Musings from Singapore: the airport

While living in Singapore, there are many things I've had to get used to. Some are better than others.

But one thing I could DEFINITELY get used to is the airport.

Arriving in Singapore in August was my first foray into Asia and I had no idea what to expect. I mean, I knew Singapore was "first world" and had the requisite #firstworldproblems. And the BF had been here a few months and clued me in to a few things. But getting off the plane at Changi Airport was not what I expected. I was expecting squat toilets and non-potable water, possibly some sporadic air con. But instead, what I found was delightfully clean and automated bathrooms, drinking fountains on every turn, amazing travellators (that's what they call the moving "sidewalk" things in the airport that help you get from gate to gate more quickly. I always wondered what to call them....) and bright, shiny, clean everything.

As I traveled to and from Singapore, my initial awe and respect for Changi Airport has changed into true appreciation.

On my first trip from Singapore (to Cambodia, in August) I noticed a few things:

• People dress up. No one wears pajamas to the airport, because they recognize that they are, in fact, out in public. (I'm looking at you, SeaTac.) Also, it happens to be a portion of "out in public" that sells high end cosmetics, clothing, handbags and even jewelry. I'm not real sure about that, but if it keeps people from dressing skanky (as my dad put it) in the airport, I'm down. I was wearing a cute t-shirt dress and boat shoes and felt a little underdressed, but considering the alternative, I'm ok with that. 
• We got our boarding pass at the counter and proceeded through the gates marked "Departure". In the US, this path takes you to a security checkpoint, where you basically have to strip down and completely unpack your suitcase on the conveyor belt before having your hair patted and sniffed. In Singapore, you proceed directly to an immigration checkpoint. Because every flight out of Singapore is an international flight. The country is 710 square kilometers in size, with one city. There are no "domestic" flights.
• After passing through immigration, I expected the security checkpoint, but still no. It wasnt until we got to our gate that we went through a security checkpoint. The gates are walled off with glass walls and they check your boarding pass and scan you as you enter the waiting area for your flight. This means that everyone in the security line with you is on your flight. There's no missing your flight cuz you were in the security line forever!
• Also...Dunkin Donuts and Starbucks co-exist peacefully...why can't they do that in Seattle?

On subsequent trips to Changi Airport, my appreciation has only continued to grow. They have signs that give the estimated walking time to your gate, so you can plan your journey through the terminal. They have massive duty-free shops and srsly full. on. mall. But probably the best thing is the "express lanes" for immigration checkpoints. If you are a Singaporean citizen - or have a handy-dandy little identification card, like I have, through my long-term employment pass - you can skip the lines at the passport checkpoint and go through the express lanes. You walk up to a kiosk and scan your passport or ID card. Then you walk to the next kiosk and scan your thumb print. The little screen says "Bon voyage!" and you're on your way. (When you come back to Singapore, the little screen says "Welcome to Singapore!") There's no waiting in line, no awkward conversation with the immigration official.....I mean, there are no passport stamps either, but it's a worthwhile sacrifice.

So when it comes to air travel, congratulations Singapore, you're doing it right!

It's been my experience that the nicer, more efficient, cleaner airports are the smaller ones. Knoxville, TN and Columbia, SC are some really awesome airports. But Singapore is no small potatoes! In 2012, more than 51 million passengers passed through the airport on one (or more) of the airport's 6500 weekly scheduled flights. As a point of comparison, LAX handled more than 63 million passengers in 2012 and RDU handled about 9 million. 

Home to more than 110 airlines, serving 240 cities in 60 countries, Singapore is a hub for Asian travel and a jumping off point to the rest of the continent. In addition to the major international carriers (United, Delta, KLM, etc.) it's also home to Singapore Airlines, which is consistently rated one of the world's top airlines* and a handful of regional carriers that offer limited itineraries for CHEAP for people like me who want to eat every variety of noodle in Southeast Asia in its original location. So with all that going on, maybe it should come as no surprise that this airport has its act together.

*I'm flying Singapore Air next week and will report back. 

Malaysia: Truly Asia (Batu Caves)

Malaysia borders Singapore to the north; the two countries are separated only by a narrow strait and are connected by a bridge. Because you are entering a new country, you must visit the immigration checkpoints on either side of the bridge, but you can drive across the border.


