Picture of the Day: Best Seat in the House

The hairpin turn from the Lighthouse Restaurant

Singapore has the Formula One race every September -- in the dark.

The likes of Lewis Hamilton (came in second, beaten by Sebastian Vettel), Felipe Massa, and Michael Schumacher compete in this 61-lap race around the streets of downtown Singapore. Even Mariah Carey came to perform during the Grand Prix weekend last year.

For those who want a glimpse of the action but can't shell out for tickets usually round up a group of friends and head to the Singapore Flyer, a giant Ferris wheel-like attraction. Each capsule holds 28 people and so the more friends you have, the more cheap and cheerful the event can be on your wallet.

During the races, these capsules can go for over S$3,000 ($2,295) compared to the usual price of S$29.50 per adult. They are apparently booked well in advance at the moment when the races begin to ensure a good bird's-eye view of the race from above.

But those who can afford to shell out for suites at the Fullerton Hotel or Fullerton Bay Hotel get a chance to watch the races from the Govenor's Suite at the Fullerton Hotel, or even better, from the rooftop of the Lighthouse Restaurant, as it's located right where the hairpin turn is. Guests can watch the spills and thrills from the perfect vantage point.

These places are also reserved well ahead too.

The things that money can buy...

Who Belongs in Business Class

Last Thursday I flew on Singapore Airlines' A380 -- in business class no less -- to Singapore.

There are several gangways for passengers to enter in order to make it as efficient as possible.

In business class each person gets an over-sized seat, plenty of leg room to actually stretch out your legs, place your feet on a foot rest and have a giant screen in front of you to watch movies using headphones that block out most of the loud sounds coming from the plane.

You also get meals served on a linen placemat complete with silverware, including an appetizer, main and dessert of either lemon sorbet or tiramisu ice cream. There is also a cheese plate and wines...

However, in the row in front of me were two rambunctious Singaporean boys. The row seating in the area meant single seating on each far side, and two seats in the middle. The parents put the two boys in the middle and of course they would not stop chatting and playing, making loud noises. What was worse was that the mother, a relatively attractive young woman, did little to discipline her sons, while the father tried to be the authoritarian one, shushing them or telling them to be quiet.

Hello? We're in business class. The reason for business class was to get away from families like these and have a quiet atmosphere to catch up on sleep or work.

Instead the airline, or most airlines allow parents to spoil their children with special privileges.

There was a recent article in The New York Times talking about the annoyance of having to deal with children on flights, particularly long-haul ones where the children aren't dealt with properly by the parents who themselves are also stressed out from travelling.

Some kind of happy medium has to be established, with some travellers advocating for child-free flights or designated family-only areas, but no one has offered any concrete solutions yet and so things are pretty much staying the same.

As for those kids in front of me, after take off, their seats were transformed into beds and they drifted to sleep for the rest of the flight. But really, children do not belong in business class.

They hardly deserve to be there.

Picture of the Day: Christmas in Hong Kong

Shopping malls around the city have already geared up for Christmas.
They've hauled out the decorations and each trying to outdo the others.
Festival Walk in Kowloon Tong has a gigantic Christmas tree (not real)
covered in optic fibres that were discovered by Charles Kao who won a
Nobel prize for his work last year.
Meanwhile in Central, Landmark has created a festive atmosphere in the
area where the fountain is.
Above it is a giant Santa Claus and Mrs Claus kissing and dressed in
outfits made of giant bonbons.
There are also lots of presents hanging from the ceiling.
The economy has been pretty good in Hong Kong so many think there's
going to be lots of ringing of cash registers this year for Christmas
and Chinese New Year.
We'll find out soon enough.

Watching, Waiting

Since North Korea fired an artillery barrage at a South Korean island
near the border last week, China has had to go from a power throwing
its weight around to going on the defensive placating others. And it's
a desperate move at that too.

All countries in the region as well as the United States are looking
to China to rein in its naughty younger brother, but so far to no
avail.

In fact the Chinese state media even downplayed this dangerous
development, and now it's suffering the consequences of its
laissez-faire attitude.

Beijing's only effort so far is calling for a return to the six-party
talks, and is willing to host it. But the suggestion seems far from
enough.

When asked about the proposal, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs
said: "The United States and a host of others... are not interested in
stabilzing the region through a series of PR activity." Talks "without
an understanding and agreement from the North Koreans to both end
their behaviour as they exhibited last week, but also to come to the
table with a seriousness of purpose on the denuclearisation issue --
without that seriousness of purpose, they're just a PR activity."

Ouch.

It sounds like the US and the region don't think China is doing enough
of anything to get North Korea back in line and aren't willing to
entertain any kind of talks until something concrete happens.

Another serious issue dates back to March when North Korea torpedoed
the Cheonan, killing 46 South Korean sailors and has yet to apologize
for the unprovoked attack. As a result South Korean President Lee
Myung-bak isn't interested in going back to the table at all until
some kind of acknowledgment or apology is given.

With others siding with the US, China is sheepishly trying to hold up
its corner, shielding North Korea. But what for? The country led by
Kim Jong-il has only stirred up a hornet's nest on its own whims
(actually his whims) while everyone else is tired of these groundless
provocations that threaten the stability of the region.

We're all waiting for China's next move. And it better be good.