Business Traveller (Asia-Pacific)
FIFTY THINGS WE LOVE ABOUT ASIA
Although renowned for its abundance of business opportunities, what makes the Asia-Pacific region truly memorable are the fascinating cultural experiences to be found round every corner
A humorous list of some of the region’s loveable cultural quirks
People all over the world often harbour a variety of misconceptions about Asia. For those of us who live, breathe and travel around the region, however, the quirky realities of life here are apparent on a daily basis. There are so many things to love about Asia… here are just 50 of them: 1 We love that in Tokyo, you can go to a sushi bar or Tsukiji Fish Market and get incredibly fresh and tasty fish pretty much from dawn till dusk… 2 And that there are more Michelin stars in this city than in Paris… 3 And among all the slick skyscrapers, you can still find little lanes that feel as if time has stood still for a hundred years… 4 And there are “washlets” everywhere. 5 We love that in Japan, you can see flocks of “salarymen” in almost identical black suits on one block, then turn a corner and run into fashionistas wearing the craziest frocks imaginable. 6 We love the cute, bird-like noise pedestrian crossings make in Japan… 7 And that many taxi drivers wear gloves and suits… 8 And when you buy something they wrap it so nicely you don’t want to unwrap it. 9 We love that in Hong Kong, you can easily get a taxi anywhere in the city, pretty much round the clock… 10 And that if you have to wait for more than 10 minutes for a train, it’s considered outrageous… 11 And in Causeway Bay and Mongkok, shopping until almost midnight is the norm on weekends and public holidays… 12 And you can walk uphill from Hong Kong Island’s city centre and be in the middle of a country park in less than an hour… 13 Or you can board a junk in the middle of the city and sail out to a remote beach, with no buildings in sight, in the same amount of time…
14 And there is a one-of-a-kind building called Chungking Mansions that feels like a small Indian city compressed into 17 floors, where a curry meal with beer costs just US$10 per person… 15 And then right across the street, you can visit The Peninsula (www.peninsula.com) for some of the best cocktails in the world – at US$20 a pop… 16 And you can sip real Champagne on the 118th floor in the highest bar in the world: Ozone, The Ritz-Carlton, Hong Kong… 17 And yum cha means chasing after the dim sum trolley for your favourite dishes – for about US$2 each. 18 We love that in Singapore, you can go to the Gardens by the Bay (www.gardensbythebay. com.sg) and spend hours appreciating flowers from the Mediterranean Basin, southwestern Australia, South Africa, central Chile and California, and walk down a mountain of lush vegetation with a waterfall – all indoors within climate-controlled surroundings… 19 And the Mustafa shopping centre doesn’t sleep… 20 And under one roof, you can visit restaurants by renowned chefs Tetsuya Wakuda, Wolfgang Puck and Daniel Boulud (www.marinabaysands.com)… 21 And at food hawker stalls, you can eat all things exotic, from stingray to frogs’ legs – or just opt for good old chicken rice and bak kut teh… 22 And being at Changi Airport (www.changiairport.com) is like being in an integrated resort. 23 We love that in Bangkok, you can have a drink or a meal at Vertigo (www.banyantree. com) while feeling like you’re flying through the air… 24 And in the wee hours, you can find a hot plate of pad Thai for US$2… 25 And mango sticky rice can be had right on the street for under US$1. 26 We love that in Jakarta, no matter how frustrated you get from having to battle the traffic, all is forgiven once you have walked into a fantastic restaurant such as Café Batavia, Oasis or Dapur Babah (www.businesstraveller.asia/asiapacific/four-unique-restaurants-tocheck-out-in-jakarta).
27 We love how the constantly hot and muggy climate in Kuala Lumpur doesn’t deter people from enjoying alfresco dining – just bring in the fan, problem solved! 28 We love that in Macau, you can feel like you are in Vegas one minute and then a little Portuguese town the next… 29 And in the library of the “Leal Senado” Building, you can browse through a dictionary from centuries ago translating words between Portuguese, Chinese and English. 30 We love that in Shanghai, you can check in to an art-deco styled hotel room in the restored Fairmont Peace Hotel, and look out of the window to see the giant uber-modern skyscrapers of Pudong across the river… 31 And you can find both worldclass restaurants such as JeanGeorges and US$2-a-bowl noodle stalls on the same block. 32 We love that in Beijing, you can take a high-speed luge ride down the Great Wall – if you dare… 33 And then find the most unexpected things down a hutong alley near the Forbidden City, like a craft beer brewery (www.greatleapbrewing.com). 34 We love that in Xian, you can sit down for a great glass of Trappist beer at the Belgian Bar (http:// belgian-bar-xian.com) while looking at a thousand-year-old city wall… 35 And a whole set of miniature Terracotta Army figures costs less than US$10. 36 We love that new hotels in China have their lobbies at least 30 floors up from the ground – our apology to acrophobes. 37 We love that in Seoul, you can walk through a large part of the city along picturesque Cheonggyecheon river park (http:// cheonggyecheon.or.kr), created from what used to be a dried-up waterway under a highway… 38 And that it is the norm to pop open a couple of bottles of soju over lunch… 39 And even at 4am, you know that somewhere, there are still restaurants packed with people eating and drinking.
40 We love that in Vietnam you can have the best baguette sandwiches and coffee on the roadside, and then slurp up a hot bowl of pho or a mountain of bánh xèo for less than US$1 right next door… 41 And then up the street you can visit a restaurant that makes you feel like you’re back in French Indochina. 42 We love swimming with the whale sharks in Donsol, among the friendly central Philippine islands. 43 We love Eva Air’s Hello Kitty plane. There, we said it. 44 We love how in Asia karaoke is not just a lark between a bunch of drunken friends, but a legitimate form of business entertainment. 45 We love that hotels in Asia have toothbrushes and toothpaste ready in the bathroom without you having to call and ask for them – are they not as essential as soap? 46 And universal sockets are common… 47 And so are iPod/iPhone docks… 48 We love that in Asia, you can get flatbeds even on shorthaul flights – look, when you have been sleep-deprived, even two hours of horizontal respite can help… 49 And in Asian airports, message services are the rule not the exception… 50 And after all of the above, do we really need to say any more?