So, the BF and I have taken a couple of weekend trips to Malaysia, to check out different areas of the country. We visited KL (the capital of Malaysia) and toured around town for a couple of days. In addition to the historical and beautiful sights of the town, we ventured outside of the city a bit to see the Batu Caves.


The Batu Caves are a Hindu temple in the side of the mountain. They are considered the most important Hindu shrine outside of India, an interesting claim to fame in mostly-Muslim Malaysia. During the Thaipusam festival in the spring, THOUSANDS of people travel to the Batu Caves to celebrate the holiday. We were there in November, so there were merely hundreds of people (mostly tourists) visiting the temples. 


The first things we noticed on arriving at the caves were the GINORMOUS statues of key Hindu personalities guarding the entrance to the Caves.


Hanuman, the monkey god of Hinduism, stands 15 meters (that's 50 feet) tall outside the entrance to the caves, in full color and ceremonial garb. Hanuman guards the Rama caves, with depicts the stories of Lord Ramayana. To the right of Hanuman is a 43 meter (140 feet) tall Lord Marugan statue, which guards the entrance to the main caves, or the temple caves. We walked past the statue and climbed the 272 steps up into the caves to view the various shrines within its walls. 


Along the 272 step walkway up to the caves, there were dozens of wild monkeys roaming freely about. The little buggers were kinda cute, but definitely scary and creepy, so I tried to keep my distance, while the BF took pictures. The monkeys LOVED the tourists, who kept feeding them, everything from raw coconuts to oranges, apples, cookies and bread.

Touring around the caves, we saw many of the tenets of Hinduism explained in paintings and carvings along the walls and in dioramas. However, due to the damp, moist air in the caves, much of the artwork was showing its wear. But seeing the caves was still fascinating.

 

 

The pictures and dioramas were displayed in vivid color, representing everything from  the key deities and demons of Hindu as well as sage advice for healthy living. Much of the advice dispensed was either wise or amusing. 

We had a lovely afternoon touring around the caves, learning about Hindu traditions. Growing up in the US, I haven't met many (ok, any) people who profess to follow Hinduism, nor was I a religious studies major in college, so my knowledge of the belief is limited to what was included in a world history class in high school.

Traveling around Asia and seeing the  temples and shrines has been very educational. 

Some common themes

Us in a big doorway in a Thai palace

While in Singapore, the BF and I have traveled around a fair bit. We've seen a few other countries, a few times: 2 visits to Malaysia, 3 visits to Indonesia, 2 trips to Thailand, a week in Cambodia....and on every trip, the BF takes his camera and takes a lot of pictures. Sometimes he takes pictures of things I wouldnt take pictures of (like the electrical wires in Bangkok or oddly not-that-close close-ups of plants) but I'm glad he takes lots of pictures because I usually forget to take pictures....if I even remember to bring my camera. So I'm very grateful that's he's taking pictures for us.

But in all the photos, in all the different lands, a few themes have emerged:

The BF likes taking pictures of infrastructure. Power lines, buildings, public transportation, construction sites, posted signs, etc. Upon arriving in a hotel room, he immediately documents the room from every angle, taking photos of the bed, the desk, the balcony, the bathroom, the TV, everything.

Picture BF took: hotel bathtub
in Bangkok

Picture BF took:
 the bus we took to Malaysia

Picture BF took: large shopping
center near his apt in Singapore

I like taking pictures of mundane, everyday things. Food, salt shakers, beer, my feet, stuff we bought, us in front of signs for things, Asian versions of "normal" things, etc. I especially loved taking pics of shiny, shiny, tropical Christmas trees.

Picture I took:
Christmas tree in Bali

Picture I took:
delicious oxtail banh mi

Picture I took: my feet on the
beach in Phuket

But one of the more emerging themes is the type of things I like posing with/near. For some reason, I am really into having my picture taken in doorways. 

Me in a gateway.
It's kinda like a doorway.

Me in the doorway of an old
Indonesian snack trolley.

Cambodian temples had
 LOTS of doorways.

  
    

 Also, with fake animals. By "fake" I mean animal sculptures or statues. But sometimes the sculpture/statue is, in fact a replica of a non-existent creature, like a dragon or a merlion. In which case, I'm posing with a fake, fake animal.

And merlions.

Elephants are cool.

So are lions.

I'm riding the dragon.

Just chilling with the
water buffalo.

Me with a dragon.

