well like i mentioned in the last blog, Singapore was a complete surprise and a delight. and i had no problem with all the law and order slams it gets for chewing gum or whatever, the place is clean, friendly, modern, beautiful (if you like modern architecture and i do), and overall it was really a treat. even a church i hit, urban design church, was on the 9h floor in the industrial area and had a city view. it is warm and humid and supposed to be unbearable in the summer, but i hit it right. a little rain, cool evenings, and just a cool hang. be sure to hit the pool top bar at the fullerton bay hotel. great view and great vibe. more pics to follow. and there is something about the asian world that makes me smile. it just cracks me up. the personalities, the culture, the fashion, all the men's hairstyles, IDK, but Singapore cracked me up. and being in the first world after being in Nairobi for so long was a relief of sorts. loved their metro, their buildings, their streets, the traffic flowing, just everything being orderly. kind of comforting. my madcop weekend flew by. and my host showed me lots of cool places to eat...little india, the local favorite place Jumbo's chili crab, and the outdoor street for satays and buckets of beer at la passat. just a lot of fun. then next march i come back to cambodia on a project. i'm looking forward to that as well. more of asia is a good thing.
AUCKLAND
so i left the tropical winter of Singapore, and boarded eco-minded JetStar to an Auckland summer which is cooler than the singapore winter. it's a 10 hour non-stop flight. had an exit row but not much sleep. cannot sleep sitting up right i'm afraid. so buying those noise-cancelling headphones in Dubai to start the trip was definitely a great idea for movie viewing and just chilling. when babies are crying i'll put some foam ear plugs in before i put on the headphones to deafen things as much as i can. i'm trying to get this int'l flying thing down, but business class is looking better and better! if only i could go there! maybe someday! but man, to be able fly in the next class up would be really nice! probably not going to happen for a while!
i landed in Auckland and it too is a beautiful city. when my buddy harrison told me he had some other commitments while i was there for 2 weeks so i'd be camping with his family without him for a while, and then his buddy's dad passed away from a heart attack and he was gone for another 4 or 5 days to attend a Maori funeral about 6 hours south of auckland, it was clear in a day or two that the trip to NZ was changing complexion and i didn't want to be anybody's problem or burden to entertain while harrison was away, so i made some new plans, called an audible, and somehow was able to re-route my Emirates ticket from auckland-nairobi to LA-Nairobi, (and fly with my nephew theo who is coming over for some production work with slingshot on jan 7).
with that ticket change i could make a move, and since i was so close to LA...only 12 hours non-stop on air NZ...it was a no brainer. i left dec 22 and landed the 22nd, caught a tight Southwest connection to Tucson to see my brother, and on Boxing Day we drove to las cruces, NM, to see my sister driving down from denver. oh yeah, on christmas day i drove up to phoenix to surprise my sister's kids and they were pretty shocked to see me! their ranger uncle standing right there in US soil.
USA
so i surprised even myself to end up in the USA. i had no idea when i left Nairobi dec 14 that i would be coming to LAX. such a shocker! i had no plans to return home for a long while and then boom, i was here. and it's been really cool i have to say. have had a great time so far staying with my brother and eating crazy amounts of junk food and one thing i was really craving...a chicken burrito enchilada style with melted cheese and sauce. sooooooooooo good! thank you Manuel's in green valley for hooking an hombre up!
been gaining weight for sure (like no Fritos in kenya so i gotsta make up while i'm here!) and had another whopper today for lunch! too funny! also been watching alot of TV and football and a new BBC series i discovered on an emirates flight...Wallander...which i got my sister in law for christmas on DVD. very well done tv series! my new Downton Abbey! check it out!
kinda weird to be home as well...driving on the wrong side, landing here for the fiscal cliff and assault weapon debate. geesh. can't we all just get along! things are pretty whacky here, especially coming back as an outsider. but still, it's nice to be home for a bit and recharge. the first world is hectic but orderly and relaxing after a pretty shifty nairobi. it just wears on ya after a while. so it's nice to be back and vedge for a while. this last week will fly by i'm sure. but for now, Citizen Of The World (COTW) is very thankful for such a successful landing and transition into africa and all the wonderful adventures i've had so far!
