The Crossing of Two Major Oceans

Just like the title states, it took a total of 18 hours and the crossing of two major oceans to finally get to where I am right now... and that would be in the great country of Singapore. Normally when you're on a plane for that long, you tend to lose track of time... or the date for that matter. Plus, we had to make a stopover in Narita, Japan. I'm not sure if that's standard with all flights coming in and out of Singapore... but for those who haven't flown here before and plan to do so: It takes 11 hours to get to Japan, and 7 hours after that initial flight to get to Singapore. From what I'm looking at, I touched down in Singapore roughly around 3 AM.

Whenever I travel overseas, my goal is to get business done first.

That's the primary reason why I'm here. I'm serving as a liaison for my film production company, and interestingly enough, our corporate headquarters is located in Singapore. As the Los Angeles executive producer, I'm definitely looking forward to meeting the core group of guys that founded the production company. Also, I'm here to talk deals with the production of Singapore's new feature film slated to be released before next Spring. There are other reasons why I'm over here, but we'll get to that when we cross that bridge.

My production partner who is a native Singaporean drew me up a list of places to visit, shop, and eat. For anyone else who is a world traveler like me, you'll probably understand that it's always a personal mission to complete a list.

As a typical tourist, you generally want to take snapshots of everything you find interesting. I'm going to make a strong effort to take as many pictures as I can on this trip.

I'm currently staying at the Marina Mandarin hotel, which is a great hotel all around. I wrote a review about it with this entry, so feel free to read more about it. It's in the Marina Centre, and it's not too far away from the essentials in Singapore (Suntec City Mall, Singapore Performing Arts Centre, shopping malls, outlets, MRT stops). I'm fascinated by the way the hotel is constructed, and I obviously had to grab snapshots of it. I'm currently experimenting with the subways and other modes of transportation, but everything makes sense when you look at it.

Even if you have trouble, all you really have to do is ask and you'll get decent advice! Surprisingly, everybody here speaks great English... so it's not like typical Asian countries like China or Japan.

Off the top of my head, here are some of the places that I've stopped at while I've been here so far. Going down Orchard Road is going to work up quite an appetite, and when you're hungry, you're HUNGRY! Crystal Jade Golden Palace is a place that was recommended to me, and I have to say that I was not disappointed at all! I usually have no expectations when it comes to Chinese food, but this place really made my day. Not only is the food outstanding, but the service is top-notch! I highly recommend stopping here for those of who that plan to come here. Obviously there are going to be many decent Chinese restaurants as you pass through the area, but this is definitely a great stop! I'll be giving you more updates as I go along, but I'm pressed for time and I have to go right now.