donderdag 2 mei 2013

China: no suicide pledge

During the business trip in China, we couldn’t deny the commotion there was about the news about the Foxcon factory. Let's focus on that. Foxcon is the group that makes the iPad and iPod, both products are made in Chengdu and Shenzhen. To meet the increasing demand for the Apple products, workers have to work extra-long shifts

The problems about the bad working conditions have collapsed. Fourteen workers have committed suicide during the last 16 months, attempts not considered.

What is the problem at the factory?

The workers complain about the bad working conditions, the long shifts and the low wage.

In fact, the company doesn’t take the legal limit on working hours and overwork. According to some news articles 80 hours overtime a month is rather normal.

Workers complain about being humiliated, not being allowed to talk during work, having to sleep with 24 people in one room (workers live in dormitories), having only one day off after 13 working days, some only being allowed to go home once a year, .. And they only earn £ 5.20 a month

What has the company done to solve the problem? Well, they have put up netting outside worker dormitories buildings, they have brought monks to exorcise evil spirits, got new employees sign a no suicide pledge,..

Not that effective it seems to me.

As a reaction to the allegations, Foxcon declared that the extra work is been executed voluntary, they do encourage people not to talk during their work shifts (to ensure accuracy) and they cannot exclude humiliation because of the diverse workforce???

I don't understand those measures... Am I the only one who sees that people need more time off and need to see their family more often? People aren't made to work a lot and live in social isolation? Why Apple doesn’t do something about it? Apple has a code of conduct but when it isn't respected, nothing is done about it...
In my opinion, Apple should threaten to stop the contract. That should do the trick but off course, it might risk paying more to make its sought-after..

So far.. so bad. Let's hope something is done about this and quick!

Next week I'm having my last business trip before I'm coming home. I'm looking forward to that. I'm missing my little (and of course also my big) boy!

Kisses

Valerie



 

 

zondag 21 april 2013

Malaysian business etiquette

Dear all,
 
 







This time I didn’t want to bother you with the culture or the meetings and exhibitions we have to do but I’d rather tell you a bit about the business etiquette in Malaysia. Malaysia is a multicultural country, you notice the Chinese, Indian, influences but that doesn’t seem to bother anyone. Thank God! ;-)

Before our trip I read a book about business etiquette in Asia and luckily Derek is there too to guide me through the business trips. He has done several Asian business trips so he knows all about the dos and the don’ts.

This etiquette is important as the respect you show someone’s business card is indicative of the respect you will show the individual in business. 

These are some do’s:
  • If you hand over or take something, always do so with your right hand or if it is quite large, you can do it with both hands. The left hand is considered dirty and used for washroom visits.
  • If you have a meeting with government officials, get your business card translated into Bahasa Malaysia
  • it is important that the superior enters and introduces first and his inferiors after him / her
  • Dress appropriate (trousers and for ladies: long shirt, long sleeves, ..) and especially in rural areas.

The don’ts:

  • Don't put a business card in your pocket but read it first and certainly don’t write anything on it in your companion’s presence
  • For presents: no things made of pigskin, no alcohol, for food only halal food, don’t use white (colour of death) or yellow paper (=colour of the royalties)
  • Don’t open your gift when you receive it, it would give an impolite impression
  • Don't be too direct and answer too quickly. They might consider it as rude and thoughtless. Be subtle and don’t reject somebody’s invitation directly because it could be seen as loss of face.
  • It is essential to get to know each other first and then talk about business.  First make some small talk, the Malaysian senior will then move to the business discussion.
  • A first meeting should be formal.
  • Don't smile when you greet
  • Don’t criticize royalties or the government
  • Don’t sit cross legged
Normally, Malaysian people already share the Western habit of handshaking but… some don’t. Initial Malays didn’t have the habit of shaking hands with members of the opposite sex. If this is the case, men will bow and place their hand on their heart instead. It means “I greet you from the heart”. But a foreign man should always wait for the Malaysian woman to extend her hand.

But the strangest thing to me is their names. Normally (and certainly outside business) they don’t use surnames. Instead, they use bin (son of) or binti (daughter of).

Best wishes

 
Valerie




Furore in India

We arrived early this morning in Delhi and were very glad to… We had a 5 hour delay due to a technical problem.

Our first meeting is only tomorrow afternoon, so we first took a nap and freshened up a bit. After that we went for some typical Indian food.

Before our trip, I read an article about an Indian restaurant in Delhi, Bukhara restaurant. According to some, it should be the best Indian restaurant in the world and also the best restaurant in Asia. Knowing that we were spending some time in Delhi, I already suggested visiting that restaurant and I reserved a table for the two of us. The restaurant is called ‘Bukhara’ and it has lots of awards to its name. It is famous for its rustic atmosphere.


