Day 2 and Gala

I woke up at 4:38 am and that was it….I was up.   I got on line caught up on the Sox (I guess they really were going to blow it) and started reading email.  It turned out that Sally and Fiona were also up and we ended up meeting for breakfast at 7.

The morning sessions were relevant to the whole theme of the conference and actually seemed to be building up steam towards my talk on Thursday.   I was very concerned about my talk as it wasn’t mine, but rather the standards organization that I had been working with for the past year.  In fact there were elements that I just wasn’t comfortable discussing like “Supply Chain.”

Meanwhile I was attending and participating in relevant sessions and having important business meetings.   From a business perspective, this conference had been going quite well, but I didn’t get a chance to go downtown or out so far and it didn’t look like that was much in the cards.

After the days sessions were over Sally, Eric, Steve, and Mike joined me in one of the rooms to rehearse my talk.   It went awful;  I was nervous, didn’t know the topic stumbled quite a bit and in general felt stupid.    Why hadn’t I prepared better?  This wasn’t my content but I needed to make it mine.  I had little time to update the slides; tonight was the gala and I was delivering my talk the next morning.  

David and Ray

As usual everybody gets dressed up the Gala Dinner.  I had my blue suit (it is amazing how well it has held up both in style and substance I think I bought it in 1996!) and headed down to meet my friends.      Of course I made the mistake of leaving my camera with my friends and they took some pix that I would have not taken, but boys will be boys.  My revenge to them is posting this pic on the world wide web.... I was supposed to sit at a table with others who were receiving certificates but I was not going to do that.     One of the main reasons I enjoy this conference are the friends I’ve made—and the laughs we have at these dinners.

The entertainment blended in dance and cultural re-creations of ancient native rituals.   Malaysia is a melting pot of Chinese, Indian and Aboriginal peoples, and all three were represented in the program.     At the end of the entertainment some of the VIPs were invited up to dance with the performers including Andras, Murray and Nithya.

Soup

The food was a 10 course meal of which the highlight was the soup and many of the other dishes were just not for me.    Seven of the dishes were some kind of seafood; dessert looked like eyeballs floating in brine.   They also couldn’t make up their minds if we were eating family style or sit down.   There was a “lazy susan” in the middle of the table, and they would put the dish on it.  Then we would all get little plates and one of the waiters would then serve the food from the pot.  Meanwhile NO liquor was in the cards (this is a Muslim country and a state sponsored dinner—they could not officially provide alcohol).  Room temperature water and tea was all they offered.  This was by far the worst gala dinner in the five years that I had been coming to this conference.

Meanwhile they passed out some of the ~97 certificates including four for me.      I was accepting two from the Canadian authority and two from NSA.   

I found out as the dinner was ending that Adam, Gene and Jen had somehow smuggled in a bottle of wine.     They invited me to join them and I had a glass at their table.  We talked for some time about business…then moved to the bar.  People were partying and the entertainment (which reminded me of JeJu  very much was in full swing.   Murray was showing off his ball room moves and eventually the minister did the same.    I was wishing I was hanging with my buddies but the business discussions were pretty important.    Finally I looked at the time and it was 12:30am.  I knew what I had to do to make the presentation “mine.”  So I thanked Adam for the drinks and headed up to my room.   There I spent the next two hours revising my talk.   I finally crashed at around 2:45 feeling much better about my talk the next day.

Day 1 of the conference (Tuesday)

I woke up at 4:38am worried about some conference stuff.  I was now going to be leading a meeting of one of the ad hoc groups called the CC Forum.  The last meeting at RSA had been an unmitigated disaster so I was worried about how it would be this time.   I did some work, caught up on email and the Red Sox (what the hell?) and headed down to breakfast at around 7.

