.: angilou and tucker too :.

Round the world trip - the itinerary

hey for those of you that were interested in my round the world trip, here's the itinerary.  also, i lied, it's not all in first class, just going to london and singapore.  on the way back, i'm only in business. ;-)  no shanghai tang pajamas for me!

trip starts tomorrow, so stay tuned here for the blog updates.

AMERICAN AIRLINES 2408 (2h 35m, 972mi)
   Departs: Austin, TX - AUS
   Date: Sep 04,2012       Time:  4:20 PM
   Arrives: Chicago O'Hare, IL - ORD
   Date: Sep 04,2012       Time:  6:55 PM

 Reserved: AMERICAN AIRLINES 6196 (7hr 25m, 3953 mi)
             OPERATED BY  BRITISH AIRWAYS
   Departs: Chicago O'Hare, IL - ORD
   Date: Sep 04,2012       Time:  8:35 PM
   Arrives: London Heathrow, UK - LHR
   Date: Sep 05,2012       Time: 10:00 AM

Reserved: BRITISH AIRWAYS 11 (12h 50m, 6763 mi)
   Departs: London Heathrow, UK - LHR
   Date: Sep 07,2012       Time:  8:25 PM
   Arrives: Singapore, SINGAPORE - SIN
   Date: Sep 08,2012       Time:  4:15 PM

   Reserved: CATHAY PACIFIC AIRWAYS 710 (3 hr 55m, 1596 mi)
   Departs: Singapore, SINGAPORE - SIN
   Date: Sep 13,2012       Time:  8:05 AM
   Arrives: Hong Kong, HONG KONG S A R - HKG
   Date: Sep 13,2012       Time: 12:00 PM

   Reserved: CATHAY PACIFIC AIRWAYS 884 (13hr 15 m, 7246mi)
   Departs: Hong Kong, HONG KONG S A R - HKG
   Date: Sep 13,2012       Time: 12:55 PM
   Arrives: Los Angeles, CA - LAX
   Date: Sep 13,2012       Time: 11:10 AM

 Reserved: AMERICAN AIRLINES 1310 (2hr 55m, 1238mi)
   Departs: Los Angeles, CA - LAX
   Date: Sep 13,2012       Time:  1:25 PM
   Arrives: Austin, TX - AUS
   Date: Sep 13,2012       Time:  6:20 PM

 

3 cities, 4 days, all under 40 degrees

just finshed a whirlwind work week, going to three cities in four days.  the semi-pleasant part was the high in all cities was below 40 degrees - i even got some snow!!  after 5 years in austin, i have to admit it was refreshing to be in the cold, but all my other work colleagues thought i was nuts.

arrived back in austin on thursday afternoon, sunny and 60's.  it truly felt like i had arrived for some kind of tropical vacation.

taos vacation

finally!  i got these uploaded.  you can check out the album to the right, or click this link.  here's a favorite of mine:

bonden is putting out a very rat pack vibe...

vacation pics, finally!

ok, finally got all my vacation pics uploaded.  i actually took the time to put a caption and some comments on each picture, so click on the photo album, or you can click here.  i didn't take a ton, but enough to remember it.  here is my favorite pic:

oh canada!

my big adventure this week is that i am travelling to ottawa, during my 35th week of pregnancy.  i come back to austin on the day of my "travel lock down", so i am cutting it close.  several airlines don't even allow you to travel once you hit your 36th week, regardless of what the doctor says.  i'm feeling pretty good and my doctor gave me the go ahead, but i have to say that i've gotten several horrified and/or skeptical looks from people who heard i'm travelling at this point.

so we'll see if piglet will get dual citizenship, haha.  i am travelling with a co-worker and she looked up nearby hotels, just in case.  i managed to convince my manager that i needed an upgrade (well my doctor did recommend it), but then i couldn't get any flights with upgrades, so then i managed to say, well, for sure i'll need a massage when i land.  apparently our hotel has a really good spa.

celebrity sightings, continued

...and on our last day, we saw james cromwell.  he had a little ponytail - very l.a.

celebrity sightings

i'm in la this week for a work conference.  so far, i saw kirsten dunst at the airport; she was on my flight.  then we saw harry hamlin when we were at lunch...

