Economics was my favorite subject when I was studying at MIT. Asia, a continent currently experiencing enormous economic reforms and change, offers a rich source of displays of economic unraveling. In coming weeks, I hope to employ the principles of economics and recount some interesting observations that I experienced while traveling in Asia. I don't claim to be an authority on economics or an expert in Asian culture, besides I am doing this mainly to explore the linkages between management science and some real cases that I observed in Asia. So please enrich the discussion with your comments.

2/10/2008 11:35:41 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)

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Travels

I didn't have a great camera when I was traveling in Asia recently. In fact, my Canon digital camera broke on the first day I was in India. I had to resort to using my camera phone for the rest of my trip there. I have been lucky with photo taking, especially with sunset as being the subject. I happened to be at the right place and the right time to capture some amazing sunsets and silhouettes. Here are some of the best sunset pictures that I took. See here for complete collection.

2/9/2008 2:36:20 AM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)

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Travels

One of the objectives of my grand tour of Asia, which I have embarked a few months ago, is to visit the three countries that comprise French Indochina: Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam. I have always been intrigued by the history and culture of this exotic region. My initial fascination by Indochina stems from romantic novels and movies on this region -- the excitement and mystery associated with Indochina are hard to beat. Needless to say, not all movies accurately depict the true character of these countries. Further reading on history and serious literature helped me to understand the their historical and cultural background, but I was also further intrigued to visit these countries. My long time wish was finally fulfilled when I finally visited these three countries. I even did a volunteering stint in Laos for 2+ months and hence spent significant time with the people and learned much about their culture and language.

Vietnam is the bustling of the trio. In Vietnam, your sensory gets overloaded with sight (beautiful natural wonders and dynamic urban habitat), sounds (my love-and-hate relationship of cacophony of motorbikes, people and of course the constant sound of the horn), and taste (Vietnamese food is among the most delicious food around). Let not also forget the beautiful Vietnamese woman, whom I consider to be the most exquisite in S.E. Asia. Visiting Vietnam today reminds me of China 10-15 year. Its nascent economic boom, evident by the sheer number of new factories built on the outskirts of Hanoi and the drastically improved standard of living, is indeed visible and real. Someone in Vietnam told me that just 7 years ago, the primary mode of transportation of the people was the bicycle, today it is the motorcycle or the moped. This is no surprise. The Vietnamese are known for their energy and resourcefulness. They are no pushovers either. As evident in their history, the Vietnamese fought off invaders (too many to list), sometimes lost; but they always rebel and somehow managed to beat off the invaders.

I was unimpressed with Cambodia at first. Then came ambivalence. Finally, a strange love and hate relationship about the country. Initially, I found Cambodians rather skeptical of strangers, the infrastructure of the country crumbling (although has been rapidly improving over the past 3 years and not as bad as some other countries), and yes, police still as corrupted (yep, I had a close encounter with Cambodian finest). But as I immense in the culture and learn of their proud yet sometimes profoundly tragic history, I started to enjoy my stay there. Cambodians do open up once they know you better. They are proud of their heritage and seem to embrace economic progression. In Cambodia, there is something that has become the indispensable national symbol of Cambodia. The flag of Cambodia has it, the banknote has it, the sign of a local store has it; Angkor Wat appears on virtually everything in Cambodia. But does actual Angkor Wat lives up to my expectation. Absolutely yes. The pride of Cambodia is simply divine. And divine it is. The whole complex is a must-see for anyone traveling in the region. Don't just visit the temple of Angkor Wat itself, there are plenty other temples which are just as impressive. It seems that long time ago there was a competition among ancient kings to build temples that are more refined and impressive than those built by their predecessor. As much as I adore Angkor Wat, my favorite temple complex is the mystical Bayon with its awe-inspiring 4-faced Buddha statues. To me, the Bayon is the epitome of Khmer architecture and refinement. But Cambodia's history is also of war and atrocities. The Pol Pot's regime committed some of the worst atrocities in S.E. Asia. Some 1.5 million (estimates vary from 1 to 3 million) were murdered, sent to labor camps, or died of starvation between 1975 and 1979. The genocide eventually spilled over to Vietnam and in late 1978, the Vietnamese invaded Cambodia over the massacres of several of its bordering villages by the Khmer Rogue. Finally, by 1979, the Pol Pot's regime was put to an end by the Vietnamese.

Last but not least, there is Laos, which is arguably the most laid-back country in S.E. Asia. If you are looking for a country with still an immaculate environment (cultural and physical), then this is the country to visit. There are still large tracts of natural forest and mountain in the country. But Laos is a country that is about the people as much as it is about the land. I thoroughly enjoyed my long stay in Laos because of the stress-free, relaxing atmosphere and the people whom I consider to be some of most benevolent. Vientiane, the city where I lived while volunteering for a non-profit organization, is one of the most unassuming city I have ever been to. By most standards, Vientiane the capital of Laos and the largest city in the country doesn't feel like a city at all. It has a small-town feel and no hustle bustle or big-city treats. Once you are in Vientiane, time slows down to a trickle and that's a "big" city. In rural areas time can virtually come to a standstill. But that's the appeal of Laos, its unflustered and unhurried attitude. So sip a glass of Beer Lao, a local (and only) favorite, and enjoy watching the world go by.

10/18/2007 8:03:44 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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Travels

It's been a while since I last blogged. After S. Korea, I traveled to the wonderful island of Singapore where I stayed for the next three weeks before heading to Malaysia last week for some scuba-diving. I spent most of my time in Singapore catching up with friends and family. My stay there is mostly uneventful so I am regret to say that there are no entertaining stories of the unusual culinary (although Singaporeans, too, have learned to eat about anything) or peering over a militarized border. Nonetheless, I did enjoy my time there.

