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: