The Bathing Bandit Strikes Again!

Location: Tokyo Narita Airport - American Airlines Lounge

I usually fly Japan Airlines for my yearly trip home to the Philippines and I always say that one of the best rewards for enduring a 14 plus hour plane ride is the shower and free massage that awaits me at Tokyo's Narita Airport. Japan Airline's Sakura Lounge is one of the best I've every seen. The 2-story lounge offers shower rooms, free massages, a bank of massage chairs and private office areas on the first level. The second level houses a generous buffet spread and premium bar. A note about the massage chairs: as you know, Japanese people are really into their gadgets, so the features and functions on the massage chairs are no exception. However, all the buttons are labeled in Japanese and if you were silly enough, like I was, to just randomly press a bunch of buttons, you will end up looking like a vibrating, gyrating, convulsing idiot on a chair - like I did. It took 2 attendants to figure out how to stop the high-tech torture device and get the beast to release my legs. Also, these chairs are not meant for people under 5' 3". I happen to be 4' 11" and what should have been an invigorating shiatsu neck massage turned out to be a skull thumper for a shorty like me.

This year, on my way back to the States, I flew American and had the pleasure of trying out their lounge. The MNL - NRT leg of the flight leaves at around 9 a.m. so I am normally on my way to the airport by 5. I take a shower the night before, then stumble into the car at the crack of dawn. When I get to Tokyo, I take another shower, change into my pajamas and prepare for my long trip back to the States. Here's what the American Airlines' shower room looks like:

Entrance to the shower rooms

Shower stall

Inside the stall - funky green tiles!

Sink area

Okay, so it may not be as lovely as Japan Airlines' shower room facilities, but hey, it got the job done. Long-haul travel is exhausting and just having the opportunity to take a shower before or after the ordeal is a blessing. I certainly wouldn't knock it. Besides, and I've always maintained this philosophy...ultimately, it's you who can turn a simple bathing ritual into the most spa-tastic, indulgent and relaxing experience ever.

Have TSA-approved luxurious bath products, will travel.

I left my heart in Singapore

Here are more pictures from my Singapore trip.

Down the street from my hotel.

Notice how lush and green everything is? Streets in Singapore are lined with various types of greenery from tall shady trees to cute little flowering shrubs. All wiring is installed underground so no worries about trees knocking down power lines. Driving from the airport to my hotel, all I saw was a blur of green as we sped down the highway. The last time I was in SG was about 20 years ago. The place is even more beautiful than I remember it.

Hotel neighbourhood.

I stayed in a lovely neighbourhood known as Clarke Quay and it was perfect. It has an amazing restaurant and bar scene and yet at the same, still manage to be a nice little retreat from the hustle and bustle that is Singapore. I knew Orchard Road would be crowded, especially during the holiday shopping season and I've had my fair share of dealing with holiday crowds in NYC and Manila. In the top picture, my hotel is to the right and a footbridge walk away from all the restaurants and bars...where I met up with my high school friend Opal.

She was kind enough to fly in from Bangkok to meet me. We haven't seen each other for almost 10 years and nothing about our friendship has changed - it was like we were 14 all over again. I've known Opal since my boarding school days in high school. She was unlucky enough to live right across the hall from me and we played so many pranks on her. One classic prank comes to mind - when we moved her entire bed into the shower/bathroom area of our dorm!

20 some-odd years later, Opal and I are still up to our antics. Here's a picture of her modeling a box of cookies with a rather peculiar name. It was seriously sitting right next to a box of cookies called Collon Cream (different spelling, same pronunciation, equally hilarious.) I would have taken a picture of that as well, but we could barely contain ourselves with our covert modeling session. I did end up buying both the D'Asses & Collon Cream cookies and you know what? They're both really quite tasty - so there!

Yum!

At a bar called Clinic.

We're actually sitting on a hospital-type bed. If we were at a regular table, we'd be sitting on golden wheelchairs. Knowing me and Opal, we probably would've had wheelchair races, so best we kept our butts firmly glued to immovable objects.

Note to self: Trapeze dresses make me look fat. And has anyone seen where my neck went?

For those of you stalking our storefront - I hate to say this out loud and commit it to writing, but it looks like we're slated for a March re-opening. If all goes well and the re-org continues as planned, we'll be good to go in March. Probably no new scent launches at first. Just a general clearing out of scents which I'll be discontinuing.

I've been receiving a lot of inquiries from would-be new customers (bless your hearts) and there seems to be a big demand for sampler sets or just smaller sized products for sampling so I think I'll focus on this when we re-open. I'll try to keep it as simple and pared-down as possible so TAT doesn't spiral out of control.

Till my next post...

Better late than never...

First and foremost, congratulations to Jane D. of Charlotte, NC for winning January's Gimme That contest. Whoo!!!

As promised, here are some pics from my recent trip to Singapore to introduce Crater Lake Company.

Outside the restaurant/bar where we held the launch party.

This is the same venue used by brands like L'Oreal and The Body Shop to throw launch or customer loyalty parties.

Inside the restaurant

We had such a great turnout that we had to do 2 rounds of product demonstrations. Notice the table in the forefront with all the CLC goodies! This picture was taken right as the first wave of people were settling in for the presentation.

Me (in the middle) with the 2 people who made this all happen

I'll post more pictures in my next entry. For those who know my weird idiosyncracy of taking showers in airport lounges, I'll post pictures of the American Airlines shower room at Tokyo's Narita Airport.

I've been getting daily e-mails asking about the re-opening and I wish I could be more specific. Thank you so much for your patience and I'm asking for just a bit more time. I am really taking stock of what needs to be in place before I can re-open and deliver in a timely manner. In the interest of time, I may offer mostly pre-made products in 2 oz. or smaller sizes for your sampling pleasure. I may be able to accomodate custom orders for some products such as our new Putting on the Spritz hair & body mist and perfumes. I'm also trying to figure out ways to streamline operations, such as dedicating one or two days to just packing and preparing orders for shipment.

I'll keep you posted on my progress. My next post, will be about my bathing experience in the American Airlines shower room at Tokyo's Narita Airport.