Universitas Pelita Harapan: Asia Cup 2007...

Some of my fondest memories of Indonesia relate to coaching moot court teams. I had the great fortune of working with the students from Universitas Pelita Harapan (Pelita Harapan University / UPH) from 2007 through 2009. The students that I worked with were one of the most dedicated groups that I have had the pleasure of working with. They were not only keen to learn, but they were keen to get better, and they were prepared to put in the hard yards to achieve those goals.

The first time I worked with the UPH students was in preparation for the Asia Cup Law Moot competition that is organised by the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs and is by invitation only. The competition was held in Tokyo. The team worked hard to get to Japan. The effort included a weekend of seclusion / retreat at Kota Bunga (Puncak) that was designed to allow total focus on the task at hand, writing memorials. However, as these photos suggest, there was also time for a little relaxation as well.

My thanks to all the team members and their very dedicated team advisor (Pricilla, James, Johan, Nenda, Sunny, and Levin, and of course Michelle).

Japan

Well, I had never been to Japan before so I had been looking forward to going...this was even more so the case because someone else was picking up the majority of the tab (airfares, accommodation, and a not so generous per diem as it turns out)...

The first thing that struck me was that it was summer in Japan and it was hot! Somewhere between 36 and 40 degrees Celsius which was actually nice as it reminded me a little of my summers in Australia. It was hot and dry which is always a nice contrast to the hot and humid weather of Indonesia. I was only there for 4 days and having to work there was not enough time to get out of Tokyo and see the rest of what is said to be a fantastic tourist destination...I would have loved to have had the time to get down to Kyoto and check out the Geisha (the ride down on the bullet train might have been fum as well)...I will definitely get back to Japan someday (it is one of the countries on my list of 1000 things to do before I kick the bucket!!!)...

Japan is comparatively expensive for someone on an Indonesian salary...I understand that with a Japanese salary your standard of living is likely to be much better. But all the same, I guess I have just been spoilt with the comparatively cheap prices that are always available in Indonesia if you want to shop around!

The other point of note is that Japanese obviously like to drink...It was kind of bizarre to walk around the streets late at night and see blokes in business suits sleeping on the footpath using their briefcases for a pillow obviously having staggered out of the bar that they are asleep in front of...Also surprising, although I probably should not be, was the number of African blokes working as touts to the girlie bars...

You gotta love Japanese hotels...24 hour porn channels and access only requires you to buy a card from a vending machine! 1000 yen a card but it only lasts for a short while, so I am told :)...

It was nice to go somewhere where there is a functioning, clean, and efficient public transportation system, particularly the subway which sort of gets you to wherever you want or need to be...Get a map though and learn your way!

The airport, at least the Narita airport, is a long way from Tokyo 70kms on an expressway...but there are public buses that get you to most places in Tokyo for about 3000 yen or the train for about 1900 yen...the bus is easier for first timers if you are unfamiliar with the subway system...

All in all it was a fun 4 days!