room service breakfast (have I mentioned that I love this hotel?) and headed for bed. And of course couldn't sleep, as I was so paranoid about waking up in time.

There was a total of seven of us, from different hotels. Around 7:00 we finally headed out of Bangkok and on to our first stop - a coconut sugar plant. OK, not very exciting and of course they were trying to sell us stuff. I did buy something - a diet coke. The caffeine in my tea just didn't do it for me (though I think all of us fell asleep on the trip). And I did a bit of bargaining.......but only because the soda was 30 Baht and I had 29 Baht in coin or a 1000 baht bill. She took the 29.

Next stop, the pier for the boat trip to the floating market (the guide & driver drove the van, we took the boat). A traditional floating market is just that - a market on the water. In the past, most of the Thai people lived in the countryside along canals, so they took their boats to the market. Many of the canals have been filled in or are no longer used, but a surprising amount still are and I noticed addresses on several of the houses - though no "street" signs that I could see. Along the canal, some of the houses were barely shacks, others mansions behind gates, though most were in between. And there were businesses along the canal as well, such as a Pepsi distributor.

Once at the market, I bought not a thing. Partly because I was terrified of bargaining and partly because I just wasn't in the mood and it was too hot, plus I was tired (never a good combination with me). And the shop owners would reach out and grab your arm to get your attention - and I just *love* having strangers grab me. Brush past me in a mall or on the monorail, fine. But don't be grabbing my arm. Took a lot for me not to flinch every time it happened. The market over all was very interesting, especially since some of the shops are still on boats.

The next stop was the Royal Thai Handicraft Center and this was really amazing. The craftsmen primarily made furniture, but with amazingly intricate wood designs, all made by hand. There are - big surprise - a shop, but I did some purchasing as it was all fixed prices. Yahoo! And I found a thimble in Thailand.....not that it says Thailand, but there's an elephant, so I should remember.

Back in the van again and we headed to Nakhon Pathom, home of the tallest Buddha and built by King Rama IV - AKA the king in "The King & I."

Finally, lunchtime! On to the Rose Garden Riverside we went. I'm sure you'll be very surprised that I had pad thai for lunch :) Also had rice with chicken, a salad, bread, and yummy desserts - fresh fruit and palm sugar pudding - yummy! It was of course the wrong time of year for roses, but they did have a lot of orchids. And we saw a short elephant show and then a Thai village cultural show with dancing and music, depicting life in a village - waking, monk's ordination, wedding, traditional Thai boxing, and more. There was of course shopping, but I didn't even look.

It's the rainy season here in Thailand and it poured while we were eating lunch and then was raining lightly while we wandered around the orchid garden, waiting for the show to start. I don't think it had rained in Bangkok, though.

Back in Bangkok now and am just about ready to head for bed, as I am exhausted. Dinner was mainly snacking. And I ran a quick errand along the monorail.

I took tons & tons of pictures today. Don't worry, I haven't uploaded them all. And I took so many, my battery is about to die. And guess where the charger is? Back in Singapore. Oooops. So I went to the hotel gift shop and bought a disposable camera for tomorrow. I'm sure MBK has the appropriate charger or battery, but I discovered this after the earlier errand and I just didn't have the energy to go out again. And tomorrow I go to the royal palace and the temple, so I really wanted a camera.

Pictures: Beyond Bangkok

Day 11 - Bangkok!!!!

Still loving Bangkok....and yes, I ventured outside of the hotel today! After eating breakfast in the exclusive 31st floor lounge (scrambled eggs, toast with jam, bacon and a hash brown), I headed down to the lobby to see the concierge. And conveniently, there is a travel agent right in the lobby who arranges tours for hotel guests. On Wednesday I am going on an all day excursion to the rose garden and floating market - we leave at 6:30. And then on Thursday I am going on a half-day excursion to the palace, temple, and to see I think it's three different buddhas. Fun fun!

So, today. What to do, as I'd been hoping for an excursion the first day. Guess it's shopping. So out came the guide book and maps.......I figured out I wanted to go to MBK and CentralWorld. Both were accessible via the monorail, which runs along the street my hotel is on and a station is a block away. I went to MBK first, even though it was further away and I had to switch monorail lines. I had figured out that I could purchase a one day pass and had written down the lines I needed and the directions to go in. Couldn't have been simpler. And everything is very well signed, so easy to find what you're looking for.

MBK is........I can't even describe it. The website says over 2000 (that's two THOUSAND) retailers and I would believe it. I wandered around checking everything out, ate some pad thai for lunch (too much chicken, not enough noodles), and headed back to the hotel. At that point, I bought nothing. Did a little bit of regrouping and headed out to CentralWorld. One of the main attractions there is a department store called Zen. Well, overall, this entire mall is just like any ole sterile mall with all the same shops that I've been in. I wandered around, but nothing caught my interest at all so I decided to head back to MBK.

