Singapore

A couple times a year, I head to Singapore for work. We have a small office there that is spearheading our Asian expansion. A few people from the London and US office head out to ensure that everything is running smoothly. At least this time I was able to fly from London which is about 13 hours in the air versus travelling from Chicago which is about 22 hours of flight time. Plus flying from London, I can get a non-stop flight on Singapore Airlines new A380. Singapore Airlines is great and the new A380 is huge and has roughly 50 movies to watch. Definitely made the trip feel shorter than 13 hours.

The work part of Singapore went well - but the real fun was the after work activities. The first night we ate some satay from one of the vendors by the office. Not recommended as we spent most of the time trying to determine which animal each meat stick came from. When you can't distinguish between chicken and beef - you should probably just walk away. Lesson learned.

The next night we went to Tippling House and had a great dinner from chef Wylie Dufresne. He has a restaurant in NYC called wd-50. He does some crazy weird stuff with food - but it was fantastic. wd-50

Wednesday night was Beerfest Asia. Various micro-beer companies from around Singapore, some UK and even some US areas were in this large tent selling their brews. A group from work went and did some damage. Another attraction was Hells Belles - the all female AC/DC cover band. They were actually very good. Hells Belles As I was leaving with a work mate, we noticed a sign that said free breathalyzer tests at the exit. I bet him that I could correctly guess my BAC, at least closer than he could guess his. The bet was on. As we met the other work people, the bet then expanded to the entire group and the target was who had the highest BAC. Naturally, this led to everyone pounding there beers to "cram for the final". We all threw in our cash and went in search of the spot for the test. The staff was slightly amused when 7 guys showed up asking for a breathalyzer. They initially refused our request until I told them I was driving and the other 6 were the potential alternates. The relented when we told them they could have 10% of the pot. I am happy to report that I "won". However, we have seriously misgivings of the accuracy of the tool as the BAC I blew stated that I could have legally driven in Illinois. There is no way that was right.

So we left the Beerfest and headed to karaoke. Now if any of you have had a karaoke experience in Asia - this will be no surprise to you. For those of us that have only done karaoke in bars in Chicago - the karaoke places in Asia are COMPLETELY different.

First - the karaoke bars are more akin to strip clubs. The level of the club that you go to somewhat determines the level of "service" you are looking for. Our group went to the "classy" level - which was level 1. As some of us had shorts on, we were required to wear the house pants. These were basically track suit pants - very stylish. We also had to select an "escort" for the evening. So we all sat on this big U shaped couch as 15 girls were paraded into the room. We each got to pick our escort. Now since we were in the classy level - the escorts were dressed nicely in either evening gowns or cocktail dresses. What I learned was that in our level the escort was basically just a glorified personal waitress. She would get your drinks, get you some snacks and cheer for you when you sang. Since they spoke little English - once you were done singing there was very little to talk about or do. So it was a bit strange having this Chinese girl sitting next to me all evening...I at least figured out she was from China. After that - she could have been telling me the weather forecast in Hong Kong for the next month for all I know. I couldn't understand a word she said. I'm sure she just saw "American Sucker" on my forehead as we had to pay roughly 150 Singapore dollars for each escort. That being said - they made no secret that for an additional "fee" they would gladly return to your hotel with you. I, of course, declined such an invitation. So my review of level 1 (of the 5 levels) is that it was fairly tame - but still strange with a bit of an edge to it. I can only assume that level 5 is a naked orgy surrounded by drunken dudes singing "Living on a Prayer" in the background. A very strange experience for a guy from the Midwest. I belted out some sweet ABBA tunes and then we all headed out as it was getting a bit late.

The rest of the trip was work and normal nights out. All in all - it was a successful trip but it is always hard being away from the family.


- John