Thursday 7/19/07

This should have marked the day we got back to LA but since we decided to do an extra performance in Singapore at The Terror Club, we aren't leaving until 3am tonight. We are all trying to stay up the whole night since we want to sleep as much as we can on the planes. We have a 7-hour plane ride from Singapore to Narita, Japan and then we have a 10-hour flight back to LA.

The show at the Terror Club went really well, however, there were not thousands of people there. There were only a little more than what we had last time. Instead of about 70 people there 100 but they gave us rave reviews. They absolutely loved the show and by the end they were participating like crazy. There were a lot of marine's that were stationed in San Diego and they are going to request that we perform on an aircraft carrier! They made a special point of telling us how we had the most audience participation than any other band they saw.

I'm glad we did the extra performance just because it was a really nice note to end on and also because it would have been torture to travel another 17 hours after a 5 and a half hour flight back from Diego Garcia.

It was a really nice warm goodbye that Singapore gave us. Our hearts are still with Diego Garcia and the people there. We really had a special connection to the place we call our Gilligan's Island. I know I have mixed feelings about coming back. On the one hand, it will be nice to go home and see everyone. It's been so long and it will be nice to have the stability of being in the same place for a while. On the other hand, this tour was so touch and go that it gave us no time to think about anything and sometimes that was a big blessing. I'm not sure I'm ready to go home and deal with reality yet. Lucky for me I still have 17 hours on a plane before then…

Tuesday 7/17/07 and Wednesday 7/18/07

Leah, Jason, Orlando, Carl, my Dad and Tyler went Deep Sea Fishing while Crystal and I decided to get a massage. You can get hour massages here for $15 and they were amazing may I add. You would never find prices like that in the U.S. We were so relaxed afterwards we just wanted to go back to sleep but since our flight back to Singapore is scheduled to leave at about 2am and we have to show up at the airport at 10pm since it could leave sooner we had to go back and do laundry and pack.

We did hear a rumor last night that because of the weather circulating through Japan we may actually not be able to leave Diego Garcia! On the one hand that could be bad only because we do have commitments when we get back and we could get stuck here for up to a week since there are such limited flights out of the Island. On the other hand, this isn't a bad place to get stranded. I guess only time will tell…

For dinner we all ate the fish that my Dad, Carl, Jason, Leah and Tyler caught while going deep sea fishing. It was really amazing and the fish were exceptionally fresh. It had been alive less than six hours before we ate it. There were more than twenty pounds of fish. It was such a shame that we couldn't take it on the flight with us.

We had to be at the airport at 2am even though our flight wasn't scheduled to take off until 5am. The flight back to Singapore was really ruff. Not only was it pretty bumpy but we had to circle around for 45 minutes because it was raining so hard we couldn't land. There was a chance we were going to have to land in a different airport but they finally informed us we could land. Next obstacle was getting our equipment out of the plane. They wouldn't unload it when it was raining so we actually had to wait until the rain stopped to get our equipment. As if we weren't tired enough, we ended up waiting there at the airport for 3 extra hours. Between waiting for it to stop raining and having customs give us a difficult time this wasn't exactly the welcome we were expecting back when this was the place we were going out of our way to come back to to do an encore performance off the clock. There better be people there and that's all I can say!

Monday 7/16/07

We had only five hours of sleep last night and had to wake up early for a radio interview with Chandre, affectionately known as "Suckerfree," on Power 99.1 "The Morning Grind." Suckerfree was so great to us. She made sure to have breakfast waiting for us when we got there and she was playing the album. The entire band was interviewed and everyone did a great job. You could tell, Suckerfree herself was a fan and definitely enjoyed the shows. They had put together a whole radio promo for us to promote our shows there and it was really impressive. The interview was a success. We then had a couple of hours before we had to meet Kelly, the chief of the Phillips Ship at the Seamen's Club. I know, I thought it was a funny name too. However, they are all seamen out here and that is what they are called.

When we got there, there were these big anchors that had been laid to rest ashore for more than 30 years. They were left over from World War II. Crystal and I jokingly took pictures on the anchors. We pretended we were models striking a pose. The pictures were so funny. Kelly then took us on a bus that would get us to a motorboat down the ocean and finally onto the Phillips ship. He called it his home but what I didn't realize about these seamen is that they actually live out at sea. He lives on that ship and has to take a half an hour boat ride to shore anytime he wants to get back on the Island. We had even more appreciation for him when we realized he took that boat three nights in a row to come to all of our shows.

