Paris Day 2 - Shopping

Outside Rue St Honore, Chanel Store

It is many ladies dream all over the world to buy branded goods and the 'best of the best' places to shop in terms of quality, price (yes price unbelievably), service and for the latest fashion accessories, the chic women, the tai tais, the supermodels, the film stars (men and women) all flock to Paris. Make no mistake. This is the centre of high fashion. I followed my wife shopping and the experience is quite underwhelming, to be frank. I was half expecting people to be bowing at us (like in Tokyo) or salesgirls who run and are familiar with all the models of bags, shoes and purses. On the contrary, the service provided by some boutique shops was (according to my wife) substandard. Salesgirls were poor in their product knowledge, whether they had stock of that make of bag, or in the colours she requested. They were not arrogant, although one store (I won't name) was quite high handed in stating that they 'never' have a sale.




Louis Vuitton Store Display with the Summer Collection 2009

We visited Chanel, Balenciaga, Hermes, Givenchy and Ferragamo. On the whole the service was reasonably good although I had heard for 'high end shoppers' they would serve champagne but we were probably looking like middle class tourists just window shopping. There were several good 'buys' which compared to Singapore shops, the savings were as much as 30% even without the summer sales.




101 Ave de Champs Elysee - Home of Louis Vuitton Flagship store

One thing I noticed, the gay men in Paris dress very very fashionably. There was one very dashing looking fellow, he looked about 6 foor tall and had his tie undone,with a full suit and hair coiffered. Of course he had a 5 oclock shadow (unshaven chin) and I thought "wow, this guy is cool". He spoke very stylishly and as he showed my wife and I down the stairs to the basement for more items, he 'galeked' or walked very daintily with his limp wrist sticking out like carrying a tray ! I was quite speechless. There are some handbags which the gay men like to carry and Chanel and Hermes caters to their gay clientele.



Typical Parisian Street

Many tourists make a beeline for LV as it is most distinctive but spare a thaought for the more humble Department Stores such as Printemps and Galeries Lafayette. I bought a pair of Tiger (former name of ASICS) for EUR 95 (S$ 200) and Zegna shirt for EUR 160 (S$ 320). Not cheap and there is a tourist VAT of 17.5% on top, which can be claimed at either the airport or at the store itself. The thing is, Paris shopping is tops for quality, variety and of course genuineness. No one will dream of an imitation whatever here. The truly discerning shopper can tell the difference in the clot, cutting,the design and colour and 'how well put together it is'. No pasar malam clothes shopping here.

The shopping never ends and the dreams of many women the world over are satisfied in Paris.

Paris Day 2 - Jardin (Garden) du Tuileries

I bought an oil painting of the Arc de Triumph from Mr. Akhbas, a Turk

After a full nights rest, we decided to check out the shops at the Champs Elysee as well as George V and Rue de Royal. All these are the dreams of many women, because the latest, fashion clothes, apparel like handbags, shoes and scarves are all in Paris. My wife had checked out all the locations of the shops 2 weeks in advance and also the Metro (subway) lines to get to
them. The list of the 'A' list shops are Balenciaga, Chanel (2 shops), Hermes (2 shops), Louis Vuitton, Prada. More of these in a later blog.


Lazing by the fountain in the Gardens - the weather is a perfect 21 deg C and sunny with occasional clouds

In the afternoon, we went to the Jardin du Tuileries which is the main garden within Paris. It covers about 5 football fields in length and is framed by the Concorde on one end and the Louvre Museum on the other.Everyday, when the whether permits, literally ten thousand or more tourists from all over the world descend and wlak through its gardens. I must warn that Paris is a place where they love their dogs and don't eat them (!), so care must be taken not to walk over the dog droppings.

I am glad to say that on 2 consecutive mornings,I ran 5 km and 8 km respectively in the Touleries Gardens and was surprised to see Singaporean (a lady with my Army half-marathon T shirt) and another Caucasian chap with the Merlion T -shirt runners among them. Truly, Singaporeans are very well travelled even though we may only have 4.5 million population.


This waiter, Pierre, wanted to be in the picture so... 3 in the photo !

