I enrolled in the course because I wanted to beef up my problem solving skills. Unlike many of my classmates, I did not have the pleasure of working for a big consulting firm like BCG, Bain, or McKinsey prior to my acceptance to Haas. I feel the IBD experience will help me beef up my problem solving skills to better transition to a product marketing or product management role in the technology sector.

Also, it’s pretty nice to be able to travel to a foreign country for three weeks in May and have your client pay for your travel and lodging, am I right?

Tonight, I attended the first IBD session for 2012. To give context about the class, there are 32 different teams working with clients. However, nobody was given any information about their teammates, countries, or clients until tonight.

Everybody was understandably nervous. Before leaving for the winter break, the program director had sent all students a survey asking about our risk tolerance. After all, past IBD teams have encountered anarchy, riots, and natural disasters. Two hours of suspense and team-building exercises passed before the program directors finally revealed our team assignments.

Some of my classmates were assigned to South Africa, Bulgaria, Peru, and even Senegal. Projects ranged from healthcare to technology to finance to even wildlife conservation. One team discovered they would be sent to Laos to help preserve crocodiles!

My assignment ended up being far less rural. I will be working on a very influential marketing project for a leading telecommunications firm in Seoul. Having worked with countless Korean digital media companies in my previous job at Google, I’m very much looking forward to working on the other side of the table.

Visiting Seoul will be exciting, especially in the summer. But I don’t think it won’t be all fun and games. After all, the client is actually paying Haas for our services and we’re expected to deliver real working recommendations. This is a legitimate consulting project with real revenue at stake.

Secondly, my team is expected to complete the bulk of the work before leaving the United States. Once we reach South Korea, our work will shift to implementation! For this reason, we are going to set up an intro call with the client tomorrow and then try to meet him in person later this week to discuss our deliverables.

Overall, I think the project is going to be great because the analysis I’ll be conducting and recommendations I’ll be delivering will be directly applicable to the post-MBA marketing and product management roles I seek.

As a country, South Korea might not be as exotic as Congo, Nigeria, Tanzania, or Mongolia. But I think it will still be an awesome experience. I’ll get to ride a fast rail in a clean city, experience super fast internet speeds, and eat delicious Korean food on a daily basis. Who wouldn’t like that?

Korean friends, you must tell me your favorite places in Seoul! I intend to visit every one on the weekend.

On my flight back to San Francisco, I had a 9 hour layover in Beijing. Chris, Andrew, and I decided to leave the airport and visit the city. Our goal: eat some Peking duck.

Having come from two weeks of hot and humid weather in South East Asia, our bodies were not prepared for the freezing cold. The icy blast that awaited us as we stepped out of the terminal into the morning air nearly knocked us over. We quickly jumped into a cab and asked to be taken to Tiananmen Square.

The drive took an hour and a half and was filled with banter which I lovingly refer to as “China Sass.” Basically, cab drivers in mainland China don’t take crap from anyone. Don’t speak English? Too bad. Get out of my cab. Want to go somewhere? You know nothing. I have a better idea.

“Why the heck do you guys want to go to Tiananmen Square,” the driver asked us in Chinese. “I’ll take you guys somewhere better.”

“Uh… okay.”

Welcome to China.

The reason the drive took an hour and a half was because there are a million cars on the road and no carpool lane. Also, people don’t follow traffic laws. On several occasions, I was nearly run over by a car when I clearly had the right of way.

“Oh well. That’s China,” Chris said to me.

Eventually, we ducked into a coffee shop next to the ”Rich Hotel” to warm up. We sat next to some chain smoking fellows. Coffee was ridiculously overpriced… but beer was not. Oddly enough, large bottles of beer cost less than small bottles of beer. So we opted for the former.

I am sure by now, you are envious of my adventurous lifestyle. I mean, can you say you’ve ever sat in a Chinese coffee shop at 10:00 in the morning, drinking warm beer out of a bottle while listening to soft rock mixed with the chatter of chain-smoking Chinese businessmen? Kevin 1, World 0.

