Singapore has become our home away from our home away from home. To a large degree, I feel I know Singapore better than I know Phoenix! This trip, however, is unlike any of our prior trips: the incentives are mixed.
My wife and I vacillated on whether I should make this trip alone or if the family should come with me. We're always up for a trip to Singapore, even if just for a few days. We often make mini-vacations out of our frequent medical trips because insurance pays for the airfare and lodging, and we make up the difference for adding the kids, meals, etc. Taking this approach has minimized the time we spend apart. If we knew for sure I'd be here one day, I would have come by myself. Because there is a chance I'll be here a full week, we eventually decided everyone should come along.
So for this trip we're in a quandary. We can all use some extended time away from Jakarta. But I'm on medical leave, not vacation. If my test tomorrow comes back negative - which is good news - we return to Jakarta tomorrow so I can be back at work on Tuesday. If the test confirms the original results - which is bad news - my family will remain in Singapore as I begin treatment. In order to get the enjoyment of staying longer in Singapore, I need a positive test for glaucoma. Poor incentives.
We tried to start this trip off on the right footing. We left Jakarta early afternoon. This allowed us to sleep in normally and even have a traditional Sunday morning in Jakarta. We arrived in Singapore while it was still daylight and had dinner at a normal time. Plane was mostly empty, we were no worse than third in line at check-in and immigration in Jakarta and Singapore. No waiting for a taxi once we landed and no traffic on the ride to the hotel. The timing was great.
Unfortunately, my son has added a new wrinkle to our travels. For the first time, as he watched the plane leave the ground, he absolutely flipped out. He didn't calm down until we closed the window shades and he could no longer see outside. The process repeated itself when we opened our shades for landing - a regulatory mandate. After all of our traveling he has apparently developed a fear of heights. I can only hope this is temporary. It's not exactly easy to reason with a sixteen-month-old.
In any event, we're back in Singapore staying at the Shangri-La Hotel. My daughter had the same reaction as our last stay here. This time, instead of one of the tower rooms, we're in one of the more exclusive "Garden Wing" rooms. Totally inadvertent. Apparently my secretary and I miscommunicated. I also didn't pay close attention to the details when she gave me my itinerary. So I'm paying $100 more per night than I had intended. It's quite nice, and, with the new baby in July drastically reducing our travel opportunities, we weren't going to use my full travel allowance for the year, anyway, so I don't mind the additional indulgence.
So I guess now we just have to hope we stay long enough to enjoy it? Ugh, what to wish for....
My wife and I vacillated on whether I should make this trip alone or if the family should come with me. We're always up for a trip to Singapore, even if just for a few days. We often make mini-vacations out of our frequent medical trips because insurance pays for the airfare and lodging, and we make up the difference for adding the kids, meals, etc. Taking this approach has minimized the time we spend apart. If we knew for sure I'd be here one day, I would have come by myself. Because there is a chance I'll be here a full week, we eventually decided everyone should come along.
So for this trip we're in a quandary. We can all use some extended time away from Jakarta. But I'm on medical leave, not vacation. If my test tomorrow comes back negative - which is good news - we return to Jakarta tomorrow so I can be back at work on Tuesday. If the test confirms the original results - which is bad news - my family will remain in Singapore as I begin treatment. In order to get the enjoyment of staying longer in Singapore, I need a positive test for glaucoma. Poor incentives.
We tried to start this trip off on the right footing. We left Jakarta early afternoon. This allowed us to sleep in normally and even have a traditional Sunday morning in Jakarta. We arrived in Singapore while it was still daylight and had dinner at a normal time. Plane was mostly empty, we were no worse than third in line at check-in and immigration in Jakarta and Singapore. No waiting for a taxi once we landed and no traffic on the ride to the hotel. The timing was great.
Unfortunately, my son has added a new wrinkle to our travels. For the first time, as he watched the plane leave the ground, he absolutely flipped out. He didn't calm down until we closed the window shades and he could no longer see outside. The process repeated itself when we opened our shades for landing - a regulatory mandate. After all of our traveling he has apparently developed a fear of heights. I can only hope this is temporary. It's not exactly easy to reason with a sixteen-month-old.
In any event, we're back in Singapore staying at the Shangri-La Hotel. My daughter had the same reaction as our last stay here. This time, instead of one of the tower rooms, we're in one of the more exclusive "Garden Wing" rooms. Totally inadvertent. Apparently my secretary and I miscommunicated. I also didn't pay close attention to the details when she gave me my itinerary. So I'm paying $100 more per night than I had intended. It's quite nice, and, with the new baby in July drastically reducing our travel opportunities, we weren't going to use my full travel allowance for the year, anyway, so I don't mind the additional indulgence.
So I guess now we just have to hope we stay long enough to enjoy it? Ugh, what to wish for....
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