Rockin

There’s a band called Shaggy that plays at a bar near the hotel. They. Are. Awesome. They can play a huge genre of songs... top 40 to 80’s & 90’s, even an incredible rendition of Bohemian Rhapsody. It was my first time going to watch them play on Tuesday night and it just so happened that one of our very own from the client side was doing a guest performance on stage with them too (he’s in a band back in San Francisco)! As background, this has been a really really really long project. I was in Amsterdam for 2 of the cycles and now I’m in Singapore for the last cycle, but some people have been in Singapore for all 3 cycles, so I guess the guy from my project and the band got to talking at some point over the past 6 months and they invited him to join them for a few songs. I took a video of the band (a pretty terrible video, but good sound quality nonetheless - before the guest performance)
I’m also posting a few pictures showing my colleague on stage – he’s the base guitarist on the far right.



In other news….. I finally got status and made it into the Club Swiss Gold Rewards club at the Swissotel. Woohoo. I think that entitles me to free upgrades and the executive lounge, but it doesn’t really matter because I’m checking out tomorrow. No I’m not flying back to the states... per my previous update, I won’t be flying back for another week (landing in Dallas the morning of March 21st). We don’t have a work this weekend though so some of us have decided to go to (drum roll)

THAILAND!

I booked my flight yesterday and reserved my hotel room today – how’s that for spontaneity??? We fly out Friday around 6:30 (a little under a 2 hour flight), and then fly back to Singapore Sunday night. We’re going to Phuket rather than Bangkok because Phuket has nicer beaches and according to some of the people at the office, Bangkok is "just a bunch of hookers." lovely. lol. Here's a map of where Phuket is located in proximity to Bangkok and Singapore...

I haven't thought too much about an agenda for the weekend besides maybe a massage, snorkeling, riding an elephant, and enjoying the serenity :) I think we might take an excursion over to the Phi Phi Islands (also known as James Bond Island). My research says that "Phi Phi is Thailand's island-superstar. It's been in the movies, and it's the topic of conversation for travelers all over Thailand. Phi Phi's beauty is a large chunk of the allure. The islands, when approached by boat, rise from the sea like a fortress. Sheer cliffs tower overhead, then give way to beach-fronted jungle. Secondly, it's the attitude: few places on the planet are this laid-back. Of the two islands, one is completely free of human inhabitants (Phi Phi Lei), and the other is without roads (Phi Phi Don). There's no schedule, no hustle-and-bustle, no reason to be in a hurry."

Yes, I will make sure to wear lots of sunscreen :)