World Traveler 2017

Recently for my day job (I work in marketing, when I’m not writing comics), I took a trip to southeast Asia to visit our teams in Singapore and Thailand. I went to that side of the world last year a few times, as well, and really enjoyed it. And this time was no different – especially with the fact that cold fall weather is setting in here at home, while it’s a sunny 90+ degrees (and humid) over there.

FRIDAY-SUNDAY:
The flight itself is a leg, though, because 1) Singapore is 14 hours in the future from Chicago. Basically, take the current time, add an hour, and then change AM and PM, and that’s what time it is. AND it’s about a 30 hour flight to get there (depending on the layover), with at least one layover. I flew on Korean Airlines for the first time, and had a short 2 hour layover in Seoul. I left on Friday at about noon, and arrived in Singapore at about 1am on Sunday (delayed a few hours from our estimated arrival time).

Welcome to my Business Class cube for the next 18+ hours

Today’s in-flight appetizer is seared tuna

Lunch today was chicken and veggies

Dinner was some delicious chicken and rice with veggies (a common Singapore dish)

Second dinner was a steak with veggies. Because being on a flight for 17+ hours, you need multiple meals

Because it’s for business, I tend to fly business class – and get to enjoy some comforts, including meals and a chair that folds down into a bed. To quickly adjust to the new timezone, I tend to just stay awake for the full flight (not an easy thing to do), but thankfully the flights tend to have a large in-flight film library. I watched like 12 movies.

Welcome to South Korea. I’ll be here for about an hour (after getting through security) before boarding my next flight to my final destination, Singapore (about another 6+ hours of flying).

I have boarded my new business class cube, aboard Korean Airlines flight #2. I’m a little more tired this time, if you can’t tell, because not sleeping for 20+ hours at this point is, understandably, exhausting

After landing in Singapore about 2 hours later than expecting, I grabbed a cab and went to my hotel in Chinatown. Thankfully, it’s very easy to get around Singapore and cabs and Uber are abundant. Everyone I’ve met speaks English extremely well, and are very friendly and chatty. At this point, the only thing keeping me vertical was the thought of being in a full sized bed, though. I checked into the hotel without issue, and immediately went to bed.

SUNDAY:

Waking up after 6 hours of sleep (and your body telling you it’s 8pm when it’s 9am local time) can throw you off quite a bit. Add in not sleeping for the last 30+ hours, and you have one tired Trevor

Welcome to Singapore! The view from my hotel was incredible. See that tall building on the right side? The tower with the bridges? All public housing, subsidized by the government

After a quick trip to the gym and a large breakfast, I was ready for my “adjustment day.” It’s a day where I don’t have to work, but I do force myself to adjust to the new time zone as best as possible. I had three helpings of eggs, curry, potatoes, bacon and chicken. Not pictured was the fruit and cocoa krispies.

After a quick jaunt down the main road in Chinatown, I arrived at the river towards the bay – and my first glimpse of the famous Sans hotel

Now THAT’s one green building

Singapore has two signature dishes: Chicken and Rice, and Sweet Chili Crab. I’ve had both, and the Chili Crab is INCREDIBLE!

By about 10am, I reached the bay – and a better shot of the Sans hotel – and it was already almost 100 degrees outside, and getting hotter by the minute. I had already gone through a full bottle of water by this point, and was close to my destination (the Gardens by the Bay), but not quite there yet.

On the opposite of the bay, you can see one of Singapore’s famous landmarks – the MereLion. Can’t see it?

Here’s a zoomed in shot of the MereLion. It’s like their Statue of Liberty

After an hour in the heat, and trying to navigate the crazy roads, I finally see what I wanted to see – the Super Trees of the Gardens by the Bay!

Here’s a close up of the Sans hotel. I’m told you can get a drink up on the top, but have yet to try that

A map of the Gardens by the Bay. Last time I was here, I spent a whole day at this garden – mostly free to visit, minus a few exhibits and attractions

Finally, I had arrived at the Super Trees! These man-made structures are a combination of architectural engineering and botany. Plus, there’s a restaurant at the top of the one in this photo

A little education to go with your rain forest experience. Global warming is real, folks. And this park helps to educate on ways to be environmentally friendly and conserve energy

Distance shot of the Super Trees, after starting to leave the park. It was hot, and I was tired and getting ready for some lunch

On the walk back, though, I passed a shop that had a cat cafe. Very popular over on this side of the world. I was tempted to go in, but I wanted a cold beverage…in the comfort of my own hotel room

MONDAY-TUESDAY:

For lunch at the office, we went to a Mexican place. I ordered a burrito bowl. This is what I got. It tasted good.

The view from the office of the Bay. See the MereLion? It’s very small, on the left

On the other side of the office you can see the Gardens by the Bay

With my two partners in media, video conferencing with our teams in Malaysia

Dinner tonight was chicken wings and some cheesy fries, followed by a plane trip to Bangkok Thailand

WEDNESDAY-THURSDAY:

One night in Bangkok makes a hard man humble. I was spending two nights here (again, for work). What would that do to a marketing / comic nerd like me? Only time would tell…

A workout at the gym started my day, along with a hearty and well-balanced breakfast

The hotel I stay at in this country has the most impressive buffet. Seriously, there’s something for everyone – and from just about everywhere in the world

After a day of meetings, it was time for my co-workers to take me out into the city for dinner. We found a modern Australian restaurant with some very dark lighting, but some very tasty food

And dessert!

Goofing around with my team in Bangkok. We ran around the city a bit, and ended up in a bar with an all-girl band doing American 80s and 90s cover songs. It was a ton of fun!

Bye bye, Bangkok. I will be back again soon!

Back in Singapore, after some more meetings, having some drinks at a bar with a great view of the Sans

FRIDAY-SATURDAY:
Another day or two of meetings and hanging out with the team in Singapore, and eventually I was back on a 30+ plane trip back to Chicago. Layover this time was about 3 hours in Hong Kong (their airport is like a very fancy mall), but thankfully the flight had some new movies for me to select from. I left at about 6am, and arrived in Hong Kong about noonish…then was on the plane for another 18+ hours and arrived at home by 1pm the same Saturday (but, you know, 18+ hours later). And now we wait for the jet lag to subside.

I can’t wait to do it all over again soon!

This world traveler will be back again soon, southeast Asia!