i've seen and done way more than i ever imagined and next year should continue the ride! so blessed and stoked. i'm already looking forward to going back (with an overnight in dubai) and doing kenya 2013! one of last year's adventure's included the sea turtles of lamu and here's the video if you missed it...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tJqC2gMclkc
so, that's a wrap for COTW 2012. last year i was in betty's bay south africa about this time...this year in sahuarita, AZ. i love it when i don't know what's ahead! i know next year will hold a trip to zurich, to cambodia, and to the holy land, and back to lamu, but what else could be in store??? only God knows, and so far it's been an excellent adventure!
happy new year everyone! thanks for coming along for the ride! and thanks for your encouragement and feedback! hopefully africablog will continue to educate and entertain! i have to confess it's been fun to chronicle it all for you! thank you theo, S.A., and brother vol for visiting me last year! 2013 hopefully will include repeat trips to ethiopia, rwanda, uganda, and even south sudan! it should be a wild year! and i hope it is for you too!!
now for some pics!!!!! life is good!!!!
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxooooooooooooooooooo COTW
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| asia cracks me up. gotta love this packaging! big mac in singapore. |
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| cool shot of a great beer in a hotel lobby with an under-lit bar. |
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| loved all this old wood and stone in this hotel lobby! |
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| animated Singaporeans for a christmas group shot. hilarious. |
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| my dream car. at the fullerton hotel. so money! |
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| andrew purchase (aka "Purch") is the south african pastor of urban design church. good guy! |
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| singapore skyline along the river. a la chicago! |
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| more river walk in singapore by the fullerton! |
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| river taxi. old school. |
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| giant crab for dinner? |
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| airport sky train |
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| nothing says Christmas like reindeer at the Singapore airport! |
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| Ahhh, a vanilla bean extreme ice blended from coffee bean at singapore airport. my first one in ages. so yummy! |
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| Jet Star...not exactly Air Emirates but it wasn't so bad to Auckland. |
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| early light engine view. |
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| Air NZ...got the one way ticket vote to come home! |
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| chateau NZ in glendowie. amazing crib! |
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| amazing view from the haus. brownie island in the BG. |
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| sky tower in auckland. pretty cool. |
sky
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| another angle of cement tower with a view |
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| a new cafe in st. helier's on the beach. tres cool! |
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| black tile wall in the back by the pizza oven. |
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| old school bicycle in NZ |
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| harrison with a full plate. his wonderful family welcomed me! |
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| Gandalf looms over Middle Earth. |
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| auckland harbor on a beautiful summer day. and a cool cruiser cat. |
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| the vodafone racing trimaran |
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| impressive trampoline. |
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| sky tower from the waterfront |
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| lots of nice sailboats in the harbor. |
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| cruise ships in auckland...to fiji??? |
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| beer and pizza..always a safe bet! |
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| tyler st. garage was an awesome eatery. did a tequila shot with a cute waitress. ha! |
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| lots o great eateries there in DT auckland! |
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| saw my first new range rover. sweet! |
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| auckland train station |
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| auckland bus on my way home |
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| this chap just boat a sailboat in the med to cruise around the world, got my juices going! |
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| friday nite sailboat races in auckland by our house |
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| mcdonald's at auckland airport. resistance was futile! |
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| why does so bad for you taste so good?? i'm addicted! |
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| another venue in auckland airport heading to my gate for a 11pm departure. i left dubai for singapore at 3am. i saw 3 sunrises total from the air as i flew to LA from NBO. |
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| getting to close to home |
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| there's only one los angeles. i was grinning. |
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| pulling into LAX. such icons. and the NZ terminal was right next to southwest. |
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| Sahuarita sunset south of tucson |
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| Buddy the dog. |
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| Interstate oddities. the Thing??? next door to dairy queen...yes, the vanilla dip in chocolate please. |
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| wider angle, for the full effect. |
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| santa rita's mtn's by my brother's crib. |
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| nothing quite says christmas like a lit up cactus. |
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| another world class cruiser cat in NZ, got my juices going... |
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| Auckland airport. 12 hours to home! |
