#wit2013: Connecting the dots with The Asia Factor
For the most part of this year – OMG, is it already mid-July – I’ve been travelling places and speaking about Asia, how the region’s changing, how travel’s moving and, most crucially, how we as folks in Asia are evolving as citizens, consumers and travellers.It started with the AIME even [...]
Old world and very new one collide on Yunnan’s tea and horse trail
Today is the first day of my tea and horse trail adventure in Yunnan. Over the next seven days, I will cover by four wheel drive the same trail that ancient tea and horse traders traversed on their way from Dali through Lijiang and up to Zhongdian (Shangri-La), on the Tibetan-China border.It’s a t [...]
Postcard from Taiwan: Taipei 101 flashmob captures the Heart of Asia
I’m Taiwanese and proud of it; for anyone who knows me, it’s no secret that I love Taiwan. That’s why when this flash mob video hit YouTube a week ago, featuring classic songs that stir all Taiwanese people, my pride for the country swelled to the heights of the Taipei 101. I’m pleased to [...]
The changing nature of work and the critical role of mentors
I feel like I’ve won the jackpot. This week, I was told I was randomly picked out of 13,000 people in Singapore to be interviewed for a new survey the government is doing on job skills.So feeling lucky – actually I felt sorry for the student who showed up at my door, he had this air of being use [...]
#witroadshow: Lessons from Froggy and proof of leapfrogging
For some reason, I’ve got frogs on my mind. Perhaps it’s the fact that my favourite character in Phare, The Cambodian Circus I caught on Saturday night in Siem Reap was named “Froggy”.(What a fantastic show by the way, make sure you catch it next time you’re in Angkor Wat. That's me with [...]
From Adelaide to the road: The Asian travel story continued
And so begins our road trip for the WIT Hospitality Workshop, powered by INFOR EasyRMS … in the next five days, we will be covering Manila, Ho Chi Minh City and Kuala Lumpur and Siem Reap.See, an itinerary like this would not have been possible up to three or even two years ago but low cost airlin [...]
Ah, for ‘no more walls’ between Japan and foreign travellers – the time has come
I am sitting in a ryokan (Japanese inn) by the Pacific Ocean as I write this. The sun is just rising, the birds are flitting about in the early light of dawn, the beach is deserted, a contrast from yesterday afternoon when surfers were out riding the waves.Last night, we had an amazing dinner. In Ja [...]
Letter from Tokyo: Start-ups shaking up travel scene amid new optimism
I am writing this as I am listening to the start-ups pitching at our first WIT Japan Bootcamp in Tokyo while facilitating discussions – yes, we all have to multi-task these days.And I am amazed at the energy and enthusiasm in the room and among the entrepreneurs vying for the judges’ attention.I [...]
Letter from Shanghai: Scent of a hotel, toasted loo and lobster in a jar
It being the first time I have stayed at a Waldorf Astoria, I figure I should write about it.Especially about that toilet seat that flips up automatically every time I open the door to the cubicle. Quite spooky at first encounter. I think I jumped. I developed a fear of self-opening toilet lids afte [...]
Are you a ‘leftover’ woman? And are you self-critical? Read on
Is the universe telling me something or what? On the flight to Bangkok to open our second WITX event and I am reading the IHT and what should I come across but two articles that speak directly to the topic of how women are redefining not just travel but societies, economies and workplaces.First is a [...]