Hugging the water buffalo

I'm not sure what this fascination means. But I'm not planning to change my ways any time soon. So all my family and friends can look forward to seeing more pics of me posing in doorways and taking pictures with fake animals. Get excited.

Cambodia: the temples

Before you start thinking I'm lame and traveled halfway around the world to eat bacon at a hotel, let me tell you about the adventuring.

I'm standing on the roots of a tree that is growing in, over
 andaround the walls of the temples at Ta Prohm.  
That tree is GINORMOUS. Also, pretty crazy that the 
roots are growing together with the stones and not 
destroying/crumbling the walls.

When planning the trip, I knew I wanted to go to Angkor Wat and see the temple ruins. I had come to this conclusion based on a few things:

• I like big things. Large architecture fascinates me.



The BF and I are standing in front of the 
Bayon, where they think the royal
 family lived  (supposedly) in 1100.

• I like old things. Everything in America is SO new and young. Even the old stuff in America is just not that old. Growing up in North Carolina, I'm well-versed in things like "circa houses" on the coast, the early fishing industry, colonial America, Pocahontas and the Lost Colony, etc. But even that stuff is only a couple hundred years old. Europe, Asia, South America...these are places where they have REALLY old things.

The faces that line the entrance gate to Angkor 
Thom. (the better looking faces have been 
restored by conservation efforts) The faces on 
either side of the entrance depict the gods 
and demons using a snake to churn the
ocean, according to Hindu mythology. 
This story is depicted in several places 
throughout the Angkor ruins, but nowhere
 as LARGE as the gates to Angkor Thom.

•  I like looking down at stuff from up high. I like the window seat on airplanes, I love the Eiffel Tower and even though I'm supposed to be a too cool for school Seattleite, I think the Space Needle is pretty cool. (I dont love the $16 ticket fee to go to the top, but I do love the Needle.)

Now, these things may seem valid enough to warrant a trip halfway around the world, but there's one more. When I was a kid, I had this game called GeoSafari. It was a digital base/screen with different cards that you would put on the screen and it would ask you different questions and you had to match the answers. The topics were all geography/world history based, like US states and capitals, world countries and capitals, traditional garb, country flags, languages, etc. One of the cards was world landmarks and the card included Machu Picchu, the Tower of Pisa, Eiffel Tower, Great Wall of China and Angkor Wat, among others. Ever since then, I've had this weird interest in seeing all of those places I learned about as a kid. The interesting part is that even though I learned the basic stats on these places as a kid, I didnt really know much about them. Still dont. I'm not sure I could have told you Angkor Wat was in Cambodia until a few months ago. And I'm not sure I knew it was temple ruins until more recently than that. So it's with that lack of knowledge that I planned a trip to Angkor Wat.

I'm standing in a doorway at the Bayon. 
I like to take pictures standing in doorways. 
Not sure where that comes from....

With all that going on in my head, I was SUPER excited to see the temple ruins. All of them. In addition to Angkor Wat, there are dozens of other temples in the area, as part of the greater Angkor Archeological Park. Over the course of three days, we saw a LOT, but not everything.

I'm standing at the top of the inner temple of the Bayon, 
where the royal family spent most of their time.

  

Cambodia: the hotel

So, Cambodia pretty much rocked.

Our "villa" in Cambodia.

The bathroom in the villa.

We had a great time. The country is very poor and still reeling from the effects of war, conflict, land mines and a terrorist political regime. But in Siem Reap, redemption is beginning, thanks to tourists like me. The town has some 8000 hotel beds, for hosting Americans, Europeans, Asians, etc. for conferences, events and general tourism. But in the rainy season (which is now) many of those beds are empty. Therefore, we got a good deal on a swanky, resorty hotel.

See the bridge going to the island with the pool bar?

Our villa was the size of a nice townhouse and was separated into 4 suites. We were on the second floor, in a suite that was bigger than The BF's studio apt in Seattle. We had a balcony overlooking the pool, which had a bar on a little island in the middle of the pool. It was not a swim-up bar, like we had at the hotel in Indonesia, but I mean, I guess it was ok.

The balcony overlooking the pool.

