Shanghai: Watching the Inauguration of the 44th President of the United States!

I watched this ground-breaking moment in history with 600 other people in the Glamour Bar on the Bund in Shanghai. The atmosphere was electric. While President Obama looked back to his Kenyan roots, I could not help but reflect on my own. During Franklin D. Roosevelt's Presidency, my grandparents had returned to Shanghai after studying in the States. Today, my 95-year-old grandfather watched President Barack H. Obama give his stirring inaugural address from Scottsdale, Arizona while I was watching in a building on Shanghai's Bund dating back to 1925.

I arrived at the packed Glamour Bar around 10pm. A swing jazz band was playing. Through the windows was the alluring glimmer of the Huangpu River and surrounding historic buildings. I was texting my brother who had staked out his spot by the Air & Space Museum near 7th Street. "It is so crowded," he reported. I was lucky enough to get a front row seat with an unobstructed view of the big screen on which the live feed from CNN was being projected. The crowd in Glamour Bar burst into chants of "O-BA-MA!" as he walked onto the inaugural platform. Throughout his address, we cheered and clapped.

It was night time in Shanghai, a world away from the day time of Washington D.C. Yet, it was a very American moment. I was reminded that I am an American simply because my parents and grandparents had been lured to the States by the promise of a better education and opportunities to be on the cutting edge of scientific research. "For us, they packed up their few worldly possessions and traveled across oceans in search of a new life," the new President echoed our common history.

And as I sat in a room packed with hundreds of other fellow Americans in Shanghai, imagining similar scenes in cities and villages around the world, I was also reminded by our new President of what it is to be American:

"Hard work and honesty, courage and fair play, tolerance and curiosity, loyalty and patriotism — these things are old. These things are true. They have been the quiet force of progress throughout our history. What is demanded then is a return to these truths. What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility — a recognition, on the part of every American, that we have duties to ourselves, our nation, and the world, duties that we do not grudgingly accept but rather seize gladly, firm in the knowledge that there is nothing so satisfying to the spirit, so defining of our character, than giving our all to a difficult task.

This is the price and the promise of citizenship."

24 Hours in Beijing: A Conversion Tour

Hotel Côté Cour -- A tranquil and stylish, 14-room conversion of a hutong just minutes away from the bustling Wangfujing shopping district. The room I stayed in is larger than Aman's and has a tub! And there's free wifi.

China Club -- China Club members can book one of the eight rooms (four large suites, four smaller suites) also converted from a hutong near the Forbidden City area. Outside, standing in the courtyard, the building is overshadowed by surrounding tall, modern office buildings, but inside, the interiors have been beautifully done in a style that reflects the site, its history and of course its Shanghai Tang pedigree.

Aman @ Summer Palace -- Service staff are impeccably trained (something that a friend had complained about when staying there over their soft-opening during the Olympics). The site is to die for, right next to the Summer Palace (it was where guests waiting for an audience with Empress Cixi would stay) with a direct passage into the Summer Palace grounds. The rooms, however, were a major disappointment. The design of the rooms, with its monochromatic, cream and brown colour scheme was uninspired. Rooms feel cramped (bathrooms don't even have room for a bath tub!) and suites lack the wow factor that mine do its palace connection justice. Cloistered underground are a cinema, beauty salon, gym, pilates studio, squash courts and spa. I imagine it would be more an appealing retreat to Beijingers than tourists staying at the Aman who would have plenty to experience in and around Beijing.

Legation Quarter -- A conversion of buildings that used to be the American Legation dating by to the early 1900s. This collection of western-style buildings have been converted to house swanky F&B outlets by chefs such as Daniel Boulud from NYC and Claudio Sadler from Milan. Hong Kong's own Aqua Group has 2 restaurants and 2 bars. Zen and The Meat Co. are soon to open.

