Virginal trip to Ho Chih Minh, Vietnam (1 of 2)
Post Date : 2015-05-20
Ho Chih Minh City, Vietnam
Feb. 27 - Mar. 3, 2009
Joining my brother for a getaway to the city of Ho Chih Minh from Feb 27 - Mar 2, 09 for what turned out to be my first trip ever to Vietnam, every little thing about the city amazed me. The sense of chaos with the hustle and bustle of the city. The oblong-shaped hotel we stayed at reminded me of the buildings in Malacca, Malaysia.
Lucky for me, my brother, Jin, had arrived a week ahead of me for an official business and with him as a tour guide, I felt a bit more assured. Besides, he had also hired a translator. Yet, it was hard to figure out how to cross the road when drivers and motorists disregard pedestrians. The solution was provided by the translator who hobbled us together with other pedestrians as a collective force to cross. The trick was not to stop because we would have been hit. Trust me, she said as she was an accident victim on a bicycle. So, we kept the pace and we kept moving.
Virginal trip to Ho Chih Minh, Vietnam (2 of 2)
Post Date : 2015-05-20
The Presidential palace was small in terms of size but it was still filled with splendor of the past as things are still being preserved the way they once were. In the midst of all the busyness, it was as a gem in a thriving city. At the war memorial museum, there were resentment, frustrations and anger over the Vietnam war where they displayed posters of the former US defense secretary, Robert S. McNamara who confessed in his memoirs, "In retrospect, the tragedy and lessons of Vietnam" where he wrote "Yet we were wrong, terribly wrong. We owe it to future generations to explain why."
On our front, there was a battle looming and it'd be fought in cyberspace. Our minds were preoccupied with a legal issue from a textile giant in Europe accusing my brother and I over bad faith and trademark issues for Jin's custom framing business. It was during this trip that we decided to hire a lawyer and it was a David vs. Goliath case. At the end, we prevailed on August 3, 2009. More at http://www.wipo.int/amc/en/domains/decisions/html/2009/d2009-0210.html"
Dad's hometown in China (1 of 2)
Post Date : 2015-05-20
Guangzhou, China
Feb. 26 - 28, 2010
China offers everything from cheap goods to cheap labor but it was a priceless experience when I made the historic visit to dad's childhood hometown to experience for myself what it may have been like to grow up in a place where everybody speaks the dialect of Teochew 潮州. At least that was what I thought because in Malaysia and Singapore, the Teochew dialect is sufficiently close and common enough for speakers to understand each other but I discovered that this is not necessary true in the mainland. According to a forum online (http://www.chinahistoryforum.com/index.php?/topic/32359-standardization-of-hokkien/page__st__30), Teochew isn't a single dialect as within the different districts, there is a substantial variation in phonology as heard in the Jieyang Dialect 揭阳话, Puning Dialect 普宁话, Raoping Dialect 饶平话, Chao'an Dialect 潮安话, Huilai Dialect 惠来话, Shantou Dialect 汕头话, Denghai Dialect 澄海话, Chaoyang Dialect，潮阳话, and Nan'ao Dialect 南澳话. The Shantou Dialect being regarded as the standard. Even within the Puning Dialect, there are further variations due to the different geographic locations of Lihu 里湖, Hongyang 洪阳, and Liusha 流沙. All these administrative municipals, regions and provinces got me confused.
After months of planning, my dad and brother flew via Cathay Pacific from Malaysia while I flew on an A380 Singapore Airlines from Singapore. We convened in Hong Kong before crossing into Shenzhen, China for a 4-hour bus ride to Puning [普宁] (pronounced Pou Leng in Teochew) where dad's village in Li Ou [里湖] is located at. Although the visit lasted only three days from Feb 26-28, I got to meet our cousins and his children for the first time. Cousin Chiew's eldest son was born in the year of the dog in accordance to the Chinese zodiac and that makes him 17 years old while his brother is a year younger. Hence, they affectionately refer to him as "Tu-kia" or Piggy, in reference to the pig in the calendar. The younger sister is 9 but in paternalistic Teochew society, girls don't have much say and are seen but not heard.
