Renaissance in China

China - Every where I go there will always be some article about China. China's development and growth has been more than phenomenal. In November, I went to Sydney and everyone is talking about China. Why? because China is now Australia's largest export market and it is the real reason for the strong Australian dollar and booming economy. Sydney taxi drivers talk about how China has made Western Australia a booming state and made many people there rich.

In such a short period of time, China has become an economic Juggernaut:
- World largest mobile phone subscribers and still growing...
- 3rd largest economy in the World - by end of 2007, China will overtake Germany to be the 3rd largest economy in the World
- Bringing more than 100 million people out of poverty in 10 years

World's Largest Steel Producer - China surpassed the US to become the World's largest steel producer in 1997 (10 years ago). China's mills have increased their output five fold over the decade, to about 38% of the world's total.
Reference:
IHT

World's Largest Exporter - In September 2005, OECD stated that China could be the World's largest exporter by 2010, but during the first six months of 2006, China has surpassed the United States as being the world's largest exporter. Only five years ago, the United States exported more than double the amount of China.
Reference:
Manufacturing News
OECD press release

World's biggest CO2 Emitter - The International Energy Agency has predicted that China's carbon emissions would not equal those of the US until 2010 . But in 2006, accordingly to the Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency, China has already overtaken US as the world's biggest CO2 emitter.
Reference:
IEA Press release
Guardian UK
NY Times

Widest varieties of cars

Singapore - Having travel to most parts of Asia Pacific, I find that Singapore has the most varieties of car brands. There are 49 brand of cars being sold in Singapore. The largest are European made with twenty-four (24) brands, next nine Japanese made brands, five are made from China, six are USA made brands, three brands are Korean and three from our neighbour Malaysia.

Alfa Romeo - Europe
Aston Martin - Europe
Audi - Europe
Bentley - Europe
BMW - Europe

Chery - China
Chevrolet - USA
Chrysler - USA
Citroen - Europe (France)

Daihatsu - Japanese
Dodge - USA
Dongfeng - China made

Ferrari - Europe (Italian)
Fiat - Europe (Italian)
Ford - USA

Geely - China
GM - USA

Ha Fei - China
Honda - Japan
Hyundai - Korea

Jaguar - Europe
Jeep - USA

KIA - Korean

Lamborghini - Europe
Land Rover - Europe
Lexus - Japan
Lotus - Europe

Maserati - Europe
Mazda - Japan
Mercedes Benz - Europe (Germany)
Mini - Europe
Mitsubishi - Japan

Nissan - Japan
Naza - Malaysia (new introduction in 2007)

Opel - Europe

Perodua - Malaysia
Peugeot - Europe (France)
Porshe - Europe (Germany)
Proton - Malaysia

Renault - Europe (France)
Rolls Royce - Europe

Saab - Europe
Skoda - Europe
Soyat - China
Ssangyong - Korea
Subaru - Japan
Suzuki - Japan

Toyota - Japan

Volkswagen - Europe (Germany)
Volvo - Europe

Le Meridien Cyberport

Hong Kong - Today, we will be checking out of Grand Hyatt Hotel. So, the kids want to stay in the Hotel to rest and watch their favourite cartoon programmes from Cartoon Network. So, me and my wife just walk around till it is near time for check-out.

Our next hotel is Le Meridien Cyberport - located @ 100 Cyberport Road. This hotel is not on any popular Hong Kong tourist map. Upon arrival via taxi, the fare was quite expensive because it was far. The reception at the Hotel was unpleasant for a 5-star hotel - only 1 staff manning the reception and it took so long to check us in. The Le Meridien Cyberport is a modern ultra sleek hotel but it does not give you a cosy feeling. The rooms are ultra modern - with a 42" LCD TV and a naughty shower that you can bring the shower blinds up and down. So, if you are in the mood for some extra sexy and modern feeling - you can bathe with the shower blinds up.

Walking around the hotel and a small shopping centre was quiet and nice - just the correct tempo and pace for tommorrow we head back home.

Hong Kong famous Ladies market

Hong Kong - After a hearty breakfast, we make our way to the MTR for our next adventure into the heartlands of Kowloon. Our 1st stop was Mong Kong station, because we want to visit the Ladies market (also called Tung Choi Street) that we hear so much about. This is a place to find good bargains, inexpensive ladies clothes, jeans, bags, watches, etc. Opens daily from noon till 11:30pm. We walk up the down the street a number of times - spent lunch at a local eatery.

After lunch, we walk a distance to the Goldfish market - this place is located at the further end of Tung Choi, crossing 3 roads - and this is where you can find ornamental fishes. Walking around is quite an eye opener for the children.

We then walk back to Mong Kok station and hop onto the MTR for Jordan station. This location is where the Gentlemen market is location (also called Temple Street or their night market). This is also famous for their numerous fortune tellers all lined up along Temple Street.

After much walking, bargaining and shopping - we hop onto the MTR to head back to Grand Hyatt Hotel.

Grand Hyatt Hong Kong room is nice and comfortable - the ambiance is great and you really want to come back again.

Hong Kong Disneyland

Hong Kong - We took the MTR from Wan Chai station all the way to Sunny Bay station, and then hop on the Disney train to the Hong Kong Disneyland Resort. Throughout the trip it was pleasant but never expected to have such a huge crowd on a monday morning. We started our Disneyland tour at around 11.30am and left at 9.30pm.

I was told by many Kong Hong friends that Monday is a good day to visit HK Disneyland as it is not a HK school holiday and many parents are back at work. They were correct to an extend as many of the visitors were foreigners and Mainland Chinese.

We had to queue at popular stations about 30-45 minutes. This HK Disneyland is smaller to the ones I have been to at Tokyo and California - but to my kids there is no difference - this is a paradise of fun and play. We paid HK$ 295 (S$59) for adults and HK$ 210 (S$42) for children.

There are 3 fantasy lands ( Tomorrowland, Fantasyland and Adventureland) and it would be best to plan your route around the Resort.

Tomorrowland - My kids love the roller coster rides (Space Mountain) at Tommorrowland and went twice - once for me is fine. There are no 360 degree turns so my 6 year old can also take the ride - it is very safe. We did the Buzz lightyear Astro Blasters 3 times - it was really fun. We manage to completed all the 6 stations.

Fantasyland - There are 11 stations here and did not mange to complete only 1 - The Golden Mickeys because of the crowded showtimes. The most fun stations were Fantasyland Train station, Mickey's Philharmagic and The Mad Hatters Tea cup.

Adventureland - There are only 4 stations and all are really fantastic and fun.

At around 7.30pm, we have to quickly make our way back to the evening finale - Disney in Stars Fireworks which will start at around 8pm. There were so many people already seated at choice locations - there are only standing spaces left. It was worth the standing as the fireworks display was spectacular.

Once the show is over, hundreds of people were making their way back to the entrance to take the MTR. It was so crowded - unbelievable.

I was totally exhausted having spent more than 12 hours out....but it was a child's fantasy even for myself.

Back to Hong Kong

Macau - Since it is our last day in Macau, my wife together with my youngest son decided to tour around Taipa.

Taipa is one of the smallest city of Macau. The three bridges connecting Macau to Taipa are Nobre de Carvalho (2.5 km long), the Friendship Bridge (4.5 km long) and Sai Van Bridge (2.2 km long). The longest one (Friendship Bridge) leads directly to Macau International Airport located on the Island of Taipa. Also located on Taipei is the famous Macau Jockey Club.

After being dropped off by the Westin Macau shuttle bus, we walk around for a few hours and had breakfast at a neighbouring Macau chinese restaurant. Quite surprising on a Sunday morning it was crowded.

In the afternoon we took a dip at Westin Macau Resort's heated swimming pool. Spent about 2 hours in the pool and then it was check-out time. We have already bought the tickets one day earlier so we zip through immigration quite quickly. The only hic-up was that Turbojet insist that I pay a fee for my hard-case luggage. When we arrive from Hong Kong to Macau via another ferry company, they had no such ruling.

Turbojet Sea Express manage the ferry services from HK International Airport and Hong Kong island, whilst New World First Ferry handles ferry services from Kowloon.

It took just one hour on the jet foil to reach Hong Kong. We will be spending 3 nights at the luxurious Grand Hyatt Hong Kong. This is a beautiful luxurious hotel that I have stayed many many years ago.

Walking up Guia Hill

Macau - There is a hill just behind Royal Hotel and so early in the morning after breakfast, we set off walking up to Guia Hill. On this Guia Hill stands the Guia Fortress and Lighthouse. The Fortress was built in 1637 and the Lighthouse which is still in use, in 1865. This Lighthouse when it was built was the first of its kind along the China Coast.


