Pan Pacific Hotel Singapore

In mid-October 2009, I was one of the panel speakers in a big international conference, the Pacific Rim Policy Exchange mainly organized by the Americans for Tax Reforms (ATR, US), Property Rights Alliance (PRA, US), International Policy Network (IPN, UK) and about two more free market think tanks.Venue was the Pan Pacific Hotel Singapore. The organizers paid for my plane fare and hotel, no honorarium but no problem because the hotel was really fantastic.

Below are photos from the hotel website. I think I was able to go to the rooftop restaurant, the protruding round shape at the top of the hotel, just for a sight seeing :-)

Succeeding photos are from my camera phone. Sorry, low resolution. Inside that huge structure is a hollow or open space, one can see almost all aisles of the hotel. The glass elevator also allows the passengers to have a look at all the floors and aisles, nice. Bottom right is a lobby restaurant.

These are the views from my room, the giant wheel I think can be seen from the other side, not from my room.

Finally, my room, really nice. Since my hotel was already paid for, including transport to and from the airport, and Cebu Pacific fares were cheap, I brought my wife and daughter, Elle Marie, then 3 years old. She enjoyed the pool but I never had the chance to take a dip. Whenever I go to a conference and I'm a speaker, I just work-work-work, or join all the activities outlined by the organizers.

There is also a Pan Pacific Hotel here in Manila but I haven't been there yet. That's the irony :-)

Taiwan 2: Evergreen Laurel Taipei Hotel

As I posted in Taiwan Skyways last November 20, 2011, it was my first time to visit Taiwan. I went there as one of the panel speakers of the Conference of Generic Drugs Asia (CGDA) 2011 sponsored by the Pharmaceutical Society of Taiwan and the Federation of Asian Pharmaceutical Associations (FAPA).

They put us in Evergreen Laurel Taipei Hotel, http://evergreen-taipei.hotel.com.tw/eng/. The staff are very friendly and courteous, they also speak good English. These photos are from the hotel website.

These photos below I took myself. The main lobby, then elevator. The lobby is not very big but spacious enough to assemble a group. And I like the mirrors in the elevators.

This is the main restaurant in the 2nd floor for the buffet breakfast. Nice food. Lower photo is the wine/beverage section.

Finally, my room. I liked it, especially the complimentary internet, fast connection. As usual, I didn't have time to watch tv, I read and write as much as I can, then sleep :-)

Overall, I like my stay in this hotel. Thanks to FAPA and the PST which sponsored my trip (plane fare + hotel).

Ronald Reagan National Airport, Arlington, Virginia

I've been to Washington DC twice, in May 2004 then November 2009, both on events organized by the Atlas Economic Research Foundation and they gave me a travel scholarship. The airport is not big, the important thing is that it was named after one of America's greatest Presidents.

Above photos I got from web, below and succeeding photos I took last November 13, 2009. Upon entering the airport, there isn't much to see, just go to your airline to check in, then walk not far to your boarding gate.

Euro Cafe, this seems to be the most visible food shop in that part of the terminal near my boarding gate.

I was thankful to a friend way back in UP in the 80s, Dr. Butch Arroyo, who teaches at the Johns Hopkins University in DC. He hosted me for 2 nights each in 2004 and 2009 in his house in Alexandria, Virginia. These are my short side trips after my conferences in DC area.

Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, Minnesota

I have been to Minneapolis-St. Paul airport about 4x perhaps since this is another Delta Airlines hub in the US, and I often fly Delta when I go to the US. These photos below I took last November 17, 2009, then May 24, 2010, my last visit to the airport. My flight then was Houston-Atlanta-Minneapolis-Narita-Manila. But our Minneapolis-Narita flight was aborted while the plane was already somewhere near or in Alaska, we flew back. See my stories below, sometime November or December 2009.

The airport is huge, also glass-steel structure. I walked around the various terminals, there are many walkalators and many shops to see.

Some of the exhibits hanging on the ceiling, could be the Wright Brothers when they first flew, I don't remember these. The man bottom right is an airport police of Asian descent, he agreed to his photo taken.

More photos of the aisles and shops.

Various souvenir shops, coffee and food shops, bookstores, etc.

The main entrance perhaps, top photos. Below are the vans and trucks that bring exiting passengers to their respective hotels.

If my flight did not experience a technical problem, I would not have exited this airport and saw some areas of the state outside the airport.

