Tuesday 12th April 2016

Today Taz was up before I was.  She called me the blanket stealer.  We decided to do the tree top hike.  It was raining when we woke up so we waited.  

Now it was a pain getting to this place because some maps showed a metro stop and others did not. We asked directions on which bus to take.  I followed the directions well but I guess Taz heard something else- which was fine because we found a Market to eat at.  Chicken and rice and cane sugar juice!!!  I couldn't finish everything but it was enough.  Taz was like oh no!!! The sugar high.  I controlled the wild side.

So we found the bus. Only small and exact  change which I did not have but the amigas helped.  We thought they were going to take us to tree top entrance. Nope they took us to the entrance of another trail that leads to treetop.  We decided to walk.  It was just under 3 miles.  Tree top was beautiful.  I saw snakes and was attacked by monkey who was trying to get stuff from my bag.  Taz got attacked too.  

I was very happy because I didn't need any help coming down.    Also, en route up a guy told us of two girls who got molested going up this trail. Another was raped in Chinatown.  He said to get a picture of a criminal- how do you do that when you are attacked.  Though I was thankful for his warning. Very different from the Arab guy.  Though in my mind, you can get hurt anywhere.

We had one more trail- this trail would take us to the exit.  We came to two exits and decided for the longer but later took the shorter.  We got to a bus station.  No bus would stop.  There was a couple who were doing the trail too.  They hailed down the bus.  

Instead of going to Chinatown we all went to the hotel.  We were all stinky and sticky.  We got to our hotel and took showers.  We then went to Chinatown where I bought some souvenirs.  We saw a famous Hindu and Buddhist temple.   I found a tea pot but it was too expensive.

We continued to Baba house.  A home that is unique to a specific Chinese population in Singapore.  Their home is a melting pot of cultures.   Things from  China, Europe, etc... Can be seen in their home.  I found it interesting that instead of having wide houses, their houses were long.  I also thought it was cool that the ladies had peepholes in their room to hear what the men were talking about and to see what they were doing below.  Our guide kept looking to me for anything that pertained to India.  I'm no expert; time was of essence, so I did not have to answer a lot of questions.

After this Beth and I were hungry.  Taz's buddy had joined us on the BaBa tour.  She took us to where there is great Chinese food.  Beth and I were talking about the book, Quiet which discusses eastern vs. western philosophies of interactions.  The restaraunt was too busy but there was and Indian one.  Went there and got lamb and roti.  We were the the only ones there but finished the food. We got back to the hotel and began to pack.  I got directions and mapped where we are going tomorrow.   

We did a lot of walking today but tomorrow we will be traveling.  Until tomorrow.

Monday, 11th April 2016

Not much to write today.   I woke up this am to tea and nuts.  I finished my protein bar.  We decided to go to the botanical gardens.  The gardens are a World Heritage site and a Unescho Site.

The garden is huge and divided.  We saw a small garden first.  We walked to see the healing garden and the evolution garden.  The healing garden showed how different plants can be remedies for different ailments.  We stopped at the food court because food was needed but also because of the rain.  Beth and I were going to share but something did not taste nor feel right.  There was nothing else.  So I had another protein bar.  

We went to the orchards, bonsai and a few other ones.  I know by this point my blood sugar had dropped.  I got very dizzy and had to stop. We went to dinner- peri peri.  I got chicken and veggies, and tea.  My sarcasm returned.

We went to Orchard street, which is a street with name brand stores.  We really were just shocked to how many stores and malls there were.  We got to the palace which was closed so we took pictures of other architecture.

We did go to a lovely tea shop and tried teas.  The gentleman talked to us about how to brew tea and how his country and company are awesome.  He wanted us to return Wednesday because he will officially have his bar license.  We are leaving on Wednesday.  He said the flight back is like 1/2 a day with the time change.  We laughed.   Great tea, great people. 

Well after walking this area, we had to return. My body still had to recover.   We went back towards the hotel.  I decided to get big bottles of water.  The lady at the store told me they don't sell air freshners and directed me on where to get it. That store didn't have small freshners-just big spray bottles.  I got a small perfume one which was strong and Indian-like but worked.  I walked a block and a half down with Indians staring at me...  Aarg.  I got my stuff and returned to the Hotel.

Bed time to help heal.

Sunday, 10th April 2016

I woke up this morning and did a work out.  Was missing my classes.  I have missed 3.  I will miss 4 more.  :(. But, I practiced the motions.  We didn't rush this am.  We had green tea, compliments of the hotel, and the trail mixes that we brought.  The plan was to do CBT, Little India, and Arab street.  We only did the latter two.

