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CNNGo column: A wintry postcard from Atlanta

Photo by Jonathan Y

Latest CNNGo.com "Say What? with mrbrown" column: A wintry postcard from Atlanta

Excerpt:

I am in Atlanta right now and it is freaking cold. I am talking high of 2 degrees Celsius and low of -2.

When I first looked at my weather app to see what the temperatures were going to be in Atlanta before embarking on my 25-hour flight here from Singapore, I saw 22 and thought, that doesn't seem so bad.

It's almost Singapore air-conditioned office temperatures. But now that I am shivering in my long johns, I now know that was in Fahrenheit.

I packed as many winter clothes as I could. Long johns, two sweaters, very thick gloves, a thick jacket, a wind breaker and a wooly hat. Being a dweller of the Equator, I knew that I was not equipped to handle cold climes.

My only concern was that my wooly hat, which I picked up in New Zealand, said "All Blacks" and I was getting odd looks from some African-Americans in Atlanta. I guess they don't play rugby here. (cont'd)

Atlanta: Fish, Art and CNN

Another of Atlanta's big attractions is the Georgia Aquarium. It is located right next to The World of Coca-Cola (I guess they like to park all their attractions in one spot) and is the biggest aquarium in the world.

My favorite were the penguins. There is a crawl space where you can crawl into a small tunnel under the penguin display so that you can pop your head up a window and see them up close. My old man bones are still recovering from crawling in there with other people's kids.

If you really want to, you can also pop over to the CNN headquarters for their studio tour. It is US$15 for the regular tour and US$35 for the VIP tour. It was a little overpriced for that one hour tour, I felt but still, interesting to see the inside of one of the biggest news channels in the world.

There is some decent shopping to be had at the Lenox mall, their biggest mall there. You can also check out the Premium Factory Outlets some 45 minutes away by car.

What is REALLY worth a trip though, is the High Museum of Art. Jonathan and I went to see the Salvotore Dali exhibition there and it was awesome ("awesome" is a term you should use for everything in day-to-day conversations in America. The other word is "absolutely"). For US$18 entry to the museum and US$5 for the audio tour gear for the Dali show, you get a lovely way to spend the afternoon if you are a museum and art gallery geek like me.

Besides Dali, we also got to see the photographs of Peter Sekaer, one of the leading Depression-era photographers. The museum recently acquired more than seventy rare vintage prints of his and this was the first time they were exhibited. It was a real treat for Jonathan and me.

The other thing I thoroughly enjoyed was the ice hockey game. We went to watch the Atlanta Thrashers compete against the Boston Bruins at the Philips Arena. For a ice hockey newbie like me, it was still very enjoyable. I was using hokkien and soccer terms throughout the game and I am sure the American fans next to me were wondering what I was saying.

They certainly know how to put on a show in the US. There were hot ladies who came out to clean the ice in the breaks between periods. There were also silly contests and the kiss cam (when the camera points at a couple, they are supposed to kiss for the stadium screens). No moment was allowed to be boring.

The Thrashers won on a penalty shootout when the game drew 2-2 even after overtime. Sure they may not be a top-tiered team in the NHL but the game was still very fun for me.

We finished the evening with some jazz at The Whisper Room, part of the Churchill Room next to the Fox Theater. Man, was the band good. I wanted to stay all night just to hear their entire set but it was a long day out and we were bushed.

Atlanta: The World of Coca-Cola

One of the main reasons we were here was to see the World of Coca-Cola, the Coca-Cola HQ, and to welcome the three travelers from Expedition 206. The three, Tony, Kelly and Antonio, were part of a campaign by Coke where they had to travel to 206 countries in 365 days, to find out what Happiness meant to people around the world. It's more than a soft drink, folks, it's happiness in a bottle.

The World of Coca-Cola is easily the biggest attraction in Atlanta. You get to see all the history of Coke, all kinds of Coke memorabilia and a mini bottling plant.

There were the usual things an American attraction has: Photo ops with the Coke polar bear, a 4-D show, but the most fun part was tasting drinks made by the company for their markets all over the world. The most "famous" drink is Beverly from Italy. It is an, er, acquired taste. It was fun to see folks place their cup at the Beverly fountain and take a sip, then wince.

We got a little carried away in the Coke Store. I think it is one of the few soft drink brands you'd buy souvenirs and wear t-shirts with its logo on it. I got a cool Japanese Coke cap and some special edition bottles for my dad, a lifelong Coke drinker.

The highlight of our visit was the a visit to the Coca-Cola HQ and the Archives. We got to see the restored office of their most famous CEO, the late Robert Woodruff and the offices of their HQ.

In the Archives, Ted Ryan, who manages the Archives showed us his extensive collection. Ted also blogs at Coca-Cola Conversations, their official blog.

Let me just say that the Archives had EVERYTHING. Coke art dating back to the 1930s, old Fanta bottles I grew up with (anyone remember the Green Fanta drink in the ribbed bottles?) and even a special drink fountain and can of Coca-cola that went to space in the space shuttles.

There was a small media circus when the Expedition 206 team officially made their arrival to the final destination of their year-long trip, The World of Coca-Cola itself. I had the opportunity to catch up with Tony, Kelly and Antonio over dinner and Tony regaled us with his tales of their travels.

Tony, I hope you've recovered from jumping into the cold waters of that waterfall and the sometimes dodgy plane rides on domestic airlines that shall not be named, dude.

They also remembered the warm hospitality of the polytechnic students when they stopped over in Singapore.

To travel to more countries in one year than most people have been to in a lifetime, that is really something. I am not sure if I would have the same kind of energy as these three young people.

Atlanta: Touchdown

It took more than 25 hours to get to Atlanta from Singapore. I was traveling with Tiffany from Coca-Cola and Jonathan, a photojournalist, for this trip to Coca-Cola's HQ.

We were fortunate because we came via San Francisco instead of New York because the East Coast was totally snowed-in and all you saw on the news was how badly snowed-in things were there.

Flights were canceled, roads closed and public transport suspended in New Jersey and New York. On the plane, I watched the Delta airlines NBC channel news and got a little worried about Atlanta.

But we landed safely and without incident. The only big deal was walking out into the 0°C temperatures for the first time then running back into the airport to get my heavier sweater out of the luggage.

It was early morning when we landed so after a shower and some breakfast, we decided to visit Martin Luther King, Jr's birthplace. It was a little surreal because when we took the subway to the station nearest to Auburn Avenue, there was hardly anyone around. I am not sure if it is the winter, or the Christmas holidays, or because the place is generally not visited during this season but the streets were quite deserted.

It is rather humbling to be in the place where Mr King was born and where his memorial park is. It was like being transported into history.

The rest of downtown Atlanta itself was a little underwhelming. I expected to see a visible downtown but it had more of a spread out city centre.

We decided to grab lunch at Johnny Rocket's, famous for their huge burgers. Our meal was so big, we ate that and did not have dinner. In fact, all three of us slept through dinner, jet-lagged from our long flight and the 13-hour time difference. Good thing the hotel we were staying at, the Georgian Terrace, was nice and cozy. I had a one-bedroom suite all to myself, with two big-screen televisions, one in the living room and one in the bedroom.

So that you can watch half your program in the living room then, for a change of pace, watch the other half in the bedroom, I guess. I am not complaining.