In addition to actively writing down all the words that came out of their mouth as I was trying to brush up my rusty Teochew, I also experienced tasty traditional Teochew dishes cooked by cousin Chiew. We ate a lot during my trip to visit my dad's hometown in China. They kept asking me to eat and eat but I refused and refused but finally gave in because the meal was wonderful. More importantly, it was an important mission to pay my filial respects to my dad who has always wanted to realize the trip with me. My brother had been there before but it would be my first. Jin and I spent the night at the house dad built in 2009 over the ancestral home site which he had spent many years fighting to repossess after his mother was swindled by a sweet talker god son who took possession of the house. Dad lost many sleepless nights and money to win it back. We have the same competitive spirit when some Germans tried to take a website from us in 2009. My brother and fought hard and like our dad, we finally knew what victory tasted like when the arbitration center of WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organization) denied their complaints.
And so, I digressed, you'll notice in the picture cute piglets that wagged their tails, maybe on the assumption that we were going to feed them. These piglets were raised in one of the backyards of a home in Hong Ou, another village nearby Li Ou where our other cousins live. This is the village where everyone's surname is Yeoh. I was informed that it is acceptable to marry someone bearing the same surface after five generations. I wonder how scientifically accurate is that. Since the trip overlaps into the 15th day of the Chinese New Year, my brother, Jin, took part in becoming a carriage carrier for a local deity which is said to provide good luck and prosperity. The procession lasted till the night and we were told that it would continue for the next 3 days. Poor hygiene, lack of civic mindedness, polluted air. The grim news of China that the world gets every now and then paints a sad, dismal picture but there is another side to this country, of postcard worthy scene and fascinating people that made this trip memorable. It is not so much about seeing but rather about feeling... By sharing simple sketching of the kids' father, I commingled with my nephews and niece. I sketched my nephews' father. Later, they took a pen and wrote "WANTED" in Chinese above the sketch. Luckily, the father was amused.
Dad's hometown in China (2 of 2)
Post Date : 2015-05-20
Shenzhen, China
Mar. 1 - 5, 2010
All these planning and I stayed for three days in rural Teochew? I figured that city boy me can only take so much so my brother and I left for Shenzhen for brief two-day visit on Mar 1 - 3, 2010 before leaving for Hong Kong. From Teochew, Jin and I took the bus and we passed Huizhou where there are a lot of shoes factories and bad traffic condition caused our trip to be delayed by 1.5 hours. By the time we sat down to eat after we checked in at Orient Fashion Hotel, it was already 1030 PM and most shops were already closed in Shenzhen but there are still huge number of people who were on the streets, wandering, browsing, looking, and for some, an opportunity to pick pocket. I felt safe traveling with my brother. The mission was to find a Hanfu maker in Shenzhen and since it was late, we arranged to meet another time. Jin couldn't find the restaurant that sells the best "lau sar" bun and so we moved on Dalian, the painting village. Even in Shenzhen, as we paid close attention, we noticed that some youths were speaking our dialect, signs of urban migration. As we crossed into Hong Kong from Lok Ma Chau's immigration point, upon checking in at our hotel on Nathan Road, poor Jin was being dragged to join me in trying to salvage what remained before the day turned dark. The next day, Jin explored the bays of Suk Ku alone while I checked out the nearby IFC mall. Though he didn't enjoy shopping, the outlets at Tung Chung was something new that he'd like to bring his wife and daughter to someday. Of course, Hong Kong Disneyland was on top of his agenda. For me, Disney World in Florida in 1992 had topped everything else and anything else is a copy of a copy. Our dad joined us in Hong Kong for one night on the 6th and dim sum was in his mind and it was in his mind again the next day before we left China on Mar 7, 2010. Can't blame him because Hong Kong is big on dim sum.
