Joseph Kottooran is an India area secretary for Y'smens International from Kochi. He has traveled extensively abroad for work. During one of his train journeys in Japan, he was struck by the discipline - elders were given priority boarding and passengers did not speak loudly on mobile phones. He also noticed commuters' behavior. His last visit to Japan before the 2011 tsunami was stressful. Singapore is his favorite country because it has adopted aspects of Kerala culture but does not have language barriers as English is widely spoken. He recommends visiting Japan to experience the cleanliness of cities like Hiroshima.

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companiesthatdealin building
'machineryandexports.His several
trips abroadfor theilternational
struckhim mostwasthediscipline
thathewitnessedduringoneof his
trainjourneys.
"While boardinga train theelders
aregivenpriority andwhat surprised
me themostwasthatno onespoke
loudly on a mobile."Anotherinter-
estingaspectwastheway com-
mutersbehaved."Takins a cuefrom
thepeoplethereI eveniorgot to
honk for a while afterI cameback
to India," smilesJoseph.But his last
visit to Japanwasa little stressful
for thisjetsetterashevisitedthe
placejust beforetheonslaughtof the
tsunamithatwreakedhavocin
Japan'smain cities."That wasa
closeone,"remembersJosephwho
wastheformer administrativeHead
of Infoparkandthe CEO of Kings
InfraVenturesLtd.
A trip to a foreigncountryis conventionsof Y'srnenssoon
A exhilaratingin manyways.It becamea regularaffair.But which
L introduces you to a countrydid heenjoythe
differentculturewhich is an l
tS :".,most?Singapor"is ihe
excitingandeyeopening . l$:*,ffi; : countryI liked thebest,
ffi"#f;li:'::'ff:#:""fr::]l#ffiffi=';lni'"f','i";i:.::1f'
bouringcountrieshavetd ffiffi$I$ fiS theworldthaihas
offer? , ;;llllt+'llffiri':::::jiimbibedalotof Kerala
,#::i*11?,i3lilj,".*n"',,m8, i;Jl',:1;*li':.^,|3E::Jhasvisitedciuntrieslike .Hffiffi nolanguagebarrier.
Japan, SingapOfe, HOng KOng :!:ii:ri:::,:',:r:itii:ii::,:::::;t::,tt:i:ti:1:::::::1.:,:.:,::EngliSh iS Widely SpOken
andChina- travelis a lessonin there," he adds.
discipline.Basedin Kochi, Josephis Yet anothercounffythathe sug-
theIndia areasecretaryforY'smens gestsoneshouldn'tmissis Japart.
IntemationalcoveringtheMiddle Otherthanthecleanlinessof Japan's
Eastandis alsothe directorof two maiorcitieslike Hiroshima,what
LessonsindisciplinelromJapan
Joseph
Kottooran,
a globe-
trotter
frorn
Kochi,
talks about
, different
countries
and their
varied
cultures
JI.,IANN CHERIAN