Room with a View

I would have preferred a clear view of the Singapore Straits.  The other side of the hotel does not offer much either as it shows office buildings. I can't complain as the city is clean, lively and there's a lot of food options.

Saturday morning jog in Singapore

Cab Ride to Work

Anson Road, Singapore
 Heading out from the hotel to work

Heading North

Another 20 minutes and we'd be at the Malaysian border

Roads are lined with trees. It makes the

drive to work a bit more pleasant.

And the workday begins

Singapore

Had  "street food" dinner with a friend.  We walked towards the Merlion (mythical creature with the body of a fish and  the head of a lion), one of Singapore's tourist icons.

The hotels on the other side of the river.

Narita Airport, Tokyo

I arrived at Narita after a 14-hour flight.  I was a bit hungry and was looking for a place that served ramen or soba noodles. The one closest to my gate was this sushi place.  I didn't want to eat sushi prior to a 7-hour flight to Singapore.

The wonders of Japan - Kitkat in wasabi flavor.  I had to buy some.



Montreal, Canada

I've been traveling here weekly since March to work on a project. It was still winter when I first arrived in Montreal. Here are some pictures that I took while walking around Old Montreal.

The Notre Dame Basilica

A cobblestone street

 "Stop" sign

at the port

Patches of ice

More ice

frozen Marina

feels like you are in Europe

starting to get dark

Arriving in Honolulu, Hawaii

This is my first post in a long while.  Here's a cellphone video that we ( my son and I ) took as the Continental Airlines Boeing 767 was about to land in Honolulu, Hawaii after a 7-hour flight from Guam.  The date was Dec. 31, 2010 Hawaii time.  We took off from Manila midnight (New Year's Eve) on Dec 31, 2010 for a 3-hr flight to Guam.

The video shows the outskirts of Honolulu and the Pacific Ocean in the background.

50 miles from home - and a flat

I was 50 miles from home for a Saturday ride with several guys - and I get a flat or the rear wheel.  I didn't have any spare tubes nor tools to fix the flat.

I had to let the rest go on with the ride as they should not be waiting on me.  I was only 2 miles from the starting point so I just walked back.  I took a picture of the empty country road as I headed back to where I'd be waiting for my wife to pick me up.

Took a picture of the bike while I waited for my ride back home:

An Odd Hotel Room

One benefit of frequent travelers is getting "upgrades" such as getting a seat in first or business class when flying.  When I stay at a hotel,  my frequent traveler status ( "Platinum" / "Platinum Premiere" ) usually results in the hotel giving me their bigger rooms instead of the regular rooms.  These "suite rooms" are more elegantly decorated but for the most part, I really don't get to enjoy these as I don't spend a lot of time at the hotel. I've only enjoyed these room upgrades when I travel with my wife and kids.

On this particular week,  I was given a "corner" suite room which usually means it's larger than the regular suite. Outside the room,  I noticed the sign.

Usually "upgraded" rooms have some sort of dining table but this one was a bit odd - it was definitely a conference room table.

I moved the curtains to check the view and this is what I see:

Scenes from the Park

It's a Saturday morning in Beijing and I went to the Temple of Heaven.  It's a place revered by the Chinese and historically,  this is where the emperor prayed to the gods for a good harvest.

The amazing thing about parks in China is that the people actually use them for activities that we probably will never see back in the states: individual & group singing,  people playing cards,  tai-chi,  yoga, dancing and other activities.

Here are videos that I took with my cellphone this morning:

Spring Break, 2010

I traveled with the family to Washington, DC as it was spring break and there was no school for a week. Washington is an amazing place to visit - a lot of historic names, places and events too numerous to mention. The subway system is great and is a great way to get around as finding parking space is difficult in this city.  Here are some of the more significant pictures from DC.

The White House - view from the South Lawn

The Washington Monument

The World War II Memorial

Reference to some of the Major Battles in the Pacific during WW II

The Lincoln Memorial

Inside the Lincoln Memorial

View of the Reflecting Pool,  Washington Monument and the US Capitol from the Lincoln Memorial

Winter in Boston

It's winter and I've been working in the Boston area for close to a year now. Winter in the northeast makes the place very pretty (due to snow) but living in the area is a hassle. You need layers of warm clothes. Driving can be treacherous and if you actually live here, your car will not last as those in warmer states due to the salt that is put on the roads (to prevent ice). Even walking is dangerous as it gets very slippery.

This is the view outside the office window.

Heading back to the airport

Christmas Carols with the Sesame Street characters

I was surprised - I actually liked the show:-)

Penguins

Rio Loco

The Rio Loco ride at SeaWorld where you get tossed around and the main objective is to get wet.

Shamu - December 2009

We've always visited Seaworld usually in the summer but never in the winter. This is our first time to watch the show a few days before Christmas.

Part 1


Part 2


Part 3

SeaWorld

It's been awhile since I've posted something as my work schedule these past months have been very busy. Anyway, it's the Christmas season and I and my family was able to go to SeaWorld in San Antonio. Here are some snippets from the trip.

Sea Lion Show


Journey to Atlantis

Provo, Utah

I left the office around 7:15 pm and headed back to the hotel. I've always wanted to take a picture of mountains that is visible from my room but I've always been busy. This time around, I was not in hurry to do something else so I grabbed my camera and took a couple of shots.

More Aerial Shots

Click on the picture to see the full image


There's a lot of mountain ranges on the way from Salt Lake City to Houston. I took these pictures on a warm summer day where I can actually see more details on the ground. In the winter, all you'll see is snow and ice as you fly over this area.


The camera can only show so much and the picture does not do justice to the real view. By the way, flying over mountain ranges usually makes the flight pretty bumpy. There was a couple of bumps but this flight was pretty smooth all the way... pretty unusual for the summer.

Outside the Window (Provo, Utah)

I'm currently in Provo, some 40 miles south of Salt Lake City in Utah. I'll be working here for the next 2 weeks. Such a gorgeous place. This is the view that I get when I look out of the office window.


I've been all over the US but this is the first time that I actually liked a place well enough that I can consider moving here from Houston (still my first choice).

It's going to be a very busy month for me - long hours on the weekdays and additional work even on weekends. I wouldn't mind having a window view such as this on all my projects.