TRANSPLANTING BUSINESSES

There is this article written by Greg Macabenta that came out at today’s issue of the BusinessWorld (April 22, 2009, page 4/S1, “On transplanting a Business”). The article is about “transplanting” a successful “homegrown” (which in this case, the Philippines) business model to a foreign country, which in this article refers to the United States. Specifically, the authors warned about the mistaken notion that a proven business model could be replicated in another country and still be successful. This is because “foreign” consumers have a markedly different needs, wants, and taste compared to the “local” consumers, i.e., consumers from the home country that the business originated. As such, the author opined that most business going international usually took two routes. The first route is to play on the niche of a “natural consumer” group, specifically the immigrant group from same country as the business. The other route is to go mainstream, i.e., to sell to the general consumers of the host country not just to a specific group. Most “transplanted” businesses taking the first route would eventually take the second route in order to expand and break free from a limited market segment. Quite an interesting article actually since the author utilizes his own experience to write the article. I remember during my business school years when I’m taking up Global Marketing. The one and only commandment of Global Marketing is adaptation, i.e., a business’ product, brand, and marketing strategies must “adapt” to the local conditions of the host country. The notion that “one size fits all” is quite “blasphemous” (for wanting a better term) in Global Marketing because different people has different needs, wants and taste both individually and collectively as a national/racial/religious entity. However, there are some “high profile exceptions” to this “core truth” of Global Marketing as some brands seemed to defy this core logic. One such case is the Tokyo Disneyland theme park and to a lesser extent the Hong Kong Disneyland theme park. Disneyland is unabashly an American theme park and yet, it not only thrives in a thoroughly un – American environment. It is rather successful. Paradoxically, one other “foreign” Disneyland theme park is a colossal failure, that of Euro Disneyland in Paris, France and French culture is part of the greater Western culture of which the American culture also belong. Another exceptional case that defies the adaptation logic in Global Marketing is Coke. A Coke is a Coke and is still a Coke wherever you are around the globe, be it in China, in Europe, in the Philippines or in the US. McDonald’s would also fit the bill but it has since allowed “local” menu content (a form of adaptation) in countries like the Philippines where it is lagging in market share. Quite contradicting, indeed. On one hand, logic portends that adaptation must occur in order for a product or a business transplanted into a foreign soil to succeed while certain cases dramatically prove that it isn’t the case. And this is where messr Macabenta’s insightful article proved useful. While products and its marketing might not need to adapt in foreign lands, business strategies and certain aspects of the business operations do have to adapt. For one, a company’s business model or competitive edge may not be useful in a foreign land (and this is the limitation of Global Marketing since it only concerns marketing). For example, a company’s competitive edge in the local market may hinge on it’s taste, which in turn hinge on logistical support to ensure freshness as well as on adept sourcing capabilities and it’s knowledge of the local consumer’s taste. Granting that the taste is acceptable to the foreign consumers on the host countries, yet the logistical challenge to ensure product freshness as well as the sourcing of some ingredients which is not available in the host country might severely cripple the company’s ability to replicate it’s competitive edge in the host country and hence, necessitate changes in it’s business operations in order to sustain it’s “perceived” competitive strength (which the host country’s consumers may not appreciate at all especially if it involved added cost and therefore translate into higher prices) or all together create a new competitive strength based on “new realities”. Another example would be, if the company is hugely successful in it’s local market simply because it’s business model dictates that it had to deliver it’s products or services as fast as possible but in a foreign country, speed of delivery may not be the “deal clincher” especially if the mainstream competitors are delivering as fast as the company or that the consumers of the host country doesn’t particularly value speed of delivery and instead opt for something else like quality for instance, which thus turned the wildly successful business model simply a “local” phenomenon. Taking this as a cue, it would be safe to declare that there is no international company that haven’t “adapted” to the local conditions and still be successful. Coke for instance has a markedly different and yet successful distribution strategy in the Philippines compared to other countries like the US or in Hong Kong, or China but even so, Coke is still Coke nonetheless. In short, what messr Macabenta advocates about businesses going global is that it has to adapt to the local condition that it is “transplanting”. Moreover, I think this adaptation theory is not only applicable to businesses that is going global but may as well apply to businesses being put up in a foreign soil by immigrants using the business model develop from “home” (the country of origin). A case in point here is the delicacy shops in Chinatown (in Manila). Most of the delicacy stores in Chinatown are set – up immigrants and are highly focused on a very particular market segment, mainly fellow immigrants. These Chinese delis sell food stuffs from mushrooms (I knew of 3 or 4 kinds of “Chinese” mushrooms), Wooden Ear (木耳), Hopia, Tikoy, Scallops, Chinese candies (like White Rabbit), to the more “exotic” stuffs like Stuffed Pork Intestine Sausage and the likes. And just like what messr Macabenta observes, the market focus strategy on immigrants though hugely successful in the early stages of the business would eventually reach it’s limits in terms of number of clients. Furthermore, the clientele base, as observe by messr Macabenta would sooner or later diminish as second or even third generation immigrants whose taste are more in tune with the locals shun their products. As this develops, most of these “specialty” stores are forced to go “mainstream”, i.e., cater to the locals other than the particular immigrant groups. However, going mainstream has it’s difficulties and challenges. For example, in the Philippine Chinese deli’s case, selling mushrooms, wooden ear, and scallop to the Filipinos would be futile since Filipino cuisine don’t actually use those stuffs. Some of the more exotic delicacies like intestine sausage don’t exactly appeal to the Filipino palate at all. However, the Philippine Chinese deli’s are pretty much successful in going mainstream precisely because it was able to adapt to the locals. Tikoy for example has become popular because it has adapted (by coming up with small personal sizes) to the Filipino’s gift giving tradition during major holidays (which in this case is the Chinese New Year). Now, it becomes an SOP to give and receive Tikoys during the Chinese New Years whereas in China and elsewhere where Chinese are the majority, such practice of giving Tikoy is less seen. Hopia, as a Chinese delicacy has evolved into a Filipino delicacy simply by adapting its flavor to the Filipino taste. Instead of the original mungo only variant, it now has ube….. Changes can also be seen from the way businesses are conducted by the Chinese delis. They no longer boxed themselves in Chinatown. A few of them actually branched out ostensibly to cater to the growing demand of the mainstream markets. As a conclusion, for any businesses “transplanted” from the home country and into a foreign country, adaptation is a must, be it in the product offering or in the strategies used or in the business models being utilized. Relying on a proven successful formula made in the home market doesn’t guarantee survival in the new foreign market much less success.

SUNRISE/SUNSET

I’m not exactly a “beach” person though I am not necessarily averse to it either. My ambivalence towards the beach has more to do with the fact that I can’t swim. As such, the most I could do when I’m at the beach is to “soak” myself in the water, which is not exactly the most enjoyable of all the activities vis – a – vis to the boisterous partying in the water surrounding me. However, the good news is that there is more to the beach than just simply swimming. In most cases, the location of the beach has some of the most beautiful natural sceneries that one can feast his/her eyes on and I happened to be an avid nature lover especially of the sunrise and sunsets over the sea. Such is the case during my recent vacation trip to Virgin Resort at Laiya, San Juan, Batangas. Virgin Resort, one of the several resorts that dot the area, is situated right in the middle of “Laiya Cove” located at the eastern most coast line of Batangas that opens to the South China Sea. Anyway, during on my first day at the said beach, I was as usual “engrossed’ at my favorite “activity” at the beach, i.e., soaking. Probably it is the clear blue sky, or the crystal clear waters, or the strong splashing waves, or maybe it was all of it that enticed me to get out of the waters and lie down on my back on the shores and stare straight at the sky above while the cool water splashes and washes over me. It is then that I noticed that how beautiful was the sky that afternoon at the beach. Not much cloud, no skyscraper or tower to clutter the view, not much glare from the sun either. All one can see is wide, expansive, blue just plain, bright, cheerful blue. Funny, how can somebody like me could miss something so plain, so simple, so obvious, yet so beautiful. I ended up staring at the clear blue skies for an hour or so. As I was staring, it came to me that behind that beautiful, “unpierceable” blue “curtain” is the eternal darkness of empty space. Although, it is an obvious fact but still staring at the sky, I find it hard to fathom that there is actually “something” beyond the skies. I remembered in my reading of Mongol history that Genghis Khan before his campaigns would remove his belt and slung it over his shoulder and climb up the mountains alone to pay his respect to Tangri or Tengri, the Eternal Blue Heavens. He would spend a day and a night at that. What does he sees when he stares at the Tengri? Does he wonder as well? Although between Genghis Khan and me, we’re 800 years apart and he was in Mongolia and I’m in Laiya but still wasn’t it fascinating to wonder, to stare? That evening, around dinner time (7pm maybe), as I was waiting in the open bungalow for my dinner to be served, I noticed something over the horizon. A huge yellow ball, the size of a peso coin if you are able to reach it with your hand and get it, came out from under the sea and hung over the dark skies. The moon in it’s fullness shone so brightly that it dimmed the twinkling stars around it, smothering them in it’s brightness. It was like a giant lamp or more like a humongous flashlight that illuminates only a slice of the sea, leaving the rest in total darkness. The sea under the moonlight looked so calm and tranquil that it actually betrays the actual rippled turbulence. The whole scenery is like something that plucked out from a painting or any drawing of the moonlit sky over a body of water. It looked so “artsy” except that it is real and is directly in front of me that night. I can’t help but be reminded of Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata (one of my favorite actually). Ludwig van Beethoven wrote Moonlight Sonata sometime in 1801 (over 200 years remove from my time). Moonlight Sonata, is a piano solo whose music is soft, literally quiet, and serene. The first time I strain my ears to hear the music, I felt I was strolling beside a lake and staring at the moon and enamored by the beauty of the moment must like I was then that evening except that there is no music in my ears (and I forgot to bring the radio or the CD containing the said piece neither was the song in my sister’s ipod) and I wasn’t strolling beside the shore. It made me wonder however. What Beethoven sees in such a beautiful moonlit night to inspire him to write such an immortal piece that captures the moment? Am I seeing what he is seeing? Or more accurately, was I seeing what Beethoven wanted me to see as depicted in my piano sonata? The following morning, for unknown reason (probably felt refreshed and invigorated by the events the day before), I woke up early, around 530. And as I opened the door of the cottage that we’re staying for the night, I discovered that it was already morning and everything is quite “illuminated” but the sun hasn’t fully come out yet. I thought that this is probably my lucky day and that I get to see the sunrise that morning. And so I set out to the shore, bringing along a chair and planted it near the water out in the open beach where I could clearly see the sun slowly rising up from the east behind the mountains. And turning my head to my right, I saw the moon now pale white setting over the mountains running away, fleeing maybe from the chasing sun. “The moon and sun shall never meet, one would eternally chase after the other but they will never meet” as the some forgotten old poem would say (or something to that effect). But of course, the sun and the moon do meet….. during eclipses. Between the chasing sun and the fleeing moon on that beautiful morning lies the “serene” sea in the middle. It’s rhythmic waves gently crashing onto the shores while further away, the crystal green waters reveals the bed on which that water rests. On it’s surface, schools of dancing fish, jumping out of the waters cheering, beckoning the sun to come out and play with them. What a sight to behold! Too bad, I could only see what’s in front of me and because of that, I had to constantly turn my head, paying only intermittent attention to the sun, to the moon, to the dancing fishes, to the serene sea. I wish I could “see” the whole thing in just a glance but I can’t. As the sun slowly rises, it resembles a lot like the New Year Ball at Time Square in New York but instead of descending from its pole, the sun is rising up from its invisible pole. Its brightness seemed quite subdued until it reaches it’s “peak” (of the imaginary pole, figuratively speaking). Right then, the sun blasts its full brightness in all direction, covering everything with a golden glow and blinding anyone who dares attempt as to even peek at its silhouette. Even as I was “blinded” by brightness, I felt a sense of renewal, a sense of energy, a sense of hope, a sense of life. I could only imagine that millennia ago when the first man came out its cave, he must have felt the same thing as I am feeling that morning, a sense of new beginning after a night of total darkness. It is probably due this feeling that our ancestors worship the sun, the light, the day and imbibe the sunrise with the meaning of renewal. It is only then that I came to realize a fundamental truth, which is “we are the reason”. We are the reason that what we came to know to be beautiful is beautiful. The sun, the moon, the sea, and even the fish don’t know what beauty is. Heck, they don’t even care that they are part of a choreograph performance that defines beauty. We define beauty. We are the reason that beauty exists, that the sun, the moon, the sea, the world and everything around us exist. In fact, we are the reason that reason exists, that meaning has their meaning. We are the reason. And it also us, that “ruin” beauty, that erase beauty when we no longer enjoy them, when we “busied” ourselves with whatever we’re doing, when we no longer get up to see the sunrise and instead opt to sleep through the day, when we no longer stayed up to gazed at the fullness beauty of the moon and instead glued ourselves to the nightlife. We are the reason.

