Bloggin'......

Road Trip! part II

Waking up in the morning is certainly getting to be a chore, especially when you only went to sleep a few hours before. But, I was the one who told everyone to be at morning Dimsum at 11AM in Monterey Park, and that might be a last time, for a while. We had a good dimsum, at NBC Seafood Restuarant and took a quick picture in front.

Later that day, we all went to 3rd Street Promenade in Santa Monica, where we just took in the sun and the cool ocean breeze. I love hanging out there on the street watching good performers and musical groups even more. There were a few good acts on the street, like the "bucket" drummer (I loved his act) and an Argentinean band Los Pinguos, which played a great Latin strings set. Some wierd guy even jump out of the crowd to flamenco dance with the band.

After walking around the Promenade, we went to dinner at Fritto Misto, also in Santa Monica. I always have to have dinner there, simply because I just do. It's the restuarant that I always feel at home, away from home, in LA. Wierd, huh?

What are you looking at?

After dinner, I went on one more driving trip around the UCLA campus, one of my previous homes. Wow, it is huge! And the buildings are even taller, now! It is of course one of the smallest campuses of the UC system, but it does not lack airspace, apparently. I guess the old UCLA acronym really does hold up over time, Under Construction, in LA.

Will you be my guide? On the journey home.

Road Trip!

What a better way to enjoy the Memorial Day Weekend, than to go on a short roadtrip of California. We started in San Jose at 9 AM, and drove due south on US101, then West on CA152 in Gilroy, to our first stop, Monterey, California. We stopped there for a quick lunch along sunny Cannery Row, and walked around the town for a bit, before jumping back on the road. We made another little stop in Carmel for a little window-shopping and coffee, before we headed into the curvy roads of the famed Hwy1 and the California Coast.

It was an absolutely perfect day to drive with the windows down, the stereo blasting, and powersliding through the corners (just kidding). We made it through, and headed into Hearst Castle for another pitstop. We didn't have time for a tour, but we got to see the mansion from afar, at least, and it still looked huge.

By this time, it was getting on to 4 o'clock in the afternoon and we realized we needed to jet if we wanted to get to Los Angeles at a reasonable time. The next stops included ice cream in San Luis Obispo, gas in Ventura, and then an all out jam to Monterey Park for dinner. In all, we made it to Monterey Park just a little after 8PM. That's pretty good timing, I assume. I met up later with some LA friends that night and it was like old times in college, again. Tomorrow will be another day, so we'll see what all this craziness brought us.

Along the way....

Well, on the way home, I always seem to pass through the airport in Incheon, South Korea. This airport was a place I've been to as often as I have been in Singapore, and more. I have gotten to know it pretty well, including where I can find all the good NBA Playoff Games live on TV. The world may really be closer together than anyone can imagine, even when the current events in the rest of the world say they are not. Anyway, Go Lakers!

No Sign Board Restuarant

As it was, I went to the No Sign Board restuarant in the Geylang District for dinner on the recommendation of one of my colleagues. In all my travels, I have a tendency to develop a favorite food in every locale. In Singapore, I can't get enough of the Black Pepper Crab, especially the black pepper crab at the East Coast Seafod Center, of course on the east coast of Singapore.

So when my colleague suggested I try the No Sign Board Restuarant, I looked up the address, and jumped on the next subway headed in that direction.

How was it? It was just OK. Hard for me to say that, but I can't seem to find the right words to really recommend the restuarant. The food was just marginal, but I think I was most disappointed in the crab because I was expecting a big Sri Lankan Crab, coated in hot crushed black pepper. What I had was a king crab, cooked in pepper to taste. Well, I'll just have to keep that in mind the next time I have a hankering for crab!

Taking them with you....

After a long day at work, I can only do double takes, and when I saw this, I was reminded of a crude joke....

"When I die, I'd like to go peacefully in my sleep, like my grandfather,
not screaming in terror like his passengers...."

crude, I know...

Lazy Day

Sunday was definitely one of the first days I had to lounge around in a long time. For the past couple of months, I had been doing nothing but work during the week and travel on the weekends. I've been in Singapore so much, many of my colleagues consider me local, even. I think I've even picked up a slight Singaporean accent, too.

I only went shopping in the early afternoon, but I stayed indoors in the air conditioned room and just watched TV, munching chips and soda for the rest of the day. Not a bad at all. =)

The Great Singapore Sale

Over the weekend, the Great Singapore Sale began. It's apparently a huge national event, where everything goes on sale, and in some cases, is a even bigger than Christmas. Crazy... Unfortunately, shopping is a little lost on me, since I don't shop much anyway. In any case, I did walk around to a few stores on Orchard Road just to take in some of the sights of a beuatiful day. Anyone need 20% off Rolexes?

Of all things, I did find a few things I like..... =P

Saturday Randoms

For a lazy Saturday, I decided to go on a little exploring trip of my own. I went to the local MRT Station, and randomly selected a stop from the subway map. I didn't know where I was going, but I think that alone made it more of an adventure. So really... was it?

I went to Serangoon district of Singapore, because it just sounded lovely. In reality, it was... just a neighborhood. I did find a little pirate CD Shop in a little outdoor stripmall. =P Afterwards, I got back on the MRT and went all the way across the country (about 45 minutes) to East Jurong and just went shopping in a local mall. Nothing special, just ordinary shoppes.

