New lands

It's been awhile since I had the thrill of setting foot on a country I've never been to before. The last time was 3 years ago in Brazil and Peru. There is something so thrilling to hear hitherto unheard of new languages, taste new foods and drinks and of course see new sights and meet new people.

The new land I am now in is Central Asia. Specifically, I am now in Uzbekistan. It's a eclectic mix, because of the geography and history, of Chinese, Arab, Mongol and Russian ethnicities and culture. I asked my guide, Alishev, why are there so many invaders? After all it is a landlocked country, albeit with spectacular mountain scenery and plenty of agrarian lands. It's because Uzbekistan is mineral rich, he told me. Land, platinum and gas are found here.

I don't know how these resources are being managed. It's far easier to do so poorly, and suffer the commodity curse than to do it right, a-la Norway. I'm here to meet the government and will surely share with them my precepts of economic development.

But there is one thing that is a leading indicator: the yearning of its people. I chose this words carefully. I could have easily described it as human capital, which generally is about the quality and quantity of the workforce in the country. But that's an outcome. The real input factor is hunger, or as I mentioned above, yearning. It's this yearning that causes one to work a bit harder, save a bit more, think about the future. For instance, here the labourers building/repairing the roads were all working, not watching as is so often the scene at these sites. All of these were neatly summarised in a roadside vendor from whom I bought some yoghurt balls from. She must have made it all herself, and she sat there on a rickety old table with her grandsons sharing her stories as she awaited customers, while her granddaughter is under the shade doing her schoolwork. This woman looked a bit like my maternal grandma, my original indomitable role model. And I always suspected the Hakka people had this central Asian way about them.

Just as importantly, and perhaps even more so, is that this yearning is layered with a spirit of neighbourliness. As I trudged my way to check out a waterfall, I passed a local family picnicking and was duly invited to join them. It's the same when we passed a Khimis (fermented horse milk spirit) stall. Although they were sold out, they engaged in friendly banter. Them in Uzbek, me in English, so what a banter it was 😀

These two are just great ingredients to build a nation with. That said, right now, there are lots of building to get on with. Take public transport for instance, it's practically non existent. Which means the people would have to rely on private personal modes of conveyance and timeliness then becomes a problem. It may be commonplace even acceptable in the everyday Uzbek life but once this culture of inefficiency sets in, it can be a real kink in the armour as was clearly in evidence early this morning to find an unmanned visa counter. Not exactly the first impression this beautiful and promising country should make on its visitors and investors.

Timepiece

I Here I am, in the basement (Emergency room) of St Pau in Barcelona. It was once a hospital built spectacularly for the poor of the city. It is now an Art Nouveau site. Sited at the end of Avinguda Gaudi, it faces the awe-inspiring Sagrada Familia, which is expectedly overbooked. When I arrived there at 9:30am this morning, I was told that tickets for the day were all sold out but if I tried online I could probably get a 5pm entrance. So, on I went to St Pau. Equally interesting!

Even then I decided to go to the Sagrada Familia shop and get immersed into the imaginative world of Gaudi and ended up spending over a hundred euros. I didn't mind. It's such a wonderful mind he had, stuff of dreams. Sadly, so absorbed he was in his thoughts Gaudi feel victim to a tram accident here in Barcelona. A fact that didn't escape me yesterday as I too narrowly missed stepping onto the path in an incoming tram. These  city trams run on electricity and are silently dangerous. I was fortunate to have been with P and her Daughter in law L and they alerted me in time as we were making our way to Casa Leopoldo, an old 1929 restaurant now revived under a new owner. We had a thoroughly enjoyable dinner, to celebrate a milestone for me. You see, P is the owner of a watch boutique in Barcelona and has been my authorised dealer into the world of Patek Philippe, amongst others. It is on the occasion of getting myself a zenith marking Perpetual Calendar Chronograph that we were celebrating. 

It's actually a happy conjunction of two worlds, my love of horological pieces and my love of Travelling. It is so apt that these coincide in Barcelona, my Favourite city in Europe. It's fortunate that it's also a major meeting capital of the world and with many global conferences Organised here, I am here every other year or so. 