We walked to Little India.  We went to Tekka Center for food and then shopping.  Beth and Taz decided to share Butter Chicken.  Taz left to get drinks.  I helped explain to Beth what kind of bread to get-she agreed to naan.  Since I can't have Butter Chicken, I had a type of poori and chenna!!! Yum.. I shared the porori- it was huge.  Taz got a water that had sugar but it was too sweet. 

After food we went upstairs.  Let the shopping begin.  There aren't too many details to shopping.  But, I'll summarize

1.  We tried to find matching shirts, either too big, too small but more often than not, unavailable

2.  Dresses, didn't really like the ones I saw, plus too long.  Beth and Taz got 2 for $10 deal.  They found some that looked similar but were different in color.

3.  Beth loves elephants and was looking for pants-we found plenty.  She chose an elephant dress.

4.  I went into Hindi mode, language skills came in handy!

En route to Arab Street, I stopped at a small convenience store and got water.  They were amused that I had another pouch to put water in and called it a cantine.  It was interesting to see their reaction.

The only thing I did not like about Little India was the trash laying around.  Most of what I have seen of Singapore is clean and then you go to Little India.  I don't know if it is because of a sense of entitlement or culture but I was not happy about It.  

We saw Sri Veera Makaliamma Temple.  It is one of the oldest temples of Singapore.  The name represents a goddess who is the destroyer of evil.  This was important because when people were moving to the city, they needed a sense of comfort. 

  

We continued to Sultan Mosque.   The building of Sultan Mosque began in the late 50s.  It is considered to be one of the most important mosques in Singapore.  The prayer hall and domes are the highlights.  We took pictures from across the road.  There was an Arab shop and they wanted us to come in. Off came the shoes.  We saw the clothes and the oil based scents.  Taz thought that the wife of the owner was looking down on her because the back of her shirt was see thru.  The owner began to talk to me in Hindi, after learning I was from India.  He said that Singapore is a safe place and that we can go anywhere at anytime and not worry.  We didn't buy anything but proceeded to Arab street.

Back to the window shopping.  Taz and I looked at different fabrics.  Beth fell in love with these lights but they are too large to carry and too expensive to mail home.  I realized that my shoe was causing my pinky didget to get smooshed so we began to go shoe hunting.  We also wanted something to drink/eat.  Places like Tutti Fruiti did not have dairy free options.   We went to Bugis,  which had some options in the mall that were way out of price range especially for sandals.  The market didn't have my style and/or size.  I finally found shoes at a market shop, but the toes were still covered.  In Bugis mall, we found drinks, I got watermelon juice and it was refreshing.  Taz and I also saw this underarmour challenge.  4 exercises-4 minutes: push up burpees, dumbbell (20 lbs) lift, biceps curls (20 lbs, and inverted/inclined push-ups with a bar.  We were so psyched and then we were told we needed to be residents.  Well that is fine, we went to our hotel.  Next to our hotel I saw another shop, that had sandals that I liked. 

At the hotel we all slept.  I think it was mainly the heat.  Around 17:00 they asked me for a decision, wait at the hotel for storm to pass or try to beat it.  I elected to stay at the hotel and we did till about 19:30.  We went to Bugis for dinner.  I wore the new shoes.    I wanted Briyani but it was not available. So searching I went.  Nothing...    I came back and had a little bit of my protein bar which had melted a bit.  The ladies would not have it, they wanted me to eat.    We did grab some more juices.  Well I decided on BonChon chicken.  The irony because today is Sunday-training day.  I got my spicy chicken and Beth got Edamame nuts. Taz's drink was put in the fridge because it was from another store.  Upon leaving she got it.  I decided to keep the shoes for work.  I got sandals from the shop next to our hotel.

We went back to the room and played cards.

Oh en route to finding chicken,  I was able to find my pin.  There was a couple from Brazil who also get pins but to put on their backpack.

We played cards till midnight.  Good night!"

Still traveling and Saturday 9th of April.

I have to re-write this blog because when I wrote it this morning, that blog got deleted.  I don't know why... So here I am again, writing.

So I landed.  1 flight done, 3 more to go.  Minnesota airport was pretty busy and had food for most dietary restrictions.    My layover here was 3 hours.  I could not access the WiFi.    I sat at this place called Shoyu.  They had IPADS at every table.  You could sit here and order food, drinks and use their iPad for free.  That is what I did, though I only used the IPad briefly.  I really worked on my journal and got some water. 