Beijing is also home to the skinniest Santa I have ever seen. He also plays the saxophone, an act that certainly elevates his coolness factor several levels above our lame Western variant. Instead of bringing elf-craft toys to poor children form his reindeer sleigh, Chinese Santa redistributes property and distributes pictures of Mao.

We did get a chance to walk around Tiananmen Square. It was wonderful. At the risk of being forever banned from the beautiful country of China (which I hope to visit again in the future) I will say no more about this place.

This is Zhengyangmen, the front gate to the Forbidden City. Don’t ask me anymore about its significance. My Chinese history is rusty.

Here’s the other side of the tower/gate.

Okay. I will say a few more things about Tiananmen Square. You see this soldier staring sternly at bystanders taking photos? Pretty cool, huh?

Now look in the background and you’ll see another soldier standing on a pedestal, surrounded by plexiglass. Now that is badass.

Sadly, we did not get a chance to see the mummified body of Chairman Mao. The guard told us we couldn’t bring cameras and bags inside. When I asked him where we could leave our items for safekeeping, he pointed across the street. Unwilling to play real-life Frogger, we moved on to our next destination.

Here’s a shopping center directly south of Zhengyangmen and Chairman Mao Zedong Memorial Hall. Don’t be fooled by the ornate decorations. There was a Starbucks right around the corner.

Andrew and Chris bought some tea here at the Tianfu Tea House. As we were walking down this alley looking for some hot noodle soup, the lady at the door invited us to step away from the cold outdoors and into the warm store. The saleswomen told us to sit down and poured us some hot tea. That was it. We were trapped. However, the tea was indeed delicious and warmed us up right away!

There was an ice cream shop nearby that didn’t fare so well.

Eventually, we made it to Quanjude, a famous Peking Duck restaurant. Originally, we wanted to go to a different restaurant. However, when we jumped in a cab, the lady driver basically told us we were idiots and drove us to Quanjude instead. What did I say about China Sass?

Before I comment on the duck, I want to say a few words about Quanjude’s exceptional  restroom service. I’ve been to many toilets in my life, but none have been quite as special as Quanjude’s.

Earlier, while attempting to flag down a taxi on the street, I had stumbled into an infamous Beijing public toilet. Essentially, it was a hole in the ground covered in feces — there was no toilet paper or hose. The room smelled like durian.

In stark contrast, Quanjude’s restroom smelled like roses and came equipped with a personal servant. “Hello sir, please come in,” he said to me as I ran to the urinal. When I finished, he directed me to the faucet and turned on the water for me. “Please wash your hands, sirrrrrr.” He then directed me to soap. “Here is the soap, sirrrrr.”

Then, he turned off the faucet for me and handed me paper towels with tongs! “Here is the wastebasket, sirrrr.” Finally, as I turned to leave. He said “Xiansheng manzhou” (goodbye sir). “Did he also flush the toilet for you?” my friends asked.

Enough about the toilets. We ordered Peking duck, some Chinese Kale (Gai Lan), and a beef dish. The waitress looked at us incredulously. I’m sure in the kitchen, the chefs were shocked. “What… someone ordered a dish that isn’t duck? Quick, grab the cow and kill it now!”

The duck was brought out and sliced thinly.

Afterwards, Chris asked for a receipt. In China, all receipts come with a scratcher and a code for prizes. This was put in place to give customers an incentive to ask businesses for receipts when paying with cash. Doing so forces a business to create a paper trail, making it more difficult to avoid taxes.

Maybe something similar should be implemented in America. Think of all the extra tax revenue our state governments would collect from cash-only restaurants.

Rather than risk being stuck in traffic for another hour and a half and missing our connecting flight to San Francisco, we decided to take the subway back to the airport. We made it back in about 30 minutes.

And with that, our little excursion into Beijing came to an end.

The last stop of our tour before going to Jumbo Seafood for chili crab was Singapore’s Chinatown. Considering how expensive products are in Singapore’s shopping centers, it was a welcome sight to see trinkets on sale for a mere 5-10 Singapore dollars.

