In Osaka

Taking some time off during my work trip in Japan now to blog. It's been a while and since I have some time in between flights, I'm back at the hotel using the internet.

Japan is an amazing place. It is my 2nd time here and based on the behaviour of the people here, you will know that this is indeed a very different land. People are very or shuld I say extremely polite and humble. Courtesy is a must. What amazes me is the taxi fares. It is extremely expensive. fares running up to hundreds of Sing Dollars is not unheard of. What I cannot understand is why in some countries in Asia, we have taxi drivers loitering at the airports and once you are out, they swarm you and try to get you to board their cab. However, I also noticed that most advance or civilised countries, do not have the above symptom. I was in Phuket recently and the same occurred. In Cambodia, the same. Especially when you are fair in skin colour and with blond hair, they will swarm around you as if honey to bees. Thinking you will give them a big tip i suppose. Such actions disgust me and I prefer the likes of Japan, Singapore, Hongkong etc where by there is some form of a system to allow fair competition.

This trip to Osaka, I was very involved in the operations and from it I learnt a few valuable lessons too. Was introduced to someone who spoke English very well and was really impressed. A good help especially in a land whereby I do not speak the native language and can hardly communicate with the others. I trusted him with the instructions and deligated a lot of work to him. When the rubber meets the road, I realised that he is someone who cannot deliver. All talk, no action. At the end, it is the quiet Japanese who actually put in the thoughts and process in place to get the job done. It is really great to se them so passionate about their job.

So the lesson learnt is that very often, the person who speaks the least is the hardworking one. The one who talks the most, produces the most smoke. Always check their work...