A Short Romp In The US

Copyright © 10 April 2000 Patrick Khoo

So this was it. I was about to embark on a business trip that would take me halfway around the world. It had been four years since I was last in the US and I was certainly looking forward to the sights, sounds and tastes of this great land again.

I was determined to stay awake during the entire 24-hour flight (Singapore-Tokyo-Chicago-Baltimore) to try and beat the jet lag blues. My theory was that since I had left in the early morning in Singapore, and would arrive just in time for dinner in Baltimore, I could pretend I had a very long day. Reality promised otherwise. It wasn't kid’s play staying awake through four movies, one entire novel, and an assortment of snacks, meals and drinks (the latter with their "entertainment" value inversely proportionate to the amount of time in the air). It didn't help either that I had turned in late the night before. One important lesson I took home: don’t depend only on airplane food for sustenance.

Flying gives one an overview of greatness. As we left Chicago (which was where I switched planes), I managed to look out the window (yes, I got a window seat!) to enjoy a flawless view in crisp daylight. The land was flatly stretched out as far as the eye could see - and I felt kilometers of human intervention on one huge earthly spread. Looking southwards, I could see the tall towers of Chicago itself, Sears Tower being the most prominent. And as we crossed over Lake Michigan, I saw such a huge body of water that it seemed a gross injustice to call it a lake. I actually swam in Lake Michigan many years before. It is like swimming in the sea, except that the water does not get into your eyes (i.e. is not salty). Fabulous!

I finally made it to Baltimore-Washington International airport, which incidentally, is not really in Baltimore or Washington DC. It’s midway between the two, and almost an hour from either. That realisation only dawned on me when I was in the queue for the shuttle service. It took me fifteen minutes of queueing just to get to the booking counter, and there, I was told to wait at least an hour for the next available shuttle going my way. As the queue began to snake and slither (you could hear people cussing now and then), my stomach suddenly hissed too - okay, more like growled (as indication?) - and enticed me to pursue the path of least resistance. And so I got in (a considerably shorter) queue for a cab.

I was taken on a considerably more expensive ride too, as it turned out. Cabbies in the US, like cabbies elsewhere, are often out to make a fast buck. There are cabbies who take three rides at a time, don’t use a meter and cut queues to pick up passengers. I fell into the plush, boxy confines belonging to one such middle-aged gem, and somehow just couldn't extricate myself from the US$40 cab fare for my 40-minute journey.

By the time I reached my hotel, night had fallen, so it escaped my attention that I was essentially in the middle of nowhere. I soon found out, though, that my company had booked me into a hotel which was a 10-minute drive away from The Inn & Conference Centre (I&CC), the venue for the 4-day conference I was to attend. The nearest mall was a thankless 15-minute drive away and the nearest drug store didn't exactly offer at-your-doorstep convenience. How I wished I had a car to take me away from this estranged hub of civilisation, if only for a nice warm meal! Well, as it turned out, my wish came true: I got the car much later, but I also got more than I bargained for.

The I&CC is a part of the University of Maryland at College Park. On my way there, I noticed a building called Archives II - a large, tall imposing building without windows. This, apparently, was a part of the US Government’s National Archives facility. The battery of security guards made themselves seen and heard. Impressive, I thought. But I was even more impressed to see that the University had its own golf course! And a stadium that seemed larger than the National Stadium in Singapore! The I&CC was also a cultural milieu of sorts, with paintings and sculptures adorning pristine walls. It was evident that the academia there had a high appreciation of fine art.

Attending the conference was pretty straightforward; ears had to be peeled, presentations had to be prepared, notes had to be taken, and reading had to be done. So on my last day in Baltimore, I relieved myself of heightened somnolence at the nearest mall - Laurel Mall - where I enjoyed JC Pennys, Hechts and Wards, Babbages, Radio Shack, Victoria’s Secret and other deliciously sweet secrets!

All too soon, I had to leave Baltimore to head west, towards San Jose. Yes, Silicon Valley San Jose. Even the shuttle driver asked if I was going there to cash in my stock options. My flight plan took me there via Dallas, Texas, and the Rocky Mountains in the West Coast.

