Feb 24 - Feb 26

Keeping with the tradition of my last trip, I am starting the blog for this trip with a recounting of the flight out. Last time, we flew from Phoenix, to LA, to Hong Kong and then to Jakarta. That route resulted with more layover time - a few hours in Hong Kong - but the legs of each connecting flight were nicely split. This time, our route was Phoenix, LA, Singapore, Jakarta with a few hours in LA but none to speak of in Singapore. What does that mean - nearly 19 hours on a flight only to arrive at an airport and take another flight 90 minutes later without enough time to shower, use the restroom or any other "luxury" of life. So, when we finally did arrive, I was the first to recommend we retire to our rooms for showers before meeting. I was offended by my own smell so I can only imagine how the others felt.

Now, as I've said before, the company I work for takes excellent care of its employees and that is especially true when we travel. So, it's tough to complain even when things go wrong, and I hate to start my trip with some complaining, but....

1) Singapore Airlines is not as good as Cathay Pacific - or even American Airlines. The staff was tremendous, but the "perks" were lacking. Both CP and AA provided a toiletry bag to those of us in Business Class that included, among other things, a toothbrush and toothpaste. We can't really carry these on now with the new travel rules, so it came in handy when you wake up from a fitful airplane sleep. Singapore Airlines provided slippers and a sleep mask.

2) The passenger next to me was brutal. He was a nice enough guy, and, as seems to be a trend with American companies doing business in SE Asia, he worked in the natural resources industry and did business with my company. We chatted a bit and got along quite well....until he went to sleep. Thank God the airline provided the Bose noise reduction headphones and at least one, soothing classical radio station to listen to because this guy's snoring was horribly loud. If it were just the snoring, I probably wouldn't be writing about it. Couple the snoring with a case of halitosis that made me question if the air flowing through the cabin had some how mingled with the waste disposal from the restrooms and we have a situation that had me trying to time the intake of air with his intake of air so I didn't faint. And although I cannot confirm if I was in a sleep daze or if I truly did see what I thought I saw, I think in one of my waking moments when I had to adjust to the new direction of his airflow, I swear I saw a bare, naked, hairy chest just inches from my face. I mean, do they really let you sleep without a shirt on?

3) SE Asian airlines never have food I can eat. For most of you, the menu in business class was top notch - lobster, crab legs, roast duck. For me, it's a death sentence, so I get stuck eating the veggie dish. I ate more fruits and vegetables on this 19 hour flight than I typically do in a week.

All said and done, we arrived safely, we arrived on time, and our luggage all arrived with us. So, it's tough to seriously complain.

Like last trip, I am travelling with colleagues. It's been good cultivating our relationship because I haven't had much interaction with them since I began working with this organization other than when I've been a situation where I needed to complain about something. It's nice to have an opportunity to just discuss how we're each handling the new challenges with the merger, our families, as well as our thoughts on the project we are out here to kick start - implementing a global Help Desk system.

We're spending the first few days of our trip in Jakarta, then flying out to Timika on the Papua island of Indonesia for the second week. During the second week I will get the opportunity to finally see our marquee asset - the Grasburg mine. I'm pretty excited about seeing one of the great marvels of the world, as well as working with our Indonesia team once again. After the trip to Timika, my colleagues return home while I return to Jakarta for another two weeks where we'll, hopefully, make tremendous progress on updating the existing Help Desk system to prepare it to become a global application.

A few other random items for today:

1) It's 1 PM in Jakarta and I'm dog tired. When we arrived, I was full of energy, but now that it is 11:15 PM where I came from (Phoenix), my body is going into shut-down mode. I'm going to fight it until 8-ish....I hope.

2) This is my colleague's first trip internationally for any reason. Since they only have 3 days in Jakarta, these next few evenings may be packed with outings so they can take in the city.

3) It's the rainy season. We were told that for the mine site, that means it will rain 3-6 inches per day instead of the normal 1-2 inches. In Jakarta, it's been raining since we arrived (it was raining in Singapore, too). I'm on the top floor at the Ritz, and as I write this, I'm seeing lightening flashes and hearing the thunder clap simultaneously. I have a corner room, so I'm able to see the storm from many vantage points. When the wind blows, my windows rattle. I hope the rain stops before I go to sleep, though something tells me it isn't going to matter.

4) Before I left, I asked our CIO - who spent 6 years in Jakarta before relocating to Phoenix after the acquisition - what I should do while I'm here. He recommended a drive-through zoo that sounds fascinating, so I'll probably try that my second weekend in Indonesia.

We're meeting for lunch, shortly, to create an agenda for the next two days while we're in Jakarta to ensure we maximize the time my colleagues have. I will try to update the blog each day, though my travel schedule may cause me to miss a few, and I'm not sure what access will be like at the mine site, so bear with me.