THE PILGRIMAGE II

To better understand this article, please refer to my previous article, “The Pilgrimage” dated May 19,2006.

This article is a continuation of my narrative of my vacation last December.

“Veni, Vidi, Vici” (I came, I saw, I conquer) – Julius Caesar

I’ve finally made it. I’ve finally reached the top of the Great Wall after more than two years. It was a great feeling to finally have reached the top of the Wall except that the feeling I had is somewhat “different” from what I’ve expected after completing such a “momentous achievement”. The feeling that I was expecting if I had completed the climb is one wherein the confetti dropped from the sky, everybody is clapping their hands while standing, cheerleaders dancing and hooraying (figuratively speaking although it would be nice to actually see cheerleaders dancing). The feeling should be like winning the NBA championship all by yourself ala Michael Jordan. However, the feeling was nothing like that. Not even close. Don’t get me wrong, I felt great on reaching the top but not “too great”. Maybe it’s the freezing weather that seemed to ruin almost everything nice. Maybe, it is the fact that we started the climb mid – way at the Badaling section of the Great Wall (八達嶺長城, located high up in the Badaling mountain) as opposed to Ju Yong Guan section of the Great Wall (居庸關長城), which starts from the level plain way, way down below. As such the climb at the Badaling section of the Great Wall is less arduous and hence, less challenging and therefore, less inspiring. In addition to that, I don’t get to see Mao’s famous words etched in stone, “不到長城非好漢” (if you haven’t been to the Great Wall, You’re not a man), which happens to further dampen the almost listless atmosphere. Or maybe it’s because I don’t have a little girl by the name Megan with me during my recent climb. Although my sister and the youngsters are good companies during the climb, I nevertheless missed Megan……. A lot. Anyway, it was the 28th of December, 2008, a Sunday and also the third day of our trip. We got up early, had our breakfast at the hotel. I was particularly “giddy” that morning since I was really looking forward to the climb at the Great Wall and fulfill my vow to come back and finish the climb. At the lobby, I received a gift from the Lionel, our tour guide; a manuscript of his half finish short story. So far, that morning seemed to be going quite well and I took it as a promising sign that things would be splendid that day but as the day progressed, things didn’t really live up to my expectation. The first thing that somewhat “ruined” my supposed splendid Sunday was a trip to the same old jade factory that I’d gone during my first trip to the Great Wall some two and half years ago. Like the first, it was supposed to be a “brief” detour but actually took like a good solid two hours. What a dampener. After that supposedly “brief detour” turned into a two hour shopping bonanza, we headed to the Great Wall. I was fully expecting to revisit the site of the Great Wall at Ju Yong Guan section (居庸關長城) where I made my first climb but instead, we went to the Badaling section. There was nothing wrong with visiting the Great Wall at Badaling per se except that at Badaling Great Wall, the climb is less arduous because the slope is less steep and walkway of the Wall is comparatively wider than that at Ju Yong Guan plus the climb to the topmost battlement of the Wall is relatively short. Furthermore, as mentioned, Mao’s stone inscribed “inspirational” challenge was nowhere to be seen at Badaling, which is to me a real bummer. Since, the Badaling section of the Great Wall is situated on top of the Badaling mountain range as compared to the Ju Yong Guan section Great Wall, which is way down below the narrow plain, we took the cable car up to the Badaling section. Now, the cable car ride might look every bit “dangerous” because you’re travelling high up the rocky mountain slope and hanging in the mid air without an engine or a parachute except for two cables isn’t really what we call a “fun” ride. Nevertheless, the ride is rather smooth with no surprises at all. This is because the cable cars are built on the southern slope of the Badaling Mountain and the mountain served as the barrier to the scouring wind from the north and thus spares the riders from the “thrill” of the ride. Once we arrived at the mid – section of the Badaling Great Wall, I, without delay began my quest to “conquer” the top of the Great Wall. The temperature that day was like the last two days at -8OC. At that temperature, the weather could be appropriately described as Freezing. I had to wear a thermal shirt and 2 sweaters and a winter coat on top of it just to keep me warm. But that doesn’t help with my bottoms, my foot, my hands, and my ears never mind the face. Even with thick gloves, heavy pants over a thermal pant, two socks, and a scarf wrapped around my mouth, the “cold” still got into me. The cold got a lot worst at where we are starting, which is at the mid – section of the Badaling Great Wall. Thankfully though, my sister and I bought some heating pouches, which are actually a pouch filled with pyro – chemical giving off heat once you rub the pouch. In this way, I got to keep myself from turning to an icicle but that further put a dampener on my already ebbing enthusiasm about the climb. Nevertheless, I persevere and started the relatively “short” climb (around an hour or less) to the top of the Great Wall. Got quite a work out there (and in the process generated enough body heat to keep me warm but not sweating) but nothing dexterous even for my “lazy limbs” (only got to stop for rest once or twice during the climb). At any rate, I find the climb rather uneventful and as such, by the time I’d reached the top, I felt rather drab yet the same time victorious, for I finally reached the top. Even so, I felt that victory isn’t sweet at all but a bit hollow. It is then I realized I missed little Megan. Somehow I get to realized that there are more important things than reaching the top or more aptly, there are things that make the climb to the top much more worthwhile. Funny, how I didn’t realize it beforehand or have forgotten it. Anyway, regardless how I felt that moment, I cannot but be awed by the sheer magnificence of the scenery atop the Great Wall. The Badaling section of the Great Wall is reputedly one of the most picturesque scenic spot of the Great Wall next only to the Simatai Great Wall (司馬台長城, which in my knowledge have just been repaired and opened to the public pretty recently around February of 2009?). And from my vantage point, one could truly appreciate the reason why the Chinese called the Great Wall as Wan Li Chang Cheng (萬里長城) literally, the Ten Thousand Mile Long Wall. The Wall seemed to have extended towards the ends of the earth as far as the eyes could see. Even in winter, the beauty is still ubiquitous. The scenery is both breathtaking and at the same time, eerily perilous. I mean lest we not forget that the Great Wall is first and foremost a military installation built by the emperors to keep out the marauding barbarians of the north from invading the farmlands to the south of the Great Wall. Soldiers of the ages past who had manned the Wall against the hordes must have drank the scenery of the Great Wall all day and all night. They probably like us must have been awed by the grandeur of the place but unlike us, tourists, these ancient warriors almost constantly felt the dread, the danger of an approaching storm over from the north. At the top of the Great Wall where I was, the place is crowded with tourists, boisterous and noisy but back then, the place is populated with only but a handful of soldiers and they are isolated from the rest of the world. The dreadful yet picturesque silence must have been deafening then. One could only imagine such whilst at the top of the Wall and in the middle of the jousting crowd eager to get their picture taken. Well, I’m a tourist, not a soldier, a historian maybe but definitely not a soldier and so I do what every tourist do, take my picture. But before I made my way down the Wall, I did what I did the last time I was here. First, I looked out in the open on side of the Wall, put both of my hands in my mouth and shouted, “I AM THE KING OF THE WORLD!” (well, that felt great indeed) The second thing that I’d done was to etch my name on the Wall and preserved it for all eternity except that I forget to bring a marker or a knife (now I know what I forgot to pack in my suitcase). And so, I had to look for “something” to use to “write” on the Wall. I got to borrow a pen from one of the youngsters and I lightly “wrote” on the white borders in between the bricks, _ _ _ 到此一遊 (for those who are visiting the Badaling Great Wall and wanted to see the “historical mark” for themselves, looked up at the left side of the Wall at the top, upper portion of that wall). As I was “writing” my mark, one of the youngsters “questioned” me as to why I’m “vandalizing”. Well, my reply then was graffiti as I was doing then provided a very important historical value. You see in all archaeological excavation sites, a lot of the artifacts, which are basically everyday things being used at that time are long gone. They are destroyed, stolen, or degraded. Graffiti on the other hand are left intact and provided valuable clues to an archaeologist about the social environment of the times. Besides, everybody is doing it (putting their names on the Wall) and they are aplenty. As they say, “When in Rome, Do as the Romans Do”, si fueris Romae, Romano vivito more, si fueris alibi, vivito sicut ibi (if you are in Rome, live in the Roman way; if you are elsewhere, live as they do there). However, I wasn’t quite satisfied with the markings I’d made. For one, it is quite light. Hardly visible. As such, I decided to make a second marking. This time I used the softdrink can pull up pin as an etching tool and finally “carve” the same words on the Wall (same section as the first except that it is at the lower portion about on the third brick from the floor). Having done that, I take one good look at the scenery and began my way back. Someday, I’ll be back for a third climb and by then, I know what it would take to “reach the top” and I’ll be prepared for it.