Kelly was an amazing guide. He showed us all around his ship. We got to see canons and tons of tanks that were stored on the ship. Kelly really went above and beyond the call of duty to show us around. He could not stop telling us how much he appreciated our show and all of us coming out here. He even got a little choked up when he told us how hard it is to be away from his family for such long periods at a time. He hadn't been home for Christmas for three years and he has three young kids. He said "You don't know how hard it is when you're kids tell Santa that all they wish for is for Daddy to come home safely." It was really touching. He then talked about how important it is for us to be here and how it really does make a difference. He says it gets all the guys excited and motivated since they don't get a lot of bands out here so we really are the talk of the town when we come.

When we got back to the Island we were so exhausted and it was only three hours until show time. I was dying to take a nap because I didn't know how I would have the stamina to make it. When I finally made my way back to my room, I found out my key no longer worked. Perfect, of all the times, all I want to do is take an hour nap before the show and I can't get in my room. Luckily my father was in his room and I was able to call someone to open the door.

We decided since this would be our last show in indoor conditions, we would give it our all. It was actually supposed to be our last show of the entire tour but since we are going to do our encore show in Singapore, it is now our second to last show.

The show was really wonderful. We had at least 20 people come for all three shows and of course a big group of new people. They really loved it. They all stood up at the end and gave us a huge applause and we couldn't stop thanking them because they really had been our best audience by far. Suckerfree came in during the break and gave us this plaque that everyone signed to say thank you for coming. It's so sad that we are leaving. We have really made some friends here like Nate and Michael and it's sad to think that we may never come back. A man told us yesterday that there are even senators and high ranking officers that would like to come to Diego Garcia for vacations or honeymoons with their families and they are not allowed to come so we should feel privileged for getting the opportunity to be here. We really are privileged. If anyone ever gets a chance to come to Diego Garcia they shouldn't hesitate. It was really an amazing experience! We got to bed pretty early since we had such a long day but tomorrow is our long awaited day off here so we are all excited.

Sunday 7/15/07

Today was like a day off for us although we were a little hung over from the night before. Nate took us to the Officer's Club for Sunday Brunch which was amazing. They had such good food there. We all ordered omelettes and it was one of the first times on this trip yet that we got to have eggs. We then went to the beach.

They had this big water trampoline out in the Lagoon. We all swam to it and started jumping on it. There's nothing like 6 people jumping around on a trampoline in the hot sun to knock the energy out of you. We couldn't believe how beautiful it was out there. The sand was bright white and the water was clear blue. They make us swim in a lagoon area because the rest of the ocean is infested with sharks and sting rays.

While at the beach, I was in ecstasy. I know we all agreed that this was our favorite stop. It was like a vacation at the end of all of the hard work. We then did our second show at the Island Room. To my surprise there were still a lot of people. Not as many as the night before which I did anticipate since it was a Sunday and most people don't want to see the same show twice but I was surprised to see how many of the same people came back. We had Kelly there who is one of the Seamen who invited us to go on his ship, which we are doing tomorrow. I had the same guy that drew me a picture after the show, draw another one that looked more like a logo. It would have been perfect had he spelled my name right. I wonder if people are ever going to get my name.

After the show, this British guy that I coaxed into coming made a point of telling me the show was okay, could have been better but it was alright. My dad responded with, "Isn't it funny that every Brit thinks they are Simon Cowell now." I asked Michael, another seaman if that Brit was joking or serious and he said that they have a chip on their shoulders when it comes to American music. He said "You have to understand, when you were pointing at the right side of the room, urging them to sing 'Born In The USA,' they were all British. I guess I hadn't thought about it until that point. But in my defense, it is a mixed base so how am I supposed to know until I hear their accents?

We decided to take the night easy since we have a radio interview tomorrow at 8am. Killer!

Saturday 7/14/07

Today was our first day in Diego Garcia and it's only going to get easier from here. We all went off on our own to explore the island in the morning. We didn't have to be at The Island Room until 3pm for sound check so Crystal and I went to the gym and did our much needed 2-hour and 15-minute work out. We noticed that wherever we went people were asking are you the new band? Are you the band Maren? We were really impressed to see what kind of promotions they were doing here and anticipated it would be a big show but of course there was no way to know for sure seeing this entire tour has been unpredictable.

