Without exception, the ambassador's limo arrive with exactly five minutes to spare, allowing time to go up in the elevator and walk in the assistant secretary's suite on the dot of the appointed time. If you are late for an appointment, they will think you unorganized and irresponsible. Even worse, they may condescend and patronize you as a simple, gentle Southeast Asian. No 'rubber time' here. Do as the Romans do.
T here are, of course, many individual, regional, and national variations in approaches to time.
A friend assigned to Stockholm was told that the Swedes expected promptness, so on their first dinner invitation, and uncertain of the way, they left home early. They arrived five minutes before the appointed hour and found four other guests standing silently in the hall outside the door of the hosts' apartment. At exactly 7 p.m., the guest closest to the door pushed the bell. The door opened immediately, and all six guests filed in together. We recognize that a doctor's appointment is only an approximation.