Original post date: 2010-03-17
All that glitters is gold in Dubai
Post Date : 2015-05-20
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Jun 10 - 14, 2010
At least, in the Gold Souk of Deira, all that glitters are precious stones, 18, 21 or 22 karat gold. Dubai, an emirate in the UAE is also known as "the City of Gold". In a country where locals only make up less than 15% of the population, Dubai has always thrilled me in their openness but yet with a sense of guarded segregation. Some internet sites are blocked but at least Facebook is available. In Dubai, men are in white and the women are in black. Most local Arab men wear their long white robes while the women are covered in black while the Pakistani or Indian men wear their Dhotis. It seemed that costume has become an identity, separating one from the other. Though the official language is Arabic and English, Urdu is widely spoken as the number of Pakistanis or Indians largely outnumber the locals.
Reminiscent of Singapore, literally everything is being imported from goods to workers. As a first time visitor when the plane touched down on June 10, 2010 for a 4-day visit before flying off to Nicosia, Cyprus for a conference, there were a few things on my mind but the heat made it quite impossible to move at the speed I used to operate in. Within a day, I had put on some shades on my skin. I hid in the mall most of the time. The Dubai Mall is a must see for boasting to be the world's largest but it was one of those "if you've been to one, you've been to all" kind of a mall. Thanks to globalization with one city mimicking the other, there are those homogenizing brands that literally are being "franchised" the world over. Even the idea of being the first in this or that, more so if the country is small. Napoleon complex, anyone? Malaysia with her Petronas Twin Tower, Taiwan has the Taipei 101 and as for Dubai, the phallic Burj Khalifa which standing at over 800 meters, towers the Eiffel Tower at only 324 meter.
The Mall of the Emirates' claim to fame is the Ski Dubai attraction. It was so hot I thought that I could fry an egg on a car's hood and people were skiing inside a mall, simply amazing what money, technology and ideas can do. The bottom-heavy Burj Khalifa is nothing but an elongated pyramid-like structure. In order to reach such heights, compromise in the design called for a heavy base to support the structure. As a result, the building is stretched too thin leaving it without much "presence". Unlike the twin towers of Petronas in Malaysia, whereby Islamic patterns are based upon as a base in which the buildings are erected, stainless steel wrappings reflect the light of the sun at different times. The Burj Khalifa is minimalistic in its design which further robs it of the personality that like people, buildings must exude. However, judging from the ongoing construction, this city will continue to build many things for years to come thanks to our unstoppable need for oil and oil wealth is what makes this place go on and on and on...
Hello, my friend! in Istanbul, Turkey (1 of 2)
Post Date : 2015-05-20
Istanbul, Turkey
Jun. 20 - 26, 2010
Once the foothold of Roman, Byzantine and the Ottoman empires, it seems right that the secular Islamic Republic of Turkey labeled themselves as "The Cradle of Civilizations" at the Shanghai Expo 2010. I arrived on June 20th and spent the next 7 days in Istanbul, a city of 12 million people. Being reminded of my experiences in Thailand, there are definitely more commission men and they are more persistent. Most would try to start a little conversation in Japanese (for most of the time since they assume that I'm Japanese) and some are intimate, calling out "Hello, my friend".
Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the great leader who founded the Republic of Turkey in 1934, once said "The new Turkish society won't be a nation of warriors. The new Turkish society will be a nation of economic activities." Eking a living can be tough so people do whatever they can. When it rains, umbrella pops up everywhere, especially at the active Istiklal Caddesi by Taksim Square where the Republican monument was placed. Even cats are opportunistic, snatching my food on the table just before I could finish it and the same lesson I learned from humans was just as applicable to cats: I let them get too close! While reaching for the container of what I thought was for pepper, salt came out instead. I had reached for a shaker with more holes in it, which conventionally is meant for pepper but in Turkey, it's for salt. It's not my eyes, it's a cultural thing!