This is where things got interesting. I finally got to the correct level of Zen that I had come in on, so I could take the skywalk back to the monorail. Except the exit was closed with guards. OK. I wandered around a bit, found another exit to the skybridge - closed. On the grounds outside the mall an exhibit was set up......it was the opening ceremonies. OK, but why can't we go out on the skybridge? I finally found my way outside and could only go so far when, yes, we were stopped. So now I am curious and decide to hang out. There was 4 beige/yellowish cars lined up, several police cars, a military band, and armed guards. Not sure how long we waited, though it seemed forever. But I had pretty much figured out who it must be, from the guards plus what little I'd seen on a TV in Zen showing the ceremony - Her Majesty Queen Regent Sirikit. Yes, I saw the Queen of Thailand! No pictures, as that is not allowed. The royal family is very highly regarded here. So that was my exciting moment of the day.

Finally back to MBK, where I did a little bit of shopping and yes, ate pad thai for dinner. As it's after 10 and my battery is getting low, I'd best get going.

On the way back to the hotel from MBK, I stopped and checked out the exhibit, as it was open to the public by then. It's called Earth From Above and here's an article about it.

Here are some pictures from today: More Bangkok

Day 10 (Part 2) - Lovin' Bangkok

Yeah, I ended up at the airport considerably earlier than I needed to be. Yeah, the plane was delayed. Yeah, it rained shortly after I left the Bangkok airport. But I love it here!!!!

So, you say, I haven't had too much time to see anything in Bangkok. Plus it was raining on the ride in. But wow, I have the BEST hotel ever and I think I am ruined for anything less than 5 stars from now on. LOL. (trust me, I got a good deal)

The taxi pulled up to the hotel (covered driveway) and not only did they open my door, they got my luggage and brought it up to my room! I went to check-in and was brought immediately to the 31st (top) floor for "special" check-in. While we were going through everything, I was brought a glass of orange juice. Now mind you, I only went for this package because breakfast was included (I found that very helpful in KL). I also get drinks during the cocktail hour and the business center is open 24 hours, with free Wi-Fi (which is where I am right now).

After check-in was completed, I was BROUGHT to my room! And she showed me where everything was, took care of turning on the electricity in my room, and then my luggage arrived. I just looked around the room in amazement.....the bed was turned down with a flower on the pillow! Oh, I get three pieces of clothing for complimentary laundry service - you know what I am having done tomorrow!

Once I unpacked and checked out everything (had problems with the TV at first, but I have it sorted now) I headed off to the Greenhouse, which is one of several restaurants here at the hotel (which also has - surprise surprise - a mall!). And I have my favorite Thai dish - phad thai (with shrimp). Scrumptious! Of course, I've never had any other Thai dish because I like this one so much. But so what. Don't be surprised if my meals here consist mainly of that. Remember, for at least 2 years in college I ate the same thing every day for lunch and dinner.

The people here are very nice and helpful. Tomorrow morning I am going to check with the concierge about a tour of the palace and temple. Can't wait!

I leave you with pictures of my room:

Lovin' Bangkok

Day 10 - Bedok Reservoir

So, today is Monday and later this afternoon I head to Thailand! I was a bit lazy this morning, though I was up by 8:30. Around 11:00 I went for a walk around Bedok Reservoir, which is across the street from the luxury condo. It's a 4 km loop and I did it in about an hour. Wore my hat, as it was the middle of the day. The walk was very nice and most of the time there was a breeze, which helped. I saw a number of people running and decided they were insane - I don't even run at noontime at home!

There really wasn't too much to actually see - just lots of lush greenery and of course the reservoir itself. I did get some good shots of the condo complex, plus one of a sign at the pumping station. If you don't speak one of the languages on the sign, the picture is rather descriptive. Believe it or not there was actually quite a bit of shade along the pathway, so that was really nice. Most of the walk was rather quiet, though there was some construction noises that I could hear most of the walk. It was a good chance to just be quiet, as Singapore has lots of noise.

So, just about time to head off to the airport. Here are some pictures from my walk:

Bedok Reservoir

Day 9 - Singapore

So, after 4 hours of sleep, it was time to get up for church. I made my way successfully via taxi. Alas, remembered when I arrived for the 9:30 service that Tara teaches Sunday School during the 11:00 service, so it wouldn't be until after that when we'd meet up with Frank and Sarah for brunch. Oooops - I could have slept more and gone to the later service. Tara teaches 11 year olds - what a handful and she is a brave woman!

We met for lunch at Simply Bread (I think that's what it was called) and I had a diet coke (need my caffeine, you know) and French toast. Yummy!!! Sarah is from Dubai and has been in Singapore for the past year working - she'll be heading back home soon. She's one of Frank's piano students. We had a great time gabbing and hanging out. Then it was good-byes to Tara, as she heads to the US on Friday for a conference (and I'll be in Thailand all week).