We had a breakfast buffet every morning that offered fresh fruit: watermelon, honeydew, pineapple, grapefruit and dragonfruit. (the fruit was all cleaned and sliced and peeled, so we were safe to eat it). In true, multi-cultural fashion, the buffet also had cereal, croissants, pork fried rice, steamed vegetables in oyster sauce, made-to-order omelettes, pad thai and bacon. Because Cambodia was run by France for so many years, the baked goods in Cambodia are pretty delicious. I think I had pain au chocolat and/or croissants every morning. Also, baguettes. Sliced, toasted, with some kind of blue cheese. Delicious.

Cambodia is mostly a Buddhist country, but at different points in history has been mostly Hindu, so there's plenty of that influence as well. As far as I know, the only dietary aspect of these religions is that Hindus don't eat beef. (Many Hindus believe cows are a special gift from the gods and therefore eating beef would be sacrilegious). Therefore, the breakfast buffet served bacon. And it was very good bacon, IMHO. Just the right amount of crunch, with enough grease still on it to require wiping your hands after every bite...but not so much grease that it's running down your arm. Mmm...yeah....

What made this doubly awesome was that the week prior, we were in Indonesia. A country which recognizes six official religions, but the majority of its residents (90%) claim to be Muslim. Muslims don't eat pork. Therefore, the breakfast buffet at the resort in Indonesia, which was otherwise lovely, boasting some bodacious croissants and downright problematic butter (srsly....I may or may not have eaten it by itself), served only turkey bacon. Turkey. Bacon.

Have you ever had turkey bacon? I mean, why are they even allowed to call it bacon?! As a breakfast meat, it's a fine option, but it is NOT bacon. They should have to call it something else entirely, as calling it "turkey bacon" is like lying. It's basically false advertising. If I were a pig, I'd be offended. 

But beyond the bacon on the buffet, there were several other aspects of this hotel that were just fantastic:
- Beer from the mini bar was CHEAPER than in the hotel bar, at just $3 a can.
- Incredible service from EVERYONE, from the driver and hostess who picked us up at the airport, to the pool bar dude who ran from the bar to my table in the rain, to bring me a beer.
- $15 massage. One hour, with an incredibly strong-handed tiny little Cambodian woman. $15.
- Air conditioning
 

All in all, it was an excellent spot to stay during our visit to Cambodia.

Musings from Singapore: phoneless

Hi. I'm Charlie. And I'm a phone-a-holic.

I dont mean that in a 13-year-old girl, my phone is my connection to all things important and social and I'm constantly talking or texting my BFFs kinda way. I mean it in a totally healthy, functional, professional adult kinda way. But a healthy, professional adult who has become UBER dependent on her phone.

And now that I'm in Singapore, I am without phone. My American phone does not work here (blah blah it's not 4G blah blah blah network compatibility blah) and if it did work, it would incur BUHtarded roaming charges anyway. Since I'm going to be here for a couple of  months, I will be acquiring a phone, but my vacationing has been the priority so far and as such, I am still without phone.

Now, this is usually ok. I am not so young that I'm from the generation of kids who does not know the sturm und drang that is life without a cell phone. I recall the days prior to cell phones, as well as the early days of "cell phones" when they were the size of a brick, had a one line input screen for viewing digits dialed and may or may not have come in a bag that had to be plugged in to your car's cigarett lighter at all times. Also, Zack Morris. When I started driving, my parents put a phone in my car that was solely for the purpose of calling them when I left Queenie's house, to let them know I was on my way home. There was no texting. That was only for kids who had pagers. And dont get me started on the kids who had pagers......

So I'm re-learning how to live without constant access to the data, information, the Google and a database of phone numbers that allow me to reach virtually everyone I know (and some people I dont know, but who are in my phone's address book for reasons that I dont even understand).

And this is all fine. If I want to run an errand, say to the grocery store, I use my computer to look up the MRT stations that I need to use to travel to the store from my office. I travel there, buy some fruit, bring said fruit back to the office, all is well. I suffer from phantom phone pains: I frequently reach into my bag to answer a ringing or vibrating phone that is not there.

But the real problem here is that I have no back-up plan. I'm flying without a net. And we all know what happened to the Flying Graysons when they were flying without a net. Ahem, orphaned Dick Grayson has to go live with creepy Bruce Wayne and support his split personality "hero complex" lifestyle.

Fortunately, nothing so calamitous has happened to me yet. I've only suffered such inconveniences as wandering around a massive MRT station/shopping center lost, failing to hail cabs and leaving The BF high and dry while waiting for me to appear at an appointed time.

