Two things happened on my last trip round the world worth commenting on.

One, the move by US authorities to allow mobiles to be used inflight during taxi, takeoff and landing. Delta Airlines was the first airline to allow this and on my flight from JFK to Fort Lauderdale, I experienced what could well be the new inflight experience – enforced “eavesdropping” on other people’s conversations.

In such a small space, you can’t help but hear everything and on this flight, I was seated between two fairly hefty men I am guessing of similar vintage, 50+, and both were as loud as they were wide.

One was talking to his daughter, who was obviously a musician. He had flown in from Narita, met a few American jazz musicians at the airport, struck up a conversation, told them about his daughter and now they were keen to meet her and listen to her play.

The other was speaking to a sibling, obviously concerned about his mother. “Can you pop in to see her? I’m a bit worried and you live close by. I wished I had more time,” he said.

I like that even though we are worlds apart, we all share the same stories.

I am not sure I like it though that now, up to 10,000 feet, passengers are now allowed to use personal electronic devices as long as they are in airplane mode. And now with wifi also available on most flights at I presume more affordable rates, I wonder if airlines should introduce social etiquette videos just as they have those safety announcements.

I can’t wait for a Virgin America video on that – if it’s along the lines of their latest safety video which has become a YouTube sensation, it should be fun.

Two, the news  that 9flats, the Airbnb competitor, has closed its Berlin operations after Berlin’s move to ban short-term rentals in the German city.

This news should make other accommodation sharing sites sit up and wonder if other city authorities will follow suit – for example, Singapore known for its pretty strict regulations?

Speaking to a Berliner I met in Amsterdam, I was somewhat taken aback by the vehemence with which he spoke about sites like 9flats and Airbnb.

“This is good news,” he said. “The whole thing has gotten out of hand. We don’t know who our neighbours are anymore. I mean, you buy a flat for a certain quality of residents and environment but now with this, you never know who’s going to be staying there, throwing parties and making lots of noise.”

Meanwhile, back in Singapore, my 20-year-old godson who is visiting for the holidays has booked a room on Airbnb and is going to be sharing with a couple. The price, under S$300 for a week.

“I love it, it really lowers the barriers for travel for people like me,” he said.

I find it interesting the different attitudes people have about social and sharing. In Europe, privacy is a bigger deal than it is in Asia where we seem to have embraced social willy-nilly without little thought of privacy and who’s doing what with our data. Ditto with personal space – go to China and India or any cities across Asia and you’ll understand why we are less precious about our space.

See, my belief is that sharing economy is made for Asia. Most of us grew up in villages, kampungs, hutongs, whatever you might call it in the different cultures – and in one generation, most of us have been moved into vertical dwellings with very little physical and personal space to speak of.

But the desire to be communal hasn’t changed. In schools, we are taught society first, family second, individual third. My father, when he landed in Penang on a boat from Hainan, China, was taken in by the Yeoh clan (left) who looked after him and made sure he landed on his feet.

So while you may take the boy out of the “kampong”, you can’t take the “kampong” out of the boy.

Which is why I dread what may happen to flying in Asia when the rule about mobile devices is lifted wholesale and we are allowed to use them during taxi, takeoff and landing. Quick, somebody do that social etiquette video and make it a viral sensation.

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