The plan for the afternoon was Sentosa Island, which is a small island just off the island of Singapore. When Frank first moved here 8 years ago, it was a rather primitive island. Now it is getting built up, with several HUGE casinos being built. Did walk up the hill (part of it was on escalators), but decided to pass on the museum that was there. A large tourist group had just entered, plus some bratty kids.

We slowly made our way to a mall (they're also convenient meeting places) to meet up with Craig and his wife Lisa. Tara was also joining us, as we were thinking about catching a movie. The five of us ended up talking, missed the movie time, and then headed to a Thai restaurant for dinner, where I finally had the Phad Thai that I love. The conversation was all over the place, but we had lots of laughs. Craig was impressed that I - a woman - was interested in baseball (though he's a Cubs and Diamondbacks fan). He couldn't believe it when I told him lots of women in the US are baseball fans, as that is not the case in Asia.

Craig and Lisa have been to Bangkok many times, so gave me tips on where to shop and what excursions I should go on. So the general plan is Tuesday for the palace and temple(s), Wednesday to the floating market, and Thursday to shop. My hotel is located near a lot of the shopping, so that's convenient. I head back to Singapore on Thursday, but not until 10 PM, so I will have plenty of time to shop. And the traffic at that hour is not horrible, so I don't have to panic about that. Plus I have a late check-out at the hotel - 6 PM (and I can probably leave my luggage there while I go for dinner).

Pictures:
Sunday in Singapore
Frank's Pad
Luxury Condo

Day 8 - Back in Singapore

So, I'm back in Singapore. Saturday morning Frank had a couple of students, so we were meeting up in the center of town, at Borders. I slept in a bit (let me tell you, going halfway around the world really screws up one's sleeping!) and then headed off. I started off walking along the street in the direction I needed to end up, but dark clouds were rolling in (still have no umbrella) and the air was rather still, so no breeze. I caught the No. 5 bus and off I went. Managed to get off exactly where I needed to and enter Borders, just before the skies opened up. Yah me! I was feeling groggy, so stopped at Coffee Bean & Tea for a vanilla latte (I am pretty picky with lattes) - not bad. Walked around Borders and the rest of the mall until it was time to meet Frank.

The shops here in Singapore have these tall, skinny plastic bags for umbrellas - brilliant! As it rains nearly every day at least for a little while, these are very handy. It's "Singapore Sale" time at the shops, so yes everyone was shopping. But then again, they always are!

The rain had stopped by the time I met up with Frank, so we headed off for lunch at Crystal Jade for some Chinese food. We had sweet & sour pork, chicken kwayteo, and broccoli with garlic sauce. And I will have you know that I successfully ate the entire meal with chopsticks! It was quite yummy and as this restaurant is also in Bangkok, I know I'll have an option for someplace that has food I like (and could order).

Then it was off to the Asian Civilisation Museum and we DID get caught in the rain. Knew it would happen sooner or later. We took shelter at this very posh hotel for a while, walked through the underground tunnel where I took a picture of one of the city's Merlions, then the rain had tapered off, so we crossed the river to the museum. A special exhibit of Vietnam had just started that day, so we lucked out!

In the evening, we were headed to Dom and Ming's apartment for a party. They had gotten married the week before in a small ceremony, so this was a party for everyone else. Dom was one of the first friends that Frank made in Singapore. Before the party, Frank had to stop and get his hair cut at a Filipino mall and afterwards we ate at a shop called Kopitiam - kopi=coffee, ti =tea, and am=shop. We had some yakun kya toast (aka French toast) which was yummy.

Dom and Ming's party was a fun time, though I started crashing around 11/11:30. It's typical in Asian cultures to take off your shoes when you enter the house, so there was a great pile of shoes by the door and everyone was in bare feet. Dom is Italian and grew up in Australia and Ming is Chinese.

Unfortunately I got a second wind on the way back to the condo and was awake until 4 AM. Though some of that was because I was working on hotel arrangements for Bangkok and was trying to find the best deal with the best service at the best hotel in the best location.

Latest pics: Scenes of Singapore

Cutting Edge!

Just a short post - I know I need to update the past couple of days.

I just wanted you all to know how "cutting edge" I am. Remember last weekend weekend in Singapore that Frank and I went on the Nature Walk with the Henderson Waves and Alexandra Arches? Well, guess what was featured in this Sunday's "Times Straits" (local newspaper)? You got it - the Nature Walk! We're so glad we discovered it before it became the "in" thing to do. LOL.

And here's a picture from the Nature Walk:

KL to S'pore

So, Friday I headed back to Singapore.....with a long 4 hours at the airport. Why, you ask? Two reasons: 1) I was afraid there'd traffic and it would take me forever to get there (it only took an hour) ans 2) I thought my flight was at 3:15 (it was at 4:40). Yup, definite "toon" move. While hanging out in the airport, I "people watched" and made a list of random thoughts that I will share here:

- the "dirty" buildings in KL I think is actually mildew....some buildings don't have it - newer? more expensive & mildew resistant building material? somehow cleaned?

