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). .....

Summer in Seoul

The taxi arrived late at my home and when I reach Changi Airport, I nearly missed the flight to Seoul - I just rushed to my gate to board the plane. Because of Singapore's booming economy, the airport is packed with business travellers. So early in the morning, the 5 counters for KrisFlyer Gold's priority passengers were full. As the saying goes..."When it rains, it pours" - taxi arrived late, long queue to get my board pass, last passenger to board, had to change 5 times for a decent audio headseat to watch a movie"

But I am glad I arrive safely and this will be my 54th trip to Seoul and I like coming back here...the limo bus journey from the Inchon Airport to the Hotel was very long - taking 2 hrs to reach the Hotel. The weather was warm around 25 degrees Celcius, as it's Summer. Today, I am staying at Seoul Renaissance Hotel which is my usual hotel as it is very centrally located at Samsung-dong - right in downtown Seoul.

Upon reaching the hotel, Young-Jin was waiting at the hotel so there was no rest for me this time - it was a very busy schedule. We adjourned for a round of my favourite dish - Bul-Gal-Bi (BBQ beef ribs) and finished it with a dish of Naeng Myun (Cold noodles). This is one of Korean favourite dish during the Summer. It consists of thin noodles typically made from arrowroot or buckwheat flour, and is served in a large metal bowl with a tangy iced brooth. It is garnished with sliced beef or pork, a boiled half egg, slices of Asian pear, sliced cucumber and sesame seeds. You can add vinegar and mustard to the dish or not at all - but I like a dash of both to give it a tangy taste.

SINGAPORE - Low cost airline Hub

Now you can fly from India through Singapore, to China for under S$500. Or to Taipei or Darwin for about S$300? or choose from a dozens of exotic destinations served by the region's low cost carriers (LCCs).

Within a span of 5 yeas, regional LCCs have dramatically changed the dynamics of air travel. And in the process, Singapore - with its strategic location has emerged as the de facto hub for regional low cost air travel. By connecting the dots around the region, and offering cut-rate tickets, Tiger Airways, Jetstar Asia, AirAsia, Cebu Pacific, Air India Express,Bangkok Airways, Lion Air, and others have effectively "commoditized" air transport for the region's half--billion people.

To cater to the demand, carriers like Tiger and AirAsia are already buying more planes. Tiger, which has a current fleet of nine aircraft, will take delivery of 70 planes by 2014, while AsiaAsia will have a fleet of 100 planes by the decade's end.

Tiger Airways has another hub based out of Melbourne to cater to the Australian market and set up a subsidiary Tiger Airways Australia Pty. Ltd. With the start of its India flights this year. Tiger will have the broadest pan-Asian footprint of any SE Asian LCCs.

List of Low cost airlines in Asia : http://www.attitudetravel.com/lowcostairlines/asia/