Indianapolis International Airport, Indiana

I set foot in Indiana, USA for the first time last November 2009; arrived at Indianapolis International Airport November 13, departed November 17. I came from Washington, DC then to attend the Atlas Freedom talks, commemorating the 20th anniversary of the Berlin Wall. My destination in Indiana is Terre Haute, about an hour by car from the airport, to visit a friend, Dr. Leonid Nemenzo and his wife Lyn and son Luis. Leonid is a physician and younger brother of a good friend, Dr. Fidel Nemenzo who is a Math Professor at UP.

The airport that time was new, opened only about a few months earlier, so Leonid nearly got lost going to the airport. Besides, they just moved in from Georgia that time, so he was not too familiar with Indiana.

Another glass-steel structure. It's located in a rather remote place away from Indianapolis city center. So it has a huge space for the terminals and the runways.

I noticed that there were not too many passengers then. Or maybe I just got used to many Asian airports that are always teeming with so many people and passengers.

I liked this long wall of mirrors, upper right photo. The spacious pick up area for arriving passengers, lower right.

It was getting cold that time in that state. I was very glad when I saw Leonid picking me up at the arrival area. I invented a joke then, I told Leonid, "Wala akong nakitang Indian na polis dito, puro Kano na polis lang", he laughed.

Incheon-Seoul Airport, S. Korea

I've been to S. Korea 3x (1996, 2001, 2006) but last April 24, 2009, I only landed at Incheon-Seoul International Airport to change plane. I was going to Los Angeles, California, to attend the Atlas Liberty Forum, and I took Korean Air. My flight then was Manila-Incheon-Narita-LA, I didn't know that my plane would make a stop over at Narita-Tokyo airport. On my flight back after more than a week, it was San Francisco-Incheon-Manila.

As usual among industrialized Asian economies, the airport is huge, typical glass-steel structure. Here's the plan and the view from the plane.

Lots of nice and huge welcoming photos greet the arriving international passengers. I like staring at those huge monitors for flight departures and arrivals. They are in major lobbies of the airport.

Glass and steel, allowing natural light to pass through, saving electricity. Modern and silent walkalators abound.

Korean Air's crew are very young and courteous ladies. I think the oldest crew I saw was late 20s or early 30s. One more reason why fly Asian airlines -- the crew are a lot younger and more friendly, food is nice, unlike many US airlines where the stewards/crew are generally old and they can be less friendly sometimes.

* I also wrote this last June 12, 2007,

Seoul, S. Korea, October 2006

It was my 3rd trip to Seoul. The first was in 1996, when I attended the "Technology and Policy" 2-weeks seminar organized by Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA). I was working at the House of Representatives then. The 2nd was in 2001 I think, when I joined the University of the Philippines (UP) PDE study tour. This time, I attended the 2nd Asia-Pacific Taxpayers Union (APTU) meeting, hosted by the Korea Taxpayers Association (KTA).

One thing that struck me when I arrived in Seoul this time was the new airport -- it's so big, so modern. The runways are long, and the airport is far from the city, nearly 1 hour away by car.

Since this is my 3rd visit to the city, my impression of it remains more or less the same -- generally clean, crowded with many buildings, many many cars, and few public parks.

Traditional korean food never fails to amaze me. Lots of raw herbs and grass-like vegetables, spicy food, meat and seafoods, and of course, the always present kimchi! I like kimchi, even if my eyes sometimes would be teary because of its hot and spicy taste....

FNF Freedom Run

I participated in the first "Freedom Run" organized by the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Liberty (FNF) last November 27 at the University of the Philippines (UP) Diliman campus. It was co-sponsored by UP and I think, the Quezon City government. There were also many corporate sponsors. One could run the 3k or 6k and the theme of the event was "I am Free". Free from corruption, and so on. Nice.

With only 5 hours sleep (had an early Christmas reunion with some friends the night before) and haven't run for the past 12 years or so, I ran the 6k, hahaha. I finished it in 43 minutes, awwww! At around 1.5 km. mark I think, I started walking already. But my goal in joining the run was clear: just finish the 6 kms route, in a brief period to shake and remove the rust in my legs.

What's special with this photo?... hmmm... :-) Ok, I'll tell you. I did not bring a camera but I needed a photo as it was my first run after 10 years or more. The one who took this photo was Jules Maaten, the country director of the FNF himself. Super thanks Jules!

