Help Dannette to Win!

So as part of our life in Singapore, we still try to do the "normal" stuff.  Part of Dannette's 13th bday was tickets to the Justin Bieber concert here in Singapore.  Please vote.  Voting will go until April 30th, the most likes wins the life size figure of him.


http://www.facebook.com/media/set/fbx/?set=o.159300480788770#!/photo.php?fbid=1694051475620&set=o.159300480788770&type=1&theater

Korea and Taiwan

Taipei, Taiwan

I am once again behind on the blog and feeling the need to catch up.  I honestly had not given the blog much thought as I have been enjoying my approximately 6 weeks without travel!  So upon coming back from my Korea/Taiwan trip, the last thing I wanted to do was blog about it.
The time has come though for my travel to again begin.  I will be leaving for a quick two day trip on Easter evening to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.  I am really looking forward to seeing Vietnam. After that it's the trip I am probably most excited about.....a week back in Chicago.  This was a surprise trip as I have been asked to take on a new project which involves bringing our new medical directors to Chicago to introduce them to Headquarters. This is a project currently scheduled twice per year.  It is a task that is handled by one of my colleagues from Germany but they decided to get a back-up person so  that she doesn't have to make the trip each time. After that it's a trip to Marlow, England just outside of London near Windsor.  A location that Dannette and I love.  We visited Windsor nearly 8 years ago now.  It will be one week after the Royal Wedding so I am excited to be part of the festivities.
Everything here is good.  Weather is nice as always, John is really getting his bike rides in and Dannette is looking forward to her last 6 weeks of school.  None of us can believe that summer is nearly here!
For those that don't know, we have made a critical decision to bring our beloved 4 year old German Shepherd to Singapore and he will be joining us on our return flight from Chicago at the end of July.  Luckily, we were able to investigate the quarantine options and found a way for him to only be quarantined for 10 days upon his arrival instead of the 30 days originally planned.
I digress though, this post was about  South Korea and Taiwan.  I really enjoyed this trip.  While it seemed a long 5 days to be away, both countries were among my favorite!  South Korea was such an interesting place to go as it's the furthest north I have gone thus far in Asia.  It was on the cool side compared to what I have become accustomed to as it was in the mid-50's, but it was the amazing views that got me. The city of Seoul is set in a way that you see great views of the ocean on your drive from the airport but have breathtaking views of some mountains in the distance. The city itself was similar to most Asian cities I have been too.  I will say it was clean and did not seem near as crowded and frantic as Shanghai or even Hong Kong. My work colleagues went out of their way to have me sample some delicious Korean food.  My favorite was a Korean BBQ dinner.  Along with sampling 10 mini appetizers including several types of kimchee (think pickled cabbage), the highlight of the meal was the Korean BBQ beef.  This is cooked on a charcoal grill set into the center of the table where the most deliciously marinated beef strips are grilled by your waitress in front of you.  I would really like to find a Korean BBQ here in Singapore to take John and the girls to as I think they would fall in love with the food.

Waiting for my bubble tea order at a street stall in Taiwan

Taiwan, was the polar opposite of South Korea. A short flight of just under two hours from Seoul, Taiwan is an island off the coast of China.  While it does have seasons, it was considerably warmer than Seoul as it was already well into their Spring season.  I loved Taiwan.  It was crowded and a bit hectic but in a way that I found very appealing.  I found myself wandering the small streets between my office and the hotel and enjoyed watching the people.  The streets were an interesting mix of people, motorbikes and tons of foot traffic.  I took some pictures on a trip to a bubble tea stand near the office over lunch.  They were only captured with my Blackberry but I think it did a good job of capturing the average street.