At the gym, Crystal was a hit. Every guy that was in there was vying for her attention. One older man offered to take her for a tour of the island and gave her his number. Nate, our contact and guide for Diego Garcia was into her as well. He was asking how old we were because I think he wanted to know if Crystal was legal. I at first said 17 just to scare him but then told him the truth. It's funny that all the men here think we are so young because that is the first question out of their mouths. I guess no one ever told them the two questions you are never supposed to ask a lady: "What is your age?" and "What is your weight?"

After the gym we went to the Internet café. Wireless is very expensive so they have a computer lounge where you can use the Internet for 30 minutes. What was so humorous about meeting people on this island, especially the Filipino people is that they would ask me "Are you in the Maren band?" and then they would ask me my name and I would tell them "Maren." They would then repeat "Marianne? Mary?" None of them seemed to draw a connection between the name of the band and my name. It was pretty funny. I made a point to repeat my name a lot during the show.

When sound check was over we went back and got ready and returned back to the Island Room for our first of three shows. When the show started, there weren't a lot of people there and we were quickly fearing that the turnout was going to be a bomb like some of the other shows but as soon as we started, people started piling in. They started cheering and before we knew it, there were probably 400 people in the room. It was packed! The Filipino people especially loved the show. The show tonight was the kind of show I envisioned doing before we went on the tour. That show and the people's responses and the number of people in the audience was exactly how I pictured every show on this tour going. Diego Garcia, however, is the only place that actually was what I thought all of them would be. We had so much fun and for the first time on this tour we were really doing a show! There were British people there, Filipino people there and of course members of the American Navy. We had quite an eclectic crowd.

After the show, we were mobbed by all the Filipinos that work on the base. They couldn't get enough pictures and autographs. It was very flattering. However, because there were so many people and all of these men are truly isolated in the middle of the Indian Ocean, they became very rowdy. It wasn't safe for us to be walking alone or even interacting with them too much. We decided to go back to our rooms, change and go to the Brit Club, which was where the other band, Puzzles was playing. Puzzles is the resident Filipino band. They play all covers and they come on the island for three months at a time. They were really great! When we got to the Brit Club it was like the scene in Dirty Dancing where Baby sees where the dancers go after the show. It was gritty and people were getting drunk, dancing up a storm. We quickly adapted to our environment. Everyone except Justin went out with us. The Navy guys all wanted to buy us drinks and they kept thanking us for coming. They offered to show us their ships and said they had been doing a lot of promoting for us. They were so hospitable.

3 vodka shots later, I was plastered and everyone else was getting there too. Leah and Jason were dancing like maniacs on the dance floor. Leah danced so hard she actually split here jeans open. Jason was doing a mash pit and at one point he fell on the ground and just started rolling around. He was hilarious. I found out later he actually cut his arm from the fall. He was a good sport about it since I didn't even notice at the time. We were all dancing chaotically. It was the well needed release that came fittingly at the end of this tour. The ratio of women to men in Diego Garcia is 20 to 1 and there are only 1500 people on the island so you can only imagine the attention Leah, Crystal and I were getting. The guys really had to work over time to protect us. Tonight was the most fun all of us had had in a very long time!!!

When the Filipino band went on break before the second set, they gave us a shout out and started to play our album. It was so funny because all of us weren't expecting it and we got a little disoriented. Tyler said he was in the bathroom when he heard "Hey You" and he thought to himself "Wait a minute, I know this song." Haha. When the night was winding down, I thanked the band and they had told us that they were at our show earlier and they were so impressed and inspired. It was so touching. The lead singer then said something that was even more unexpected. After he introduced himself, he said "Remember me, I'm the one that serves your food." I guess I didn't realize that I had met him already. He has a second job as a server here. The Filipino people are recruited here to do the janitorial work and serving positions. We were informed later that the house band only makes about $1,000 a month! It was so sad to think that this talented group of musicians who are revered when they are on stage performing, could also be demoted to servers in the very same location. It was bizarre for us to be put up on a pedestal here when I heard that.