- the scooter drivers put on a jack backwards to protect their shirts from road debris and to cut down on the wind

- Malaysia also has cell phone towers "disguised" to look like evergreens - I saw 4 on the bus trip to the airport

- forgot to mention that these are former British colonies, do driving is on the left

- during the Singapore Nature Walk last weekend, checked out the restroom.....it was just holes in the ground so I waited

- I would definitely go back to KL, as I figured out how to get around on public transit and then left.....guidebooks were not helpful for this AT ALL

- I was amazed at what some women - obviously tourists - and the skimpy clothing that they were wear in a fairly conservative Muslim country

- on the flight to S'pore, the pilot announced that it was 28 (Celsius) and dry in Singapore..... obviously "dry" is a relative term

So that ends my random airport thoughts.....

::shout out to my cousin Chris who was winged today!!!!!::

So back in S'pore, I met up with Frank at a luxury condo - he is condo-sitting for his friend Queenie, who is in Canada right now. It's on the 18th floor - the top......plus a second story! It's a really nice place :) Sitting in comfortable a/c right now, watching a big screen TV (nothing on, so watching a countdown of the best guns), several pools, great views......

Shortly after I arrived, we took off for a performance of the Singapore Symphony Orchestra. The program consisted of works by Beethoven, featuring guest violinist Leila Josefowitz (and guest conductor Eri Klas. The program was absolutely wonderful and interesting and exciting! Beethoven is one of my favorites and I actually was familiar with several movements in the works. I also think this was my first symphony concert. The concert was held at the Esplanade.

After the concert we ate at the hawker hall nearby. We had satay (AKA meat on a stick) and stir fried rice. To drink we had young coconuts that weren't as young as they should be. Then it was back to Queenie's place and I crashed.

Final KL Pictures

Totally Off-Topic

The lobster place across the street from where I work in Boston burned:

http://edition.cnn.com/2008/US/05/30/boston.fire.ap/index.html

The building on the right is one of the two towers in the complex and you can't see it, but the pedestrian bridge mentioned in the article is the one I walk across whenever I drive in and park in the "mud lot."

Day 6 – KL

(By the way, I uploaded three days' worth of posts tonight, so be sure to start with Day 4)

Well, this morning started off auspiciously. I’d set the alarm for 7:30, turned it off, and was awoken two hours later by housekeeping. Ooops. Not that I have anywhere in particular to be. I started to walk towards the transit station, but heard this loud music coming from a mall, so decided to check it out. Apparently it was the opening of Big Apple Donuts & Coffee….you should have seen the line! And it’s “Big Apple” as in NYC as I saw pictures of the city on the boxes of donuts. They didn’t seem like anything in particular to me and there’s already Dunkin Donuts all over the place. So on to the transit system – this line had the monorail. So off to KL Sentral I went. Found the buses ok and what I need to do on Friday to get to the airport. I’ve decided to leave the hotel by 11:00, just to be on the safe side. The flight is at 3:15 and the noontime bus should get me there by 1:15, but I’ve seen the traffic! I want an earlier bus if possible and certainly not a later one.

Next, on to Chinatown, which basically is Julan Petaling (Petaling Street). I’d found the Petaling stop on the transit stop and finally figured out that it was on the KTM Koumter line. Bought a ticket and off I went………ahem. The fact that it was a COMMUTER train should have been my first clue, as we headed OUTSIDE the city. Guess there’s a town with the same name. It was only two stops and there was a return train in 10 minutes. Back to KL Sentral I went.

So far every single train station I have seen has some sort of a covering (if it’s outside) and you’d really be pretty protected – both from the sun AND the rain. All the walkways and escalators all have roofs.

This time found the correct train and got off at Pasar Seni stop and walked a couple of blocks to Julan Petaling. Which pales in comparison to Chinatown in Singapore, seemed to me just like anything you could buy at a street fair in NYC, and I bought nothing, other than lunch at the Swiss Hotel. I had a hamburger (it had a fried egg on it!) & fries – the hamburger looked a bit “suspicious.” It amused me that the Pepsi Light was KM 1 more than just a Pepsi. I was sitting in the bar and ESPN was showing a soccer (football) game – Everton vs. Sunderland (score 3-1 @ halftime which was when I left) and I *think* they’re two Australian teams, plus the fans (cheering for Everton) and the coaches were wearing heavy winter coats. The volume wasn’t up enough and during one break, ESPN was showing scores from a Saturday back in November and then when they went to halftime, I could have sworn the screen listed the game as being in Liverpool. Needless, to say, I am not quite sure what I was watching! Might have been a repeat.

After walking back and forth several times along Julan Petaling and taking a couple of pictures, decided to head to the tourist office to check my e-mail on the free internet. My timing was pretty good, as the heavens OPENED up and we had quite the thunderstorm for about an hour. I was sure glad to be inside and once again, I had good timing (which I know will have to end soon & I am purchasing an umbrella when I get back to Singapore). I spent a lot of the time watching a video of the “Colours of Malasyia” – an annual cultural dance & music program celebrating the country’s anniversary (this year it was 50 years, though I think the video was from 2007). I really liked the traditional Indian (as in India) dance.