Original post date: 2010-06-25
Hello, my friend! in Istanbul, Turkey (2 of 2)
Post Date : 2015-05-20
The ocher-colored dome of Hagia Sophia was monumental with beautiful mosaics and frescoes. Finally, all those flat images seen in history textbooks finally became dimensional before my eyes after paying 20 Turkish Lira. Commissioned as a cathedral in the 6th century and remained the most important church in Christianity for over 900 years before Mehmet II conquered the city in the 15th century and converted it into a mosque, adding the minarets and fountains. It wasn't until the founding of the republic in 1934 when it was declared a museum. I have never entered a mosque in my life but with a smelly piece of blue cloth to cover my legs and and my sneakers removed and stuffed inside a plastic bag, I stepped into the Blue Mosque or the Sultan Ahmet Camii, with six graceful minarets built in 1609 and it is still in use today. The interior is splendidly decorated with thousands of blue and white tiles embellished with traditional Ottoman floral patterns which gives the mosque its name. The Grand Bazaar which boasts over 4,000 shops had shiploads of tourists. Everything was over-prized and at the end of the day, my feet hurt so bad because not only is the bazaar a labyrinth of maze, the entire market is surrounded by streets lined with even more shops!
The Miniaturk, located on a 56-hectare area along the coast of the Golden Horn features mini models of old Ottoman architectural works. I snapped all the main structures in Turkey and some structures from bordering countries within a short time in one space. It also gave me a quick lesson on space and scale where over 100 models of architectural structures are displayed at 1:25 of their original size. When space is intimate, particularly where the mausoleums are located especially in the touristy area of Eminonu, where people, tourists, stray cats, and sometimes Turks or Kurds who walked their dogs, automobiles, trams, streetcars, and so forth, the idea of living and working around the dead isn't as scary. Maybe the locals don't even think about these things as they're too busy fulfilling the great leader's call to turn the Turkish society into a nation of economic activities...
The Republic of China without "The People's" in Taiwan
Post Date : 2017-02-13
Taipei, Taiwan, Republic of China
Jun. 16 -21, 2010
In an impulsive decision to join my friend Jimmy who was en route to San Francisco, I joined him in Taipei from July 16-21,2010. Upon touchdown, I noticed and captured on my camera the character of "car" as laid on the tarmac which clearly shows a symmetrical and balanced character unlike the simplified Chinese (Traditional: 車 Simplified: 车). With the semantic information contained within the character, you'll notice that it is reminiscent of a sedan chair with two poles for people to carry the sedan chair in the front and back. I also noticed at the back of each taxi, there was a vividly displayed license with the driver's photo and I immediately noticed the year used as an alternative calendar in marking the founding of the Republic of China. 2010 is equivalent to the 99th year of the Republic of China.
Luckily, Jimmy knows a local friend who showed us around especially to Tamshui (淡水沙崙海灘) by taking the MRT then a local bus towards the fisherman's wharf where the fabled PLU beach in Taipei is located at. Despite conflicting reports about whether it's still popular or not, there are some nude sunbathing especially on sunny days and the sands was so hot that I was afraid that my skin would chafe off. Though I had visited Taiwan before, it was the first time for me to visit the observation deck, both the indoor on the 89th and 91st where the outdoor deck is located at. The air quality in was good enough for my camera to record details as clearly as any bright day would allow any DSLR to. The iconic Taipei 101 building was completed in 2004 and had the world's fastest elevator, traveling at 1010 meter/minute. What an interestingly matched number! The building towers over everything else around it, it's hard not to miss it and it has since become an icon to represent Taiwan. It seems every country has to have iconic building to be associated with and for Taiwan, it's the Taipei 101.
At the Shilin night market, there was so much food that people just eat and would queue in line for their snacks. It's amazing that obesity is not an obvious problem in Taiwan, maybe because there are a lot of places to burn it off such as shopping. But I also noticed in selected areas and rurual areas, biking has become a much loved leisure sports. At Ximenting, Taipei's equivalent to Tokyo's Harajuku, fashionable guys stood in the middle of the heat to carry signs to inform pedestrians of nearby gastronomic promotions. We visited the renowned Three Siblings (三兄妹) for their caramelized ice with jello toppings. Probably in appealing to its younger customers although I saw older ones, the interior decorations are handwritten messages and there wasn't a spot left, probably done so in order not to give wandering hands any opportunities. The influence of Sinosphere is strongly felt now there are shops offering simplified books from China. I can only hope and pray that Taiwan retains the traditional form of writing as many dynasties in China till the pre-communist era had done. Although Taiwan, "The Republic of China" manages to keep some aspects of Chinese traditions alive, the other big domineering neighbor, The People's Republic of China" is strongly spreading its influence and only time will tell which is stronger: will power or power!