There is also a small and simple chapel - Chapel of Our Lady of Guia. This chapel was originally established by the Clarist nuns, who resided at the site before establishing the Convent of St. Clare. The chapel's elaborate frescoes depict representation of both western and Chinese themes, displaying motifs of religious and mythological inspiration that are a perfect example of Macau's multicultural dimension.


Walking up I found an interesting sign board....



This is a great morning walk and the Guia Hill has many exercise equipments along the pedestrian path, and is popular with joggers, birdwatchers and lovers alike. The weather is cool and very nice. Up ahead on the winding road, is the Guia Cable Car (operating from 7am -6pm, the ride takes 80 seconds). I took a round trip back to the hill and then walk down a series of stone steps to the Flora Garden. This Flora Garden used to be the site of a mansion which was destroyed in a factory explosion in 1928, it contains an aviary, small zoo, botanical gardens and original fountain. Leaving the Flora Garden, turn left is just a 30 minutes walk back to the Hotel.

Visit to the Red Market

Macau - We took bus No. 28C from the bus stop outside Royal Hotel as we wanted to venture into the heartlands of Macau. We wanted to see how the Macau people live and eat. We alighted after 5 bus stops and decided to have lunch at a local restaurant. The restaurant owners were very nice people and guess correctly that we were from Singapore. We had a hearty meal at a very reasonable price.

We had to walk a distance to reach The Red Market but along the way we came across Lin Zexu Memorial Museum of Macau.






We finally reach The Red Market is located on the corner of Avenida Almirante Lacerda and Avenida Horta e Costa, in an area that has some of Macau's most interesting 20th century architecture. The market was built in 1936 by the Macanese architect Jio Alberto Basto in the Art Deco style and is classified as an architectural heritage site. It still houses a vigorous trade, with vendors selling dried foods, fresh produce, fish and meat. In earlier times the market was closer to the waterfront, and vendors bought their goods directly at the nearby harbor. Today, all kinds of fish and seafood still arrive twice a day, and live poultry share quarters with fresh flowers, fruit and other produce.




The most shocking part of this Red Market is the scene where the fish is stripped bare of flesh but it's lungs, heart and head is still intact. You can still see the fish breathing without any flesh on its body....

Local residents told us the place is dirty but we want to see how the local live and eat, so venturing to this location was an eye opener.


We also came across a traditional Dragon Beard candy man - this was hand-made and it taste heavenly and I wanted to buy more but he already sold out for the day. This Candy man was dressed in white, he had a white beard and the candy he makes is also white...it was a delightful scene.

Checking into Westin Resort Macau

Macau - We had to cross the bridge from Macau City to Taipa and then towards Coloane. Macau City, Taipa and Coloane are 3 islands that make up Macau. Taipa and Coloane are now joined through land reclaimations to create a new city called Cotai Strip. The Cotai Strip is the location of the new Casino and Resort Hotel - The Venetian Macau. More than 7 Resort Hotels are under development along the Cotai Strip and this will make it the Asian version of Las Vegas.

The Westin Resort Macau is the only beach fronting resort Hotel in Macau - we had a beautiful balcony overlooking the sea. Unfortunately, we will be resting here for just one night. The Macau Golf and Country Club is located next to the Hotel. On the 5th floor, there is a passage to the entrance of Macau Golf and Country Club.

What a difference! UNESCO Heritage Site

Macau - Checking out at Metropark Hotel, I was confronted with a rude front desk lady. Never had anyone slide the check-out bill to you - most hotel staff will politely hand over the bill with 2 hands. The service from the Metropark Hotel is below acceptable standard.

The taxi driver that took me to Royal Hotel which is a 10 minutes trip that cost about HK$ 30 - wanted me to pay HK$100. I refused and came to a compromise of HK$40 - which I think is also too much. This was a very bad experience in Macau.

Futhermore, Macau has a stupid policy of some taxi can only take 4 passengers and some 5 passengers. If you have 5 people including kids, you have to look on the side of the taxi with the number 5. This is rediculous....

You need to be extra vigilant in Macau:-
1. When taking a taxi, don't forget to write down the taxi number and driver's name which are affixed next to the taxi meter.
2. Make sure that the taxi meter is running - walk out if he wants to hustle and negotiate for a fixed trip price.
3. Bring the hotel name card because all taxi drivers speak Cantonese or Mandarin and hardly speak English.

Checking into the Royal Hotel is miles apart - with very polite and attentive staff. Internet access is free for every room.

Walking about 20 minutes from Royal Hotel, you will come across an photo art gallery and then following the road signs you will come across the Fire Services Museum. This is located at the headquarters of Macau Fire Services. This European-style building built in 1920, contains more than 700 artifacts in two halls. The main halls contains both Chinese and British manual pumps, old British fire engines, photographs and historic costumes. It is free admission and opens daily.

Art gallery

This area is an UNESCO Heritage Site


Visited the Ruins of St. Paul's - this is a World Heritage site and was built by the Jesuits in 1602, but was destroyed by fire in 1835 except for its stone facade with carvings that tell the story of the Catholic Church in Asia. There is also a crypt containing the relics of christian martyrs and a Museum of Sacred Art. This museum is dedicated to the history of the religious missions in the region. Along the side walls are relics of Japanese and Vietnamese martyrs. A grave has been left uncovered, dominating the whole area. A cross and tabernacle have been placed on the stones where the first building was erected, facing an altar capped by a single piece of marble.

Ruins of St. Paul's

There are so many tourists at the Ruins of St. Paul's and on that day - there was to be held a big concert. Crossing the road, you will come across Mount Fortress into which is built the Museum of Macau. The fortress was equipped with cannons, military barracks, wells and an arsenal that held sufficient ammunition and supplies to endure a siege lasting up to two years. The fortress covers and area of 10,000 square meters, in the shape of a trapezoid. The four corners of the fortress protrude to form bulwarks.

Walking along the old section of the City Walls - these were the surviving segment of the city's defence structures built as early as 1569, is a remnant of an early Portuguese tradition of constructing defensive walls around their port settlements.
Further down, you will come across the Na Tcha Temple, which was built in 1888, to dedicate to the worship of Na Tcha.


Had dinner in the city near Senoa square at a small restaurant and it was shocking to have your porcelain dinner plate with 12 small pieces chip off. In Singapore and Hong Kong, this plate would have been thrown away as it does not look decent and professional. I just swallowed my pride, don't question and gobble down the chow....

Being in Macau, makes me feel like this is a backwater place for Hong Kongers where professionalism and courtesy are non existence. Because of the numerous Mainland Chinese coming to Macau to gamble, the Macau entertainment business is booming and courtesy just falls by the wayside.

Unfriendly MACAU...

Macau -  We visited the Fisherman Wharf located near the Macau ferry - occupying 111,5000sq meter and claimed in their brochure to be the 1st ever themed entertainment attraction in Macau. But reality is far from claimed by the brochure - this is the most boring theme entertainment ever - not advise to visit at all. There is nothing of interest here - most of the theme attractions are closed.

Went over the New Yaohan departmental store - claimed to be the only department store in Macau - not too exciting.

Came back to the Hotel for a meeting with their sales and banquet to discuss for next year conference. Overall, I am not impress with Metropark Hotel.

Generally, I think Macau has a big problem in Macau on their service level. Macau has so many Mainland Chinese in the service and entertainment business that most are not given ample service training besides just being able to speak Mandarin. Macau is the only place, in all the countries I have travel around that the housekeeper has the audacity to question you why you need more towels and more bottles of water. So, in order to enjoy your trip in Macau - you need to set service level expectations very low. Don't set your expectation too high and you will not be disappointed.

In the afternoon, I visit Macau Tower. One of the must see icon of Macau. The express lift takes you to the 58th floor (view gallary) and then to the 61st floor. On the 61st floor it is open air viewing gallary and is also the location for bungee jumping and aerial walking for the brave hearted.

After meetings...off to Macau

Hong Kong - After all the meetings, I decided to take a nice stroll along the Harbour front located next to the Renaissance Kowloon Hotel. It is also called "Avenue of Stars" having the hand prints of HongKong famous movie stars similiar to Hollywood movie stars. The weather is very nice around 17 degrees and many times it reminds us of Perth.

At the end of the Avenue of Stars, there is the HK Space Museum and fortunately it is free entry on every Wednesday.

