T minus 2 til Thailand

In two days, I embark on my next adventure - Bangkok, Thailand and Manila, Philippines.

I never thought I would voluntarily book a trip to Asia but after my trip to India I had to get back as soon as possible. Luckily Mark had planned a trip to Thailand/Philippines and let me come along.

Preparing for this trip is a 180 from last time. I have already had all of my shots, I'm less concerned about getting sick (but still a little concerned) and I'm not worried about what to wear (OK, that's not entirely true). Anyway, I haven't started packing, I haven't made a list and I'm not nervous. It may have something to do with who I'm going with. Mark plans on bringing a carry-on only. We will be in LA for 2 nights, Bangkok for 7 and Manila for 3 - and he is ONLY bringing a carry-on. I guess he has thrown down a challenge to me - only bring one bag. OK, I can do that but it will be a BIG bag. :)

As is always the case with me and international travel, Mother Nature is also throwing down a challenge. The monsoon season in Thailand has been very, very bad. There is flooding all over the country and Bangkok is on the brink of being overtaken by the rising waters. I guess it wouldn't be an adventure without a few hurdles to overcome. I'll just bring a bathing suit, raincoat and umbrella. It's just water after all!

จนกว่าจะถึงวันพรุ่งนี้ ...
(until tomorrow...)

Labor Day in Tampa

I figured that it's probably about time that I blog about my current town - Tampa. So here we go . . .

Most people thought I was crazy to move to Tampa from Chicago considering I'm a Midwest girl. I received lots of "but it's so hot in Florida" comments. Duh! It is Florida and the sun shines 12 months out of the year. Yes, it's hot and humid in the summer and there are torrential rains every day in the months of July and August but the other 10 months are gorgeous. The North offers beautiful days about 3 months a year. I decided I would prefer seeing the sun, walking around outside and enjoying outdoor activities most of the year to the alternative. I haven't regretted my move for a minute. Let me describe a typical weekend in this lovely Gulf coastal city.

Friday 
Mark took a quick walk to his favorite thing about Tampa (I come in a far second) - Publix. For those of you that don't know what Publix is, it's a supermarket - yep, just a supermarket. However, for those that do know Publix, it is the best supermarket out there. There is so much Publix loyalty in the South, I can't really explain it. Regardless, it was a beautiful morning and a short walk to get some delicious handmade sandwiches and a few pieces of their famous fried chicken.

Although it was a beautiful day, we needed to run to the mall to pick a few things up. The shopping options down here aren't quite as good as they are in Chicago (or other large cities) but it does the trick and we found what we were looking for, and more.

After a lazy afternoon, we headed to South Tampa / Hyde Park for dinner. South Tampa is an older part of town full of great restaurants and bars and really close to the water. We were dining at Ceviche a great, quaint Tapas restaurant. We began our meal with a bottle of Cava (Spanish sparkling wine) - well you know how much I like bubbles. We were seated outside next to the pool with fountain and ordered another bottle of Cava. (If you haven't tried Cava, you should. It is delicious and reasonably priced for sparkling wine.) We enjoyed 4 different delicious tapas - all with fish or seafood - and then topped it off with an after dinner drink. It was a beautiful evening, complete with the best date a girl could ask for!

Saturday
We were off to St. Petersburg. St. Pete is on a peninsula jutting into Tampa Bay. I have been to the Gulf side of St. Pete on numerous occasions but this time we ventured to the Bay / Marina side. It's a beautiful town, very typical Spanish-inspired Florida. The hotel we visited, The Vinoy, was built in the 20s and is classic Florida.

It was another gorgeous day so I took a long walk around the marina, watching the boats, planes and people. It was a great way to spend the late morning and early afternoon.