There were probably close to 2,000 runners who participated in the 3k and 6k run. Knowing my physical limitations, I positioned myself in the front of the starting line, knowing that many guys will pass me anyway, so I gave myself a few meters of "lead" over the majority, hehe. And true enough, at the sound of the starting gun, dozens upon dozens of younger lungs and legs passed me.

Sometime in the mid to late 90s, I was running around 7 kms. a week, cycling around 100 kms. a week (I was using a road bike, not a mountain bike) and climbing a mountain once a month, on average. So inflicting limited pain on my body was no stranger to me then. That's why I dared running the 6k even with zero running preparation years before this event.

Here are some photos of the participants, taken from the FNF's facebook photos.

I think this is the first time that a political foundation like FNF has sponsored a running event. It's mostly corporations that sponsor the big events here. I think this is a good initiative to propagate a political foundation's advocacies. In the case of the FNF, it's propagating liberalism, a philosophy that I personally adhere to, especially classic liberalism, not just ordinary liberalism that is propagated by many current political parties around the world.

Back of the shirt says, "It's all about Freedom. ARE YOU FREE?"

Other participants included the Freedom of Information (FOI) group, here in white shirts, led by Nepo Malaluan. A guy called "Zorro" in UP also showed up. And a special participant, a dog riding his master's bicycle.

Freedom and liberty. Especially individual liberty, not national or collective liberty that tends to step on individual freedom "in the name of the nation, the commune, the collective." This goal, for me, sums up what liberalism is.

See the close up quote: individual responsibility, rule of law, human rights and tolerance. These are key words and philosophies that I personally advocate. "People who are afraid of responsibility are afraid of freedom itself." That's from Friedrich Hayek, and I totally agree with him on that.

My legs were hellish for 3 days (Nov. 27-29), it's like I underwent a brutal hazing and paddle hitting. Especially when I go up or down the stairs in our house. The next 2 days (Nov. 30-Dec. 1) the pain was still there but more manageable. Today, the pain is gone, or 6 days after that run.

I hope to be able to run again in other running events. 

World Airports 2: Most Hated, CNN list

CNN GO also released its

10 of the world's most hated airports

The smelliest toilets, the longest queues, the rudest staff ... sometimes air rage feels justified

By Jordan Rane 9 November, 2011

I've seen only #s 5, 3 and 2.

Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) has 3 terminals. Terminal 1 is for non-national airlines or for foreign airlines only, Terminal 2 is exclusively used by the Philippine Airlines (PAL) for its foreign and local flights, while Terminal 3 is mainly used by Cebu Pacific, both for its international and local flights. There are other foreign budget airlines and local budget airlines that are using T3.

I went to London Heathrow airport, my first and last visit, in June 2005, during the "Global Development Summit" organized by the International Policy Network, and I was one of the panel speakers. It sure is a big airport. I can't recall if our landing was delayed, but our departure was delayed by at least 1 hour. We boarded on time, but the plane left the passenger boarding area late, then we queued for a long time at the tarmac. My connecting flight (London-Amsterdam-Manila via KLM) at Amsterdam airport was already boarding the last few passengers when we arrived. A few of us who have that connecting flight were practically running at Amsterdam airport from our landing gate to the boarding gate, we arrived just on time, whew!

And I went to LA airport first time last April 2009, when I attended the Atlas Liberty Forum, organized by the Atlas Economic Research Foundation. I took Korea Air. I landed at LA airport, and flew back at San Francisco airport, because I visited some friends in North California, I went there via Greyhound Bus. I thought that LA airport was rather small, at least compared to many Asian international airports that I've seen, and considering that LA is rather famous worldwide because of Hollywood, etc.

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5. Ninoy Aquino International, Manila, Philippines

Wear a helmet -- the first collapsed ceiling in 2006 at Ninoy Aquino International Airport.

Beleaguered by ground crew strikes, unkempt conditions, soup kitchen-style lines that feed into more lines and an overall sense of futility, NAIA brings the term “Stuck in the 1970s” to a new level.

At Terminal 1 all non-Philippine Airlines remain crammed despite serious overcapacity issues and a new and underused Terminal 3 is occupied by a few minor carriers. 

