Swiss journey day 1: Self cleaning toilets in Frankfurt

It's sort of funny that my last post was a semi-serious post about my observations on airports, and this post is about what one encounters often in airports: toilets. My most recent encounter was in FRA, where I found a self-cleaning, squeegee action toilet. And in true Web 2.0 style, I filmed it. And posted it online. On YouTube. And Google Video. Go watch it yourself below. :-)



And for those who are actually paying attention...yes, I've arrived in Zermatt. This place is insanely beautiful and the hotel room has a view of the Matterhorn! I'm going for the second fondue dinner in two nights in about 15 minutes. I love Switzerland. :-)

You know Germany's not your kind of place when...

So I'm hanging out at the Senator Lounge in Frankfurt awaiting my connection to Geneva and I check out the snack bins. I take off the lid to the promising one containing gummy bears and almost dropped the lid in horror! THERE WERE NO GREEN GUMMY BEARS!! Yes, every other colour was represented...every one except my favourite green ones. Maybe they don't believe in green here in Germany. Maybe green's an unlucky colour? I'm not OCD or anything..

On airports...

Airports are strange places. Mostly designed to be places of transit, most airports are void of any personality or character. Sure, some aiports are beautifully-designed (take Chek Lap Kok for example), and others are just plain horrible (Heathrow, anyone?), they're most designed to be functional--to get people in and out as fast as possible.

Recently (and for most of this year), I've spent a lot of time in a variety of airports (SIN, KUL, LGK, HKG and SFO, for any junkies keeping track) and I've also noticed a very human and sentimental side to airports. Airports are where people sever ties, or rekindle relationships; where families reunite, or young couples say farewell. They're places where ordinary folk mix with the extraordinary--mostly incognito, of course. But at the same time, airports are anonymous places. You can go around all day without ever introducing yourself to anyone, without anyone figuring out who you are, where you're from, and where you're going (unless you happen to be an immigration official, of course). My conclusion? Okay, I don't really have one. Just that I've spent way too much time in airports of late. And that at the end of the day, you really just want to have a a familiar face waiting for you when you walk out into that arrivals lobby so you don't have to be anonymous any longer.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

...at every Starbucks you go! You know it's almost time for the holidays when the cups change to red at Starbucks! Yes, starting today, everyone's favourite red holiday cups are back, along with yummy winter drinks like eggnog latte and my personal favourite--peppermint mocha! That also means the real holidays are just around the corner...have you been a good boy or girl this year? :-)

Who says you can't talk on your phone inflight?

Check out the latest news from Emirates on making mobile calls inflight...yet another reason to go to Dubai!

As for the internet, yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. Just got back from my Asia trip on Singapore Airlines, and by golly, you can definitely access the internet on your laptop inflight. Thank goodness for business class (although something tells me to those SIA people probably offer internet for the entire plane...). The guy next to me kept checking his Yahoo! mail, which annoyed me to no end, for a whole host of reasons in addition to just his screen being bright during a transpacific flight. ;-)

Home sweet home...

Arrived home last night after the crazy 3-country Asian tour. So nice to be home. If only my throat didn't hurt and I didn't have 700 emails in my inbox at work. *sigh*

In happier news, they didn't find my camera, but the next generation version has come out and I just ordered a shiny brown one...or should I say Twilight Sepia? ;-)