Globalisation - We can't go back.Ever Onward

Photo of Worldwide Representatives outside the Weiss Factory ;
Dieter(Germany),Mark(Singapore),Dass(India),Meike(Germany),Abdullah(Turkey),Rene(France),Kannan(Malaysia),Bill(USA)


Every year or so I have the opportunity to visit the Germany factory in Giessen where our major principal,Weiss Technik is located and every year or so I leave with a slightly modified perception of the country,Germany and the continent,Europe which is in a state of constant transition. This year's completed Sales training which was held 2 weeks ago hammered home how global and interconnected the world had become whereby I had the opportunity to be served by Asian counterpeople in fastfood joints , Turkish sales cashiers in the Karstadt supermarket and young German food servers in Subway. Yes, they may be menial jobs but it is apparent that the extent of which a small town like Giessen (80,000) can be quite cosmopolitan means that there are practically hundreds of small towns and cities all over Europe and the world which are exhibiting the same colouful melting pot of races and interactions at personal, business and even politicial levels.

People want a constant in their lives, be it something familiar in the food, language or shared hobbies or experiences and when travelling,these are the 'signposts' which stick out wherever we may be. We always flock to these 'signposts' whenever we are away from home to find comfort in the familiar
tastes,language twangs or even similar looking people.So for me one constant is Food.Paradoxically,when I was in Germany for 1 week, I missed eating Subway and made a beeline for the food outlet to get a taste of the familiar Tuna 6" Sub. Not wanton noodles, not chicken rice, not mee siam, but Subway.

Another constant for me is Running.I run and make an effort to bring my runing shoes to wherever I visit if its for a short 2 day trip or a 10 day sightseeing tour. A 10km or 8km in any country based on my usual speed (5.30 to 6 minutes per km) is still 10 km. That is my Second constant.

With globalisation, we have Chinese food now prepared by true blue German chefs in a castle centuries old. Even in simple German eateries in a small town like Giessen they have every weekend "Chinishe spiesekarte" or Chinese Menu. Shocking ? A fad ? No. Well it is because the Chinese have been going to places and making their presence felt. More so, it has taken over the Japanese and Indian cuisines as the 'cuisine nouvelle' and it is fashionable to dine at authentic Chinese restaurants using the same Kikkoman soy sauces and Wasabe (green radish) all imported. There is also Chinese acupuncture and foot reflexology studios and Muay Thai kickboxing schools all in this small town of Giessen.


Brothers Grimm Fairy Tale, the Wolf and the Seven Goats

So, no continent is isolated from Globalisation or the impact of foreign cultures influencing the way we eat,drink,behave,or even think. There was a tour to Marburg where the Tour Guide was giving her take on the town which was the home for the Brothers Grimm. The Wolf and the 7 Goats, the Smart Crow etc. etc. I am sure we have heard some of the fairy tales from young.

Truly on the outside,we will look different,talk with funny accents but actually we are a big Global Family with similar problems,hobbies,ideas,values and dreams.

The days of Them and Us are truly over. Its We are the World now.

School Exams Over ; Party Time but balance of work- play important

Andrew in the Basement of our House

The School Mid Year Exams are finally over and the Boys are due their relaxation and recreation time. As many parents around Singapore heave a sigh of relief, I must place it on record that to 'simply let go' is not the way to go. Of course time off with their friends and distractions like computer games are important but the parents must draw the line and make the line clear to their youths and charges.This I mean by sticking to a 'curfew time' (time to be home) and not changing radically the free times alloted and the need to keep up to date with the homework set out by the school and tuition teachers.



Ping Pong Squash - Hitting a Ping Pong Ball against the Wall

As a father of a teenage and preteen boys, I am always challenged by what father and son activities are out there whereby we can make time to destress and bond. Sports is one excellent way to do so and while it is good to do the family holiday thing every year or two, it in my opinion only shows up a side of the person. By this I mean, when on holiday,people normally do not exhibit their true day to day selves.



