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.