We returned home to change in preparation for a Fall tradition - College Football. My favorite season is Football Season and we were so excited to kick-off the season with some good friends. Now that I live in Florida, I'm surrounded by University of Florida and University of Southern Florida alumni. I don't mind rooting for the favorite teams of some of my favorite people; however, I did change the channel a few times to check the score of the Michigan game (and Mark kept me updated by checking ESPN on his phone for me). We finished the football themed day with many good friends at Leroy Selmon's bar and restaurant for the UF game. Sadly, Leroy was in the hospital on Saturday and passed away on Sunday. He was such a champion of the Tampa Bay area - he will be sorely missed.

Mark and I visited his other girlfriend, Publix, on our way home to pick up ingredients for dinner. The best part - I wasn't cooking. He made homemade enchiladas that we enjoyed while watching episodes of Curb Your Enthusiasm. The perfect end to a wonderful day!

Sunday
Mark's closest friends - Roger, Michelle and little Maddy - had driven down to Largo from Hilton Head for the weekend so we met up with them at Clearwater Beach. I love CB and take every opportunity to hit the sand and surf. After playing with Maddy in the sand for a while, we ventured to Frenchy's Rockaway Grille for drinks and lunch. Frenchy's is right on the beach and has a great view for people watching.

After Roger and Michelle put Maddy to bed, the four of us went out for an adult's only evening. We went down to Ybor City for dinner at Columbia. Ybor City is the historic district of Tampa and resembles New Orleans in it's architecture and the bars/restaurants/music available. Columbia is a Spanish/Cuban restaurant that has been open for over 100 years. It is a huge restaurant with lots of secret passageways (or at least that's what they told us). We had some mojitos, cava sangria and regular sangria. No, we didn't just drink. We had some tapas and paella. Yum.

We weren't ready to end the night so we headed out to check out Ybor. We had a drink at Gaspar's Grotto, normally a great indoor/outdoor bar - however it was a Sunday and kinda dead. We walked a ways down 7th Avenue to check out the sites. And by sites, I mean the outrageous outfits most of the women were wearing. I think I owe Michelle a pair of neon green hot pants for our next outing! ;) We finished the night at Double Decker where people were singing some pretty bad karaoke. It was a great night, with good food and even better company. We were so glad that Rog and Michelle came down.

Monday
Departure day...a lazy morning that lead to another visit to the mall - we couldn't pass up the Labor Day deals. We stopped into Seasons 52. It's a great restaurant where we enjoyed a few drinks, a great flatbread and delicious entrees. We'll definitely be visiting again.

As you can tell, most of my travels include good wine/drink, great food, beautiful ambiance and amazing company. Tampa is a great back drop for a great weekend!!

Fort Worth, Texas - Cowboys & Hockey

I've been traveling quite a bit lately but nothing too exotic. I spent a long weekend in my old 'hometown' Chicago with a bunch of my favorite people. Another long weekend spent on Hilton Head Island for the 40th birthday of my favorite man and all his wonderful friends. I have made several trips to Dallas-Fort Worth to spend with the aforementioned guy. :) I'm back in Fort Worth this weekend and thought I would share some experiences and thoughts of this 'rose' in Northern Texas.

When Dallas-Fort Worth is brought up in conversation most people think mostly about Dallas and very little about Fort Worth. That's too bad. Fort Worth is a great city with a neighborhood vibe - the best of many worlds collide in this not so sleepy town.

Upon arrival to DFW, I was pleasantly surprised by the ease and functionality of the airport. I spend a lot of time in airports - good and bad alike. Unlike most 'road warriors', I usually check a bag - I may be low maintenance in most things but I do carry an insane number of hair products that don't come in 3 oz or less containers (and sadly none of them really help make my hair look better). DFW has individual baggage claims for a few gates at a time. Yesterday, I landed early, met a friend passing through town in the same terminal, picked up my bag and was in the car on the expressway before my plane was scheduled to land. That's the way I like to roll.

