Last day of fun, Day 3.

So the next day in my adventure was a 50/50 split between work and sight seeing, but none the less it was still an adventure.

Day 3 - 11/27/12
Tuesday started off early, very early, with a trip to River Valley High School on the outer edge of the island. RVHS is a sister school with Scott's high school BCA. The 2 schools often visit each other and work collaboratively throughout the year. Since Scott and I were already on that side of the world, and in Singapore, a quick visit was in order. Plus, a group of students from RVHS was going to be attending SIGGRAPH Asia on Friday so this was a good way for us to prep them for what they were going to see.

I hopped on the train to go meet Scott, and even though I knew it was in rush hour traffic I was not prepared for what I was about to experience. To get to Scott's from where my hotel was I had to transfer trains twice. At the first transfer point 2 trains went by, neither which could I get on. The doors opened, the people stared back at me packed fuller than a can of sardines, the door closed, the train left the station. It wasn't until finally a younger girl shoved her way onto the 3rd train that came that I was able to follow her lead and get on behind her. When I finally got to Scott's station he and I had to watch 1 train go by as well before we could get on. Not a good way to start the morning especially when we were standing on the platform outside meaning no air-con.

The EXPO green line train station, I got to know it well.

Boarding and "alight" (exit) directions mark the floor at every train stop. We need these in the States.

The interactive maps on the train above the doors told you where you were, and what stops were next.

Just like the El in Chicago they have taps cards to get in and ride the train. The difference? You have to tap out to leave the station as well. That took some getting used to.

Something I kind of knew to expect in Singapore was the humidity. Being just north of the equator I knew heat and humidity would be a force I'd have to deal with. I just didn't think it would be as bad as it was. My hair never dried, the minute you walked out the door you instantly felt like you needed to take another shower, the air felt heavy and hard to breathe. And even though there are fans every where, and most places have air-con set to high, it's just something that I don't know that I'd ever get used to. I can take heat, but the humidity? No. But I digress...

We got on the green line at one end and had to ride clear to the other, the total opposite side of the island from where we were staying. It was a long ride and because the trains were full we had to stand the whole 45-50 minute journey. And this particular green line train didn't seem to have the air-con on high enough. I felt gross and sweaty by the time we arrived at the school. Sigh. What a way to make a first impression.

The teacher picked us up at the station and drove us the 3 blocks to the school where the students we were meeting with stood in a welcoming/receiving line as student ambassadors. They were all so cute and so excited to meet some Americans. Of course they addressed us as Miss Jaime and Mr. Lang and gave us a stellar tour of their school. RVHS is the equivalent to a junior/senior high here in the States. 6 grade levels under 1 very very large roof. And just like Scott's school, this one put my high school to shame. From the library to the labs, to the huge field house, these kids have it good even if they don't think so. I won't bore you with the details but essentially we got a tour, they did a presentation for us, we talked to them about what we do and about SIGGRAPH/SIGGRAPH Asia, we did a Q&A session and ended with some group photos.

Scott and I with the RVHS students and their teachers.

From there Scott and left and headed back to the train and back towards the convention center for setup. We had 1 stop to make on the way however, a personal errand for Scott, that lead us through the area of Bugis. A little mini adventure. We got back to the EXPO convention center after picking up lunch at McDonald's (sometimes you just have a craving for home) and finished setting up the office and prepping for the 4 days that lie ahead of us. Corinne and I scheduled out the days from morning to end with our social media coverage needs while Scott and Nick got their cameras and computers up and running. We left around dinner time and headed back to the hotel to freshen up.

I know, typical American eating McDonald's while traveling. At least I ordered the honey-chipotle french fries which are a Singapore only menu item. Oh and that's Coke Light not Diet Coke. :)

Now Scott and Kat had plans for Tuesday night so Corinne, Nick, Gracie and I decided to go exploring on our own. Kat had done such a good job teaching Corinne and I the train system, and showing us around, that we both felt comfortable enough to go into the city on our own. The 4 of us headed into town with our destination being the Singapore Flyer, the world's largest observation wheel. We knew we wanted to do the wheel at night so that we could see the city lit up, but unfortunately it rained while we were there so our photos aren't the best. Regardless, having that 360 degree view of Singapore was amazing! The city was so beautiful from 165m (541 ft) above.

The ride up to the Singapore Flyer.

My 1st view of the city from the Flyer.