Oh my word, on the way to the tourism office I passed three tourists – the woman had TAKEN OFF her shoes and was walking along the street (not even on the sidewalk) in her BARE feet. Ick!!! That’s a prime way to get diseases! (yes, I was reading the guidebook section on disease last night)

Once the storm was finally over, I made my way back to the hotel – via monorail – and just finished watching game 5 of the Boston Celtics vs. Detroit Pistons, which the Celtics just barely won. It wasn’t live, as I started watching it during the 2^nd quarter at which point it would have been 5 AM in Boston.

Well, as it is after 7 PM now, I should go scrounge up some dinner and then head to Starbucks so I can upload everything I’ve types to the blog (I love copy & paste) and the pictures to Facebook. Seems so strange that everyone back home is just starting Thursday and for me, it’s almost over.

PS. Had a Thai Chicken Salad for dinner in the hotel restaurant. Have been at Starbucks for about the past hour, uploading pictures and posting - doing a lot of waiting for the pics......

Chinatown - Thursday

Day 5 – KL

My first full day in Malaysia. The alarm went off at 6, as I’d been told that I needed to be at Petronas by 8 to get the free tickets for the skybridge (which is only at the 41^st floor and the buildings are 88 stories). I hit snooze. I reset the alarm. Hit snooze some more. Reset the alarm again. Decided that I’d go on Thursday. I finally did get up and had a complimentary breakfast buffet in the hotel restaurant – I had pancakes and then a garden salad. LOL. So, what to do now that Petronas is out? Not a clue, so decided to walk over to the Malaysian Tourism Office, which is actually not that far from Petronas. The tourism office seemed to be more for tours/traveling in other parts of the country and not really too much about KL in and of itself. But they had computers with free internet access! So I caught up on e-mail. There’s a limit of 20 minutes and while the computer doesn’t shut off after that point in time and no one was waiting – indeed, no one by then was on any other computer – I didn’t want to abuse the privilege so I signed off and left.

As I was quite close to Petronas at this point, I figured I might as well walk on over. At the very least, there’s a 6-story shopping mall inside the complex, so I could look for souvenirs. Ah-ha! There are still tickets left at 10:00!! My ticket is for 4:15. Ok. What do I do with myself for 6 hours? I headed outside as there is a beautiful park as part of the complex. There was a nice breeze, so not too bad I thought. Wrong! It was still HOT and HUMID, just with a breeze. I took pictures of the towers, but the park itself was pretty much just green. No interesting flowers and the better views of it are from the skybridge. So, back inside I went and I walked the mall. Again and again and again. Went in many shops. Bought almost nothing. Hung out in the book store for a while until I nearly fell asleep, so headed to Starbucks for a pick-me-up. A major downside to today’s world economy is that the shops are all mostly the ones we have at home and the ones that have a different name, really didn’t have any product that was different. I saw: L’Oreal, The Body Shop, Crabtree & Evelyn, Guess Kids, Marks & Spencer, Max Mara, Chanel, Hugo Boss……….. Did buy some water in the grocery store – Cold Storage. Isn’t that a neat name for a grocery store? I think so. Much better than Piggly Wiggly. I also bought a canvas bag in the store and used that to put my purse and packages in. Very convenient. Though when I went back later in the day to stock up on water (and diet coke), the cashier went to put my purchases in a plastic bag – I had the canvas one from the store sitting RIGHT THERE on the counter. Guess recycling is catching on slow here.

Finally, it was time to head down for my assigned time for the skybridge. There’s an interesting exhibit in the waiting area about the construction of the towers – they are currently the second highest buildings in the world and the highest twin towers. Once I joined the tour, we had to sit through a movie which was basically propaganda for Petronas Oil. Met up with a woman from Canada who was on her own and she’s an environmentalist, so she said she was gagging through the presentation. She’s been in Southeast Asia for several months (though had just arrived in KL) and is hoping to go to China - though at the moment they’re only issuing visas to their own citizens (at least in Malaysia, as she heard she could get one in Bangkok). It was nice to have met up with her, as we took pictures of each other on the skybridge. Found a thimble in the gift shop!

As this is a predominantly Muslim country, I had the opportunity to observe many head coverings (only saw a handful of women in the full, black outfit with just the slit for the eyes). While I may not agree with the conservatism that keeps these on women’s heads, what a fashion accessory! Some of them are absolutely beautiful and are matched to the outfit. Many are held on by elaborate pins, so that adds to the accessorizing! There are two things that I have a problem with, though: first, wearing a skimpy tight shirt and tight jeans with your boy friend’s hand high on your thigh while wearing a head covering – isn’t that just a LITTLE hypocritical? And second, the husband (one assumes that’s who he was) being so conservative that the wife has to wear the full garment with just the eye slots, yet HE is wearing jeans & a short-sleeved t-shirt (in other words, WESTERN clothing) and holding his wife’s hand (which I thought was a no-no in super conservative circles, but perhaps not). Boggles my mind. Oh well. There’s a reason I’m just visiting here and it’s something that I can’t change. (hope I didn't offend anyone)

One thing you definitely have to watch out for here in KL is the scooters! They are everywhere! Weaving through traffic, riding along the sidewalks (though not too often), parked all over the place (esp. in the evening), and zooming up to the front of traffic at a stop light. Oh, the KL police are just as effective as directing traffic here as at home……the light would turn, but they’d have the traffic with the red light moving, for no apparent reason.

