{"id":815,"date":"2013-12-25T13:16:15","date_gmt":"2013-12-25T13:16:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/markdavidscott.com\/?page_id=815"},"modified":"2013-12-30T17:53:19","modified_gmt":"2013-12-30T17:53:19","slug":"places","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/markdavidscott.com\/?page_id=815","title":{"rendered":"Places"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"800px-Mollweide_projection_SW\"<\/a><\/p>\n

(Image from Wikimedia Commons<\/a>)<\/em><\/p>\n

I’ve had the good fortune to travel to quite a few places in my lifetime, especially during a phase where I traveled quite a bit for business. Alarmingly, my memory of exactly where I’ve been – especially for one-time short business trips – seems to be slowly fading, so creating a record seems like a reasonable idea.<\/p>\n

This page will really have little value to anyone other than me, where I have more memories\/thoughts of a particular place (or country) – and have taken the time to capture this – there’s a link to a separate page.<\/p>\n

Australia<\/h2>\n

Melbourne<\/strong> – Flew here in 1994 – my first business trip, on my first co-op term – to talk with a company that made barcode scanning hardware we used on a project.<\/p>\n

Austria<\/h2>\n

Vienna<\/strong> – Beautiful European city I visited several times to see Mobilkom. Still remember talented music performers in an archway on the street with amazing acoustics; also eating in a building that was supposedly 400 years old.<\/p>\n

Belgium<\/h2>\n

Antwerp<\/strong> – I visited the “diamond capital” of the world while attending a summit on something at an Alcatel-Lucent office there.<\/p>\n

Brussels<\/strong> – Spent a couple of nights here in transit enroute to other destinations in Belgium.<\/p>\n

Namur <\/strong>– Small, peaceful town I visited for a couple of days to see a team at Alcatel-Lucent that was based there. Like much of Europe, has great local bakeries.<\/p>\n

Canada<\/h2>\n

Algonquin Park, ON<\/strong>\u00a0– Went camping, swimming, mountain biking with university friends here once. It’s really nice, mostly untouched – but boy, if you’re used to the tropics, even in the summer the water is freezing!<\/p>\n

Barrie, ON<\/strong>\u00a0– Christmas or other occasions would often happen in Barrie at Uncle Eric’s.<\/p>\n

Bruce Peninsula, ON\u00a0<\/strong>– Nice nature getaway during the summer, if you like hiking, lakes, and the countryside.<\/p>\n

Deep River, ON<\/strong>\u00a0– Little town of 5,000 I was born and lived in through 1982.<\/p>\n

Montreal, QC<\/strong> – Visited a few times during University, and again in 2006 when we held GenieSummit, VoiceGenie’s annual conference, there.<\/p>\n

Niagara Falls, ON<\/strong>\u00a0– At under 2 hours away from Toronto, it’s worth seeing the massive falls at least once; we took visitors on a few occasions.<\/p>\n

Ottawa, ON<\/strong> – My aunt and uncle live here, so I visited a few times as a kid, and quite a few more times in the late 2000s.<\/p>\n

Ottawa River, ON<\/strong> – I don’t know the name of the town we were closest to, but I sometime around 1998 – 1999, I went on a white water rafting trip up here which was lots of fun.<\/p>\n

Toronto, ON<\/strong>\u00a0(including Mississauga, North York, Scarborough) – My home during grade 8 and high school (1988 – 1993), my early work career (co-op from 1994 through 1998, full time 1998 – 1999), and the time I spent with VoiceGenie, Genesys, and Alcatel-Lucent (2002-2011).<\/p>\n

Quebec City, QC\u00a0<\/strong>– I was here for just one day, I believe for a meeting with Bell Canada.<\/p>\n

Vancouver, BC<\/strong> – Had just visited once before we moved to Kirkland; since then, we visit three or so times a year.<\/p>\n

Waterloo, ON<\/strong> – I went to University here (1993 – 1998).<\/p>\n

Whistler, ON<\/strong> – Famous ski place that I’ve visited three times and never skied (or snowboarded) at.<\/p>\n

China<\/h2>\n

Beijing<\/strong> – Spent a few days there prior to and during my boss’s team meeting in May 2011. Incredibly history, stunning juxtaposition of the rich and poor, great city to visit.<\/p>\n

