FollowJohn.com

We arrived safely in Singapore last night after an easy 2 hour flight from Bangkok. Before I start talking about Singapore here is a run-through of my brief experience in Bangkok, Thailand.

The lousy weather (and work) kept me from going out until the end of the week. Friday, I went out with a friend from the event and he took me to a local market. It’s apparently a well known area but I didn’t make note of the name. It was one of those areas that you’ve “heard about.” As you walk through the market you can get trinkets of all sizes and knock-offs of most everything - DVDs, CDs, watches, clothes, etc. It all seems legit there as each vendor has a permit to sell at the market. Always interesting to see a “legit” vendor selling pirated movies.

So, as you’re walking through the market you’re not only getting bombarded with people trying to sell you junk but there are also guys trying to get you to go in the buildings on each side for massages, sex shows, ping pong ball shows, ladies dancing (or men or transexuals), and who knows what else. It’s a pretty dirty area and a bit scary to think about what goes on beyond those doors.

The next morning Peter and I got a driver to take us around the town. We hit the Royal Grand Palace, which was unbelievable, and then Wat Pho where there is the enormous gold-plated Reclining Buddha. The palace is full of buildings with small glass mosaics all over the walls. The entire area shimmers and I’ve never seen such detail work. Also, any time you see something gold in the photos, it really is gold-plated.

I look forward to the next time I can visit Thailand. It’s a beautiful culture and the people are so warm and peaceful.

The U.S. censors a woman’s nipples on television; the U.A.E. blocks website they don’t like with a nice little message; Wikipedia was blocked when I was in China (and the site just timed out as if it didn’t exist).

I thought I had seen all of the censoring games until I arrived in Thailand. As I flipped through TV channels the other day I saw a fuzzy blur on the screen. A bit confused I focused in on it. Turns out that the woman in the show was smoking a cigarette and they had blurred out that part of her hand.

It’s just as stupid as censoring a woman’s nipples in the U.S. I could see the smoke pouring out of the top of the blur, and her hand motions, so I knew what it was. If you’re going to show 95% of it then show the rest and not make it a big deal. When you hide something you empower the mystery and imply what’s behind the censorship is bad. Don’t censor these things and they become normal - and normal doesn’t get a second thought. On the other hand, I guess the “censor guys” need something to do.

There’s something I find very special about bowing. It gives a sense of appreciation and respect for life. The customary bow in Thailand is done by placing your hands in front of your face and then bowing. It’s usually combined with “Sawatdee Khrab,” which is the polite way to say “hello” as a male or “Sawatdee Kaa” if you’re a female. Of course, that’s the phonetic spelling.

We arrived to Bangkok last night during dark hours so I’m not sure what the city looks like. So far, the hotel ranks in the top 2 that I’ve visited. It’s a great atmosphere of warm contemporary Thai decor and everyone greats you with a big smile.

We’ll start setting up shop today which leaves some time to explore. However, the weather is nasty outside so it might end up being a working day for me.

We safely arrived yesterday to Singapore where we spent the night. This evening we’ll be heading to Thailand where we’ll have the first event of the trip. After that, it’s back to Singapore for the second event.

Singapore welcomes you with a beautiful drive into the city. Exotic trees and colorful flowers line the sides and median of the roads into town. There are also numerous parks along the way where people are walking and enjoying the year-round warm weather. (Even the airport has nice plants next to the security scanners.)

Along with the cleanliness of the streets (no chewing gum, strict littering rules, and no smoking in most public places) they seem to have plants everywhere. Even though you’re walking down the street with hundreds of other people it’s a warm experience with all of the greenery around. From the hotel room you can see many buildings with plants and gardens on the roof tops. I guess the rainy seasons and humidity make that all possible.

I’m sure you’ve all been wondering if I’ll be heading to Thailand on Thursday, and the answer is yes. All of our sources say things are fine and the media seems to agree. It’s always exciting to visit an area hot in the news, especially one with tanks nearby.

Guess that’s not the only worry since Thailand is one of the hardest hit areas of the H5N1 Bird Flu virus. They’ve had 25 human cases and 17 fatalities since 2004. Good thing I’m a vegetarian… and I usually don’t kiss birds.

As long as I don’t stand in front of any tanks, or mingle with livestock, I should be enjoying the smell of beautiful Vanda Miss Joaquim (Singapore’s national flower) the week after Bangkok.

Remember, I have greater odds of having a fatal walk across the street than anything bad happening on this trip.

