East Eats West

Swiss versus Indian fishing nets

Picture: Fishing station on the river Rhine in Basel.  Picture: 'Chinese' fishing nets in Fort Cochin, Kerala (India). 

 A famous feature of colonial Fort Cochin in Kerala, India, are the fishing nets originally constructed by Chinese fishermen. Interestingly a very similar contraptions can be found along the banks of the mighty River Rhine in Basle, Switzerland. The fishing nets can be swung into position from a neat little shack. The nets are then lowered and hoisted by a winch. Basically the same idea the Chinese had in Fort Cochin.

 

The joys of Swiss travelers

With Europe and America slowly toppling over under their debt burden, the Swiss Francs has become the currency of choice for scared investors again. The Swiss Francs has recently reached record highs towards the dollar, Euro and most other currencies. What is mostly bad news for the Swiss tourism industry is an unexpected boon for Swiss travelers as their appreciated Swiss Francs buys them more and more. MacBooks from Apple for example are between 20-25% cheaper in Malaysia than in Switzerland. A clear buy signal!

Why the Range Rover goes bling

I recently read an interview with the Range Rover designer. He explained that the newest model has more speed lines and other design features that make it look not only more powerful but also have more bling factor. The reason for this is simple: customers in the Middle East, Russia and Asia demand more conspicuous designs and want more bling. This trend can also be seen in fashion as traditional houses like Dior and Chanel become more fancy, more colorful and their designs, more outrageous. Slowly but surely the emerging markets' spending power can already be felt and seen!