England<\/h2>\n

London –\u00a0<\/strong>Visited as a kid (World’s Biggest Toy Store! \u00a0Wimpys! Lots of pigeons in Trafalgar Square!). \u00a0Went back once for business and wound up a 5 minute walk away from my Danish best friend from elementary school. \u00a0Met up with family there a couple of times since when they were there and I was nearby in Paris.<\/p>\n

Finland<\/h2>\n

Helsinki<\/strong> – An OMA standards meeting held here in 2009 provided a great reason to visit and meet with the standards team.<\/p>\n

France<\/h2>\n

Brest<\/strong>\u00a0– Spent one day here visiting with Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise team members.<\/p>\n

Nice <\/strong>(and Sophia)\u00a0– Great place in the south of France that I got to visit during due diligence on OpenPlug; Alcatel-Lucent subsequently bought the company.<\/p>\n

Paris<\/strong> – Many visits to Alcatel-Lucent’s offices here, with a personal vacation stuck on at least once. I love Paris – the food, the buildings, just being able to walk around.<\/p>\n

Rennes<\/strong>\u00a0– Came here once (with Valerie) to see the Alcatel-Lucent MRF team.<\/p>\n

Strasbourg\u00a0<\/strong>– Nice town in eastern France near an office where much of the Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise team was based.<\/p>\n

Versailles<\/strong> – The palace here is pretty spectacular; but looking at the beds and toilets of kings, you realize we all live better than that today.<\/p>\n

Germany<\/h2>\n

Frankfurt<\/strong> – I’ve flown through this airport so many times, it almost feels like I’ve actually visited.<\/p>\n

Munich<\/strong> – A one-day pure-business trip around 2010, to support sales I think, and of which I remember very little!<\/p>\n

Hong Kong<\/h2>\n

Stayed with my uncle there as a kid, visited with University friends, and had overnight transits several more times – most recently in December 2013.<\/p>\n

Ireland<\/h2>\n

Dublin<\/strong> – I came here for a day once during the late VoiceGenie \/ early Genesys days to help support sales with something for eircom, I think.<\/p>\n

India<\/h2>\n

Mumbai<\/strong> – Flew here for 24 hours on business to see Reliance; presented ~120 slides in 8 hours, then flew home. Nonetheless, it was an eye opening experience!<\/p>\n

Japan<\/h2>\n

Akashi\u00a0<\/strong>– Sugawara San’s hometown; we were able to spend a few days there in the mid 2000s.<\/p>\n

Fukushima<\/strong> – Our friends took us on a really nice getaway to a B&B in this area, and to Mt. Azuma-Kofuji.
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

Kyoto\u00a0<\/b>– A visit to the historical capital is a must if you appreciate Japan’s history, culture, or architecture.<\/p>\n

Mishima<\/strong> – Valerie worked here for a year, so we visited in the mid-2000s and met her former co-workers.<\/p>\n

Narita<\/strong> – Tokyo’s main international airport is about an hour away in Narita. I’ve flown through many times, but in the mid-2000s, we spent a day here, and it actually has nice temples, gardens, and walking of its own.<\/p>\n

Osaka<\/strong> – We stayed here a couple of nights during a ~10-day trip to Japan.<\/p>\n

Tokyo<\/strong>\u00a0–\u00a0<\/strong>I started visiting on business in 1999, and have made about 10 trips including for vacation; always a pleasure to visit.<\/p>\n

Yokohama<\/strong> – Our friends treated us to a Chinese dinner here on a couple of occasions.<\/p>\n

Malaysia<\/h2>\n

Batu Caves<\/strong> – Lots of steps up, then lots of stalactites and stalactites. And bats.<\/p>\n

Cameron Highlands<\/strong> – Nice retreat from the warm temperatures; I’ve been up a dozen or so times on vacation, staying at a family home.<\/p>\n

Genting Highlands<\/strong> – Hilltop resort with gambling (illegal elsewhere), visited once or twice but with few memories.<\/p>\n

Ipoh<\/strong> – Lunch stop for us on the way to Cameron Highlands (or Penang). \u00a0Ipoh Kuey Teow!<\/p>\n

Kenyir Lake<\/strong> – Artificial lake in Terengganu; people go there to fish, but I seem to recall that the toman fish there could eat whole monkeys!<\/p>\n

Kuala Lumpur<\/strong>\u00a0– I lived here from 1982 – 1988, have visited many times since, and it always feels like home despite massive changes.<\/p>\n