BLACKING OUT – CRACKING THE LOTTO: A FEASIBILITY STUDY

A few days ago, a friend and a fellow blogger of mine wrote in her blog, www.jazchan.blogspot.com (which incidentally is a nice blog to follow), a commentary/opinion piece regarding the lotto craze phenomenon. Specifically, she was in the opinion that gambling is really bad for people and that there is no substitute to hard work as a means to get rich. I made a comment though on her blog stating my disagreement to her view since I’m an occasional bettor myself of the number game. For the record, I whole heartedly agreed with her that gambling is bad but occasionally, I see it as an opportunity worth exploiting. But before I proceed any further, it is appropriate to understand the background of this whole episode. Last February 22, the jackpot prize 6/49 Super Lotto of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) has reached a historic high of P347,836,903.20, a staggering sum indeed. It was won by 2 individuals betting on the combination of 06-34-20-26-12-33. As such, the prize money was split between the two individuals who won. Anyway, going to my reply to my friend’s blog. I opined that as an occasional bettor, I only bet when the prize money reached a certain amount. Below which, I don’t even give a damn. Furthermore, I only bet on a single 6 number combination and at most on 3 combinations and nothing more. And at P20 per bet, my bets cost me around P20 – 60 per game until of course my reason for betting no longer exists (which usually meant that somebody else won the pot). The reason for my small bets is rather simple. It only takes one 6 number combination to win the pot and regardless of how many number combinations you bet on, only one would win it. Betting on several number combination sets (and therefore in the process bankrupting your meager finances, which to me is the true definition of gambling) would only increases your odds of winning the lottery but doesn’t necessarily guarantee success. Henceforth, it is illogical to me to bet on more than one combination set unless of course I’m going to “black out” the game. It is the latter thought (of blacking out the game) that got me thinking the past few days and the reason why I’m writing this piece. I’m not here to debate upon moral – ethical issues of the lottery game rather I’m exploring the possibility of “blacking out” the game. For those who are clueless about what “blacking out” is. Blacking out is betting on ALL POSSIBLE number combinations in a lottery game and in a 6/49 lotto game, there are 13,983,816 possible combinations according to Wikipedia (for an in dept analysis of the calculation, go to Wikipedia and search “Lottery Mathematics”). Blacking out might seemed to be a far – fetched crazy idea but some financial whiz in the US did such an audacious scheme years before (I saw that on TV, forgot which show that is). For such idea to remotely succeed, you need a huge pile of money to black out on all possible combinations and that the prize money should be in such amount that it would be large enough to cover the “investments” made and of course provide ample “return on investments”. In short, the prize money should be equally humongous. And I believe in the last 6/49 Philippine lotto game on February 22, that singular condition has been met. At P20 per bet, betting on all 14 million combinations would require an investment of less than P280 million. Subtract that from the prize money of almost P350 million, one can gain a profit of P70 million or a return of 25% over a period of at least 24 hours! (The 6/49 lotto game is held every Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday, the shortest time lapse between games is Tuesday – Thursday draws with only 24 hours separating between the two draws). However, such calculation is at best, a fool’s math. The reality is much more complex than at first glance. For starters, how do you suppose to get 2.3 million betting cards (a betting card can hold 6 bets or 6 combinations and with 14 millions combinations, one needs 2.3 million cards), filled up 14 million combinations, and placed the bets (think the impracticality of placing all 14 million bets on one betting station, you’ll likely burn up the computer terminal before your 10,000th combination and as well as carrying all P280 million in your pocket, you’ll most likely be robbed before you even made the bet) all by YOURSELF in 24 HOURS! The logistic challenge is herculean if not nightmarish. You need help, lots of help. You have to hire staffs, create an organizational structure to oversee such operations of staffs and all of this entails costs, which might turn your “investment” foray into lotto a lot like gambling on credit derivatives swaps from Lehman Brothers i.e., you’ll end up with nothing, a pile of debt, and another pile of worthless pieces of papers. And this where my MBA education comes in handy, figuring out how to OUTWIT the system. For our hypothetical feasibility study, assuming the prize money reaches P350 million and that we have 24 hours to make the black out bets. The first logistical challenge we would find is to gather 2.3 million cards for betting (more just in case you commit mistakes in filling up). Of course, you can’t expect to gather all of these in one betting station and granting you can, you need several trucks to transport those cards to your headquarters. The best solution to the challenge is to sent out hundreds if not thousands of people to equally hundreds or thousands of betting stations across the country (this is on the assumption that the PCSO is against blacking out operations and henceforth would do everything to disrupt its success including delivering cards in bulk and accepting bets on all combinations as well). Take note, you have 24 hours to make all the bets and betting is only done on the day of the draw till 9pm. With 2.3 million cards to gather and assuming 1000 cards are to be gathered per betting station, we need 2,300 personnel to gather those cards from 2,300 betting stations. Now, this is no easy feat. It means we have to FIND OUT where those 2,300 stations are located. It would be great if we could find all 2,300 stations within a certain vicinity like Metro Manila but what if we couldn’t and that the stations are more spread out as in like the entire 7,107 islands. Furthermore, the betting stations would also serves as the place where we could place the bets after filling up the cards. Also, it would be prudent to have some “contingent plan” on alternate betting station locations just in case thing goes wrong. (One possible scenario is that you can’t get no more than 500 cards per stations, which means that you have to go to 4,600 stations instead) As such, it is therefore obvious that we have to map out the betting stations and this entails some planning and a logistic planning team working on it way before the actual betting date. After gathering the cards and transporting them to the headquarters, the next step is to fill up the cards. Now, this is the crucial phase of the operation. Due to the sheer size of the task involved, the number of people involved is understandably sizable as well. This makes supervision and quality control daunting. I mean the plan is to black out ALL POSSIBLE COMBINATIONS. As such, we can’t risk missing out just one combination and bet twice or more on a single combination because of lousy work of those filling the cards (and it later turns out that the missed bet is the jackpot combination). To rule out such possibility, we need to have computers to print out all the possible combinations instead on relying the individual brain power of the staffs and distribute them to those staffs. Next, we have to hire quality staffs. Filling out cards from a cue card might be a brainless task but then again, we want to avoid “stupid” mistakes for the stake is really high. Assuming that a person can fill out 4 cards with 6 combinations in each card in an hour for a total of 24 combinations or roughly less than three minutes per combination, a person working in an 8 hour shift could fill out 192 combinations granting that that person doesn’t eat or rest or even go to the bathroom. Simple math would tell us that we need 73,000 people (excluding other staffs like those working on the computer, gatherers of the betting cards and bettors plus other administrative staffs) in a single shift to fill out all the combinations (or if you’re working on two shifts, around 36,500 people per shift, and 24,333 people per shift working on three shifts). Of course, it is impossible to hire 73,000 people in a single day and expect them to start immediately and finish in time for tomorrow’s bet. Hiring should be done way, way before the actual commencement of the operation. Probably months ago. Activation and mobilization on the other hand could be done on that day but that entails we have to have some transportation to be able to gather and assemble that many people. In conjunction to that, another challenge is in finding a place to hold all those staffs, all 73,000 of them. Size is not only the problem in looking for a place to house all of those the staff, location is also a huge factor to consider. If the betting stations are located within a certain geographic vicinity like Metro Manila, then the location of the Headquarter/Worksite should be at or near the center of all these scattered betting stations. Now, if the betting stations are more widely dispersed, we may have to consider having more than one worksite and the leases of all these worksites would significantly add up to the initial investments. Furthermore, one simply cannot lease those places “right on the spot”. Leases must be made way before hand even if it is going to be used for at the least 24 hours. In addition to staffs, we have also to hire managers and supervisors to execute “the project”. Again, this can’t be done on that day. Instead, this should be done way ahead. In addition to that, managers and supervisors must be at least be briefed of what to do much less trained on what to do so as to become effective on what they’re going to do. We cannot simply let them lose inside the worksite and assume that they could deliver the “numbers” to you without them having a clue on what to do, can we? The last step after filling out the betting cards is to actually place the bets. The 2,300 betting stations where we got all those cards from would be the same stations in which we are going to place our bets. Each betting stations would be receiving 6,000 bets (1,000 cards) and each of the gatherers/bettors we are sending out would carry at least P120,000 (a comparatively modest sum) to make the required bets. And each gatherer/bettor has around 12 hours or less (9 or 10 am till 9pm) to finish placing all the bets before the draw. Afterwards, sit back and wait for the money to pour in (since we’re blacking out, winning is assured “theoretically” if no “stupid” mistakes occurred). Simple as that. Now the overall cost of such a venture can be “estimated”. Hiring 73,000 staffs to fill in the “numbers”, assuming you’re being “generous” and pay them P500 each would amount to P36,500,000. Add that to worksite leases, transportation costs, electricity bills, salaries of “other” staffs, miscellaneous expenses, and the salaries of all those managers and supervisors (which you most likely have to hire way before the actual event) including their “balato” or bonuses (you have to pay off some cash rewards to the people that contribute the most to your success), we are looking at a total bill of somewhere in the area of P50 million. Add that to your lotto “investments” of P280 million, we need around P330 million as initial seed money just to black out the game. Subtract that to the prize money of P350 million, our profit would only amount to P20 million pesos or about 6% ROI. Now, 6% ROI earned over a period of 24 hours may sound like a measly sum but that is significantly better compared to investing the same amount in any fixed income instrument such as time deposits or bonds that earn the same interest over the course of A YEAR! However, by blacking out the game, some positive development would occur that would increase our “profit”. First of all, by blacking out all the number combinations, we would also win the secondary prizes. Getting 5 out of 6 number right would earn us P56,000. A four number hit would earn us P500, and a three number hit would allow us to place a return bet. Now, disregarding the last prize, the secondary prizes amounts to 43 possibilities x P56,000/combination – possibility = P2,408,000 plus (43x43) possibilities (for getting 4 out of 6 numbers correct) x P500/possible combinations = P924,000. This would give us an additional income of P3,332,500, which would pad our net income to about P23 million. A much larger positive effect as a result of the blacking out the game would be in the substantial jump in the prize money itself. You see the jackpot prize is proportional to the amount of bet. The more bet, the higher the prize. However, not all bet money goes to the pot, a portion of the bets goes to charity funds and frankly, I have no idea how the PCSO appropriate the bet money. However, based on their website, www.pcso.gov.ph, the PCSO is by law required to contribute 25% of their gross earnings to various beneficiaries. That figure doesn’t include operational expenses as well as other required minor charity contributions. Assuming then that that is the case, it would be a “safe” bet to assume that 50% of the bet money would go the pot, which in this case would boost the prize to P350 million + P280 million/2 or P490 million. In which case, the net income that could be earned from winning the pot by blacking out the game would be P490 million – P330 million or P160 million, which means that our initial investment of P330 million would earn us a hefty return of 48.5% in 24 hours! Take that Wall Street! At this point after reading 4 pages of what I’ve written so far, you’ll probably be dreaming about vacationing in Cancun, on board of your own luxury yacht, sipping the priciest champagne, and eating the most expensive caviar you could lay your hands on but what a minute! Like in every investment, there is a downside risk! Foremost that comes to mind is the waiting game. You need to make plans and the initial preparation way ahead before the “actual” day, that is if it ever happened again. That entails, cash outlays for a what – if scenario that might not happen at all, which therefore makes all your expenditures irrecoverable sunk cost at least in the near term. Another risk issue is the tax issue. The Lottery was never advertised as being tax free. That means, the jackpot prize is taxable and the tax take could be significant as to alter our profitability calculation. A 35% tax take (assuming the highest income tax rate we had) would translate to P171.5 million less from our winnings, which would actually wipe out our gains and leave us in the negative. Well, the tax rate maybe significantly lower than the one we assume but at what rate? I really don’t know. Ask the tax experts. Collorary to that is the legal issue. Do we need to come up with a legal corporate entity to handle such a complex yet short lived operation such as this? If so, there are tax and legal issues here that may bankrupt us instead of enriching us. The third risk issue and by far, the gravest is the possibility that there is more than one winner to the game. And this is a distinct possibility because of the size of the pot, which attracts a large number of “opportunistic” and “occasional” bettors like me. In history of the lottery in the Philippines, there are several instances wherein there are multiple winners usually 2 but rarely 3. According to the PCSO rules, the winners have to share the pot. If there is another “lucky” winner to our hypothetical scenario, then the theoretical P490 million pot would be split into two P245 million prizes. This would result into an instant lost of P85 million. Now, in an unlucky event that there are 3 winners to our hypothetical draw, we stand to lose P166.67 million! Risky indeed! A fourth risk issue to address is related to the payout scheme. Most of us believed that the jackpot prize is paid out to the winner in one lump sum cash less whatever taxes that had to pay for. However, I knew that in some states in the US where the lottery is played, the payout is divided into several equal size tranches and remitted to the winner annually over a period of say 10 years more or less. This thus became a sort of annuity. In short, you payout your investments in cash and receive your return in staggered basis over a long period of time, which if you discount it to the present period as in today using the Net Present Value (NPV) computation, might translate into a definite loss. That of course is the case in some states in the US, what about the case in the Philippines? Well, it is obvious that I don’t know because I haven’t won the jackpot prize yet for myself. Actually, there is a way or specifically two ways to circumvent all these risks in order to win the Jackpot prize (make that 3). The first is to scrimp all the “expenses” on staffs and infrastructure and instead do it by yourself. You can start right now if you want and assuming that you can fill up 192 cards in an 8 hour – workday. You can finally place your bet after 73,000 days (working just exactly 8 hours a day) or 200 years granting of course, you’re still alive and kicking. In fact, you could concurrently start a savings fund for your “financing” needs come 200 years later granting of course, that there is no financial crisis that could happen in the next 200 years that could wipe out your savings and that the cost of bet doesn’t change at all in the next 200 years let alone the obsolesce of the number game itself. The second way to circumvent the risks and win the coveted prize is to bet P20 on a single combination like what I’m doing and hope that lady luck would smile on us. The third and final way to circumvent the risks and win the jackpot is simply follow what my friend and fellow blogger recommend. Don’t gamble, save every penny you have and work your butt off to riches! So after all this brouhaha, I came to my conclusion to this feasibility study of mine and that is WHERE AM I GOING TO GET THE P330 MILLION IN SEED MONEY?
P.S. Anybody care to loan me the seed money? We could split the profit. “ )