After a very long, fun and exhausting day, I made my way to bed and as I was dozing off, I suddenly heard someone knocking on my door. It was 2:30am at this point and I thought it was strange that anyone would be trying to come to my room right now because everyone is going to sleep and they know they could just call. I got up and checked the peephole but no one was there. I then heard it again but the same thing happened, there was no one there. Because my room is on a corner, the window near my bed is easily accessible. I then started to hear knocking on my window right next to my bed. I started to get scared because I didn't think anyone would be playing a prank on me this late and after the night we had. The knocking continued alternating from my window near my bed and the front door. I finally got a glimpse of who was knocking and it was this bald, what appeared to be Filipino man, with his shirt off. I was really scared now because I could see this wasn't any of our entourage. I had to call security to check it out but I didn't hear anything about it after so I just assumed he went away. That was my stalker story for this tour and hopefully my last. Tomorrow is our next show. I hope it's even busier than the first, if that's possible.

Friday 7/13/07

Our day started with mixed messages when we were told to be ready at noon and then told we don't need to leave until 3pm. Everyone except Crystal and Justin decided to take their time then and catch what could be our final lunch in Singapore at the The Terror Club. About as soon as we get there at 1:30pm Simon Tan, our contact there, told us the plans have been changed and the plane is planning on leaving earlier so we have to leave at 2pm. That changed any chance of us having a leisurely lunch before our flight.

We ate quickly and then went back to our rooms to collect our luggage. We were naïve in thinking the military flight was going to take less check in and preparation than commercial flights. We figured we wouldn't have to go through customs or check our bags. But it turned out the military flight took longer than a commercial flight would. When we got there we had to go through a security checkpoint where we were instructed that we couldn't use any form of electronics on the base that could also be used as storage devices. That meant no Ipods, mp3 players, computers. I asked what the reason was and they informed me that this was a secret base and they couldn't afford information getting out about it. This made us feel fairly privileged to have the permission to be on the base.

Check in was a lengthy process because there were only two people behind the counter and they made us fill out a small form where we list and emergency contact with their number and then our body weight and our blood type. Well that scared me a little bit. I felt like I was walking into a war zone. We waited for about two hours and then we were told we could finally board the plane. To my shock we actually had to go through Singapore customs and a security screening. We then got on a bus to go to the plane.

I was told I had to take off my hat and I couldn't figure out why. When we were driving to the plane I started to get nervous. I knew we were flying a military plane but as I started to see all these planes without any seats and all this cargo I started to get really scared. The whole airport was so quiet, except for the occasional roar of a military plane taking off. When we got to our plane we saw that it was just a normal jet you would fly on an airline but it was chartered for the military. I was relieved and disappointed at the same time. A part of me wanted to have that experience of being on a military plane, as uncomfortable and scary as it could have been. However, the other part of me was relieved I wouldn't have to be as scared since flying is scary enough for me.

When we boarded the plane we discovered that although the size of it was a Boeing 737 only the last quarter of it was passenger seating. The entire two-thirds in the front was all reserved for cargo. It all started to make sense. I was wondering why in the world would they ask for my body weight? Was it to identify me later in case of emergency? A man on our flight informed me that is was so they could estimate how to balance the plane out with all the cargo. I got a little nervous since I lied about my weight by a few pounds. Did that mean we were going to crash? The guy then told me that they overestimate for women about ten pounds. He was joking of course.

Other than the small passenger compartment, it was a normal flight. We actually had a decent meal and they played Casino Royale. It was long however, because it was probably one of the only flights this trip that I have stayed awake for even though it was only 4 and a half hours. We flew over Sumatra and finally landed in Diego Garcia. It was crazy to think we were only a two-hour plane ride away from Australia and India! I finally found out why we weren't allowed to wear hats. Apparently, they have cameras on the flight strip and they don't want you to disguise your identity in any way for the cameras. When we landed they said they might have some customs officials inspect us before we deplane. I found this humorous because what were they going to do if they found someone on the plane that wasn't supposed to be there?

When we got off the plane, we were put in a holding area where we were asked to lay our bags on a black line while we filled out a customs form. They then had a dog sniff our bags to see if we had any drugs. I found out Diego Garcia is a British territory that houses both an American Navy Base and a British Marine Base. We were interrogated by some British soldiers but I shouldn't really use the word "interrogated" since they were the nicest customs officers I had ever had. They were making jokes and telling me they were coming to the show tomorrow night. I found it funny that they make us go through this whole customs routine since it's so obvious that the only way to even get to the top secret Diego Garcia is to be pre-qualified.