Klang<\/strong> – Port town an hour west of KL that we seemed to visit to eat crabs (which I don’t really eat).<\/p>\n

Lumut \/ Pangkor<\/strong> – I spent a week here in 1987 (or 88?) on at Wilderness Adventure Camp, with my school.<\/p>\n

Malacca<\/strong> – Historical port town south of KL, occupied by many nations over time; I went there for a school field trip.<\/p>\n

Penang<\/strong> –\u00a0Island city on the northwest coast we’ve visited on several occasions.<\/p>\n

Port Dickson<\/strong> – Seaside town about 1.5 hours west of KL; spent some time playing on the beach here as a kid, got stung by a stingray here!<\/p>\n

Pulau Lankawi<\/strong> – Island in the northwest that we went with the family to on our “honeymoon” trip.<\/p>\n

Pulau Redang<\/strong>\u00a0– Beautiful island off the east coast with some amazing snorkling, at least back in the 90s.<\/p>\n

Rantau Abang<\/strong>\u00a0(and Kuala Terengganu) – A beach on the east coast in Terengganu we made a number of childhood trips to, often to see giant leatherback turtles laying eggs.<\/p>\n

Taman Negara<\/strong> – National forest, with lots of wildlife. \u00a0I visited once in 1999 with friends from University.<\/p>\n

Poland<\/h2>\n

Warsaw<\/strong> – I was here for one day, on a business trip, meeting with a VoiceGenie partner. I was surprised that pirogis were still like $15; I thought they’d be inexpensive!<\/p>\n

Singapore<\/h2>\n

Most often we transited through Singapore, but I’ve spent a day or two at times with family. Nice airport<\/a>!<\/p>\n

Spain<\/h2>\n

Barcelona<\/strong> – Came here with Valerie for Mobile World Congress 2006 + planned vacation, had to leave her after a few days with Aimee due to acquisition due diligence.<\/p>\n

Taiwan<\/h2>\n

Kaohsiung<\/strong> – Valerie’s hometown, which I’ve visited four or five times.<\/p>\n

Pingtung<\/strong> – Perhaps the best aquarium I’ve ever seen is here.<\/p>\n

Taipei<\/strong> – We often fly in\/out of here on trips to Taiwan, with a few days to see family and sites nearby.<\/p>\n

Taoyuan<\/strong> – Visited several bakeries and other attractions near here on a 3-day transit in early 2013.<\/p>\n

The Farm<\/strong> – Valerie’s dad has a container house out here that we spent a night in while doing some nearby tourism.<\/p>\n

United States (outside Washington)<\/h2>\n

Scottsdale, AZ<\/strong> – The first conference I attended with VoiceGenie, TVUI, was held on a resort here. Boy it gets hot!<\/p>\n

Grand Canyon, AZ<\/strong> – We took a day trip here from Las Vegas. Makes you feel pretty small; try to go for sunset or sunrise.<\/p>\n

Half Moon Bay, CA<\/strong> – We came to this outpost on the Pacific coast for a Genesys engineering meeting in the late 2000s; nice views of the ocean.<\/p>\n

Los Angeles, CA<\/strong> – Have flown through countless times, never a pleasure! One business trip here around 2000; attended a Final Fantasy concert here in early 2000s.<\/p>\n

Mountain View, CA<\/b> – Many trips to Silicon Valley, generally for work, and especially since joining Google.<\/p>\n

Muir Woods, CA<\/strong> – Really, really tall trees.<\/p>\n

San Francisco, CA<\/strong> – Countless trips, often to Daly City (a little south) as that was Genesys’ HQ – but some vacation\/family time too.<\/p>\n

Yosemite, CA<\/strong> – True natural beauty, and highly worth visiting; we went in September 2009.<\/p>\n

Washington, DC<\/strong> – We came into town to visit the Smithsonian museums, and once for the 4th of July.<\/p>\n

Key West, FL<\/strong> – Valerie and I spent 3 days here in April 2006 on a VoiceGenie President’s Club trip. Tried jet-skiing for the first time. Thanks Thomas!<\/p>\n

Miami, FL<\/strong> – Attended a Genesys customer summit in September 2006, stayed at the very nice Trump International hotel here.<\/p>\n

