Thai Mobile Monks

My friend was recently in Thailand and sent me this picture of a monk taking pictures of temples with his mobile phone. This picture conveys how large the global mobile market is and how it, more than the PC, could drastically change social norms and communication across the world.

$5 Haircut #2

I got my $5 haircut today. It is apparent that I'm losing my hair at an increasing rate. I sighed and said no hair. She said no hair, money - OK! Hair, no money, OK Too! Then I said what about no hair, no money. She said, I introduce you to my friend!

On bikes.

A wise man named, Ashok, once told me, Kurt, there are 3 economic classes in the world. People who rides his bike, drives his car, or flies his private plane. Either there are a lot less people driving cars or more feasibly, a lot more people in developing countries are riding bikes. Take your pick!

From Vidhi Shah on Bennetton Talk. "While every single financial graph we’ve seen lately makes us want to hide under a blanket until 2012, this one is worth a smile. The manufacture of bicycles seems to be a recession proof business, because more people are buying bicycles than ever before. In fact, Giant Manufacturing, the world’s largest bicycle maker just sold a record 460,000 bikes last month.
Tonight, when a gas-guzzler corners me on my ride back home, I will think about this, and smile smugly before I give him the finger."

Tasty

While eating taco bell yesterday, I reminisced to my high school days when I ate probably 2-3 meals a week at TB and two of my best buds and I would eat bean burritos before every baseball game. That was a lot of bean burritos!

So I surfaced a conversation with my boss about how good or tasty something can actually be. For the last few weeks, I've utilized my George Foreman grill and rice cooker to cook more often. Aside from my killer southern breakfasts and chili, I previously didn't make much. Now, I can whip up a spicy pepperjack chicken bacon sandwich or a rice dish with bakchoy and salmon like no other. AND, it tastes EFFEN good, far and above anything I can buy for $20.

This brings me to how tasty can something actually be. I mean I've taken girls out to some nice restaurants that are supposed to be GOOD but heck, I don't think my mouth enjoys it as much as Taco Bell. I had this new stufft bean-steak burrito last night and that was the best thing I put in my mouth since, well, wonder bread. Obviously there is another discussion here about the price elasticity of taste and a person definately gets more taste-price from a $2 taco then a $150 dinner in North Beach although the wine may not be as good. Either way, it can ONLY be sooooo tasty. And I would guess that Taco Bell hits 8 or 9 on the taste scale.

I remember my good buddy in HS took his prom date to McDonalds and did it candlelight style and she loved it because McRib was their favorite food - they got married. Let me tell you, any girl you take to taco bell who chows down appreciates good food and is definitely the one to keep around...

2009 is the year of $2 dates...tough economy. Play ball.

Trip to Egypt Fall, 2010

My trip to Egypt was probably similar to most tourists trip to Egypt, I would guess. However, for those who haven’t been, I’m writing an overview of my few days there. I was in Europe for business so I hopped down there for a few days of sightseeing.
I arrived at around 2AM and made it to the Novotel Airport Hotel. I couldn’t sleep so I grabbed a bit of cucumber and spoke to the tourist agency. I was surprised he was up. I went ahead and booked a trip to the pyramids to begin only 6 hours later. I was like wow, no one sleeps here. Then, I learned it was Ramadan which is an interesting time to be there. Everyone was fasting for Ramadan which meant that from 4AM to 630PM, one is not allowed to eat, drink –even water-, nor look at woman. One also cannot eat pork, beans, or eggs. So from 630PM to 4AM everyone is eating, meeting their friends, and enjoying the nice evening weather. When in Rome act as the Romans so I attempted this.