Singapore offers a treasure trove of best tasting cuisines in the world with most dishes that are found uniquely in that country. As a foodie, Singapore is my food paradise and indulging in a culinary adventure in the country was my only way of truly exploring this country. I ate roti prata (also known as roti canai in Malaysia) growing up but in this visit, I found that food vendors have become creative in recent years by adding new toppings like chocolate, garlic, and cheese to this pancake dish. In particular, my favorite "nouveau" Roti Prata dish is one with cheese and mushrooms as flavorings -- it is so heavenly delicious. Equally intriguing, is another "nouveau" roti prata dish called tissue prata. This is where the pancake is made "tissue" thin and served with powder sugar or condensed milk sprinkled all over. But all pratas pale in comparison (in terms of creativity) with the one I tasted in Lau Pa Sat in the financial district of Singapore. I walked past the food stand the other day and couldn't resist passing over the allure of the Hawaiian Murtabak, a roti prata dish filled with chicken, pineapple, and cheese. It was delightfully tasty. By now, you would wonder if roti prata is similar to pizza. In many ways, both dishes are similar with two notable exceptions. First, roti prata is pan-fried while pizza is oven-baked. Second, roti prata is to be dipped with an absolutely delicious chicken curry whereas pizza is filled with tomato sauce. Next favorite dish of mine is the Hainanese Chicken Rice (wow, there's actually an entry of this dish on Wikipedia). After all these years, I still crave and unquestionably seek for chicken rice dish whenever I am in Singapore. Next dish on the list is Lor Mee, another locally-evolved noodle dish served with a thick broth topped with seafood. Good tasting Lor Mee has a gravy-like broth that is neither overbearing or bland in taste. Of course, I always slurp loudly when eating this dish. Alright, I have babbled enough about food. Next blog posting: my trip to Sipadan, Malaysia.

7/29/2007 11:51:15 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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Travels

One of the highlights of my trip to Korea is a visit to the Korean DMZ. This is a 4-km wide buffer zone that divides Korea into the Republic of Korea (South Korea) and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea). Created at the end of the Korean War, this expanse serves as one of the front-lines of the Cold War. Technically, North and South Korea are still at war since there has not been a peace treaty signed, just a cease-fire. The Korean DMZ remains to be the tensest and most-armed front in the world. Before the trip, my better imagination had always thought that the Korean DMZ as a heavily-fortified, barren land, much like the Western Front in World War I. The zone perimeter on both sides are indeed heavily-fortified and the 4-km wide DMZ itself is armed with land mines. But the landscape is certainly not barren. On the contrary, the DMZ has become somewhat a natural sanctuary to migratory birds from Siberia due to non-human activities in the area for the last 50 years. The DMZ looks like the picture shown below.

The Korean DMZ, an unspoilt wildlife refuge

Since the Korean War technically is still ongoing, I am somewhat surprised that tourists are allowed to visit the Joint Security Area (JSA), the only area which the South and North Korean forces stand face-to-face. This area was originally designated as a neutral zone within the Korean DMZ where a restricted number of soldiers from both sides share control of the area and leaders from both sides engaged in diplomatic talks. But numerous provocations and conflicts ensued after its establishment and finally after the egregious Axe Murder incident, the area is now divided into South and North Korean administered sections. The cement slabs in the photo below shows the diving line in the JSA. The gravel ground is in South Korea and the clay ground in North Korea. There are two blue buildings (also known as Military Armistice Commission or MAC Conference Room) in the JSA, which straddles the border, serves as actual meeting areas for diplomatic talks from both sides. They are the only places in the JSA where one can cross over the line and for a moment claim "Hey look, I am in North Korea."

The dividing line in JSA

Before being allowed to set foot into the DMZ, we were briefed by military personnel on rules like don't provoke the Korean People's Army (KPA), don't defect, don't at any circumstances point your finger, no picture taking in certain places, and such. Also, all tourists entering the DMZ must sign a release of liability form, which states in part: "The visit to the Joint Security Area at Panmunjom will entail entry into a hostile area and possibility of injury or death as a direct result of enemy action." (taken from Wikipedia).

After the briefing, we were escorted by military personnel to the JSA. The first stop is the area where the main administrative buildings, including the MAC conference rooms, are located. A sense of quietness and tension fills the air there with, ironically, the presence of tourists livening the place up somewhat. Sometimes I wonder if tourist presence makes the South Korean sentries more relived or nervous? After snapping some pictures, we walked in twos back to the tour bus (driven by a military personnel) where we proceeded to our next destination: a hilltop atop of the JSA. From this hilltop, we can see the Bridge of No Return, the so-called the Loneliest Outpost in the World (due to a string of kidnappings of ROK sentries by the KPA in the past), and across the border, North Korea. Looking across the border, there is the conspicuous 160-meter tall flagpole with a 600 pound North Korean flag -- the tallest flagpole in the world -- barely flapping in the Siberian wind. A while back, both the South and North Koreans were competing on building the tallest flagpole in their bordering villages. Taller and taller flagpoles were built until the North Korean finally built this behemoth flagpole. After taking some pictures at this site, we boarded the bus and rode back to Seoul, which amazingly is located some 30 miles from the DMZ.

A North Korean watch tower

A South Korean sentry

If you are ever in Seoul for the first time, the tour of the DMZ and JSA is definitely worthwhile.

