Phnom Penh Day 1

Arrived this morning in Phnom Penh, the capital city of Cambodia. I'm here for three days on my monthly escape from Singapore. I originally decided to come here on the advice of a customer and after booking my flight and hotel found out there is little to do as a tourist in this city. Since then I have managed to set my expectations extremely low and now after my arrival today have been pleasantly surprised. I did little today. Laid by the pool, went into town and wandered around a bit, found the Foreign Correspondents Club  - a well known expat hang out - and set there for 3 hours. Had a snack there with tow Canadian girls and then went our for dinner a well known Khmer restaurant. Wan't impressed with dinner but absolutely LOVED the FCC. Cambodia just really feels like Asia. The capital city is still massively underdeveloped and it's just so nice to be somewhere not like Singapore. Here's a few videos for your enjoyment:

Welcome to Phnom Penh

Walking in Phnom Penh

FCC - Phnom Penh

Tomorrow I am going to see the Killing Fields in the morning. I know very little about this now but will fill in more tomorrow. I believe this is where the Khmer Rouge massacred over 1,000,000 people during their reign. Will get the numbers sorted tomorrow.

Then, in the afternoon, I am going fishing on the Mekong river with a local fisherman. This is gonna be fun! Wait for some videos of this!

For other news, my parents are coming in out in just over 3 weeks and we are going on a whirlwind tour of Asia to include Singapore, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, Hong Kong, and Cambodia. I will be with them about 3/4 of the time with them doing a few places on their own. Really looking forward to this trip!!

And in my outside of work life, I have been reading a good new book, Rising Strong by Brene Brown. Would highly recommend to everyone. It's all about being vulnerable, setting boundaries, etc... Very interesting read.

New Kicks

Happy Saturday!

London and Paris

Here are the four videos I made in London and Paris.

France - Paris - Sacre Coeur Cathedral

England - Oxford - Oxford Cheese Company

England - Oxford - Oxford upon Shropshire upon Avon

England - Somewhere - Nice to Meet you Matt

And here is a video blog diary from today, Wednesday, February 3, 2016. Easier than trying to type everything out. And I realize the lighting in this video isn't the best, will work on that for future dates.

Enjoy!

Singapore, Singapore, Where to After Singapore?

First off, I would like to star off tonight with another classic Singapore moment.

Tonight, after work, I stopped at the 7-11 near my house to buy something to drink. I live on the 17th floor of a HDB (public housing complex) and my building is one of maybe 10 buildings all in a row. Within this row of HDBs is a three story shopping complex and this is where the 7-11 is located, along with a grocery store and other shops. When I went to the 7-11 it was about 1am, just as I was getting home from work. Almost no one around. If I was in this situation in America - or really any other country - I would be on high alert, walking alone through an empty shopping complex at night. But, here in Singapore, its completely safe. And to highlight just how safe it is, here's a photo:

This photo is of someone's outdoor store/stand that they have simply covered with a canvas over night. It is outside, where people will pass by all evening and where no one is watching over it at night. And, because this is Singapore, no one is going to take anything.

And while I'm typing this it's reminding me that many ex-pats who live in condos here in Singapore don't even lock their door. Of course their building has security but they don't lock their unit. Can you believe this place? 

Total opposite of America!

Anyways, now onto the main point of this blog.... Where to after Singapore?!

As you all know, I have to start thinking about, and actually sorting out, if I am going to stay in Singapore much longer, and, if not, where I am going to go. I was chatting with one of my suppliers today at work and he went to Phnom Penh, Cambodia over his Christmas Holidays and said they are desperately in need of quality F&B staff. As the ex-pat population is starting to explode there and the service and standards are unable to keep up. Maybe, instead of going to HK as I was originally planning to do in March, I will head to Phnom Penh and see if I can sort out a job for myself there? Now wouldn't that be an interesting change of pace?!

Now that's all for tonight. I'm off to bed now, or off to watch a movie or something. 

And if you'd like to see photos of the hotel I'll be staying at in Phuket, just to make you want to come to Asia, here's the link to the beautiful Burasari Resort at Patong Beach.

