Off to America, currently at the airport, waiting for my colleague so that we can check in. Have been so busy recently that everything is just rush rush rush, and the quality of my work is indeed suspect.. I cant just go off in peace too! Down with the flu since last week and it is still bugging me now!
Really, have to thank my boss for this opportunity. It came from his connections to the folks in HQ. Considering that I only had spent around four months in my current appointment, I am really quite fortunate to be zipping away for work, and to US - of all places!
Haha.. I have no idea what I’m going to do in Utah or San Francisco, with nothing researched thus far, and actually with work taking up most of my time, there’s not much to do but yet surprisingly, why do I have just so much luggage. I like the travel light concept but that no longer seems to be working, heh. Anyhow, this will be a 10 day break from work as would be taking an extra day of leave when I return.
Definitely looking forward to just resting at home.. Might not be a good idea but what the heck, work must go on without me, and decisions can go on without me too!
SAT 13SEP DEP SINGAPORE TERMINAL 3 0915 SQ 16 VIA SEOUL INCHEON INTL ARR SAN FRANCISCO 1230
SAT 13SEP DEP SAN FRANCISCO TERMINAL 1 1631 DL 3916 ARR SALT LAKE CITY 1919
WED 17SEP DEP SALT LAKE CITY TERMINAL 2 1456 DL 3909 ARR SAN FRANCISCO 1601
THU 18SEP DEP SAN FRANCISCO 0120 SQ 1 VIA HONG KONG FRI 19SEP ARR SINGAPORE 1140
It was an enjoyable first day for an introduction to Utah. I woke up early in the morning and took a stroll around the base. Amazed at the facilities they have inside, from a cinema, to fast food, to petrol station, 24 hr minimart and more… It was pretty cold in the morning and my jacket finally came in handy but still regret bringing it along, as it only takes up precious luggage space!
Subsequently after, we met up with Francis and his family and he brought us to Salt Lake City for Dim Sum brunch and it was actually even better than the ones I get in Singapore, haha… it was pretty authentic tasting and well worth its price with the 6 of us paying around 50-60 USD. It was the standard dim sum fare with siew mai, carrot cake, pau, etc etc. The place was ran by Hongkongers which pretty much explain for the authencity of the dishes. And that was that for breakfast and we set off to a day of shopping at Tanger Outlet Center, Park City, Utah. It was just like any other mall, prices were definitely cheaper and I managed to get the stuff I wanted so that was a good thing. The one thing I enjoyed so far is really the service quality in US. It is so much better than Singapore, perhaps the people are more friendly and I know the sales assistants are in a way, expected to behave as such but it doesn’t come across as overly forced.
So after one afternoon of shopping, we headed back to Salt Lake City and straight to Salt Lake Capitol, which provided a magnificent view of the entire city. It was very grand and one could easy identify why the location was chosen as the State Building. The interior was also very nice and we spend some time just walking around and marvelling at the architecture construct.
Temple Square was next and while I am not familiar with the whole Mormon / Christian thing, there was a strong religious influence in Salt Lake or Utah in general and this place just reinforces it. As above, it was architecturally very grand and it would be quite cool to listen to one of the choir performances in the various halls as they were all very proud of the acoustic modelling of the place.
Dinner was at an Italian Restaurant, authentic and delicious. That sorta close the chapter on the touring of Utah as the next couple of days would be just work. Night was the usual networking dinner mostly but it was usually small group affairs. On the last day, we had a 6 hour transit over at San Francisco and we took the train down to the famous Fisherman Wharf and took in the sights of the city. San Francisco looked way much more fun than Utah.
It was a great trip. I learnt a lot, both work and more. Work trips are the best, a break away from work without consuming any leave :).