More pictures here: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=192932&id=709322987&l=01acbbf07e
Hanfu madness in Shenzhen and Guangzhou
Post Date : 2015-05-20
Shenzhen, China
Aug. 10 - 16, 2010
With my Chinese visa expiring on August 20, I took advantage of the multiple entry, starting with my 1st stop in Shenzhen on August 10, 2010. Other than the fact that some inconsiderate souls smoking in air-conditioned rooms, minefields of children's pee, spits here and there on marbled floors, insensitivity to one's personal space, poor fashion conscience, one really has to see how a small fishing village called Shenzhen managed to turn herself into an economic metropolis within 30 years since Deng Xiaoping declared it into a SEZ (Special Economic Zone).
As I progressed to other cities such as Guangzhou on August 15 and Shanghai from August 16 - 23, I soon realized that there are seemingly the same formulas used and copied throughout cities in China. One prime example is the pedestrian street with more reasons to shop and this can be found on Guangzhou's Beijing Road and Shanghai's Nanjing East Road.
People are entrepreneurial in their spirits and there's no intentional difference between a few lone sellers in the middle of a street with a bubble gun compared to stores with glistening lights and attractive facades. The fact is that with millions of willing workforce to be exploited, someone will. There are still genuine individuals who try to make ends meet. Take for example Madam Guo in Shenzhen who made a Hanfu for me from her apartment in Shenzhen. Sadly, the entrepreneurial spirit is also extended to people who make a living stealing from others. I was constantly being reminded to watch my belongings and the backpack became a front pack as I reminded that what's behind is for someone and what's in front is for myself!
Visiting a newly opened Hanfu (Chinese costume before the Ching dynasty era 1644-1911) store in Guangzhou at a mall called "Metro", I bought another dark grey Hanfu featuring a scholar's style. Watch the youtube video of the shop I visited. The best part of my Hanfu "madness" trip was that at Shenzhen's Book City, I finally found volumes 3 & 4 "Corpus of Chinese fabric, Embroidery and Finery" which outline historical data and images of Chinese costume. That task now is translating these text as I read them page by page...
Expo 2010 Shanghai China (1 of 2)
Post Date : 2015-05-20
Shanghai, China
Aug 16 - 23, 2010
Attending the Expo 2010 Shanghai China on August 20 and 22, 2010, one word came to mind: madhouse. With over 400,000 visitors per day, and an additional 100,000 on weekends, we were baked under the hot sun though organizers installed misty sprinkler and fans throughout the 5.28 square km area. The average waiting time for some popular pavilion such as Japan, South Korea's, UAE, the UK take an average of 2-5 hours. Without any pre-reservation, China (that only allow 44,000 attendees inside daily), Taiwan, Hong Kong pavilions are almost impossible to get in. Nonetheless, I managed to visit the US, Canada, Turkey, Malaysia, China, India, Iran, Maldives, Tajikistan, Mongolia, and Sri Lanka pavilions. There are no shortages of activities, hustle, bustle, and it was basically an opportunity for countries to promote themselves although corporate pavilions are also present.
It was sad to see how the lack of content the US pavilion has to offer. Both the inside and outside were simple and with just four sections of movie clips about sustainable living with President Obama, Secretary Clinton, and some Americans as their spokesperson. Compared to its neighbor to the north, Canada's wooden exterior designed by the folks from Cirque de Soleil with playful and imaginative interactive wide screens were engaging and unlike the US's, there are no restrictions and herding of attendees as they are allowed to roam freely in the Canadian Pavilion. Even smaller countries were dong a much better job promoting themselves compared to the US pavilion. Most time was wasted on queuing. With the theme, "Better City - Better Life", Shanghai's new status in the 21st century as the next great world city is bolstered with an expected attendance of 70 million from May 1 to October 31. Hotels jacked up their prices anywhere from 200 - 300%. The city night lights use energy-saving LED technology. Even the 6 newly-added subways smell spanking new. What annoys me was that the blue Haibao mascot resembles Gumby.