The first day I went to see Saccara, Giza, and the Sphynx. I was excited to go see Pyramids - i mean that is what one does in Egypt right? I met an Egyptologist at my first stop who walked me through the history of these places. I was so lucky because i would have been looking at structures with no idea what it really was. It made the trip so much more interesting and brought everything to life. I learned about the history (2-3000 BC), why the structures were built the way they were, and theories around how they were built.
About 2PM in over 100 degrees, my dehydration kicked in while climbing the stairs to of the Darfur Pyramid. This was the one Pyramid you could actually go in, so I went in. There was about a 100 meter walkway down to the tomb in the middle of the pyramid. About half way down, my quads went into spasms and I cramped. I had to sit down in the middle of the walkway in utter pain. Even running marathons, I’ve never cramped in my legs. Anyways, after I made it out of the tunnel in a very slow walk, I broke down and drank some water. I’m just not as tough as those guys, I thought.

After arriving in Giza, I decided to do the camel ride. Camels are much more athletic, strong, and flexible then I would have every imagined. They were walking up and down very steep sand hills that I think I could only sled down. Do note however, you don’t want to Gallop on top of a camel. He lost control for a bit and it took about 30 seconds to settle him down. It made it easy the rest of the day not to look at woman – I could achieve 1 of the Ramadan requirements.

I arrived in my hotel around 530 and spent the next hour watching the clock for 630PM so that I could eat. When 630 struck, I was so tired I didn’t want to eat but I finally made it out around 10PM for a Falafel. Requirement 2 met. It was amazing to see the streets filled with people just walking, talking, and hanging out. The community feeling was so strong that it made me somewhat envious. I ended up walking around till about 1AM when the Cairo night lived on.

The next day my Egyptologist and I went to the Egypt Museum, the Citadel, and the Coptic Place. The Egypt museum was really amazing. I saw mummy’s that still had their hair, teeth, and toenails (sometimes painted red). Today, modern chemists know the chemicals used to mummify a body, they don’t know the mix of chemicals. It is still a modern day mystery. Another fascinating site at the museum was King Tut’s foundings. King Tut is famous primarily because his tomb was the only tomb of the Valley of the Kings that still had the treasures. In all other tombs, thieves had stolen them. King Tut’s coffin was amazing. There were 3 pure gold coffins, with gems all around it, one placed inside of another. The preciseness of which they did this was amazing. Other interesting items included a chariot that was wrapped in a thin layer of gold. Most everything was gold plated, even the 3 large boxes that housed the 3 small coffins – all which were placed one inside the other. It just amazed me the amount of effort that went into preparing for death.
I also learned there that I was in lower Egypt, northern Egypt. The Nile River is one of two rivers that flows from South to North so Cairo is actually called lower Egypt.

After the museum I went to the Coptic Place. There was a catholic church – supposedly the one that Jesus and Mary stayed from their trip to Egypt when he was a child – a synagogue, and a mosque. Christianity was the first religion in Egypt but many years later many people converted to Muslim. This is apparently the same for places like Syria and Iraq. What was interesting about the Coptic place is that all 3 monasteries were right next to each other – conveying open religious tolerance. I also learned that in Egypt on your passport, one must reveal their religion. So while Egypt may be tolerant, it is not private. I could only wonder why.

After that I went to the Citadel, which was one of the coolest fortresses. It seemed akin to some the structure of the Citadel University in South Carolina. Never a battle was fought there so it was mostly in tact.

That night I went to Khan el Khalili. The open air market was quite cool actual. You could be clothes, hukas, jewelry and an assortment of things. I was so tired from being hustled for money that I regretfully, didn’t buy anything. Egyptians had several negotiating patterns that I’ll now expand on. First, they will ask you where you are from and tell you they have relatives, girlfriends, or anything from there. Once they get your attention, they will invite you into their store to give you something, whether a tea, one of their products, or whatever. Once you’ve gone that far, you are hooked. If you walk out they will start screaming emphatically at you. If you offer them a few dollars for a cheap item, they plead with you. At one point, some guy grabbed me and I lifted my hand to hit him; the look on his face was ghastly but he let me go. I guess i won't make a good Ambassador - or maybe i would. Often the threat of doing something is what is needed for a deterrent.
Another tactic they had was to negotiate with you in Egyptian pounds and then switch to dollars. At the end of the negotiation, they would say, ‘ I meant this is US dollars, not Egyptian pounds’ so then the negotiation starts again. It’s the old bait and switch.
The last negotiation strategy was to serve you before they tell you how much. So if you needed a taxi ride, horse ride, or even a painting – they would give it to you and then tell you how much. How do you negotiate when you already took something? The funny thing was they won’t tell you how much until you actually took it!