During the walk in the Gardens, we had a cup of coffee in the same cafe my wife and I had 16 years ago when we were newly weds, so this is a second honeymoon of sorts ! My thinking has matured when I was last here and my expectations of myself as well as the places I visit are now more exacting so the conclusion I came to after just 2 - 3 days staying here is this
as shown below. We also lazed by the fountains which resembled a huge swimming pool but the weather was a perfect 21 deg C so much so that many people were lazing around because it was so pleasant. I cannot say the same for any place in South East Asia.


Having a coffee in the afternoon in summer,in the Gardens of Tuileries

Parisians in general are well groomed and stylish and the French language is very smooth sounding to the foreign ear. On top of that, with almost 1500 years of history and culture in the past, they have many great achievements and are proud of those achievements. However, as a modern city, it is quite backward in the sense that the infrastructure like the airports,the Metro, the buses and even the traffic systems are all 3rd world so much so that many newly industrialised countries like Singapore,Malaysia,Taiwan,South Korea have newer, far efficient (and less dirty and grafitti filled) infrasrtucture,people movers and and make a greater impression so much so that I believe that this Millenium truly belongs to Asia.

Paris 1 - Place du Concorde

The Obelisk at the Place du Concorde

Taking a short holiday from work is never easy but I managed to squeeze an 8 day personal visit to Paris and Budapest with my wife,May. Time was of the essence as we have 2 teenage and near teeange boys who can get into a whole lot of trouble if they are not supervised even for a day. Thankfully, we have the family support from my brother's family who live next door and my mother who lives 5 minutes away by car. The first day after catching the 'red eye' or overnight flight by Air France was spent checking into our hotel in the Marais district (4) near to the Metro station, Hotel de Ville. When we arrived, we were quite surprised to see that although France is a developed country, it has not progressed in developing many of the facilities for the elderly like ramps, lifts, to accomodate the less mobile who will be on wheelchairs or using walking aids like crutches and walking sticks. Many travelators and trains had wide gaps and if not careful people could and often do fall into these gaps and cause serious injury or death. So within the first half hour, we were moving around finding - with all our heavy luggage -

a) places to change coins for the RER trains (overground)
b) Metro stations leading to our hotel
c) day passes and Metro lines to take (there are 15 !)

Filth, such as rubbish, graffiti,lots of stairs and non- working escalators were all there as we attempted to make our way to the hotel in the heart if the city. It took us about 1 hour about 20 EUROs, cheaper than taking the taxi which would cost about 50 EUROs.

So in my opinion, many developing countries like Malaysia are even far ahead in their hardware infrastructure aspect.


Outside the Hotel de Ville, now a museum.

Once we reached the hotel, which we booked via Internet, we left our luggage and decided to view this famous city of Lights.
Our first stop was the Hotel de Ville, just 5 minutes from our hotel. Now a musuem, it has the Metro station - one of the oldest in Western Europe - after its name.


Place du Concorde with the Obelisk and the Eiffel in the distance

We took the Metro (underground) to the Place de la Concorde, so named to honour the past Concords or Agreements with foreign countries, and there is the famous Obelisk, a gift from Egypt in 1833 to France. The Obelisk with its hyroglyphics still intact symbolisies the warm friendships both countries have had over the centuries. The Place was also the location of many coronations of kings (namely Louis XV) and the beheadings of kings too such as King Louis XVI, Marie Antoinette, Elisabeth etc. This was during the time of the famous French Revolution. At its height, the Revolutionaries beheaded up to 1,300 people PER MONTH after they were identified as imperialists.



Jacques Hittorf's Fountain at the Place du Concorde

The cloudy day did not deter the thousands of tourists at the Concorde or the nearby Jardins de Touleries or Tuuleries Gardens where I ran for 5 km each morning for 2 mornings just to catch the 'air of Paris'. In the early morning, when the city is stripped of its romanticism is where I can take a hard and critical look at its core - while running. The runs gave me a fresh insight of this city which is actually a 3rd world in quality. Dirty, Unkempt and alot of history and baggage tied to it.



Outside Chanel Boutique Shop at Rue St Honore, Paris

Later on in the day we went to Chanel, Hermes and Louis Vitton shops situated at the Rue de Champs Elysee. The mother of all the latest and most modern fashion in the world lies in Paris and the street is the Rue de Champs Elysee. Every star in Hollywood has been to this street make no mistake about that.


