Singapore Highlights - March 14-28

Without a doubt, the highlight of my two weeks in Singapore was spending time with the staff that I was there to help train. The team of Vanessa, Wynne and Dilip (see photo above, along with Lorene from the US enjoying fishhead curry) are delightful, engaging, much fun and very generous and gracious hosts. Much of our time together was spent training and troubleshooting, ensuring that they were ready to go when the office officially opened on April 1. But much time was also spent eating as they were quite determined to have me try as many local dishes as we could possibly squeeze in (with no complaints from me!) So from Roti Prata to delectable seafood, fish head curry, chicken rice, noodles, clay pot, Indian, Chinese, Malay, the list was delicious and endless and I feel I barely scratched the surface. Though I have been to Singapore several times before, this was the longest I had spent which gave me a little more time to get to know the city/country.

I really appreciated the insights and answers to my many questions from Dilip, Wynne and Vanessa. Dilip also invited me to hang out with his wife, Maureen, and Liz (another friend) several times which also gave me a view into a little more of their lives. So, people, food and the final highlight…animals and birds. I was able to go to the Singapore Zoo, Night Safari and the Bird Park – all of which are quite amazing. Liz, Maureen and Dilip (photo below) joined me at the night safari.

(Above photos: cascading orchids at the Bird Park entrance, quiet scene in the bird park)

Two other "people" highlights included having two days with Lorene (see photo above), one of my US supervisors who had begun the training. Lorene is great and I was thankful to have the two days overlap with her before she returned to NC. The other highlight was spending an evening with Fi, a childhood friend who I started first grade with at Chefoo continuing all the way through highschool together. We had seen each other one time since high school three years ago when we were in Cambodia. Fi is actually Anne/Nini’s sister mentioned previously in this trip. It was really encouraging to just talk and talk and talk. I am so thankful for true life long friends.

Though Singapore is a major cosmopolitan city, there is so much lush greenery throughout. I’ve always been a fan! Still am. I was able to do alot of walking taking in the sights ranging from older traditional buildings to the modern and outrageous - like the new Marina Bay Sands Casino/Resort. (see photos below)

Then it was back to Bangkok this past Wednesday to gather up and pack everything for my return. After final goodbyes to Pi Fai at Union Tower, Bonita and Roy and Fern and Fink, I was soon catching my 2AM taxi to the airport for my 10,000 mile journey back to Durham.
Duncan

March

This past month was a whirlwind of travel and friendships that has left me with sweet memories and even more grateful for the journey I am on, even though I do not know the final destination. Here’s just a brief recap. (photo above: village path in Napajat)

Our last two weeks in Bangkok began with spending some time with a friend from Durham who was in Bangkok for a week while attending a conference. I first met Mark shortly after moving to Durham when we were in a book group together. I quickly realized that every time he opened his mouth to speak, I heard something profound that moved and challenged me. So I was already looking forward to showing him around Bangkok and hearing and seeing his observations. But during our time together I discovered what an easy and adventurous traveler he is. Bangkok can be overwhelming to anyone on their first visit but Mark was able to easily navigate his way around.
One evening we met up with him at Terminal 21 (perhaps the newest and most impressive Mall in Bangkok, worthy of its own post at a late time) and he had made his way to Jim Thompson’s House, Chatuchak Market and Lumphini Park all by himself in one day. From street food outside the Grand Palace to jumping on and off khlong and river boats, he was up for it all. I’ll be happy to travel with Mark anytime in the future!

While Andrea stayed in Bangkok working on her thesis, I flew up to Maehongson to visit friends and neighbors in a couple of the villages where I grew up. The skies were extremely hazy and smoky from field and forest fires that are set this time of year. Flights to Maehongson were continually being cancelled which caused a little anxiety especially on my return as I had to catch a connecting flight in Chiang Mai back to Bangkok. I ended up leaving a day early and spent the night in Chiang Mai. Had my flight been cancelled, there would still have been enough time to catch a van for the five hour journey by road. Evidently the vans that leave on the hour (and are much cheaper than flying) have really done a number to the number of flights to Maehongson. Thai Airways use to have multiple flights, now they don’t even fly it themselves but have their budget subsidiary Nok Air handle the two daily flights. (photo below - hazy sky, flying into Maehongson.)

Time in Napajat and PaTyng was of course wonderful. Though I know fewer people in Napajat I am warmly welcomed by the family of Potow Nan's extended family (see photos below). It was also really good to meet John who recently married Nam (Lee and Doi’s daughter) at the airport in Chiang Mai. They were so helpful in checking out options in case the flights were cancelled. It was encouraging to hear their story and how they met.

Pa Tyng, where my parents lived for 8 years is different than when I was in high school. I again stayed with Gop’s family and visited many friends and neighbors. (photo below: Gop, step brother Geng and mom Youie.)

I love being here and ironically in spite of the smoke, I felt I could breathe…. (much smoke makes for great sunsets...)

Upon returning to Bangkok and finding that Andrea had turned in the rough draft of her thesis (all 63 pages), we had two short days at the beach before returning to Bangkok on March 13 to pack for our flights the next day – Andrea to the US for her final six weeks of school and me to Singapore to help train the newly hired team at the office my company has set up there. Why we try to sleep the nights before these early morning flights is beyond me because we never do. We caught a taxi to the airport at 2AM and Andrea left at 5AM while my flight left at 7AM.

Next post…Singapore.