Happy Thanksgiving!

We spent our 3rd Thanksgiving in Asia & Sadie's 2nd. We celebrated by having high tea (brunch) at our favorite spot-the Shangri-La Hotel's Rose Varanda. Counted our blessings with a toast.

Sadie enjoyed the chocolate fondue fountain almost as much as her mother.

The girls got shawls when the AC got too chilly (what will we do in zero degree weather???).

Of the many things we gave thanks for this year, here are a few we noted; our daughter, our Asia experience, our health & our beloved family & friends. To many we'll see you soon & to some this is Good Bye for now...

Dress Up

Gymboree

Sadie's been enrolled in Gymboree classes since late January 2009. (We are sad that MN does not have a Gymboree franchise.) She did gym class every Saturday with Daddy (below) & Music every Monday with Mommy. She LOVES Gymboo the clown & always was after the big stuffed one in class (above). She also was good at finding little Gymbo when the teacher hid him (below).

After class the kids line up to get stamps on their hands, feet & tummy.

Music Time!

Sadie's first in line for her stamps.

Sadie's favorite Gymboree teachers; Teacher Irene & Teacher Fa

Swim Lessons

Sadie's been lucky enough to have some private swim lessons here at the Treetops pool. One of the many things will miss about Singapore; the warm weather, getting outside everyday & swimming.

Sadie in Action!

Vietnam Video

I recently completed trips to Vietnam, Malaysia and Thailand but unfortunately did not get many photos that would be interesting to anyone that doesn't work with me.

Here is one video I took trying to capture the traffic in Ho Chi Minh:

and a quick photo of their electricity system:

More China Pictures

Here are some more interesting pics from my time in China.

A highway sign for a familiar site:

Here is one of me in front of the Forbidden Palace in Beijing:

And a quick video of us driving around close to the Forbidden Palace:

Hong Kong

I had a quick trip to Hong Kong in mid-October. I didn't do much sightseeing but did get to walk around a bit and take in the skyline:

Las Vegas

During a recent work trip to the US, I was able to attend a cool race event. During the race I spent a bit of time in the "chase car" that is used to film the action. Here is the car, which went up to 115 mph while I was in it:

...and some action photos of me waiting, in the car, and getting out of the car:

Bonus Movie Review

One of the perks of traveling and flying a lot is that you get to catch up on many of the movies you may have missed when they were in theaters.

One of the downsides of traveling and flying a lot is that you eventually run out of movies to watch. In times of desperation, you may be forced to watch movies that are not necessarily your first choice. This happened to me on a recent flight from New Zealand to the Philippines.

I had exhausted all of the movies I wanted to see but couldn't sleep so I gave in and watched "Sex and the City 2."

This may have been the worst choice of my life. I never watched the TV show and have not seen the first movie, but I can't imagine a scenario where this film would ever be enjoyable. It was fairly depressing watching the ladies and their hijinks - they seemed a bit old to be doing most of what they were doing.

I kept waiting for Sophia to make a sarcastic comment about Blanche’s loose morals. If you understood that reference, then I’d like to thank you for being a friend.

Guangzhou

I spent a few days in Guangzhou, China in October.

Here is a picture of us in the downtown area:

It was right before the start of the 16th Asian Games. Here is a picture of some of the lights and decoration that were in place to commemorate the games:

Greetings from China

Greetings from the capital of China. I spent 2 days in Beijing, where it was a bit chilly compared to Singapore and the Philippines. Beijing used to be known as Peking - so if they offer you Beijing Duck, don't ask what the difference is between that meal and Peking Duck or they'll think you don't know your General Mao from your Colonel Sanders.

Here is a photo of the front of the restaurant where we ate on the first day:

In China, most meals are served "family style" (sans serving spoons) and there is a ton of food. The tables are typically round with a giant "lazy susan" in the middle so you can spin it around to get your favorite delicacy. At most restaurants, there were 8+ of us so we had a private room where the tea flowed nonstop.

Some of the delicacies I ate thus far include:

• Liver (animal unknown)
• Duck Tongue
• Yellow and pink chicken
• Pork - when I asked what part, they told me it was "bone"

At one restaurant, instead of menus they just had fish tanks lined up against the walls so you could point to what you wanted to eat. My hosts were always very gracious and made sure I had plenty to eat and I thank them for their hospitality.

Here is a photo of the bathroom at the restaurant:

No, your eyes are not fooling you. There is no toilet seat or basin. In totally unrelated news, I now own 4% of Pepto Bismol stock.