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Shanghai, May 12, 2013 Been to Shanghai numerous times before but coming from Tokyo does give it a different perspective altogether. The moment I stepped onto the China Eastern Airlines flight this morning, it was a completely different world; the big sloppy bags, the chaotic movements, the noises, the pushy encounters…. I often find myself vulnerable in such a settings. “When in Rome, do what the Romans do!”. So have we been taught by our ancestors. Gosh! Forgive me but I am

Tokyo, May 10, 2013 Even though the digital age has hit us hard in the last few years and even though I have been trying my best to keep up with technology, there is something about bookstores that’s just addictive to me. I can spend hours browsing around in a bookstore and to me that’s probably the most fulfilling me-time ever. And so I struggle in countries where bookstores are nowhere to be found such as China. Guess what? I feel completely at home in Tokyo. Tokyo is not s

It was 8:00PM on a small lane way near Tameike-sanno station. After a fulfilling sashimi dinner at Kitokito, a small tucked-away restaurant in the same area, I decided to take a walk and get some fresh air. After all, the weather has been very accommodating for this tropical person. I spotted several men-in-black waiting in line in front of a vending machine. Well, there were buttons and thumbnail images but I could not seem to locate any products. Tokyo itself is overloaded

Tokyo, May 08, 2013 10Am: out of the hotel walking to the conference center. Hardly see anyone on the street. Once in a while I spot a man in black. 12:30PM: out of the conference center walking down the street looking for a lunch spot. Groups of men in black are on the way to or from their lunch venues. I notice that most restaurants in the area are set up for a in-and-out lunch fix. 1PM we get into a Japanese noodle house. Groups of men in black fill the tables. The menu lo

Coming from the chaotic, hustle bustle cities of Melaka and Saigon, it’s been 12 hours since I landed in Tokyo and yet I have not seemed to get used to such organized-to-the-teeth environment here. What an efficient society! Everything is carefully thought out. Everyone plays their parts. Infrastructures are well-built. “What difference does it make?”, you ask. Man-made cities all start to look the same to me. But people never do! Not once have I been disappointed in the last