I went to my gate.  Again IPads were on every table.  I was in a mini mall, packed with people shopping, grabbing food, or sitting for food. I bought soy milk and hummus with pretzels....  I saved the food to eat it on my flight.  I was amazed at how many options there were for dairy free food.  I was at my gate amazed at the technology- I then asked this random lady to watch my bag as I went to use the bathroom.  The one that was closer to the gate was packed so I went to the bathroom that was at the next gate.  I must add this though- I was looking at people, who for the most part, were casually dressed.  I look over at Indians and they had a suit on with a tie.  It is all about material things and appearance for Indians.  Upon returning, my seat was taken, but that was fine because I was about to board.  

When I boarded, here was the way it worked.

Lady 1-aisle

Lady 2- center

Me-window

These two elderly ladies were friends on their way to LA to watch a show.  Lady 2 was celebrating her birthday.  She was so out of it with her stuff, that I kept catching things for her before they fell.  Lady 1 just got back from a mission trip to Indian.  Lady 2 generally goes to Africa but instead is going to India in October and both ladies are going together to the Phillipines in August.  Delightful older ladies, who loved my passion to travel.  Sadly, Lady 2 found out when we landed that her family member-I think her son has stage 3 kidney disease.  Poor thing.  With these two, the trip was more fun, and went faster.  We landed in LA.  

I texted Beth.  Her flight was delayed about 2-2.5 hours.  So I asked for the name of the terminal: Tom Brady.  What an odd name for a terminal for international fights.  Anyways, per Beth's request, I sent her the name of the terminal plus directions on how to get there so that she wouldn't have to deal with that too upon landing.    I had to wait till 20:30 before I could get my tickets because Air China desk was closed till 20:30.  I got there around 19:30.  So, I sat and read.  I got my tickets-I had to check-in my bag... :(. I got through security but it was disorganized and a pain; too long.  By the time I got done with security, Beth was in line to get her tickets.  Little did we know, that this was about to be a disaster.  I toured LAX airport.  Beth was still stuck in line for her tickets.  I was exhausted.  So I found these seats and took a nap around 22:30.  Luckily I woke up at 23:00.  Beth was in security.  Our flight was still on time.  I asked if she wanted anything-water.  So I got her some, and went to our gate.  Our gate was empty.  They had boarded everyone, early, I guess.  They said I could board.  I said okay but informed them that a flight had just landed from Colorado and that they are stuck in security and that a group of them are trying to get on this flight.  Air China waited.  There were three rounds of groups of people, with rush and frustration on their faces as they walked in.  Beth was in the last round.  She made it!  They closed the doors after her.  I finished watching one movie and then slept.  Air China is awesome.  Large blankets, leg space, welcoming people and recliners.  An 18 hour flight.  The food was fairly decent and I slept most of the way.  There was a center seat unoccupied so I used two seats to sleep.  The guy at the window seat was going to the Phillipines as he is from there.  He said he worked in Singapore for two years and it is nice.  

We finally arrived at our last layover- Taipei.  Beth and I didn't want to sit so we walked the hallways.  We found a place serving samples of tea.  So we had some.  It was good.  We went to our gate.  The flight was delayed 20 /30 mines, so we looked up directions to our hotel and I took screen shot 0f the directions.  We boarded.  This flight had a guy who kept sucking in his snot instead of blowing his nose.  I had a center row to myself but the spouse of the snot guy asked if she could share.  She would take two seats and I could have two.  I said sure.  She kept insisting that I maximize the space we both had.  I was initially just working on my journal.  She eventually moved.  That is when I slept, not because she moved but because I had finished reading and writing.  The food was not too good, but the snack provided was healthy and yummy.  They were very strict about us wearing our seatbelts on this flight.

We finally landed in.....SINGAPORE!!!!  36 hours later!  Now at customs they wanted an address of where we would stay, I gave them the hotel name which they accepted.  Beth almost forgot we had to pick up our checked bags.  We exchanged some money and went on to the metro.  We got off at Bugis.  We didn't understand the exit signs but got out.  It was hot!!! I took off my jacket :O. The pictures were not helping us get to our destination so we found a coffee shop and got on their wifi from outside.  Beth used google maps to determine where we had to go, but it wasn't making sense.  We should have been at our destination.  But it was thundering and we were being rained on.  I used my rain coat to protect my day pack.  We finally figured it out and got to our hotel.  Taz was getting our room key.  All three of us soaked.