Still need to decide what will be on the agenda for tomorrow, besides figuring out how to get to the airport. Enjoy the few pictures from today.

KL Pictures – Wednesday

Day 4 – S’pore to KL

Wow, day 4 already! (Am writing this on Word in the hotel room, as there is no Wi-Fi here….but there should be some in the lobby & if that doesn’t work, there’s always Starbucks or a bazillion other places with free Wi-Fi. I’ll just have to cut and paste, so it’ll be quick.) So, you know how I said I was all recovered from my jet lag? Nooooo. Nope. Nada. I was wrong. I didn’t get to sleep until about 4 AM and the alarm was going off at 8. Not that I got up quite that early…around 9 I think. After Frank headed off to see a student, I headed over to the Orchid Garden in the Botanic Garden. They sure do know how to grow orchids here! Here is a picture of one to whet your appetite and if you want more: Orchid Garden pictures. Be warned, it is NOTHING BUT ORCHIDS. Uncle Chuck, this is a must-see for you and it’s right around the corner from where Frank lives, so you could visit every day if you wanted! I had never realized quite how many varieties of orchid there is. The garden has over 2000! Don’t worry, I didn’t photograph all of them. Found a thimble in the gift shop!

The weather was hot. I’m sure you’re surprised. As I was leaving the gardens, I realized the sky was looking rather ominous and I was hearing thunder. Uh-oh. So I started walking faster and was checking out potential places to take shelter if the storm hit. I got lucky and it started sprinkling just as I rounded the corner onto the street and I was in the door before the skies opened up. Though it is apparently my day for rain (see below).

It was off to the airport to head for Kuala Lumpur (KL), Malaysia. I hailed a taxi all on my own – actually, I didn’t even have to put my arm out as it was rather obvious with a suitcase that I needed a ride – and off to the airport I went. I arrived super early, but I’d rather be early than late and at the Singapore Airport, there’s a separate terminal for the budget airlines: Tiger, Asia, and a few others. There were numerous places to eat (I had fish & chips (S’pore used to be a British colony!)) and shop (I just bought a diet coke as I had a desperate need for caffeine). And I saw children out of control and parents totally ignoring the fact – I felt right at home!

The gate for the flight opened 30 minutes before take-off, so at 2:45 I headed on over to stand in line. And guess what, it started raining! Then an announcement was made that the flight would be late due to the late arrival of the inbound plane……yikes, last time I heard that was two years ago in Spain and I ended up having to take a 4 hour bus ride to another city, thus missing the connecting flight to Berlin and having to sleep over night in the airport to catch one in the morning! But phew, the plane arrived, was off-loaded, then re-loaded. Except it sits on the tarmac and you have to walk out there. But wait, they have umbrellas. And not just any umbrellas, but AIG umbrellas (Shirley, please thank your company!). The flight itself was about 45 minutes and turbulent. Nothing too horrible, though.

Once landing in KL, it was time to head into the city. I knew the airport was about 70 km away from the city proper, so I planned to take the express train. I asked information where it was and was told it wasn’t at that airport! OK, what the heck airport am I at? Thought it was K.L. International, but maybe not. My choices are a taxi, van shuttle, or bus. I chose the bus, as the name of the street my hotel is on was on the company’s sign. Only RM 15, which is about $5. And the bus goes and goes and goes and goes. So, I am assuming that I WAS at KL International, just not at a TERMINAL the express train serviced. Thursday’s task is figuring out how to get back to the airport. Now, I’ve heard that the traffic in KL was horrendous. Not seeming bad, just like any big city at rush hour. Until we get off the highway. Oh my. At one point, the bus stopped and 90% of the people got off – I think they had to transfer to another bus and it was just myself and a British couple. It took FOREVER to finally get to my hotel and if I’d been feeling more comfortable about where I was, I probably would have gotten off and walked – it would have been faster! The guidebook mentioned the lack of sidewalks in KL, but in my observations from the bus, there usually was one. Just sometimes cars or scooters were parked on them.