photo catch-up

shirley was gracious enough to help out with cal AND bring dinner (homemade chicken potpie - yes, she's the best!), which gives me a precious few extra moments to post things that have been long overdue. 

here were my meals to and from tokyo-manila on japan airlines.  each time i opted for the "japanese" option vs the boring "western" option, which was inevitably some version of beef filet or salmon.  the japanese option menu was so long i can't even tell you what i ate, but it was good (at least the things i was brave enough to try, which were most of them).  i did have to look around at the other japanese folks to figure out how to eat some of the things,  like which sauces went with what thing. they also gave you a little rice packet, which was tied up with string and it was actually good rice!!! one thing i didn't take a pic of was one of the snacks which were these soba noodles they serve with sauce/broth.  i knew what they were, but i didn't know how it worked - did i put the noodles in the sauce, or do i pour both of them into the little wodden box that is on the side?    i loved taking jal.

another item i enjoyed in manila was the mcrice burger.  it's the same concept as the mcgriddle, but instead of making a full breakfast into a sandwich, they take a teriyaki rice bowl and make it into a sandwich.  the "bun" was some kind of sticky rice:

although india and the philippines are probably both considered third world countries, to me it was even close.  the philippines were so much more developed and advanced, it has many of the creature comforts of the u.s.  one example that will show the contrast between the india and the philippines are the drivers' hangouts.  in both countries, it's common for people to have drivers, and it's common for malls to have large underground parking lots, with some designated area for drivers to hang out while waiting for people.  in india, it's usually some patch of shaded pavement in the garage, or some dusty corner of the parking lot.  in the philippines, they had this air conditioned room with benches and a tv!!  i was floored.

the food in manila was awesome - huge variety, plentiful, good quality and CHEAP!  here i am about to chow down on a sashimi set with 12 pieces of sashimi, miso, salad, etc. that cost about USD$12.  it was also hot and sweaty when i was there, hence my super shiny face. :-)

of course, i also have a ton of thanksgiving pics, but for brevity's sake, here are a couple of my faves:

travellin'

sitting here at the narita airport, waiting for a flight to lax, then back to austin - loong trip.  this past week, i was in china, on a whirlwind tour of some cities (can't tell ya, would have to kill you ;-)).  it was pretty hectic, but i'm glad to be heading back.  incidentally, i'm at the ana lounge in terminal two and it's pretty darn hip.  all black and white and dark woods, really neat.  i'm out of camera battery, so no pics - sorry.

more news coming, so check back soon!!!!

more philippines thoughts

so, several things about the philippines really struck me.  first, was the food.  there was so much of it, and it was so good and cheap, too!  sushi and sashimi at every turn.  dim sum at every other restaurant.  i thought that i would eat light while i was there, since i was going to be away from home, but i ended up eating even more!  the other thing are the spas.  you can get a massage at a jillion places.  you can go to a fancy chain, appropriately named "the spa", where for $15 you can get an hour long massage in zen like surroundings.  my hotel even did massages 24 hours a day, and you could even have it in your room.  and as you know, each mcdonald's has it regional flavor and the filipino mcdonald's was no different: the mcrice burger.  perhaps you think it's just a burger with a rice/veggie patty.  no no, it's much more creative than that.  the mcrice burger consists of cabbage, sauce and a meat patty sandwiched between two "buns" of rice.

the other thing is the names.  i know that asians have a tendency towards odd anglicized names, but the filipinos take it one step further with nicknames.  everyone here has a nickname.  at work, we have "dimples", "bubbles" and "kisses".  robert is obet, margaret is mags, vanessa is vans.  on the hr team, there was someone named telly.  i asked him if that was a nickname or his full name, and he said "it's my full name, i was named after a tv actor".  i said "yeah, telly savalas."  and they all collectively went ohhhh, because it turns out they didn't know his full name.  i told him about kojak and the lollipop and the bald head, and emailed him a picture i got off imdb.  filipino telly looked at kojak telly and said "ohhh, i look pretty different."  filipino telly is 5'5'', maybe 120 pounds and has a gelled mohawak, ala maddox jolie-pitt.