PHENOMENAL WOMAN

by Maya Angelou

Pretty women wonder where my secret lies
I'm not cute or built to suit a fashion model's size
But when I start to tell them
They think I'm telling lies.
I say,
It's in the reach of my arms
The span of my hips,
The stride of my step,
The curl of my lips.
I'm a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That's me.
I walk into a room
Just as cool as you please,
And to a man,
The fellows stand or
Fall down on their knees.
Then they swarm around me,
A hive of honey bees.
I say,
It's the fire in my eyes
And the flash of my teeth,
The swing of my waist,
And the joy in my feet.
I'm a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That's me.
Men themselves have wondered
What they see in me.
They try so much
But they can't touch
My inner mystery.
When I try to show them,
They say they still can't see.
I say
It's in the arch of my back,
The sun of my smile,
The ride of my breasts,
The grace of my style.
I'm a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That's me.
Now you understand
Just why my head's not bowed.
I don't shout or jump about
Or have to talk real loud.
When you see me passing
It ought to make you proud.
I say,
It's in the click of my heels,
The bend of my hair,
The palm of my hand,
The need of my care,
'Cause I'm a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That's me.

P.S. Read this poem in this morning’s newspaper. It’s nice. Thought I share.

THEY HAVE A NAME FOR THAT……..

It’s been quite some time that I’ve read the front page of the Inquirer. In actuality, I was avoiding it. This is because I don’t want to sour my mood further by reading the latest political scandals early in the morning. I mean reading the business news nowadays is depressing enough. One doesn’t need to keep torturing oneself by keeping abreast with the latest political drama. However, how should I say? Fate intervened? That one day sometime last week that I read the front page of the Inquirer. And lo! I didn’t get depressed by what was plastered at the front page. Instead, I got furious! The news that made it to the front page that “fateful” day was about the Senate investigation on the banned World Bank contractors and how things turned literally upside down. For starters, sometime in November 2007, the World Bank sent a confidential report of collusions and corrupt practices of 7 government contractors to the Philippine government, specifically the Finance Department. The report was made after a very thorough investigation. The gist of the report is the “suggestion” of the involvement of the First Gentlemen in the anomalous transactions of these contractors. However, the report was strictly confidential and contains only leads and not much substance plus a clause that it couldn’t be used in prosecution proceedings within the country in question. It is quite understandable as to the reason why the report was prepared in such way. For one, the World Bank being a supra national entity is and should be politically neutral and second, they shouldn’t interfere in the local governance at all. Because of the “lack of capability” of the Finance Department, the report was eventually referred to the Ombudsman and sadly like all other cases of grand corruptions and high crimes, it was left to gather dust and largely forgotten for more than a year. Then, sometime in early part of this year, the contents of the report got leaked and the Senate began an impromptu investigation of the alleged corruption. And to make a long story short, the investigation drags on and on like the usual zarzuela we all got use to. But that is not what incensed me. What infuriates me is that Senate committee in charge of the public inquiry has suddenly turned the tables on the accuser, the World Bank! Specifically, some “distinguish” senators are venting their “irrepressible” ire on the World Bank and calling it names. In fact, in one scene of this sad and pathetic “comedy”, a distinguish senator with terrible temper even wanted to kick the World Bank out of the country! Now let me get this straight about the entire issue here. Here we are perennially short of money due to a simple reason that we spend more than we could earn, which could be trace further to the fact that we tend to pay excessively more than it should be and these excessive pays, instead of benefiting a great number of people tends to end up in the pockets of a select and favored few. Because of the sorry predicament we are in, we are forced to seek help from a few creditors to finance our needs. And then along came a generous creditor, the World Bank who not only extended loans to our beleaguered nation despite our poor credentials but also given us a favorable treatment in terms of concessional rates and longer repayment terms. And unlike other financial institutions who are only after the profits that could be derived from such a loan without regards as to how efficiently that such money could be spent, the World Bank even offered to help us improve the efficiency of our spending by telling us the names of “corrupt” businesses and contractors such that the wealth derived from the investment of the loan money might be spread evenly and maximizing the benefits to the greater number of recipients instead of ending up in the hands of a few. And instead of showing our gratitude for such concern, our honorable and distinguish senators has the gall to be ANGRY at the World Bank! What the f*ck is this? Ok, maybe I’m not being clear here and for the benefit of those who couldn’t understand a word of English, let me phrase this in Filipino. Tayo’y lubos na naghihirap at kulang ang ating salapi para sa ikauunlad ng kabuyahan natin. Dahil dito, humingi tayo ng tulong. At sa awa ng Diyos, meyron naman tumulong sa atin. Hindi lang yan, bukod sa pangungutang, pinagbigyan din tayo sa pamamagitan ng maluwag na konsesyon. Higit pa diyan, tinulungan pa naman tayo na iwasto ang katiwalian sa paggagastos ng ating salapi upang sa ganoon ay marami makinabang sa salaping ito. Ngunit, sa halip na tayo’y matuwa, magpasalamat, at magtanaw ng utang na loob, tayo’y nagagalit pa! Now what kind of a person would do that? You know they have a name for such a person in Filipino and it’s called G*GO! I rest my case.
P.S. the whole brouhaha is not actually bad for it gave me an idea who NOT to vote for in the upcoming election some 15 months away.