Orlando, FL<\/strong> – We visited Disneyworld here in early 2001.<\/p>\n

Atlanta, GA<\/strong> – Traveled here a few times on business, but never really explored; I was always out in the suburbs, somehow.<\/p>\n

Chicago, IL<\/strong> – Frequent transit hub; I must have flown through a dozen times or more. Only went into the city once, with Thomas C. for a dinner with Oracle – awesome steak!<\/p>\n

Naperville, IL<\/strong> – Large Alcatel-Lucent facility here I visited quite frequently, and a large contributor to flying through Chicago. Riverwalk was pretty nice!<\/p>\n

Boston, MA<\/strong> – Came here various times but always on business, with Brooktrout, Speechworks, Alcatel-Lucent, and perhaps others. Chocolates for Valerie at Neimann Marcus (Frank T. wanted to pick something up there) were expensive!<\/p>\n

Baltimore, MD<\/strong>\u00a0– Not too far when we lived in Ashburn, we came up here once for dinner near the harbor.<\/p>\n

Detroit, MI<\/strong> – Drove to attend a W3C meeting here, in the big GM complex downtown.<\/p>\n

St. Louis, MO<\/strong> – Spent one night here on a business trip; walked a little, but don’t remember much other than the arch.<\/p>\n

Bozeman, MT<\/strong> – Small town with lots of charm, surrounded by mountains with lots of natural beauty. Came for a meeting with RightNow technologies; one cancelled flight meant an 8 hour delay. Tried bison for the first time – very tasty! I can definitely see why people might want to live here.<\/p>\n

New Orleans, LA<\/strong> – Did a 2-day visit to cross the 100k Aeroplan threshold in 2010, discovered a unique North American city with lots of local charm.<\/p>\n

Omaha, NB<\/strong> – Traveled here once on business, with Teleperformance I think? Remember winding up in a dodgy part of town just trying to get gas for the rental!<\/p>\n

Middletown, NJ<\/strong> – Storied headquarters of Bell Labs, where cool things like Unix were invented; I first visited elemedia here, later AT&T as a customer.<\/p>\n

Newark, NJ<\/strong> – I’ve flown through Newark airport perhaps 20 times. Never will it grow on me. Delays seem inevitable here.<\/p>\n

Summit, NJ<\/strong> – Alcatel-Lucent’s US headquarters is here, so I traveled here a lot.<\/p>\n

Las Vegas, NV<\/strong> – Hotels, casinos, food, shows. \u00a0Came here once with Valerie circa 2007, then again with Valerie’s family in August 2009.<\/p>\n

Buffalo, NY<\/strong> – The first hop driving into the US from Toronto; also, outlet malls, and got my SSN here.<\/p>\n

Ithaca, NY<\/strong>\u00a0– Home of Cornell University, which I visited for the graduation of my cousins Kevin and Vincent.<\/p>\n

New York, NY<\/strong> – Vacation for New Years here in 2000 -> 2001, have also come for business a handful of times – just before 9\/11, and with Google in 2012 and 2013.<\/p>\n

Rochester, NY<\/strong> – I bought my first “real” project (Sony VPL-VW50) here – didn’t see the city, though, as we drove to the suburbs here after work, then went home immediately!<\/p>\n

Philadelphia, PA<\/strong> – Attended Chin Aun and Chin Pang’s graduation here in 1996.<\/p>\n

Houston, TX<\/strong> – Spent what felt like a week or so here in 1989 when my mom was being treated at Arthur Anderson here.<\/p>\n

Ashburn, VA<\/strong> – Our home from 1999 – 2001 while working for Comdial, ePhone, and ETI in the US.<\/p>\n

Charlottesville, VA<\/strong>\u00a0– Comdial’s headquarters, which I visited maybe 3 or 4 times. Watch out for speed traps!<\/p>\n

Herndon, VA<\/strong> – Comdial’s Array Telecom (and subsequently ePhone) offices were here.<\/p>\n

Luray, VA<\/strong> – The Luray Caverns are here, and extend deep below ground. Quite the sight, and a nice drive too.<\/p>\n

Roanoke, VA<\/strong> – Valerie and I spent one night here when she dragged us to play badminton at the Commonwealth Games held here.<\/p>\n

United States – Washington<\/h2>\n

Bainbridge Island, WA<\/strong> – Just west from Seattle by ferry, it’s not a bad day trip and it’s interesting to walk around.<\/p>\n

