Day 1: Manila.

 

Christ the place is a mess. It’s been a few years since I was there, but it hasn’t changed one bit. Hot, dirty and truly disorganized, it’s a place I still enjoy going to. It was an early morning call, flying via HK to Manila, got picked up by the Philippine rep who is a great guy, one meeting, and then off to Jakarta.

 

I wasn’t too upset at that. Apart from the flight to Jakarta being late – but that’s what you get for flying Cebu Pacific. Late, cramped, and really 4 hours for a flight that should take no longer than 3.

 

Thankfully the hotel in Jakarta was expecting me, and was most comfortable.

 

Day 2: Jakarta.

 

Breakfast in the hotel was nice. I was upgraded thanks to a corporate account that our Indonesian guys have, so I had a nice quiet and secluded brekkie where I met our Indonesian rep.

 

The morning meeting never got confirmed, so I stayed chatting with our rep, before we got in to a taxi to the meeting. Got there late because Jakarta traffic is crazier than crazy. It has to be the most disorganized city in the universe. It would have been quicker to walk, had there actually been any gap between the cars for you to walk between.

 

Another interesting meeting – very nice guy – then in to another taxi for the trip to the airport.

 

I couldn’t use my old bank notes, so I didn’t have enough Indonesia Rupiah to pay the exit tax, so they took my Euro instead, at a 1:1 for the US$ rate. Seemed like not a very fair deal to me but I had no choice. They would not accept Pesos, or Taiwan $.

 

Through security, in to the new airport terminal which, despite having all the lights on, seemed in a permanent state of darkness. I agree that we should conserve energy but this takes it to a brand new level.

 

After a most confusing boarding announcement, where the destination was not called, and the flight number was intelligible, everyone finally got crammed in to the plane, Air Asia not liking to leave any space whatsoever, holding a world record for the amount of people they can get in to a 737.

 

Day 3: Kuala Lumpur

 

Interesting place, it has to be said.

 

You get to KL airport, through customs, and go look for a taxi. You get to the front of the queue, and they ask where your ticket is. What fugging ticket? Oh – you need a taxi ticket. You have to go back in to international arrivals, find the pre-paid taxi line, and grab your ticket. There are no metered taxis from the airport. What kind of place have I arrived in?

 

A good one. Because there is an Indian vegetarian deli serving awesome food at not terrible prices on the way to the taxi rank. Inside I go, get a take-away, and drool as I contemplate my dinner which will be consumed in just a short while when I get to the hotel.

 

Back to the taxi rank to find out it’s almost an hour’s drive to the hotel. Dinner will have to wait.

 

I was outside the CBD so didn’t get to see the Petronas towers, but the meeting in the morning was fine, as was the afternoon one. The guy from the morning was so impressed with what he saw, he set me up with a 2^nd meeting in Bangkok for the Friday. Nice one

 

The hotel room was a little smelly, and the carpet was worn. But it was comfortable enough. Breakfast was boring but I managed to sneak in a coffee after my first meeting.

 

After the hustle and bustle of Manila and Jakarta, KL was surprisingly well ordered, despite the traffic, and everyone got to their destination without too much trouble.

 

KL was hot, and after the second meeting I had to hang around and wait for other guys from the company to discuss the strategy in Malaysia, everyone suddenly rushing in to the idea of how good our products are. So sitting down, a refreshing fruit juice in hand, we had a very friendly discussion before tonking off to find an Indian vegetarian restaurant for dinner. Now that’s more like it.

 

Day 4: Penang

 

An early morning wake up with a taxi ride to the airport where I took the Malaysian Airlines flight to Penang. It was a short flight upp north, and I arrived on time. To the pre-paid taxi place (hahaha – you don’t get me on that one twice Malaysia!) and in to the city.

 

Lunch at a Chinese vegetarian place, after the meeting, which made Taiwanese veggie buffets look short on choice. Absolutely amazing food, and then in to the hotel which was stunning, overlooking the ocean.

 

After relaxing, writing meeting minutes and stuff, I headed out for a walk, finding a shopping mall – one of many springing up all over Malaysia – and picking up some gifts for the noodle.

 

In to the 7-Eleven, buying some water for the evening, and then back to the hotel. After some more work, I was getting hungry and decided to hit the veggie buffet again. I got downstairs only to be immediately greeted as I turned the corner by the irresistible smell of Indian food.

 

“Can you do anything vegetarian?” I asked.

 

“Oh yes sir.”

 

Veggie buffet? What veggie buffet?

 

As the moon rose over the ocean, I tucked in to my Indian takeaway, not in the least getting bored with Indian food, and with the knowledge of a trip to Sri Lanka and India coming after my one night in Bangkok, there was plenty more to look forward to.

 

Day 5: Bangkok

 

Another crazy wake up call, another early morning flight to Thailand. I took the sky train in to Phaya Tai Station, and took a cab. Damn, I should have walked. Not only did the driver have absolutely no idea where the hotel was, it was also a mere 10 minute walk from the station.

 

I got to the hotel where the meeting was already taking place. I met my brother man Hunkyu from Korea talking with my friend Ratcha from Thailand, and we talked business for a while seeing how we could potentially all work together.

 

A quick bite at the hotel restaurant, with 69 Baht special lunches on offer, and then I jumped in to a taxi to head out towards the old airport for a 2^nd meeting. That one went amazingly…

 

Back to the hotel, I stopped at the 7-Eleven once more to pick up a couple of celebratory beers for me and Hunkyu, and was told they could not sell me beer until 5. I checked the clock, and saw I had another 90 minutes before I could pick them up. Weirdest rule of all time.

 

5 came around, and beers were in hand.

 

Hunkyu and I went out for dinner, some not so awesome street food across from the hotel, and then he headed to the airport for the midnight flight back to Seoul.

 

Day 6: Bangkok – Colombo

 

For some crazy reason, I had an 8 AM meeting at the hotel. I got up, waited downstairs at 8 before realizing Bangkok is 1 hour behind Taiwan, and it was only 7. Carp. Back up to the room for 50 minutes, before returning to the lobby.

 

The meeting was fine once more, and then I had time to kill. I packed my stuff, checked out, left the luggage at the front desk, and went for a walk to the Victory Monument which commemorates Thailand’s victory over the French colonialists in 1941. It was actually quite boring.

 

Then back up to a couple of crap shopping malls, looking for a gift for Joanne, but finding absolutely nothing even remotely interesting.

 

Off to Starcraps for coffee, back to the hotel and I figured I may as well head to the airport. Sure there was plenty of time, but I knew I could find a power socket in the coffee area at the airport and play some FM.

 

So that’s what I did until the flight boarded.

 

The only interesting thing that happened at the airport was watching some guy pack up 4 Samsung LED TV’s in to his check in luggage. Must have cost a lot in excess baggage, I reckon.

 

In to the sky, sitting next to some mainland Chinese guy, I regretted not wearing my Free Tibet shirt. If only I had known the flight originates from Shanghai I would have had it on for sure.