Everyone knows that 'everything is bigger in Texas' and that is evident by the sprawling nature of the DFW area. The drive from the airport to downtown Fort Worth is easy but not quick. Mark drives a truck, which I think is a requirement in Texas, so I feel immediately one of the locals. Note that his truck doesn't have a gun rack - yet. I think I know what he'll be getting for Christmas ;)

Downtown Fort Worth is really cute. Many of the streets are red brick. There are twinkle lights in most of the trees. There are a lot of cute boutiques that cater to cowboys and cowgirls as well as the most refined cosmopolitan tastes. Probably the most notable attraction in the city is the number and variety of restaurants and bars. It reminds me a lot of a neighborhood in Chicago like Lincoln Park, Bucktown or River North. Everything is in walking distance. Of course, I have a propensity to wear sky high heels so sometimes I force Mark to drive even if we are only going a few short blocks.

There are many incredible steak houses in Fort Worth, including Del Friscos, Mercury and Bob's. Mark and I had an amazing meal at Del Friscos including martinis at the bar, champagne and a gorgeous Penner Ash Pinot Noir at the table, oysters on the half shell, fine cuts of meet and amazing cheesy potatoes (I love cheese!!) It wasn't cheap but it was worth every penny. It has old school steakhouse ambiance and I had the best dinner date in the place.

When I made my first visit here, my Dad told me to stop by the Stockyards. He hadn't been there for years but recalled that it was a cool part of town. He was right. Mark hadn't made it out there so we figured we would give it a try. The Stockyards are everything you expect when you think about Texas. Honky Tonk bars, country stores with traditional cowboy/cowgirl apparel and of course, the original Stockyards. We did a little shopping - I bought the most adorable cowgirl boots. We had a few cold beers across from the actual stockyards and of course we indulged on some of the best barbecue I have ever had at Coopers. This visit we'll be doing some more shopping - my niece turns 5 next week and I want to get her some authentic cowgirl boots and hat. We are also gonna stop into Billy Bob's Honky Tonk. Billy Bob's is famous for live bull riding, great barbecue and live country music. The best acts in country music have all played Billy Bobs. I'm looking forward to experiencing it myself.

So, what about the hockey, you ask? Mark plays on a hockey team and has a game tonight. Most people don't think about hockey when they think of Texas but this state has everything. I cannot wait to step into the cold field house and watch some cold weather sports. You can take the girl out of the North but you can't take the North out of the girl. ;)

If you haven't been to Fort Worth yet, consider it. It's a short ride from Dallas and has all the Texas charm you could want.

My next trip . . . Thailand and The Philippines in October. I cannot wait to see another completely different culture.

Day 12 & 13 - The Journey Home

The last day in India and the beginning of our journey home. The trip home will take nearly two days so we took it easy in the morning, focusing on packing all of the beautiful souvenirs we were taking home with us. We had a final Indian meal, sort of, in the dining room at the hotel. Mike and I both had Chicken Tikka Masala pizza - a wonderful fusion of Eastern and Western cuisine.

We left the hotel at 1 pm with 5 bags and 2 carry-ons. Our flight from Baroda to Delhi left at 2:30 pm. IST. We flew Jet Airways, which I would recommend over Air India every time. Air India is owned by the government and not run like other airlines. Jet Airways was more of what I'm used to as a frequent business traveler. The flight is an easy 1+ hour flight and of course I slept the whole way. Mike is amazed at how quickly I fall asleep in airplanes. I think he was probably mid-story when I was out and stayed out until we started our descent.

We landed at the Indira Ghandi International Airport in Delhi a little before 4 pm. We gathered our bags and proceeded to the ticket counter to check in. STOP!!! I think I may have mentioned this before but I'll repeat it as it's important to understand our situation - you need proof of a ticket before you can enter the airport and before you can be issued a ticket. Unfortunately, proof of a ticket needs to be obtained from a pre-ticketing counter. Trouble is American Airlines doesn't have a pre-ticketing counter. Supposedly, one of the local aviation companies was supposed to support AA customers - but there was no one at that counter either. After several attempts to get information on what to do, we were told that no one would be at the counter until 4 hours prior to the flight. Our flight wasn't until 12:30 a.m. - 8.5 hours later. Ugh!