The next day I went down to Luxor where I stayed at the Emilio Hotel. It was decent place for $50. My Egyptologist introduced me to his friend. At 7AM he picked me up in a van with about 20 other tourists and off we went to the valley of kings, valley of queens, and queen Hatshe;…. Temple. The coolest thing was the valley of kings. It was crazy to see all of the tombs carved out of a huge sand mountain. After the trip around 1PM I had a breakdown. I really hadn’t eat for 24 hours and decided I was raiding the FFF (Fast Pharaohs Food) at McDonalds. Note a Pharaoh was considered higher than the Gods and at the time the Kings were Pharaohs who liased between humans and the Gods. At some juncture in time, this changed and the Pharaohs became subservient to the Gods. I enjoyed my Fish Fillet Big Mac immensely. I only survived 2 days of Ramadan, how weak I thought.

The last day I went to Luxor Castle and Temples of Karnak. Both were interesting but by this time I was rather drained from the heat, commotion, and pyramids. Also I was flying out that night so off I went. Out of everything in Egypt, the temples and ruins were fascinating, but I think the Egyptian airports were quite nice as well for such a poor country. I was quite impressed.

Answers in Japan

Difficult means no; maybe means no 99% of the time; probably means yes 50% of the time; yes means yes 25% of the time.

Israel Trip

Israel –
Good Books – Jewish Wars, Brave New World, Jesus: A Revolutionary Biography, My6th sense