What was really nice about this trip is that we had people helping us with our bags which not only made unloading that much faster but also easier. When we got past customs, we were greeted by a man named Reino. He would be our contact for our stay in Diego Garcia. From the moment, we stepped on the ground, we could see the island was beautiful. The sky is so clear here that you can see stars everywhere. We were taken to what they call our barracks, which are very nice hotel rooms, probably, one of the best of our tour. We were so relieved that we had gotten out of our lizard, cockroach, and mouse infested loft in Singapore. I guess I forgot to mention that the last night before we left we started hearing mouse sounds. We never found it but it made sure to let us know it was there. The only thing we would have to worry about in DG, that's what the people here call Diego Garcia, would be Gecko's. They are everywhere, including in our rooms.

After we settled in our rooms at about 10pm, we were taken to the Island Room, which is where all three of our shows are going to be. It was really nice and they already have an entire backline set up for us. The next three days are going to be a piece of cake. We are playing in the same place three days in a row so we will really get a taste of what it's like to be Rockstars and have everything set up for us before show time. We are looking forward to lounging on the beach and performing. What a great life!

We were also told that they are paying $15 a day for our meals here and the prices are so low here that that can take care of all of our meals we will have a day. I'll tell you, I don't think I'm going to want to leave.

We did find out that we will be coming back to Singapore to do one final show. The Commander emailed Frank Tagatac and asked, "Due to overwhelming community response, we would like Maren to come back on the 19th." Frank okayed the request so it looks like we will finish this tour with a bang performing for a base that will be housing 7,000 extra people as all the ships are docking when we get back there. This means we will be coming back to LA on the 20th instead of the 19th.

Thursday 7/12/07

Today was our unexpected day off. Some of us had a casual afternoon since we all slept the whole morning. Jason told me he went off to explore the shopping malls and stores around Singapore while the girls went to go work out, eat at The Terror Club, and relax.

We then all went back to our rooms and got ready and went to The Night Safari that's open until midnight. We got to see all of these exotic creatures such as a Malayan Tiger and Big Elephants. We got to see a show first that didn't go over too well for the performers seeing they were all resistant animals who didn't want to listen to their trainers. We could tell the trainers were getting frustrated.

We then went on the tram to take the tour of the Zoo. It was really a lot of fun and definitely a highlight of the whole tour for me. The only problem with a night zoo is that because all the animals are nocturnal and don't respond well to light, it was hard for us to see them. The guides kept telling people no flash photography and I know people kept using their flashes because it was the only way to get the picture of the animals. From what I could see, however, I was impressed.

Tomorrow is Diego Garcia. We fly on a military plane so I'm nervous and excited to see what that's like.

Wednesday 7/11/07

We were able to get a little bit of sleep and then we had to make our way to an aerobic room to get our equipment out and take it to The Terror Club, which is where we were going to be playing tonight. We were pretty frustrated having to unnecessarily lug our equipment from one place to another. When we got there, it was like a little country club right off the base. Apparently, it's a mixed club where not only American Navy men go but also the Australian base and some others I don't remember off hand. The Terror Club, opposite to it's name, was just beautiful. We were slated to play outside where they have this stage among all this greenery. It was like performing in a rainforest. I was a little discouraged, however, when the manager Debbie had told us that they didn't really expect anyone there. She said that we might just be playing for the staff since all the ships are out. She also said that it's too bad we didn't come next week because that's when all the ships are in. Well that seems to be the underlying theme of this entire tour. Everyone keeps saying we either just missed the big crowds or we are leaving before they get there.

I was thinking of different possibilities for the show. I was thinking we could just do an acoustic set and give Tyler, my drummer, and the dancers a night off. I know everyone was getting frustrated. We were also concerned about setting up our equipment because it had been raining all morning and we didn't know if the rain was going to come back. Although we were under a canopy, we still didn't have tarps to cover our equipment with and it was so humid I know Tyler was concerned about ruining his drum kit.

