I'm sitting in the hotel on my last evening in Singapore. Amanda and I have been here since Sunday night (local Singapore time) and will be showering and heading to the airport shortly for a long ride home.
This trip started at 2am ET on Saturday, June 18th. I woke up at that time to get a shower so as to be as fresh as possible for as long as I could. Upon finishing my shower, I received an email that my 6:20am flight from Cleveland to JFK was canceled. I called Amanda but we agreed that we didn't have many options except to drive to the airport and battle it out with Delta. The battle was long as there was a flight canceled the previous night and everyone was rescheduled on the, now canceled, 6:20am flight. People were angry and lines were long. We talked to Joel and decided that our best bet was for him to rebook us on a 8am flight to LaGuardia where we could then take a cab to JFK and pray that we would make our 11:30am flight to Dubai. Since we brought larger than carry on size bags, this plan would also mean we'd have to wait for our luggage at LaGuardia before catching a cab.
Incredibly, we made it. It cost us an extra $25 cab ride but the driver was going about 100 mph to get us to JFK. We rechecked our bags, got through security and arrived at the gate just as our flight was boarding. The plane was huge so it took quite awhile to board but we did not have much time to spare!
After a 12 hour flight, we arrived in Dubai. We did not have much time here so we just freshened up in the restroom (as best as we could) and boarded our next 8 hour flight to Singapore. When arriving in Singapore, we got a cab to our hotel and crashed for the night. We woke the next morning and enjoyed a complimentary breakfast at the hotel and then took off for sightseeing. This was to be our only "free" time so we wanted to make the most of it.
We took a cab to the humongous fashion mall on Orchard Ave called Ion. This mall contains every high end store you can imagine. Just a couple of examples are: Jimmy Choo, Harry Winston, Dolce and Gabbana and more. We obviously didn't do much shopping here. We headed down Orchard Ave toward the Visitor's Center.
This was my first taste of Singapore. My feelings were very mixed. The juxtaposition of high end fashion with "Condom World" and food courts (which contained only local food) nestled in the middle was odd. The architecture is odd. It's not like any other city that I have visited. I'm not sure what I expected, but this wasn't it.
After taking some photos and dawdling around in some stores, we made it to the Visitor's Center where we purchased a day pass for the "hop on, hop off" bus and a river cruise on the Singapore River. Our first stop was the Singapore Flyer. The Flyer reminds me a great deal of the London Eye but our bus driver was sure to point out that the Singapore Flyer is 5 meters higher.
After walking around the "Flyer" area, we hopped back on the bus. Our next stop was the Marina Bay Sands. This is one of the world's most expensive hotels/casinos to build. It is an amazing complex with a "Sky Park" on top of three towers. It's connected to another huge, high end fashion mall. This one with an ice skating rink inside. We decided not to pay the $20 fee to go up to the Sky Park - we'll do this next time!
When we were done touring the Marina Bay area, we headed to Clarke Quay. This is mainly a night club area so it was very quiet at this time of day. We found a spot on the river to have some lunch. After lunch we did a little more shopping - in a "lower" end mall this time - and then took a 30 minute river cruise. The river cruise allowed us to see a different view of the city, especially the Marina Bay area.
Following the river cruise, we hopped back on the bus to Chinatown. We bought the requisite "cheesy" souvenirs here and looked at all the fun "medicine" shops. The last bus of the evening was getting ready to run so we took it back to Orchard Ave.
On Orchard Ave, we decided to partake in a Foot Reflexology session. It was very interesting. Of course, the idea is that every area of your foot connects to different areas of the body and the "reflexologist" can determine where your problem areas are by manipulating your feet. Go figure that the VERY first thing out of my reflexologist's mouth was something to the effect of "That's your liver. You drink too much." Great. The rest of my "diagnosis" was pretty much that I have bad circulation, I don't drink enough water and I don't exercise enough. Perfect.
