This is my first trip to Southeast Asia. Bangkok was enlightening. The people are perhaps the most gracious I’ve encountered. I really didn’t get to see much between meetings and catching up on work. Unfortunately, most of my sightseeing and pictures were from inside a taxi. My colleague, Barry, did take me out for some fine seafood last night. I think I may have been duped into eating tripe at lunch today; it didn’t dawn on me until I was on the plane. An intersting note on my time there was that I didn’t see Pad Thai on a menu once.
I just arrived in Singapore and it is certainly a different world here. After only an hour here, I’m going to highly recommend the Shangri-La – it’s the nicest hotel at which I have ever stayed (the Holiday Inn in Midland, MI, excepted). My first clue that this was a first rate joint was the assortment of cars parked out front (no less than 7 Ferraris and some other fine British automobiles). The leather remote control holder was also a nice touch. There was a snafu with my reservation and the hotel was booked solid. Not sure if I’m staying where Orbitz intended to book me, but I ended up in the “Valley Wing,” where champagne and cocktails flow freely from 11am to 10:30 pm (this could be dangerous for some people I know). I also witnessed a Singaporean drug deal – a guest tossed a large pack of Wrigleys Peppermint to the woman who was helping me (presumably for an upgrade). It’s times like that when I really wished I carried a badge. Stay tuned…
