Another week in the beautiful ASEAN region...

For those of you not familiar with the acronym... (as I was not prior to departing on this trip), ASEAN stands for The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ASEAN). I am off to my fourth country visit tomorrow and figured it was time to review last weeks visit to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

I arrived last Monday late afternoon and found the hotel called One World. It was very convenient as it was only a short walk through the lobby to the IBM building. On the other side of the lobby, the hotel was connected to a huge mall where there were many places to eat lunch/dinner. On Monday, I connected with my country host, Rathiga Renganathan. She showed me around the hotel, mall and IBM site before I began my first day on Tuesday. I had the pleasure of meeting with my 4 mentees on Tuesday and Wednesday.

On Tuesday evening, my IBM Storage ASEAN host, Arnold (left side) and a colleague took me to dinner. Every location that I have ventured to in ASEAN has had such wonderful and hospitible people. They are so caretaking... They always had an escort for me every evening.

On Wednesday evening, there was a large group of us that ventured out. First we went to dinner at a very nice Chinese restaurant where we ate family style. Then most of the group headed to Petaling Street - which is the China Town of Kuala Lumpur. There were many small markets, and it was a cultural experience for sure.

After a very busy day Thursday at work, one of my colleagues, Jason Tan, offered to take me to the city to see the twin towers in Kuala Lumpur. They are largest twin buildings in the world, and until 2004 they were the largest buildings in the world (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petronas_Twin_Towers). The sight is really quite amazing. Interestingly, the buildings are owned by a company called Petronas, which is one of the client accounts I am working on with a mentee... We are planning a visit to their office building when I return in July. I am told we can walk across the bridge you can see in the photo.

Friday brought on another good day with my colleagues. I finished up my work in the office and was off to the airport for my journey back "home" ... i.e. Singapore. I stayed at the Hilton again and visited with my friends (housekeeper, bellman, and room service)... good to see familiar faces. Speaking of which, it will be really good to see the familiar faces at home when I fly back to the States next Friday!!! Can't wait.