7/11/2007 3:54:52 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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Travels

When I lived in Boston, I got to know many people whom were originally from S. Korea. I was hoping to meet with some of them when I visited Korea. Unfortunately (or fortunately for their specific cases), all my Korean friends remained in the U.S. for work or education. All except for Ducksea, a Sloanie, who returned to S. Korea and is now working as a senior manager at Samsung. Ducksea and I were in the same term project team for Disruptive Technology, a technology/competitive strategy at MIT Sloan. During our collaboration, Ducksea had repeatedly told me to look him up if I am ever in Seoul. So with hesitation, I contacted him when I was in Seoul last week (I left Seoul yesterday).

When I met Ducksea for dinner at the lobby of Samsung main building in Seoul, he appeared as I had expected, clean-shaved and not least in a nice suit and tie (like any Korean businessman of his stature). When asked the kind of food I want to have for dinner, I didn't pause to suggest Korean barbecue. And why not, who can resist the multi-sensory (smell, sight, and taste) pleasures of Korean barbecue. Ducksea took me to a nearby Korean barbecue restaurant where we not only enjoyed a wonderful meal of grilled sirloin beef, but good soju, a Korean equivalent of sake (rice wine). In fact, soju and Korean barbecue go hand in hand. Everywhere I go in Seoul, I see people drinking soju with their food. In Korea, when drinking with a party, it is considered polite to pour soju to other people glasses in your party before yours -- never pour you own drink, it is considered rude.

During our conversation, Ducksea revealed to me that one thing that he miss about Boston is Boston's own locally brewed beer, Samuel Adams. He lamented that he still hasn't found a place in Seoul that serves Samuel Adams and that in hindsight he should have asked me to bring him a six-pack of his favorite beer from Boston. I then told him that if he could take me to a bar that serves a imported beers, I might be able to find a good Samuel Adams substitute. After dinner, we went to Texas, a bar that serves over 50 beers from around the world. The closest beer that I could find resembling Samuel Adams in taste was Newcastle Brown Ale. It didn't come cheap though -- a bottle of it costed about 13,000 Won (almost US$14). Ducksea liked it as it is the closest beer to Samuel Adams he have tasted in Korea. We departed ways after a few rounds of drinking at the bar. It was good meeting with Ducksea again. Hey Ducksea, if you are reading this: thanks for all the food, alcohol, and the gift (that was nice of you to do that). I wish you success.

7/3/2007 12:10:41 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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Travels

The so-called Book Cafe as mentioned in my last blog entry isn't actually named Book Cafe. The phrase book cafe actually refers to a type of cafe (concept) where one can read books and magazines available within the premise.

Unfortunately, I can't read Korean and hence unable to type the name of the cafe in English. Nonetheless, for completeness, here's a picture of the cafe. It located at the corner of Saemunangil and Samilro in Seoul.

6/30/2007 11:30:57 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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Travels

Koreans love their cephalopod. This vendor is selling an assortment of dried octopuses, cuttlefishes, and squids.

Next, take a look at the first picture below. Yes, it shows a fish tank filled with octopuses, which to the Koreans that's a delicacy.

I don't know when was the time I first acquired the taste for octopus but man, do I love this delicacy. During this trip, my hankering for octopus started when I first saw live octopuses swimming in the fish tank of seafood restaurants in Seoul a few nights ago. Particularly, I noticed that people were cooking and eating octopus from a communal hot pot shared at a table. So a thought rang through my mind: I got to have a seafood hot pot with octopus before I leave Korea. But I need to have at least another person to share the hot pot since it is a communal dish. For the first few nights, looking for someone who share my acquired taste at the hostel proved to be futile. Thankfully, I befriended Ed, a professor of philosophy from New Zealand, during a day tour to the Korean DMZ who was more than willing to go for a Korean communal dish with me. After the DMZ tour, we went to a restaurant in Gwancheol-dong for our tentacle treat. After ordering, the waitress brought out a pot filled with broth and an assortment of vegetables, tofu, seafood, and two live octopuses. Next, she turned the stove on and heat the pot for about five minutes. Once everything is cooked, the flame was reduced and the broth was simmered to keep it warm. The taste of octopus hit the spot for me. It was delightful and satisfying. For those who have not tasted octopus before, it tastes like calamari but more succulent and tender. Furthermore, unlike calamari, the tentacles of the octopus make up the bulk of the meat. Give it a try. It is definitely worth it.

6/30/2007 10:55:17 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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Travels

I am currently sitting at Book Cafe (I think that's what it's called) in Seoul, S. Korea. It's like any other cafe with one notable difference: it has a library (hence the name Book Cafe). After a long day of walking around downtown Seoul in smoggy, hot weather, I am ready to take a break at a local cafe and blog about my experience in Seoul.

Other than the language barrier, Seoul is an amazingly safe place and its people are extremely friendly. I am still having problems speaking the language. The Korean language is different from the Chinese language. No Chinese characters are used; although I have seen Chinese characters only on maps and road signs. Regardless, language barrier didn't stop me from taking the path that is less traveled. Back alleys are abound in Seoul and these are the places I love to explore. I found mouthwatering treats and fascinating insights to local lifestyle. Earlier today, while walking through the winding alleyways around Anguk Station, I stumbled upon a Korean noodle shop. In Asia when you see customers sweating while slurping loudly from their bowl of noodles, it can only mean one thing: this place must have some kick-ass noodles. This restaurant is really small but it didn't stop people from eating there. It was a full house when I sat down. The cooking of the noodles is actually done in two huge pots outside of the restaurant (see picture below). The place serves only one dish, so no menu is needed to order. Once I was seated, the waitress simply brought me a big bowl of noodle soup (vegetarian, as far as I can see and taste) and a side dish of kimchi (kimchi to Korean is like baguette to French). Before long, I, too, was slurping my noodles loudly and sweating like a pig from the heat of the soup (temperature and taste), a testimony that the noodles were indeed delicious. The cost of the meal was a steal. I paid 3500 won (around US$3.50) for it.