The conference started at 9 and the "Minister" was delayed so they went right into the Keynotes.  Both the people doing them were friends so I actually enjoyed them alot.    There was also a panel which I did not enjoy (too many participants) then at the break, Jen cornered me to figure out how to handle the meeting that I was really worried about.    But an epiphany came to me about how to defuse a tense situation;  and this went over really well with her as well.      Unfortunately while I was with Jen I missed the opening ceremonies however I did capture him arriving with his entourage.

The afternoon were sessions and meetings.   These went pretty well, but I suddenly started experiencing intense pain in my jaw, just below both ears.  Sally gave me some Aleve and this aleveated the problem a bit (sorry couldn't resist).  Sally thought the stress of the meeting that night plus lack of sleep might have been the cause.

Well the meeting couldn't have gone better;  people applauded and got alot of complements on my approach.  I then headed to the Chinese restaurant in the hotel with Andras, Fiona and Sally.    We ordered way too much food, and it was extremely cold in the restaurant.    Also the pain came back (Sally gave me some more Aleve).   But all in all a good day.  After dinner (nothing remarkable about it)....I headed up and thought about writing this blog, but I was so beat that I read for a bit and crashed.

Monday, day before the conference...

Sleep was so good on Sunday night.    The bed is super firm and comfortable and the room is very quiet.   So I crashed around 11.    Waking at around 7:30 (after my alarm had gone off at 7) I headed downstairs for breakfast.  Today I was determined to at least try to eat right.   I had an egg white omelet and a piece of wheat bread.  The coffee was very good.   Interestingly, I was told that Malaysians do not grow coffee beans and that they import them from Brazil!  I ended up eating with Murray...yes the same guy who was chattering away with me on my way to the gate in Istanbul last year and a woman named Stephanie from France who I had met yesterday on the elevator.  She claimed she remembered me but I didn't remember her.    She said she was walking with me and Murray last year at the airport, but as you can see from my blog post, I have NO recollection.   Probably its because Murray had been blabbing on the whole time.  Well nothing has changed about him.     After Murray left ,Stephanie invited me to go touring and I accepted...but I also asked if Eric could come.
First I had a business call at 10 with some of my co-workers in Singapore.  After the call I went downstairs and went to lunch with Stephanie and Eric....David met us at the restaurant.  We went to L Table  which was like a Panera Bread at that mall.  I had a grill cheese (comfort food!!).     It turned out the tour didn't start until 2pm so I had time to run upstairs and write my blog (yesterday's entry).

We took off at 2 in a taxi....the tour was a pre-paid 3 hour tour.  Our guide was going to take us to see the Patronas Towers, an authentic native home, a pewter factory, a place where they hand stain/paint scarfs, wall hangings and other items, a chocolate factory, and an ancient cave now used as a place of worship.

First we went to this old house.   We couldn't get inside but it was interesting....

Then we went to get a couple of shots of the Patronas.   Unfortunately visitors are not allowed at this time, so we could only take shots from outside.   I actually thought it was cooler from night time than day.

Next we went to a place where they make wall hangings, and clothes etc.  They gave a very brief demonstration followed by the big sales pitch.    I bought a little outfit for Edie and Eric spent like $300 on a wall hanging depicting a dragon.
Then we sped off again to the pewter factory.  Again with the brief demo and then the big sales pitch.

Finally we headed to the big attraction, the famous Batu Caves.    The best description of what its like is the link to the Wikipedia...do check it out.    The steps were quite scary and treacherous, but my ankle held up.

When we got the top the monkeys appeared.  At first they appeared quite tame but  a girl was holding a can of pringles and the monkey jumped at her and she dropped the can.  He promptly opened it (correctly I might add) and quite hilariously started eating the chips.  I had a meeting of the minds with one of his colleagues, and Stephanie filmed my encounter.

Over all the cave was definitely the highlight.   Looking up I was amazed, it looked like something you would see in King Kong or Indiana Jones.

After the cave, we got back and Stephanie headed immediately for her massage.   I met up with Eric, Mark, Erin, David, Ray and we headed into the mall for dinner.  
Now this mall is attached to the hotel and seems bigger then any that I have been to including the mall of America.  We ended up at a very nice Vietnamese place for dinner.   When I got back I headed up to my room to crash....