A view of the Gardens by the Bay (Flower and Cloud Domes) from the Flyer.

A breathtaking view of Singapore from atop the Singapore Flyer. The city, Marina Bay Sands, the ArtSceince Musuem and Mr. Merlion.

A panoramic view from the Singapore Flyer.

The Singapore Flyer cars, loading zone.

The rain cleared giving way for the moon to peak through the clouds making for some great Flyer shots.

Another shot, this one of the Flyer from below.

After the flyer ride we walked across the helix bridge to head back over to Marina Bay Sands for dinner. We were hoping to get pepper steak again, and to share that with Nick and Gracie, but it was almost 10pm and most of the stands were closed, Pepper Lunch included. We settled for some Indian and of course 100-Plus, my new all-time favorite soda. By that time we were dead so as a group we decided to call it a night. We trekked it back through the mall and to the train station where of course, because it was so late, everything was delayed or trains were stopping short at stations (meaning they weren't going all the way to the end of the line). By the time we got to our last green line transfer station so that we could head back to the hotel there was a ding and the lovely British lady automated voice came over the speakers to inform us the last train had left the station for the night. Exasperated we sat there, looked at each other and tried to figure out just how far away from the hotel we were. Almost 2 miles meant we needed to find a cab.

A view of Marina Bay Sands and the ArtSceince Museum from the start of the helix bridge (the thing in the lower left of the photo).

Now one would think catching a cab and getting to the hotel would be easy. One would think. It was not. Sure we got the cab quickly but no one seemed to know how to get to our hotel. Apparently the Capri is so new (like w/in 3 months) cabbies and locals have no idea where it is. And since none of us knew anything but the address, we were no help to the cabbie. Eventually we recognized the mall and just had him drop us off there since we knew how to cut through it to get to the hotel.

What a night. Next up? SIGGRAPH Asia 2012 day 1.

The first set of signs marking the conference.

Another busy day in Singapore, Day 2.

Okay, I'm really behind in posting and I apologize. I knew as soon as the conference started that despite the fact I'd have "constant" wifi access (in theory) the challenge would be finding the time to sit down and actually type up a recap. I'm currently sitting in my hotel room alone, it's almost 5am. Corinne left not too long ago for her flight and after getting up to say goodbye I haven't been able to fall back asleep. I hope I get sleepy soon though otherwise it's going to be a long last day in Singapore.

Anyways, where did I leave off? Oh yes, day 2. I have quite a bit of ground to makeup...

Day 2 - 11/26/12

We went to bed very late on day 1 and that was probably the best thing I could have done to get over my jetlag. It was a long day and even though I struggled to keep myself awake on the way back from dinner on the train following the laser light and water show, I made it. However Corinne tells me that the minute my head hit the pillow I was out. I'm not really surprised.

Not sure if I mentioned dinner on the first night or not, but what I ate that night by far was my favorite thing. It was from a place called "Pepper Lunch" in the Marina Bay Sands food court. I got pepper beef. The basic concept is a very very hot stone plate that they put rice and corn in the center of. Then around the circle of rice they put in the protein of your choice, so for me it was beef. They season it up with pepper and some other yummy spices and hand it off to you. You then take the plate back to your table, sit down and let it cook. Once the beef is no longer pink you mix it in with the rice and corn creating your meal, adding different sauces and dressings to get the perfect taste you're looking for. I would eat there every day if I could. Corinne had the curry cheese pepper chicken and WOW that one was amazing too. I'm definitely going to try to get back there at least once during the remaining part of my trip and then I need need need to find it back in the States.

This is pepper steak from Pepper Lunch. 

We got to sleep in a little on Monday but met up with another friend of ours here for the conference, Gracie, and then made our way to the green line EXPO train stop to meet up with Scott and Kat. The 2 of them had planned another full day of sight seeing, including souvenir shopping, another museum, a visit to the famous Merlion, dinner and the world-famous Night Safari. 

While waiting at the train stop I heard a familiar voice call my name from across the platform. Not expecting to know anyone here I ignored it but it called again and this time started walking towards me. I couldn't believe it when I finally saw a friend from home (not just back in the States, but home Cleveland home) Jim coming up to give me a hug. I had no idea for some reason that Jim was coming. Jim is one of the reasons I'm involved in SIGGRAPH (yes, I can blame him for all this) so it was such a nice surprise. We started sharing our planned adventures when the train came. We hopped on with everyone else and away we went.