By this time, we were hungry so we ate at the Food Republic in the mall we were in. I had the national dish of chicken and rice and fresh lime juice to drink. Following dinner, we returned to the hotel to get some sleep. We'd be training the next day.
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Saturday, October 16, 2010
Abu Dhabi Part Seven
Alright. Time to try to finish up the posts about my Abu Dhabi trip. My last post finished telling about the Desert Safari. The following day was our first training day at Al Ain. This is a much more rural town (in the desert!) and more traditionally Muslim even than what we had seen in Abu Dhabi. We trained at the University where they have a U shaped facility. One side is women only and the other side is men only. The bottom of the U contains a lecture hall that allows each group to stay on their own side but still hear a single speaker present. The sides are mirror images. Both have their own library as well as their own mosque.
Our class was on the "women's" side. Our group was wonderful to work with. They were extremely appreciative that we were there but they are, obviously, fighting a lot of political battles that are keeping them from achieving credentialing as quickly as they would like. They are very passionate about their jobs and their programs. They were a pleasure to work with!
Following training, we just spend an evening enjoying the resort. Amanda and I wandered around, took pictures and had a "romantic" dinner at the hotel buffet under the stars. Afterward, we wandered over to the Sheesha bar where we enjoyed some more sheesha and just relaxed.
The next day was our last day of training. Following training. We went to the Bawati Mall. We shopped for several hours and didn't even make a dent. The stores were mostly "western" stores but there were a few local and European shops mixed in.
After arriving back at the hotel, we packed for our long journey home. The following morning, the airport transportation picked us up at 5am for the drive to the Dubai airport. Our 16 hour flight took off at 9am.
Travel home was uneventful (except for the screaming baby that they took off the plane from Houston to Cleveland!) it was just LONG!!! Due to the time change, our Friday was 32 hours long and 28 hours of it was spent in cars or airports. The first/business class travel arrangements were super luxurious but 16 hours on a plane are still 16 hours on a plane. I will be spending the rest of today and tomorrow recovering!
Our class was on the "women's" side. Our group was wonderful to work with. They were extremely appreciative that we were there but they are, obviously, fighting a lot of political battles that are keeping them from achieving credentialing as quickly as they would like. They are very passionate about their jobs and their programs. They were a pleasure to work with!
Following training, we just spend an evening enjoying the resort. Amanda and I wandered around, took pictures and had a "romantic" dinner at the hotel buffet under the stars. Afterward, we wandered over to the Sheesha bar where we enjoyed some more sheesha and just relaxed.
The next day was our last day of training. Following training. We went to the Bawati Mall. We shopped for several hours and didn't even make a dent. The stores were mostly "western" stores but there were a few local and European shops mixed in.
After arriving back at the hotel, we packed for our long journey home. The following morning, the airport transportation picked us up at 5am for the drive to the Dubai airport. Our 16 hour flight took off at 9am.
Travel home was uneventful (except for the screaming baby that they took off the plane from Houston to Cleveland!) it was just LONG!!! Due to the time change, our Friday was 32 hours long and 28 hours of it was spent in cars or airports. The first/business class travel arrangements were super luxurious but 16 hours on a plane are still 16 hours on a plane. I will be spending the rest of today and tomorrow recovering!
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Abu Dhabi Part Six
Where did I leave off? Oh yeah. The Desert Safari. Following all of the activities in the sand, we entered the "camp" where tables were all placed around a large stage. The tables were very low to the ground and they were surrounded by large pillows. This is where we ate dinner. But there were still more activities before dinner. We drank more Arabic coffee, tried on Abayas and Burkas (and took pictures) and got henna "tattoos." Dinner was a large buffet. I can't say that the food was fantastic but I have filled up on humus, tabbouleh (I might have to fix this spelling) and pita bread at every meal!
Following dinner was experiencing a sheesha. This is a water pipe that produces a flavored water vapor. Next, was a belly dancing performance and then sitting in the pitch black for 10 minutes to look at the stars.