My wife, May, with her Croque Monsuier, ham and cheese toast French style

Finally, a post on French food, the Croque Monsuier is a basic Ham and Cheese toast but it did put a smile on my wife's face !

Cricket Club Lunch Treat by My Mother 6 June 2009

My mother Anna Abisheganaden bought my family a nice lunch at the Singapore Cricket Club next to the famous Padang in downtown Civic District. She turns 79 this year and is still a very feisty and active Senior Citizen. Born in 1930, she worked in the Ministry of Health serving 4 Permanent Secretaries up till the day she retired some 10 odd years ago. She has instilled in me that sports is able to develop one's character and the many values which good sportsmen have can be applied to our working and business life.



Though she did not earn as much as my father, she managed to invest their joint income in properties in Singapore and overseas in countries such as Australia, Perth, London UK and even United States. Ever the street smart lady, she had the input of many successful lawyers,doctors and banker friends who advised her on making the correct purchases at the right time.
With the double increment of net house price increase and rental, her portfolio was pretty successful. She and my father would join several Clubs in Singapore such as the NUSS, the Cricket Club and the Singapore Swimming Club all of which I am and will be a member soon.

Noel after finishing off his Chicken Rice 

"Who dares wins" is a motto which my mother would ascribe to as her philosophy in business investment. It pretty much sums up her life as she has never been one to shy away from trying new and novel things. When she was in her forties, she was very active in the Singapore Swimming Club at Tanjong Rhu, taking an active interest in ensuring that my brother and I had rigorous swimming training. She religiously brought us to the Club at least 3 to 4 times a week after school and even on Sunday,much to my father's dismay - he wanted us to attend Church. Later on in life,after my swimming days were over, I went on to attend the service at the Saint Andrew's Cathedral at Coleman Street.

My Mother Anna Abisheganaden - a great inspiration to me.

She belongs to that generation who survived the Second World War and made tremendous sacrifices for her children.I feel truly privileged to be her son and will take on her motto in my quest for business success as well as in life.

Delicious Local Food in Coffee Shop-My Cosy Corner

The Humble Signage of My Favourite Eatery

Tucked away on the 2nd Floor of Coronation Plaza,next to the Coronation Clinic, is this gem of a food haven which has been in operation for perhaps 20 years now. Operated by Mr. Leong and his family, the devout Christian owner (his shop has Catholic artifacts and Christian Music piped in continuously) manages to dish out many very tasty Peranakan dishes from his late Aunt and has attracted a full to overflowing crowd every lunchtime. I try to eat there before 12pm or after 2pm else there is always a long wait. The dishes which I highly recommend are :

a) Mee Siam
b) Poh Piah
c) Mee Rebus
d) Pie Tie
e) Cod Fish Ramen


Andrew and his Favourite Snack
The Poh Piah is a favourite amongst the young and not so young alike. I personally like the Pie Tie and the Mee Siam which is a Peranakan favourite dish with special chilli belacan as condiment and the fried shallots for flavouring.


Poh Piah
One of the 'top 3' Poh Piahs made in Singapore,as rated by Life Food Editor in 2006. The popiah skin is kept airtight in a container and the Poh Piah is handmade by the Leong Family who run this small coffee shop which is a favourite with the neighbourhood College students (Hwa Chong,NJC), school students (St Margerets and SCGS) as well as working people like me and well heeled people from the neighbourhood. Price per Poh Piah : $2.20 is high but the flavour is slightly sweet and the ingredients like turnip and fish skin are very fresh.



Kueh Pie Tie

The Bangkwang (turnip) is slightly sweet and the pie tie filling is kept crunchy by sealing in an airtight box.Each serving comes with a slice of boiled egg and freshly ground chilli paste and parsely as garnish.

No Place Like Home

Books next to my bed

Its almost midnight, Tuesday 9th June and I have had an exhausting day in Kuala Lumpur meeting with 5 different groups of people for negotiations and working lunch. The pace has not slackened since I started my business,except that with more staff on board, things have to move at a quicker pace and higher goals to achieve sales numbers year on year.