Israel –
“Just give me one more Shekel,” said the taxi driver. That put it all in perspective. My trip to Israel can be defined by that statement. Israel is a place for survivors, a place where the human soul is strong, and a place where people know how to do business. I immensely enjoyed my week in Israel.
I was hosted by an amazing person, Zeev Klein, and his others in his company at Landmark Ventures. I’ve never been guided in such an organized fashion with as many timely meals. It felt like a King. I arrived at 130 on Saturday and scurried to the first tour at 230 in the old town of Jaffa. I was hungry and missed lunch so Jonathan and I grabbed some food at one of the famous side street restaurants. It was basically a bagel – esque shop. They took a bagel (that was flatter with more area) and stuffed all types of vegetables, hummus, and meat in it. Then, they smashed it down on a sandwich press. Afterwards, it was the best friggin’ bagel sandwich you ever had. We walked around one of the oldest harbor towns in the Middle East. It was quaint town built on limestone, alongside the harbor where only artists dwell. The government apparently had bought the city and only allowed for artists to rent there in order to preserve the authenticity. However, it wasn’t cheap so these artists must have a lot of money.
After walking around, a few friends and I went off to two restaurants , just passed the city. We sat down and enjoyed a large seafood meal. I was excited to eat my first fish on the Meditarranean. When looking at the menu, there was a selection of 20 different types of fish. I had no idea what to choose. I asked the owner, “which fish do you prefer?” He responded, “a fish is a fish my friend.” I’ll bring you a fish. We all had a good chuckle. [Insert pictures]
In Israel, people take off Friday and Saturday and the Sabbath is Friday sundown to Saturday sundown. So on Saturday, right after an amazing dinner at …. A few of us went out, even though it was a ‘school’ night for many. Later that night we headed to one of the more popular dance clubs. Marquee. It picked up around 10PM and was absolutely jammed. I never saw so much intense dancing at a night club. It was non-stop and the ladies were leading the charge. I called it a night around 1AM.
Sunday was relaxing hanging out with some friends in Neve and then Monday was the big Landmark Dealmakers Summit. They had over 700 attendees of all types of people from dignified politicians to CEO’s (Gov Pataki of New York and Prime Minister of Israel) of companies to scrappy deal guys like me. It was a load of fun meeting people. The one thing that was clear was that Israeli businessmen are serious and they can sell. It was a pleasure hanging out with them because they move quickly, are straight forward, and cut through the crap quickly.
Monday started earlier with a tour of the local Air Force base and a few presentations from distinguished pilots who showed some of their air fights on video. The pilot with the most kills (4 in one trip) also presented and showed us how he did it. What amazed me is that he had 4 kills in 10 minutes. F-16 only have enough gas to last 10-15 minutes when they are in full performance. They also showed a video how they attacked a building in the Gaza Strip. They are so concerned with civilian lives that they dropped some fake bombs to scare people off the roof of the building. Once all the people evacuated the building full of arms, they then blew it up.
After the AF base, we went to tour “A Better Place” They are building a refilling network for electric vehicles. They basically want to be the fueling station for the electric vehicle and are rolling out in Israel and Denmark. They’ve raised $2bn in financing and build an immaculate show room and test drive road ( though you couldn’t rip it). The presentation of the company was very impressive but there seems to be a lot of questions whether it will actually be successful. I hope it is, we desparately need less dependence on oil, and fast.
We ended the day with a trip to Pitango, the largest VC in Israel. They spoke about the story of its formation all the way to its current success. They also have a separate fund for Arab entrepreneurs to encourage them to be part of the productive economy. There are 7mm people in Israel, of which there are 1mm Russians and 1.5mm Arabs. They are mostly poor, non-productive, and highly reproducing people. As the second generation is growing up in Israel, they are more educated and willing to be part of the workforce. Pitango and the government would like to encourage them to do so with the fund. That night we had dinner at the Meat Place. One common theme amongst restaurants in Tel Aviv was Meat. We have good meat, the meat place, the meat bar, meat meat meat. It really made me laugh but coming from America, I didn’t realize how sparse good meat really is. Israeli’s value and market good meat.
The next day a few of us rose early and drove down to Eilat, a sea town on the Red Sea. The drive down to Eilat was eye opening. About 30 minutes after leaving Israel, one notices the demarcation of the poor. Most of the arabs lived in tents and small villages that reminded me of India. However, as we were driving, we noticed kids all lined up by the road, dressed in clothes and their pink backpacks waiting for school buses. We must have passed a dozen large grey hound type buses that were full of kids who were going to school somewhere. I thought that this was great that these kids seems reasonably well clothed and had education even though they were extremely poor. How many countries would actually give this type of opportunity to everyone.
At some point in the drive the villages ceased and there were only sand dunes, Jordan on one side and … on the other. Artillery lined up on the side of the road as weroissll as on top of the sand dunes. These were very large weapons waiting to be fired at any instance. It put the perils of Israel in a glimpse. About 2 hours into the trip we spotted a McDonalds and of course I leaped up – ‘breakfast Sammy!’. It was about 8AM and we pulled over and it was closed. There was a gas station and a croissant shop (think le boulange in a desert). It just so happens that everyone in Israel that this was the truck stop of Israel. About another hour later, smack in the middle of the desert, there was another one of these. McDonalds still wasn’t’ open and we enjoy another chocolate croissant that apparently is actually cooked at the truck stop. The truck stops were clean and the attendants we are nice and receptive – all in the middle of nowhere. Oh, and we found out that McDonalds opens at 11 and doesn’t serve breakfast!
We stopped at this big Valley on the way down and literally was where an asteroid hit. It was akin to Death Valley in Nevada. It really makes you realize that if an asteroid hit us in SF, we’d be toast from Marin down to Palo Alto.
Upon arriving in Eilat, the first thing I noticed was that the airport was smack in the middle of the city. I mean imagine that an airport was on the strip in Vegas and you could actually walk right out into your hotel. No joke! The town gave me a Miami vibe with hotels that had Vegas awe without the crazy themes. After getting in the hotel, I quickly grabbed my swim trunks and went to go deep sea diving at the Red Sea. I had always wanted to do this and missed my chance at Sharma El Sheikh in Egypt. They were the most strict dive school ever. The instructor was very strict that I didn’t have my dive log and made me do a safety dive. I did two dives right off the shore. The visibility was 50 feet which I thought was great but the instructor said it was a bad day. Usually they get 100 feet+. The fish were very iridescent and large. Typically fish are either or but not both so I was struck by the size. They also had a natural corral preserve where there were lots of fish. It was a pretty good dive experience, not great as I was limited to 60 feet but it was worth it.