798 Space -- Warehouse conversion into vibrant collection of art spaces & galleries, coffee shops and boutiques.

New York Faves

1. Enid's, Brooklyn -- I spent an afternoon in Brooklyn after a lunch at DB Bistro. The steak sandwich was more memorable than the signature DB burger stuffed with foie gras and braised ribs. And it was only 1/8th the price! Next time, I'm going to have to have the pulled pork sandwich. Their banana rum cake is also delish.
2. A yoga class by Jules Febre @ Jivamukti -- a student:teacher ratio of 4:3!
3. Shopping for cold weather running gear -- Running Company (their latest shop on 63rd & 3rd, having taken over the shop that used to be Really Cool Foods). They let you try their running shoes on a treadmill that also videos your stride.
4. Equus -- An intriguing take on the struggle to find meaning in life. Daniel Radcliffe bares all, but it's Richard Griffiths who gets under your skin.

Phoenix/Scottsdale Faves

Some faves from my recent trip:
1. Brunch at La Grand Orange Grocery -- Great crepes, havana latte (latte using condensed milk instead of regular milk) and Tammie Coe cupcakes.
2. Sprinkles cupcakes
3. Roka Akor -- For the Asian food fix. From the same group as Roka and Zuma in Hong Kong and London. But Roka Akor to Hong Kong's Roka in Pacific Place.
4. Poolside @ W Scottsdale -- Great place for drinks
5. Hike Camelback Mountain to burn off all the food and drink

It's a New Year!

"I woke up this morning feeling brand new, cuz the dreams I'd been
dreaming had finally come true..."

I woke up this morning with will.I.am's "It's a New Day" in my head.
It's a brand new year, and I am in Phoenix.

Phoenix, the mythical creature that dies in a blaze of
flames only to be reborn from its ashes; the symbolism is not lost on me. I've always believed in
creative destruction. The destructive phase is not the most pleasant
thing to go through; as many of us no doubt felt in 2008.

Over a breakfast of lox and bagel, the pundits on CNBC were ready to
declare 2009 a year of investment opportunities. And of course that's
true. Somebody always makes money, no matter how dire the situation.
McDonalds, for one, was one of the very few stocks that finished 2008
in the green. Sure, tough times lie ahead, but we Americans are always
on the lookout for new opportunities. If there's one thing we're
really good at, it's rebranding (just look at Madonna; doubt she'll be
answering to Madge anymore).

I rarely watch TV on a TV, and watching TV in America is quite a
surreal experience. There are so many drug ads and shopping ads for
knick knacks that make your life easier (my personal favourite at the
moment is Snuggie, a fleece blanket with sleeves that makes you look
like a monk). And everything, from choppers to Obama commemorative gold coins, is just US$19.95. For a limited time only, of course and plus shipping & handling. So call now and let's buy, buy, buy our way out of our woes.

I wander through Borders and am overwhelmed by all the self-help,
weight loss, brand-new-you, richer you, happier you books on the
shelves. If I didn't know any Americans, I would have thought that
this was a country full of fat, poor, sad, defeated people looking for
pain-free quick fixes. I find it ironic that Pfizer was peddling a
pill to help smokers quit smoking -- pop a pill to kick an addiction.

Yet, thousands of people worked extremely hard last year to ensure
their pick for the next leader of the United States would end up in
the White House. Only one man made it, and it was a brilliant example
of a country that still had the capacity to dream and accomplish what
previously had been thought to be impossible.

2009 may be a new year. And on 20 January, we may have a brand new
president in the White House. But in many ways, there will be nothing
new about this year. Our economic and foreign policy challenges may
seem unprecedented, but if we have faith in the process -- creative
destruction -- we will know that on the other side of pain is promise.
The promise of America has always been our capacity "to dream the impossible dream" (yes, now the tune of "The Impossible Dream" from the 70s Broadway musical Man of La Mancha is drumming through my head) and
then achieve it. We seem to thrive best in the face
of such situations.

This year, will we simply rebrand ourselves or will we take this
opportunity and the lessons learned from 2008 to reimagine and create
anew our future, like a phoenix rising from the ashes? Only time will
tell.

In the meantime, the talking heads on CNBC will continue to talk...