I had an hour to shop and managed to procure an iPhone case, three shirts, and an assortment of lucky cat charms for friends. I originally wanted to buy watches and ties as well, but sadly the stand was unmanned. I couldn’t find the owner to pay him. And of course, stealing in Singapore was out of the question. We’ve already established how strict law enforcement is in this country.

I realized that no matter where you go, every Chinatown adheres to the same three absolutes:

1. Overcrowded walkways
2. Inexpensive souvenirs
3. Loud people shouting

Although I wish I had another hour to shop in Chinatown, I did manage to procure enough souvenirs for my friends back home. And that, my friends, is the purpose of traveling abroad — to buy useless items for friends back home.

When we finally made it to Orchard Road, Jerry immediately spotted Din Tai Fung and ushered everyone inside. “Ooh, it’s DTF? Does anyone else want DTF?”

Having watched three seasons of Jersey Shore (ironically, I insist) my mind immediately wandered to other things.

Din Tai Fung is an award-winning Michelin star-rated restaurant from Taiwan. At least, that’s what I learned from Wikipedia because I am nothing if not an amazing researcher of facts. Din Tai Fung is best known for its buns.

We ordered xiaolongbao (or little dragon buns) which are soupy meat buns. Normally, you have to get a reservation and wait 30 minutes to an hour in order to get a table. However, the Din Tai Fung restaurant we went to was inside a mall. We arrived early and was able to grab two tables immediately.

More images after the jump.

As you can see, there is a display of all the different types of buns offered at Din Tai Fung. We did not use this display to order. Once seated, the waitress (or xiaojie) handed us regular sized menus with pictures and a checklist.

To be honest, I’m not a big foodie. When my classmates talk about nice restaurants in hotels that they’ve visited (while jetting around the country for their former consultant jobs) I sometimes roll my eyes. In fact, I hadn’t even heard of Din Tai Fung before the South East Asia Trek. However, I’m glad I had a chance to eat at this restaurant because the xiaolongbao that they served were expertly crafted.

Afterwards, we walked around three malls filled with expensive, boutique items. Did I mention that Singaporeans love to shop?

Holy moly, there are a lot of Chinese people in this mall. I say this with sweetness, of course. I mean, who doesn’t like Chinese people?

Delicious buns (or bao!) and candy surrounded me. I was in heaven. Red, red, loud, Cantonese-speaking heaven.

74% of the Singaporean population is ethnically Chinese. So Chinese New Year is a really big deal. This upcoming year is the ‘Year of the Dragon’ so the very superstitious couples are scrambling to conceive little dragon children.

ION was the final mall we visited. It had a ceiling display with moving fish and turtle silhouettes. At this point, most people were pretty tired. Correction, the guys were tired of shopping. The girls still wanted to shop more. So Nikhil took the guys back to the hotel while Viv took the girls to complete a few more rounds.

God, is there no end to this shopping?

Before I write any further, I should mention that all names on this blog have been changed to preserve the anonymity of those involved. We are MBA candidates seeking summer internships after all. If you’re an employer reading this, good luck trying to figure out who ‘Viv’ and ‘Nikhil’ really are!

Orchard Road is a posh shopping area with mega-malls connected to mega-malls connected to mega-malls. How much shopping does one country need? For that matter, how many Louis Vuitton stores does a single mall need? Apparently, the answer is more than 10. “Be careful of that LV store,” Viv told me as we entered the Ngee Ann City mall. “My friend went inside to try on some shoes and they kicked her out because her feet were too big.”

To get around town quickly by rail, Viv procured Singapore tourist passes for everybody. We were herded like cattle from station to station, but I loved the experience. It’s one thing to sit in a tour bus and see the city. It’s another entirely to immerse yourself in public transportation and be one with the people.

The MRT is one of the cleanest and most efficient rail systems I have ever used. It puts San Francisco’s BART to shame. For starters, the seats don’t look like they’ve been chewed up by animals, only small children. Another difference is the stations themselves. In America, stations have seats so you can rest your feet while waiting for the next train. In Singapore, you have boutique stores to help locals deal with shopping withdrawal. Legend says that if a Singaporean does not shop within 24 hours, he or she will turn into foam.

