Sunday, January 26, 2014

Saturday, January 4, 2014

Asia for Work - Fall 2013

The goal of the trip was to meet folks work in Asia, build a personal connection and collaborate on several projects. I can’t stress enough the importance of meeting and listening to folks in person. So much is lost over a phone conversation.

Singapore
After oversleeping my alarm for a flight earlier this year, I try to avoid early morning flights. It didn’t happen, so I ended up on the first flight from Austin to San Francisco. I uncharacteristically took a window seat and managed to get some sunrise shots over the wing.




















The flight over was uneventful, and I tried melatonin for the first time. I’m not sure why I took so long to do so — it worked like a charm. Since I arrived early Sunday, I made arrangements to rent a road bike from the Bike Butler and rode with the Anza cycling team around part of the country. They're a friendly group of fast expats. I rode with the group on a freeway, AND I saw the border with Malaysia! 

Strava route for ride around Singapore

Dragonfruit!

























Tokyo
After a couple days of great meetings in Singapore, we left for Tokyo. Since I was jet lagged, I woke up way before work the day after Halloween in search of food. I saw tons of folks heading home after a night of drinking in full costume. Glad to see Halloween is a universal holiday.

I spent the weekend in Tokyo and met up with Regan & his wife Sharon at the Park Hyatt. It’s a gorgeous hotel. Unfortunately, I didn’t get to swim in the pool due to their strict no tattoo rules. On the other hand, we were there for Tokyo Design Week. 

Regan in the sticker storage container @ Tokyo Design Week

Me @ Tokyo Design Week











































Shanghai
After Tokyo, I headed onto Shanghai. We got to stay at the can opener, which was the highest building in the city at the time. They were building something even taller nearby. The office in Shanghai is just gorgeous - I felt so energized yet relaxed in the office. 
View of the Pearl Tower & Bund from hotel