My blogging seems to go in spurts and I’m really bogged down with a current project I’m working on. It’s coming down to the wire and there’s still much to do. However, I’ve squeezed in a bit of time (for my sanity) to get the Aldenta blog back up and going. The site is my only active form of marketing at the moment so it has multiple purposes. It helps me let off some steam, share information, and promote “me,” which is the product I sell. Wait… does that make me a ho?

Thanks to Keith Olbermann who speaks for us all in his piece - Special Comment - 9/11:Five Years Later. Make sure you watch the full video. (Found at connecting*the*dots)

However, of all the things those of us who were here five years ago could have forecast ââ?¬â?? of all the nightmares that unfolded before our eyes, and the others that unfolded only in our minds ââ?¬â?? none of us could have predicted this.

Sorry for no updates in so long. I’ve been slowly moving over photos from the old followjohn.com and will be adding the old posts right after. In the meantime, you can get an update on the Hong Kong trip from Kelly’s new website. Also, check out the photos from the trip. She’s a much better blogger than I am. :-)

Yesterday, my colleague, Eric, and I took a trip to the Great Wall before our afternoon work. Of the nearly 4,000 miles of wall we visited the Mutianyu section. It’s apparently a great alternative for those who want to avoid crowds along the highly popular Badaling section.

After riding the chair lift to the wall the clear skies gave us a breathtaking view of mountains and small towns below. This well kept section of the wall is truly impressive and a must see for any visitor.

The drive to the wall must have taken us over 2 hours due to the morning traffic so I was ready for a bathroom break. The map on the wall said there was a bathroom nearby but I couldn’t find it. So, down some stairs and around a corner to the base of the wall… you know the rest. Another item I can cross off my list.

During our wall walk we ran across people from many different countries. The best part had to have been when some Chinese grabbed us making motions to take pictures with them. Eric’s a 6 ft+ guy with red hair and a freckly complexion. I think he’s really what attracted them but I got to pose for multiple photos with about 5 different people. A couple of them did the infamous asian peace sign pose. Eric had them all saying “one, two, three, cheese” by the end of it.

Part of the experience is walking past all of the vendors (at the bottom of the chair lift) who stand in front of you and try to sell you the same t-shirt as the last person. The ones who speak better english would say “come back to see me - I remember you.” Of course, they actually do remember you when you get back down and push their cheap trinkets on you. I did haggle my way to a 5 yuan ($0.63 US) pack of 10 postcards. Mostly, I enjoy the haggling - I set a price, walk away, and then they run after you. I even haggled for some crackers with a vendor while on the wall. She pointed at her big backpack of food and said “I hiked from Mongolia” trying to get me to pay a higher price. I think she lived in the town at the bottom of the hill with the rest of them so I didn’t fall for it. For a communist country they sure have capitalism down pat.

After an interesting customs ordeal at the Newark airport on Saturday, I headed for Beijing. All of my liquid goodies were checked in with my bag so I zipped through the security checkpoints with no hassle but had a time with our business equipment. The flight from Newark was quite pleasant and I slept a decent portion (almost 8 hours) which made the 13.5 hour trip so much better.

I arrived Sunday afternoon, and after meeting with my work buddies we headed for the Pearl Market. It’s an indoor market near the hotel where they carry all sorts of pearls, electronics, clothing, bags, and shoes. Most of the goods are knockoffs and it was fun to haggle. They’re aggressive towards foreigners and would literally drag me over to their booth trying to sell their wares. What’s really funny is that their neighbors sold the exact same items so you can always get a better price. To give you a perspective on the haggling I took a pair of shoes from about 2000 yuan ($250 US) to 50 yuan ($6 US). It’s hilarious to hear each vendor give the same story and they all sound so convincing… but they’re all lying.

Yesterday, we setup the room for our event and had a successful test of everything. Then we headed to the Forbidden City where the famous picture of Mao Zedong guards the entrance. Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City are both grandiose and more than enough space for the 24 emperors who lived there (and their concubines). It’s a long walk from one end of the walled city to the other. You pass through beautiful gardens with trees and rock structures as well as numerous buildings that hosted everything from the day-to-day governmental duties to weddings and enthronements. It was nice to never have to wait in line to see inside these buildings - I could see over everyone’s head. The Forbidden City is worth a visit and I’d like to do it once more with a guide.

After an early breakfast this morning I’m heading to the Great Wall with my colleague. Really looking forward to this one! I almost forgot, tonight the event starts and we have to work… booo.