...that I like about Asia. I will tell you for sure that it is not the view from my window. Manila looks surprisingly drab. What I like about the trip to Manila:
- scrumptious buffet breakfast
- scrumptious room service
- scrumptious female attendant in the fully loaded gym this morning (all the treadmills had 17' touchscreen monitors attached that let you control your workout perfectly or let you switch to your favorite cable channel--suck it 24 Hour Fitness)
- scrumptious (to some, I am sure) gay man cutting my hair this morning as well.
- festive atmosphere--it is only November, but the whole country already has their Christmas decorations up and my hotel pumps some nice Christmas tunes throughout the giant complex.
Things I haven't liked, so far (I am sure that I will find A LOT that I hate):
- Philippines Airlines has crappy seats and horrible food, even in business class.
- Philippines Airlines stocks its rest rooms with Kleenex and toilet paper only. Drying your hands with toilet paper is what a management consultant would call
So to recap, most of what I like comes from my hotel (the Shangri-La, recommend it) and most of what I hate comes from my flight (they don't get the rave reviews I gave Korean Air).
On a more serious note, I do like that Asia is a bit raw, under-developed, in your face--it's hungry and looks like it can eat you. I want to stay involved with the region throughout my career. I love it...and that is the masseuse at the door. Gotta go. For $30 an hour, who can say no?
Update on things I don't like...this one, surprisingly comes from the hotel. I was a bit naive, I admit, but I thought that at a four-star establishment they wouldn't be down with that sort of thing. What sort of thing? Well, the masseuse asking at the end of my hour session if i would like "a special massage." Catching me off guard, I think I defaulted towards politeness when I said "thanks, but no." Not exactly "leaving my garment in her hand and fleeing" (props to Gen. 39), but given the situation, I thought it best to keep what garments I had. And politeness never hurts.
ReplyDeleteYikes! Get thee out. But try to take one of those (apparently) 17-foot touchscreen monitors with you.
ReplyDelete