Checked in to the hotel with no problem, took the lift to the 13^th floor (good thing I’m not suspicious about that) and could see the Petronas Twin Towers from the hallway windows. I hoped the whole way to my room that I’d have that view and look, I did!!!! I think they’re much more impressive-looking at night than during the day…and don’t worry, at some point they turn off the lights and just have the airplane warning ones blinking. Was exhausted, so ordered room service and went to bed. Watched ESPN while eating my pizza, sports nut that I am. And did you know, BADMINTON in big here? ESPN News devoted quite a bit of time to whether or not this injured player would be on the Olympic team or not – he says he’s fine and I am assuming that he missed some qualifiers, as there’s someone else currently slated to go whose place he’d take. Now I have something to watch for during the Olympics!

I do need to mention one room experience that I had. So, I open the door, switch on the light, and nothing. Lights don’t work. There was enough light from the Twin Towers, so I came into the room and tried every light switch. Finally called guest services and they said they’d send up maintenance. By this point I had the Palm Pilot out to use as a flash light. So I am checking out everything in the room and notice something by the door. Lo and behold, my room key goes in there and the lights come on! Thankfully I’ve encountered this set-up once before, though I can’t remember where so it must have been a while ago. I called to let them know I was all set.

Hotel Room & View - Tuesday

Singapore Day 3

So, I finally caught up on my sleep!! I slept so long, Frank was afraid I'd died. But I feel great!

Started off the day with a trip in to Chinatown, via the 191 bus. I did a little bit of shopping and may go back there again...depends on what I find in Bangkok. As it's a Monday, it wasn't horribly crowded, so I was able to look around. Then we went over to a hawker hall to eat....again, not lunchtime so not too insane. See the picture to the right. I had chicken and rice, which was very good. I tried a sip of coconut juice, which was very good and I am going to have some next opportunity.

Frank was hoping that this building nearby still had an exhibit, which it did! It's the Master Plan for Singapore and shows every single building in the city/country. Simply an amazing work of artistry to create and really gives one a good sense of the city and what is planned for the future. There were displays of information as well, including one that mentioned the recently completed Henderson Wave and Tree Top Walk. We questioned a guide and she found out for us that we just needed to go to the Harbourfront stop and the start of the trail was near there. Most of today's pictures are form this walk and links can be found at the end.

So we exit the station and find signs to Henderson Wave, which brings us up up up Mt. Faber, across the top to the other side. Where we found a car park and also saw several buses that go up the mountain...... Finally found proper signage to Henderson Wave, which is a bridge over Henderson Road, shaped like a wave. On the other side of the bridge started the Tree Top Trail. Literally this high aluminum walkway through the tree tops.

Next stop, the Alexandra Arch.....again, a bridge over Alexandra Road and shaped like an arch. The views from the path were unbelievable and it was so peaceful, despite the amount of people also walking along.

Along the trail, everything was so so green around us, but very few flowers. Then, we found the Hort Garden. All of the pictures can be found in my Singapore Day 3 photo album. It was garden after garden after garden, all with beautiful flowers artfully arranged, including a "Wizard of Oz" garden. If you are a flower lover, this is definitely a place to visit.

We decided to continue along to Kent Ridge Park and on our way up the path, numerous runners passed by. This is the best time of day to exercise, as the sun has gone down and it is at least relatively cooler and the humidity not as bad. Again, so much greenery every where and beautiful views. And there were fitness centers - rings, bars for chin ups, logs to jump over, etc - here and there. Obviously a place people come to a lot. We finally found a path downward, into some random housing section, where we caught a taxi back to Frank's.

We've been watching the movie "Rendition" while I was uploading pictures, etc. Very powerful movie....don't watch it if you have a weak stomach, as it deals with terrorism. The documentary after the movie is even better!

I uploaded two albums of pictures to Facebook, which has a public link to view:

Singapore Day 3 (orchids & greenery) and Singapore Day 3a (everything else from today)

So ends day 3....tomorrow morning I am going back to the Singapore Botanic Gardens to see the Orchid Garden and then off to Kuala Lumpur in the afternoon.

Day 2 - Singapore

Well, after a measly 1.5 hours of sleep last night (see post below), I was up and at 'em this morning at 8 AM. The reason? Church with Frank's friend Tara. She picked me up in a taxi and off we went to the International Baptist Church (AKA "IBC" - small world). This morning was a special service by the Women's Concert Choir and Bell Ensemble from Moody Bible Institute in Chicago. What a wonderful service of music and sharing. The director of the choir - Hong Xiangtang - is working on her doctorate, but received her Masters in Choral Conducting from Westminster Choir College (which some of you will recognize). I have heard bell choirs before, but this group was really amazing as they played not only the bells, but used mallets plus had this "bells" that looked like long, skinny, rectangular pieces of metal. Several of the women would be frantically playing one, putting it down, turning a page, grabbing another instrument, putting it down to pick up the bell....

After the service, I experienced my first taxi ride [in Singapore] by myself. Of course, Tara hailed it and told the driver where to drop me off and since it was the Borders on Orchard Street that I had been past the day before, I was pretty ok. I wandered around Borders - oh, what a hardship - for a while before meeting up with Frank, then we headed over to the Marmalade Pantry at Palais Renaissance, where Tara joined us. She teaches Sunday School to 11 year olds and before I left the church, we'd talked about how she's a scientist and that the students ask her how she fits that in with being a Christian.