Night!

Long Time No Post

Good Evening Everyone! So it has been a very, very long time since my last post.... let's see, like 5 months?!

I can try to do a quick recap of everything that has happened over the last 5 months but basically it's this.... work and sleep. Since returning back to Singapore after my month long visit to MN I have been very focused on my job. As you may or may not know, from the day I arrived back in Singapore I was in charge of the rooftop bar I have been working at this past year I've been here in Asia. This time has been a roller coaster of ups and downs. I have learned a MASSIVE amount about how to do the job - as it has been little oversight and I've had to learn most things on my own. Some days have been horrible, some days have been wonderful and mostly it has been adjusting to this new responsibility, trying to create a positive working environment for the staff - a place where they feel respected, where we are a team working together, a cooperative and not competitive environment, and a place where together we work to make the customer happy.

After all this hard work I could really use a holiday and that is where this blog comes in. I have just moments ago booked my next Asian adventure - I will be heading to Phuket, Thailand for 3 days in mid-February.

But, before that, I am heading to Europe for a 10 day trip visit Elizabeth in London, including a 4 day stint in Paris, and a big Saturday night out celebrating my 26th birthday on yet another continent (that's 4 different continents over my last 4 birthdays!). I arrive in London next Friday morning and couldn't be more excited, and also more nervous as I've no clothes for the cold weather and am hoping it warms up significantly for 10 days so I can wear my shorts!

I will do my best to get back into the blogging at least for the travels, if not for everything, as I have had a few experiences recently where I've referenced my past blog posts and realized just how great it has been to have this.

And as for coming back to America, I'm not sure I'll be moving back anytime soon but I will most definitely be making it home the first week of August as Kid Rock will be playing the Buffalo Chip at Sturgis this year and as most of you are well aware, I wouldn't miss that for the world! And since I'll be flying literally from the other side of the world for the concert I can say that confidently!

Okay, that's all for tonight. I've much more to say, but if I get started I won't be able to stop for hours. But that does bring to mind a few quick comments I want to share quickly....

1) This past week has made me realize just how much I appreciate my coworkers. Since I started as Manager at the bar, we have not had any changes to our full-time staff. I would like to think this is at least in part due to my efforts as manager. But either way, I have become great friends with my coworkers and I am starting to realize just how much they add to the good times I have here in Singapore. The thought of leaving the bar in April (as I have been thinking I would do for the last 6+ months) is no longer as appealing as it once was. Although a change would be nice, a new place where I can learn new skills, the thought of leaving the team is really sad. I've no plans as of now, but need to start doing some serious thinking. Will update as appropriate.

2) My parents are coming in April or May for 4 weeks and we are going to be doing some major traveling. Good ready for an epic month of blog posts!!!

3) I think my independent nature is building upon itself in a way that is getting hard for me to pull out of. The more independent I am, the more independent I become. The more independent I become, the harder it is for me to be less independent. I've noticed this recently with my traveling and dating life. I now find it harder and harder to comprise on anything. Since I am so capable of doing everything on my own I don't ever feel the need to compromise just because I need someone to join me for an activity. This of course has it's upside, as I only do the things I want to do, and always. But this also has it's drawbacks, as it's hard to build relationships when you're only thinking about yourself. Mental note here: something to work on!

Okay, now that's really all. That is the last 5 months/future 3 months at a very high level. Expect more details in the months to come.

And for one great photo that explains Singapore life to a "T":

At the local mall, a security guard was guarding a fallen ice cream cone and he was taking his job extremely seriously! 

And now for the last and final thing, really this time, I got my hair cut today. Hello from Singapore :)

5 Days!

See you soon MN!