Edmonds, WA<\/strong> – Nice stretch of beach we’ve taken the kids to on several occasions, plus other seasonal events.<\/p>\n

Friday Harbor, WA<\/strong> – Went on a whale watching cruise with Google co-workers in July 2012. Not so many whales, but nice cruise, and pleasant place to visit.<\/p>\n

Hurricane Ridge, WA<\/strong> – Nice view from up in the Olympic mountains, with decent hiking trails.<\/p>\n

Issaquah, WA<\/strong> – We go to the Costco here all the time, but the salmon hatchery is worth seeing when the salmon are spawning.<\/p>\n

Kirkland, WA<\/strong>\u00a0– Our home and my work since October 2011. We’re often in Bellevue to the south or Redmond to the east, too.<\/p>\n

Mount Rainier, WA<\/strong> – The whole national park area around here offers lots for hikers, and Mt. Rainer is something to see up close.<\/p>\n

Mount Vernon, WA<\/strong> – Not actually a mountain, but home to spectacular tulip fields.<\/p>\n

North Bend, WA<\/strong> – I doubt any outlet mall is surrounded by such a picturesque set of mountains; we’ve been probably 5-10 times.<\/p>\n

Olympia, WA<\/strong> – We visited the capital once when on a camping trip.<\/p>\n

Seattle, WA<\/strong> – Just across the bridge, we’re generally down there every couple of months for something.<\/p>\n

Sequim, WA<\/strong> – We stayed at a nice B&B with the family while exploring the Olympic Peninsula.<\/p>\n

Stevens Pass, WA<\/strong> – Went here with Googler co-workers on a team ski trip. Plenty of fun, despite (because?) I have no idea how to ski.<\/p>\n

Twanoh State Park, WA<\/strong> – There’s an annual clam hunting event on a beach here; we went in 2012. I don’t like clams, but interesting to see once.<\/p>\n

Hiking –\u00a0<\/strong>Rattlesnake Lake, Twin Falls, Kelsey Creek, Franklin falls are all great hiking trails we’ve been in there are a reasonable distance from Kirkland.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