Local Shanghainese seem to despise outsider as all the unruly behaviors and crimes were attributed to these immigrants from other parts of China. From my conversation with an new found friend called Jiang who was part of the group tour of the Expo, I was told that if one behaves in a genteel manner, he/she would be considered weak and would be taken advantage of. That explained why people were so raucous and rambunctious.
More here: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=203721&id=709322987&l=8ccd05d675
Expo 2010 Shanghai China (2 of 2)
Post Date : 2015-05-20
I visited the Shanghai expo on August 20 and 22, 2010 in which during the second trip on the 22nd of August, the security suspiciously questioned the outfit, ransacked my backpack and checked out my passport but to my surprise, he folded the clothes and helped me to put it back into my bag after I explained that the it was a Hanfu. I was ready to forego the second trip should they decide to confiscate the Hanfu which was shown on the left of the picture. The temperature in Shanghai during the summer was unforgiving, nearing 40 degree Celcius so I only wore the Scholar's robe at night at the China Pavilion after getting a pre-reservation from our tour guide in which the lines are still long. As for the green Hanfu, it was worn on the 2nd time of my visit. With an average of over 400,000 visitors per day, I am the only Hanfu wearing visitor and that makes the moment historical!
Yeong-eo hal jul ashimnikka? [Do you speak English?] 1 of 2
Post Date : 2015-05-20
Seoul, South Korea
Oct. 15 - 24, 2010
We make assumptions. It is strongly connected to our instincts to equate something we are familiar with. Our perception is psychological as it is observable. Because our realities are being constructed by people around us, it is interesting to see from my travels what we like and dislike. In Seoul, South Korea, they assumed that I was either Japanese or Korean. A case in point was every time when I needed to fill my stomach and was handed a Korean (and sometimes with Japanese text) only menu but the fact remains that English is my first language. I relied on other friendly customers in the restaurant to lend a hand as my translator when the images didn't seem to distinguish between pork and beef. My favorite dish was "samgaetang" or chicken with ginseng soup. The staple of all restaurants are cold water served in a container and a fair amount of side dishes of pickles and after 3 days of constant kimchi, I could no longer take it and left them untouched.
The anticipation started weeks before my flight took off from Singapore's Changi airport for a 6 hour flight to Seoul's Inchon on Oct 15 for a 9 day trip. The subway network is extensive and may rival Tokyo's. Occasionally, there were sellers wandering from coach to coach selling their musical talents to products and this reminded me of my trip to China. Seeing English and ocassionally Chinese characters helped to reduce my anxiety when traveling to places where language is a barrier. I was glad to see traditional Chinese text still on display on signs and inside the train, with Mandarin and Japanese announcements of arrival of the next station. Though Chinese is something I learned in limited sessions during my childhood, the characters had become identifiable when I traveled to Japan where they still used Kanji or the Chinese characters but it is no more the case in Korea.
I remembered in the early 1990s where there was a Korean community in San Francisco, their newspapers were sprinkled with Chinese characters but now that they are totally replaced and this was confirmed from a conversation with a local who spoke fluent English that there was a movement to disband the "foreign" imported written language of Chinese, called "Hanja". This revised expression of language, thanks to King Sejong, the 3rd king of Choseon dynasty in the 14th century, gave the Korean a sense of identity and national pride.
Yeong-eo hal jul ashimnikka? [Do you speak English?] 2 of 2
Post Date : 2015-05-20
The diverse Itaewon is not only home to expats but also Korea's Muslim community. What I didn't expect in this mono-cultured society was to see whiskered Arabs and hijab-wearing women at the Itaewon Central Mosque atop the hill from Hamilton Hotel. Understandably, it's a specially designated area where anything foreign is tolerated. From illegal sellers at street corners and subway station to small shops sprinkled throughout the city, there is more stuff that I know what to do with. In the Myeong-dong area which was often compared to Tokyo's Shinjuku district to Namdaemun and Dongdaemun, the Meccas of wholesaler, to artistic shops and antique stores to Korea's indie culture culture of Hongdae, amazingly, there is nothing much I needed, partly because most of the things are for the ladies but more importantly, the trip is an eye-opening experience for me to see how this dynamic city has so much to offer and the longer I stay, the more I discover.