Now the elevator was crazy.  We had to hold down the button until we got to our floor and the door opened... Umm can you say stairs!!!!  If you let go of the button the lights shut off an you are stuck.

We all rested a bit initially.  When the rain passed, we began to tour.  We started with Bugis- a huge market.  Beth and Taz got shawl like shirts.  We then went to the Gardens by the Bay to see the super tree grove. We saw the light show entertainment that came with it.  Just so much fun!  We were about to eat at the food court but realized that we had to meet Taz's friend.  We went to the Marina Sands and met Shellen. Shellen had couch surfed with Laura- you can meet great people thru couch surfing. The Marina Sands are two skyscrapers with something similar to a ship joining them above.  We wanted to go to the bar to get a view but there was a dress code.  But, we saw some other folks walk in not following the policy, so we all went.  They wanted us to pay for drinks but since no one came to serve us, we took our pictures from the top and left.  That place had a cool looking pool too!  I would have loved to jump in for a cool off.

Shellen took us to a mall which had an indoor ice ring.  We went to the food court which offered an Asian Fusion of food: Korean, Chinese, Malaysian, Indian, etc...  We all looked around and got separated.  Beth had forgotten her phone and Taz wasn't paying attention to hers but luckily I still found them: Beth's curly hair saved the day Wohooo.  I got Dukbokki (Korean) that we all shared.  We actually all shared the meals-they got a noodle dish and a rice dish.  I tried  a bit of the rice dish which had some nicely prepared egg. Taz and I shared water.

Outside of the mall, there was another light show but we only caught the ends of it.  We continued to walk towards the Helix.  We came across a bike that was flashing in different colors and had music playing...we got closer and saw a robot dancing to the music.  The best part was when the Rocky music came on and the robot did push ups.

We got to the Helix bridge.  Such awesome architecture.  I am glad we saw it at night because we got to see the color variations.  We then went to Merlion Park.  Here there is a statue of a fish-lion hybrid.  It symbolizes Singapore's humble beginnings as a fishing village. The head represents Singapore's original name, Singapora or Lion City (in Malay).  I didn't understand how to stand for Taz to take a picture.  But once we got it, the picture looked great.

We then walked toward Taz's hostel for the last few nights.  It was right in the heart of party city.  There were clubs, bars, dancing, noise, etc... It was awesome.  Taz got her bag and we kept walking.  

We got to the Rainbow Bridge- a bridge of friendships!  Hugs!!!  This took us to another place to be at night-Clarke Quay.  Taz likes this place.  There was a bungee jump thing like in Kings Dominion but more like a swing.  No one wanted to do it.  There was a guy who started to dance next to us... Hahaha.   We watched and then decided to go home.  En route we saw the light show from 

from Marina Sands.  We parted ways as Shellen's home was not near us.  Taz found a shorter route to our hotel.  

We got in and the bottled waters that were placed in the fridge were frozen.  Good I can ice down the knees.  Time for bed-until tomorrow!!

6th April to 7th April 2016

So the 6th of April involved a before 5 AM rise to work.  I left my day job around 17:00 and got to my second job in the nick of time.  I left my 2nd job around 19:15 and then went home.  I did my last minute packing.  Most of the packing was done the evening of the 5th.   My dad dropped me off at the metro.  Thankfully, I didn't have to wait.  Off to Shady Grove. The transfer was a 7 minute wait.

The Blue Line was rather empty.  However, the red line was packed.  This couple was using the metro too.  They wanted to sit together... DC, Red Line.... Not possible.   Poor thing almost fell coming to a seat next to where I was standing.  I didn't want to sit.  I helped her to her seat.  Out of the blue, she suddenly began to talk to me.  It always seems to happen that I meet wonderful people en route to my destination.  Anyways, we talked about the adventures that I have and why I love traveling.  This lady used to be a professor of literature!  She asked about my book and I told her about it.  It is called the 9th Wife.    I asked if she was from the area...   She is in town visiting a friend; they just toured DC.  Originally she is from Israel!!!!!!  Oh my gosh, I told her of my dream trip:  Egypt-Turkey-Israel and if possible, Jordan.  She was so sweet-her name is Lali and she said to email her if I decide to go to Israel as she will host me.  She wants my blog!!!  This conversation made the red line trip much quicker.  What a dear. She asked me if I was from DC. I told her I live outside of DC-on the outskirts.  Her husband was surprised to hear someone use and know the word.  She didn't believe I was 34. I still look, feel, and act young. :). Already, the adventure begins.  Maria was already waiting for me.  They got Peruvian.  Her and Jamie are so sweet.  And that green sauce wa different but goooood.  We talked about their career goals, good movies with hot guys and then  I crashed.  I was out.  Finally!  I thought I was going to catch a cold, but that 1 night of sleep spared me the onset of a cold.