 

Richard had Tandoori Chicken I had a non-vegetarian Biryani. It was the best dish I’ve ever had!

Tandoori chicken is a chicken dish marinated in yoghurt with tandoori masala (a mixture of spices specifically for use with a tandoor, or clay oven used in Indian cooking).  The Biryani is a rice based dish with spices and meat (chicken, mutton) and vegetables.
 
Unluckily, recently India has also been mentioned several times in the news / headlines all over the world: the rapes, group rapes, rapes with juveniles, abuse, the protests,.. We all know about it.  While we were there, we felt the tension in the city, the fear,  all papers mentioning the same headline,…  

On Monday, there has risen a new accident. A 5-year old girl has been kidnapped and has repeatedly been raped by her neighbour in Delhi. The little girl is now fighting for her live. The poor girl and her family! There has been a new protest, police should have offered the parents of the 5-year old money to keep the case silent… Then a picture of a police slapping a woman in the face was sent all over the world..

 

It would be an understatement to say that that is the only case. Yearly, 24,000 rapes are reported. Bear in mind that rape is considered the most under-reported violent crime.

Let’s also think about the group rape in December. Due to that, the protests and the international attention to the case, the Indian parliament has voted an anti rape law.

Let's hope perpetrators will get caught, victims will share their story and justice may prevail!

Valerie...


donderdag 11 april 2013

Experiencing the local life in Bangkok


We landed at Bangkok and after our meeting we had some time off until our next flights.

 
We took the time to visit the floating markets. Bangkok has several of them, some more touristic than others. One of the most authentic is Khlong Lat Mayom. Boats are piled high with tropical fruit and vegetables, fresh, ready-to-drink coconut juice and local food cooked from floating kitchens. In that busy city with lot of tourists, businessmen, … we were at a place with mostly natives. That’s how the local life looks like. In fact, the market is also at the riverside. We wanted to have a local meal and decided to take a seat on a little wooden stool and we ordered a dish cooked from a boat anchored next to us. Quite an exotic experience!

Another must-do in Bangkok is to have a Thai massage!

We had a famous Thai massage in Dahra spa, Silom Road Soi 18, runned by a Dutch manager! The road is full of typical massage saloons . Due to the travelling and the fact that we have been flying a lot, we were a bit stressed. The Thai people believe in massage as one of the remedies for diseases. It was the best massage I’ve ever had! And Thai massage is me! I am convinced!

The crazy thing about this neighbourhood is that you think you could be in NY because the area around Silom is a look-alike of Wall Street: huge skyscrapers, the financial centre of Bangkok, ..

And that wasn’t the only moment of enjoyment, our supplier invited us for dinner at the Dome, known as the finest dining destination in Bangkok. The kitchen goes from modern innovative cuisine to Sirocco modern European cuisine with subtle Asian flavours. You can have dinner under the stars or at the very comfortable and luxurious dining room.

The Dome offers you 6 exclusive restaurants and bars: breeze, distil, mezzaluna, ocean 52, sirocco and the sky bar. We had dinner at Breeze which offers Asian dining at a very high level under a beautiful sky.

A drink at the famous Skybar only completed the experience!

Best wishes

Valerie

 
http://www.bangkok.com/shopping-market/floating-markets.htm

woensdag 10 april 2013

Indonesia: into dolphins and manatees…


Two weeks and lots of meetings and exhibitions later, we arrived in Indonesia.

After an exhausting exhibition in Jakarta (we made a lot of new leads, hurray!) we could take some time off. We had already decided to take some leisure time in the Thousand Island. The gain was to snorkel and to admire the beautiful beaches. Time to rest and to relax though! Another possibility was to snorkel in Karimun Jawa but that would take us 6 hours by ferry! Over there you can not only snorkel but also swim with sharks. I’d rather didn’t do that ;-)

 

We left for our destination (we didn’t book anything but we were advised to be at the harbour at 7 am and check the ferries) and took a boat for 2,5 hours and took the Cocoa Beach Thousand Islands Dolphin & Manatee Tour. The Thousand Island consists of 110 islands (yes, you are reading this well ;-)). Did you know that 23 are the property of private owners? I will know what to do when I win the lottery! 
When we arrived we took another boat for the Cocoa Beach Thousand Islands Dolphin & Manatee Tour.
I saw lots of dolphin activity and manatees. It was a great experience, we even stopped once and could swim near the dolphins, I had the time of my life!






 




I also found out what they are eating over there: fish, fish and oh did I mention fish already? ;-) There are really lots and lots of fish. If you have a look at the picture, he has caught an eight-kilo mackerel. And that caught is no exception.










After the tour we went for a diving tour. It was marvellous to swim in crystal clears beautiful water with a lot of species to see.