Macau - At around 8pm, took the jet foil (New World First Ferry) from Kowloon Harbour to Macau jetty. It took about 1hr and it was a smooth ride. There was meant to be a free shuttle bus to pick us up but did not know that it end at 9.15pm - we were 30 minutes late.

Macau like Hong Kong is part of China.  Macau, the former Portuguese colony is a  Special Administrative Region and has an area of 28.6 sq. km (about half the size of Singapore) - comprising of the Macau Peninsula (with 9.3 sq. km and connected to Mainland China), the islands of Taipa (6.5 sq. km) and Coloane (7.6 sq. km) and the reclaimed area Cotai (5.2 sq. km).    Macau official currency, the pataca is pegged to the Hong Kong  dollar which is also accepted as currency.   Chinese and Portuguese are the two official languages and most signs are displayed both languages.   Cantonese is the predominant Chinese dialect.

I took a taxi to MetroPark Hotel - you have to speak Mandarin or Cantonese in Macau otherwise you will have difficulty nagivating yourself around. This is a 3-star hotel and the room that was given to me was a smoking room - it was really bad - I could not breathe. This will be my hotel for the next 2 nights. The hotel staff had to spray air-refreshner and increased the speed of the air-con to rid the room of smoke. The manger told me there are so many smoking floors because many people from mainland China and Hongkonger come to Macau to smoke freely. There are no restrictions on where you can smoke in Macau - basically it is a smokers paradise.

There are no internet access in my room but all guest are given free 15 minutes to use the ground floor to access their email or internet daily - this was very troublesome.

Nice weather in Hong Kong...

Hong Kong - Even at 10.45pm the Hong Kong International Airport was crowded with people. It is the holiday season and many people are in Hong Kong enjoying the cool and nice weather. Took the Airport Express to Kowloon and stayed at Renaissance Kowloon Hotel. Just had to prepare for the next day and the time is already 1am...time to zzzz. Renaissance Kowloon Hotel is a walking distance to the harbour front.

Same day back on the plane..

Sydney - Yes, I am back on the plane again. Arrived @ 1am and slept at 3am. I was woken up by my youngest son @ 10am.

At 6pm, I called the taxi company to pick me up but did not arrive at all and the taxi company had to change to another taxi to pick me up to the airport. I was in a hurry but manage to get to the airport with time to catch a quick dinner at the lounge. The SQ premier lounge has improved on their spread of food for dinner - it is good and tasty now. Maybe someone did complaint to them about it.

This will be my first time on board the new Airbus A380 - the largest commercial aircraft in the world. It is very spacious and I had the economy upper deck and was seat right at the back. The seat next to me was vacant so ample room space for me.

I pre ordered seafood and it was served first otherwise I will always get it last or no choice left for me. The take off and landing was smooth but expected turbulence over Australia is very normal.

On-time

Seoul - At 8.30am, Young Jin arrived via Taxi which I told him to do so. Reason being is that I have a very short time to complete 3 meetings and a lunch and have to be back before 3pm (managed to get a a late check-out). Young Jin told me that he discussed last night rendezvous with his wife on his missing turnings and came to the conclusion that he 'gotten approval' to buy a GPS system.

We arrived at the meetings on time and completed it on-time too. The 3rd meeting was done over lunch at a traditional Korean noodle restaurant - An Dong noodles. It was my first time and it was delicious. In the short time of knowing Mr Koh, I have had tried different Korean dishes with him - pork trotters, special Korean Ginseng chicken soup, introduced me Makegeolli (Korean liquor) and now An Dong noodles.

This meeting was a heart felt because of the consolidation within LG, Mr Koh and team will no longer be doing training and thus a partner any more. But I really treasure his friendship even though moving forward we no longer will be doing business.

I caught the Hotel shuttle bus @ 3.12pm which brings me to the Airport Limosine bus station which arrived about 30 minutes later. I catch the 7.25pm flight and will be back to Singapore @ 1.05am the next day.

Sashimi for dinner..

SEOUL - It was only last Friday that my travel agent confirmed a ticket for today's flight. It's the holiday season in Singapore and many families have booked their holidays to popular destinations like Korea, Japan and China.

Back again in Seoul for 2 days of back-to-back meetings - this will be one of my shortest trip to Seoul. I took the Limosine bus (602-1) @ bus station 12 to Grand Hilton Hotel. I decided to stay there because it is about US$50 cheaper than my ususal Renaissance Hotel. It took only 1hr 10 minutes to reach the hotel. The Hotel shuttle bus was waiting at the bus stop on the main road to bring me up the small hill to the lobby of the Hotel. The rooms are clean, spacious, and the bed is soft and comfortable. Compared to Renaissance Hotel, this hotel has a wide range of cable TV to choose from therefore they do not have any pay video-on-demand.

At 6pm, Young Jin arrived in his car and we left for the Gangnam area to meet our partner for dinner @ a sashimi restaurant. Young Jin seems a bit lost on the road and he was honest to admit he drives only over the weekend. He was not familiar with the roads around Grand Hilton Hotel and many a times he missed a turning. But it was fine with me as it's Sunday - how can I fault him on his off-day....

Meeting our partner was good and we had a good time but I think Young Jin regretted driving because he could not drink. Young Jin loves drinking but he was sober today. Korean laws are very strict on drink driving...

Japan and fascination with Good food

Tokyo - There is no country more gastronomic and passionate about food as Japan. Tea-making is a semi-religious ritual, pastry chefs can gain rock star status and people can queue for hours to buy courgette-flavoured macaroons or the first special mushrooms of the season.

According to Michelin guides - in 2007 Japan restaurants was awarded an unprecedented 191, more than they have bestowed on any other city. And now the new guide, Michelin Guide Tokyo 2008.

Japan's food obsession runs deeper than the huge array of top quality of restaurants. More than one third of Japanese commerical television is devoted to food-related themes, from wacky eating competitions to earnest cooking programmes. On a per-capita basis, inner Tokyo (pop. 8.5m) boasts the highest concentration fo eateries among the world's major cities - just under 200,000 according to the Japanese government, compared with about 20,000 restaurants for Paris and 23,000 restaurants for New York City.

Japan now draws more Michelin-starred chefs than any country apart from France.

This simple reason for this dine-out culture is Tokyo's population density: People tend ot live in small places, entertain rarely at home and eat out frequently. Entertainment expenses are still generous in Japanese business and Tokyo's vast financial industry.

Ref: Financial Times "However you slice it, Tokyo has taste" - 24 Nov 2007

Tsukiji again

Tokyo - Tim and Tony has never been to Tsukiji (the largest fish market in the world), so we met @ 4.30am at the lobby and reach Tsukiji around 5pm. We arrived early and had to wait because the auction of the Tunas did not start until 5.40am. The auction area was crowded with many people inspecting the tunas.

Later I was told by Terry that these bidders check the fat and quality of the Tunas by inspecting the tail. The higher the fat content the more expensive the Tuna cost. Maybe similiar to beef - which in this case they called 'marble' - the streaking fat on a piece of steak that when cooked just melts in your mouth.

All the Tuna's tail portion has been cut off leaving the red meat of the fish - some bidders were poking their fingers into the flesh of the Tuna. There are 2 section of the auction - the fresh Tunas and the frozen Tunas. The fresh Tuna auction is much more expensive - each Tuna can cost US$2,000 to US$ 20,000.

Old 747

Tokyo - This trip to Tokyo I booked my seats way at the back because it was a full flight on this 'red eye' and there are not many aisle seats left. But it was marred with 3 out of 4 toilets spoilt. I think this Boeing 747 is due for retirement but had to be dragged on because of the A380 delays. Whilst most airlines are using past 7-8 years. On this aircraft, knowing that SQ does a good job you can still see the discolouration on the decoration, breakdown on the toilets, and inflight entertainment screen is no longer sharp.

Took 1hr from Narita to reach Hotel East 21 @ 9.20am. I like this hotel because of the warm toilet seats - it is winter and can you imagine seating on a cold toilet seat...ouch! Furthermore, Japanese toilet seats has bidet.

I had breakfast at a Japanese burger fast food restaurant - Lotteria.

Lunch and dinner was at a soba tempura restaurant.
These restaurants are within 10 minutes walking distance from Hotel East 21.

Tiger setting base in South Korea

Seoul - The Budget carrier Tiger Airways will spread its wings to South Korea. It is setting up a nwe carrier called Incheon Tiger Airways and will have an initial fleet of 5 A320 aircraft. Tiger Airways will own 49% of the carrier and the South Korean city of Incheon will own the rest. The new carrier will start flying in 12 months time. The join venture will challenge Korea Air Lines and Asiana Airlines for passengers in Asia's fourth largest economy; it will have domestic and international routes - with flights from South Korea to China, Japan and the Russian Far East.

