Lesley’s Travel Journal: Ho Chi Minh City, Taipei, Beijing, Seoul and Busan
ITC International Marketing Manager, Lesley Brough, recently visited the Great Wall of China during a business trip to Asia.
Every few months, ITC International Marketing Manager Lesley Brough travels overseas to meet with international students and agents. Her last trip was to Ho Chi Minh City, Taipei, Beijing, Seoul, and Busan. Below, she shares some highlights from the trip.
It was a bit of a whirlwind trip! I was away for two weeks so I didn’t have a lot of time in each city, but I did get to do a few cool things.
The purpose of the business trip was to attend workshops with Quality English/Education in Ho Chi Minh City and Taipei, as well as visit agents in China and Korea. The workshops were kind of like speed dating with agents and companies, to get to know each other and see if there’s potential to work together in the future.
Here’s a glimpse into what I got up to in each city.
Ho Chi Minh City
I spent my first afternoon in Ho Chi Minh City walking around and familiarising myself with the area. I took photos of some beautiful buildings – the architecture is gorgeous.
In the evening, I went for dinner with a group of school representatives. We all shared some delicious Vietnamese food together.
I spent the rest of my time in the city meeting with agents and working. I must say, trying to cross the road was a nightmare because the cars don’t stop – not even at crossings! But overall I loved Ho Chi Minh and I look forward to visiting again one day.
Taipei
Taipei was a bit of a blur because I was only there for 36 hours. I did a workshop and met 15 Taipei-based agents. That said, I did manage to get a glimpse of the city.
In the evening, I went for dinner with some school representatives at a really well-known Taipei restaurant. Taiwan is famous for its fabulous food and this meal didn’t disappoint!
I also managed to squeeze in a stroll through Taipei’s famous night markets.
One thing that really stood out about Taipei was the ‘Hello Kitty’ themed check-in area at the airport – so funny!
Beijing
I was fortunate to have a day off in Beijing after a few days of back-to-back meetings. I went on a tour to Tiananmen Square, the Great Wall of China (at the Mutianyu Gate) and the Forbidden City. That was truly amazing! We took a chairlift up to the wall (as it isn’t accessible by road) and, as strange as it sounds, a luge back down. The luge was quite out of place, but loads of fun.
After the tour, I went to a local food market with a nice couple I met on the tour. I ate a small scorpion and a cricket! They also had deep-fried tarantulas but they wouldn’t let us take photos – and I don’t know if I could have eaten it anyway – gross!
Seoul & Busan
My time in both of these cities was full on, with lots of agent meetings. I did get to go for dinner with one agent in Busan – we had yummy Korean BBQ.
Overall, it was a great trip! I met with some fantastic agents, tried plenty of local delicacies (some delicious, some not!) and got to see some amazing sights.
Some of the meetings were so successful that I’m heading back to the same region on my next business trip – watch this space.
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