Betty from Hong Kong paying Andrew a visit

In this Internet,Facebook and Twitter enabled world, while we are connected, we are also alienated by this fact that our children and friends are but a phone call away. This lulls us into a false sense of being there when we are there electronically but in reality nothing beats a face to face meeting for a meal or a drink.

World Sales Meeting 4 - 8th May 2009

Presenting to Worldwide Agents of Weiss Technik

The past week has been a whirlwind of activity at my principals factory in Lindenstruth,with close to 40 representations from as far south as Brazil,Australia and New Zealand, and as far north as Russia attending. Thankfully our friend from Mexico,Ernst Konrad did not attend as the world was reeling from the double whammy of Worldwide Financial Crisis and the Swine Flu.Apart from a few minor coughs and colds,everyone was OK.The mood was on the whole rather sombre and tense reflecting the seriousness of our work.


The Magnificent Hungarian and Slovenian teams ; Front:Me and Tibor Csombordi (Hungary) ; Back : Alex Draculis (Slovenia) and Tamas (Hungary)

Dinner wise was a completely different matter though, as is with all our meetings there is a wide variety of food and particularly drink although this year, I cut back on the alcohol to only a couple of glasses of beer and the occasional schnaps (fruit wine,very potent). I got along especially well with Tibor, Alex and Tamas from Hungary,Romania and Slovenia territories and even had a 45 minute run at the town Park with Tibor early one Monday morning.


Fm Left : Praditz (Spain), Rene Carlini (France), Ming Hao and Davis (China)
Back : Me and Supachai (Thailand)

There were excursions too to Marburg (south of Frankfurt) and Frankfurt itself and was entertained highly by the stories from the excellent guides peppering their stories with lots of anecdotes and jokes about the people living in the past. Marburg is also famous for the Brother Grimm who lived here centuries ago.

Giessen Town Old Castle Visit 3rd May 2009

Midway up to the Tower of the AlteSchloss (Old Castle) in the heart of Giessen town

After the very pleasant walk in the Botanical Gardens, Kannan and I made our way to the Altes Schloss or Old Castle in the heart of the small town Giessen.Built around the year 1130, it served as the lookout against the enemies from the village and is still in excellent condition.


The view of the Giessen town from the top of the tower

Giessen has typically been a small town with the luminary Leipig family (makers of the Leipig pork paste similar to Bovril)
providing the business momentum in the centuries past, the University which has many foreign students and several factories such as Enders (furniture) and of course Weiss Umweltechnik and Weiss Kliatechnik in Lindenstruth providing much of the funds inflow to th town.


Up to the Tower on the winding stone staircase

It has several places of interest like the Botanic Gardens,Mathematics and Chemistry Museums as well as their own brewed beer called Licher beer which is brewed in a microbrewery in the restaurant Alt Giessen. For a town of 80,000 it has a pleasant mix of some modernity as well as the ancient buildings reminding the inhabitants of their heritage and culture. In addition,the countryside is really splendid to view in late spring and early summer with clear blue skies and the flowers in full bloom.


The huge bell in the Tower

Being Protestant Christians (Lutherans), Christianity is the main religion in Germany but sadly, many Germans do not profess to any faith at all.

Giessen Town Botanical Garden 3rd May 2009

I am in Germany this week to attend the World Sales Meeting held in Giessen town (yeah a misnomer to have a World Meeting in a small secondary town in Germany but this is where the factory of my principal is located) for a week. My Sales Manager and I arrived on Saturday and Sunday today we took a nice walk in the Botanischer Garten (Botanical Gardens) ; it is of course nothing compared to the size and scale of Singapore's Botanic Gardens but it was a very pleasant experience indeed.


The many floral and plants there reflect the temperate climate of Germany, and there is the Alpine section which showed plants normally growing from certain latitudes.