Overall, although it was a bit touristy, this was a magnificant experience and a wonderful evening!
Following dinner was experiencing a sheesha. This is a water pipe that produces a flavored water vapor. Next, was a belly dancing performance and then sitting in the pitch black for 10 minutes to look at the stars.
Overall, although it was a bit touristy, this was a magnificant experience and a wonderful evening!
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Abu Dhabi Part Five
Wow. This day will have to be divided into several parts because it is entirely too late for me to be able to write about everything tonight! For the first time during this trip, I got a really good night's sleep last night. Previously, I hadn't totaled even 10 hours of sleep for the first three nights but this morning, I woke up completely refreshed and jogged for about 40 minutes on the treadmill. Soon after I returned to the room, Amanda and I learned that Dr. Blackwell needed us to go with him to SEHA, which is the headquarters of the Abu Dhabi government health services, to do a demo of New Innovations. While there, we met several of the most important people of this department including the CEO, CIO and others that I'm not sure of their title or position but they were important! During our meeting, a waiter came in and took drink orders. They served cappachino (I'll fix the spelling later) with fancy decorations on top as well as tea and water. During the course of the meeting we learned that the CIO of SEHA actually grew up in Stow! Ohioans really are everywhere!!!
Next, we packed our luggage and traveled to our next location which was about a 2 hour drive. We're now in the city of Al Ain. It's beautiful at our hotel. Our hotel is on the top of a mountain overlooking the city. We checked into our rooms and headed back out to drive about an hour back the way we came to go to a desert safari. This safari was amazing!!! The first thing we did was drive off road in a group of about 15 Toyota Landcruisers. When I say "off road," they actually call this Dune Bashing. We were up and down HUGE sand dune at really high speeds. Sometimes we slid sideways down the dunes and other times road the crests of the dunes. It was like nothing I could ever imagine. Along the way, we stopped to see a herd of camels and then stopped to take sunset pictures. Eventually, we made it the "camp." Next up were camel rides - these were just a couple minutes long. They were really just meant for photo opportunities but it was still great fun! Amanda rode a snowboard down a huge sand dune. They also had 4 wheelers available but I'm not sure if anyone in our group rode on them.
That's where I'm going to end for the night. We train at our second and last location tomorrow and Thursday and I'm going to try to get another good night's sleep tonight!
Next, we packed our luggage and traveled to our next location which was about a 2 hour drive. We're now in the city of Al Ain. It's beautiful at our hotel. Our hotel is on the top of a mountain overlooking the city. We checked into our rooms and headed back out to drive about an hour back the way we came to go to a desert safari. This safari was amazing!!! The first thing we did was drive off road in a group of about 15 Toyota Landcruisers. When I say "off road," they actually call this Dune Bashing. We were up and down HUGE sand dune at really high speeds. Sometimes we slid sideways down the dunes and other times road the crests of the dunes. It was like nothing I could ever imagine. Along the way, we stopped to see a herd of camels and then stopped to take sunset pictures. Eventually, we made it the "camp." Next up were camel rides - these were just a couple minutes long. They were really just meant for photo opportunities but it was still great fun! Amanda rode a snowboard down a huge sand dune. They also had 4 wheelers available but I'm not sure if anyone in our group rode on them.
That's where I'm going to end for the night. We train at our second and last location tomorrow and Thursday and I'm going to try to get another good night's sleep tonight!
Monday, October 11, 2010
Abu Dhabi Part Four
Today was our second and final day of training at our first venue. Overall, it went really well. After training, we went to a Heritage Center where they had some small displays about what life used to be like for the people living in this area when it was all dessert. It was about 103 degrees and about 110% humidity. We had our suits on from training and we were all completely drenched after this stop! I can actually see the Heritage Center from my hotel window. If you compare pictures, you'll see the big UAE flag from the window of my hotel room and then again when I took it while we were at the center.