BBQ Seafood

Ho Chi Minh City - After all the day's meeting is over, I went over to Ben Thanh market for some souvenir shopping and be absorbed in the local's hustling and bustling. The constant bargaining is such fun and you become good after a few good buys....

I also caught up with some friends who happened to be in HCMC at the same time. At night we had a late dinner @ a road side hawker for seafood. This is located beside Ben Thanh market. It was good and delicious - BBQ snails, ginger stir-fried clams, seafood soup, Vietnamese fresh spring rolls, vegetables (Kang kong fried with garlic) and fresh lime juice for just S$30.

New Saigon Airport Terminal

Ho Chi Minh City - Upon landing I noticed a spanking clean new airport terminal with aerobridges. Quite different from when I arrived in March this year. This is a new airport terminal only thus at the same old location. The Vietnamese Government is building a super airport at Long Thanh to be completed by 2015.



The arrival was quite a nightmare with long queues moving very slowly towards to immigration officials. I queue at the wheelchair lane because the immigration officials were stamping entry on the foreigners queuing at this lane. There were 2 lanes, I was in the inner lane. When the wheelchair passengers starting rolling in, the immigration officials gestured with his hands movements for passengers queuing in the outer lane to move to the inner lane. The lady that was up front and next to be stamped by the immigrated official was pissed and started making a scene. She was edging herself upfront in the inner lane trying to cut the queue, obviously standing in no man's land. The immigration officials got really upset and moved all that were queuing in the inner lane back to the normal lanes. I had to start the queue from the back.

A lesson learnt in all my travels is that never get upset with immigration officials or show displeasure - they can make it very unpleasant. I encountered an experience many years ago in Beijing - an Indian passenger was running late and was belligerent. The Chinese official just took his time and the Indian passenger keep shouting that he is late, finally a senior official pull the Indian passenger aside. Obviously, this Indian chap did not make it to his plane on time.

Back to Omni Saigon again - this is a good 5-star hotel and convenient located. Went out to have a late lunch at Lemon Grass restaurant. After which, I walked around HCMC, around 6pm, it started to rain very heavily and many roads in District 1 was flooded and the mobile phones lines were down. I tried to call and it gives message "Error in Connection" only after 2 hrs was I able to get a connection through.

It was only later that I found out Vietnam has a serious flooding problem especially after heavy rains. The water reach knee high and there is a bad smell due to the mixture of sewage and rain water.

Roasted Duck @ Petaling Jaya

Petaling Jaya - I saw in a magazine about 3 famous roasted duck restaurant in Kuala Lumpur , but I have never been to any one of them. I decided to ask Donny and he replied the restaurant is always crowded...but strangely, I had a hankering for duck meat. So, we made a "beeline" to this famous duck restaurant that he knew of in Petaling Jaya.

Restaurant: Sunrise Roasted Duck restaurant
Located @ 31 Jalan 21/1, SEA Park, Petaling Jaya

Upon reaching, it was packed and the crowds kept pouring in. The restaurant ambience is by all standard looks old with tiled walls, plastic chairs and slopping looking attendants. To compensate this restaurant roasted duck is heavenly - the best I have ever tasted!

The roasted ducks are skillfully chopped up piping hot and served to customers. The duck meat is succulent and tasty. We order one whole duck and it cost M$40 each. This was the reason why customers keep coming back to this restaurant over and over again and don't mind the long queues everyday.

Bak Kut Teh @ Petaling Jaya

Kuala Lumpur - Arrived on time and I had already pre-paid my Hotel stay at Boulevard Hotel. A good class 4-star hotel that is new and clean. The rooms are well kept and that's one of the reason I am back again.

Donny arrived with his colleagues (Eunice and Donald) and together with Young Jin we hopped into his car for a sumptuous meal at...

Grandpa Bak Kut Teh restaurant - a very famous Bak Kut Teh restaurant in Petaling Jaya. The Bak Kut Teh has a strong herb aroma - the broth is thick and delicious. The Pork has definitely been cooked for many hours as the meat is tender and juicy.

What is Bak Kut Teh?
This is a Chinese dish and is very popular in Malaysia and Singapore. Literal translation means "Pork Bones Tea". The dish of meaty Pork ribs is served in soup of herbs and spices. The Malaysian Bak Kut Teh consist of more herbs whilst Singapore Bak Kut Teh has more spices especially pepper. The Bak Kut Teh is served with rice and often served with "You Tiao" (fried dough). The correct way is to dipped the "You Tiao" into the Bak Kut Teh and eaten.

It seems to be that many of the best no-frills restaurants are located in Petaling Jaya. Petaling Jaya is about 45 minutes away from KL.

I had 2 rounds of bowling @ Cosmic Bowl at Mid Valley Mall with my business partners. This is the first time I am bowling in this special effects lighting. The glow in the dark pins and bowling ball adds new excitement to the game. Lights go out, the pins light up and the bowling ball glows!

Mid-Autumn Festival

Today is the Mid-Autumn Festival, which is China's equivalent of America's Thanksgiving holiday - this could be recognized as one of China's happiest holiday besides of course the Chinese New Year! Like Thanksgiving, it is a time when people reunite with their families and get together, be with loved ones and celebrate the year's harvest. In China, people come together and enjoy a feast of mooncakes.

Like many Chinese tradition, this one stems from ancient legend. A long time ago, 10 suns circled the earth. One day, all 10 suns appeared in the sky together and the heat caused a great drought. A famous archer named Hou Yi came to the rescue, shooting down nine of the suns and earning himself vast acclaim. The Emperor awarded him a beautiful wife, as well as an immortality pill. One day while Hou Yi was out, his wife ate the pill. She became a fairy and floated to the moon, leaving a heartbroken husband at home on Earth. The gods noticed the couple's deep love and sympathized, allowing them to meet on the 15th day of every eighth moon.

The other legend has it that Chinese patriots used mooncakes to overthrow the tyrannical Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368) by embedding messages outlining the planned rebellion in the seemingly sweet delicacy and smuggling them to their allies.

In Singapore, it is a tradition celebrated by all ethnic Chinese. The mooncakes will be sold around 1st day of the 8th lunar month - so for this year, it will be 1st September onwards. We buy mooncakes as gifts to families and sometimes to business partners. Though, it is not a public holiday we still enjoy the pleasure of eating mooncakes. It is usually celebrated on the 15th day of the 8th lunar month.


In Singapore and Malaysia, it is also called the Lantern Festival - At night, children accompanied by their parents will take out their laterns of different shapes and sizes, and walk around their neighbourhood and parks and just have fun. For some people who prefer to be with their loved ones and family, they will spent a romantic night together in their house garden or beaches or parks to enjoy looking at the sky with the brightest moon of the year.

The largest fish market in the world

TOKYO - I was determined to see this fish market which I understood is the larget in the world. Told the front desk to wake me up at 4.30am - had to repeat to her several times before she understood it was 4.30am. Got the morning call as expected..to be even "kiasu" - I set the alarm on my hand phone and the bed-side clock too.

At 4.30am, I did not want to wake up but I dragged myself out of bed and took the taxi (about Yen 17,000) from Hotel East 21 to Tsukiji about 20 minutes away by taxi.

Tokyo Central Wholesale Market handled 787,782 tons (2,888 tons a day) of marine products, 748 billion yen (2.8 billion yen a day). Some 450 kinds of fish are received; this figure is unparalleled in the world. Marine products sections are set up in three markets: Tsukiji, Ohta and Adachi. Above all Tsukiji Market, handling 87% of the total amount, is one of the biggest markets in the world.

There are plans by the Japanese Government to relocate Tsukiji fish market to another location about 3km away at Toyosu on Tokyo Bay - probably by 2012 - but are facing strong protest.

The taxi dropped me at the fish market retail end, so I had to walk quite a distance towards the wholesale part of Tsukiji market. I was looking around and it was so quiet, wondering whether I am at Tsukiji fish market. I realize I was very early and the Tuna bidding is still going on.

I reached the end of the Tsukiji market after navigating the dark alleys of this monstrous size fish market and was not disappointed after a long walk. Here I find 2 big rooms which are gathered many bidders and auctioneers. There is a sign warning against unauthorized entry into the TUNA Room. You can hear the loud auction going on with the shouting of the bid prices. I have never seen so many tunas all in one place and the tunas are huge! The auction was held in an air-conditioned environment. They have system of shouting and hand signals, cannot make out what they are doing. The bidding for Tuna was so exciting - middlemen were bidding it higher and higher. After the bid was won, the Tuna was tow away and put on wooded hand carriages pulled by the middlemen back to their store to be cut and sold to retailers and restaurant owners.

