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Indonesian airports…

I am writing this from Jakarta airport, where I arrived two hours ago from Bali. No wifi here, at least not a wifi connection that I could connect to (there is one but there is no way to pay for it, which reminds me of Mumbai airport). I will try to post this in Singapore, where we will have a short stop en route to Shanghai and where there is free wifi on the airport. I travel a lot, but sometimes I am still surprised by stupid things happening at airports, because airport management or staff does not think or take responsibility for their jobs. Today had some good examples.

We arrived at the airport in Denpasar this afternoon to check in for our domestic flight to Jakarta at the domestic terminal. After going through security (where they checked our tickets) we waited in line to check in. But when it was our turn we were told that we could not check in at the domestic terminal, because we had a connecting international flight… This never happened to me before, you have a domestic flight but you should go to the international terminal in order to check in? Other people for the same flight we would not go further than Jakarta could check in of course. For us this meant a 10-15 minute outside walk in 30 degree plus temperatures from one terminal to the other with our suitcases. No need to say I was in a pretty foul mood when we arrived at the other terminal.

At the international terminal check-in luckily went relatively easy, but because of the problems at the domestic terminal we were just in time for boarding. Next to the security check at the gate there was a small store selling bottles of water, and I asked the security guy if it was OK to buy two bottles of water there to take with me on the plane. At some airports that is still allowed (Shanghai for example lets you take bottles on the plane, even on international flights). The security man said no problem, so I bought two bottles. But when I passed him to go through security I was stopped by another person and told to hand in my water! I explained that I just asked his colleague, and that he had said it was OK. No, was the answer, we probably misunderstood him and had to either drink the bottles or give them to him. I told them to get lost and went straight back to the store, where I got my money back without any problem.

When we went through security again, and two girls in front of us had to hand in two bottles of chili sauce that they had just bought in duty free. The security guys just laughed at them. Then I asked the guys how it is possible that duty free sells bottles that cannot be taken on the plane. They also laughed at me and just said: “Regulations”. Thinking about it I get the feeling that they may have a deal with the duty free shops. They probably sell the product to tourists, who cannot take it on the plane, the security takes the products and hands them back to the store for a kick-back. This also explained why the store immediately took back the bottles I had just bought. I asked the security staff about it and also complained about their colleague who had “wrongly advised” me. They told me to go to their boss (this was not their responsibility they said) and they pointed at the gate. No problem, so I walked to the gate. The persons there told me that they were not responsible either, and I had to talk to their boss. I told them that was fine, and asked them to call him to have a talk.

They refused, and told me I had to go to him, and that they would kick me of the flight because of that. Of course I did not accept that, and after a short but intense conversation in which I explained them that this was not the best way to treat their important tourists, they agreed to call their boss. He indeed turned up, a fat, arrogant guy smiling like somebody who has absolute power and does not care for tourists. I explained what had happened, and the only thing he had to say was that ‘these are the rules’. I told them that I understand that these are the rules, because they are the same all over the world. But the point is that duty free shops should not sell products that cannot be taken on board (or at least seal them so they can be taken on board) and that the security staff was plain lying to me (he spoke good English, so there was no misunderstanding here). The boss said he did not understand my complaint and I then I decided to board. Further arguing made no sensde, and I did not want to miss my plane.

Upon arrival at Jakarta airport we had a coffee at Starbucks and browsed the book shops. Around 9 PM we decided to have dinner before boarding our flight at 10 PM, but that turned out to be a bit more difficult than we thought. The food court was out of food (except for some french fries) and when we walked back to Starbucks they also told us that they were sold out (“Many people today, sir”)! We walked around the whole airport, but no restaurant had anything to eat except some cup-a-noodles. Unbelievable, this is an international airport that has flights leaving until past midnight, but there is no food available after 9 PM. In the end I decided to forget about dinner, and wait until arriving in Singapore where we will be in less than 2 hours.

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No more swimming this vacation

This morning I went for a walk on the beach before breakfast. However, the walk had to be cut short because I stepped into something. It hurt a bit so I walked into the sea to clean my foot. When doing that I realized it was bleeding heavily and it may be more than just a small cut. So I walked back to the hotel as good as I could. There I tried to clean the wound in the shower, but it turned out this was not possible – it was actually quite deep and full of sand. Hmm, not good.

So I called the resort’s doctor, who arrived within a few minutes. The doctor turned out to be a good looking young lady, which compensated the pain a bit 🙂 She checked it out and said it was worse than she expected and she sent her nurse to get some additional tools to clean the wound. I won’t go into detail here, but cleaning the wound was one of the most painful experiences I can remember. She gave me two injections to numb my foot, but because the foot is full of nerves even that did not help completely. It took her one hour to finalize it, but it seemed like several hours to me.