After transferring trains, and saying goodbye to Jim, the 3 of us finally arrived at Kat's stop on the train where we then jumped to the yellow Circle line with Kat and Scott to make our way to City Hall. City Hall is in what I think is close to the center of town. It's a huge high-end shopping mall. I don't think I will ever be used to the malls playing Christmas music and being decorated with wreaths and trees here. It's just so odd for some reason. After winding through some streets, passing the famous Raffles Hotel, we stopped for lunch at a well known Chicken Rice place called Sin Swee Kee. For those of you who don't know, Chicken Rice is one of the dishes most associated with Singapore. We ordered quite a spread to share among the 5 of us including 2 kinds of Chicken Rice, fried pork chops (my favorite!), fried tofu, vegetables and barley juice to drink. My tummy was very happy. 

Raffles hotel.

Chicken Rice from Sin Swee Kee.

This is what chicken rice looks like.

Right down the street from lunch was the Mint Toy Museum. 5 floors of toys from all around the world, most older than I am, but all of them so so cool. My favorite floor was the one that included all of the old Mickey Mouse toys. It was so cool seeing how he has changed over the years and how he was represented in all of the different countries Disney reached.

Old Snoopy at the Mint.

Old Mickey at the Mint.

Once we finished the museum we made our way through town, stopping for bubble tea and snacks from BreadTalk of course, and back down to the waterfront only this time we were on the opposite side of the bay from the ArtScience Museum and Marina Bay Sands. We passed by the Esplanade performing arts center and by a really cool public art display full of cats and dogs. Making our way down along the river walkway we stopped to take photos and then headed over to meet Mr. Merlion at Merlion Park. Visiting the Merlion was the 1 and only thing I knew I HAD to do while I was here. I'm obsessed with him. He's just so cute how can you not love him? I might have an unhealthy obsession with him but that made for some great photographs from every angle, most which include the city skyline behind him. I just can't get enough of him. After everyone got their fill of photos, and after watching the Australian Better Homes and Garden TV crew film an opening for their show, we made our way further into town by cutting through the Fullerton Bay Hotel and down to the train station. Our next destination? Orchard Road for some souvenir shopping. To avoid any spoilers on the presents I'm bringing back I won't talk much about the shopping we did.

The Esplanade, a performing arts center that looks like a durian (a very stinky fruit).

The dogs and cats art piece at the Esplanade.

The view from the other side of the bay at the ArtScience Museum and Marina Bay Sands.

Mr. Merlion!!!

Inside of the Fullerton Hotel.

After Orchard Road we bid farewell to Gracie who had to head back to our hotel for a dinner meeting, and then we ourselves made our way into another part of town for dinner. This time we were going for something a little more, well, different than your typical Singaporean cuisine. As we were walking though a very familiar smell started to fill the air. I looked up and low and behold right in front of me was a Garrett's Popcorn! I couldn't believe it! I come all the way to Singapore and there in front of me was a big piece of Chicago. Maybe the world isn't as big as we think it is... I should have bought a Chicago Mix to see if it tasted the same but since we were on our way to dinner, and this isn't something unique to Singapore (HA!) we just did a quick photo op and then made our way to dinner with one other quick souvenir stop.

Um, really? Garrett's in Singapore?!?!

We eventually ended up at a local irish pub named Muddy Murphy's for beef cubes, onion rings, french fries and some hard cider. Yup, not what you expected right? But it was oh so good. The funny thing about Murphy's is this was the 1 place Corinne and I fit in. Like really fit in. Every where we go people tend to stare and even take photos because of how different we are being blonde. But here, everyone was clearly from another part of the world, one that wasn't Asian. It was weird, but oddly comforting. 

From there we hopped in a cab and made the drive from the city over to the Night Safari, an entire zoo dedicated to nocturnal animals. It was so AWESOME! From elephants, to tigers, lazy bears, lions, hyenas, leopards, wallabies, fishing cats, otters, I could go on and on. The biggest surprise at this zoo I saw? 2 Binturongs!!! (Otherwise known as Bearcats) They were so cute and so active, not like Lucy at the Cincinnati Zoo who always seemed to be sleeping or hiding when I went. But being night zoo, well they were up and around, making their cute little meow like noises and climbing all over the trees. They shared an enclosure with otters who were chit chatty and adorable as well. I wish I had a better camera to take night time photos because these guys were all so cute. Another really cool part was the walk-thru enclosures. Both the flying squirrels and the bats had these where you actually walk thru their open enclosures and have them zip by you. I was within 1 foot of a giant fruit bat, watching him eat a melon. I couldn't believe it, but again my camera didn't do it justice. After walking all the trails at the zoo we then hopped on the tram and took a ride through the entire zoo. This was like the safari ride at Animal Kingdom in FL only better.