But still. Now that I'm back from vacay, I'm getting a phone. Even if it's a prepaid silly little shiny thing that doesnt have all the power I'm used to, it's better than nothing. And maybe, with enough time, the phantom pains will dissipate.

Or I'll go back to the US and resume my previous phone habits. One or the other.

The streets of Siem Reap

Cambodia is very tropical. Lots of vegetation, lots of things grow here. And the BF and I sweat a lot.

But we're having a good time! Some photos from our first day, in the town of Siem Reap.

The Old Market in downtown Siem Reap. Market sells everything from silk goods, pants, scarves, placemats, etc. to tourists. It also sells meat and fish and fruit to locals. Wandering through an open air fish/meat market in 95 degree heat and full humidity is an experience.....that my nose would very much like to forget.

The streets of Siem Reap, where there are few cars and LOTS ot tuk-tuks. Tuk-tuks are moped-pulled coach thingees, something like a modern-day horse-drawn carriage.

The active streets of downtown Siem Reap.

Just chilling in a Cambodian cafe, after drinking a $1 local beer. $1 beer?!? From my seat in the cafe, across from the market, we saw all kinds of locals and tourists, including a couple of European travelers (we guessed German) who we would run into three days in a row. And about whom we would speculate quite a bit. The BF thinks they are boyfriend/girlfriend. I think they're father/daughter. Yeah....

It finally happened!

Cambodia is where dreams come true.

Ok, not really, it's actually a very poor country where people have been oppressed, tortured and exposed to the evils of several intense and homocidal regimes. Because of all the turmoil - oh yeah, and the wars that have left landmines scattered about the forests STILL - the country has little to no functional infrastructure, for things like roads and telephones. And so many of the people here are followers of Buddhism or Hinduism or animism and dont have the peace or hope that comes from knowing Jesus. So it's very sad.

But, thanks to tourists like me, some areas are beginning to pick up. Siem Reap, the town nearest the temple ruins at Angkor Wat is now the country's busiest, cleanest and safest city, with travelers from around the world coming in by the thousands, bringing industry and dollars to the area. The local businesses depend on this income and recognize the role tourists are playing in their economic development and as such, are very accomodating.

For example, we booked a trip via the internet (Expedia or some such) and found a deal on a flight/hotel package. Part of the package included airport transfers to/from our hotel. I was figuring this would mean a shuttle van from the airport with us and 9 other tourists, packing us into town and making the rounds of the various hotels. But no!

You know how I always say "some day I want to be one of those people at the airport getting greeted by a driver holding a sign with my name on it?" (I'm especially prone to saying this when I'm at the Vegas airport...for CES or otherwise).

Well that "some day" was TODAY! We exited the customs check point at the Siem Reap airport and rounded the corner to exit the terminal and there she was: a lovely young lady holding a sign with my name on it. (Ok, technically it had The BF's name on it, "& party", but that still counts! I'm "& party"!)

Her counterpart grabbed our bags and showed us to our car, where they had chilled bottled water and cool towels waiting for us. What a lovely way to enter a country. Thank you Cambodia.

Asian Adventure: Extended Cut

So, remember how I told you I was going to Singapore for a few weeks on vacay? To visit The BF?

Yeah, so...it's turned into a bit of an extended trip.

My company's Singapore office asked for some help from the US team, in the form of a US person moving to Singapore for 6-8 weeks. So, since I have the right kind of experience - and was heading there for a vacay anyway - they asked me to do it. And I said yes.

The offer got confirmed about 72 hours before my flight was leaving. So I spent most of that time frantically trying to wrap up work things and also do things like get shots, cancel my cable and figure out how to pack for 10 weeks in 2 suitcases. 

The downside is I keep discovering things I forgot to pack that I can NOT do without for 10 weeks. Like tweezers. 

The upside is they have stores here and I can buy things.

They're putting me up in a "corporate apartment" while I'm here,but it's not ready yet. There's a guy in the apartment now and he has to move out, then they have to clean the apt and rent me some furniture. I'm hoping it'll be ready in 2 weeks, by the time I'm back from Indonesia and Cambodia.

It looks like I'll only miss the first half of football season in the US. So when South Carolina returns to the SEC Championship, I'll be able to watch it. 