For a large fish market - the place looks decently well-kept but you have to be extra careful of the fork-lifts, one-man motorized cargo movers, and numerous small vehicles moving around the market.

Before going back to the hotel, I treat myself to a good sashimi and sushi breakfast - it was really good and fresh - costing about Yen21,000 for the set meal. There are only 39 restaurants that are allowed within Tsukiji market. Many of these restaurants are family business and I understand taht many of these dates back more than 3 generations. That is also one of the reason why these restaurants are so popular.

There are many simple restaurants around Hotel East 21.

• Had lunch at Lotteria - a burger joint - their burgers taste delicious - the set I had for lunch cost Yen570
• Dinner @Yamagoya - a fast food noodle shop - still will cost you Yen1,310 for a bowl of noodles. Below is what I had for my dinner meal.

Mukashi

French restaurant in Tokyo

TOKYO - After a day of meetings, Terry brought us to a French restaurant - this is really high class fine dinning. The restaurant is Ochanomizu Ogawaken and has 2 floors - 1st and basement. 1st floor is used only for Lunch and the basement is only used for dinner. The basement has only less than 10 tables.

The food is excellent and came in minute portions. They served 5 rounds of apetitisers, and then the main course. It is the ambience that made this place very cosy and classy. I understood the bill for 3 persons came up to over US$400 - wow!

Okonomiyaki

TOKYO - Arrived today from Seoul and stayed at Hotel East 21. The good news is that there is a direct Limo Bus to the Hotel but only twice a day from Narita to Hotel East 21. My first trip to Tokyo was on 7 Aug 2000, thus making this trip my 21st trip to Tokyo.

Leaving @ 10:25am and 5.25pm. I caught the 5.25pm Limo bus that took me directly to the Hotel - this is much more convenient. Next time, I will time my SQ flight to catch this Limo bus transfer.

Hotel East 21 rooms are much smaller but for the price I am paying - it's ok. This Hotel is also popular for families going to the Tokyo disneyland as there are shuttle to and fro provided by the Hotel.

This time I travelled with Mahboud and he wants to try Okonomiyaki (I tried it once before) and the concierge told us that it is around Kiba station, could not give us an exact location. It was quite a distance to Kiba station and we manage to find the restaurant with the help of a convenience store boss.

I was not disappointed with the food as it was really good and especially the chef. He looks like the master in Karate kid - always smiling. I like this restaurant and will come back again.

It is pronounced as O-ko-no-mi-ya-ki. Okonomi means "your choice" and Yaki means "grill" - so literally it means grill it yourself...LOL. But it was the chef that did it for us. Okonomiyaki is found in the Hiroshima and Osaka region. It is a pancake layered with cabbage and toppings of your choice. Toppings may include beef, chicken, bacon, squid, octopus and mushrooms. Sometimes called "Japanese Pizza".

Restaurant: Hai Sen Bon - contact: 3644-5956 (located near Kiba subway station and bridge)
The Okonomiyaki each cost about 650yen to 800yen. A can of coke cost about 300yen each.

Sashimi in Seoul

SEOUL - Meetings after meeting, we finally had a good dinner at a good sashimi (raw seafood) restaurant few kilometres outsides of Seoul City. It was a good drive but worth the time taken as the restaurant had a homey ambiance - Hari Sen Bon (tel: 031-707-6777, 2577, 1477) is the name of the restaurant. We had plates and plates of sashimi of many types of fishes. The fresh taste of sea urchin does not go well on my palate - it's taste is bitter even after dipping with strong wasabi (also known as Japanese horseradish).

Wasabi is the root of the Japanese horseradish. I have not seen the origination of wasabi - mostly in Japanese restaurant it comes in a small dish of green paste. But I was once introduced by my Japanese partner (Kinya) in Tokyo which he demonstrated to me the art of eating Soba. He took the greenish root (Wasabi) and grated it on surface of a small board made of shark skin. The root eventually became the green wasabi paste.

My 55th trip to Seoul

SEOUL - Arriving on a Sunday was good because of lesser traffic on the highway, so I got to the Renaissance Seoul Hotel much faster. It was a tiring flight as I just got back home from Beijing on Saturday and had a turnaround flight to Seoul on Sunday. I slept most of the time on the flight to Seoul.

I had an aisle seat which I reserved and had two unpleasant experience of passengers trying to take my seat. I stood firm and say this is my seat and I am not going to move, since I took the time to reserve it over the net.

Upon arrival at the Hotel, Young Jin was already waiting for me at the Hotel. He looks chirpy after a week of work cum vaccation with his family in Singapore. Dinner was at the Eel restaurant (same restaurant I had on 18 July) - it was very crowded this time with many Koreans. It's summer so the weather was hot so we sat near the air-conditioner. After dinner, we adjourned to a traditional drinking house serving dong-dong ju.

Beijing Duck, so delicious

BEIJING - You have not tasted Beijing till you had your Beijing Duck. I have tried numerous Beijing Duck but this restaurant in Beijing was the best ever. Beijing or Peking Duck it is the same. Peking is the former name for the Brits that cannot pronounce Beijing.

Restaurant: Beijing DaDong Roast Duck Restaurant -

The dish is mostly prized for the thin, crispy skin with authentic versions of the dish serving mostly the skin and little meat. Most Chinese restaurants will make two dishes out of one duck -- one with thin slices of skin with a small layer of fat, or none at all, underneath, and another one with the duck meat. The latter is often a stir-fry dish or made into duck soup.

Smog covered Beijing...

BEIJING - The flight from Singapore took about 5hrs to reach Beijing. The plane was packed like on most SQ flights. The last time I was in Beijing was more than 7 years ago. I don't remember the city being covered with so much smog. It would be amazing to see how the municipal government plans to rid of the smog covered city especially since the Beijing Olympics is only next year.

Apart from that, there are many foreigners everywhere trying to catch a glimpse of what ancient Beijing was. Beijing has a rich culture and for new comers it would be good to visit the Great Wall of China, Forbidden City, Tienanmen Square, Summer Palace, etc. I have visited these places of interest before and would like to revisit them again next trip.

I stayed at the Trader Hotel (part of the Shangri-La group) @ 1 Jian Guo Men Wai Avenue. The Shangri-La group is owned by a rich Malaysian tycoon family - Kuok, whose family are called the sugar king. They now based themselves out of Hong Kong. The hotel is situated very central and of course near the customer's location. Beijing is easy to navigate as they have 3 big Ring roads around the Forbidden City but the traffic is just bad with about 4 million vehicles plying the Beijing roads and not much of public transport.

The air pollution could be caused by the 4million vehicles plying the roads and also the numerous constructions around the city. Beijing is booming with huge foreign investments pouring into its economy. The Chinese government is also pumping cash into Beijing to built up the city infrastructure to be ready for the Beijing Olympics on 8.8.08. This is a very auspicious Chinese date - signifying great prosperity.

Meeting friends overseas

TAIPEI - As a regional traveller, we spend more time on the plane and in foreign countries than at home and sometimes it is great to meet your Singaporean comrades in these foreign lands. We seldom meet because of our busy travelling schedules and so if we meet in a foreign land is like a roll of a dice chance.

I met David at Taipei and we had been colleagues and now business friends for many years so it was good to catch up with one another. I hired him as my engineer in my previous company but now he is the chief honcho for the Greater China territory based out of Singapore working for another company. He has indeed honed his sales and inter-personally skills over the years.

Selling is an important skill that sadly enough is not taught in school - it is used by everyone that you meet. Taxi driver, Politican, even a doctor and even your child. I have met many taxi drivers - but only few catches my attention and it's because of the X factor, their sales skill - met one in Singapore who wears a cowboy hat (he claims to be the ONLY Singapore cowboy), one had a personality that you immediately want to take his name card. What differentiates one from another? and that is where the X factor comes in.

This can be trained and honed over the years but patience and humility is a requisite in this field.

Made in Taiwan

Taipei - It has been one year since I am back to here. Upon arrival my usual limo driver was there to pick me up. He has prospered tremendously from many introductions to use his service - and now he has a huge database of customers that he needs to sub-out to his limo driver friends to help.

The hotel for my stay was The Westin Taipei @ 133 Nanking East Road. Previously, stayed here before. There is a in-house cinema and was curious and so I went to check it out. This might be the only hotel that has a cinema on its premises. Located at B2 - they charge the public NT$400 (S$20) and for room guests NT$320 (S$16). It is quite expensive compared to Singapore.