The aesthetic clinics at Apgujeong with their unabashed ads advertising further reinforced what I heard about Korea's obsession with man-made beauty. I exchanged cards with a woman named Jiwon who runs a store at Itaewon and she makes the traditional Korean knot-making art called "maedeup" used in "norigae," an accessory for traditional Korea dress called hanbok. She also incorporates her design into necklaces and other pieces to bring together the modern and traditional. For her, finding new ways to keep this traditional art form alive is fun and in sharing my passion for Hanfu with her, I'm envious that the Koreans and Japanese, beneficiaries of Chinoiserie, have enjoyed an unbroken tradition and manage to reinvigorate old traditions with new energy. Like major dynamic cities with human-made stuff, coming from a design background, I find it engaging with beautifully designed shop facades with engaging neon lights and electronic billboards. Every store strides to outdo each other with flickering LED and LCDs, competing for passerby's' attention and subsequently wallet. And when that fails, they put standees and salespeople outside the store trying to pull people into the store. I think when people shop, they are looking for a kind of experience, which feels more like treasure hunt because you'll never exactly know what you'll find. As for me, the many images I captured in my mind was well worth the visit and should I forget, I have all of them digitally stored.
1st Asia Conference on Tourism Communication in Kuala Lumpur
Post Date : 2015-05-20
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Oct. 8 - 12, 2010
BridgeKnowle responsible for putting together Conferences and Training program has invited me as one of the guest speakers to the 1st Asia Conference on Tourism Communication in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on 11th - 12th October 2010. I arrived three days earlier to enjoy the vibrancy of the city and to share my thoughts on how to differentiate between communication strategy and creative strategy, elements of a creative strategy and examples of a successful communication campaign. In addition to presenting, I chaired a session on the 12th of October. A colleague from my division joined me for the trip from October 8 - 10 as it was his first visit to the city. He commented that the city reminds him of his native capital, Bangkok but unlike Bangkok, a day and a half is more than necessary. Airports serves as a city's 'facade', an important element from which every traveler gets a first impression, leaving a lasting imprint on how a city is judged, other harder to control determinants of brand-building values are logistical issues, challenging and changing perceptions, historical precedents, lodging, food, venue, the people tourists interact with and the treatment they received. What my colleague pointed out was that there wasn't much of an attraction in KL.
Since the conference is about how to attract more tourist to a designated place, he is a good case study of why Kuala Lumpur, despite its decade long campaign of "Malaysia, Truly Asia" has failed to rival Bangkok. If not for the tumultuous situation bordering on a civil war, Bangkok will continue to be a premier tourist destination. Due to globalization and standardization, countries that compete for tourist dollars feel the need to brand themselves and they do so by banking on the idea of diversity which is a major marketing boo boo. What constitutes a creative strategy I asked during the conference. It must be simple with a clear big idea, original for memorability and authenticity, cohesively consistent in their visual and textual message, intellectual which answers clients needs and it must deliver the promise. India promises "Incredible", Seoul is "inspiring" but Seoul can also be incredible and India is inspiring. All these adjectives don't mean much because Walter Landor is right all along for saying that all products are made in the factory, but brands are created in the mind. Countries are now products that compete on a global stage and in trying to sell to everybody, they end up selling to nobody. New Zealand with its equally long "100 Pure" is smarter in their approach by pushing the idea that the country is 100% pure hot spots for extreme sports. Instead of a mass appeal which is aimed at 'everyone,' they focus on individual appeal.
While it is hard to cater to everyone and everyone expects different things from their trip, what was memorable for me was that I got to celebrate my birthday with a colleague friend on October 9 and the next day, it was 10/10/10 and it was my niece's birthday, and for the next 2 years with the same numbers for day, month, and year, I hope to have something sweet to remember on 11/11/11 and 12/12/12.
YEOH'S JOURNAL
Read about things that interest me, matters that I care about, pictures and observations from my trips and stuff that I bother to share with the world.