So for now I'm just trying to settle in and figure things out. I have tackled public transportation: bus AND subway; I've had local Singaporean food, Indian food and also Starbucks. Yesterday, I ventured into a grocery store. Today I had coffee from a local (read: not Starbucks) coffee shop.

And I'm slowly wrapping my head around the fact that I LIVE here. At least for the next 8 weeks or so. Stay tuned for pics and updates!

Asian Adventure: Day 1

So you know how I told you The BF moved to Singapore?  Well, he did. He’s still there. And now I’m going to visit! I’ve been planning this visit pretty much since before he left, so I’ve been looking forward to it for a while. We’ve planned side trips to Indonesia (awesome little beach resort on an Indonesian island) and Cambodia (touring around Siem Reap and the temple ruins at Angkor Wat) and Malaysia (Malacca and Kuala Lumpur. KL has some REALLY tall buildings. Like the hotel double tower thing that used to be the tallest building in the world until they built the Burj Dubai…or whatever they’re calling it these days.  But yeah, that’s pretty much why I want to go there. I like tall things. Eiffel Tower, Space Needle, window seats on airplanes: I like looking down on things from up high. It’s fun!)

I’m literally en route, writing this from the Tokyo Airport (which is lovely).  With the time difference, it’s just about midnight in Seattle, so as a first post of my Asian adventure, I’ll start by giving you the highlights of today. To make it easier, I’ll break it up into things I did and things I didn’t do.

Things I did today:

• -          Got up at 5am to finish packing and getting my apartment ready to leave.
• -          Washed some dishes that have been sitting in my sink/on my counter for LITERALLY weeks, waiting to be washed. (Go ahead, judge away. I judge myself for that.)
• -          Went to The BF’s storage unit to get his flip flops and bathing suits (for said island beach resort trip). Somehow, despite talking about it several times –and visiting the storage unit several times (ahem, tent) I managed to not remember to do that until TODAY.
• -          Got a tetanus shot. Technically, I got the full DTAP booster, for tetanus and diphtheria and pertussis. Been meaning to do that for a while. Figure I should really make it happen before leaving the country.
• -          Took a shower. (This may sound unworthy of mention, but when looking at the rest of these lists, I think you’ll understand the feat this was.)
• -          Packed a ridiculous amount of stuff into 2 suitcases and a carry-on tote. Managed to keep one of the suitcases under the 50 lb weight limit. Speaking of, when did they change the international baggage weight limit to 50 lbs?!
• -          Watched the cab I called to go to the airport drive off without me. I was wrestling the aforementioned heavy suitcases out my apartment door and the cab driver apparently got tired of waiting and drove away. I watched him drive away.
• -          Talked to my mom, The BF, Queenie and texted with Julie Vegas, Fritha and KJ.
• -          Drove to my office and picked up two large boxes of Christmas china. Took them home.
• -          Interacted with co-workers assisting me in this endeavor without earrings, make-up or combed hair. I also had not showered or brushed my teeth. They helped me anyway.
• -          Bought vitamins. Fit them into the aforementioned suitcases.
• -          Attended a conference call for work.
• -          Met a Gamecocks fan in the Tokyo airport. He’s from SC and his brother is a linebacker on the football team at Carolina. He was impressed to meet an alumni from SC in the Tokyo airport. Or maybe he was just scared cuz I’m so old. Either way.
• -          Read a whole book.
• -          Watched The Avengers. It was good….kinda wish I’d seen it in the theater though.
• -          Watched The Hunger Games. Twice. Even though I have seen it. In the theater. At IMAX.
• Made it onto my 1pm PT flight, with bags checked and carry-on stowed and even had time to get an iced coffee at the airport SBUX.

Things I didn’t do today:

• -          Watch tv or use the internet. Cuz I canceled cable while I’m gone and it shut off at midnight.
• -     Remember that I had no tv or internet. Until I tried several times to access both of those things , including Netflix via XBOX 360, several times.
• -          Brush my teeth. I know. Gross. I felt gross all day. I was basically naked when my cab driver called to tell me he’d arrived, so in the rush to throw clothes on and wrestle my suitcases out the door, tooth-brushing didn’t happen. Of course, if I had known that my cab driver was leaving me and I’d have to wait 10 mins for another one, I could have brushed my teeth. And put on face cream. And maybe even make-up. Because those are things I also did not do.
• -          Sleep on my first flight like I’d planned.
• -          Work out. (ha!)
• -          Wash my hair. I meant to do that, but….well……you know.
• -          Remember to put deodorant on BEFORE I packed it. Fortunately I was able to quickly pull out some deodorant from my travel toiletries bag and did wear deodorant today.