The entrance to the Night Safari.

The first trail we took at the Night Safari.

This was the only photo I took at the Night Safari of an animal that came out. He's a cute little roof rat.

At that point we had seen it all and were really tired. We took a few photos and then loaded into a cab back downtown and back to our hotel. It had been a really long day and Scott and I had to get up early Tues to head out to a high school for our meeting with some students. 

The exit to the Night Safari.

A Busy Day 1.

Having been up since 4am local time, I can't believe how much we accomplished on day 1.

Day 1 - 11/25/12

After arriving at the hotel from the airport, and much needed quick shower, we (Scott, Kat and Corinne) headed to the new mall, Changi City Point, next door to the hotel to grab some yummy local food in the Singapore version of a food court (very different from an American food court). Then it was off via the train (just like the El) to the Gardens by the Bay for some time with the Super Trees, the Flower Dome and the Cloud Forest, must-see attractions for any visitor. We followed that up with a caffeine break and then a walk to the ArtScience Museum to see the LEGO exhibit "Art of Brick" and the photography exhibit "Outside In". Afterwards hunger had finally hit us so we grabbed dinner in food court at Marina Bay Sands and a laser light/water show on the pier.

Phew, tires me out just rereading what we did.

Here are some photos and more detailed accounts of everything I summarized above. Again, these are just the few I've taken with my phone. I'll do my best to get all of the photos I've taken with my camera,  hopefully before we get back, so you can see everything in more detail.

A view of the Singapore Flyer (the large observation wheel L) and some the Super Trees (R) from the walkway bridge we took over to the Gardens by the Bay. It was cloudy here and rained on and off the whole day. We managed to always be indoors though when was raining. Well timed.

Funny signs along the river.

A panoramic view of the Flower Dome. It was huge and very beautiful. You can see the river and the Flyer on the right side of the image.

Another panoramic view, this time of the Cloud Forest. This dome focus on the rain forest with the mountain in the middle. You ride to the top and then work your way down through all of the different levels. There's a huge 115ft waterfall down the one side of the mountain too.

When we stopped for our caffeine break in the Marina Bay Sands mall we next to this waterfall that would occasionally turn on. And yes, those are gondolas in the mall because who doesn't like to ride down a "river" in the middle of a shopping mall.

This is the ArtScience Museum at night. It's shaped like a lotus flower, it's a creativity museum focusing on what makes creative people tick. It opened in 2011 and has hosted exhibits from photography, to LEGOs (see below), Dali (really sorry I missed that one) and Harry Potter.

These are from the LEGO exhibit called "The Art of the Brick". Everything in here was done by an NY artist, Nathan Sawaya. They ranged from human bodies to objects like the T-Rex, all built with LEGO bricks.

A shot of the laser light and water show at Marina Bay Sands.

Another shot of the laser light and water show at Marina Bay Sands.

Welcome to Singapore!

Well, we've arrived!!! After a near 22 hours of travel time, with most of those being in the air, I am finally in Singapore.

The flights were a lot easier and less stressful than I thought they'd be. Probably because Scott and I were blessed by the travel gods and on both legs of our flight had an empty middle seat. And believe me, that made all the difference. More room to stretch out, more leg room, more storage room, and most importantly no grumpy person stuck in the middle of our conversations. It was awesome. The meals we were served were really good for airplane food, and we never went hungry. I only had to avoid 1 appetizer because it had shrimp in it, so I consider that a win.

Our first leg of the trip took us from NYC to Frankfurt, about 8 hrs. I managed to stay awake thanks to the amazing in-seat entertainment selection (brand new movies, tv, games, music) but did doze off during the last half of Ted before the lights came up and we were fed breakfast. Not sure what that says about that movie considering I had no issues staying awake for Brave or Ice Age: Continental Drift. HA! Once arriving in Frankfurt we deplaned for 2-hrs and I was disappointed that the airport didn't seem more, well, German. From Tiffany's to D&G, Gucci and Burger King it seemed more like O'Hare. It's an airport I guess.