After learning this information, we had no other option than to return to the arrivals area and hunker down for the next 4.5 hours. We found an acceptable location called Foodie's Bar. I'm not sure why it was called that as they didn't have much food - but they did have alcohol. Mike and I spent the next 4 hours playing Angry Birds, Solitaire, watching the French Open and making friends with a Canadian soldier who was in India volunteering at an orphanage. It was about as exciting as watching paint dry. I was cranky, very cranky.

Finally it was 9 pm and we thought we could check in. We returned to the pre-ticketing counter and there still was no one at the counter that was supposed to be servicing AA. We inquired at the Information Desk and they summoned an AA representative to come escort us to security, show the guard our name on a list and then walk us to the AA ticket counter. We had finally made it into the airport!! We checked all of our bags and then went to do a little last minute shopping. I was on a mission to find a snow globe. Snow globes are traditional, fairly cheesy, souvenirs so I wasn't expecting much trouble finding one. Then I remembered, we're in India, nothing is easy here. There wasn't a single snow globe in the airport. Total fail on the one thing that someone asked me to bring home! :(

Since we were flying business class home, we were invited to the Kingfischer First lounge. Kingfischer is the local beer in India but they also have an airline - bizarre combination! It was a strange mix between mod and sad. But it was quiet and the drinks were free.

At 11:45 we began boarding our flight from Delhi to Chicago. The flight home would be 15 hours and 15 minutes, one of the longer direct flights offered by any airline. I had a great seat at the bulkhead and we had successfully swapped Mike into the seat next to me. Or so we thought. Almost as the cabin doors were being closed, the ticket holder for the seat next to me came by and said that he had to switch back because the audio/visio unit didn't work in Mike's original seat. Bummer! Mike went back to his seat and I switched with the guy next to him so we could still sit together. We figured we could figure something out. Turns out the audio/visio unit in my new seat didn't work. And add insult to injury, the reading light in my new seat didn't work either. We asked the crew if we could move to one of the empty first class seats and they said no due to 'policy'. Instead they provided us with portable DVR players pre-loaded with movies. Ok, that's not perfect but it's better than nothing. STOP! The power outlet in my seat (or was it Mike's) didn't work. OK, at this point, I was done. I was already cranky because of the layover. Now, I'm at my wits end. What else can I do but take a sleeping pill and attempt to sleep.

Sleep I did - for 11 hours. There wasn't anything else to do and I had slept very little the last two weeks so why not. It turns out in some ways, the lack of entertainment options was good for me. I had gotten my body back on ET and should be able to better manage jet lag.

Upon deplaning in Chicago, Mike and I rushed through customs and straight to McDonalds where Mike ordered a chicken biscuit, yogurt parfait and orange juice and I ordered breakfast burritos and a sweet tea. Oh to be back in the USA!

The flight down to Tampa was a breeze - First Class usually makes it so.

Mike was greeted by his beautiful family - wife Kerry, daughter Naomi and son Miles. They had come straight from church and were dressed to the nines. They were clearly happy for the return of their husband and father, as was Mike to see them! It was a wonderful way to arrive back home.

I can't believe it is over. All the anxiety I felt preparing for the trip, all the adventures I had with the three guys that made the trip memorable and finally meeting the team that works so hard every day to delight their clients was overwhelming and deeply satisfying. I feel so amazingly blessed to have had such a wonderful experience! I am also so blessed to have a home to come home to, friends and family that love me and a future full of dreams and opportunities. Life is good!

Until my next adventure....Namaste

Day 11 - The Last Day

I can't believe that it's the last day in the office and the second to the last day in India. This trip has been a whirlwind and oh so enjoyable.

