Was picked up by a Ritz-Carlton Millennia representative at the Marriott Tang Plaza, and left in the rain. Checked into the Ritz-Carlton and, as our room was not yet ready, we were sent to the Club Lounge. Team time came. The Marina Bay Sands fourth tower coming up. Started with champagne, Tea time. Checked into our room. Our view. National Stadium. Back to the Club Lounge for drinks and appetizers. My evening meal. Night view. An all-time low of 1038 steps. A week old, but U.S.  president's cold opening Christmas Address on Saturday Night Live .  Finally,  Eduardo Saverin  is the  wealthiest person in Singapore .  Worth $43 billion. You probably never heard of him, but he was a junior at Harvard, when he and sophomore Mark Zuckerberg, with three others, founded Facebook in 2004. Was born in Sao Paulo, Brazil in 1982, and his family immigrated to the U.S. in 1993. Emigrated to Singapore in 2009 and renounced his American citizenship in 2011, sidestep...

Today I continue my  nostalgic  Pearl's Ashes  series , focusing on  Bangkok .  But there will be a few informational detours, leading to a nightmarish journey to my hotel in Tokyo, and finishing with a hint of what will be my posting next Tuesday. I flew first class, and left Honolulu on 1March2011, 24 hours later arriving at my favorite hotel in Bangkok, the Sheraton Grande Sukhamvit. My philosophy when flying is, "if free, every drink not drunk is money wasted."  I'm not sure my body, and liver in particular, would agree, but it makes for an enjoyable flight. Go to my posting that day for the details , but I had 16 different alcoholic drinks getting from Honolulu to Bangkok. I selected the  Grand Palace for Pearl's Ashes #15 . Here is a  short video of this attraction . Official residence of the Kings of Siam, now Thailand, since 1782, until 1925. Over 8 million visitors/year. One of Pearl's very favorite spots on Earth is the   Grand Pala...