So that’s the first day of my Asian adventure. More to come. 

I'm on a boat and...

Ok, I'm not on a boat yet. But I will be. Soon.

The Singapore trip planning is in full swing. There are a host of things in Singapore that the BF has been waiting to explore until I arrive: the Raffles hotel (origin of the Singapore Sling), the botanical gardens, the zoo. So that's on the agenda. Also, dinner with some friends of friends who live there.

Then we're going to go to Bintan, Indonesia. It's about a 45-minute boat ride from Singapore and is a beautiful little island, with beaches and jet skis and kayaks and golf and...stuff. According to the interwebz, it's all the resorty things people love about Bali, but not quite as touristy.

But now that the trip is looming, I have a few concerns. In which hotels will we have drinkable tap water? How much does alcohol cost? How scared do I need to be of street food? Or ice in my cocktail? But my biggest concern about the trip: how in the world is my poor translucent Seattle skin going to handle the equatorial sunshine?! Now that summer has arrived, I'm trying to get out and play and see some sunshine when I can in Seattle. But it might not be enough. Anyone know where I can acquire some SPF 90 or something? 

Douchebag of the Week

Y'all. I have some friends who are dating DUDES.

I mean....DUDES.

Pie recently went through this with a 20-something-year-old dude who wore low-slung sweatpants with a popped-collar polo shirt and sunglasses on his forehead after dark. In Seattle. Where we dont have sun anyway.

Then there's Queenie. Who's been seeing this dude for 3 months (or so). And when they hang out, they have a great time. He's super fun and sporty and interesting and thinks she's super fun and interesting. They have fun outings or just fun conversations over dinner, etc.

There are just a couple of problems here:
- They've been seeing each other for 3 months and never has the conversation of "are we exclusive?" come up. When you're in college, or immediately thereafter, that may seem normal. But by the time you are a real adult, you are likely not dating just for fun and want to be in a relationship. And if the guy you're seeing is a real adult (NOTE: age is just a number when it comes to this. more on that later.), he'll be in the same situation. Men are pretty simple: they like what they like. If he likes you and wants to be in a relationship with you, he's not going to let much time go by before he tries to lock you down. Let's take Fritha and Conan for example. Four months after they met, they were dating pretty seriously and he's trying to figure out how to drop the L bomb without freaking her out. Even BF and me - once I realized we were dating, it was not long at all (< 3 months) before we were serious. He was dragging me to his work functions, to meet his friends in other cities, to meet his family in another state. (standard disclaimer: every relationship is different and everybody moves at their own pace, blah blah blah so, you know, whatevs)

- The guy, let's call him Tank, doesnt have a "real job" so he has a weird schedule and lots of time on his hands. Therefore he takes lots of last minute side trips to play golf, go to the beach, go to a wedding. Due to this, his schedule is a little wacky and he isnt really into planning things. Which would be fine, except that it bugs Queenie. She has her ess together and likes to plan things. Case in point: July 2, she texts him to ask if he has July 4th plans and invites him to hang out. He tells her he's not sure he's going to be in town. July 4th was a Wednesday this year. Makes impromptu out-of-town trips a little harder. And yet, still, less than 48 hours before fireworks time, he's not sure he's going to be in town. This is either a blow-off or the lame, flaky truth, but either way, ugh.

- But even the flakiness and lack of scheduling could be overlooked....except.....his preferred communication method is texting. Now, as a general rule, I'm not anti-texting. But it is a limited sort of communication vehicle and needs to be balanced with phone calls, emails, post cards, in-person chats, etc. to have real conversations. Apparently Tank does not agree. He pretty much ONLY texts Queenie. Even after she told him that she would like them to add more in-person time in among the texting, he continues to primarily text her. 


So, Queenie decides this is not the kind of relationship she wants to be in and responds to his text by saying "BTW - I'm kinda over all this texting. LMK if you wanna hang out in person sometime."

She is clearly articulating a communication preference to someone with whom she is going on dates. I support this.

The response,via text of course, effectively clenching his spot as DBOTW: "ok".


Queenie is walking away, head held high.