One thing I must say about the airports I have been to is that while it may seem that Changi is world class and has great service and all that, all one needs to do is to set foot in Narita, Chicago, Baltimore-Washington International or Dallas, to see the size of a world-class air-hub. These airports have huge terminals and planes all over the place. I used to think that seeing a plane land at Changi every two and a half minutes translated to "busy". At Dallas, we were stuck on the ground for almost fifteen minutes in what can only be termed an air-jam. About ten planes were in line for take-off on this particular runway, with at least five more planes behind us. Even in Narita, as the bus took us to the plane from the terminal, we must have passed by more than ten 747s sitting on the tarmac in various stages of departure/arrival.

Flying westwards over the Rockies was enthralling. The beauty was mind-boggling - flat stretches of white clouds, expanding deserts and spectacular mountain ranges in an effusive harmony of colours.

San Jose is in the middle of Silicon Valley, south of Palo Alto, next to Santa Clara and a stone’s throw away from San Francisco. It is a beautiful town, but of course, the topic on most people’s minds there these days is "high-tech startup". Although I had some business to attend to, I did get to sightsee a bit. As it turned out, my boss forgot his driving license, so I had to get behind the steering wheel of our rented car. I had to work, yeah, but the trade-off was that with a mid-sized car, I could comfortably go around San Jose itself, as well as up to San Francisco.

San Jose is truly the land of high tech companies. I saw the offices of big names like Nortel Networks, Oracle, Excite@Home, US Web, Intel, and countless net companies. My hotel was in fact across the highway from Network Associates. Many of these buildings house the global headquarters of companies whose names are proudly displayed on banners and roadside signboards. You know your company is big when there is a highway exit going to a place called 3Com Park, no doubt in reference to the large networking company, 3Com!

On my way to San Francisco, I saw interesting billboards along Interstate 101. Almost all of them had something to do with some kind of dotcom company or Internet service. I guess the entire valley can be summed up in a single nondescript billboard I saw that had only a web address on it - www.buy.com.

San Francisco is a haven of steep hills and spiffy two and three-storey townhouses (as well as skyscrapers in the CBD, of course). Some of the slopes are almost at a 45-degree incline, giving cars (not to mention pedestrians) a solid workout. Needless to say, I would not have gone by San Francisco without a visit to the Golden Gate Bridge. En route, I stopped at Fisherman’s Wharf, only to realise something fishy - no fishermen, just a jetty with lots of tourists. A much nicer place was Fort Point, an old Civil War fort at the base of the Bridge. From there, you can see the steel underside of the Bridge and hear the low constant rumbling of the traffic above. Unlike the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge, you can actually walk across the Golden Gate Bridge. I would have at least ventured across the Bridge by car, were I not alone, and even paid the US$3 toll. But I didn’t want to cause a 12-car pile-up as a result of being distracted by the great view.

So I drove onwards down the coast where I was treated to an expansive view of the Pacific Ocean. While in San Francisco, I did manage to see the Legion of Honour, City Hall, Civic Centre and more. I also found this simple Chinese Restaurant along Geary Boulevard, where I enjoyed a Chinese lunch in American-sized proportions.

When I returned to San Jose, I scouted around some more, popping in at the Great Mall of the Bay Area, or so it’s called, which used to be a Ford factory where cars were assembled. After the factory closed down, some enterprising soul turned it into a huge shopper’s paradise. There, I was fortunate enough to chance upon a lady from the chinese food stall at the food court giving away free samples of their "General Tsao Chicken" to passers-by. I know about free cookie samples, but deep fried chicken in chilli sauce? Their little enterprise worked, though - I was sold and bought a plate of their tangy chicken and rice.

Eventually, after six days of romping around in bit parts of the US, it was time to go. Company expense was for a limited period only. Perhaps if I had stayed on an extra day, I would have made a trip to the Six Flags Great America Theme Park just down the road from my hotel. No daredevil rollercoaster ride on this trip - too bad! I perked up, though, at the thought of my ten-year US visa - that trusty pass which would allow me entry into the Land of Dreams again when the opportunity next arose. See you soon, America! (A little hoping never hurts, right?)

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