The day was pretty typical. Into the office at about 10 a.m. Catching up on emails and visiting with the team. Mike and I took two of our TCS team members, Jitendre and Komal, out to lunch at Sam's Sizzler - or rather Jitendre took us as he treated us. That was so very nice of him! Sam's Sizzler is more like Chinese food meets fajitas. All the food comes out on red hot wrought iron pans and the food is 'sizzling'. The food was absolutely delicious and the company was marvelous.

After lunch, I had the pleasure of going saree shopping with Komal. We went into a few different shops. Each with a traditional saree buying experience - the women sit in chairs as the shop workers (mainly men) unfold and drape the beautiful sarees over large beds. The fabrics were beautiful, the bead work to die for. Every color and pattern imaginable. I was in heaven. I wanted to take one of each home. After a bit, I decided on two beautiful cotton sarees, one in a wonderful blue and teal flower pattern and the other in a stunning deep teal, navy blue and gold geometric and flower pattern. You are probably asking if I plan on wearing these sarees. I do hope to wear one at least once while I'm in the states - I may have to get my friend Jignasha to help me wrap it. I bought the other to use as fabric for something for my home. We'll see how it turns out. Overall, the experience was wonderful and I look forward to my next visit when I can go shopping again with my wonderful Indian friends.

Eventually we had to return to the office. I finally met the last two teams, the Wireless Flowshare team and the Advertising Insights team. As with all those I met before them, they were very kind and shared with me what they do to support our business. Each team is so dedicated to their work and to delighting our clients.

After a few more hours of work, I took some time to sit with some of the women on the team. I saw them gathered by their desks and inquired about what they were talking about. They said they were 'gossiping'. Perfect, I love gossip! Turns out their gossip was about sarees, when a woman can/should wear them and when not. This is perfect for me since I love clothes and I have a lot of opinions about when someone should wear something and when they shouldn't. ;)

Unfortunately, the day came to an end, and I had to say my good byes. I was gifted some beautiful jewelry by the women of the team. Tears started to well in my eyes so I needed to make a quick getaway. After a few words from Mike and me, we left the TCS office and the team for the last time. I will miss each and everyone of the Telecom team members - their smiling faces and wonderful attitudes. I look forward to the day I return and am reunited with them!! :)

After returning to the hotel, Schick and Kevin picked us up for dinner. One last scooter ride for me as we went back to the mall where Mainland China is for our last traditional Indian meal. It was absolutely delicious. While at dinner I became quite overwhelmed with sadness that this wonderful trip was about to end but also so thankful for the time I had in this mysteriously delightful country.

We said our good byes to Schick and Kevin - luckily I'll see them again in July in Chicago when they graduate from the Program, so it's not good bye for long.

Tomorrow we begin our journey home. Until then, Namaste . . .

Day 10 - Scoots & Hangovers

No, I'm not talking about my hangover (one of which I do not have). We reserved this day to go to an American movie in an Indian theater. But I'll get to that later. . .

The day started just like many before . . . I got barely 4 hours of sleep, Mike knocked on my door to go workout, I skipped working out and I tried to get a few more minutes of sleep (unsuccessfully).

It was a normal work day at the office. There are two things different about working in India: 1) the day starts later and goes later - most of the team doesn't come in until 3:30 - 7:30 pm and work into and through the night; 2) the time zone difference makes it difficult to work normally - I send a batch of emails during the day and then receive responses in the middle of the night. Both of these things make the work day quiet but is part of what is keeping me from a good night's sleep.

Mike was experiencing 'Delhi Belly' so we decided to head back to Little Italy for lunch. I decided it was time to risk life and limb by climbing on the back of Schick's scooter. Wow, I should have done that on day one. It is definitely the best way to experience the city of Baroda. Most people here ride scooters, so being on the back of one is normal and helps me blend in . . . kind of. It's pretty hard to blend in when I am still the only blonde I have seen in Baroda since I arrived. Schick mentioned that we were getting far more attention then he does when he is on his scoot alone. I kind of like it . . . does that make me vain? I'm not sure I should consider it flattering, I mean people look because I'm strange in comparison to the norm. But I'll take it as a complement and smile at everyone that looks my way. (This is the great advice I had been given by a wonderful Telecom team member who had come to Baroda earlier this year. Thanks Deborah!)