The bowl of noodles I was slurping on	The staff were cooking the soup and noodles in the alley

After lunch I went on a random walk in downtown Seoul passing through Cheonggyecheon, Namsan, Namdaemun Market, and Myeongdong. Myeongdong is a high-end, trendy shopping district for fashion accessories. On the other side of town, you will find Namdaemun market, which offers a different market experience. Here you have street-side vendors selling cheap clothes, shoes, bags, medicine, and other items. Shouting and bumping against other shoppers in this area are the norm. It is quite enthralling to watch Korean customers haggling with the retailers. A excursion to Namsan, a 262-meter peak in downtown Seoul, was a nice diversion from the urban experience of Namdaemun and Myeongdong. The top of Namsan offers a specular panoramic view of the city. It is definitely worth the trip. Forget about hiking up. Save time and energy by taking the cable car (it's only 7,000 won for a round-trip).

According to Lonely Planet: "You can't really say you've done Korea unless you've been to a public bath." Really! Intrigued and coveted for the full Korean experience, I stopped by at Hurest Spa. Going into the spa was intimidating at first. No, it wasn't the stripping down naked part, that was the easy part. There is actually a process that every bather needs to follow in a Korean bath house. By adopting the "monkey see, monkey do" approach, I quickly learned the rules of going into the tubs. Basically, one would pay 6,000 won (around US$6.50), get the key to the locker, go to the locker room, strip down, lock your belongings, take a shower to clean yourself, and finally jump (not literally) into the tub. It is suggested that the best bathing experience is to alternate between the hot and cold tubs. This technique improves blood circulation and creates a tingling sensation. I tried this technique a few times but didn't get the tingling sensation until the last rotation. I ended my time at the spa by taking a long shower and thoroughly cleaned myself in the process. What a great experience! It is definitely worth it. I plan on doing this again tomorrow.

Myeongdong	Namdaemun

I have been in Book Cafe for more than 3 hours. It is time for dinner. I think I will try Korean hotpot tonight. I will continue my writing tomorrow.

6/29/2007 6:03:12 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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When I was planning for my trip to Asia, I decided to make a stop over in San Francisco for two days to visit my buddy Kumar (a fellow classmate of mine from MIT). Whenever we met, one topic was certain in our conversation: career. Kumar seems to be doing well in his career and has always offered me plenty of good advices on career. Last weekend, it was no different, we chatted about career and talked about our career aspirations over dinner at an awesome Southern Indian restaurant. Being a Southern Indian, Kumar takes me to a different Southern Indian restaurant every time I visit the Bay Area. One prominent feature of Southern Indian food is that food are often presented as samplers. A restaurant would serve a platter of various chutneys and curries topped with dosa (hmmm, I love dosa), chapati, or other Indian crepe.

On Sunday, we drove to San Francisco from Kumar's apartment in Palo Alto to have lunch at my favorite Thai restaurant ever, Marnee Thai (yes, this place is better than Thai Lana in Boston or some of the Thai restaurants had been to in Thailand, it is that good). Afterwards, we walked across the street to Canvas, a cool cafe that my buddy Brian introduced me when he lived in San Francisco. To my dismay and shock, the cafe is now closed for business. As you can see, Canvas was perhaps my favorite cafe. They didn't serve the best coffee in town. But the atmosphere there was wicked cool. Canvas was a big cafe with an art gallery within. Patrons bought coffee and snacks and then consumed them within the confines amidst of many interesting art exhibits. Occasionally, they would even had amateur stand-up and music performances on site. It's really a pity the cafe is now permanently closed. The cafe will be missed.

Enough blogging for the day. It's time to go back to movie marathon on the plane.

6/27/2007 10:46:13 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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Travels

In the last 3 weeks, it seems that I have virtually disappeared from the face of the earth. I had no internet connection in the last 2 weeks - so in a sense, I have virtually disappeared. Nevertheless, the deprivation of the Internet was very liberating.

Physically, my presence was literally out of the country. Since my last blog post, I have traveled to Europe and then to Asia. After being stranded in New York on the first 2 days of my vacation, I spent the next 4 days in Amsterdam. I was in Beijing, China on the second week before ending up in Manado, Indonesia for some spectacular scuba diving on the last week. I spent a few nights in between the two side trips in Singapore visiting my family.

My connection time to the Internet is short right now, I will blog more about this trip as well as posting some pictures of bizarre but dazzling marine creatures taken from my diving trip in Manado.

9/4/2006 7:45:40 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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Here is part 1 of the story. Also, I made significant edits on my original post as it was written right after a night of drinking in Amsterdam - it should flow much better now.

I met Dirk for breakfast in the hotel restaurant where I had the worst omelet and French toast. Even though our flight to Frankfurt was scheduled to depart at 21:30, we were told that we have to check out from the hotel by 12 noon. To add insult to injury, Delta Airlines' didn't provide stranded passengers with vouchers for transportation back to the airport. In other words, we are responsible for transportation to NY JFK Airport and being placed 60 miles away from the airport by the night before, the taxi fare won't come cheap. Delta Airlines incompetence never ceases to amaze me.

Because Dirk and I shared the same flight to Frankfurt, we decided that we should hang out and do something fun to pass time till departure. Instead of hiring a cab like most other stranded passengers, we rented a car. Since I didn't retrieve my luggage the night before, I was concerned that it may be lost. Dirk has to be the calmest and most optimistic German I have ever met. He kept telling me that it is "Lucky Saturday" and our fortunes would turn around; I should be able to find my luggage. So the first order of business that day was for us to drive our spiffy rented Pontiac Grand Prix to JFK to retrieve my luggage - only this time I would ask Singapore Airlines not Delta Airlines for assistance.

