Living out The Amazing Race

I have been looking forward to go back to Singapore where I began packing on Oct 21 and 22. As I was about to reserve for a shuttle that would take me from my apartment to Baltimore-Washington International (BWI) Airport on Monday Oct 23, Greg kindly volunteered that he would drive me there. I was surprised and appreciated his offer.

I began transporting my check-in and hand luggages on Tuesday and Wednesday to the lab where I would spent a night at Greg's place since it is out of the way for him to come and pick me up on Thursday. In fact, I was adjusting my biological clock forward a little at a time to prepare for the 12-hour difference.

On Wednesday night, I stayed up till early Thursday morning (1 am) watching my favorite serial, Law & Order: Special Victim Unit.

Woke up at 6.30 am and reached BWI at 7.30 am. This was where I began living out something like The Amazing Race, CBS.

Starting point: Baltimore, Maryland USA
Time: Thursday, Oct 26, 10.13 am (Planned departure but took off only at 11.30am)
Problem: Bad weather at Chicago caused delay in my flight.
Connecting point: O'Hare, Chicago, USA
Time: Thursday, Oct 26, 12.35 pm
Problem: Connecting flight to Hong Kong had left without me (Departed at 12.18pm). Ground crew told me to rush to catch another flight to Narita, Tokyo instead. I had to run about 500 meters to the departing gate. There, I had to change my boarding pass where initially, they wanted to book my flight from Narita to Hong Kong then Singapore but I requested for a direct flight back. Thank God, there was no full flight and I was not stuck at Narita.
Time to play: None as the Narita, Tokyo flight was waiting for me.

Connecting point: Narita, Tokyo, Japan
Time: Friday, Oct 27, 5.30 pm
Comment: I did not know that I had to be screened again for transiting passenger but the process went smoothly. I just had 15 minutes to relax before boarding my last connecting flight. This time round, I could not sleep as much as I wanted on all my flights. Maybe I was too excited to come back. Besides, with the new law banning all bottles containing liquids over 3 ounces, I did not bring a mineral water bottle and I was dehydrated. I had to request water from the flight attendants constantly.

End point: Singapore
Time: Friday, Oct 27, 11.40pm
Shopped at the duty free shop for liquor, wine and beer before proceeding to claim my check-in luggage. While waiting at the carousel, I realised my luggage might not be on board the plane because there was just sufficient time for me to run to catch the Narita flight. True enough, after waiting for sometime, I filed for a lost baggage. After checking on the computer, my luggage was left behind at Chicago, waiting for the next day flight to Singapore.

So, I am waiting at home for my luggage to come today. A good thing I packed most of my gifts and laptop in my carry-on luggage. Sleeping and waking at odd hours now. Torturous but at least I am at home!

Home Sweet Home!

Finally, after eight months in Baltimore, USA (my longest time away from home), I am looking forward to meeting family members and friends! The long flight hours with three transfers and 12-hour difference are the minor hardships that I have to endure before the reunion. (I wrote as if I had suffered a lot here hor?! Haha....)

Distance and time really make a heart grows fonder of what you usually take for granted! Relationships and my favorite past time, swimming. I miss my bed too but definitely not the humidity and haze shrouding Singapore sky.

Well, I have a list of what I have to do already planned in my mind. As mentioned in the previous post, I would order beef kway tiao, nasi lemak, chicken chop noodle, fresh coconut and whatever is still opened after midnight! Then, I would cut my long hair in the day before preparing my slides for my big day (will write about this in time to come).

Counting down from 48 hours before I am on board United Airline heading to where my heart is.

Pardon me as I will not be writing any post till Nov 4 where I will be adjusting to jet lag and busy with my big day.

Whipping up a feast before I go back home for holiday and settle an unfinished business

The moment that I have been waiting for is approaching in 11 days. I am going back home after eight months in Baltimore. Looking forward to meeting my family and friends again. And of course, Singapore food and fruits! In fact, I had arranged with my friends to pick me up straight from the airport and thereafter proceed to Changi Village Market for 'pigging out' after midnight. Hopefully, 48 flight hours and the jet lag will not take a toll on me.

Yesterday, I went shopping for gifts at Townson mall with Ao Yang. I bought clothing for my two young nephews and bookmarks for my niece. It is easier to buy gifts for little ones than for adults and I am running out of time. So, I had to forego getting gifts for the adults and a teenager nephew. I rather buy a present that is suitable for the intended person than to simply buy gifts or souvenirs meant for all!