The town itself is pretty small, about 80,000 all in all and Giessen has an excellent Engineering University called Justus Lieberg Universitat Giessen and there are many young college students cycling and giving this town a modern and hip feel.


The weather today was perfect, something like 18 - 20 deg C and sunny. excellent for a walk in the park and also for a tour of the Old town (Aldstadt).

The Line Buffet at ShangriLa ; What's Good and Not Good ?

We celebrated my wife May's birthday a week ago at the Line Buffet. It being a Monday evening (13th), I had expected it to be reasonably empty. To my surprise it was packed to capacity and diners without reservations were turned away or made to return after 9pm ! Talk about a recession and people losing their jobs and struggling, not this bunch !!

The reviews by the Straits Times which praised the quality of the food was one of the draws. In addition, the offer that "X% discount applies if its your birthday - (but limited it to number of diners or tables) was another attraction. Pricing for the buffet was S$ 60++ for adults which effectively was S$ 80 per adult. Amex card holders get 15% discount so even though we did not get the birthday discount, Amex discount was as good because it applied to all 4 of us.



What's Good ; Do try :

Roast Beef - it was medium rare, tender,moist and succulent (tasty)
Oysters - freshly shucked
Prawns - shells come of easily
Salad - made by the chef according to your portions, try the Caesar's
Crabs - Small flower crabs but sweet taste
Braised Beef with Vege - Good and tender

So So only if you are very hungry

Tandoori Chicken - Overgrilled in my opinion
Roast Pork - Quite Fatty actually
Satay (beef) - Overgrilled and tough in my opinion
Mussels - Tough

Don't Bother
Ice Cream - Not milky enough



Would I go back again ? If with international guests Yes, but for a repeat I would go to Hyatts Straits Kitchen as they have
much better Muslim choices like prata,naan, nasi bryani and tandoori chicken. Additionally they have the famous Buddha Jumps over the Wall soup plus more Japanese selections. Price is practically the same as The Line.

Preteen Friends - Challenges for Youth

Glenn, Andrew and Aaaron - Friends and Tuition Mates

My younger son Andrew will turn 12 this year, as this is the key year where all children in Primary 6 will take the Primary School Leaving Examination,he is undergoing tuition 5 days a week for Math,Science,English and Chinese and diligently practising the past years' exam papers in preparations for this key exam in October. The current environment which youth are exposed to in Singapore and many parts of the world are plentiful and complex. I highlight a few :

a) Much heavier study workloads
b) Accessibility of computer games, dating sites, pornography through mass media like the Internet and handheld devices
c) Breakdown of marriages leading to single parent households or patchwork families
d) More competitive playing field due to foriegn scholars and permanent residents attending the local schools
e) The unstable economic situation due to the Global Financial Crisis, leaving some families with lesser incomes due to one or
both parents losing jobs,and henceforth changes in family lifestyles and spending habits.

There was a touching story today in the Straits Times whereby a family had to live on the streets because the parents were unable to make good the mortgage payments and the 2 children, a boy and a girl had to drop out of school,somedays with barely anything to eat, when there father was retrenched as a hawker stall assistant and their savings ran dry. There are probably hundreds if not thousands of such cases where the situations are not as dire but are 'nearly there'. That means to say, everything has to cut back, holidays, dining choices,pocket money, the little touches that one is used to. It is tough especially on the young ones,having to experience hunger at such a young age.

Fortunately, the School Pocket Money Fund has kicked in for the family and the children are back to attending school and the family is staying with a relative during these tough times.

Nowadays it seems that there are many youngsters willing to go to great lengths to achieve materialistic things and we as parents must be there to guide them as far as imparting values and behavior such as :

a) thrift
b) honesty
c) sacrifice
d) courtesy and manners
e) sharing
f) selflessness
g)empathy for the less fortunate

the list goes on. If the parents and especially the father is missing, away for long durations (by choice), then there is every danger of the next generation of youth undermining the success of our country these past 43 years.

I certainly intend to play my part.