My lady's presence makes the roses red

by Henry Constable

My lady's presence makes the roses red,

Because to see her lips they blush for shame.

The lily's leaves, for envy, pale became,

And her white hands in them this envy bred.

The marigold the leaves abroad doth spread,

Because the sun's and her power is the same.

The violet of purple colour came.

Dyed in the blood she made my heart to shed.

In brief: all flowers from her their virtue take;

From her sweet breath their sweet smells do proceed;

The living heat which her eyebeams doth make

Warmeth the ground and quickeneth the seed.

The rain, wherewith she watereth the flowers,F

alls from mine eyes, which she dissolves in showers.

BEIJING NIGHT LIFE

To be quite honest, I never like going out to bars at night. Although as an insomniac I usually sleep late, I rarely stayed out late at night. I prefer to stay up at night reading books than go bar hopping. Not that I totally dislike staying out late and go bar hopping rather that I am a boring “couch potato” who felt much more comfortable staying home. As such, I “normally” don’t have a night life either during my foreign trips even when during my backpacking trips to Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Singapore. Well, aside from the fact that I don’t have a habit of staying out late at night, almost all of the guided tour trips I had in the past are packed with “old” people, who shun the night life. At the other end of the spectrum like the backpacking trips, I simply don’t have anyone to accompany me to “chill out” at nights. However, this last trip of mine is different in the sense that there are more “hippie youngsters” in the bunch. All in all, there are about 7 of us “youngsters” including me and my sister (and I happen to be the “big brother” literally). Anyway, it was the second day of your trip to Beijing when one of the “youngsters” propose to literally “chill out” in the freezing night (-8OC) right after the day tour ended. He proposes to go to Hou Hai (後海, literally “the back sea”), a lakeside bar – entertainment complex close to the place we are staying at the Grand Mercure Hotel (the former Beijing Marco Polo Hotel) at Xi Dan avenue (西單街). Anyway, I really don’t have much to say about the night life scene in Beijing because of my “limited experience”. However, according to the Wikipedia, “Hou Hai is a famous night life spot because it is the home to several popular restaurant, bars, and cafes. The area is especially popular with foreign tourists visiting Beijing as well as the expatriate community and younger locals”. In spite of what is being said in Wikipedia, I honestly don’t see the so – called “popularity” of the place, i.e., I didn’t see any foreigners either expatriate or tourists (as if I could tell the difference) except for us (me, my sister and my 5 “little brother and sister”) although I do see a lot of the younger locals patronizing the place. Well, it could be that we end up at the “wrong side of the lake”, i.e., the “boring” side of the lake and therefore I wasn’t able to witness the “popularity” of the place. It is that or the weather is simply too horribly cold for any “functioning” night life to exist. At any rate, before we set out to Hou Hai, I had my younger “brothers and sisters” get my phone number as well as Lionel’s, our tour guide (by that time, he already had retired to his home) and the emergency police number in Beijing, 110 just in case everything went terribly wrong and of course, the hotels, address and phone number. I had to do this because I had this feeling that one of the major reason that the parents of these youngsters allowed them to go out in the first place is because they are with me, “the big brother”. Even so, I wasn’t the “leader” of the pack since I was hands down the most boring of the bunch. Somebody else fill that shoe. I was just simply a “chaperon” of sort. Aside from handing out contact numbers to everyone involved, I also brief them about some “rules” of engagement like never leaving somebody behind and going together as a group. Having done that, we all took the cab to Hou Hai. Speaking of cabs, Chinese taxi drivers are a notorious bunch. My very limited experience in dealing with them is simply unpleasant. Chinese taxi drivers are known to overcharge their customers and unless “reminded” upon (or insisted upon depending on the intransigence of the driver), they would seldom flag down the meter. It is probably due to this notoriety of Chinese taxis that the government has required them to install a receipt issuing meter complete with the taxi’s general information so that the riding public can use the receipt as proof when filling a complaint against a taxi driver (so asking for a receipt is a must when taking a cab in Beijing). Also, Chinese regulation allows taxi cab to carry only a maximum of 4 people. Since, there are 7 of us in the group. We are “force” to take 2 separate cabs to Hou Hai. The flag down rate for Beijing taxis is at a minimum of 10 or 11 RMB with additional surcharges after midnight (verification needed). It was around 930 pm I supposed when we got to Hou Hai and boy! The weather is simply freezing cold! My 4 layer of clothing barely kept me warm! The lake at Hou Hai is actually frozen rock solid due to the “mild” cold weather (that is according to Beijing residents, a harsh cold weather would see temperatures at around -20 degrees Celsius) so much so that we saw a lot activities literally over the frozen lake such as skating and “ice football”. My first impression about Hou Hai and probably Beijing’s night life in general is that the night life is not an “exclusive right” of the mid 20s to 30 something yuppies. At the “entrance” of the Hou Hai area, I saw a lot of “old” people, generally those above 50 years old doing some dance lessons with a dance ribbon. Kids are also around the area playing and they don’t look like from the neighborhood (just a hunch). Surrounding the lake on all sides except the front are bars and cafes, and the most prominent establishment (and the one right in front at the entrance) is the ubiquitous Starbucks. Most of the establishment seemed “small”, the biggest I think is just about 100 sq meters in lot area. Some establishments are two floors but most are single story. The streets in Hou Hai (at least in the place that we “landed”) are filled with hawkers and side walk vendors peddling everything from souvenirs to laser point pen. Included in this crowd are the employees of the different bars trying to lure or entice passersby to visit their bars. They are generally young, well – groomed, pretty (the ladies of course), and quite fashionable themselves. To me, they don’t seem to be bar employees at all but rather sales people/models. And oh by the way, these are people are quite pesky and insistent! They would follow you all the way trying to convince you to go their bars to the point that you felt that they are quite harassing already. Most of the bars are empty with only a handful being jam packed. I don’t know as to why is that the case but it could be that we are at the “boring side of the lake” or that we are early for the “formal” start of the night life (it was around 930pm then) or it was because the economy is bad and people are just avoiding spending altogether or it was because the weather is too cold for any functioning night life to exist. At any rate, we straddled through about half of the perimeter of the lake in search for a “nice” spot before we all decided to return to the front and picked the most “popular” bar nearest to the entrance of the lake. It so happened that the bar we chose has a Filipino band singing English songs. The bar was cozy but not “posh”. It looks so – so rather than “groovy” (that is if I understood the term, groovy at all). The drinks are well I don’t know expensive? I mean the cheapest drinks, which included bottled water, shakes, and juices (which me and my sister and the youngest in our group ordered) and beer cost 50 RMB or roughly, Php350 or US $7. Aside from me, my sister and the youngest in the group (I don’t drink. I’m no teetotaler but I definitely don’t drink. I only drink when very, very close friend of mine ask me to, otherwise nobody can get me to drink), the other youngsters ordered beer, Tsingtao beer, one of China’s popular beer brand. The bar also carries the more expensive wines like Jack Daniels and the likes, tequila. The price tag I think is around 1500 RMB (?, verification needed) upwards (Php10500 or US $250). We sat at the table directly in front of the rather “small” stage. At first, the Filipino band (they are 3 of them in the band, 2 lovely young ladies and a middle age guy in his late 30s perhaps) didn’t realized who we are but after overhearing us speak in Filipino, I could see their face grinned and they acknowledge us at the stage in Filipino (apparently, they so missed the Philippines that it’s a welcome sight for sore eyes to “see” us there). About this Filipino band, I was surprised to learn (and actually hear them) that they can speak phrases of fairly accurate Chinese Putonghua (普通話, the official Chinese language). They speak in “Chinese” whenever they are asked by the staff to acknowledge or “special mention” some bar guests (and who said Chinese is difficult to learn). This band is fairly popular I guess among the patrons of the bar because Chinese or more specifically, Beijing Chinese dig American music and this Filipino band sang quite well. One of the youngsters actually caught a few patrons “attempting” to sing along with the band. During the break in the performance, we got to chat with the band members and I was surprised to learn that there are many Filipinos who are working in Beijing and many like them worked as band musicians in Beijing bars and I thought Shanghai has the most number of Filipino bands “rocking” the town. Anyway, about the patrons of the bar, I observed that most of the patrons are in their 20s and 30s. They are mostly white collar workers who probably came by to unwind after a stressful day at work (it is only but logical to see such a demographic crowd in a place like this given the price tag of the liquors). Most of the patrons came by in small groups of somewhere between 2 – 5 people. Surprisingly, a number of the patrons actually came to the bar alone! Too many lonely people in Beijing perhaps? The crowd is quiet, not boisterous, although some of the younger patrons do get a bit noisy when drunk but generally, the atmosphere is pretty quiet save of course for the song that band is singing. It is as if everybody in the bar is paying close attention to the music except for “me and my group” (apparently, we’re the noisiest in the bar). Most people in the bar are in my point of view, don’t really care about who is sitting beside you, i.e., they’re not that nosy and they simply don’t care. I mean I saw a couple probably in their late 20s engage in a steamy “make out” session right inside the bar beside the window and totally oblivious of the crowd around them. I mean the couple has been going on with their steamy session like for an hour of our duration of stay in the bar. In fact, they’re still at it by the time we left. Yet, nobody seemed to feel “scandalized” or even remotely felt “uncomfortable” with it. Public display of affection isn’t a common “thing” in Asian countries like the Philippines. The same thing goes with China. I mean I never seen couples in China “kissing” in public before. However, inside the bar, things seemed to be less “inhibited”. Probably, it’s the alcohol or maybe, bars are the principal place for a make out session in China, well, at least in Beijing. It is just a guess though. We left after an hour or so of fun, light conversations, and good music. My impression of the bar scene in Beijing though this is no expert opinion since I’m no expert at all when it comes to bar hopping is that the place is small and cozy, the music is good, the place is generally quiet, the crowd usually just mind their own business, and the beverages are expensive. Not of much of a party atmosphere, I would dare say (as if I knew what a party atmosphere remotely looked like).