Today, I intended to clear all perishable from my fridge else I could harvest different colors of mushrooms when I return from Singapore. Thus, the reason for cooking seven dishes (black pepper beef, fried chicken wings, braised mushroom with tofu, bean sprout with tofu, oven-baked Char siew pork ribs, Bak Kut tea/pork rib soup and spicy Chinese eggplant with dried lilies). If you are interested in cooking any of the dishes mentioned, message me for the recipes.

It had passed midnight and I am tired since I had 'toiled' from 2pm onwards. Good night from Baltimore.

PS: Dreaming of warm Singapore as temperature here is heading south.

Got myself a TV set

Finally, I got myself the box where I can switch it on and let my mind rests. I have six channels only because I am using a TV antenna. The screen reminded me of my childhood days when we had a TV connected to an antenna too. The pictures were blurry and 'snowy'. Staring at it for long will deteriorate my eyesight. So, do not blame me when I cannot recognize you if you are just standing two meters away from me. Just kidding.

I have been trying to find the best positions for each channel. The problem was that the pictures appeared clearer when I was at the TV tuning. When I reached back to my bed, the screen became fuzzy again.

Any bright ideas to have clearer picture?

Upset over human weakness

Recently, one of my colleague went back to her homeland after her stint here. Prior to leaving, she spent a lot of time and effort to buy gifts for her loved ones back home. With the current situation with terrorism, all check-in luggages must be unlocked. Passengers are allowed one carry-on and a personal bag.

Upon arrival back home, when she opened her luggages, her gifts were all gone except the packaging. She lost over more than USD$3000.

Anyone will be upset with this incident except those who committed the theft!

A place to hang loose

Wild horses. White beaches. Towering waves. Great location for relaxation during summer. The place that I visited was Assateague Island National Park, a barrier island located off the coast of Maryland and Virginia. People were camping in trailers and hiking along salt marshes, coastal bays and maritime forests.

The 'wild' horses are actually descendants of domesticated horses that roamed freely on the island. I went on a horse 'hunt', armed with my camera, to the salt marshes. The only thing I saw related to a horse was its poo.

Ironically, a stallion showed up at the beach, grazing the sparse grasses. It was not impressive as I imagined it to be. The beast was short and strutted awkwardly since it was walking on sand. I had taken pictures of what I had come to see and I was satisfied.

Next, was Rehoboth beach in Delaware. While driving pass Ocean City, Maryland, the buildings reminded me of my days at Gold Coast, Australia. Beachside hotels, shops selling beach wares and souvenirs.

Upon arrival, there was a sea of people walking along the boardwalk. The beach was crowded with sun bathers and I managed to tan for one hour before going into the icy water. The waves were huge. You have to be constantly on your toes. I was caught off guard by one which dragged me along the seabed. I escaped with scratches on my body.

Assateague Island and Rehoboth Beach pictures.

Historic Annapolis, capital of Maryland

I have long heard of Annapolis as a beautify capital but did not witness it until I visited on Oct 23. I went with Vladimir, Greg and Stacy where Greg was our driver.

Our first stop was the visitor center where we got our map and directions. Having a 1 Gig compact flash card was a big advantage where I simply took pictures of signboards instead of reading on the spot for historical information. We walked along Main Street which was lined with restaurants and shops on both sides. Red bricks paved the roads instead of tar and bitumen, adding to the rustic charm. Lamp posts had baskets of hanging petunia and other flowering plants. There were lots of big houses lining the waterfront and yachts sailing on the Chesapeake Bay.

A visit to Annapolis is not complete unless you visit the prestigious US Naval Academy which was established in 1845 where young men and women are trained to be future leaders. The buildings in the academy gave me a feeling that I was in Europe. We went for a guided tour of the academy where we saw their sports complex, dormitories, chapel and naval museum. The length of the swimming pool was 100 metres, a rare sight in Baltimore. There was a chapel which was shared by Catholics, Protestants and other faiths, a true representation of inter-faith harmony.

Coincidentally, there was a football game where the academy was taking part. We witnessed a spirited marching parade by the whole contingent of midshipmen towards the stadium for the show down. There were marching bands, a tiger mascot, a pirate and a ship float.

I had a whale of a time at Annapolis. I strongly recommend a visit to there.

Pictures taken at Annapolis.