It just so happened that the dive site was around the best fish restaurant in Eilat so of course I dined there. I had the local fish, grilled Labark, which was the best fish I’ve ever eaten. It was light, yet tangy. It took my fish standards to another level.

The next day we got up early again and drove to the Dead Sea and Maba? We did one of the most famous landmarks in Israel,… This place was very high, a place where the Jews last fell to the Romans. We beat the tour group there and decided to hike up. I decided to take a little job but didn’t realize it was around 30 C there. I made it up but was dehydrated. The place had remnants of living quarters, bath houses, storage etc… but our tour guide brought this to life. It was an amazing architecture that was once lush green with gardens and full of water that was irrigated from the rains during the winter and then carried up by soldiers. To read more about this…
From here we went to the Dead Sea where many of us went for a swim. At this point, I realized how jesus walked on water. One could really walk on water, lay on water, and pretty much not sink. It was crazy and fun! After a great feast at the hotel, we drove home. Unfortunately I missed dinner that night.
The next day I woke up early to meet with my new friend, Shmuel. Shmuel was gracious enough to setup a meeting with a very large retailer who was excited about mobile payment. Shmuel is clearly a great salesman because they bought in. Thanks Shmuel. After the meeting I went to Jerusalem to catch up with the group. My taxi dropped me off at the outskirts of Jerusalem and told me the large building was the museum! I was ticked. But I made it to the museum 15 minutes later.
The museum was interesting but was really brought to life by our tour guide. We saw the scroll of the bible as well as just some really interesting historic artifacts like alters and …
From there we went to the old town of Jerusalem where we walked around, did the 12 stations of the cross. We also saw the area where there is a lot of contention amongst different sects of Catholocism – Coptic, Ethiopian, and others. The irony is that there are a group of muslims that must stay around that sector to keep the priests from fighting each other. These guys literally beat each other down! The joke of the trip was on me, of course. At the end of the 12 stations, our tour guide stopped and said you have 25 minutes to look around and shop. Meet back here. Here was a brick building that was the oldest church in Jerusalem. I noticed it but was a little churched out so went to look around. The next day, Zeev asked me why I didn’t go in since they stopped here for the people who didn’t see it on Tuesday when we were in Eliat. I responded see what, he said the church of the scepulture. I had no idea what he was talking about. He said that was the church that had Jesus’s tomb, the rock which he was laid out on and the cross. I totally missed the high point of the trip! The rest of the trip, after someone said let’s go here they ended it with, or go shopping – haha.

All of Jerusalem is built from hand carved limestone. Isn’t it amazing that an entire town is made this way? A large part of the town was built in the last 10 years as well. What amazed me is that the old town is actually still alive with people living and working there. At night after everyone leaves, the town really comes alive. I wasn’t there but it is supposed to be a very interesting place. For lunch we ate a really good Shawarma place. The Shawarma place was Kosher which basically means that they can only eat certain types of food. Some of the rules are: no meat and milk at the same time, no pig, animals must be slaughtered a certain way by the throat first, fish must have gills and fins (no shellfish), and even some vegetables have rules. To my surprise, Turkey, not lamb, was the Shawarma of choice. I enjoyed a spicy Turkey sharma. It made me dream that there is probably a grand idea that we could build a Turkey Shwarma franchise in the US, alongside my new bagel sandwich. But really, how can’t McDonald’s be open at 8AM, really?
Unfortunately my writing doesn’t do justice to the learnings from our tour guide. He was really amazing and suggested a few books. Jewish Wars, Brave New World, Jesus: A Revolutionary Biography,
That night we had another grand feast at an Asian Fusion place and ended up at Marquee. That night was very very exciting. Everyone had a good time 
The last day we toured Haifa gardens, Caesareya, and had dinner at an awesome fish place. Haifa Gardens were a garden that was built from the top of the hill on the city all the way to the bottom. Imagine the gardens on Lombardi street going all the way to the bottom of North beach that extended the entire block. It was really beautiful.

