Recently in Travels Category

February and March was supposed to be a time of rest before I head to the new job, but opportunity often knocks on the door when you least expect it.

When I met Mark Surman in Singapore last December, I had no idea I would eventually become involved in shaping the Open Web Career Track Drumbeat Project along with John Britton and Philipp Schmidt.

It was one of those requests that made me feel woefully inadequate, but I felt a deep affinity to its cause of providing accessible education to inculcate skills within the tech community — skills necessary to keep the web open and non-proprietary. John and Phlipp were extremely patient and kind to bring me up to speed.

So when Mark asked if I could present the Open Web Career Track project at Mozilla Developer Day in Bangalore, I agreed.

It is regrettable that I’ve never really traveled within Asia, and it would be my first time to India.

The crowd that showed up for MozDevDay was amazing. A full-house of about 300 people, on a Saturday, some coming from quite a distance away.

It was an eclectic experience: we talked pretty cutting edge tech in the hall — thanks to Arun — and ate sitting down on the grass patch under the noon sun. It was a departure from the sterile environment Singapore tech meetups are often held in, where the main complaint was always “why no wifi?”.

It was a blast speaking to the audience. The Indian and Chinese cultures share so many similarities it was easy to point out (and subsequently joke about) our common idiosyncrasies.

I’ve learned so much from the amazing people I met. In a land where there are places in poverty, open-source software means so much more than “why does OpenOffice mess up my Powerpoint slides?”. It is a means by which the poor can make themselves relevant in an increasingly technological world; where the oppressed can broadcast their plight to the rest of the world despite the best efforts of the oppressors to silence them.

The web has changed the way in which we communicate and connect with each other. It has the potential to be a lot more than a giant corporate marketplace. We need to consciously keep it inclusive and available to everyone.

Based on Kevin Rose and Alex Albrecht’s recommendation on Diggnation, I chose to fly Virgin America from San Francisco to Los Angeles.

The price is extremely competitive even when placed beside the more nefarious airlines like US Airways and American Airlines, who slip in hidden fees for checked baggage and even plain water.

But the experience of flying on Virgin America is unlike anything I’ve ever been on. And I’ve flown quite a bit.

The first hint that Richard Branson’s airline is unique came even before stepping on the plane. The sign that tells passengers to check in oversized luggage read:

Love your bag. Let it ride with bags its own size.

Personal, humourous and human. I like Virgin already.

Stepping into the plane was like stepping into the club. The lighting was a psychedelic purple and a large glass panel framed the entrance from the front row of seats. I half-expected bottles of krystal cristal (thanks Min) to be handed out.

The macbook white panels around the large touchscreen LCDs were extremely luxurious. I couldn’t find episodes of Diggnation and had to settle on CNN Live. Unlike any plane I’ve ever flown on, Virgin’s flight entertainment system starts the moment you plonk on your seat. The headphone jack is also standard, allowing you to plug in your own earphones should you decide not to use the ones provided. I really wish other airlines will follow suit.

The flight was excellent, and staffed by extremely professional employees who really projected themselves as a cohesive team. I had to change my flight, which cost me a pretty buck, and the Virgin employee helping me over the phone provided one of the best on-phone experiences I’ve ever had. He was informative and efficient. While I don’t perceive myself as one biased towards foreign accents (I’m not American), I felt valued as a customer knowing Virgin didn’t outsource the call management.

I would definitely recommend flying Virgin wherever available. Where many carriers are keen on giving us less, Virgin has provided more than I expected from a short domestic flight.

Bravo.

Watched KA by Cirque du Soleil at the MGM Grand a few moments ago. I wanted to just pop by the theatre to see if they had any offers for tickets that came available due to last minute cancellations. I stood last in a pretty long “Stand by” line, and I overheard the counter staff say that the show was sold out.

Then they asked if there were any single individuals waiting in line. 3 of us put up our hands and the first guy got to purchase that open ticket. Then a young man came up to me and said “I have a ticket”. I asked him how much it was, but he said he’d give it to me for free. He was part of a bachelor party, he explained. Why he couldn’t watch the show was still unexplained to me. He told me to say hi to his friends already in the theatre, which I did.

And that’s how I got the $170 ticket for free.

The show? Well, I think I need to watch shows that actually use language. All the interpretive moments are really lost on me. The only thing that impressed me was the athleticism and coordination of the performers.

Fireworks. Every single night.

There was a thunderstorm behind me, which I totally failed to capture because I couldn’t find a good vantage point. The ranger chased me out of the one good place I found.