The Singapore Airlines staff was friendly, he said that he will check and call me back when he retrieves it. He said that if he doesn't get me on the phone, he will leave my luggage with the counter staff when I check in later. He is friendly, thoughtful, professional, and customer-oriented - the hallmarks of Singapore Airlines. I could have just easily flown from Boston to Frankfurt with other airlines; but instead I braved the hassle of traveling to New York to catch a flight from New York to Frankfurt by Singapore Airlines says a lot about my satisfaction with the company.

Since it was a gorgeous day, we spent the rest of the afternoon in Manhattan. Our drive back to NY JFK Airport was a breeze - there weren't any traffic at all. When I arrived at the flight check-in counter, my luggage was as they said right where it was. We checked in an hour and half before departure. We got into the plane at 21:00 and were in the air by 20:00. There were no chaos and everything was on time with Singapore Airlines.

After about 7 hours of flight time, I finally arrived in Frankfurt and went through immigration and custom without a hitch. But there is still one more problem: the flight from Frankfurt to Amsterdam has not been resolved yet. Dirk, a native of Frankfurt, was kind enough to stay with me in the airport to help me sort out the mess with KLM. After my inquiry at the KLM counter, I was confirmed the next flight out to Amsterdam but it came with a penalty of 115 Euros for changing flight. Bravo! my traveling nightmare was finally over. I said to Dirk then: "You know we never really celebrated our successful arrival in Frankfurt with a toast." We then immediately proceeded to the nearest beer garden for some good German beer. Dirk, you are right - it was "Lucky Saturday."

8/15/2006 6:25:11 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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Travels

Preposterous incompetence, that is how I describe Delta Airlines'. Here is a chronicle of my worst flying nightmare:

16:00 - Arrived at Boston Logan Airport two hours prior to departure. Completed check-in and security screening in Boston Logan Airport in 18 minutes. I thought I was on for a good start for my vacation. Boy, was I wrong.

18:00 - My flight was due to depart at 18:00 and arrive at NY JFK at 19:25 so that I can catch a 21:30 flight to Frankfurt. At 18:00, there still there was no plane on sight. Delta staff was unhelpful in explaining why the plane was late. We were repeatedly told that the plane will arrive any minute from now.

19:30 - This is the time I should be arriving at NY JFK, not the time when I boarded the plane. The plane did not arrive at the gate until 19:30. In fact, the 19:00 flight to NY JFK left earlier than the 18:00 flight - unbelievable.

21:00 - I finally arrived at NY JFK at 21:00. Because my flight to Frankfurt is operated by a different carrier, I have to run to the Singapore Airlines check-in counter in Terminal 4.

21:05 - Arrived at the Singapore Airline check-in counter, but the staff were all gone. As you can see, many international airlines in NY JFK do not have permanent check-in stations as they only have a few flights per week. These companies were assigned with temporary stations 4 hours before flight departures to perform passenger check-ins.

21:10 - Without a boarding pass, my only chance is to talk an airline staff at the departure gate. But I first have to go through security screening, which requires a boarding pass. At the security screening station, I met Dirk, a German traveler who was in the exact same predicament as I am. We explained to a security staff who finally agreed to pass the message onto a Singapore Airline staff. But by then it was already too late. We looked out of the window and watch the flight which we are supposed to be on took off - a very sad and disappointing moment.

21:45 - Dirk and I met one of the Singapore Airline staff, the first competent person whom we met that night. She rebooked us for the next flight (the following day) to Frankfurt.

21:50 - Now it's our time to get even with Delta Airlines. Finding a Delta Airline counter was onerous because of the navigating around in termnal 3 was difficult with many doors locked and sections sealed.

22:40 - Yeah, it took us this long to find a Delta staff who could help us with our problem. Dirk and I were going to demand Delta for free accommodation and other compensations for the trouble they have caused us. To our surprise, we weren't the only passengers whom Delta has left stranded at NY JFK. There were about 50 (at least) passengers waiting around that section to sort out their logistical mess with Delta. They were fuming with frustrations and worry. I empathized with them. While there were some yelling and shouting, the situation was pretty civil.

23:10 - After 30 minutes of waiting in the line, we finally spoke to a staff. Despite our rage at the airline, Dirk and I decided to play it nice while talking to the staff so that we can at least get our issue resolved and have Delta to put us at some hotel for the night.

23:13 - I got free vouchers for hotel accommodation and food. The problem is that the hotel is located in Ronkonkoma - in the middle of Long Island, about 60 miles from NY JFK. We were told to wait outside the terminal for a bus that Delta had charted to transport stranded passengers to the hotel. We couldn't believe our eyes, there were literally hundreds (yes, read my words hundreds) of ticked off stranded passengers waiting outside the terminal for the chartered bus to take them to the hotel. Some passengers had been waiting for more than 4 hours for he bus. From talking to my fellow stranded passengers, I found that they either have their flight abruptly canceled or delayed, hence missing their next flight. Yep, there were plenty of delayed flights that night. One of the airport staff told me that it has been like this the whole summer. He said that this is the busiest traveling season since 9/11. One may argue that with the elevated terror alert and high traveling season delays are inevitable. Even this assertion is true, why do I observe that Delta Airlines is the only carrier at NY JFK having logistical problems? I am convinced that it is not demand or security threats, but rather poor operational management at Delta as the root cause of all woes at the airport.

23:45 - The bus finally showed up but it only has a capacity for about 50 people. Perhaps people were so ticked off or simply dead tired but no one were in a hurry to get onto the bus. I told Dirk that we should rush into the bus right now while there is still room, and we did.