The MRT is clean because passengers are not allowed to bring any food or drink on board. That’s right, even a covered Starbucks container is forbidden. In fact, the city even lists the fines you have to pay if  you break the rules.

Remember that old Stallone movie called Demolition Man in which the protagonist (some cop from the 20th century) wakes up in the future and is freaked out by all the authoritarian changes? At one point, Stallone learns that every time he says the word ‘fuck,’ he receives a citation. This is how it feels in Singapore at times — cameras everywhere, fines everywhere.

The terminals are pretty typical. Just touch your MRT pass to the sensor and the gates open. However, I noticed that the gates are quite narrow. I wonder how a fat person would possibly squeeze through.

Then again, I didn’t meet a single fat Singaporean on the trip. Viv told me that Singaporeans are just genetically thin. No matter how much they eat, they don’t gain weight. Personally, I think they Singaporeans just consume fewer quantities of high fructose corn syrup.

In America, I buy S-sized t-shirts. In Singapore, an American S is equivalent to an M. So my skinny body is now considered average-sized. Great.

It’s 2:30 in the morning on the final day of the SEA Winter Trek! I just got back to the hotel after a raucous night of dancing and partying at Zouk, one of Singapore’s oldest and most famous nightclubs.

Since we went on a Wednesday night, the crew was able to partake in Mambo Jambo, a theme clubbing night featuring retro songs (from the 90s) and intense para para dance choreography. Basically, as we danced on the floor, some of the club employees stood on pedestals and enacted special dance moves. Everyone on the floor had to follow along.

The best way to describe it would be like playing Dance Central but without the Xbox Kinect or points. It’s clear that each song has a predetermined set of moves as a lot of the regular patrons already memorized the gestures.

It was a fun night… but I can’t keep up with all these 18 year olds. In Singapore, the legal clubbing and drinking age is 18, not 21. My mind may still be young, but I feel my age starting to catch up in my aching bones and muscles.

All of our activities today have been pushed back from 8:00 in the morning to 10:30 in order to help everyone recover. I’m off to sleep.

Enjoy the pretty pictures!

Here I am in front of the Marina Bay Sands. Thanks to Julie for taking the picture.

One of my friends wanted to take a picture of herself jumping in the air in front of Marina Bay Sands. Sadly, when she jumped, she kicked her shoe into the water! A boatman managed to retrieve the shoe. But instead of handing it to her, the boatman tried to throw it back! Big mistake. He missed and the shoe sunk to the bottom of the bay.

More pictures after the jump.

One last shot of One Fullerton at dusk.

Here’s a shot of the bay at night.

Every night, Marina Bay Sands puts on a laser light show. It was pretty awesome.

Here’s the big sign opposite the merlion statue. Why is the mascot of Singapore a merlion? It’s because Singapura is sanskrit for ‘Lion City.’ The lion has the tail of a fish to represent the city’s history as a fishing village before British colonization.

Another shot of Marina Bay Sands around 8:00p. The ‘red’ section in the SkyPark is the Ku De Ta bar where I took pictures yesterday.

Here’s the mixer. We were at a bar called OverEasy. Beer in Singapore is pricey. It’s slightly more expensive than in Las Vegas. However, you get two-for-one during happy hour.

Singapore is truly an amazing city. It’s sleek and modern, yet peppered with old superstitions and cultural considerations throughout its urban design. For example, many of the skyscrapers along the river are eight-sided because 8 is an auspicious number in Chinese.

Would I ever live in Singapore? It’s hard to say. The city is beautiful and the people are nice. Everything is new and clean. However, residents have to sacrifice certain civil liberties and pay very high taxes in order to maintain this standard of living. It’s a city of incredibly polarizing trade-offs.

PHOTO: Lev. B

The entire tour was wonderful. However, I found the Marina Bay Cruise especially exciting because it gave me a chance to see Marina Bay Sands from the outside and take pictures. Also, the skyline is amazing. Sorry, Chicago. You are now number two in my heart.