For dinner we went to… I mostly remember the caramelized Tapitula. It was great. I told myself I would learn to make that.
I ended up doing work late that night and had to catch a taxi to the airport on Saturday for a 6AM flight. At 3AM there were no taxis available as everyone in the city was out partying. My hotel called and I had to wait almost 40 minutes. When the taxi arrived, there was a group of 8 people chasing it down and wouldn’t let me get in until hotel security came out. It was nuts. I made it to the airport. The one thing about the airport is that from customs to the gate there is an extremely long and wide walk way with a large open glass window facing west that is eerily tranquil. One enters the walkway and sighs that this must keep going forever. I only thought to myself that this long, open walkway must represent something for Israel, it must be the long path to peace.
Thank you Zeev for the experience of a lifetime.
Kurt

My Day at Wimbledon

The day started off at 5AM to get the tube to Wimbledon but the tube didn’t open till 545 AM so I killed an hour running. After alighting at Wimbledon tube stop, which was not the appropriate tube stop, I caught a bus as instructed. The buses 2nd stop was Wimbledon Stadium. I was watching everyone on the bus but no one got off. I was too embarrassed to ask anyone so I hopped off and went to the stadium. The stadium was old, run down and looked like something out of the south akin to a rodeo. I thought maybe there was something more inside - don't judge a book by its cover type thing. I didn't want to admit i was wrong! So, I asked a guy who was cleaning up the parking lot who didn’t speak English. I did my best tennis charades and he laughed, and said no and he did his best race dog charades. It ended up being a race dog stadium.

So I hopped back on the bus and this time asked the driver. He chuckled and says its a few more stops. After arriving I was directed to the queue which is where everyone lined up to get a ticket. In British fashion, it was very orderly, polite, and well organized. I was #6237. The open air green grass field was very nice with a burger and drink stand. I met an older married couple from Canada, Malcolm and Ceri. We spent the next 5 hours talking, laughing, joking, and the like. It was good talk.

Everyone in the queue received a ticket and had to wait until the line moved. What was noticeable of the area was the sheer beauty and greenery of the Wimbledon. There was a nice golf course, lush greenery, beautiful trees, and large houses surrounding the area. After about 5 hours of waiting, we got in. The tickets were only GBP20.
The atmosphere in Wimbledon was festive and exciting. However, after I walked in, I immediately lost my new friends who bee-lined to get food while I was taking pictures. Oh well… There are 19 courts with tennis being played everywhere. It was very fun to walk into the courts and just sit down anywhere. Tennis players are walking around to their courts and it’s easy to say hi or get an autograph. I took a picture of the sign ‘no seats reserved’, at least outside of Centre Court, court 1, and court 2. Behind Centre court, there is a Henman Hill (which they were renaming Murray Hill). But some doesn’t think he deserves the honor just yet. The hill faces a jumbo tron on the back of Centre court. Everyone sits there drinks PIMMS and watches the games. I also had strawberries and cream which is apparently a favorite of the fans.

I watched a bunch of junior matches, ladies doubles, and other matches. There were college scouts, notably Duke and Tennessee, at the junior matches. I then watched the Murray match for a bit on jumbo tron. After about 4 hours of tennis, I departed.
The day was fantastic as the weather was nice and the atmosphere festive. People were friendly and all excited to watch the matches, especially Andy Murray. I, now, understand the aura of Wimbledon and why it is such a big event. Not only are the best tennis players in the world present but also the atmosphere, excitement, and interest from the fans completely consuming. It definitely ranks up with some of the best sporting events I’ve seen like NCAA March Madness and World Cup.