For my hotel stay, I had complimentary pressing for 2 shirts and would like the hotel to just iron it for me to be ready for my meeting tomorrow but the reply was it will be return by tomorrow 7pm. The laundry staff was so inflexible and insist that I had to pay an express price unlike other hotels where guest interest is most important. Quite disappointed with their service - I had to do my own ironing....

The traffic in Taipei is ok, about the same like in Singapore - mostly are scooters. There are so many of them but these scooters do not take so much space and pollute as compared to a car. The only other country that has that many scooters is Vietnam.

Made in Taiwan - To many people, Taiwan companies are unknown and kept a very low profile but in fact they are very huge corporations. Taiwan in terms contract manufacturing are a Juggernaut in this industry.

Therefore it is no surprise to hear the story of Acer founder Stan Shih recalling how Singapore companies acted when he tried to sell them his MicroProcessor I, the first computer Acer launched under its own brand in 1981. He was told "We are not interested. Taiwan is not known for making computers." Today, Acer is a name known around the globe.

Take for example, Hon Hai (also called Foxconn) - may be the biggest company you never heard of and is one of the world's largest contract electronics manufacturers. It manufactures computer, consumer electronics, and communications products, including connectors, cable assemblies, enclosures, flat-panel displays, game consoles, motherboards, and servers. By keeping a low profile they are able to produce for Hewlett Packard, Cisco, Microsoft, Dell and Apple - these are all keen competitors in their own industry but uses the same contract manufacturer.

Yue Yuen is a large Taiwanese manufacturer that manufacture shoes for Adidas, Puma and Nike. Quanta-which has makes notebooks for Dell Computer, Gateway and Apple Computer and Inventec - makes notebooks for Compaq. And the list goes on and on...

There is also Asustek and HTC who have been churning out component parts or made to order products for big brands of the West. They are the hands behind the hottest gadgets from Apple's iPhote to Dell's laptops and the upcoming Goggle Phone.

Taiwan is the world's largest producer of more than 13 types of IT and communication productss, including motherboards, notebooks, PDA phones, LCD monitors. It is amazing to note that Taiwanese manufacturers accounted for 49 percent of the world's notebooks and majority are exported out. According to IDC, Taiwan is the No. 1 manufacturer, most of US brands are made by contract manufacturers. Contract manufacturing in Taiwan goes way back before the China economic boom. Now, with China now on the rise - most of these Taiwanese manufacturers have shifted their manufacturing plants to China to be even more competitive - leaving Taiwan an empty shell. I have been told that there are at least 1 million Taiwanese living in China - no one single nationality has that many people living in China.

At around 7pm, met up with my friend David for dinner @ a Teppanyaki restaurant at Ming Shen Bei Road # 103 (Tel: 02-2742-2428). It is really value for money - the food is fresh and the price is right. I have tried other Teppanyaki restaurant in Taipei but they all very expensive around US$50-60 per person.

Searching..

JAKARTA - There are lots of security checks entering buildings and hotels - for both people and cars. Cars are checked on their undercarriage, boot, passengers and bonnet too - and the security personnel were polite. Every time, I go back to Le Meridien Hotel - there is a metal detector that I need to pass through. It can be troublesome but it is the high crime that worries me the most.

Even my Indonesian partners advise me never to walk on the streets alone at night or even daytime, it can be very dangerous. Obviously, I don't see many foreigners walking around too. If you intend to go from building to building take a bluebird or silverbird taxi.

Lunch was @ The Buffet - it was all you can eat for just Rp 55,000 (about S$10). It is extremely cheap with a similiar restaurant would cost at least 3-4 times as much. The food was not to my liking - either too oily, too sweet. There was not one dish that I really like but I was in good company and that matters.

Dinner was @ Pepper Lunch - at Plaza Indonesia. Pepper Lunch also has branches in Singapore but I have never tried it. You had to queue and a number tag was given. We did not know what this big number tag was for - 75 - until the waiter brought us to the table no. 75. Aha! The food is good and the beef is very tender...the meal for 2 cost about Rp128,000 (S$22.50). That is quite reasonable.

Plaza Indonesia is a posh shopping centre comparable to the Paragon @ Orchard in Singapore. Lots of high-end fashion brands have boutique shops catering to the super rich Indonesians. Don't intend to spend shopping money we adjourned to Grand Hyatt Hotel which is adjacent to this shopping centre. Grand Hyatt Hotel is beautiful hotel and of course the lobby is grand - we had drinks at the Burgundy bar and had my usual Baileys on the rocks.

Tomorrow will be Indonesia's 62nd Independence day - it will be a public holiday but I will be on my way back to Singapore.

What! @#&! no right turn...

Jakarta - I spent so much time on the road that writing about the traffic woes is most naturally. My partner, Yudi says that he will grow old very fast driving around Jakarta - it is so choatic. He picked me up at 8am for a meeting at 9am at the customer place for a location that is not far. He instead of going through a tunnel, he took a wrong turn and ended up having to make a U-turn and this takes about 30 minutes to get back to the correct turn-off.

Yudi too sometimes have a problem because there are few road signs so you really have to know your Jakarta roads very well otherwise you will spend hours on the road and this can be an expensive and unpleasant journey.

Taking taxi is also another risk - take the only reputable Taxi company - Blue Bird group with with their famous Blue Bird taxis or Silver Bird taxi (this is the executive taxi).

Dinner we had at one of Indonesia's popular restaurant situated in the middle of Jakarta - Pondok Laguna @ Jl Batu Tulis Raya No 45-47. This was one of my my favourite restaurant 10 years ago - nothing really change. They had the streams of water flowing inside the restaurant, which you can sit in the hut and enjoy the fishes below. We ordered their famous “fried gureme” (gurame goreng) and fried tofu stuffed with shrimp (tahu kipas). Also ordered grilled cuttlefish (cumi bakar), fried sambal Kangong sambal and Oxtail soup. Every order usually followed by warm rice placed in a banana leaves covered basket. Their snacks of Emping (Crackers made from flattened Belinjo seeds) dipped into chilli is very tasty. Emping has a slightly bitter taste.

Traffic jam everywhere..

Jakarta - The flight to Jakarta on SQ was pleasant. SIA had some special seats in front row economy that are more spacious. I was able to put my leg out and not touch the front seat - it was comfortable but for only a short while of about 1hr 20 minutes. I met up with my channel partners outside the airport near McDonalds and the weather was hot. It has been more than 10 years (my last trip to Jakarta was June 1997) since I have been back to Jakarta and not much has change especially the traffic - looks like it got worse. Travelling around Jakarta is a nightmare in a constant traffic jam. 2 hrs in a traffic jam is quite normal for road warriors salesman - in the car you can see cars coming to the main road from the right and left, further down the road more cars are making U-turn...it was quite a scene that brought back memories. KL and Bangkok traffic jams look junior compared to Jakarta and I think it was because the subway and light rail helped alleviate the traffic. People use the rail and thus do not need to drive everywhere and this eases the traffic jams. At strategic locations, Jakarta has self-appointed traffic wardens that guide cars coming out of small lanes into the main road and for their service they get a small tip. At traffic junctions, there are many street touts selling peanuts, water, pineapple, newspapers, etc...it's risky business with cars manoeuvring in and out of lanes. 

According to the data of WHO every year an estimated 3 million people die because of air pollution or about 5% of the 55 million deaths annually world wide. 1,500 millions of the premature deaths occur in Asian cities. Many more suffer serious health effects from air pollution. The working lives of many are shortened by health problems from breathing filthy air.

Six of the world’s 15 most polluted cities are found in Asia. The top positions go to

#1. Katmandu, Nepal,

#2. New Delhi, India,

#3. Jakarta, Indonesia is tied together with Chongqing, China.

#5. Calcutta, India. A third of the world’s carbon dioxide emissions are puffed out in this region. 

 Accommodation was the Le Meridien Jakarta Hotel @ Jalan Jenderal Sudirman Kav. 18-20 - this is a 5-star hotel located in Central Jakarta. They have courteous and helpful staff. The rooms are very clean and spacious. The only problem is that I had a smoking room and you can still smell the strong smoke residue in the room, even though I requested for a non-smoking room. We were so busy that we have a late lunch @ 3pm but it was worth the wait because it was Satay @ Sate Khas Senayan. This restaurant is popular with Indonesians and foreigners alike, with good satay - they had mutton, chicken and chicken skin satay. Their tofu goreng is also tasty and uniquely cooked. I had a very sweet drink of iced red jelly with slices of Avocado - high recommended to try this drink. It has been all about traffic because I spent more time in the car than outside....cheers.