23:55 - The bus finally left NY JFK. I started talking to Alex, an attractive lady who was sitting right next to me. We shared our horror stories but hers was definitely more distributing. She was on a layover in NY JFK while traveling from Boston to Richmond, VA (yeah, it turned out that we were on the same flight from Boston to NY). While waiting on the plane, she was suddenly told by the crew to get off from the plane. So she and other passengers complied. Once they were in ther terminal, they witnessed the plane flew off without them. Upon further inquiry, she was told by the staff on the ground that their flight to Richmond has been canceled and that they should go find a ticketing rep to reschedule them for the next flight. This story is distributing in many ways. Fundamentally, it violates the terms and conditions of a transportation service. Here is an analogy to the story: Imagine taking a taxi to a destination and halfway through the journey, you are suddenly kicked out by the taxi driver in a middle of nowhere. Such practice is totally unacceptable!!!

0:30 - We have been traveling for the last 30 minutes and we are now in the middle of nowhere.

1:00 - Can you believe this? We are still on the road. The driver was lost!!! He stopped twice to asked for directions.

1:05 - We finally arrived at the Holiday Inn in Ronkokoma but we were told by the hotel manager that he can only accept two passengers from the bus as the hotel was filled to capacity with stranded passengers. Thankfully, they have arranged to place us in another hotel two blocks down the road.

1:10 - We arrived at Hilton Garden Inn. I was assigned with a room with two king size beds. I asked the hotel manager how much the room would normally cost and he said: $99 + tax. Wow!!! This is what I don't understand. I paid $70 for a single trip ticket from Boston to NY JFK and Delta has to spend:

Cost of flight operations (very rough assumption, let's say 50% of the ticket price) = $35
Cost of hotel (assuming that Delta don't get any bulk discount rate) = $99
Cost of meals (what an insult, we were offered only $7 for dinner and $7 for breakfast) = $14
Cost of chartered bus service = $25
Total cost for Delta = $173

In other words, based on my very conservative estimation, for every $100 that they earn, they lose about $247!!! And with hundreds of ticked off passengers stranded in NY JFK each day (during this summer according to the airport staff), that translates to a huge operational loss. Personally, I incurred a big loss because of Delta's preposterous incompetence. I had to pay $115 euros to rebook my flight from Frankfurt to Amsterdam; not to mention the loss of my precious time, and the stress, grief, and anger that they have caused. And I am not alone. Seriously, why would these stranded passengers be flying Delta airlines ever again? Overall, Delta Airlines' incompetence translate to a much bigger opportunity cost for them. How can they continue to sustain their business with flight delays, unannounced cancellations, and incompetent staff? I feel bad for the employees at Delta too. They were severely understaffed and their morale completely shattered because of the company's financial dire straits. How can they be motivated, quality-oriented service providers? More importantly, how can the company continue to operate under such strains. After some digging on the Internet, it has become clear to me the circumstances surrounding my snafu last weekend. Earlier this year, Delta made the announcement of offering both domestic and international flights at NY JFK. There many similarities between Delta's expansion to JFK and the People Express case that I wrote a month ago. I think that Delta's expansion to JFK is a grave mistake. From my observation, Delta seemed ill-equiped and resource constrained to manage this new move successfully.

The moral of this story is simple:

DON'T FLY DELTA AIRLINES!!!

8/14/2006 1:22:37 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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I had wanted to spend a quiet July 4th weekend at home reading and watching TV. However, I decided the last minute to visit my buddies Siobhan and Steve over that weekend in New York City instead. It was great catching up with the both of them. Steve was busy preparing for his New York bar examination, which will be take place at the end of the month. Siobhan was in the midst of her well-deserved two month long break between her graduation from NYU Stern and her new job. Nonetheless, both of them were gracious enough to hang out with me last week. Thank you for hosting me.

The first night in NYC was a night out with Fernando, Nick, Serge, and Will - all whom happened to be in town the same night as I was. The second day was spent at Jones Beach in Long Island. That day, I was badly burned from not using sunscreen lotion at the beach even though I knew full well that I should have. Today, the redness and burning sensation have subsided but my whole body still itches like crazy. Moral of the story is: don't be a hero, use the sunscreen lotion. On the brighter side of things, we joined Brian and other close friends on Independence Day to watch the fireworks on a roof deck of an office building in Mahattan. What a spectacular view of the city and fireworks!

I have been visiting NYC a lot lately and starting to like the city. The city appeals to me because as an energetic person, I am attracted to the exuberance that the city has to offer. I think I would fit right in NYC. I am now seriously considering living and working in NYC for a few years.

7/5/2006 11:52:10 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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After catering my sushi craving, it was time to satisfy my rock music hankering. I grew up listening and liking the music of The Police, The Clash, and Blondie; and had always wanted to visit CBGB, a live music club in NYC that hosted these artists.

Brian and I arrived at CBGB at around 9:30pm. After paying $10 for the cover charge, we went into the club. I was actually quite surprise how big the place as I am too used to the live music clubs in Boston/Cambridge, which are typically smaller than their counterparts in NYC. Not surprisingly, the inside was dark, which is what I would expect from a club. While smoking is now banned from all bars and restaurants in NYC, I still feel an indisputable smoky aura (it's just the presence, there was no smoke inside) from the place. The walls are filled with band stickers, decals, and graffiti. Of course, the performing stage takes center stage in CBGB. Yep, there is definitely a presence of iconoclasm in the walls of CBGB, as well as buzz of energy from the stage.