I’ve flown the Singapore-United States route quite a bit. After my first near-death experience flying Garuda, I grew wiser to the fact that some things are worth paying a little extra for. Yes I’m probably exaggerating, but during the Garuda flight we were all unsure if the plane would take off in one piece. Plus it took 30 hours to get to LA, by which time a quarter of our family vacation was over.

My preference is towards our own Singapore Airlines, and this time round I had the opportunity to fly the non-stop executive economy flight to LA, SQ38 out of Terminal 3. A short exploration of Terminal 3 revealed a free movie theatre! I sat there waiting for my flight while watching Hilary Swank in a movie I’ve never seen.

Singapore Airlines impresses. After liftoff we had Doritos with sundried tomato dip. I had a Singapore Sling and a cup of pineapple juice. It was my first time tasting a Singapore Sling…nice!

There’s something magical about flights. The lights are dimmed. Everything you need is in that small enclosed space. It’s probably why a lot of people hate flying. I wouldn’t take a longer flight than I have to, but the feeling of heading towards a destination different from where you came adds that little electricity in the air.

Heather, Michael, Jennifer, Ryan and Geoff. I’m glad we didn’t rotate around different tables like we were supposed to. That’s the toss-up at most workshops and conferences, isn’t it? Network more broadly or more deeply? I think we chose well.

Over the duration of the 4 day event, we got to work on fictitious websites, designed imaginary devices and cracked countless jokes. It was liberating to shed my Asian shell and get in there guns ablazing - after all, I only had 4 days.

On the first day, the most important thing I learned came not from the speaker but from Michael who sat beside me. He said managing working relationships was the same as crafting a user experience. What do your bosses need, what are their motivations, and how do you make it easy for them to close the “transaction”? How do you align what they need as a person with what the project needs? While the topic of managing bosses isn’t new to me, the juxtaposition of that and user experience was highly interesting.

Another interesting tidbit we had from the casual chat at the table was the differences between relationships with Americans, Europeans and Asians. Michael mentioned how Americans are quick to bond, but devote only the relevant slice of themselves - you may get to know them fast, but just the work part of their being, or the parent if you happen to be the teacher of their child. You don’t get the full person. His observations were that Asians were the other extreme. It took forever to get through the outer shell, but when you get past that, you get the whole person.

I suppose that is accurate to a certain degree. We tend to think of people as whole persons rather than functions. My mother has always drilled it in me to understand that people are more than their jobs. They are parents to their children, children to their parents, and that creates a fuller way of looking at people. Maybe not as efficient, but certainly more organic and less mechanical.

The workshops proper were grueling. I learned a lot from the design strategy, design research and interaction design workshops. The information architecture workshop was a little too rudimentary, but it probably helped those who didn’t do IA for a living.

After a long day on Design Strategy, I thought I’d highlight some of the more glaring usability flaws right here in the hotel.

The elevator at the lobby has 2 arrows pointing downwards. There’s no arrow pointing upwards. Instead, the words “This car up” lights up when the elevator is heading up. Why arrow for down and words for up?

The 2 elevators have different button layouts (elevator 1 and elevator 2). It’s crazy to have to look for your floor everytime, rather than remembering which position it’s in.

Then there’s the control for the shower. Hot’s cold, cold’s hot, warm is off and off is warm.

I’m sitting here watching the proceedings of the NBA All-Star Game held at New Orleans. The Star-spangled Banner was performed by trumpeteer Christian Scott. It’s amazing, but the anthem never fails to move me, even when performed without words. I suppose you could say I’m in love with the United States of America, but the truth is that I’m in love with the idea of America, rather than America herself.

A country where anyone has the chance to be someone. Where everyone has a voice that is heard, however grating the message may be.

As I walked the streets of San Francisco this morning, the reality that America is rather divorced from her original ideals hits me. The huge dome of City Hall looked very impressive with its gilded edges and ornamentation. What you do not see in the photo are the homeless people scattered around its grounds.

The currentUnited States administration has done, in my own opinion, a horrible job of keeping the faith. Bush’s new $3 trillion budget’s main provisions go to the Department of Homeland Security. I’ve been in and out of the United States many, many times, but in recent years there’s been a tangible fear of walking through her immigration counters. It’s like you’ll never know when Homeland Security’s hyperactive index finger would point your way.

America has grown paranoid. Voices, even that of the majority, have been silenced. Newspapers and blogs write about how ridiculous certain bills are, but congress passes them anyway. I’m only a visitor to this country and I’ve seen a fair number of veterans homeless on the streets, but Bill O’Reilly , who actually lives in America, denies their existence. Everything is upside down, America.

