So It Begins... Asian Vacation #2, Here I Come!

I'm Asia bound in less than 24 hours!!

My outbound flight from JFK was delayed 2+ hours, so since then I've spent 3+ hours trying to rebook my connecting flight that I will miss due to the delay. What a thrill this vacation has started out to be!

Fortunately, I was able to have a nice dinner with some friends - Mexican food! ... to take my mind off of the situation while I waited for a returned call confirming I would still get to Myanmar on Monday. Thanks, Oli & Michael!

After dinner, I called back - I was on hold for the better part of 2 hours. Silver lining, I had nothing better to do than put the phone on speaker & finish packing... and ultimately, I'm rebooked on an afternoon flight from Singapore to Myanmar.

For those of you who haven't been subject to my constant prattling on about my trip... I'm headed to Myanmar first - visiting Andre (a former colleague at Cornell whose wife was relocated there - she works for the UN). Also Jonathan, a good friend from NY who has relocated to SF has been galavanting Asia and will meet me in Myanmar on Monday. The trip to Myanmar is short - and now even shorter, since my layover in Singapore jumped from 80 minutes to over 5 hours. 

Once I eventually make it to Myanmar, Jonathan & I will say one night in Yangon, hosted by our tour guide Andre (though, I'm not sure how much touring we'll get done when I arrive late that afternoon). Then headed back to the airport for an early morning puddle jump to Bagan to visit the ancient Buddhist Temples and Pagodas - as old as the 11th century, around 2,200 of the original 10,000 still remain.

Then back to Yangon for me, staying with Andre and Eva for a bit more tourism and a night in their 3 bedroom home - such a change from the tiny NY apartment they had when I knew them here.

The following day, back to the airport again, for a flight back to Singapore. I'll visit with Christoff, (a colleague at Cornell whose family relocated, so he works with us from Singapore) his wife Ashley and their new baby, Mai! And stay with my friend Laura, a wonderful friend in NY, who is working temporarily in Singapore. She has a fancy schmance luxury corporate apartment and somehow was able to score a guest room - perfect for my visit! Shawn will fly in from NY and join us in Singapore on Saturday. No real plans there, yet. Christoff suggested a bicycle ride up to Malaysia and I've been doing some research on a midweek jump to Thailand or somewhere while Christoff, Ashley and Laura are working. We shall see how it all works out! The bones of an itinerary were good enough for how short a time it's been planning this trip.

Now, to get some sleep!