That night, several of bands took stage with each band playing for 30 minutes starting from 7pm. You'll see band members jamming their musical instruments hard and songs bursting at the seams with riffs and drum beating. I seen a number of punk live performances before and all the craziness associated with them; nonetheless I am still amazed how these rockers while jumping and banging their head senselessly don't collide with one another on stage. Of all the bands who played that night, there were two who left lasting impression on me. An all-women band whose name I forgot and The Mercurial whose the lead singer's dynamic vocals and stage presence energized the audience and brought the music performance that night to a whole new level. Yeah, CBGB has live up to its name that night. Needless to say, I wasn't disappointed. I definitely going back to CBGB in a not-so-distant-future.

The outside of CBGB	The band The Mercurial

6/6/2006 1:55:24 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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Last Sunday, we went to La Gamin Cafe, a French cafe across from the Sushi Nazi, for brunch . Surprisingly, this is same La Gamin Cafe that Camille regularly dine at in Boston South End before it closed down a few years ago. I deduced that the food here has to be decent if Camille, a French guy, likes it here. Sure enough, the food was good and the staff were attentive (as opposed to last night's nightmare at Ebisu).

Afterwards, Eimear, Camille, and Brian went to the Body World Bodies exhibition while I went to a cafe to work on the take-home-finals for my Electrochemistry class. We met back at the apartment later that evening before ventured out to the Village for more culinary adventure. We stumbled upon a local Turkish restaurant, which was completely empty. We would have walked past the restaurant had Eimear not pointed us to the fact that an ad to the restaurant showed that they were having all-you-can-eat mezes that night. It was simply too enticing to pass, so we gave it a try. The service was quick and the food, well, instantaneously. I was a little skeptical about this but the food turned out to be awesome. For the rest of the night, we basically kept it low-profile to recuperate.

One of the perks of visiting NYC is to experience its rich, vibrant culinary jewel trove. I am glad that we did just that. More importantly I managed to spend significant time with friends. My only regret is that I didn't catch live music performance. Maybe my next New York trip will be music-oriented. One place that I really want to check it out is CBGB, the Mecca of Punk and New Wave, which will be close indefinitely on Oct 31, 2006. Time is running out... Another trip to NYC is imminent.

1/24/2006 8:26:48 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)

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Eimear, Camille, Brian, John (Brian's roommate), and I had a slow start the following morning before we finally managed to drag ourselves to Paprika, a local brunch place in the East Village. The restaurant was jam packed at around 1pm but was almost empty before then. It seems like people have just woken up at 12 noon and suddenly realized that it is time for breakfast and lunch, supporting Brian's claim that the East Villagers are a nocturnal bunch. At around 4pm, Camille, Brian, and I went for a run along the East River from the Williamsburg Bridge to the Brooklyn Bridge. The temperature that day was 55 F, a perfect temperature for running. It really felt like spring that day.

1/23/2006 8:11:08 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)

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I am currently blogging from Brian's apartment in the East Village in New York City where I have been staying in the past 2 nights. As the countdown for Eimear's grand departure to Ireland continues, a trip to NYC to hang out with our good friends, Siobhan, Steve, and Brian, was imminent. The fun begun as soon as Eimear, Camille, and I arrived in NYC on Friday night. We met up with Siobhan, Steve, and Siobhan's guests from Ireland and Germany, and then ate at some Indian restaurant in the East Village before settling down at a bar for some drinks. I can't remember the names of the places that I have been to on the first night. Nonetheless, this is a good start for our stay in NYC.

1/22/2006 2:55:06 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)

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Travels

I have finally returned to Boston. The first thing that greeted me at the airport is the crappy cold and overcast weather. This is the sixth weekend in a row where the weather in Boston is either raining or overcast. No wonder people in Boston (me included) are cold and grouchy. I really miss San Francisco and sunny California. The crappy weather only makes me more motivated to moving to San Francisco. For now, I will blog in reminiscence of my trip to San Francisco.

Day 8 (Amoeba Records and Star Wars)
The day went by as chronicled in my previous blog. Since everyone that I knew in San Francisco was busy with family, seen the movie, or has other engagements, I saw Star Wars - Revenge of the Sith by myself. Possible Star Wars sequels notwithstanding, I feel relieved as the Star Wars saga is finally complete with this movie release. It is definitely the better of the first 2 Star Wars prequels and the special effects in my opinion are one of the best I have seen. However, solely relying on special effects and the Star Wars franchise do not make this movie a great movie. The acting, directing, and story did not match those of the original Star Wars episode. The plot, in my opinion, is weak and unconvincing. The transformation of Anakin Skywalker to Darth Vader, the establishment of the Empire, and the demise of the Jedi Knights could have developed and expressed better in the movie. Despite the flaws, this is still a movie to watch.

Day 9 (Hiking in Marin County)
This is the day I depart San Francisco. Before my departure, I went hiking with Chris and his brother, Adam at the Marin County Park, which is north of the Golden Gate Bridge. We hiked across a hill before settling down at English operated bed-and-breakfast, Pelican Inn, for some Bangers and Marsh, and some good English beer. After the hike I took a power nap at Brian's apartment before I finally left San Francisco on a red-eye flight to Boston.

5/22/2005 2:01:16 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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Travels

Today is the most gorgeous day I have seen in San Francisco. So it was hard not to go out to enjoy the sun. I took a nice stroll to Haight-Ashbury to visit what I consider to be the mother-of-all-record-stores, Amoeba Records. Amoeba Records is not only huge but has the feel of a neighborhood store. As far as I can tell the business is thriving and the store sells everything from independent label vinyls to DVDs, both new and used. I bought a few CDs at $5 each: Starsailors, Morcheeba, The Replacements, and Moby. I had originally planned to read a book that I bought from City Lights a few days ago after returning from Amoeba Records; but the sun and the clear blue sky was simply too enticing for me not to go out. With an urge to explore more of San Francisco, I left the apartment and climbed up to the highest hill in the vicinity, 14th Avenue hill (or whatever it is officially known). At the hill top, I took a (possible) last panorama view of San Francisco before I leave for Boston tomorrow. Like Siobhan, I have achieved a considerable amount of Zen since arriving in San Francisco and the thought of leaving for Boston really sadden me. While walking down the hill, I finally made up my mind to commit myself to moving to the San Francisco-Bay Area after my graduation. What a nice day.