Sometimes people are only as good as you believe them to be. When you stop believing in people, there is no incentive to live up to your expectations. There’d be no ideals to reach for.

Covered 8km this morning.

I went out looking for a YMCA where I could play some ball. According to a friend I walked right through some bad neighbourhoods. And then the YMCA didn’t have day passes to the courts. Where can I play some pickup ball?

Here I am, sitting in the hotel room, watching Sportscenter. The city of San Francisco at my feet, and all I want to do is to be with my girls.

I am definitely not the same person I was before.

I miss you guys. Talk to you tonight, 9pm.

The trip to New Zealand was good for us. It was our first trip out as a family. Faith and I aren’t exactly very adventurous, so venturing outside of our comfort zone brought about a little trepidation initially. We took it step by step, hoping to survive the plane ride, then day one, and so on.

We all took turns to battle the flu bug. By God’s grace, we survived.

We spent the last few days in Cook Beach, on the Coromandel Peninsula. We rented a beach house, known in these parts as a bach, off the internet. The drive from Auckland to Cook Beach would take a little over 2 hours, according to Google Maps. What Google Maps didn’t account for was the mountainous region we’d be traversing over. It took us around 4 hours to get to the bach. A good portion of the trip was windy and winding, great for drivers seeking a World Rally Championship experience but sucky for a pregnant woman and 2 year old daughter. Oh, and for the husband who made their comfort his sole priority.

The bach was beautiful. The whole gang had a whale of a time, culminating into an all-out New Zealander-styled BBQ. But somehow the holiday home experience felt so hollow to me. Many bachs along the same stretch were unoccupied. It seemed that all of Cook Beach - its dairy, hamburger joint and drinks store - existed only to serve holiday makers. It wasn’t a town that subsisted on its own. It seemed to lack a soul.

I’m not sure why, but I felt like I needed to connect with a real, living community. I was looking for Stars Hollow. The lack of internet access, street lights and human noise was a little unsettling. It made me glad to have a family to huddle up with.

The moment we landed Faith had to rush off for Tom and Dawn’s wedding. We decided to have Anne sit out the wedding as she wasn’t 100%. It was the considerate thing to do as there were other kids at the wedding who might contract whatever she was having.

It’s been forever since I’ve explored a new place with a companion in tow. When Min came to Tucson, I’ve had already been there a year. When I visited Min in New York earlier this year, she’d already been there a while. So here we were, Anne and I, discovering Auckland for ourselves.

Thank God she was amenable to the idea of sitting in her pram. Carrying her would have torn my arms off, especially now that she weighs a hefty 11kg. We set out twice that day - the room at the hotel was a little too boring and you could only watch so many re-runs of Barney, even for Anne.

We walked around downtown a bit, then found a pram-friendly way into Albert Park. Anne was asleep by now, but I was really enjoying the park. The foliage was a little more “raw” than Singapore’s Botanical Gardens. Trees were allowed to grow low-hanging branches which made for great climbing. It also helped that the weather was a lot cooler and less humid. The air was nice and crisp. The kiddo was asleep.

Oh yeah. It was here I realised why people buy those $400 prams - the ones that have inflatable tires, suspension systems and all that. The inclines in Auckland are crazy steep, the pathways not always baby-butt smooth. Anne’s Sungei-road pram held its own, but only because Anne was almost totally comatose.

Dear Singapore Airlines,

I’ve been a loyal customer for some time now, having flown the SIN-LAX route many times as a college student who left his sweetheart at home. I’ve always been impressed with the movie selections and airline food that actually tastes good. Yesterday was the first time I flown with my family in tow, and I find my expectations of excellence different from flying alone. I find my expectations simpler and more fundamental, but unmet.

Having a 2 year old means you have no time to catch the Transformers on the inflight entertainment. There’s no time to sit down for a full movie. Anne’s head was too small to use the headsets, so she had to make do with a Charlie Chaplinised version of Toy Story 2.

Being one of the multitude that isn’t able to afford business or first class, leg space is a premium. Flying alone I am able to tolerate small confined spaces for long periods of time - I just hole up and enjoy myself. Economy seats suit us fine - we aren’t tall or large, but the problem arises when the tray tables come down. We’re forced to sit upright and have a good 70% of the space in front of us occupied by a tray of food.

