13/52

Week 13 of 52
Navy Pier
Chicago, IL
USA

There is nothing like landing in the US and seeing blue skies, and sunshine, and the Midwest, and lots of Americans, and diet Mt. Dew, and pizza, and Mexican food, and watching a Coast Guard ship leave Navy Pier...

I arrived in Chicago at about 2:00 pm local time.  It was an uneventful trip which means it was a good trip.  I flew from Singapore to Hong Kong and then direct to Chicago.  It was a long trip but I had great flight attendants and was lucky enough to be in business class.  Here's a shot of my first view of the US...

I'm not sure exactly where this was because I took this picture in between sleeps...

After I got to the hotel and unpacked and cleaned up a bit I decided to head down to Navy Pier to get outside for a bit and enjoy the nice weather.

It was quite busy down at Navy Pier...quite a change from when Alan and I were there in March.  The weather was certainly nicer and this time I got to see a Coast Guard ship from Mackinac undock and head back out, presumably to head back Up North...

I cannot tell you how great it was to come back to the US and see a military ship heading back out and have all of the people...I mean every...single...person...stop and watch and applaud as they set back out.  I haven't seen that kind of patriotism in awhile and it makes me proud to be an American and glad to be back on US soil for a bit.

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12/52 - a little late

Week 12 of 52
View from my hotel room
Berjaya Hotel
Langkawi, Malaysia

This past weekend I went to Langkawi, Malaysia for a birthday weekend with a friend.  We take a trip each year and we typically like to do some exploring but we have both been very busy with work this year so opted for a quieter weekend this time.  If you are interested in a quick trip from Singapore that will bring you pretty scenery and some much needed relaxation I recommend the Berjaya Hotel.

We didn't leave the hotel grounds the entire weekend.  It is a sprawling property that has done a nice job of incorporating the hotel into the landscape instead of mowing everything down and starting over.

We had a funny time on Friday night when we checked in.  It took us three rooms to get to one that had two beds and we could get into but it ultimately turned out to be very nice.  We stayed in the rain forest but with a nice view of the Andaman Sea.  Instead of a large building with all of the rooms in it like most hotels they have chalets.  Most of them are single buildings either in the rain forest or on the sea.  Ours had four rooms in the building but we never heard anybody else.

Our Saturday consisted of the following...
-sleep in...
-breakfast...
-hang out by the pool...

-enjoy a fruity drink at the swim-up bar...

 -see a Dusky Leaf Monkey up close for the first time...

This little guy kept turning his head at the exact moment I would hit my shutter button...finally got him though...

-Enjoyed a relaxing massage at the spa...
-Sat on the balcony and had a glass of wine to toast my friend on her birthday...
-Watch the sunset while enjoying an amazing Thai dinner...

 Sunday was a similar day except we had to fly home...

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In my bag

There are a few things that I never leave home without here in Singapore.  If you ever visit Singers or Asia for that matter you may want to include a few of these in your bag as well...

#1 - Wallet
Seems pretty obvious...

#2 - Passport & green card
First, the card that permits me to be in the country for longer than 30 days is indeed green.  I'm supposed to have it with me at all times.  And there are a lot of things here in Singapore that require your passport so I typically have mine with me.

#3 - Cash
Unlike the US where you can pay for just about everything with a credit card or debit card (I rarely have cash when I am home) here in Singers you really need to have cash.  Most of the places like grocery stores, pharmacies, etc accept credit cards but most people tend to pay with cash. 

#4 - Mobile phone
Very important for keeping in touch...and for checking the bus arrivals...and calling taxis...

#5 - Camera
I almost always have one of my cameras in my bag.  If there is one thing I have learned from being here is that you never ever know what you might come across and should always have a camera on the ready.

#6 - Handkerchief
I know this is hard to see but is standard white handkerchief.  It is always hot, hot, hot out and it is good to have something to wipe the sweat off of your brow.

#7 - Mass Transit Card & apartment building key card
Mass transit card is good for travel on bus, MRT, and in some taxis.  The apartment building key card is critical to get myself into my building.

#8 - Keys
House key and mailbox key.

#9 - Kleenex
The hawker centers here don't give out napkins so you always need to have tissues.

#10 - Umbrella
Something that you only get caught without once and you'll never forget it again...because no matter what happens if you forget your umbrella a downpour will occur.

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Quiet time

All is quiet at my house again...AliG has gone back home.  It was nice having a kitty in the house and I do miss having another creature around here...but...it is also nice to not get attacked when walking down the hallway.  One last fun picture of him...

And...I was out for a walk yesterday afternoon and thankfully had my camera with me so I could catch a picture of this cute ginger cat...

Hope everybody has a great 4th of July today!

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11/52

Week 11 of 52
Marina Bay area
Singapore

I have been feeling a bit nostalgic about the US this week.  I've never done anything particularly special for 4th of July but I have always enjoyed the fireworks that come along with it.  Even if I didn't get the chance to see them in person I love watching the fireworks in DC or Boston on TV.

Two years ago I spent 4th of July with some fellow Americans at a celebration specifically for us Americans.  This year I wanted to see some fireworks but didn't necessarily want to go to the American Club celebration.  Instead, I decided to watch the fireworks which are part of the rehearsal for the Singapore National Day coming up in August.  (I blogged about it a few years ago.)

I ended up waiting on the bridge near the Esplanade enjoying a very cool breeze with three friends.  The funny part is that all three are from Britain which seemed a bit ironic since I was there for Independence Day fireworks...

Anyway, we watched the entire National Day dress rehearsal and waited and waited for the fireworks.  Shortly after 8 pm they started the fireworks and it was great.  It brought me back to sitting on the hood of our car with my family at the Owosso Airport when I was a little kid...and laying on the beach with my brother Jeff and mom staring up at the fireworks being shot up from out on Lake Michigan...and watching the Washington DC fireworks on TV with my mother-in-law...and watching the fireworks at the Duke football stadium with Alan...

Like I said, I have been feeling a bit nostalgic and despite being halfway around the world and despite the fact that the fireworks were not in fact for us Americans...I found a way...as all expats do at some point...to make something local feel a bit like home...if only for a few minutes...

 

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness."

Have a safe and happy 4th of July weekend!

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