After a spat with my father who argued we should treat this like any show and do the full sets as they are and me saying it's not worth it for no one, we decided to listen to him. His point was that you never know, there could end up being a lot of people and then you will be in a situation where you wished you did your full show. We all set up with a grouchy attitude and then waited a couple of hours until show time. When we were about to start there was absolutely no one on the patio. I was upset but at the same time content to tell my father "I told you so." But as we started to step on the stage, people started coming out of nowhere and sitting down. I don't even know where they were coming from. There were kids playing in the pool next door and then there were all of these people coming for pizza night where you make your own pizza and they cook it for you. So we had about a crowd of forty at first when we started our first two songs. As I warmed up I started to play with them a little bit and noticed they were really into it. There were a couple people in the crowd that had a smile on their face the whole time. Even though they were all eating their pizzas they were eager to get up and clap and sing along. Before we knew it we probably had a total crowd of about 70 people. The ending medley really grabbed them. They were probably the best crowd we have had yet to sing our closing American Medley.

When we were done, Debbie had come over and said everyone loved the show so much, even the Commander said that he is going to request that we come back next week when all the ships are in. We were somewhat surprised at the response and outcome since we thought this would be our smallest show yet. I mean the whole trip to Singapore started with no one to pick us up at the airport and nowhere to put our equipment and turned into this great show where they actually want more! We talked about it as a band and went over the possibilities. The only way to do another show is to extend our tour by an extra day but since we were already coming back to Singapore from Diego Garcia it is possible. We decided it would be worth it to do another show if 7 ships are going to be in which will have 7,000 extra people on base for the show. We are waiting to hear back from our military contact to see if they want to arrange it.

We got back to our haunted abode and were greeted by a white lizard that ran out of our room when we opened the door. There are so many bugs in our apartment it's scary to go anywhere. Between the bugs and what we think is a haunted room that was supposed to be Crystal's we still aren't very fond of our accommodations.

It was about 9:30pm and we decided since the schedule had gotten changed and we weren't planning on going to Diego Garcia for another day we would go out and see what nightlife Singapore has to offer. Wei Liang, Justin's friend, told us to meet him at this club called Zouk. When we were all waiting for the cab my dad asked who was singing and being so loud last night, and we said we heard something too and it wasn't us. That's even more proof that this place is haunted. Thank God I'm not staying alone. Crystal and I are actually sharing a room since we are so scared of this place.

After a long cab fiasco (we ordered two cabs for seven people and only one came leaving my Dad, Leah, and Jason to wait for Crystal, Justin and me for 25 minutes outside the club) we finally arrived at Zouk. I had never seen such an unbelievable crowd. The club was so packed and there was a tremendous line outside just to get in. However, unlike LA nightlife, it just takes a second to get through the door because they don't have any kind of a guest list. They just have to pace who gets in and when. When we got in the place was massive but it looked small because there were so many people there. We started off drinking a little in the lounge area. It would be the only place, we would find out, were any of us could talk and sit down. Everyone got a little tipsy. Wei Liang and his friend ordered a drink called Flaming Lamborghini which involved lighting a shot of some whiskey smelling alcohol on fire and then pouring some mixture of Bailey's and milk in the same flaming glass and chugging it. They also had another shot of this licorice flavor liquor that they took and then they lit their mouths on fire. Something about the alcohol allows your mouth to withstand the fire or something. It looked cool. As everyone warmed up, Crystal and I went to the bathroom and when we came back we saw Leah on the dance floor. This in itself wasn't shocking seeing Leah is in fact one of my dancers. What was shocking was who she was dancing with. She managed to get my brother and Orlando on the dance floor. We couldn't believe it. It was so great to see the two mostly unlikely candidates out there on the dance floor lettin' loose. We were definitely having fun now.

We then decided to make our way to the club section, which was divided into two massive rooms, the R&B and Hip Hop room and the 80's room. We all tried to go in the Hip Hop room first. It was ridiculously crowded. There was nowhere to walk and nowhere to stand. People were all packed in like sardines. I could never imagine what people like about that and any claustrophobic would break out into an epileptic fit at this point. We all agreed we would like to go into the less crowded room which Wei Liang called the 80's music room. When we tried to go in that room, we didn't notice it being less crowded and we couldn't believe how many people were in there dancing up a storm. What was funny is that they were all going crazy and dancing to the theme song from Sesame Street followed by the song "Everybody was Kung Fu Fighting…" That would have never gone over well in a club in LA. It was really funny! Crystal took pictures. About two minutes after we walked in, most of us were ready to leave. I know Wei Liang, my brother and Jason wanted to stay but they walked us to an Indian place where Crystal and I could eat something and then they went back into the sea of people. We ate some authentic Indian food, Roti Prata and some spicy noodles that are still burning my stomach the day after. We then took a cab home and left Justin, Jason and Wei Liang to party. We finally got to bed about 2:30am and are excited about our unexpected day off today. Because the flights to Diego Garcia only operate on certain days, they had to change our schedule around and cancel a show in Diego Garcia since we had to extend our stay in Singapore by an extra day. What a treat! Singapore is looking up.