I took a lot of pictures (far too many to post on this blog). You can see the entire gallery here.

As you’ll recall from my previous post, our crew had dinner last night at Viv’s house. Aside from the unfortunate episode with the durian, we left feeling completely stuffed from the yummy food and vowed never to eat again.

This morning, we assembled at our hotel lobby for a breakfast food crawl. We ended up walking a block to visit the Raffles City shopping center and prowl the food court. We ended up at a breakfast shop called Ya Kun Kaya Toast, which served drippy eggs and toast with butter and sugary jam. I was about to have a heart attack and forced myself to eat slowly. I was hyper for a few hours afterwards.

A few hours later… we decided to congregate and eat again. Hit the jump for more details.

Afterwards, we returned to the hotel for a 30 minute break and prepare our antacids. We again assembled in the lobby and boarded our tour bus to visit Samy’s Curry, a famous South Indian restaurant.

We entered an air conditioned room in the back of the restaurant and sat down. The waiters gave us limeade and banana leaves. Then, the food came.

It was the most hot and spicy Indian food I had ever eaten. My classmates were about to cry. I could feel my taste buds evaporate off my tongue. Soon, my mouth became numb.

Afterwards, Nikhil told us that he had actually ordered medium spiciness. I can’t imagine how the food could possibly become spicier. Anyway, we sweated like pigs and chugged several pitchers of water. Yet the hotness would not leave our mouths. It felt like a fire had been lit in our throats. On the bright side, the Indian food finally got rid of the durian aftertaste in my mouth.

A few hours later, Viv took us to yet another food event. At this point, we were ready to pop. Our rotund stomachs were practically begging for mercy.

We visited Raffles Hotel, the oldest and most expensive hotel in Singapore. Rooms cost over $1,000 per night. The place was so swanky that we had to change to collared shirts, long pants, and nice shoes.

We sat down for some afternoon tea. There was a buffet. We ate and drank.

You’ll see three different types of food here: delicious dim sum, European desserts, and Asian fruit. Mix and match!

At this point, you can see a trend. All you do in Singapore is eat food. It’s no wonder that people on the street are a little chubbier than the typical South East Asian. I predict that I’ll have gained 5-10 pounds after this trip. Hopefully, it’ll make up for all the weight I lost in Thailand and Philippines.

PHOTO: Rob B.

Look at this view! Wonderful, isn’t it? You can see the tallest buildings in Singapore from the rooftop club at the Ku De Ta lounge/nightclub on the 57th floor of the Marina Bay Sands hotel. Like Bangkok, Singapore is definitely a city of lights.

See more photos after the jump.

Marina Bay Sands is the single most expensive hotel/resort/casino is the entire world. It cost $8 billion Singapore dollars to construct, largely due to the high price of land in Singapore. The hotel is known for its unique look: three towers hold up a giant ship-like platform called SkyPark.

Here’s the elevator to the 57th floor. Yes, it really does look like Mr. Freeze’s lair from Batman and Robin.

Here’s a view of the infinity pool. In the day, hotel guests can swim in this pool and view the entire city! It must be quite a thrilling experience to swim close to the end of the pool and look over the edge! At night, the area was roped off and inaccessible from Ku De Ta. I imagine having a bunch of drunk socialites fall to their deaths would be bad for business,

From Ku De Ta, you can see some pretty interesting landmarks. They include City Hall and the Waterfront Promenade.

My mobile phone camera didn’t do a very good job capturing the individual signs and logos on the skyscrapers.

The lotus-shaped white building is the ArtScience Museum. The colorful grid-like structure in the back is the Marina Bay Floating Stadium.

The building left of the ArtScience Museum is a Louis Vuitton store. I imagine you’ll find really really ridiculous rich people hanging out nearby.

Unfortunately, I was feeling tired and did not explore the rest of Marina Bay Sands. As I understand it, the inside of the hotel is kind of a technologically advanced utopia, not unlike the mega ship seen in Wall-E.