F1 race is confirmed coming to Singapore....

SINGAPORE - For 5 days next year, hotels across Singapore will raise their rates when the F1 comes to town. Today, the Singapore government announced the specified taxes it will levy on hotels to help defray the cost of bringing the race here from Sept 24 to 28 next year.

In a 2-tier system, track side hotels have to pay a 30% tax on their total room revenue. Even hotel 81 will have to fork out a 20% tax from their total room revenue. Singapore got the green light on May 11 to host the F1 for five years. The Government is expected to foot the lion's share - 60% of the cost of staging the annual race, a sum which can reach $150 million.

The race, widely expected to be the first to take place at night, is part of the city-state's effort to increase the number of tourist arrivals to 17 million, who are expected to spend $30 billion here by 2015.

Women fined for smoking on plane...

It is a lesson for smokers to never smoke on a plane...as reported by The Straits Times. This lady of Thai national was on a budget airline, but the flight ended up costing here a great deal more. She was fined $1,000 for smoking in the plane toilet.

She had been on a Tiger Airways flight from Bangkok to Singapore this Saturday when a crew member smelt cigarette smoke coming from a toilet. Suparat Daorung, 24 - was then spotted leaving the toilet and returning to her seat.

Another crew member went in and found the cigarette butt inside a dustbin. They informed their supervisor who approached Suparat, who admitted that she had smoked inside the toilet. The supervisor then informed the captain who alerted ground staff in Singapore. She was arrested when the plane touched down at Changi Airport.

A packet of cigarettes with 12 sticks left, and a lighter were seized from her. The cigarette butt found in the toilet was also handed over to the police.

She could have been fined up to $5,000 or jailed for up to one year or both.

Sake vs. Soju

So what's the difference between Sake and Soju? I have asked many people and none could tell me so I did a couple of research and this is what I found....

Sake is a brewed beverage made from rice that, like beer and wine, has been fermented and aged. Commonly called "Rice wine".

Soju (or Shochu in Japanese) is a distilled beverage, making it a kin of whiskey or vodka. It is unique among distilled beverages, because the production process combines the two conversion stages--from starch to sugar and from sugar to alcohol--which are usually separate. It is then aged, sometimes for as long as 10 years. While sake is brewed only from rice, shochu can be made from rice, sweet potatoes and barley. In Japan, there are two shochu classifications. The first is koshu (Grade A), which has been distilled several times. Multiple distillation smoothes out the rough spots, resulting in a beverage that is generally flavorless and odorless. Koshu is generally 70 proof. Down south, however, and especially in Kyushu, people prefer the otsushu (Grade B) variety. This is distilled only once, allowing the drink to maintain the flavor and aroma of the original ingredients. It is often called honkaku, or authentic, shochu, because this is the original form of the beverage with a history dating back to the 13th or 14th Century. Depending on the ingredient and the distiller, authentic shochu ranges from 50 to 80 proof.

It came from northern China through the Korean peninsula, lending credence to this theory is the drink's popularity in South Korea, where it is called soju and is the country's most widely Soconsumed alcoholic beverage. All Korean Soju is the koshu type and the leading brand, Jinro. Unlike in Japan, Koreans drink their Soju straight without ice or water added.

So hot....

When you come out of the air-conditioned building or hotel, you will feel the sweltering heat - it's hot here in Tokyo. I was soak in perspiration when I reach my partners office in a business suit. Unlike in Singapore, many of the roads are lined with trees so the heat gets dissipated but it is the humidity in Singapore that really gets to you. I am used to the humidity of course without the business suit.

So, the alternative of another route from Narita airport to East 21 Hotel takes 1 1/2 hrs but lots of walking and changing of trains. I would have to take "Narita Express" to Tokyo station, walk 15 minutes to "Otemachi" station, get off at "Toyocho" station and then walk about 20 minutes to the hotel. A bit troublesome after a 61/2 hrs flight - nah! I will take the Limo bus and taxi the next time too..

Lunch was a quaint and quiet Sushi restaurant - and there are many dotted around Tokyo - seating around 15-20 people in the restaurant. Japanese like these types of restaurant because it offers good food and personalized service, sometimes the chef will come and talk to you.

Terry and I had dinner at an interesting restaurant - the door is half the size of a normal door, you would have to bent way down below the door frame to get inside. It was packed with lots of diners - the food according to Internet reviews is good. This is a Yakitori (means grilled chicken) restaurant and the name is "ToriTon" (Chicken & Pork). This small restaurant located off the main road in some dingy lane - took a while to find this place via map. The skewers used were standard Yakitori bamboo sticks. The food was very delicious and we had 2 types of Soju (one made from Wheat and the other from Potato). Thank you, Terry for your hospitality.

Soju gives you a good night-cap....zzzzz

Summer in Tokyo

As far as catching up on my movies - this flight was very productive. I manage to watch 3 movies - the hilarious Shrek 3, Next (starring Nicolas Cage and Julianne Moore) and Perfect Stranger (starring Halle Berry and Bruce Willis). I like Shrek 3 for the laughs and Perfect Stranger for an outstanding plot.



Took the Limousine Bus from Narita Airport to TCAT because the Limo Bus does not go directly to my hotel. The Limo Bus arrives punctually @ 6.05pm and I only reach Hotel East 21 @ 8.00pm (nearly 2 hrs of travelling). There was a heavy traffic jam coming into Tokyo. Maybe, next time I will try coming via the train - I will ask my partner whether that will be faster.

I had dinner @ Inaba Wako restaurant serving Tonkatsu (Breaded Pork cutlet) located walking distance from the Hotel. This is what my meal looks like with additional soup and rice. The set meal cost 1,450 Yen - a simple meal.

Today, marks the 62nd anniversary of the bombing that ushered in the atomic age, as 40,000 people gathered in the Peace Memorial Park in Hiroshima for a solemn ceremony to mark the occassion and to observe a minute of silence at 8.45am, the moment the bomb was dropped on this western city on August 6, 1945.

Fly A380 for charity - History in the making..

Singapore - Fly the inaugural A380 flight from Singapore to Sydney and back; with all proceeds going to charities. SQ will auction seats on the world's 1st commercial Airbus A380 flight on eBay. According to SQ, the move is in response to an overwhelming number of people from world over, who wants to be part of this history-making flight. Singapore Airlines will be the first airline to put the giant double decker in commercial service in October.

All proceeds from the ticket sales will be donated to charity and all customers on this historic flight will receive a personalised ceremonial certificate confirming that they were part of the first commercial A380 flight.

The delivery of the 1st commercial A380 was bumpy - with delivery delayed for almost two years owing to technical issues.

SQ has secured support from 3 global partners fro this charity event. ExxonMobil Aviation will donate the fuel for the flights; eBay will subsidise the fees and charges from the auction; and Paypal will rebate a portion of its fees and charges to help support the charities.

The proceeds of the auction will be split evenly among Singapore Community Chest; the Sydney Children Hospital, Randwick; and Sydney's Children's Hospital at Westmead; and MedecinesSan Frontieres (known as Doctors without Borders).

Check out a380.singaporeair.com

Blood Clots on long-haul trips

A WHO study says the risk of developing deep vein thombosis doubles after 4 hours of travel including car and train journeys, estimating that one in 6,000 long-haul passengers is at risk.

Who are at risk? Tall people who legs are jammed in economy class and the very short whose feet do not touch the ground are particularly vulnerable to potentially dangerous blood clots linked to immbobility during travel. Also the obese, women on birth control pills and those with blood clothing disorders are also more susceptible, as are frequent travellers and those who take very long journeys.

The risk is immobility - without regular muscle contractions, blood starts to pool in the legs and can create conditions for a clot, or thrombus, to develop in deep veins. Thrombosis can be symptom-free to trigger cramps, soreness and swelling in affected areas. It is most dangerous in cases where blood clots travel through the body to the lung, blocking blood flow. Such pulmonary embolism, characterised by chest pain and breathing difficulties, can be fatal is untreated.

Once I was on a plane to San Francisco and the guy sitting at the window seat just slept and not move throughout the journey from Singapore to Seoul and onwards to San Francisco. I like the aisle seat because I can stretch my legs and move around without disturbing anybody.

To prevent, health experts advised travellers to exercise their calf muscles with up and down movements of the feet and ankle joints, and leave their seats for a few minutes when possible. They also caution air travellers against taking sleeping pills or drinking too much alcohol. People should also avoid wearing tight clothing that can constrain circulation.