Last Videos from Myanmar

Here are my last few videos from my trip to Myanamr:

Lunch in Nyuang Shwe (Cut Short by my Limited Camera Memory)

Nyuang Shew A.K.A. The Wild West

A Burmese Train

Goodbye Inle Lake

Goodbye Burma

As a side note, about half way through me trip I thought to myselft, "Wow, I haven't gotten sick yet, this is amazing!" Not I wanted to say something about it on my blog but I didn't want to jinx myself. In fact I never said anything about it out loud at all in efforts not to jinx myself. Either way, I got sick. My last day in Myanmar I felt very sick and on the flight back to Singapore I thought I was going to puke. Now I didn't, but throughout the entire night I had multiple episodes of the scoots. I stayed home from work yesterday to recover. It was the worst sick I have had been throughout SEA so that wasn't too bad. Either way, I am better now. Towards the end of my time in Myanmar all I could think about was how I wanted to move there, or a place similar, but when you aren't feeling well you are very happy to have a nice, first world country to go home to.

Okay, that's all for now.

Best!

Videos from Inle Lake Tour

Good Evening Everyeone!

Today I took a boat tour of Inle Lake. I took many photos, but because of the speed of the internet here in Myanmar have spent too much time uploading the videos and do not have any more energy to upload photos as well. Below are the links for my many videos from today.

And here is one photo I just have to share:

You learn about the Kayan people in school, but who could imagine they would ever see them in real life? Not me! But there they were at one of the stops on my boat trip, weaving scarfs. I picked up two - one for myself and one for my mother. I really do not like the idea of people as tourist attractions, it feels to me like a zoo, but with humans in it. But I just could not resist taking a photo to prove that I actually saw the ladies with the long knecks in real life! Anyways, that is all on that. Enjoy the videos below!

Goodbye Bagan

Good Morning Inle Lake

Panoramic of Inle Lake

Fisherman on Inle Lake

The View from the Boat

Heading into a Town on Inle Lake

Fisherman's Village

Metalworkers Inle Lake

Journey through the Lake Passages

Best!

Bagan (Myanmar Days 3 and 4)

I am currently uploading my videos from the last few days and will spend this time waiting writing a bit about my time here in Bagan. As you can tell, I have switched mostly to a video blog but as I don't capture everything on video I will write a few scentences as well about what I've been up to.

As you likely do not know, Bagan is the ancient city here in Myanmar. There are over 3,000 pagodas and it is absolutely breathtaking. They are literally everywhere (just along the road in many places) and all are accesable. You can walk right up to them, climb all over them, they are in the middle of people's farm land, on hotel property, everywhere. And they are for the most part in very good condition. If I had to compare Bagan to Angkor in Siem Reap, Cambodia (as many people do) I would rank this much higher. Not only are there almost no tourists here (I am here in the off season), it is not nearly as commercial and popular (yet) as Angkor. Everything is more accessible, more real, and many times you go places people still find a lot of uniqueness in your being white - which is cool.

A few cool things to note that were not captured in any of the videos so far:

- I saw an old man tilling his field this morning with a wooden till pulled by two oxen. I sat and watched him awhile. He controlled them almost totally by vocal commands and he had to manuver the oxen around the thousand year old pagodas in the middle of his farm field. It was like I was looking back a few centuries in time. Amazing!

- I have spent many hours the last two days watching TV in the local restaurants. Both yesterday and today in the afternoon (around 4) I found myself at the same restaurant/cafe in Nyaung U watching Burmese soap operas (or maybe movies). Either way, they were so dramatic I could understand them without problem even though I obvisouly do not speak Burmese. Yesterday I enjoyed this time by myself where as today I was accompanied by a very nice Italian, Andrea, who I had dinner with last night and spent the afternoon and evening with today.

- Tonight, after dinner, Andrea and I went to a cafe in our town (New Bagan). This is the same cafe my "First Meal in Bagan" video was filmed at. We spent two hours there tonight enjoying a tea and bottled water while we watched Rise of the Plante of the Apes with about 30 Burmese men. It is a great set-up here in Burma. All the local cafes have nice HD TVs and they play whatever they want. As a patron you watch whatever is being played (can be a soap opera, the football game, a movie, the home shopping network, etc...) while you drink your coffee. Tonight, I was the only female (as I appear to be mostly when I go to these cafes - I'm not sure where the ladies hang out), we were the only 2 non-Burmese people, and we had a fabulous time! I know this will be something I likely will not forget.