I’m still unsure about how airlines figure out when to feed you - we had dinner at 11pm Singapore time, which was 4am Auckland time. Anne was just getting settled and ready for bed. The air stewardess asks us which meal Anne’d like, explaining that children had smaller portions of the same meal as adults. I choose the Perch - some sort of fish. The meal arrives promptly. Fish fingers. Not sure if it’s “Perch”. Our meals come later and I’m sure we didn’t get fish fingers. No matter. Anne needs to sleep anyway.

The trays weren’t cleared for a long time, so we were unable to have Anne lie down, despite our best efforts. She kicked the table a few times, almost spilling half-drunk orange juice all over the place. Unable to stand it anymore, I requested for the trays to be removed. The steward was nice about it.

We had a couple of bookworms seated on the other side of the aisle from us. In what I can only describe as a crucial design flaw, their reading lights shone right down our entire row of seats. I spent a good portion of the flight trying to eclipse the reading light for Anne to get some shuteye. One of the bookworms even opened the window shade, illuminating the entire cabin.

I’m not a college student anymore. When I fly with my family, it is not my own needs that are the priority. Lovely as the amenities are, my family’s comfort is paramount, and I found SIA lacking.

Dear New York,

your children are beautiful. They’re all bundled up to keep warm in the last few days of winter. Many of them are dressed in jackets that have seen more winters than they have. But they don’t care; they snuggle up close to you, and they’re happy.

They remind us of things we’ve forgotten: that it doesn’t take too much to be happy. Designer clothes, dream jobs, lots of money. I fear that we’ve added these prerequisites to happiness on our children back in Singapore. Many of them carry schoolbags larger than themselves, have “structured” playtimes and participate in sports that their parents think will give them an edge, rather than games they enjoy.

I’m sure I’m stereotyping the Singaporean child here, and the many younger parents are making conscious moves to create some semblance of a childhood for their children.

Keep them warm.

There is no doubt that direct flights are more convenient as they have no stopovers. You get on the plane, you get off the plane, and you’re there. You don’t have to traverse unfamiliar airports, many of which have signages in languages you can’t read; or spoken in accents you can’t decipher. But what I’ve come to realise on my first non-stop flight is this: they call it a long-haul flight because you’re in for the long-haul.

Every plane ride is a roll of the die. You may be seated next to that leggy blonde cheerleader or the yokozuna who makes Hurley from Lost look like an anorexic teen. With direct flights, one roll is all you got. If you’re fortunate enough to be seated beside the three toddler tenors trying to outdo each other, congratulations, you have 20 hours to go.

My first post from the inside of the Apple Store, 5th Avenue, New York.

I’m here!

Update: We always talk about the cult of mac, but I didn’t realise they actually have altars you kneel at.

Feel free to disagree, but I believe if the breadth of human culture had extreme polar opposites, it would have to be the Mexican-American culture and the Japanese culture. For good measure, throw in a Chinese guy.

On my 25 hour flight from Singapore to Austin, I had the wonderful opportunity not only to traverse physical space, but also cultural space. I flew Japan Airlines from Singapore to San Francisco, then Continental from San Francisco to Austin, changing flights in Houston.

I checked in one backpack, carried a small camera bag, and another backpack with my computer and camera tripod strapped to its side.

The tripod and a petite Japanese girl would put my mathematical skills to the rack.

“Are you happy?”, they ask.

I stood there, stunned for a moment. Wow, I’ll have to think about this one.

“Yes”. I smile and nod. It was such a relief that I didn’t have to cook up the “correct” answer to the unexpected question. I was happy to be there with them.

Where our standard greeting here in Singapore is “have you eaten?”, or more accurately, “have you had your fill?”, almost every orphan I met in Myanmar asked me “are you happy?”. It is almost as if they knew something I didn’t; that they knew - without having ever set foot outside of their village - that the lives we live in comfort held within them an emptiness.

We dare not speak its name. We do not ask each other if we’re happy. It is such an odd paradox, going by Maslow’s famed hierarchy of needs. We in the developed countries ought to be seeking high level goals like self-actualisation and what-not. These orphans in third-world Myanmar should be obsessed with low level goals like having food and shelter.

And yet there we were, interchanged. They had little else but happiness. We had plenty, but were found wanting.

While in Myanmar Mark and I spent late evenings teaching Esther how to use the computer someone had donated to the orphanage. Esther was one of the few Burmese there who was fluent in English. I fired up MS Word and told her to type away.

The first line she typed was:

I am happy today.

The sheer simplicity of her statement still leaves me in awe even now.