21ST CENTURY PEKING OPERA: A NEW OR RENEWED ART FORM?

On the evening of the first day of my stay in Beijing, Lionel took us all (the entire tour group) to watch a “Kung Fu” show at the Red Theater right after a rather “tasteless” dinner (that is according to the opinion of one of the tour members which most likely reflect the sentiment of virtually everybody else). My first thought about the “Kung Fu” show was that of a Chinese martial arts exhibition but it turned out to be completely different. The so – called “Kung Fu” show was in actuality a “westernized” version of the “old” Peking opera (京劇). The use of the word Kung Fu (功夫) was just a marketing ploy to pique the interest of foreign tourists since most of us are just simply agog over Chinese martial arts. Anyway, Peking opera (or the modern word, Beijing opera) is actually an old Chinese opera theater invented some 400 years ago during the Ming dynasty (明朝). Before the advent of films and the television, the Peking opera was the single most popular entertainment medium for both the masses and the nobility including the imperial family. Its popularity still continues during the republican period (民國時代, ca 1911 – 1947) right before the Japanese invasion in 1939. At any rate, with the introduction of the movies and television, such “ancient” art form began to decline as people prefer much “colorful” entertainment media. It would have gone the way of the dinosaurs if weren’t for the recent “reinvention” of the medium. “Old” Peking operas is a play utilizing popular Chinese stories and legends such the “Monkey King or the Stories of the Travel to the West (西遊記)”, the “Romance of the Three Kingdom (三國演義)”, and others. Within the play, there is high pitch singing (similar to European operas), witty conversations (highly poetic in their sentence construction in some instance just like their European counterpart), drama (again similar to their Shakespearean cousins), and plenty of fighting scenes a.k.a. the “Kung Fu” part of the show (which our European counterpart lacks). Actually, the Kung Fu aspect of the Peking operas aren’t really Chinese martial arts fighting (ok, the Kung Fu fighting as the song goes) at all. Instead, it looks more like a choreographed “dance” or “acrobatic stunts” with actions (arm actions and legworks) that we all associate and identify as Chinese martial arts moves. In short, it is a dance that masquerade as true Kung Fu. The Kung Fu show that we saw that night was a true blue Peking opera in every aspect of it except that it comes with huge twists and major renovations that makes one rethink that whether or not that this show is an upgraded, “modernized” version of the Old Peking opera or simply an entirely new art form, one that is a successor to Peking opera’s illustrious past. The show we saw that night was titled, “The Legend of Ching I”. The story is about a boy who was send by his poverty stricken mother to the Shao Lin Temple(?) to become a monk and escape from poverty. The boy was very afraid and refuses to leave his mother’s side not until he became enthralled by the fighting prowess of monks displaying their Kung Fu. At which point, ching I resolved to become one of them. He became a monk and labored hard to become the best Kung Fu fighter. As time went on, Ching I grew up and became more enamored to Kung Fu to such an extent he became such an excellent practitioner of Kung Fu at a very young age. However, his very success waylaid him from the path of true enlightenment. He became arrogant and corrupt and drawn to temptation to such an extent his way in life. As such, the abbey of the temple refuses to give Ching I the permission to partake the “test” in order to become a true Kung Fu master. The “test” was actually physical combat with the best Kung Fu fighters of the temple. Disappointed, Ching I actually thought of giving up his quest until he discovered the true meaning of enlightenment (as in the Buddhist sense of enlightenment). He regain his composure and was soon allowed to take the “test”, which he manages to pass albeit all the hardship and challenge. After that, Ching I became a true master not only of martial arts but also of the spirit. He eventually succeeded the old abbey in latter’s role and had a young disciple himself. He uses his life story as a lesson for his young apprentice on matters of humility, patience, perseverance, and enlightenment. The story sounds familiar, right? Strangely, that’s the feeling I got after watching the play. The story seemed to resemble a lot like a popular Hollywood movie, Star Wars or to be more exact, the story strongly resembles much like the story of Anakin Skywalker a.k.a. Darth Vader. One could say that the Legend of Ching I is actually a 16th century Chinese version of the story of Anakin Skywalker. The only difference is that our hero, Ching I returned to the path of enlightenment while Anakin Skywalker was seduced by the Dark Side of the force and metamorphosize into Darth Vader. And this is actually one of the interesting innovations and twists that I am talking about, a “western” style plot. Another major change in this “deviant” art form is the language used. All throughout the more or less 2 hour play, the language used during conversations and narrations are in English! Not only that, it is in FLAWLESS English! The Chinese language are used sparingly and only during the singing part of the play. The use of English is actually not a surprise since this is again due to marketing reasons. I mean this play is meant for foreigners/tourists who couldn’t understand a word of Chinese (quite ironic because the majority of those in the theater that evening are either Hong Kong Chinese or Filipino Chinese; only a handful are actually westerners). What is surprising here is intention behind the use of the English language during the play. It meant that the producers of the show are planning to go “international” and become an international Chinese opera, not just merely your everyday, neighborhood Peking opera. As a matter of fact, according to the show introduction, the play had already stage outside of China on some occasions. Another “renovated” feature of this opera compared to the “old” Peking opera is in the use of the props. The “old” Peking opera doesn’t use much props if not any at all except for the costumes and the background (which is just a painted picture of the story’s setting). This modern incarnation however uses plenty of props as well as a clever manipulation of stage light to the extent one has a feeling that this is more of an extravagant Broadway musical rather than a “staid” Peking opera. Furthermore, there are some scenes in the play that display ballet dances and acrobatic moves reminiscences of the acrobat show that I’ve watched also in Beijing during my first trip some 1 ½ years back (see the blog article “Old” Beijing dated May 11,2006). So there it is. We have an art form that combines elements of the “old” Peking opera, European ballet, American Broadway musical, western plot devices and lots of Kung Fu. Despite that, make no mistake about the nature of this play. This is a Chinese play hands down because the theme and the philosophy behind the play are unequivocally Chinese. Themes like the Sino – Buddhist idea of futility of worldly life, and the meaningless of existence permeates throughout the play. Overall, I say the play is quite entertaining and good. I don’t know about how others specifically the westerners perceived the story however judging by the show’s longetivity, which according to the introduction is already on its 2600 + runs already since late 2006. I say the show must be quite popular among foreigners/tourists. Although, it could be argued that tourists are generally “forced” to watch the show because it is a “standard” part of the tour itineraries, I would dare say otherwise, that it’s popularity are genuine. My reasoning behind my observation has lot to do with recent “trends” in another entertainment medium, that of Hollywood movies. The recent trend among Hollywood movies, if one is perceptive enough is the “seeming” proliferation of Chinese elements in recent popular Hollywood movies. If you carefully look at Hollywood movies nowadays, you would notice the appearance of “Chinese” faces in the casts, the connection of events and things related to China as if the general sub – conscience are abound of it, and lastly, the subtle addition of Kung Fu in any fight scene. Now if such “trends” in movies are popular with western moviegoers, I don’t see any reason as to why a “westernize” Peking opera such as this one who is quite attune to western preferences and taste wouldn’t be popular at all. After everything that is said about this play, something kept nagging me until now. Have I witness an emergence of a new art form? Or I just merely witness an aberration of what looks like a new art form but which in fact is just a mangled westernized modernized 21st century upgrade of an old art form? Whatever it is, I had a sense that “this” art form would blossom further in the future.