Sunday

After my last entry, I decided to head down to the restaurant and see if anyone was around.    I found Jane and her friend Carmen and we started chatting about travel, the conference stuff etc.     I actually ended up getting a 2^nd breakfast even though I had already eaten just a couple of hours earlier on the plane.    I  was clearly off my diet and knew I would be paying for it later.

I headed back to the lobby and Erin and Mark from Canada showed up.    They wanted to head to lunch but I had just eaten so I sat there, exhausted thinking about sleep.    Eric stopped by and I decided to check and see if my room was ready.   It was so I headed upstairs for a shower.     My room is very nice…I got an Executive Deluxe room which basically means I have a King bed.    As I had seen in last year’s conference in Turkey, you need to keep a card in the power slot to keep the air conditioning on…but this time it works just fine.  

I felt  a bit better then, so I decided to join Eric for lunch and a search for shaving cream (he forgot it).    Literally attached to the hotel is the largest mall I have ever seen (and I have been to the Mall of America).      We first stopped for lunch at a crowded restaurant called Canton-i.  I wanted to go there because they had ducks and geese hanging from the windows.  I decided to order the goose with roast pork and rice.  Well to say it was fatty would hardly be giving it the due it deserves.     Considering I have been limiting myself to 10 grams of saturated fat a day, lets just say I probably went over my monthly allowance in that one sitting.   But it was very flavorful and certainly memorable.   Then Eric and I spent literally 45 minutes wandering around the mall trying to find him some shaving cream.    Finally in the bowels of the bottom of this tremendous mall we found a tiny pharmacy…which had shaving cream behind the counter.  At this point I was feeling it and told Eric I was going to crash and I would meet him later.    I headed up to bed and my stomach started telling me “don’t be a dope and eat stuff that is going to sit badly.”  So unable to sleep I decided to check out the massages.  Now those of you who follow this blog know that last year  I had quite an experience at the Turkish bath in Antalya.   This was not nearly as interesting an experience but the Thai Aromatic massage that I did have was very refreshing.   I would describe it as a deep massage that also relaxes the brain.    It starts off with a nice cup of probably green tea.  Then I changed into a black mesh bikini.   Sorry for the picture but that’s how they roll here…the masseuse came in and turned the lights down, started the music (Asian New Age?) and started on the back.   I literally felt my muscles popping into alignment.   The massage was 90 minutes and I felt completely refreshed.

I headed up and I had a text from Wes that people were meeting for dinner around 6:30 in the lobby.      So it was seven of us and Mark and I went to the Concierge to ask about restaurants.   He asked what we wanted and Mark said authentic.  I said I wanted a place that would be memorable.  The concierge asked if we wanted traditional or western.  Mark immediately said traditional.   He suggested that we go to KG Baru, which he said was a place where we could walk around and pick a restaurant.   They called two cabs for us and we told our driver to take us to KG Baru and to follow the other cab.  Immediately they became separated and 15 minutes later we pulled up to what I would call a “local” establishment area.   The immediate scent as we exited the cab was a strong smell of rotting fish, spices and garbage.  

It was a poorly lit street with a couple of fruit stands, a flip flop/crocs store ($1 for crocs!) and several outdoor restaurants.     We stood out big time….and immediately started to feel uncomfortable.  

Walking around and seeing raw meat on a stick and cats fighting over garbage started to give everybody a bad feeling.   After a bit, I suggested we walk towards the Patronas Towers which appeared to be just a couple of blocks away .  Maybe there we could find a safer area with something edible.   Instead we ended up literally at a dead end with barbed wire and a 30 foot wall which was the border of the freeway.     We would have to head back to the start of the neighborhood and get a cab.   