Reference: The Straits Times, July 11 2007

Racial Harmony Day

My son said "why don't you write about Racial Harmony Day?"....

Background: Racial Harmony Day is celebrated annually on 21 July in Singapore. The event is to commemorate the 1964 Race Riots, which took place on 21 July 1964. Racial Harmony Day also represents a day for schools to reflect on, and celebrate Singapore's success as a racially harmonious nation and society built on a rich diversity of culture and heritage. In schools all across the nation on that day, students are encouraged to be dressed in their traditional costumes such as the Cheongsam and the Baju Kurung. Traditional delicacies are also featured in the celebrations. Traditional games such as Kutih-kutih and zero point are played in schools, where inter-class competitions are sometimes organised.

Schools are also encouraged to recite a declaration on religious harmony during the celebrations.
We, the people in Singapore, declare that religious harmony is vital for peace, progress and prosperity in our multi-racial and multi-religious Nation.
We resolve to strengthen religious harmony through mutual tolerance, confidence, respect, and understanding.
We shall always
Recognise the secular nature of our State,
Promote cohesion within our society,
Respect each other's freedom of religion,
Grow our common space while respecting our diversity,
Foster inter-religious communications,
and thereby ensure that religion will not be abused to create conflict and disharmony in Singapore

My son wrote "We had a School fun fair. It sold different kinds of food. And people that had traditional costumes wore them to school. Racial Harmony is important to our country because if Singapore has only one religion you would not have different kinds of food, and games, languages and different friends. "

We may take our racial integration for granted, but there are some points that not many communities in the world can claim to know of:-

1. We have at least tasted traditional cuisine from each of the other racial group and even grown up to love some.
2. If asked, we could tell a tourist where to eat the best Indian, Chinese and Malay food and probably could even order the foods in the respective native language.
3. We know where to find at least one place of worship from each religion and know how to respect them.
4. We know the difference between Hari Raya Haji adn Hari Raya Puasa, Chinese New Year, Deepavali and Thaipusam.
5. From each language, we will definitely know at least one word, not counting curse words.
6. Most of us have tasted bandung, chin chow and lassi and drink them on a regular basis.
7. We have all visited Chinatown, Little India and Kampong Melayu at least once and probably could tell you what we love about the area.
8. Elder strangers are 'uncle' or 'aunty' regardless of race as a form of respect.
9. Our circle of friends and colleaques will definitely have someone of another race and we probably know that our Hindu friends do not eat beef, our Muslim friends cannot eat pork and some of our Buddhist friends are vegetarian.
10. We share our food and all know the meaning of makan.

It is about tolerance for one's race and religion....maybe it will one day be a World Wide observance..

Replacement Drivers in Seoul

Seoul - It is comforting to note that when you travel your partners and friends who drives refrains from drinking. Singapore drivers should follow the Korean example if they intend to have a drinking session with their friends. Lately, 2 popular Singapore artistes were caught drink driving and was jailed.

There are many occassions when I am out with partners on drinking sessions - either one don't drink or the hire "replacement drivers" to bring them home. There are so many services in Seoul that provides people to drink and still be alive or not in jail the next day. One is "replacement drivers" to drive your car back to your home for a fee of KW15,000.

It seems in Seoul there are tens of thousands of replacement drivers operating in this hard-drinking metropolis of 10 million people. Some 100,000 replacement drivers handle 700,000 customers a day, the nuber shooting up by 30% on Fridays. Their work has become such as essential part of life in Seoul and other major cities of South Korea that the national statistical office last year began monitoring the price of replacement driver services as an element in calculating the benchmark consumer price index. The peak is between 11pm and 1am. This lucrative sevice grew out of two competiting forces in Seoul: its vibrant nightlife and a police force determined to crack down on drink driving. The police often put up random roadblocks to ferret out drunk drivers who risk losing their licenses. Some tipsy drivers who spot such as roadblock leave their cars and flee - illegal paking is a lesser crime.

In a country that proudly cites "drinking, singing and dancing" as a national trait, belting a national concoction called "the bomb" - a briming glass of beer with a shot glass of whiskey in it - is considered the best way of building office camaraderie. Through my years in Korea, I have drunk many "Bombs". The Korean emphasis on teamwork means frequent group dinners. At drinking joints there will always be shouts of "one shot" which means "bottoms up" and as proof that the glass is empty - the tilt the empty glass over their head.

Busan - Port City

Woke up early for my 1st trip to Busan to meet new partners..it was a 2hrs 45 minutes high speed ride at 245km/hr from Seoul to Busan. We caught the 8.45am KTX to Busan at Seoul Station. The ride was noticeably comfortable.

Busan is Korea's second largest city with close to 4 million people. It also serves as the country's main port for international cargo, as well as passenger ferries to Japan and Jeju Island. This city was hotter and humid than Seoul. In my business suit, I was perspiring and wet under the suit.

This city is famous for its seafood. So, for lunch - we had sashimi, and the fish is called "Jul Dom" - the chef remarked that five Jul Dom fishes was prepared for us. After lunch, we made our way to the Busan station for the 2.45 hrs back to Seoul. It was a very tiring day but the night was not over - we had to meet another partner for dinner and further drinking.

I missed eating "Unagi" (Grilled Eel) so I was explaining this to the concierge but he had no idea what I was talking about. So, I called my good Korean friend, Chae in Singapore - for the correct name of "Eel" in Korean - and it was called "Jang-uh". We went to the restaurant and had a delicious meal plus many rounds of Soju. There was 2 choices of grilled Eel - with sauce and without sauce, I like with sauce on my Eel. We also had Eel bones as tit-bits or snacks - very crisy - taste is good.

What is the difference between Sea snakes and Eels?
A:The only differences between eels and sea snakes is an eel is not venomous. Also, eels do not have a flattened tail for swimming. Since sea snakes are reptiles and eels are fish, their behavior is noticeably different.They differ from eels in that they don't have gill slits and have scales. Due to their need to breathe air, they are usually found in shallow water where they swim about the bottom feeding on fish, fish eggs and eels. Eels are fish and use gills to breathe, whereas sea snakes are reptiles and use their lungs. Most sea snakes have a paddle like tail, which they use to propel themselves through the water. Sea snakes also moult their skin frequently to grow and to aid in the removal of parasites from their skin. Sea snakes are air breathing reptiles, which all have venom glands and fangs to capture prey, including some species which are dangerous to humans. Eels are not venomous, although they can give a nasty bite while protecting their territory. 30% of air is absorbed through their skin from the water via osmosis.

The preparation of the Grilled eel was alreadsy grilled at the kitchen and brought to our table. To Koreans, Eel is good for men's health...never the less it was in good company of friends that made the difference.

Insadong - the arty scene of Seoul - must visit to Seoul

Knock-knock "House-keeping"...open the door in my daze and was pissed that someone woke me up from my slumber before the alarm bell. This was the first time such a nuissance happened to me.

Visited Insa-dong - it looks like the arty scene of Seoul. Insa-dong, located in the middle of the city, is an important place where old but precious and traditional goods are on display. There is one main road in Insa-dong with alleys on each side. Within these alleys are galleries, traditional restaurants, traditional teahouses, and cafes. The shops in Insa-dong are very popular among all age groups, because each store is unique. The galleries are the heartbeat of Insa-dong.

I bought a souvenir that looks like the shape of a question mark, "?" - do you know what it is for?
A: To scratch my back....

Lunch was interesting because Young-jin insisted that we have it at a popular traditional Korean restaurant but it comes with waiting standing outside the entrance for 30 minutes and the queue was always filling up. Well, in Singapore if locals are willing to wait for a good meal - it must be good. So, I hope this principle applied here too. I was not disappointed - the food was good and reasonably priced. We had the traditional Bi-Bim-Bap, which is a popular Korean dish - literally means "mixed rice". Bibimbap is served as a bowl of warm rice topped with sauteed and seasoned vegetables, beef, a fried egg, and gochujang (chili pepper paste). The ingredients are stirred together thoroughly just before eating.

Later, we went for traditional Korean tea - the ambiance was quaint and very traditional. But the tea taste normal to me. I was expecting some tea drinking experience but nothing of that sort happened. I had The drink of choice is Omija-hwachae ("five-taste" tea), from the fruit of the Chinese magnolia vine, which is rich in organic acids and helps suppress coughs and soothe dry throats. Young-Jin had mogwa-cha (Chinese quince tea), which is high in vitamin C and helps prevent colds and suppress coughs. It is a favourite winter tea.

I had dinner alone with one of my favourite dish, Gori-Gom Tang (Ox-tail soup). .....