As I chill out at the small open space outside my home, I ponder when the worldwide economic crisis will end and growth will finally come to our countries and what will be the engines which drive the world economy. We have had the Internet, the dot com boom and bust, the Asian Recovery and since September last year. Things have been on a virtual drop in economic growth,export numbers, visitor arrivals as well as tonnage shipped by air or by sea.


Andrew with his Famous Five Book

When I reach home, I am comforted that it is my refuge from the dog-eat-dog world and can forget about the troubles and pressures of work. The sight of my family and the warmth of the house is one which I remind myself that I must treasure for a long time.



Watching Prison Break

Small squabbles between the boys like who gets to use the TV remote and home PC are now taking centre-stage.They have finished their assigned homework today and can use some computer time. As the grow up and mature to be young men, I remind myself to Seize the Day and spend as much time with them in their growing years which will encompass many challenges,setbacks, joys, sorrows and excitement.


I am back and home and there is no place like it in the world for me. :)

Rex Hotel and Reunification Palace

Ho Chi Minh and a Young Girl Statue - His image is everywhere in the city of Ho Chi Minh

During my recent trip to Ho Chi Minh city, we had some time to visit the Central District 3 where the Notre Dame de Basillica (same design as the one in Paris) was located. Just 5 minutes away is the Reunification Palace of North and South Vietnam which represents the unifying of the country by the signing of the Reunification Treaty. In front of the Palace is the statue of Ho Chi Minh with a young girl with what looks like a giant key. The key to the future perhaps ??


View of Reunification Palace from 5th Floor of Rex Hotel

At night, the best spot to photograph the Palace is at the Rex Hotel, once made famous as it was used by the American GIs for their Rest and Recreation (R & R).
It is quite a statement that the Communist country which kicked out the American imperialist power is now free from alot of the vice which is so prevalent in many South East Asian countries namely Thailand, which used its 'freedom' to develop such an unsavoury industry.


Reunification Palace - between the victorious North and American backed South

This Palace will rival many grand buildings in the region and how the country will progress in the years to come is anyone's guess. I think that Vietnam has indeed a very bright future . American companies are coming in by the back door, that is through their subsidiary companies based in offshore countries in Asia. Intel and many Japanese companies like Fujitsu,Toshiba are already in Vietnam making use of its hardworking and still cheap labour force.


Strawberry Pork Ribs, Brocolli with Mushrooms and Sauteed Prawn - A veritable feast for both the eyes and the stomach

To feast on excellent food at a 5 star hotel at reasonable prices, that is what we lucky Singaporeans are able to do, as our country is one of the strongest in economic terms for the last 25 years. This spread cost the 2 of us only S$ 60 dollars, but in real terms for a Vietamese, it represents about 25% of his monthly salary !



Standing on the 5th Floor Verandah of the Rex Hotel overlooking Ho Chi Minh.

One of life's simple pleasures is to enjoy an ice cold beer and have a lovely meal at one of the country's top hotels, the Rex Hotel.


The Rex Hotel resplendent in all its lighted glory.

Vietcong Tunnel ; Nasty Booby Traps

I can barely fit into the tunnel entrance ; the floor below is about 4 feet deep

At Cu Chi, about 2 hours drive from Ho Chi Minh is the amazing complex of war tunnels which is open to visitors from all over the world. The stories about the Vietnamese heroism from simple village girls and boys who singlehandedly exploded tanks, shot many American soldiers is almost unbelievable. Yet the undisputed fact is that America withdrew from the 16 year war which they were fast losing and could never win. The Cu Chi tunnels are evidence of Vietnamese resilience in the face of a superpower's military might. Coupled with the will to survive and win, they fought and won for their freedom in the most tragic of ways.


Me going into the tunnel

I could barely fit into the real tunnel entrance,with my hands straight up into the air carrying the entrance over my head.Imagine a large American soldier attempting this !


A tunnel entrance hidden from sight.

The entrance is normally covered by branches or small shrubs. There are as many fake tunnels as there are real ones and only the Vietcong guerillas know which ones are the genuine ones.



Snapping Leg Trap

This trap is located below ground by a trap door.Once any unsuspecting foot steps on top of the trap door, the leg will fall into a platform and the jaws of the 2 spiked rows will close shut. Very lethal.