The Search for Food

Somehow, I always felt cheated in my past trips to Singapore. In just about every trip I've made, I got sick in one way, shape, or form. Flu, colds, headaches(monsterous) always seemed to find me just as I would get ready to go out at night after a hard day's work.

This time, I was ready for anything. So ready, I went to Lawry's Prime Rib for dinner. Of course, prime rib is not exactly local food (Beverly Hills, to be more exact), but hey, why not? Now, I have to figure how to write this dinner off my expenses. =P

Travels

Since it seemed many of the hotels in Singapore were booked up, I turned to my last resort, the York Hotel. It's an "OK" hotel, off Orchard Road and close to the MRT station. But it is an older hotel, a little bit drab, and it doesn't have as much of a view. I am very picky when it comes to comfort, which is why I usually stay at the SwissOtel-Stamford, which is a very modern hotel and I can usually get a room near the top of the 72 story hotel for a really nice view over the Singapore harbour.

However, in my situation at that time, I think I was about to take whatever I could get, since being near homeless. I had worked the entire day, and when I checked in later that night, I instantly had some problems and called the front desk. Due to some mix-ups and no more available rooms, they moved me to a large suite. I was amazed to say the least. It had a living area, a cozy view, and a real bar area. I will have to remember to complain more often!

What a load of crap.....

I am on travel again, and unfortuanately, there's not many picture worthy sights to post this time around. That is not to say, there has been no glitches along the way here. I found out my mileage for this flight to Singapore did not count towards my frequent flier program! How much does that suck?! It was an "interent special fare" so it does not qualify, but I should think if I were to fly over 10 thousand miles, it should at least count for something.... argh!

Well, to compound my petty troubles, I had a bigger problem in the making. I was not able to make any hotel reservations before I left home. Apparently, it is tourist season in Singapore and hotels are completely booked all over the city! I went through my first, second, and third choices rather quickly and was reduced to calling hotels at random from my tatered map of Singapore. That sucks!

I was able to call a few more places when I arrived at 1AM(!) and found a decent hotel, the Royal Plaza Hotel, for the night. They can't accomadate me for the to the entire trip, so I think I will just check out in the morning.

From Winter Slumber

Winter is definitely over. I spent part of Sunday morning trying out out a new set of mountain bike tires. My favorite all around tire is definitely my Michelin Wildgripper Comp S tires, but it never hurts to experiment with different treads. My Michelin tires have always been good to me. They're made from a special silica rubber compound, with a kevlar bead and a 120 thread count casing, and a very sharp tread pattern. I love them so much, I can't bear to wear them out.

Hopefully, these new tires will serve me as well as the Michelins have, but in different conditions, of course. I had been looking for a pair of mountain slicks for a while now and just didn't see anything I liked, until I saw these tires at my local bike shop for an incredible price. They were extremely light, had a kevlar bead, and a 120 thread count casing. So how are these different, you may ask...

Well, most importantly, the tread patteren is completely different. It has a smooth center tread for low roll-resistance and semi-sharp edge knobs for hard cornering. This tire is intended for nice hard pack dirt, soft dirt, and long stretches of road, and I have one park in mind right now that has exactly that mixture. The Michelins have more aggressive knobs for all around traction, so I can now save my Wildgrippers for more extreme conditions. I also have a pair of city slicks, which as the name suggests, is for the city street and road surfaces, at almost half the weight and size. Happy trails!

New Phone

After, I don't know how many, years, I finally decided it was time to trade in my old mobile phone. Why was I so reluctant? Sure, my old phone was gargantuan compared to all the new phones, or the "neato" phones, but none proved to be as reliable or as sturdy as my old Nokia 6162. I admit it is not a very convienient phone, but it was powerful enough to get full reception even at the top of Half Dome in Yosemite National Park, over the years.

However, I finally realized mobile technology was starting to leave me behind, or rather it had left me behind. So, with a little research, I picked up a new, more colorful phone. Hopefully, it can last as long as my old phone did, but the real test will be when I return to Yosemite again. Right now, the hard part is to re-enter all my phone lists! Hey if you want to help me out, give me a call so I can just copy the number. Otherwise, it may be a while before you'll hear from me. =P

Old Friends

Every once in a blue moon, I see some very old friends, and when we get together, it does not take long for us to be the loudest people in the restuarant. Obnoxious? No. But, I think we just have more fun than others around us. So When I had dinner last night, even the waiters were having fun with us! It's how a seemingly cozy dinner turns into a big festival.

It's true, good friends are hard to come by, but when found, my only hope is it could last forever. Fun times all around!

Sunday Afternoons

What a better way to spend a Sunday afternoon, than to ride an easy-going trail on a bike, cruising along with the wind in your face. I finally got to pull one of my bikes out of hibernation and give it a little bit of a run. For me, it was exceptionally good since I had been traveling for so long, without ever excercising. I still remember it would be so hot and humid in Singapore, it would be 80 degrees F and 80% Humidity. In my lline of work, that is called a "corrosion chamber".

However, I have yet to pull out my other bike, "Betsy", which I look forward to hitting 40mph on a nice downhill run. =P

Paul's Birthday

So Saturday night, we all went out to celebrate Paul's Birthday at Il Postale in Sunnyvale. It's a great restuarant, and I really liked the atmosphere, very cozy, yet warm feeling inside. Only Mike can wrap presents like he did that night.

Later, we all went on to have drinks at eTea in Mountain View, where Jen wanted to try a few shots with my camera. I think these shots were the most interesting of the lot, especially of John's hand.