Next, we came back to the hotel, changed out of our wet clothes and then Amanda and I went to into downtown Abu Dhabi. We went shopping at the Madinat Zayed Shopping and Gold Centre. Wow! This was DEFINATELY a taste of local culture. We were just about the only non-muslims shopping here. The Madinat Souk was filled with textile stores where you could buy already tailored Abayas or just the fabric to make them yourself. They had other things as well, such as tableclothes and bed linens.
The Gold Souk had - you guessed it - GOLD! Probably at least 150 gold and jewelry vendors. The prices were good but even good prices for gold were too high for me. We sure had fun window shopping though!
Tomorrow is our day off from training. We transfer to our second location which is about 2 hours from here. It is further inland and in the desert. Our guide is telling us that it is much less humid. Our tentative plans are to visit a grand Mosque on the way and then after checking into our new hotel, we're off to a desert safari.
Stay tuned. More adventures to come!
Next, we came back to the hotel, changed out of our wet clothes and then Amanda and I went to into downtown Abu Dhabi. We went shopping at the Madinat Zayed Shopping and Gold Centre. Wow! This was DEFINATELY a taste of local culture. We were just about the only non-muslims shopping here. The Madinat Souk was filled with textile stores where you could buy already tailored Abayas or just the fabric to make them yourself. They had other things as well, such as tableclothes and bed linens.
The Gold Souk had - you guessed it - GOLD! Probably at least 150 gold and jewelry vendors. The prices were good but even good prices for gold were too high for me. We sure had fun window shopping though!
Tomorrow is our day off from training. We transfer to our second location which is about 2 hours from here. It is further inland and in the desert. Our guide is telling us that it is much less humid. Our tentative plans are to visit a grand Mosque on the way and then after checking into our new hotel, we're off to a desert safari.
Stay tuned. More adventures to come!
Sunday, October 10, 2010
Abu Dhabi Part Three
Whew...
I really need to get in bed. It's going to be another EARLY morning and another crazy, busy day but I really want to get caught up here before I forget everything!
So, we got up early this morning - 5:30am local time. If you're keeping track - that was 9:30pm ET so, yes, I was getting up for work before most of you even went to bed! No one rally wants to hear about the work part so I'll keep it short. I'll just say that we didn't get off to a very good start. We were almost two hours late to the training because of a ride situation. But, we're professionals ;-) We recovered rather quickly. By lunch, we were back on track. But I had to tell this part mainly to emphasise how wonderful the people are here. There were about 30 people in our class and they were SOOO patient and kind. At the end of the day, one of the men even apologized to US for the difficulty that we experienced?!?!?!
After training, we rested up a little. Amanda and I ate dinner together and then went with 4 others in the group (Mel wasn't feeling well and stayed behind) to the Emirates Palace Hotel http://www.emiratespalace.com/en/home/index.htm
I really need to get in bed. It's going to be another EARLY morning and another crazy, busy day but I really want to get caught up here before I forget everything!
So, we got up early this morning - 5:30am local time. If you're keeping track - that was 9:30pm ET so, yes, I was getting up for work before most of you even went to bed! No one rally wants to hear about the work part so I'll keep it short. I'll just say that we didn't get off to a very good start. We were almost two hours late to the training because of a ride situation. But, we're professionals ;-) We recovered rather quickly. By lunch, we were back on track. But I had to tell this part mainly to emphasise how wonderful the people are here. There were about 30 people in our class and they were SOOO patient and kind. At the end of the day, one of the men even apologized to US for the difficulty that we experienced?!?!?!
After training, we rested up a little. Amanda and I ate dinner together and then went with 4 others in the group (Mel wasn't feeling well and stayed behind) to the Emirates Palace Hotel http://www.emiratespalace.com/en/home/index.htm
This place was amazing! I have never seen so much gold and crystal! One of the most fun things was the gold vending machine. Put in some money and get out some gold! It's right on the beach with amazing pools and restaurants. We saw all the plans for the new "island" that they are building off of the coast here. Unbelievable! I also tasted Arabic coffee which is made with cardamon and tastes like licorice.