After lunch Tara left, while Frank & I headed off to do a wee [and I mean wee] bit of shopping. After dropping our bundles back at his place, we headed off to a Cello & Piano Duo Recital by Joshua Roman & Benjamin Loh (Ben is a friend of Frank's). We were both absolutely exhausted, so we sat in the back row in case one of us fell asleep. Came close a couple of times and thank goodness there was an intermission (we ran & grabbed some caffeine). They played pieces by Beethoven, Benjamin Britten, and Brahms. There were two [short] encores and the second one was this lively piece. A young boy in front of us was really into the music, bopping his head around and just overall very excited about it.

Met some more friends of Frank's after the concert & while we were waiting for a ride, Frank realized that the reason he was so tired - as he slept fine last night - was because he'd barely eaten all day and really hardly ate at all during the past week!! So it was back to Orchard Road for us and some meat at Billy Bombers - a retro American diner.

Today's impressions of Singapore: it was very hot; thank goodness for a/c; it's an attitude of "I don't care if I win, but I don't want you to win either" when getting on a bus or subway; everything is very clean and there are trash barrels & recycle bins all over the place; they drive on the left as in England (having been an English colony); absolutely everything is imported and the island has no natural resources; did I mention it was hot?

I am getting comfortable with the mass transit system and could definitely take the number 171 bus back to Frank's without a problem!

Day 1 - Continued

Just a few things to add to day 1 - the meal I ate was called mee goren. And jet lag caught up with me, big time. I was up ALL night Saturday night & finally fell asleep at 6:30 AM.......with the alarm going off at 8. Oooops.

One major impression of Singapore is how clean & efficient everything is. Frank's friends say that coming to Singapore first is a good way to ease in to the rest of Asia.

Day 1 in Singapore

So, I have been in Singapore just over 24 hours now! Spent most of the daytime sleeping - which apparently was a good thing as it was hot even by Singapore standards. Frank had students this morning (he teaches piano) and he also napped when he got back.

We headed out to the Botanical Gardens arrive 5:00 and the weather was superb! Still hot, but there was a slight breeze playing. Saw the bonzai garden and this area that looks like the desert, and walked through an area that might have been rain forest, but I am not positive. I do want to still go see the orchids - they are apparently amazing, if you like orchids.

Afterwards we took the bus to Orchard Road, which is the big shopping area and has mall after mall after mall - all with practically the same thing in them. I hit the ATM, we bought a sheet, and I got an MRT (public transportation) card so all I have to do now on the bus or trains is tap it. So nice! But you have to remember to tap when you get off the bus or there is a huge fine.

Then we headed to East Coast - AKA the beach. We met up with Frank's friend Craig, who he's known since he arrived here nearly 8 years ago. Sarah also joined us - she's from Dubai, has been working here for a year, and she's one of Frank's students. We ate at a restaurant that overlooked the beach - I forget what I had, but it was a typical dish. Noodles, vegetables, and some shrimp.

Then the four of us walked along this path that runs along a good portion of the coast and Craig was telling me what I need to see in Bangkok.

Now back at Frank's and since I need to be ready to leave by 9:15 in the morning for church, I had best get going. Adios!

Arrived in Singapore

I made it - safe and sound! Left my house Thursday morning at 6 and arrived in Singapore at Frank's at 12:30 AM on Saturday. Good night!!

Itinerary

A trip wouldn't be complete without an itinerary! So, for the curious (all times local), here is the basic outline for when I am in Singapore:

Thursday, May 22
lv. BOS 9 AM ar ORD 10:36 AM
lv. ORD 12:20 PM ar SIN 11:35 PM (Friday, May 23)

Tuesday, May 27 - Friday, May 30 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Monday June 2 - Thursday, June 5 in Bangkok, Thailand

Sunday, June 8

lv. SIN 6:40 AM ar. ORD 2:20 PM

lv. ORD 9:05 PM ar. BOS 12:21 AM (Monday, June 9)

-- I am going to call & see if I can get on an earlier flight!

As an FYI, time difference between the east coast of the US and Singapore is 12 hours - Singapore being 12 hours ahead. So while I am landing close to midnight on Friday in Singapore, at home it's only about noon (on Friday).

I am all packed, but need to reconfigure the carry-ons as I currently have no room to bring anything back with me! But I think I've figured it out - essentially, drop the laptop bag (& put that in the backpack) and bring a different small bag that I can fit more in.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with Southeast Asia (I *think* you can click on the image to make it larger):

One Week Until I'm Leavin'......

....On a Jet Plane!!!!

That's right, just one little week until I head to Singapore. I'll be posting more details about the itinerary in a few days, but needed to get the initial post set up! The trip dates are May 22 (though I don't arrive in Singapore until May 23rd at 11:40 PM local time) through June 8.