Hidden Trap with Metal Spikes

This is an uncovered trap roughly 6 feet by 4 feet covered completely in grass by a revolving trap door,once something or someone steps on it, it would flip over and the person would fall head-first into a row sharp pointed metal spikes normally covered in dung or chemicals to inflict unspeakable pain.

Cu Chi Tunnels ; Will of the Vietnamese People; Tunnel Heroes

Briefing on the facts of history and the estimated locations of the tunnels - very eye opening

On 2nd June 2009, I had some time off and had a never - to - be - forgotten experience. We went to Cu Chi,home of the largest complex of tunnels in Vietnam during the Vietnam war from 1959 - 1975.Located about 2 hours or 100 km north of Ho Chi Minh, I had an 'awakening' of sorts when the video presented the Vietnamese side of the 16 year war which saw 50,000 American troops killed or Missing in Action and over 3 Million Vietnamese killed. The greatest injustice is how one sided Hollywood had presented the War with the Vietnamese who just wanted self-rule albeit through Communist ideals made to look like villians and thieves. Many American troops committed atrocities to the simple villagers such as raping young children and women and killing indiscriminately either for revenge or suspected that the villagers were Vietcong in disguise or hiding Vietcong in certain locations. The truth of the matter was that the villagers were villagers in the day and Vietcong or sympathisers of the Vietcong at night. It was a case of fighting a 2 faced enemy / friend.


Our tour guide Mr. Tam briefing us at the entrance of the tunnel (!) See guide in green standing at the back.

The first tunnel was within 2 feet from me and I could not believe that it was even there ! Our experienced guide,Mr. Tam gave us a briefing on how long they had to dig the tunnels (it started during the short conflict with the French in the 1950s and carried on during the American invlovement) plus how they endured all kinds of hardship to get rid of the earth dug out as well as how many rooms and levels each tunnel was created for. It was indeed fascinating to see the demonstration by the guide who was standing by the tree.


Lift up the cover and down he goes !

The guide, dressed in green fatigues lifted up the wooden cover full of leaves and there was the smallest of entrances, probably 2 feet wide by 1 and a half feet depth. It could barely fit him in ! Once inside, he would get on all fours and start crawling into the tunnel which was pitch black and guided only by his flashlight, make his way along the tunnel. He would stay in the tunnel moving on all fours to get to the rooms below which housed a kitchen, small clinic and sleeping dormitories.


Up pops the hidden entrance cover and in he goes !

Living in a tunnel is some people's version of Hell but with no choice except this or be killed or maimed, the hardy Vietnamese people took to the underground like Rats to the Holes. The Americans had their volunteer soldiers who opted to go and seek out and kill these Vietcong and they were nicknamed the 'Tunnel Rats'. Many were borderline mad people or very immune to human suffering as their missions were either kill or be killed with either option very possible. Very few prisoners were taken alive on these missions.


Tunnel hidden from plain sight ; tunnel complexes in Cu Chi run into the kilometres in length !



Multi-layer Tunnel System with Living Quarters,Kitchen,even an underground Hospital !

People with phobias for dark and enclosed spaces would be terrified to be in here, but for many thousands of these Tunnel Heroes, these provided the many families and even entire communities who lived vritually underground for days and even weeks on end. The Americans may have conquered the land with their consistent carpet bombing, chemical weapons and " "Scorched Earth" where they bombed the land with all kinds of chemicals most notably Agent Orange and caused alot of untold suffering and creating hundreds of thousands or even millions of maimed civilians.

I have changed my mind about the history presented on the Vietnam War. The Vietnamese people are the true heroes and liberated themselves over a deadly Imperialist superpower who used their military superiority and money to overwhelm their enemies. Ultimately the Americans lost mainly due to their weaker fighting spirit and no will to win. Vietnamese resilience,mental strength and cohesiveness won the war. Not military might. The one biggest enemy the Americans couldn't win over was their own minds.

Ho Chih Minh Sights - 1

The Church of Madonna in District 3,modelled after the Notre Dame
Basillica Cathedral in Paris, France.