This trip however is a break in my two week business travel across Europe, Central Asia and the Middle East. I started on Monday flying out of Singapore to Copnehagen to meet my Nordics team to inspire them as they build their business there. Then I had a two-day global Practice Area Leaders meeting in Berlin and I took the opportunity to meet a client, the director general in charge of modernising the administration and the local leadership team, specifically to motivate them to stay the course, and giving some course correcting advice as well. I am heading to Tashkent and Riyadh next (both times having to transit via Istanbul). So to prepare myself for the hectic schedule ahead, I decided to spend the weekend here in Barcelona rather than flying back to Singapore. That I can pick up my milestone piece is a real bonus 😀.

Speaking of timepieces, this is perhaps the right time for me to share my story. 

I first got interested in it as a wee lad. Not for it's mechanical prowess or even to tell time. It made me feel mature, like a man. My dad had a few interesting pieces: Orient, Longines and i would be allowed to wear these. There are even photographs showing how I flash the watch at the camera to Ensure they are in view!

As I grew up, my teenage years were more about bicycles, motorcycles, in other words, wheels, rather than watches. 

The next juncture of my passion in watches was when I started working and there in Vietnam in the early 90's, there were lots of vintage Omegas. I got myself a couple of Seamasters and gifted one to my Brother who visited then. 

But then it petered out again as I settled in as a newly married man and all I needed was my good Wife. Not to mention a trusted Seiko SQ100: a quartz Chronograph which told the time accurately and looked sportingly good to boot!. it was D who rekindled my interest in watches when in return for a nice Omega Constellation I got her, she bought we a pair of Orises and a Sinn. 

It was around then that we were more comfortable and I started collecting, rather than just buying for need. Somehow D is a constant feature in this story. And indeed in many of my stories, as a good partner should. For it was her Friend C who is well connected in KL who introduced a good salesperson from Sincere Watch KLCC, S, and she really got me into some good pieces incl a 50th anniversary Omega Speedmaster.

But my real step up was when I invested in a watch I had coveted for its splendid looks, the A Lange & Sohne Lange 1 remake, the Daymatic. By then I had already a theme. I knew mechanical watches were the right ones to get, and I especially liked Chronograph and automatic watches. Kind of obvious. One was about timing speed (natural for a guy who also loved wheels) and the other was simply interesting  for its Perpetual machine nature. So, the collecting started in earnest from about 10 years ago and it's quite fitting that a decade and some 30 watches later (his and hers) I am now at this watch, which is widely acknowledged by the industry to be the pinnacle of high horology. Those who procure this watch has gone thru everything else, so says one industry insider. Maybe so. I do still like whimsical stuff. I like to go to the TOP, but I like to stay grounded and have some fun as well. 

Indeed, that is the same philosophy I take with my life and the lives of my family. 

Speaking of which, both of them recently just flew, for the first time in their lives. I mean literally... in the sky. With a parachute on their backs. J did his first jumps as a commando and traversed a thousand feet though the air. M did it on the back of a speedboat. 

If ever there was a moment where a parent could point to to signify when a child is ready to fly the coop, I certainly would point to last week when both J and M flew.

More importantly, how do we know, as parents, if we have done enough? We always knew the children would grow up and fly from the nest. It's the natural order of life. It's progress. 

For the past 2 decades we had them at home, and through good times and bad, sickness and health, joys and agonies, successes and defeats, we had our chance to calm them, comfort them, and also coach them. And through it all, we try to instill both deep roots and strong wings.

The most coachable moments are when they are down. Recently as M experienced some disappointment as she missed out on a leadership role, I tried to get her to rise again and to do so even higher, whereas D took the opportunity to get her to think less about herself but to be happy for others. Two sides of the same coin. We are so complementary in our parenting values and I hope that our children have benefitted from this balanced nurturing. 

There are other complementaries of course. My parents complete each other where one is a disciplinarian and never hesitating to use the cane, and the other completely indulgent. In our case, our spectrum is defined less by styles but by values. I am largely about aspiration, ie wings. D makes sure they can walk before they fly, ie roots. 

Now that they have both, it's up to them how they will live our advice. 

As for me, I am thoroughly enjoying my day in my Favourite European city. I re-traced my customary steps: walking down La Ramblas, stepping in Placa Real, running along the beach and enjoying great great food. May these loved ones fly as high as they wish, and stayed firmly rooted in strong values and every now and then stop and enjoy what Mother Earth and its humans has to offer: that they spend their time well