It was election time in Malaysia. May 5th 2013, when my family and I could have enjoyed our vacation to Manila. The long awaited trip had to be cancelled due to the unexpected date of the polling. So, instead of Manila, I ended flying back to my hometown, Lahad Datu.
Avoiding a long queue, my siblings and I decided to go right after lunch, while many would be having their lunch then. Happily, we joined the line.
Within less than half hour, I went home with a colored finger. WAIT..!!!! Dont be mistaken..THAT IS NOT A MIDDLE FINGER…!
4 days later, I was already boarding another flight to Los Angeles, with a very short transit in Narita.
It was such a long haul of about 20hrs journey that I was not in a mood to snap photographs until I touched down at
Tom Bradley International Terminal, LA.
Good to have another 2 of my colleagues, Gina and Anuar travelling with me.
The 1st thing attracted our attention was the vending machine that sells computer gadget, including camera and mobile phone, placed by the entrance of LA airport.
8 hours to our next flight to Atlanta gave us so much time to venture the airport area. Everything seemed expensive. The cheapest we could find was key chain About USD6 x 3= RM18. We bought some as souvenirs.
Next we walked out to search for checkin counter, but all we found were checkin kiosks. We did our checkin and enjoyed the outside weather.
Look !! a restaurant that looks like one in Star Track..!! My colleague pointed.
There, we went………..
I looked at my time. It was 6am Malaysian time, but in LA,it was almost dinner. Hmm… lets just order something light.. Clam Chowder USD8x3=RM24 and Edamame USD8x3=RM24. That how our mind was calculation whenever we looked at price. We ended paying USD37x3=RM111
At the end of the 8 hours waiting, we boarded Delta Airline to Atlanta. Another 4.5hrs flight.
No…no… that was not the final destination. We had to board on a small airplane (Fokker) From Atlanta to Ronoake. Another 3.5hours to sit in flight. huhhh…. It was 8:30am on Saturday when we landed in Ronoake.
Tim was there waited patiently for us. He was the same nice guy who fetched us during our last trip to this place 3 years ago. Tim looks as young as our last meeting, while me and my partner are aging like nobody’s business :-(
It took 45 minutes drive to our final destination, Blacksburg, passing by Christianburg, Virginia, the shopping place.
It was yet a time for shopping. That day was for time and mind bearing adjustment.
As soon as we reached Blacksburg, we walked about half a mile to the grocery store, Kroger.
Milk, shrimp cocktail, pickled gherkins, strawberry, cereals and instant noodles are among those in our shopping bags.
uhhh..!! heavy, but lucky for us…it was a nice cooling weather.
The rest of the Saturday evening was for ZZzzzz….zzz….
The next morning (Sunday)..free at leisure…!! but we didnt have transport and it was raining and ggrrrrr….rrr….colder than the day before. so… Zzzzz..zzzz…..
Wake up..!! its time to meet the boss…….!
Nabil, our colleague from Barcelona gave us a wakeup call. By 4pm we have got to be at our boss’s house.
Wow…….that's all I could express as we reached the ranch.
We received a very warm welcome from the host and his family.
By 6pm, we were all seated and ready for dinner at one of Indian restaurant in town.
The following day, we were awaken by a loud speaker asking all hotel guests to go out of the hotel. I was in the washroom trying to figure out what to wear on that 1st day of work. The voice from the loud speaker helps indeed. I grabbed the shirt, got myself dressed, grabbed the shawl and rushed out.
A few were earlier than me. In a few minutes, a fire truck arrived.
False alarm…
Upon getting an ‘okay’ from the loud speaker, we all rushed back to the room and got ready for work.
That day and the day after…and the day after…and the day after…. were strictly business, from breakfast to dinner time.
Discussion…
Discussion………..
Dinner..
We hardly have time to mingle, except in between, during the break or early morning before the meeting start.
Everyday we kept on wondering if we ever get a chance to shop.
On the 3rd day, at last, Nabil, was willing to drive us to Christianburg.
Passing by the houses reminded me of Terre Haute, Indiana.
The University buildings are looking great and neat.
15 minutes later we reached the departmental store, The Ross.
“OK guys 20 minutes only…we don't want to be late for dinner gathering….” Nabil instructed.
hah..??!!!! what could be stuffed into the trolley within 20 minutes???
We all rushed all over the store looking for anything that is made in USA. None! We ended with items made in China, Cambodia, Indonesia and also Malaysia. Not much we could bring to the cashier.
That was called shopping.
On the 4th day, we left the office earlier. Others went shopping, while Gina and I could not join as our time were booked to meet up with our Finance Director. He and his wife, Sharon treated us for dinner.
Thanks Sharon and George..!.
Along the way, Sharon drove us around, passing by the cute little down town of Blacksburg.
Passing by pretty ladies.
It was a nice and sunny day.
The following day was a time for us to leave.
We left on Friday Morning and reached Kuala Lumpur on Sunday at dawn.
Unlike the previous trip, this trip was too tiring for me. It took me almost a week to re-adjust my sleeping time. Age is catching up.!
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