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.