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Here is one of the major reasons for my love of this hotel. This is just part of the pool area. Little water falls, water plants in some areas and chairs placed so you can relax peacefully. There is a small restaurant so you can grab a bite after a swim.
This pool area sits on top of a shopping mall so it is elevated off the street and there is no city noise. Really quite unique.

Walking into the lobby shown in the photo makes all the nonsense outside far away. I have been staying here for the 20 years and I still love it , I have a Grand Hyatt customer card and I used it while checking in. The concierge informed me that I had not stayed there since 2004 in a scolding manner. Like it was my fault.

This photo is the airport. Notice that the gate is etched into the grass. The motif is very relaxed and Polynesian . The baggage claim area is old and shoddy with porters running every where. Luggage was 20 minutes jn coming. Remember we are in a very relaxed country. No need to rush, you’ll get sweaty.
The taxi/limo area was bedlam! Everyone trying to make a buck. Take your bags for you , they have friend which has a great taxi. Even air con in it! I had two hundred S’pore dollars which I converted into Rupiahs, the Indo money. Hang on now as the conversion rate was 11800 Rupiahs to the dollar!! I had one million seven. hundred thousand of this stuff, so I am feeling pretty large now. I am tipping 10,000 bills like I had invented the money .
Now the next experience; Indo traffic. I have been coming here for 20 years and the traffic is always horrific. And I was not disappointed . What would take 20 minutes is a hour and a half stop/ go, brake lights flashing affair. The construction,I swear it is the same as when I first started coming here. When you do finally reach the hotel you are panting from the trip.At the start of the driveway you are stopped by the hotel security, 4 of them. They smile politely as they open all the doors, hood, trunk and roll a large mirror on a wheel under the car! We then proceed to the entrance .We are bustled out of the car to line up to go through the security and be wandedI am almost running to the front desk to get to my room!

Flew out of S’pore on the Indonesian national airline. It is a swift flight of 2 hours but they still serve a full dinner. And that dinner is pictured. Fish is under the golden sauce, rice in the center and vegetables at the top. I am a suspicious person regarding sauces on food over seas. What are they hiding they don t want to show me? Or is the food old and they are covering up the smell? No matter as I passed on the meal as I did not like the color combos!

 

I saw this from my window and could not figure what was going on. I asked the hotel staff and they explained it is a S’pore tradition to have people write their wishes on plastic balls for the new year and the city puts them in the lagoon until after the firs of the year. One of the staff guided me to where is was being done and I added my wishes on a ball!
Who know? It certainly can’t hurt, right.

We arrived in S’pore this morning at 12:30 a.m.
It was 23 hours total air time and 30 hours with the connections. A good hot bath and a change of clothes worked wonders. You want to burn the clothes you came in as you had them on so long.
The photo is a shot of the view from my room. No joke, the Ritz Carleton is the real deal and in the top hotels in the world.
We caught 6 hours sleep and spent the day at our agents offices meeting with the factories from Malaysia and Vietnam. We reviewed the styles that they made from our tech packs sent out last month.
It is very time consuming as you must go over every detail so as to not leave some item out. The cost depends on the exact reveiw. It is very hard to do when you are in another time zone. I was drinking Chinese tea to keep myself in the game. At 3 p.m. you get the wooden head where you are physically there but your mind in not functioning. We reviewed probably 50 styles during the day and will repeat this again tomorrow with another set of factories. It can become very tedious quickly.
We just arrived this morning but we have to pack for we leave tomorrow from work to fly to Jakarta, Indonesia.
So I am off to get it done so I can relax.

I am sitting here in my little cubby having finished lunch which you see to the right.
I have also viewed a full movie and there is still 11 hours to go!!
The second leg of the trip is on All Nippon Airways (ANA) and is bound for Narita airport in Tokyo Japan, The map of the flight shows we are flying over Dawson Creek and Juneau is not far in the distance. The outside temperature is -57 degrees.
The plane is a 777 which means all business class has their very own individual space which is set apart from the other passengers! What a blessing that is as you can scratch when and where you want and not offend anyone. The seat lies flat to give a nice bed and they furnish comforter and pillows
But I am blessed this trip with a small baby directly in front of me. Wow I should buy a lottery ticket. The sweet little thing alternately screams to make a demonstration and watch mom and dad jump through hoops, to try and climb over the seat to see me! Oh the life of a merchant prince.
I have also discovered that there is no WiFi so there is going to be many messages sent at the same time when i arrive in Narita….in 11 hours.
(oh the baby is screaming again. How sweet it is. You might want to watch CNN to see me led off in handcuffs….Just kidding)

So now the kid is asleep and guess who can’t sleep if his life depended on it. Oops spoke too soon there goes lungsy again.

Now will be a good time to write a little background information on the trip and what has gone before stepping on the plane.
Private brands are exactly what they say. They are a brand that is owned by a company and its private use by that company. Duh. So stores want to design clothing based on a target customer and the lifestyle they live and make them loyal to that brand.
And because it is private brand they can only get it at your stores.
How do you get the target customer? You create a person who is your ideal customer;
Jack is 35 years old, went to Jr. college and got a degree in contracting and small business. He runs a small independent sub-contracting business. He is married to Jill who also graduated from a Jr college in fitness training and is an instructor at a local gym.
They have 2 children Sam, 12 and Missy 10.
he drives a Ford F150 and she has a small mini van.
They love the outdoors and spend much of their free time fishing, water boarding , shelling etc.
I could go on but I think you get the idea.
Now what does this family like to wear in the outdoor activities?
This when you shop other similar lifestyle stores to see what they carry. You buy styles that lend themselves to what you want to create. You want to design a line that is affordable to your target guy. You want to have a “fit” for this customer that will be the absolute best so they will always return to buy your brand first. The fabric will have all the attributes for outdoor living. Fast dry, light weight, sun protective.
and colors that match the sunny outdoors.
You put all your ideas up on a wall; catalogue pages, online phots, actual samples and you create a “line”. ( called that because you line up the styles on a wall). In this day and age you do not copy someone else’s style; you clone them!
Now in order for this design to become a real garment you have to make a technical packet with all the necessary measurements, sewing instructions, what fabric to use, thread to use, all the information on the trims (buttons. zippers size and length) etc.
When this packet is compete you mail it to your suppliers and factories. They will review the packet,
meet with their fabric mills and trim suppliers. They will then sew a “Porto” sample of the garment and send to us with a cost attached.
The sewing is very important as the major cost of a style will be the labor involved in sewing the garment together. A polo shirt can be assembled in 3 1/2 to 4 minutes while cargo pocket short can take 2 minutes!
The Proto shows that they can make the style with the attached cost.
We are flying now to meet with our suppliers to review the costs, styling and the delivery of these garments to our stores.
Enough for now, Lungsy is quiet!

The first leg is Tampa to Chicago. Flight time is 2 hours 30 minutes.
Choice of breakfast in first class, of course first class, I am a prince after all, is egg mcmuffin or cereal. Knowing I will be fed constantly throughout the journey I am careful and just eat the fruit .