(Image from Wikimedia Commons) I’ve had the good fortune to travel to quite a few places in my lifetime, especially during a phase where I traveled quite a bit for business. Alarmingly, my memory of exactly where I’ve been – especially for one-time short business trips – seems to be slowly fading, so creating a record seems like a reasonable idea. This page will really have little value to anyone other than me, where I have more memories\/thoughts of a particular place (or country) – and have taken the time to capture this – there’s a link to a separate page. Australia Melbourne – Flew here in 1994 – my first business trip, on my first co-op term – to talk with a company that made barcode scanning hardware we used on a project. Austria Vienna – Beautiful European city I visited several times to see Mobilkom. Still remember talented music performers in an archway on the street with amazing acoustics; also eating in a building that was supposedly 400 years old. Belgium Antwerp – I visited the “diamond capital” of the world while attending a summit on something at an Alcatel-Lucent office there. Brussels – Spent a couple of nights here in transit enroute to other destinations in Belgium. Namur – Small, peaceful town I visited for a couple of days to see a team at Alcatel-Lucent that was based there. Like much of Europe, has great local bakeries. Canada Algonquin Park, ON\u00a0– Went camping, swimming, mountain biking with university friends here once. It’s really nice, mostly untouched – but boy, if you’re used to the tropics, even in the summer the water is freezing! Barrie, ON\u00a0– Christmas or other occasions would often happen in Barrie at Uncle Eric’s. Bruce Peninsula, ON\u00a0– Nice nature getaway during the summer, if you like hiking, lakes, and the countryside. Deep River, ON\u00a0– Little town of 5,000 I was born and lived in through 1982. Montreal, QC – Visited a few times during University, and again in 2006 when we held GenieSummit, VoiceGenie’s annual conference, there. Niagara Falls, ON\u00a0– At under 2 hours away from Toronto, it’s worth seeing the massive falls at least once; we took visitors on a few occasions. Ottawa, ON – My aunt and uncle live here, so I visited a few times as a kid, and quite a few more times in the late 2000s. Ottawa River, ON – I don’t know the name of the town we were closest to, but I sometime around 1998 – 1999, I went on a white water rafting trip up here which was lots of fun. Toronto, ON\u00a0(including Mississauga, North York, Scarborough) – My home during grade 8 and high school (1988 – 1993), my early work career (co-op from 1994 through 1998, full time 1998 – 1999), and the time I spent with VoiceGenie, Genesys, and Alcatel-Lucent (2002-2011). Quebec City, QC\u00a0– I was here for just one day, I believe for a meeting with Bell Canada. Vancouver, BC – Had just visited once before we moved to Kirkland; since then, we visit three or so times a year. Waterloo, ON – I went to University here (1993 – 1998). Whistler, ON – Famous ski place that I’ve visited three times and never skied (or snowboarded) at. China Beijing – Spent a few days there prior to and during my boss’s team meeting in May 2011. Incredibly history, stunning juxtaposition of the rich and poor, great city to visit. England London –\u00a0Visited as a kid (World’s Biggest Toy Store! \u00a0Wimpys! Lots of pigeons in Trafalgar Square!). \u00a0Went back once for business and wound up a 5 minute walk away from my Danish best friend from elementary school. \u00a0Met up with family there a couple of times since when they were there and I was nearby in Paris. Finland Helsinki – An OMA standards meeting held here in 2009 provided a great reason to visit and meet with the standards team. France Brest\u00a0– Spent one day here visiting with Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise team members. Nice (and Sophia)\u00a0– Great place in the south of France that I got to visit during due diligence on OpenPlug; Alcatel-Lucent subsequently bought the company. Paris – Many visits to Alcatel-Lucent’s offices here, with a personal vacation stuck on at least once. I love Paris – the food, the buildings, just being able to walk around. Rennes\u00a0– Came here once (with Valerie) to see the Alcatel-Lucent MRF team. Strasbourg\u00a0– Nice town in eastern France near an office where much of the Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise team was based. Versailles – The palace here is pretty spectacular; but looking at the beds and toilets of kings, you realize we all live better than that today. Germany Frankfurt – I’ve flown through this airport so many times, it almost feels like I’ve actually visited. Munich – A one-day pure-business trip around 2010, to support sales I think, and of which I remember very little! Hong Kong Stayed with my uncle there as a kid, visited with University friends, and had overnight transits several more times – most recently in December 2013. Ireland Dublin – I came here for a day once during the late VoiceGenie \/ early Genesys days to help support sales with something for eircom, I think. India Mumbai – Flew here for 24 hours on business to see Reliance; presented ~120 slides in 8 hours, then flew home. Nonetheless, it was an eye opening experience! Japan Akashi\u00a0– Sugawara San’s hometown; we were able to spend a few days there in the mid 2000s. Fukushima – Our friends took us on a really nice getaway to a B&B in this area, and to Mt. Azuma-Kofuji. Kyoto\u00a0– A visit to the historical capital is a must if you appreciate Japan’s history, culture, or architecture. Mishima – Valerie worked here for a year, so we visited in the mid-2000s and met her former co-workers. Narita – Tokyo’s main international airport is about an hour away in Narita. I’ve flown through many times, but in the mid-2000s, we spent a day here, and it actually has nice temples, gardens, and walking of its own. Osaka – We stayed here a couple of nights during a ~10-day trip to Japan. Tokyo\u00a0–\u00a0I started visiting on business in 1999, and have made about 10 trips including for vacation; always a pleasure to visit. Yokohama – Our friends treated us to a Chinese dinner here on a couple of occasions. Malaysia