 No one bothered us and we eventually flagged down cabs.   We got into ours and it was like a 25 year old K car.   The driver said  to ignore his wife sitting in the passenger seat in the front.  Eric, Mark and I climbed into the back and said take us to the One World Hotel.  He had no idea where that was, so we handed him a card with a map , phone and an address.  Still that wasn’t enough.  He started arguing with his his wife and she made a call.  Then he jumped on the highway and it seemed like every exit, hHe would stop in the median and argue with his wife.  At one point the scene was so ridiculous that I decided to film a bit of it for posterity.

Then I got a text from Ray (the other group) that their taxi was lost as well!!  45 minutes later we finally pulled up to the hotel.     We headed upstairs to the Japanese restaurant and I had a lovely dragon roll.  Ray and the guys showed up about 20 minutes after us.

I crashed shortly after that….

The long leg

I'm writing this from the One World Hotel just outside of Kuala Lumpur.  Its about 10:30am KL time.    The flight from London was super long.  I ended up watching The Hangover (which I had seen a couple of times) and The Trip (starring Steve Coogan) which was kind of a foodie version of Sideways.    I needed to laugh and I really liked the The Trip.  The impressions are just hilarious.    
As far as the actual flight goes, I actually would say the food was better on Malaysian Air vs Virgin, but the seat was definitely more comfortable on VA.   What can I say,  if you can convert to a bed that is a huge advantage!   Malaysian cuisine is very much like Thai, with an Indian twist (more spicy).     So I think I will do ok here for food.
After landing customs and getting bags etc were unremarkable and easy since I had the "Fast Lane" pass from being in biz class.   Coach is really a step down from biz class in SO many ways.   
On the ride from the airport to the hotel in my car the only thing that was really shocking to me was we passed a car in which the driver had a baby on his lap!!  In the US if you did that you would be arrested!
I should be getting into my room soon and taking a nap.   My plans this afternoon are unclear, but I won't be doing much.

Revivals Lounge Heathrow

The flight was very smooth and comfortable.  Food was just ok...I decided to order the beef and it was OVER cooked.    I did have a nice strawberry cheesecake and mint tea for dessert.   What was so cool was how Virgin transformed my seat into a full flat bed.  It was like sleeping in a pod, but they also provided pajamas which really made a difference (most people changed in the lav).   Flight was just about 6 hours and then proceeded to leave the secure area for the express purpose of going to the "revivals" lounge.   Here is was directed to my own private bath and took a luxurious shower.    I had a change of clothes in my carry on and as I write this I really don't feel any jet lag!
I have signed up for a free shave in about an hour then I will head to the gate to start the long pole of the journey; my 12.5 hour flight to Malaysia.

Sitting in the lounge...

I'm in the Virgin Atlantic "clubhouse" having just had an appetizer of smoked salmon with capers, a cheese plate and some olives that I washed down with a Harpoon IPA.     Probably the last local brew I'm going to have in a while.   Readers, do you think when I return that the Red Sox will be in the playoffs?   Will the Pats be 3-0?  Will you have seen your 1st frost?   Weather in KL is mid 80s with a chance of thunderstorms every day.  

By the way, I decided to do the full service "upper class" vs the sleeper section.  There is just no way I can go to bed at 7:45.  So I'll suffer through 2-3 hours of sleep and we'll see how I feel on the next leg.   I really feel odd about this trip.   I just don't have the same excitement that I usually have.  What can I say, I'd rather be home with the fam....getting sentimental in my old age....

Clearing out the cobwebs

Tomorrow I'll be headed on another adventure for the annual International Common Criteria Conference, this time in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.     I'm nervous about this one for a couple of reasons:

1. Its a long trip (although I'm 100% in business class).  My itinerary takes me from Boston to Heathrow and from Heathrow to KL
2. Amy tells me Malaysia is anti-semetic.  Of course I'll be there in the middle of Rosh Hoshanah.   Probably will beg for forgiveness a lot at Yom Kippor

Meanwhile I am looking forward to "Upper Class" on Virgin and will report back about that and the first leg when I get to Heathrow on Saturday morning.