Lesley’s Travel Journal: Three weeks in Asia

Posted on 20/09/2016 by Jess O'Connor

Lesley Brough is ITC’s International Marketing Manager. Every few months, she travels overseas to promote the College, meet with agents and potential students, and attend education events. While these trips are for work, she does get to see some pretty amazing places (all in the name of business). Below, she shares some highlights from her recent trip to Asia, where she visited Hong Kong, Macau, China, and Taiwan. 

I had a wonderful time in Asia. I was there for three weeks (my longest trip of the year) and I visited seven cities across four countries. I also used nearly every mode of travel available – plane, boat, bus, train, even push bike!

I met with several agents and they were all warm and welcoming. The weather was extremely warm, so travelling to meetings in corporate clothing was a bit of a challenge! I ended up purchasing a mini fan to keep me cool – a must-have if you visit Asia in summer.

Here are some photos and stories from each country I visited.

Hong Kong

I spent six days in Hong Kong. First, I attended a large two-day education fair hosted by IDP (one of the world’s largest agents). There were lots of colleges at the fair, including representatives from Australia, the UK, the US, and Canada.

After the fair, I spent time visiting agents around Hong Kong, including some offices in the new territories. I was also treated to dinner at two Michelin-star Dim Sum restaurants during my stay. It’s not as fancy as it sounds! But they are quite unique because they are the only Michelin-star Dim Sum restaurants in the world.

Macau

I travelled to Macau by boat (from Hong Kong), which was really interesting! From the boat, we could see the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau bridge, which is currently under construction. Once completed, it will be the longest bridge-cum-tunnel sea crossing in the world at an impressive 42km. Unfortunately, I couldn’t get a clear photo as we were too far away – but you can imagine what a sight this was!

In Macau, I visited three agents. I had a lovely time, but I have to tell you – it was SO extremely hot. It was over 30 degrees, but with the humidity it felt like 38-39 degrees. The fan I purchased became my new best friend!

Macau is hugely popular with tourists because of its Portuguese influence. It’s home to some beautiful Portuguese buildings. I also tried some traditional Portuguese egg tarts.

Another fun fact about Macau is that it has its own Sky Tower, which was actually modelled off the one in Auckland – except, in Macau, you can bungy jump off it! AJ Hackett runs the bungy, as well as a sky jump and sky walk.

China

After Macau, I travelled to Guangzhou in China, where I met some more agents. In China, I mostly travelled by train – it was quite challenging to navigate the Chinese signs, but I somehow found my way!

Taiwan

The last stop on my Asia trip was Taiwan, where I met with some more lovely agents and attended fairs in three different cities (Taipei, Taichung, and Kaohsiung). Taiwan has a fantastic train system – you can more or less get from one end of the country to the other in two-and-a-half hours on a high-speed train.

In Taipei, one agent kindly showed me around the National Taiwan University, as well as some of the local shops. He also hired a pushbike for me to get around the city during our tour (as everyone uses bikes in Taipei), which was an adventure to say the least!

I thoroughly enjoyed my three weeks in Asia (despite the heat!). I met some fantastic agents and I look forward to welcoming some of their students to the College in the future.

I have a few months at home before I set off on my next international trip. Thanks for reading! I hope you learned something new.

Lesley

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