Anyway, now my foot is nicely bandaged, but I cannot swim anymore. Great, because I had planned to either go diving or sailing today. Also running is out of the question for the next week or so, I can hardly walk. I am taking antibiotics, but refused the painkillers for now. Not sure if I can still enjoy a beer when taking antibiotics (luckily the doctor forgot to inform me I cannot), but it would be a pity to attend Gary’s wedding tomorrow without being able to toast with him and his wife on their future. A bit of a nuisance, but there are worse things.

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Blogging from a Bali beach

Tuesday night my wife and I arrived on Bali for a short vacation. Normally Bali is not the best destination in August, because it is high season here, but when you go to a high-end resort you don’t really see a big difference (except for higher prices of course). This weekend Gary is getting married here, and that’s the main reason why we came here. I think it’s great he took the decision to tie the knot, and this is a perfect location for it. I am actually going to be his grooms man, but I am not sure yet what that my exact obligations are for that (according to some Chinese friends I will need to drink for him, that promises to be interesting!).

We are staying at the Laguna Resort & Spa in Nusa Dua, a fantastic resort directly on the beach (part of the Luxury Collection of Starwood). Half the resort consists of swimming pools, the whole hotel complex is surrounded by them. Very nice and relaxing to spend a few days here at the pool or on the beach. The rooms are not only very big but also very luxurious: think a oval sized bath big enough for two people, an oversized bed and a huge plasma screen on the wall. Our room has pool/beach view, but we hardly spend any time in the room or on our balcony. This resort is certainly in the top-5 of best hotels that I have stayed in so far (along with the Ritz-Carlton in Singapore and the Westin resort in Macau – the Grand Hyatt Shanghai does not make it to this list, because its rooms are way too small).

But still a few things can be improved, and this is something I started to pay a lot of attention to because one day I may set up (or otherwise invest in) my own luxury hotel. This hotel should avoid the problems that even high-end resorts have, so I am becoming more and more critical. In this resort the main problems have to do with the staff. For example, upon arrival I could not connect to the internet. But the IT staff that came to my room knew less about computers than I do! I think he had never seen a MacBook before. The resort should train these guys, it is very simple. In the end I solved the problem myself (and taught the guy how to do it in the process). Later I had problems sending out emails: you need a different outgoing smtp server, but another IT staff had no clue what I was talking about. He would send someone else to the room, but this person never showed up. Similar things happened in the restaurant, staff that forget about an order for tea or coffee for example (two days in a row). I normally just get it myself then (I prefer that anyway), but they don’t allow you to do that.

Another nuisance is that you have to pay about USD 20 per day for internet. A small amount of money compared to what you pay per day for a room, and as a hotel manager I would include this in the room price (just increase the price by USD 25, I don’t think many people here would care). And you cannot pay for several days (or a week) at once, but you have to sign up every day again. That is just plain stupid. Even worse, you cannot wirelessly pay every day, but you have to go to your room to connect with a line (this has to do with a cookie they put on your laptop). Very strange, and this would l never happen when I would run a resort like this. To make matters worse, we have two laptops and two other devices that use wifi. You have to pay for each one separately to go online, meaning we would have to pay USD 80 extra per day. We asked an IT staff about this, and he would solve this for us. But this was two days ago and he never came back with a solution. To me this is clearly a management mistake, they do not train the people sufficiently. Should I complain about this? Probably, but I am on vacation, so I just blog about it. I suppose most guests take the same approach, these are all minor things and we are here to relax.

All in all the Laguna Resort is fantastic, and I would recommend it to everyone. It’s not cheap, but none of the 5-star resorts here are, but on vacation I don’t mind spending a bit more. Nusa Dua is a 25 minute ride to Kuta and Seminyak, so you’re not too far from the shops, bars and restaurants (where a Nasi Goreng is 10-15 times as cheap as here in the hotel by the way). But if you are just here to relax there is actually no real need to leave the resort. You have everything here, a quiet beach with a great surf (and a wifi connection), fantastic food, nice shops and one of the best collections of pools you can find in Asia. But if you only stay here you will miss out on the fantastic sightseeing on the Island of the Gods, which would be a pity.

Pictures of our trip can be found here. I will add more pictures over the next days.

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Venexia – great Italian food in Shanghai

My wife and I just got back from an excellent dinner at Venexia, an Italian restaurant on Panyu Lu (at no. 127, close to Yan’an Lu). I thought I knew most Italian restaurants in Shanghai (or at least in Puxi), but for some reason I had not been to, nor heard of, this one. And it’s a pity I did not hear about the place before, because the food and ambiance are excellent!

We talked to the manager during dinner and found out that it has the same owner as La Gondola. That used to be my favorite restaurant for an after-work pizza & wine on a Friday night when I was still a partner at China Bay, but since I moved my office to Xujiahui I hardly ever go there anymore (the 20-30 min. drive is just too much, and there are too many other good restaurants around). But I still have a weak spot for the pizza’s at La Gondola, and I am happy to know that I have a similar option now.