AN HONORED GIFT

The morning after the shopping expedition at Wangfujing (王府井) in Beijing wherein I bought 7 books, I received a surprise gift from of all people, Lionel Wang, our Beijing tour guide. Well, it started the night before when Lionel saw the books I’ve bought and was impressed that I could actually read Chinese and is also a book lover as well as a history enthusiast. And at the following day, he presented to me as gift, the manuscript of his written work, part one of his historical fiction/romance short story. You see, Lionel is not your typical tour guide. He is actually an amateur writer. Ok, he is a writer wannabe. He probably liked fiction, the historical romantic type with settings in China (judging from the topic of his choice). And he writes during his free time, which in itself is a tough act considering that he is married and he has a day job. Writing is no easy stuff. Anyone who likes to write can attest to that. Inspiration to write can’t be turned on as pleased like that of turning the tap water faucet on. There are many a times when one would be staring blank at the screen and can’t figure out what to write much less how to. This is further aggravated when you’re tired from working your ass off the whole day taking a bunch of giddy and demanding tourists around Beijing and coming home having to fulfill familial responsibilities. Anyway, a bit about Lionel. He is probably in his early 40s. He is a Manchu (滿族), the ethnic group that constitutes the ruling elites during the Qing dynasty (清朝), China’s last imperial dynasty. His ancestors belong to the blue banner (正藍旗), one of the Eight Banners (八旗), a socio – politico – military organization of the Manchu during the Qing era. Since his surname is Wang (王, the Fookien – Chinese pronunciation is Ong) and he is a Manchu, I surmised that he is probably of royal decent since Wang is a Han Chinese (漢族, the ethnic majority) surname and not an ethnic Manchu surname and in many cases in the past, the imperial descendants of former dynasties usually adopted the surname Wang as an emphasis that they are of royal lineage. It is either that or that his ancestor maybe actually a Han Chinese surnamed Wang and that they are “incorporated” into the Manchu Banner system during its early phase of conquest of China sometime in the 17th century. At any rate, it is safe to say that his forebears are of aristocratic descent. Lionel is actually quite fluent in English and he could actually speak a few words in Filipino, which is very rare. He would always belt out the words, “Dito Tayo” whenever he wants the tour group to assemble. At times, he would call out, “Kain Tayo”, to enthuse the group to either lunch or dinner. A perennially jolly guy, Lionel would always amuse us with his wise cracks about his “tigress” of a wife (we actually have the opportunity to meet his wife and inform her about his wise cracks about her, hehehehe). He is a Catholic and is a native of HeBei (河北省, the province wherein Beijing is situated), which is only logical given that his banner ancestry (most of the Banner people lives in and around Beijing for the most part of the 200 year Qing rule) and he lives in Beijing for a long time now. Anyway, the very instance that I received the manuscript of his work, I was to be quite honest dumb struck. I simply don’t know what to do. It is then I remembered my history (that I studied). In times past, aristocrats (the only ones who can afford a good education in ancient times) both in China and in Europe would host a party and invite friends and peers to the party and hand out his latest written works be it, a poem, a prose to everyone in the gathering. It is a marked sign of honor to actually receive such a personal gift from the gracious host and the guests would go about reading “the work” of the host and offer their opinions and suggestions on the latter’s work. Although time has passed and things have undoubtedly changed over the years, this practice is still being continued in literary circles. Having remembered this, I graciously accept his “gift”, set aside the book I was reading that morning and began to assiduously read his work. Lionel’s work is a 12 page historical romance fictional short story. Though historical fiction/romance short story is not really my forte or more aptly, a book that I don’t want to be caught dead with, I nevertheless plough through (my favorite fiction books are all Science Fiction and a few Wuxia novels, 武俠小説, a.k.a. Kung Fu novels and the books that I like the most are those laden with analysis, scholarly works of immense knowledge). Lionel’s short story is all about concubinage, a detestable practice; illegal because Chinese family laws throughout history doesn’t recognize it but is socially and morally acceptable in Chinese societies. The historical setting of the fiction is set right after the fall of the Qing dynasty and into the early period of the Republican era. The title of the fictional story is 暖被窩兒, which loosely translates to as “Warming the Bed and Blankets”. The protagonist of the story is a sweet, young innocent girl from the province who is never named in the story. Lionel told me the reason that the protagonist is not named is because he wants to put emphasis on the lowly status of women like her in Chinese society at that time (that however would prove to be a weak point in his writing because one has difficulty to ascertain as to when the protagonist is in the conversation or has entered the picture). The story begins with the protagonist being “bought” by a wealthy but childless jade merchant in Beijing who also happens to have 2 wives (still living), ostensibly to “warm” his bed at night (to be unambiguous about it, the protagonist is his sex slave) whenever he is on business trips away from home. Eventually, the relationship evolved and became one of affection and love. Later in the story, the protagonist bore the wealthy, childless lover of hers, 2 sons. The wealthy guy dies near the end of the story and she is left with the care of their 2 children, which she successfully manage to rear to adulthood. The story ends when the children turned into teens. Well, at least that is the first part of the story. Due to the nature of the story, the content is a bit sensual. Ok, sexually explicit at times (graphic in some parts?) but the idea of the story, the theme is pretty rich and powerful. As such, it could be elaborated further into a novel instead of a simple short story. Too bad, Lionel, the author probably don’t have enough free time to write because though the piece is well written, it needs further development, I mean, the story needs further development to become much more vivid than it is. Anyway, in keeping with the literary tradition, I gave a few suggestions and comments of mine to Lionel in a polite and nice way of course. Not that I’m a literary critic of some sort but as a responsibility that comes attached to the receipt of the gift of his manuscript, I felt I had to. Whether or not he accepts my suggestions and comments, well, that is his prerogative. At the least, I fulfill my part. Besides, I don’t have plans to take up literary criticism as a career. Well, it is my hope that someday I would be able to read a complete version of the story written by Lionel as he plans to publish his work sometime in the future. By then, I’ll probably ask his permission to translate and publish it in English, perhaps; that is of course, if I have time to write at all by then.
POST SCRIPT
It is during the time when I was reading Lionel’s work that I came to realize how much I owe my readers (of my blog) my sincerest gratitude for their patronage. I write to share my thoughts, my ideas, my views, my feelings. And honestly, I never well, didn’t care much if somebody actually read what I am writing. I just publish it. If people want to read it, so they read it, it’s free anyway. I never went out of my way to track the readership of my blog nor promote it nor advertise it. However, over time, I do get responses in the form of messages and comments from friends and strangers alike indicating their appreciation of what I’ve written on my blog and I felt I’ve haven’t thanked them at all. So here it is, I want to thank everybody who read my blog, those who have send me messages expressing their appreciation of my writings, those who posted their comments on my blog, their very helpful and to all those who just silently read my blog over the years. I thank you all. You may never know it but it feels GREAT to be appreciated. Thank you again.

BRANDING “MADE IN CHINA”

Exchange rate:
1 USD = 7.3 RenMinBi (RMB) or Chinese Yuan
1 RMB = PhP 6.67
I soooooooooooooooooo hate shopping! And it so happen that in my recent vacation trip to Beijing, the tour guide set us out to not one but FOUR shopping tours in and around Beijing! The first expedition is to a 168 like tiangge type of mall, the second and the last shopping expeditions is at WangFujing (王府井), Beijing’s premier shopping district and the second most popular shopping district in all of China next to Shanghai’s Nanjing East Road while the third shopping destination is to a Jade Factory en route going to the Great Wall. Anyway, good thing for me is that I am an avid book lover and Wangfujing has one of the largest Chinese book store in Beijing, Xin Hua Bookstore (新華書店, which happened to have a branch here in Manila however, their book collection here in the Philippines sucks). The book store is also one of my favorite places in Beijing. In spite of that, I didn’t spend all of my “allotted” shopping time in the book store. This is because my sister is with me and like most women, she do like to shop, or more precisely, window shop. So, I struck a deal with her (on our second shopping expedition). I get to spend the first half of the allotted 2 hours of shopping time to buy my books (which I did! Bought 7 books for 341 RMB; Great deal!). Other than that, in most shopping expeditions where there is no book store in sight, I had to “endure” shopping. It is not that I dread shopping so much because it is “shopping” (as in the act itself) rather one of the reasons that I don’t like shopping at all aside from the fact that it is quite boring, (I really wonder why some people would find shopping an enjoyable experience, in fact, I strongly doubted that the word “enjoyable” is by any means a proper adjective for shopping) is the fact that I tend to “analyze” the business. Unlike most mortals who see the glittering store front, the merchandise on sale, and the price tag, I on the other hand, see business models, marketing positioning, merchandising policy, and overall business strategy (and of course, the beautiful sales ladies but that is a different matter). As a matter of fact, this window – shopping spree in Beijing has afforded me an insight into the Made in China products and brands (mostly fashion apparels). On our first shopping expedition right after landing in Beijing, the tour guide, Lionel bought us to San Li Tun Yashow Clothing Market (三里屯雅秀服裝市場?), a tiangge like mall near the San Li Tun Embassy Area. At that time, I really don’t have any appetite to endure the 2 hour shopping spree at the tiangge mall, so my siobe (little sister) and I decided to skip the tiangge or the bargain mall in favor of window shopping at the next door, ultra “modern” shopping mall. Incidentally, speaking of bargain hunting in one of China’s tiangge, this activity isn’t for everybody especially not for the faint – hearted ones. Bargain hunting in China is only for the prodigious ones. This is because bargain hunting in China is so incredulous and damn outright, a rip – off! Take for instance one of our fellow tour mates, she bought a hand bag in the San Li Tun Mall that is selling for 300RMB, which is very expensive but she was able to bargain it to 50RMB! Despite that, that particular tour mate of ours felt that she was cheated because she felt that she could have bought it for 30RMB. In another incident, I pick up this 2 set music CDs of Chinese classical music in a boutique shop. The sales lady quoted me a price of 200RMB but immediately and voluntarily lowered it to 150RMB. At 150RMB, that is something like PhP1000. Naturally, I balked at lofty price tag and had the good sense to back out from it and during my brief stopover at Shanghai on my way back to Manila, I discovered that the same CD set is selling at 88RMB right inside the airport! Outrageous, simply, outrageous! It seems that the bargaining’s rule of thumb (in China) of offered price divided by 2 and then less 10% afterwards in order to get the fair price is no longer reliable at all. Anyway, back at the next door, ultra modern shopping mall. I find the place really nice and it should be, considering the huge number of expensive brand - stores that had opened shop in it. And this is what really surprises me. It is not the sheer number of expensive brands – outlet store that I’d seen in this mall and in some other places in Beijing (most notably Wangfujing) and the rest of China as well that surprise me but the fact that this huge number of expensive brands could co – exist! I mean in a “small” market, one expensive luxury brand is just one too many in a crowd but having ALL the major luxury brands to co – exist in China speaks volume about the size of the luxury market here. It is said that the Chinese are zealous consumer of luxury since ancient time. This is due in large part of the cultural concept of “Face” (面子). As the saying goes, one can lose everything but not the “Face”. If your peers drives a car, you better have one as well else you stand to lose face. Furthermore, you don’t simply just going to have a car. You must have a car brand that matches with your peers’ car brands as well if not better. No wonder, China is the world’s fastest growing luxury market. It is funny however because a few years back during my last trip to Shanghai – Beijing. My tour guide then told me that the Chinese government imposes a hefty 40% consumption tax on luxury goods (verification needed). It was so hefty that local Shanghai Chinese felt that it is much cheaper to actually take a plane to Hong Kong and buy the luxury item in question and came back home right after the shopping spree. I don’t know if that anecdote is true or even still applicable but judging from the proliferation of luxury goods stores in China, I say that myth rings a bit hollow. Apparently, sales must have been good for foreign branded goods (both mid and high end) that finally, I saw local Chinese brands coming out in the market (most notably in Wangfujing district and in other places like Xian). Local brands especially the mid – end and the high – end ones are conspicuously absent during my several trips to China over the years (it is that or maybe I just so hated shopping that I avoided shopping altogether and may have missed the “change” altogether). It came to a point wherein when one thinks of brand in China, it usually means foreign brands and luxury brands and Chinese products are usually seen as cheap “stuffs” bought in tiangge. Funny, how such a predicament should have come to exist in the first place. I mean China is the world’s factory and most of the luxury items sold in China are most likely “Made in China”. Yet, there is no Chinese brand that purveys the top of the line, superior quality Chinese made products until recently. Hazarding a guess as to the reason behind this rather “late” conversion, I had to say that this has to do with the sputtering Chinese export being felt the past couple of years due to an appreciating RMB. As export markets become less lucrative to local Chinese companies over time, it is only logical for them to start to look for greener pastures and nothing is more convenient than the domestic scene. As the saying goes, better late than never. Chinese brands however aren’t exactly popular even to the local consumers. A friend of mine who happens to frequently shuttle between the Mainland and the Philippines mentions that Chinese brands are perceived by the local Chinese as “inferior” in every category compared to its foreign counterpart, which is quite ironic since the foreign brands might also be made in China. In spite of this, local Chinese brands do have a following among locals if judging from the fact that they are still “standing” however, I suspect that locals would almost always prefer foreign brands that is if they could afford it. It is probably due to this “fetish” for foreign brands among the Chinese buyers that local brands almost always adopt a “foreign” sounding brand name to the extent that they look practically similar to their foreign competitors. Furthermore, majority of the Chinese brand names are in ENGLISH without a Chinese name counterpart! What this reveal is that Chinese brands are exhibiting some degree of sophistication here however their ideas are far from original and creative. The few brands that sports a Chinese brand name counterpart along with their English brand names has English brand names that sounds well, how should I say, hilarious and totally “beyond this world”? For example, I’ve seen a pizza parlor whose name is PALATABLE PIZZA. Geez! With that name, I won’t even come 10 feet near it unless of course, I’m dying of hunger and there is no other alternative within a 100 mile radius. Other than that, I won’t travel thousand of mile just to eat a “palatable” pizza! If I am to ever to eat a pizza in China, it should be a GREAT pizza not just a palatable one! Another example, a hotel in Beijing (3 stars maybe) is named Yi Bi Si (宜必思), which could be loosely translated to “unforgettable”. Yet, the English name of the hotel is written as IBIS, which in Arabic is the word for “Satan”. Talk about cultural bobos. Even with purely Chinese name brands, some of the names are left to be desired. There is one shop in Xian which apparently sells clothes to “plump” women calls itself 肥太太, literally “fat wives”. I can’t really imagine seeing any decent women be caught dead in that kind of joint. Excellent marketing strategy (on targeting plump women as a market), really bad branding. It is quite clear that Chinese brands are in need of hardcore professional brand consultants that would help improve their image from just simply an imitation or from being lame. It is also just as apparent that Chinese brands are far from being international brands of note. To date, the only Chinese brand of international renown to my knowledge is Lenovo, the 4th world’s largest PC maker that bought out IBM PC some years back. Other than that, I can’t think of any. However, in my point of view, it would be only a matter of time, say 10 years perhaps before Chinese brands began “invading” the world just like the Japanese brands during the 80s and they would, given the manufacturing muscle of China, the fast technological evolution of it’s factories, and the growing sophistication of it’s marketers.