I'm exhausted now and it's another 5:30am wake up call in the morning. As I remember more details about the last few days, I'll be sure to do some editing!
Abu Dhabi part two
Wow! Ok. I finally navigated the Google.ae site and figured out how to make a new post. So where did I leave off? Oh yeah. Several days ago (was it really only two?) when I boarded my business class flight on Emirates Air to Dubai after doing quite some damage in the VIP lounge at George Bush airport.
Upon boarding the flight, we were greated with champagne. We located our "pods" which consisted of a huge seat that fully reclined into a bed. Pillows and blankets were waiting for us. As we were settling in, the flight attendants brought us puffy mattresses for our seats, a pouch that contained a toothbrush, toothpaste, cologne, comb and brush combo, mirror and I forget what else! Next, they brought socks and eye shades. Then came the food. I saved the menu so here's what I ate for dinner:
First course was a "selection of cold canapes"
Second course was "Marinated shrimp - marinated in ten different spices with a corn and jicama salad, drizzled with cilantro oil and fresh lime."
Third course was "Goat cheese tortellini - with caramelized onion filling, fresh pomodoro sauce, a drizzle of Alfredo sauce and parmesan cheese."
Dessert was a slice of red velvet cake.
After dinner and a bottomless glass (and it WAS glass mind you) of wine, we watched some movies (on our individual TVs) and then they turned out the cabin lights and with stars projected on the ceiling, some people slept. I barely dozed.
It was only dark for a couple of hours on the flight so all of the window shades were lowered but in the morning, as people started arousing, the flight attendants brought around coffee and breads and then gradually lightened the cabin. We had breakfast (yes, I still have the menu!) I had: Yougert, fresh fruit, croissants and a cheese omelette "served with sauteed fresh mushrooms, grilled tomato, fried hash browns and chicken sausage."
Several hours later, we landed in Dubai. It was just about 7pm local time but it was already dark. Riding in the dark car for about an hour to Abu Dhabi was when the exhastion first started catching up. By the time we got our rooms, luggage and a bite to eat, it was 10:30pm local time and we had to be up this morning at 6:30am to begin training.
Stay tuned for the next installment!
Upon boarding the flight, we were greated with champagne. We located our "pods" which consisted of a huge seat that fully reclined into a bed. Pillows and blankets were waiting for us. As we were settling in, the flight attendants brought us puffy mattresses for our seats, a pouch that contained a toothbrush, toothpaste, cologne, comb and brush combo, mirror and I forget what else! Next, they brought socks and eye shades. Then came the food. I saved the menu so here's what I ate for dinner:
First course was a "selection of cold canapes"
Second course was "Marinated shrimp - marinated in ten different spices with a corn and jicama salad, drizzled with cilantro oil and fresh lime."
Third course was "Goat cheese tortellini - with caramelized onion filling, fresh pomodoro sauce, a drizzle of Alfredo sauce and parmesan cheese."
Dessert was a slice of red velvet cake.
After dinner and a bottomless glass (and it WAS glass mind you) of wine, we watched some movies (on our individual TVs) and then they turned out the cabin lights and with stars projected on the ceiling, some people slept. I barely dozed.
It was only dark for a couple of hours on the flight so all of the window shades were lowered but in the morning, as people started arousing, the flight attendants brought around coffee and breads and then gradually lightened the cabin. We had breakfast (yes, I still have the menu!) I had: Yougert, fresh fruit, croissants and a cheese omelette "served with sauteed fresh mushrooms, grilled tomato, fried hash browns and chicken sausage."
Several hours later, we landed in Dubai. It was just about 7pm local time but it was already dark. Riding in the dark car for about an hour to Abu Dhabi was when the exhastion first started catching up. By the time we got our rooms, luggage and a bite to eat, it was 10:30pm local time and we had to be up this morning at 6:30am to begin training.
Stay tuned for the next installment!
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