Singapore, Singapore, Singapore... (Part 1)

As I write this, I am actually en-route to Singapore almost over the north pole at 33 thousand feet, 5hrs of 15, into my second of three flights.  This is not my first time there, it is actually my third. It is however the first time that I have had internet for almost all of the time while in the air, minus about 45mins when we are directly over the north pole.  It looks like airlines are FINALLY getting the hint that this internet thing is not the Devil....or is it....I suppose we will never know...

(I seriously found that on my first search....it was like the third pic)

But I digress....I suppose I am a little cranky that people are not more considerate, reclining their seat the whole flight, even during meals, and taking seriously like 25mins in the bathroom (not that I was going anywhere).

Back to Singapore.  I am going there to a work function where I will be interacting with folks from all over the standard APJ region for most companies.  Talking about the new vSphere 6 features and functions as I have done several times before this.  It is always interesting to get to see the different opinions from around the world.

The first time I was over here was right when the Singapore Grand Prix, was on, and they had the road in front of the hotel blocked off as it was part of the race track.  Let me tell you, trying to get around was severely limited.  We were at a Mandarin Hotel which was absolutely stunning.  They had wild birds that were put out every morning in the lobby to have some awesome sounds every morning.  

This time we are staying at the Marina Bay Sands.  It is really a staple of Singapore...and I have wanted to stay there every time we have gone...but it just doesn't work out...as our office is too far away. Our conference is actually AT this hotel though so I get to stay:

Yes it is a boat on the top....pretty cool even though i am not sure that it is real.  I am always amazed at Singapore, as there is such an intermixing of cultures and people.  The food is an interesting mix of different cultures.  By the numbers, it's roughly 74% Chinese, 13% ethnic Malay, 9% Indian, and 3% Eurasian. So I definitely can't wait to get some good eats. 

This is of course not to mention the Singapore Sling a pretty interesting cocktail made famous from the Raffles Hotel, a really really cool hotel that I have gone each time to have some drinks at:

Hotel is really cool looking too:

I will post pics and stuff as the week goes on.  I am also looking forward to seeing some friends that my wife and I met on our travels down in South America.  Random meeting, but we always get together for a meal and a drink whenever we can. Should be an amazing week, I can't wait for it! Sadly this post has only taken up 30 minutes of my remaining time.