A picture says more than 1,000 words so check these pics out.












 





And then… quality time and chill by the beautiful beach. Palm trees, wide sky, what more could I wish?






 
I love the floating cottages!
 



maandag 1 april 2013

New-Zealand: Cape Reinga rules!

After a 5-hour flight from Dili, we arrived at Auckland, New Zealand.

At the airport the customs checked our file; to check whether we had no intention of staying there (checked our return ticket and whether we had sufficient money available to fund our trip).

After the exhibition we had two days off so we did some sightseeing and it was marvellous! Let me tell you all about it:
 
Did you know Auckland has 50 volcanos? But last eruption was about 600 years ago. So don’t worry J.

The Auckland Volcanic Field is an area of about 360 km2 centered on Auckland city; within this field are over 50 separate volcanoes. At 196 meters high, Mount Eden is the highest of the Auckland volcanoes. Volcanoes in Auckland include small cones less than 150 m in height and explosion craters. We visited Mount Eden and had a terrific view of Auckland city and the crate.
 


 



 

 

At the picture, you’ll notice the Sky Tower.

After that, we went to Viaduct harbour, which is located in the heart of Auckland city. The marina caters to commercial vessels, pleasure craft and super yachts with 150 marina quays up to 60 meters. We also visited the Voyager Maritime Museum and discovered New Zealand’s rich maritime history.

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
We had dinner at Jones the Grocerhttp://www.jonesthegrocer.com/. It’s a restaurant chain in New-Zealand & Australia. The place has a reputation as the market leader for gourmet food. The artisanal cheese I ate was the best I’ve ever had!

At night we visited the Sky Tower, which is the newest symbol of the city. With its 328 meters, it’s the tallest man-made building in New Zealand.

It was amazing. Not only a tower but the building also has a casino, hotels (Sky city hotel and Sky city Grand hotel), bars, restaurants, .. The building has a concrete shaft measuring 12 m in diameter and consists of 15.000 m3 of concrete! Quite safe it seems ;-)

You could even go for adventure and take a Skywalk (and walk around the pergola at 192 meters up) or have a Sky Jump off the Tower!

I preferred a less adventurous visit and chose a 360° views panoramic sights at 220 m height.

It offered us breath-taking views for up to 80 kilometres.

We had a drink in the bar and I bought a present at the souvenir shop for my son, a little Sky Tower J

The tower is lightened in several colours, depending on the current events;

E.g. blue in September (blue September), red & gold for the Chinese new year, pink (breast cancer awareness month),..

The next day, we had a five hour drive on a bus to discover a magical place: Cape Reinga!

Cape Reinga is situated in the far north (the most northern place you can visit in New-Zealand).

On our way we saw several native Kauri trees (see picture). The Tane Mahuta (in the Waipoua Forest) is the country's largest kauri tree, which is approximately 2,000 years old and is still growing.

Nearly 18 meters to the first branch and 4.4 meters in diameter, it is rightly called 'The Lord of the Forest'.

The tree is a remnant of the ancient subtropical rainforest that once grew on the North Auckland Peninsula.

It was dug for its gum which is a fossilized resin detracted from the tree. It was used for chewing or tattooing (used by the Maori’s), .. It used to be an established industry at the end of the 19th and early 20th centuries and was a major source of income for Māori and settlers in Northland. The chasers were called “gum diggers”.

We stopped at the Doubtless bay (aka Mangonui) and had cray-fish at Mangonu fish shop.

The bay has a rich history: it has been discovered by the Maori’s, captain Cook (who gave the place its name), Jean-François Marie De Surville,..

Our last halt was Houhore Heads where the family Wagener exposes a museum, although not that special to me (pioneer stuff, natural history, Maori objects, shells, Kauri gum, Katipo spider,..) Luckily the spider was dead because it is the only poisonous spider in New-Zealand! They also have a backpacker’s hostel, a camping ground & motor camp, so a lot of people who come up to the north have a stop over there.

To reach Cape Reinga we had to cross the ninety mile beach. Luckily we came by bus, because it would have been impossible to cross by car (the assurances of a rental car exclude riding over beach and it certainly takes a 4wheel drive). The beach is enormous and reaches as far as you can see.

The last kilometres we had to go through the private The Paki Farm park (owned by the Maori’s) and then we arrived in Cape Reinga with it has a 10 meters- high lighthouse and mostly its unspoiled nature.

The Maori believe that Cape Reinga is the point where souls of deaths leave New-Zealand to Hawaiki. According to the legend, the souls cross the ninety mile beach and then cross the river. The souls who aren’t strong enough to drink of the river, die forever.

The Tasman Sea and the Pacific Ocean clash to create unsettled waters just off the coast.
It was marvellous!