Batu Caves – Lots of steps up, then lots of stalactites and stalactites. And bats. Cameron Highlands – Nice retreat from the warm temperatures; I’ve been up a dozen or so times on vacation, staying at a family home. Genting Highlands – Hilltop resort with gambling (illegal elsewhere), visited once or twice but with few memories. Ipoh – Lunch stop for us on the way to Cameron Highlands (or Penang). \u00a0Ipoh Kuey Teow! Kenyir Lake – Artificial lake in Terengganu; people go there to fish, but I seem to recall that the toman fish there could eat whole monkeys! Kuala Lumpur\u00a0– I lived here from 1982 – 1988, have visited many times since, and it always feels like home despite massive changes. Klang – Port town an hour west of KL that we seemed to visit to eat crabs (which I don’t really eat). Lumut \/ Pangkor – I spent a week here in 1987 (or 88?) on at Wilderness Adventure Camp, with my school. Malacca – Historical port town south of KL, occupied by many nations over time; I went there for a school field trip. Penang –\u00a0Island city on the northwest coast we’ve visited on several occasions. Port Dickson – Seaside town about 1.5 hours west of KL; spent some time playing on the beach here as a kid, got stung by a stingray here! Pulau Lankawi – Island in the northwest that we went with the family to on our “honeymoon” trip. Pulau Redang\u00a0– Beautiful island off the east coast with some amazing snorkling, at least back in the 90s. Rantau Abang\u00a0(and Kuala Terengganu) – A beach on the east coast in Terengganu we made a number of childhood trips to, often to see giant leatherback turtles laying eggs. Taman Negara – National forest, with lots of wildlife. \u00a0I visited once in 1999 with friends from University. Poland Warsaw – I was here for one day, on a business trip, meeting with a VoiceGenie partner. I was surprised that pirogis were still like $15; I thought they’d be inexpensive! Singapore Most often we transited through Singapore, but I’ve spent a day or two at times with family. Nice airport! Spain Barcelona – Came here with Valerie for Mobile World Congress 2006 + planned vacation, had to leave her after a few days with Aimee due to acquisition due diligence. Taiwan Kaohsiung – Valerie’s hometown, which I’ve visited four or five times. Pingtung – Perhaps the best aquarium I’ve ever seen is here. Taipei – We often fly in\/out of here on trips to Taiwan, with a few days to see family and sites nearby. Taoyuan – Visited several bakeries and other attractions near here on a 3-day transit in early 2013. The Farm – Valerie’s dad has a container house out here that we spent a night in while doing some nearby tourism. United States (outside Washington) Scottsdale, AZ – The first conference I attended with VoiceGenie, TVUI, was held on a resort here. Boy it gets hot! Grand Canyon, AZ – We took a day trip here from Las Vegas. Makes you feel pretty small; try to go for sunset or sunrise. Half Moon Bay, CA – We came to this outpost on the Pacific coast for a Genesys engineering meeting in the late 2000s; nice views of the ocean. Los Angeles, CA – Have flown through countless times, never a pleasure! One business trip here around 2000; attended a Final Fantasy concert here in early 2000s. Mountain View, CA – Many trips to Silicon Valley, generally for work, and especially since joining Google. Muir Woods, CA – Really, really tall trees. San Francisco, CA – Countless trips, often to Daly City (a little south) as that was Genesys’ HQ – but some vacation\/family time too. Yosemite, CA – True natural beauty, and highly worth visiting; we went in September 2009. Washington, DC – We came into town to visit the Smithsonian museums, and once for the 4th of July. Key West, FL – Valerie and I spent 3 days here in April 2006 on a VoiceGenie President’s Club trip. Tried jet-skiing for the first time. Thanks Thomas! Miami, FL – Attended a Genesys customer summit in September 2006, stayed at the very nice Trump International hotel here. Orlando, FL – We visited Disneyworld here in early 2001. Atlanta, GA – Traveled here a few times on business, but never really explored; I was always out in the suburbs, somehow. Chicago, IL – Frequent transit hub; I must have flown through a dozen times or more. Only went into the city once, with Thomas C. for a dinner with Oracle – awesome steak! Naperville, IL – Large Alcatel-Lucent facility here I visited quite frequently, and a large contributor to flying through Chicago. Riverwalk was pretty nice! Boston, MA – Came here various times but always on business, with Brooktrout, Speechworks, Alcatel-Lucent, and perhaps others. Chocolates for Valerie at Neimann Marcus (Frank T. wanted to pick something up there) were expensive! Baltimore, MD\u00a0– Not too far when we lived in Ashburn, we came up here once for dinner near the harbor. Detroit, MI – Drove to attend a W3C meeting here, in the big GM complex downtown. St. Louis, MO – Spent one night here on a business trip; walked a little, but don’t remember much other than the arch. Bozeman, MT – Small town with lots of charm, surrounded by mountains with lots of natural beauty. Came for a meeting with RightNow technologies; one cancelled flight meant an 8 hour delay. Tried bison…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-815","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/markdavidscott.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/815","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/markdavidscott.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/markdavidscott.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/markdavidscott.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/markdavidscott.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=815"}],"version-history":[{"count":15,"href":"https:\/\/markdavidscott.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/815\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":841,"href":"https:\/\/markdavidscott.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/815\/revisions\/841"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/markdavidscott.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=815"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}