The EB Telecom team planned a potluck dinner today. Each member of the team brought in homemade dishes, just like in the US. I was amazed at the spread! Homemade dishes of all sorts - mostly favorites of each team member. There were veg dishes and non-veg dishes. Everything was delicious!!! I would have taken pictures but I'm not allowed to have a camera in the TCS building. :(

I sat with three intelligent and beautiful women from my team - Komal Shah, Archana Chauhan and Ketki Kulkarni. They told me about all the wonderful places I should visit in India on future trips here. This country has so much to offer - different religions, different cultures, different landscapes. I can't wait to make another trip to this beautiful place!

After dinner, we met up with the usual suspects - Schick and Kevin. They picked us up from the hotel on their way to the movie theater. We were heading to see The Hangover II in English. I rode with Schick on his scoot (I feel like it's a drug and I am full out addicted), Kev and Mike took a rickshaw.

The theater looked just like any theater in the US. They sell similar concessions. One difference, they have Tomato Chilli Popcorn. Had I not just eaten a huge potluck meal, I would definitely have tried it. Another difference - here there are assigned seats at the movie theater with different prices depending on where you sit. Schick picked a great spot right in the middle of the theater. There were some pretty hilarious advertisements before the meeting. One in particular for some kind of tooth care product is a favorite amongst the Indians and Americans alike. Once the movie started, there was non-stop laughter - it was a very funny movie. Half way through, at a very random moment, we took a 10 minute intermission. I'm familiar with intermissions at movies, they have them in Europe also. But there they try to find a good moment to stop the movie. Here they just stop it exactly half way through. Interesting.

After another exhilarating scooter ride home (it's even better at night because there isn't much traffic so I could look around more and Mike could open it up a bit), it was time for bed.

Namaste

Day 9 - Back in Baroda

It's hard to get back into a normal routine after such an amazing weekend. But fun ends eventually and work begins again. Mike and I were back into the office with training sessions, information sharing sessions, emails to answer, etc. Luckily, it was a pretty light day.

One interesting event occurred today. Mike and I were guest judges for Global Village. Global Village is an opportunity for TCS associates to learn more about different topics pertaining to the work they do for Nielsen. They build teams and then create presentations about a new topic each time. This time, each team had to research Advertising in the specific country they support and put together a presentation, along with visuals, to share the information they learned. There were teams from 10 different TCS process teams supporting different groups within Nielsen from Emerging Businesses (my group) to Retail Measurement in Switzerland, Germany and France.

We listened to each of the 10 groups present for about 5 minutes. We were asked to judge each presentation on Quality of Content, Creativity, Presentation and Quality of Visuals. Each team had a very unique take on the topic. We learned about 'hoarding' which is a new word to us but not a new concept. It basically means all the different eye-catching outdoor advertising along the street, sidewalk, etc. We also learned that Switzerland is the largest consumer of print media and that most Swiss people still get the newspaper and several magazines. We learned about the history and evolution of the Mall. It was informative and entertaining.

One of the teams representing Emerging Businesses did their presentation on the Super Bowl and tied it to the Indian Premiere League (cricket). They built a stadium with all the different types of advertising - on the field, on the big screen TVs, on the boards around the field. Each of them dressed in an American flag bandanna. One even dressed up like Ronald McDonald. They did a great job! I love my team!

After work, Mike and I took the leadership team to dinner. We went to a concept restaurant called Barbecue Nation. Upon walking into the restaurant, I thought I was home. It smelled like a backyard barbecue - all smoky goodness. We ordered some mocktails (remember Vadodara is a dry state) and then began munching on the fantastic grilled food - both veg and non-veg. The food was delicious and the company was excellent. We have a great leadership team here!

Kind of an uneventful day today but tomorrow will be full of new stories, I'm confident of it.

Namaste