- Not sure if I wrote about this yet or not, but when I was still in Yangon I saw a very young child (still learning to support his own weight as he was leaning on a shelving unit when I saw him standing up) playing with a butchers knife. The child was using one hand to support his weight on a shelving unit and simultaneously holding a cucumber slice against the surface (with the same hand). In the other hand, the child was holding a butcher's knife that he was using to pretend chop at the cucumber slice. I'm not sure how sharp the knife was, but I hope he didn't drop it on his foot. How crazy! I would have taken a photo, but I didn't want to ruin the moment.

- I ran into a Dutch girl I spent Christmas with in Penang, Malaysia last evening here in Bagan. Crazy small world, isn't it?

- We have regular power outages here in Myanmar. I experienced one in Yangon and they have them twice daily here in Bagan - once in the morning around 9:30 (lasted until maybe 11?) and one in the evening at 7:30.

- Today I was ushered out of my hotel quickly by the owner because the government was coming and I couldn't be here. I had come back from some sighseeing around 2pm and dropped off my electric bike for charging downstairs. I told them I would leave at 4 pm. At 3:30 the owner came to my room and told me I eithere had to leave at 3:30 (so immediately) or wait until 4:30 to leave, I could not leave at 4 pm like I had wanted to. She said the government was coming to check the hotel so I either had to go then or stay in my room. I told here I needed to shower and could not leave for at least 5 mintues. I finally got her to agree to this plan. I showered quickly, tucked away my valuables, and headed downstairs. (As a law here in Singapore, foreigners can only stay at registered guest houses. I suspect the guest house is not registered and that is why she was concerned about me being here. I did not check, but assumed it was registered since there were so many reviews online from foreigners. To note, this is only a suspicion. I never found out why they needed me to leave). Anyways, because of my suspicion, I was careful as I walked to the main door in case the government was here. They were not, but as I walked down the stairs they ushered my quickly out the door so "the governement" would not see me there. This country is such an experience!

- (I keep thinking of more things to write about....) I took the overnight bus from Yangon to Bagan. The bus, a VIP bus, was amazing. At one point, about 1 hour into our 10 hour ride, we pulled over on the side of the motorway, one of the "bus hostesses" (as I've named them) got a large item from under the bus, brough it up the front steps, and there in the aisle next to me appeared one of the push carts the air hostesses use on the airplanes. They did one round of snacks and around of refreshments for us. It was amazing! Plus we each got our own blankets, after our dinner stop they passed out little digestion tables (not sure what they really were and they weren't exactly to my liking...), and we had free water bottles. All for only USD$20! If travleing in Myanmar, use JJ Express and take the bus, it is a great experience!

Okay, I think most everything else can be seen in the videos below.

Enjoy! (If you don't watch all of them, at least watch the last two videos from Day 2. They are the best show of what life is like here in Myanmar!)

Videos Day 1 in Bagan:

Windy First Video from Bagan

First Meal in Bagan, Great Little Cafe in New Bagan Town

Inside a Pagoda In Bagan

Out Back of a Beautiful Pagoda

A Refreshing 7-Up in Nyaung U

Videos Day 2 in Bagan:

The Streets of Nyaung U

The Streets of Nyaung U Part II

Nyaung U Local Market

How the Locals Live in Bagan

Okay, I'm off to bed now as I have an early morning flight to Inle Lake tomorrow. I will be leaving the 105* temperatures here for 75* in Inle Lake. Not sure I've packed appropriately....

Best!

Yangon Day 2

So today is my second and last day in Yangon. I spent the morning eating breakfast with a German American, Elisabeth, who lives in Michigan and teaches at a community college. Every summer, a week after school lets out, she packs her bag and heads out to see the world, one country at a time. She is here in Myanmar for 6 weeks - what a life! I then went into town and just wandered around, eating street food, drinking smoothies and coffees and juices, and soaking in the sights and sounds of Yangon. I am now back at my guesthouse for a shower and a quick rest before I take the overnight bus to Bagan. Here's one video from today. When I watch it the quality is really bad but I think that may be due to my internet connection here. Hope it isn't so bad for you guys.

I'll try to get photos up in the next few days.

Best!