A rash of bad press this year (including a “Worst in the World” ribbon from Sleeping in Airports) was capped by a collapsed ceiling in T1, a paralyzing ground service strike at T2, and the usual charges of tampered luggage, filthy restrooms, seat shortages at gates, re-sealed water bottles sold in retail shops and an Amazing Race-style check-in routine spiked with bureaucracy, broken escalators, lengthy Dot Matrix passenger lists and creative airport departure fees. 

4. Toncontín International, Tegucigalpa, Honduras

Over-priced corn chips will be the least of your worries.

When do the most common airport gripes about inefficiency, uncomfortable gate chairs, dirty floors and lousy dining options suddenly become irrelevant? When you’re preoccupied about whether your 757 will actually be able to stop before the runway does. 

Nestled in a bowl-shaped valley at 957 meters above sea level, Toncontín’s notoriously stubby, mountain-cloaked landing strip was recently lengthened another 300 meters following a fatal TACA aircraft overshoot in 2008.

Not enough though to avoid being named the “second most dangerous airport in the world” by the History Channel. 

Nepal’s hair-raising Tenzing-Hillary Airport in the Himalayas is the top seed, but receives fewer gripes from its thrill-seeking Everest-bound clientele.

3. London Heathrow, London, England

"You'll fly through departures -- at the speed of a penguin."

Depending on which of Heathrow’s five terminals one is funneled through, the average experience at the world’s third-busiest airport ranges from mildly tedious to "Fawlty Towers" ridiculous. 

With its rash of -- as they were politely called -- “teething problems” in bright and airy T5 (remember that riotous grand opening with 34 canceled flights?) and nicely matured problems in Ts 1, 2 and 3, the issues passengers are beset with run the gamut.

Parking messes. Busted baggage carousels. Deadlocked security lines. Long walks (or, more commonly, runs) between gates to a frenzied soundtrack of “last call” announcements. Realizations that getting out of Heathrow took longer than actually flying here from Madrid. 

In the airport “where the world changes planes,” it all boils down to a chronic inability to cope with this many people. Plans for a sixth terminal should help sever even more nerves.

2. Los Angeles International Airport, Los Angeles, United States

It's not even a good spot for celebrity sightings.

If the world’s seventh-busiest flight hub was an old ballpark resting on the stale reputation of its Dodger Dogs and that great 1959 series, LAX might have some endearment value. 

But it’s an airport -- a dramatically undersized and moribund one with the architectural élan of a 1960s correctional facility and several publicized concerns about how its 1,700 takeoffs and landings a day can be sustained in a facility a fifth the size of healthier cousins like Dallas/Fort Worth. 

The unsupportive donut-shaped design -- it’s been called “eight terminals connected by a traffic jam” -- makes dashing between airlines feel like a diesel-scented cardio test. 

Plunked in the middle is the airport’s landmark Jetsons-style restaurant and only mentionable amenity, Encounter, but how does one actually get inside this place -- at least before being nailed for a petty traffic violation by some of the most ticket-hungry airport cops west of the Mississippi?

1. Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Paris, France

Don't expect to make friends during a storm closure.

“A great country worthy of the name,” President Charles de Gaulle once opined, “does not have any friends.” 

True or not, it’s this sort of attitude that has helped CDG become the most maligned major airport on earth. What’s fueling it? 

Grimy washrooms with missing toilet seats don’t help. Nor do broken scanning machines and an overall lack of signage, gate information screens and Paris-worthy bars, restaurants or cafés.

The baffling circular layout is worsened by warrens of tunnel-like structures, dismissive staff and seething travelers waiting forever in the wrong queue. 

The worst part may be this airport’s aura of indifference to it all. “Waiting for a connection here,” notes one commuter, “is like being in custody.”  

If you’re actually staying in Paris, you may be okay. If you have the gall to just be passing through between Malaga and Montreal, you can cut the spite of this place with a cheese knife.  

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CNN's 5 other hated airports are:

 

10. São Paulo-Guarulhos International, São Paulo, Brazil

Whether it's 9 a.m. or 9 p.m. this airport experiences round-the-clock rush hour.

9. Perth Airport, Perth, Australia

Kick a dog while it's down: The Qantas strike didn't help PER's reputation.

8. Tribhuvan International, Kathmandu, Nepal

Don't look the officers -- or the dogs -- in the eye.

7. John F. Kennedy International, New York, United States

Fans flooded the airport to welcome the 1964 British Invasion, but it seems they never left.

6. Jomo Kenyatta International, Nairobi, Kenya

Can't be disappointed if you're not expecting much.