Tuesday 7/10/07

Well we foreshadowed this day to be a disaster because we had to transfer flights in Taipei, which happens to be a different country. However, the complications we thought would happen didn't and ones far worse did. We left Okinawa at about 8:30am and made our way to the airport. When we finally checked in all of our baggage as usual we gave them our MCO's for our excess baggage. MCO's are coupons the government gives us in order to pay for all of our equipment and pieces of baggage we wouldn't normally bring on a trip if we weren't performing and weren't going for a month. Excess baggage per flight typically costs about $5,000 a flight, which in itself is ridiculous but on China Airlines, they decided it would cost $14,000 as well as an extra $500 for all of our carry ons. We were breaking a sweat because we only had that much to last us the rest of the tour and we don't want to be caught in a situation where we have to pay our way back home. We couldn't reach our military contact and we were about to miss the plane. They were also not reassuring us that we would get reimbursed for the $500 either. After a lot of contemplating and arguing we decided to charge the $500 and make our way to Singapore.

We had a long lay over in Taipei, which wasn't originally scheduled but we thought we would need more time to go through customs and re check our bags so they rescheduled our flight for later. It turned out we didn't even need to go through customs. It worked out well for Crystal since her aunt and grandparents live there so her aunt was actually able to meet us at the airport and we had lunch together while the rest of the crew waited at the gate. We had about 5 hours to kill in Taipei and then we took the flight to Singapore.

When we arrived in Singapore, we were greeted by my brother's friend Wei Long who happens to live there but goes to school at Duke with my brother. However, the person who wasn't there to meet us was our military contact. When my dad called to see where they were they told us they thought we were coming in earlier, on our original flight, and everyone went home. He didn't know how we were going to get a ride to the base or where we were going to stay or where to put our equipment. He was acting like it was our fault the flight was later and ignoring the fact that the military books all of our flights for us. It was a nightmare. We were contemplating sleeping in the airport. I can't imagine they care to have us there at all when they can't even be bothered to check the status of our arrival and plan accordingly. Either way, they knew we were going to be there that night and they knew we would need a place to store our equipment so I don't understand how us arriving later made a difference in their reservations. After a very tiring 17-hour day of traveling, we had to unload all of our equipment in a fitness room on the base only to find out that we have to load it all back up again first thing in the morning since it can't stay there.

It also turned out that our rooms were like lofts with separate bedrooms but common bathrooms so we were divided into groups of three and we have these giant lofts to ourselves. The space element in our rooms begs the question, "Why didn't we just store our equipment in our rooms since there is so much space." But now instead, we have to wake up early after a long day of traveling and move them all because no one wanted to be bothered telling us the details. And with all of this space, we don't even have Internet in the rooms or anywhere to buy water or food. We are really isolated. Did I mention Crystal just found a cockroach roaming around our bed area as well? I have to say Singapore is not on my good side right now.

Monday 7/9/07

Today was our day off and I don't really have anything eventful to report back. Crystal and I stayed behind while some of the others went back to the ruins and the castle. While Crystal and I were on the local shuttle to go to the Post Office and Exchange on base, there was this heavyset woman with two adorable little girls. You could see she was upset about something and she was fighting with her husband who had just told her to get on the shuttle and then said never mind get off so the bus driver had to turn around. As we were turning around she said to her girls, "Okay now don't cry we can go to the dollar store tomorrow." One of the little girls said, "I'm not sad. I don't even have any tears." It was so cute and then the mother said as they were getting out of the bus, "Okay girls let's take the long way back so that Mommy can smoke before she sees Daddy." That's America for you.

All the guys decided to go out on the town while the girls stayed in and did laundry at night. Tomorrow we leave for Singapore.