Hola!

24 hours ago, I was strolling towards the departure gate for flight NW 06 from Changi to Narita. After a surprisingly pleasant flight, a fling on route 101, and lunch at a Vietnamese restaurant, it's 1320 on Friday(I left at 0600 Friday, Singapore time) and I'm rapidly succumbing to jetlag.

But before I take a much needed nap, I would like to recount the past day's journey. Security at Changi gives a whole new meaning to the word paranoid. Yes, I know there have been attempts to blow up planes with some strange concoction of fluid smuggled onboard, but our dear friends at Changi should really be sent to Narita to observe how the Japanese go about dealing with the realities of a post 9/11 world. Unlike say, Ahmad or Minah at Changi, the Japanese are actually *gasps* POLITE when they request to check your luggage. They don't RUMMAGE through your personal items and ask questions that are really none of their business. And they don't ask you to TURN ON your laptop, as if to prove that it isn't some well camouflaged bomb.

Northwest Airlines was actually...good! The aircraft was new, the cabins were spacious, we arrived on schedule, the food was good(bearing in mind that I'm one of those few sick individuals who likes airline food), and the inflight entertainment was decent(they have personal video screens with audio-video on demand, but the selection of movies wasn't exactly stellar - under the 'Critic's Choice' category was one certain 'My Super Ex-Girlfriend'). Perhaps most surprisingly, the cabin crew were competent! They didn't have the same (fake)smiles worn by the Singapore Girls, some weren't exactly in the prime of youth, and some seemed strangely robotic in the way they asked passengers if they wanted tea, but they got the job done. If you called for an attendant he would answer promptly. If you asked for water or a can of apple juice, you would actually get it(the same can't be said for a great way to fly). I'd most certainly fly with Northwest again.

Narita airport was somthing of an anti-climax. Here I was, expecting some futuristic megalopolis with robots scurrying around, and what greeted me was a modest, slighty worn terminal. What is amazing is how quiet it was, even at 2 in the afternoon. The Japanese seem to have something against making noise. They also seem to have a passion for hilarious English slogans, such as the one below. Stop the copy goods! Hai!

I was very blessed to have a window seat on the second leg, as landing at San Francisco International was perhaps the most memorable one I have ever witnessed. A couple hundred miles from the California coast, I looked out at the most spectacular display of clouds I could remember seeing in a long time. The more resolute clouds clung together to form the edges of a steep cliff, while the more whimsical ones floated freely amongst them, in all manner of contours. As we approached the coast, a river of cotton in between two green valleys lay out as far as the eye could see. Hills were visible above the sweeping expanse of cloud, like mystical islands rising out of a misty sea. As we made our final descent into San Francisco airport, plunging through the low-lying clouds, the wings of the aircraft kept disappearing behind a coat of white, as if playing a game of hide and seek.

The ride from the airport to Dad's hotel in Milpitas was also an eye-opener. California is really something else. Everything seems so spread out, space never seems to be much of an issue. You're as likely to see a Bently or a Lincoln Town Car cruising down the 8 lane highway as you are a battered Toyota or Datsun.

Anyway, this will be home for the next couple of weeks. It's pretty decent. Attached toilet, kitchenette and closet(for me to hide in, of course). Oh my pretty pretty MacBook...

Dad's friend drove us a short distance away to this body of suburban shops for lunch. I had Vietnamese beef noodles. Could just as well have been in Footscray in Melbourne. Portions in America are ALWAYS bigger, even when it comes to Vietnamese. Who knows, in 17 days time, I might actually be pudgy.

I really have to go now but there's one more photo I have to post. It was in the same area as the Vietnamese restaurant and reminded me of home. Subway special for US$2.49! Any takers? I half expected to walk in and see Meng and Wei Ren sitting down somewhere, talking, laughing, and having a good time.

So far, California's been great! And I haven't even gone shopping(or indeed, to San Francisco) yet! Yet at the same time, there are things in Singapore that I'm already missing.

PS Meng you're right. All this while I've been bitching about how lousy my phone's camera is. But as you can see from these 4 pictures, the quality is pretty good once you've uploaded them to a computer...