The second leg was from Frankfort to Singapore, about 12 (give or take) hours. At this point I was really starting to get tired, so after we were fed dinner I turned my lights off and cuddled up to sleep. I'm not sure where my ability to sleep any where at any time came from, but on long plane rides I am very thankful for this. I only really woke up twice, once to use the bathroom and another because of thirst. I was out cold for the most part until the lights came up for breakfast for the last 2 remaining hours of the flight.

After landing we flew through customs, grabbed our bags and met up with Kat (Scott's girlfriend who lives here) to make our way to the hotel. The hotel was only a short cab ride away and is within about a 5-10 min walk to the convention center. It's a great location, but I'll know more once we go out and explore. The room is really nice too. Corinne and I each have our own twin bed, a pimped out bathroom, flat screen TV, free WiFi and a mini kitchen w/fridge. Perhaps the best part, the AC. :) It's a very westernized hotel, you can tell because most of the outlets are 120v, what we use in the US.

In about 20 minutes Corinne and I are meeting up with Scott and Kat to go sight seeing, grab some lunch and explore this beautiful (and amazingly clean) city. Here are a few photos in the meantime...

Sunrise from the plane window above Frankfurt.

Our big, double-decker A380 airbus during our layover in Frankfurt.

Almost there, final destination Singapore.

They really aren't joking around on this customs form, are they?

Baggage claim at the Singapore airport. So calm and relaxing, US airports could learn a lot from this.

New York, New York.

I made it to New York safe, sound and even early last night. O'Hare, not surprisingly, was more dead than last Christmas so there was barely a line at security and my flight was empty. Had the whole row to myself.

Scott picked me up, we did a quick run to his school to pick up our remaining equipment (to save us time today) and then headed back to his place to crash. The best part? His family sent a plate of Thanksgiving yumminess for me so I did get to have my Thanksgiving dinner this year. YAY!

Today we're packing up our AV equipment, making a quick run to the drug store for mic batteries (can never have too many), and then headed to JFK to catch our flight tonight. We have about 2 hours before we need to start making our way over there so not much time left.

So with that I must leave you. Not sure if I'll have WiFi on the plane or not, so the next time I post will most likely be in Singapore unless we discover some free access in Frankfurt. Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving and a successful, not too expensive Black Friday.

T-minus 6 hours until departure...

Packing and not sleeping.

My nerves have finally got the best of me. I think it really hit me during my long commute home from work tonight that I'm not headed to Cleveland for the Thanksgiving holiday. Nope, instead I'll have a small celebration with Mr. Boots tomorrow, a FaceTime session with the family back home and then head to the airport. My first stop will be an overnighter in NYC with one of my travel companions, Scott. He and I then leave on Friday for Singapore, with a 2 hour layover in Frankfort. Yes, we're going the long way. 20 hours of flying time.

Until then my mind keeps running, going through my packing list over and over again and because of that I can't sleep. Am I packing the right stuff? Will I be prepared? Do I have everything I need? Is everything charged, backed-up and saved? Is it all going to fit? What am I forgetting? I hope I have it all...

The logical side of me knows everything will be just fine and if it isn't, we'll figure it out. But the illogical, emotional side of me is freaking out. She's all doom and gloom and I don't think she'll settle down until after we're in the air headed for Germany. Oh how I love international travel. At least I'm not traveling alone and will have a little posse (including a local, YAY!) once I get there.

T-minus 16 hrs and then I'm off to NYC...

Prepping for Singapore.

Starting up the old blog again for my next Asian adventure. This time I'm off to Singapore for SIGGRAPH Asia 2012. A week from today I'll be in the air, departing New York for Frankfort and then straight on through to Singapore. It's going to be an exciting 12 days and I hope to post as many of my adventures to this blog as I can. I'll also be traveling with my Lego Mini Fig and will be documenting her (our) adventures as well on their blog, ourlegoadventures.tumblr.com. Since I am technically going over there to work (social media and podcasting for the conference), I hope my posts will still be exciting and not just filled with shots  and updates from inside the Singapore EXPO.

Okay, well that's all I've got for now. There's a weekend of preparing and packing ahead of me. Let the countdown begin.

T-minus 6 days...