“NEW” BEIJING

Note: To better understand this article, please read first my previous article, “Old Beijing”, dated May 11,2006.

It was 2 ½ years ago when I first visited Beijing. Back then, Beijing was just an “old” romantic city in the midst of a construction frenzy in time for the 2008 Olympic. My latest visit however had astounded me beyond my imagination. Beijing has changed so radically that I could barely recognize it. So much so, that I even thought that I was in fact in a different city altogether. However, I wasn’t in a different city. This is Beijing – post Olympic. It is a Mega City filled with tall buildings, glittering Shopping Malls, new Apartment Building Complexes, wide boulevards, and paved avenues. In addition to that, the buildings here in Beijing are well “aligned” and looked neat, most likely, a product of well thought-out urban planning. In fact, looking from the window of a plane several thousand feet in the air, one could easily recognize the geometric neatness of the cityscape. It seemed that all the construction frenzy that I saw 2 ½ years ago had not only been completed but several dozen more structures must have been added to Beijing, embellishing a proud capital eager to show to the world. One of such structures is the conspicuous sub – way stations that dotted around the city. Also, unlike before, one can no longer see the bicycles roaming the city streets instead, cars literally choked the streets. There are so many cars out in the street that the traffic is already as bad as those in Manila (I was getting a bit impatient waiting for the traffic, which I didn’t felt during my trip in 2006) even though Manila has lesser roads and highways within the city limits. Even the sanitation facilities received a massive upgrade. Long gone are the stinking neighborhood toilets that cater to the locals and in its place are malls and fast food joints, hotels, and fancy restaurants with supposedly clean and modern sanitation facilities (they still stink though because it wasn’t properly maintained). Even the star rating system of public sanitation facilities are fast disappearing, leaving only popular ancient tourist spots like the Forbidden City complex to sport such an “ancient” relic. Speaking of the Forbidden City, in the “Old” Beijing, the center of Beijing is the grand Tiananmen Square (天安門廣場) and the resplendently colossal Forbidden City (紫禁城) including its environs. In the New Beijing, the center of this universe is the Olympic village represented by the massive Bird Nest and the breathtaking Water Cube. While both landmarks provided dignity to such an august place like Beijing, the Olympic Village ostensibly lacks the romantic atmosphere of the old wonder that it replaces. Clearly, modernity has triumphed over history. The enormous facelift that Beijing has undergone has left it unrecognizable to an occasional traveler like me but strangely, the New Beijing looked so familiar to me not because of the ancient jewels that are left standing in the midst of this modern jungle rather the post – Olympic Beijing looked surprisingly like another Chinese city, Beijing is beginning to resemble Shanghai. In fact, one can say that Beijing has been thoroughly Shanghai – nized. Except that, in Shanghai, the architectural structures are more stylish and imposing while in Beijing, the buildings are less towering and a lot more staid. Even so, it is quite easy to see the shadow of Shanghai in Beijing. With this huge burst of modernization in the characterization of Beijing, Beijing has definitely joined the ranks of the great world cities of the modern age. It can now be compared to cities like London, New York, Shanghai, Taipei, and Hong Kong. Despite that, the New Beijing seemed to lose something that old one had. It no longer looked romantic. Call me a romantic fool but I liked the “Old” Beijing better. Outside what used to be the old city walls is that great battlefield of the old where together the invaders and the defenders consecrated the ground with their blood……….. That same spot now is inhibited by huge malls and fancy hotels. KFC and McDonalds, parking lots now stands in the ground of those who have fallen some centuries past. Sigh. The old Hutong (胡同), Beijing’s back alleys where one could see the low lying tiled houses of the old is fast vanishing like an endangered species. These ancient houses are actually an eye sore (and I definitely agree) but their disappearance to give way to newer buildings seemed to have permanently altered the character of the “Old” Beijing more than anything else. And the haze, that toxic cloud of pollution; it used to look romantic and picturesque whence the sun sets or rises among the trees and the old houses. Now, the same haze, the smog that covered the skyline emanating from tall chimney stacks in and around Beijing has become an irritating symbol of the “New” Beijing. Alas, what can I say. This is Beijing.

BACK FOR THE NEW YEAR

It was drizzling when I got back to Manila last night (December 31,2008) but that is way, way much “cozier” than the freezing cold temperature (-8oC) that I’ve experienced in Beijing (北京) and in Xian (西安). Besides, there is something about Philippine New Year celebration that I always liked. There is the noise, more noise, a heck lot of more noise and the dangerous neighborhood firecracker spree that one can’t find anywhere like it in any other places in the world. Anyway, I took a vacation this yuletide holiday with a tour to Beijing and Xian (December 26 – 31). It was the second time that I’ve been to Beijing in 2½ years and my first to Xian. It was also the first time that I got to spend winter in China though there, I didn’t get to see any snow during my trip. Nevertheless, it was damn freezing cold even with 3 – 4 layers of thick clothing, 2 socks, thermal clothing, and gloves. The wind is especially harsh. For not only the wind aggravated the coldness, it was also dry and abrasive. In fact, the wind was so abrasive that I felt I’ve undergone a diamond peeling session every time I’m out in the open (which is quite a lot during the trip). And the fact is, I’d never asked for one nor been to one (diamond peeling). I was traveling with my sister during the trip along with 16 others, mostly families. The food during the trip was not really good unlike during my first trip to Beijing except of course for the long waited for Peking Duck at Quan Ju De (全聚德), which I really dig and missed. Don’t get me wrong, we were treated to five star hotels and restaurants every meal during the stay except that our meals are strictly under budget to the extent that we (me and everybody else in the tour group) felt that we are in a 5 star restaurant eating a one star meal. In fact, we are damn sure that the local KFC in Beijing or the Dad’s Buffet Restaurant in the Philippines could have been better than the food we had during the trip. Well, regardless of the disappointing food, my trip in Beijing – Xian is generally enjoyable and exciting except that whence before during my first trip, I was more of an adventurer and an explorer; in this trip, I was like everybody else, a tourist. Not that I’m less enthusiastic in my recent trip than my first trip, it’s rather that I felt less inspired and eager. Probably, it’s the weather, or maybe the food, or maybe it’s because of the fact that I had something else in my mind lately, or maybe, it’s because I’m “older” or maybe, it’s because I don’t have a little girl named Megan to bring cheers and add fond memories to my trip. Despite that, I had an added novelty in my recent trip. I actually had a “night life”, well, two to be exact. Whence before in my first trip, I was in my hotel room by 9 pm and be already asleep by 10. In this trip, I got to “stay out” or more aptly, “chill out” till 11pm. It helps that we have more youngsters in this trip (almost all of them are born in the early to mid 1980s except for me of course) and that they are a bunch of “gimikeros”. It was a nice vacation, a fitting end to 2008.