Oh yea I forgot my hiking boots but I have good sneakers.

7th April 2016

I slept in!!! I didn't wake up at all during the night.  I took a quick shower.  Maria had a small umbrella, that I am borrowing, but I wanted to get another day bag b/c the one I have didn't have enough room for my electronics.  I didn't want to leave valuables in my "suitcase."  We went to Walmart.   Day back for $15 dollars.  I was shocked.  The lady at the cash register was surprised to see my surprise.  Luckily, I noticed that a zipper was broken.  Maria went to get another bag but the lady wouldn't let me pay. We had to wait for the bag.  I said she didn't trust me to Maria.  This lady later explained that It was because she can get in trouble if she doesn't!  No worries.  Definately, she is a cheerful morning person. Not me.  So en route to Baltimore, I unpacked and repacked my day pack.  Maria and I talked about what a good leader is and our adventures, our goals, and life.  In the rain, in traffic, I made it to BWI.  And on top of it, it was with some great people and fun friends.

I decided to carry on both bags.  At security I put my bag in one of the security boxes and a guy comes up and says take it out- I was like, I will.  Really, you don't see my trying to follow your policy of taking of my jacket, shoes, etc....Anyways, it took my 20-30 minutes to find food.   I asked a person at a store to take a picture of me with my bags.  I think he was surprised that I own a camera.  I went to the healthy place.  I got a platter of anything I chose for breakfast with a bagel and tea for less than $10.  Pretty good for the airport.  I sat and ate, took nearly 1.5 hours. Just did some work and updating this blog.  

On to the gate.  Some guy almost hit me and apologized- I said it is okay, I am short, you probably can't see me. We laughed.  At my gate, I found that we are delayed 20 min.  Back to blogging.  There was a old couple whose name on the boarding pass didn't match the in the computer database, and because they spoke minimal English, it was difficult for them to understand.  This lady sitting next to me was telling me the situation.  Then they started to call us by zones to board the plane, then instead of zones they did seats-mainly to keep order and to make sure we got on the flight quickly.    Well, that is good.  That same lady sitting next to me needed explanation on zone boarding, so I explained it to her.  

On the flight, I Had Cigna Insurance contact me to discuss quotes, well I told them, I already got medical insurance.  But the guy had a nice accent. 

A few things, Indonesia is out for me.  We can't enjoy the countries without giving up one.  Beth and Taz will continue to Indonesia because they got a month off.  But we are going on an awesome cruise at the end of my adventure :). I also gained weight!! :o. No worries it will be gone on this trip.

Wohoo, that's all folks.

Spring 2016 trip

So my goal is to have my grammar and spelling in check on this trip.  I will go back and fix Peru after I return.  So, Taz and I decided to go on a trip together!!!!!  I miss my traveling buddy.   As always the question is where in the world do we go?   We thought 

Argentina and Brazil

Alaska

Vietnam

Thailand

Croatia

This list never ends.... We decided on Singapore and Malaysia.  The true question was do we add anymore like Thailand or Indonesia.  We decided against Thailand as that is a trip on its own!  Indonesia we shall add.

I went to the library and got my books.  Too excited to delay in planning I began.  One of the Yudo students is from Malaysia, KC.  So he and I met up to discuss places to go and see!

Then that was the end of my planning for some time.  As always, it seems the month before I go anywhere, work picks up and as you all know, I like to come back to nothing.  Sadly, this did not happen for this trip, but thankfully, I don't have a lot to worry about either.  I started planning the trip maybe 2.5 weeks out!!!!!!!! Two Sundays and a couple of hours, and Malaysia is set.  

Oh!!!!!!!!!! And,  I forgot to mention, Taz and I have another buddy joining us on this trip.  Beth!!! A good college friend, who also did Peace Corps.  So we all got a county to plan.  Taz did Singapore and Beth, Indonesia.  Though we all got our feet wet a bit with the rest of them too.  Beth will need a nickname... This trip!

Last day of Peru

.... To come