5/20/2005 9:48:04 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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With the sun breaking the clouds, yesterday's melancholy tunes were finally replaced with the rousing music genre of Acid-Jazz. With nothing better to do, I decided to continue writing and reading the rest of the afternoon. Sometimes, a quiet and uneventful afternoon is a bliss.

Day 4 (Excursion to Wine Country)
With a strong desire to release the energy that was lay dormant for the last 6 months due to the sedentary lifestyle at NYU Stern, Siobhan insisted on going for a run at 6:30 in the morning. Unfortunately, being running freaks, Brian and Chris were more than happy to oblige Siobhan’s wish. Reluctantly, I went with running with them. After the run, Brian went to work while Siobhan and I went for an excursion to the wine country - Napa and Sonoma Valley - with Brian’s car. Since this is a day trip, we skipped Sonoma Valley and went straight to Napa Valley. For anyone who is planning to visit Napa Valley, I highly recommend purchasing the non-topographic map depicting all wineries in Napa Valley from the Napa Valley Visitors Information Center for $3. It is well worth acquistion as all wineries are clearly marked on the map while on the backside of the map, you get a grid of all wineries and their operating information like operating hours, tours availability, etc. We managed to visit Rutherford Grove, Beaulieu, Duck Horn, and Van der Hayden wineries. Being impressed with the wines that I tasted at Van der Hayden, I broke the bank by purchasing several bottles of wine from the winery. Conversely, our trip to Napa Valley also coincided with the Supreme Court’s decision of allowing wineries to ship to out-of-state consumers. While this news received applause from the wineries, I couldn't help wondering why they didn't celebrate this landmark decision by offering Siobhan and me free wine tasting. Nonetheless, I can now order Napa Valley wines directly from Massachusetts. Nice!!!

Day 5 (Being Tourists)
Siobhan and I did the tourist thing by taking the cable car from Powell St. to Fisherman Wharf. We spent a good portion of the afternoon walking around the wharf and looking at the sea lions at pier 39. To complete our anarchic experience in San Francisco, we visited the infamous City Lights bookstore at the North Beach district of SF. After dinner, Brian, Siobhan, and I went to Canvas for amateur stand-up comedy.

Day 6 (Departures and Toastmaster)
I felt an absence of energy as soon as Siobhan left San Francisco for NYC earlier that day. It was a slow day yesterday as I did some reading and blogging in the afternoon before rushing out the house to meet Brian to attend a meeting of the Toastmasters Golden Gate chapter, of which Brian is a member. After the meeting, Brian left for Sacramento to visit his mother who will undergo a surgery on Friday. So, for the next 3 days, I will be staying all by myself at Brian's apartment.

Day 7 (Lunch with Sumer)
I took the BART to East Bay to visit Sumer, an ex-colleague, ex-boss, and MIT alum who influenced my earlier decision to apply to MIT. Since leaving MIT in 1997 he had started 2 new companies. He is glad that I am now attending MIT and taking the entrepreneurial path. It was good to catch up with him. For tonight, I plan on participating in a Yoga session at a Yoga studio a few blocks from Brian's apartment. I haven't done Yoga since I ended my marathon training last year. But the real motivation for Yoga is really the disproportional high number of beautiful women at the studio.

5/19/2005 7:50:59 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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The melancholy tunes of Radiohead are aptly appropriate for the gloomy and rainy afternoon in San Francisco. As the afternoon ticks by in this fog and rain drenched city, I slowly begin to recall and write about my experiences in San Francisco since my arrival last Friday.

Day 1 (Day of Arrival)
Arrived in Oakland International Airport on a Jet Blue flight, which I had redeemed with my frequent air miles 2 weeks before. Brian and Siobhan, whom had arrived half a day earlier from New York, picked me up at the airport. We then went to the UC, Berkeley to grab some beers and food.

Day 2 (Drunk by Sake)
We went to Haight-Ashbury (or Hippie town) to stock up on the accessories and attires that we need for the Bay to Breakers event on Sunday. Besides visiting the countless costume stores in the Haight district, we also had lunch at Kan Zaman, which serves cheap and delicious Middle Eastern food. Later that afternoon, Siobhan, Brian, and I met up with John and Chris for a game of billiards in Daly City. Siobhan left shortly after the game as she headed back to San Francisco to meet her cousin for dinner. The boys, left to their own devices, celebrated Chris’s 29th birthday at a sushi restaurant not too far from Chris’s apartment. It was a really fun night as the 4 of us got hammered after several rounds of good sake.

Day 3 (Bay 2 Breakers)
Brian has been inviting me to San Francisco in the last 3 years to participate in the Bay to Breakers running race where runners are dressed up in costume or not being dressed up at all. In fact, one of my motivations for my visit to San Francisco is to see the hype surrounding Bay to Breakers. But saying "wow" is an understatement as Bay to Breakers is more than just an event, it is an extravaganza of running, partying, parading, and drinking. It is nothing that I had ever seen. But I shall defer further description of this event as I have to leave the computer to meet Brian in downtown San Francisco an hour from now.

5/18/2005 6:37:48 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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