Venexia’s menu is a bit similar to La Gondola (appetizers, pizza, primi & secondi piatti and Chef’s specials), but the restaurant is a bit more up class. The tables and chairs are bigger, and the ambiance is a bit more of an high-end restaurant, with classical paintings on the wall, and a high ceiling with chandeliers. The service is excellent, with staff that speaks good English and knows the menu well. Prices are very reasonable, my wife and I had a 2-course dinner with 2 glasses of prosecco and water for about RMB 600. Parking is available opposite the restaurant at Prince Garden apartments (the parking fee will be paid by the restaurant).

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Proof that it was HOT in Shanghai

When I came home from my last trip, I noted that a big candle in our living room had melted because of the high temperatures inside our apartment. I am not sure at what temperature this kind of candles melt, but it must have been very hot in the living room while I was away! Outside it was 40 degrees in Shanghai when I was in India, and because our apartment is on the top floor of a skyscraper (right below the flat roof) it was likely a lot warmer inside. Glad I was not home – and I wonder what the effect will be on my wine collection that is also in the living room….

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Upgrade – again!

Yesterday I was checking in online for a flight from Amsterdam to Shanghai, when to my big surprise I was able to change my economy class seat to a seat in business class. At first I thought it was a mistake in the website, but I was able to print out my boarding card. When I arrived at the airport I was still a bit suspicious that it would have been a mistake, but while dropping off my luggage nobody said anything.

When I entered the aircraft it turned out I indeed had a business class seat (seat 1K, the front window seat, and one of my favorite seats). However, it also turned out that I would get economy service instead of the better food and drinks that you normally get in the business class. But that is not a big deal for me. Business class service is something I don’t care about much, the flight to China is always an overnight flight, and the main thing for me is to get a good rest so that I am still able to work upon arrival. So I was once again very happy with KLM: something similar happened to me about 2-3 weeks ago when flying from Shanghai to Amsterdam (although then I did get business class service).

Maybe KLM should start offering business class seats with economy service as an option when you book. China Southern used to have this on their flights from China to Europe, but I am not sure if they still do. As an entrepreneur I still find business class unreasonably priced, but I would be willing to pay a price in the middle between economy and business just for the better seats. The main thing for me is that I can rest during the flight and preferably do some work. In cattle class that is often impossible, although KLM’s economy class is still a lot better than for example NWA’s (the airline that I flew to India last week).

This morning I read in the newspaper that Lufthansa is thinking about installing bunk beds in economy class in the new A380 (3 beds above one another, diagonally placed – see the link above for an artist impression). If they would do that I would immediately switch to them for intercontinental flights, and I am sure many business travelers would do the same. I hope a lot of airlines will follow their example!

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A new trend in Dutch boating?

Last weekend I was in Holland, and the weather was so good that we decided to go sailing on the lakes in Friesland (pictures see here). I love sailing, but did not do much sailing in the Netherlands over the past 10 years. I was surprised to see how things have changed in the mean time. It seems people’s wealth is really increasing, because a lot more people than before now own a boat. Several new harbors had been built to accommodate the new boats, and it was very busy in the canals that connect the lakes. In the past you were able to easily sail there, but it was now so busy that it was almost dangerous to sail against the wind (you have to cross the canal all the time in order to get to your destination). Furthermore I noticed the trend that many people now own a boat type called ‘Sloep’. This is an open motor boat, normally made of wood and with a luxurious-looking design (among others due to a thick rope all around the top part of the boat). 10 years ago you hardly ever saw a boat like this, now you see the boat type everywhere.

The boat owners normally don’t drive their boats very fast, it’s literally cruising down the canals and lakes while enjoying the scenery. It reminds me of people driving a convertible, for whom the trip is also more important than the destination. I guess it’s an easy choice to buy a sloep. You don’t need much knowledge to drive it, and you can pass below every bridge in the country. Would I buy one if I would live in Holland? Not sure, I prefer sailing myself. But if I would live along one of the canals or lakes in the Netherlands it is certainly something I would consider. But only after first owning both a sailing boat and a convertible!

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Nokia copyright infringement?

Everybody can freely use my Flickr pictures under the Creative Commons license, and because of that they end up on many websites. Sometimes even on commercial ones, which is actually not allowed according to the Creative Commons license that I use (Attribution, non-commercial, no derivatives). I don’t mind that very much, but people should at least have the decency to check if it’s OK.

Recently for example Nokia used one of my pictures on its website to promote the E65 phone: http://europe.nokia.com/A4368290. They did not check with me if I would agree to this, and except for the credit I did not receive a penny. This is fine with me, I am not blogging nor taking pictures to make a living – that’s also why I do not put ads on this blog for example. But it’s a bit weird that someone else finds out and asks me about it. I did not even get a link (trackback), which is the least they could have done.

And amazingly they even dare to put Copyright Nokia 2007 next to it. So now they suddenly own the copyright to this picture? That’s turning the world upside down Nokia!