Travelogue around Asia Pacific

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 Singapor...

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 im...

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 @ P...

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-...

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 th...

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 h ere by 2015.

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...

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, howeve...

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...

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 peop...