After a packed day of customer visit and discussions,my friend and I made our way down to the city centre,where we viewed the magnificent Church of Madonna, which is modelled after the Notre Dame in Paris.It is also called the Notre Dame Basillica Cathedral of Saigon (old name of Ho Chi Minh).The Vietnamese are free to worship and religion is dominated by Buddhists (60%), Catholics (20%) and the Christian Protestants. Many Vietnamese originate from China Guangzhou and other Southern provinces from the 1700s onwards. The Church in the picture was restored by the Government and there are about 10 small churches in various parts of Ho Chih Minh.


Stanley Wong outside the Catholic Church of Madonna

Crossing roads in Ho Chi Minh is very dicey if you new at it. Traffic at road junctions especially small ones are dangerous because the motorists DON'T STOP. They will slow down and dodge past you. It is especially crazy during RUSH HOUR when there are easily thousands of motorcyclists revving their engines and swerving all over the place.


Children playing on the swings,the slide,parallel bars and sand pit ; even in the evening !

The sight of a packed playground caught my eye. I have NEVER seen a playground where every single play station is occupied at every time of day ! We were walking back to our hotel at 9pm at night when I noticed that the playground was still FULL OF PEOPLE ! This reflected to me that the people are so starved of children's play areas in the city that they will spend a good half day traveling to the park and spend a few hours for their children or grandchildren to enjoy themselves before spending another few hours travelling home - home may be in the outskirts of Ho Chih Minh which can be 2 - 3 hours away.


The playground in the main park in Ho Chih Min is packed day and night !

We living in Malaysia and Singapore MUST BE most appreciative and grateful for our Governments with providing the following :

a) excellent infrastructure such as roads,traffic lights and highways
b) parks ,playgrounds and basic amenities such as shops and supermarkets in most housing estates - GOOD TOWN PLANNING
c) SAFE (especially Singapore) environment to bring up our children and families

Ho Chih Minh Vietnam First Impressions

Ho Chih Minh posters and statues are very practically everywhere,along streets and the town square

On my very first visit to Vietnam, Ho Chih Minh city, I am struck by the sheer amount of motorcycles jamming literally every street and road leading from the airport. Once you get out of the airport vicinity, the jam is omnipresent and is made much worse during 'rush hour' which happens everyday from 5pm to 7pm. I am there on a business trip with Stanley Wong, a business associate and friend and my first impressions are normally the lasting ones of a new city or country.The 1975 'victory' or pull out by the Americans has not dampened the spirit of the Vietnamese who are very proud of this fact.


Street vendor selling laptop coverings in all colours, something pretty common in Ho Chih Minh

Visiting my customer in one of the industrial parks in the outskirts of HCM, I hear that the Vietnamese are very independent minded and unlike the peoples of Malaysia and Singapore who are more cooperative and compliant. The fact that they liberated themselves by an armed struggle with the leadership of the much loved Ho Chih Minh must surely be one of the causes of this mentality. They have problems following rules and respecting heirarchy,according to an American chiropractor who has lived in Ho Chih Minh for 5 years.


Strainer made of aluminium (or stainless steel) to ensure finess of the coffee.

Having a coffee in mid morning is a pleasure which, I find unique only to Vietnam. Plenty of Vitnamese working people are in these coffee houses and restaurants at all times of day leading me to believe they can afford to take things leisurely.
The strong black coffe is presented with a strainer made of either aluminium or stainless steel and is VERY STRONG. Its robustness is apparent when you drink it and there is condensed milk to sweeten it as well as a cup of jasmine tea to drown out any aftertaste. Strongly recommended for coffee lovers !!


Original Vietnamese Coffee, double espresso, with condensed milk to sweeten the robustness and acidity


Hundreds upon hundreds of Motorbikes, causing untold damage to the environment in carbon monoxide pollution and health

The traffic here is chaotic and crossing the road even at traffic junctions is a test of your sanity and courage. The motorbikers come in ALL DIRECTIONS and there is no respect for traffic crossing or lights even at some major interesctions.
Cross at your own peril but DONT RUN. The motorcyclists have a way of avoiding you at every corner or main road.


Motorcycles everywhere, even spilling on the walkways during rush hour

Another observation I made is there is no spitting by the people, who are friendly. No beggers, no sleaze and everyone has a sense of decorum and dignity. They may be poor but they have respect and honesty to every visitor. Yes the Communists won here and they are the REAL DEAL, what the West (read America and her allies) had done in the past and wants the rest of the world is in my mind politically motivated.