My 2012 in 12 Pics

January - Cathedral of Orleans - France

February - Winter landscape in countryside - Belgium

March - Older Karen Long neck lady in Mae Hong Son - Thailand

April - Main gate of Gyeongbok palace in Seoul - South-Korea

May - Beijing Opera in Taipei - Taiwan

June - Splendid Mt Fuji - Japan

July - Panda cub sleeping in Panda research and breeding center in Chengdu - China

August - Junk in Victoria Harbour - Hong Kong

September - Sansiantai island - Taiwan

October - Nice weather after Typhoon in Seoraksan National Park - South-Korea

November - First month of my son Tristan - Thailand

December - Lanna dances in Chiang Mai - Thailand

THAI airways makes a joke

Is this only possible in Thailand?

I was complete stunned today when I took my afternoon flight from Chiang Mai to Bangkok. The airplane was brand new with good seats, personal screens, even an USB port. As I was enjoying my luxurious new seat I was studying the Thai Airways magazine and the inflight entertainment magazine. Next I examined the safety pamphlet in the seat in front of me. As usual it states that phones and electronic devices have to be turned off. On the pamphlet 3 phones are shown: a Iphone, a Blackberry and a Motorola.
As many of my friends have these phones I looked at them a bit closer. I could see that the brand name has been changed, which is quite normal, but the names given are very unusual.

The Iphone doesn't have a clearly definable name.
But the Motorola is called Wienorola and the Blackberry is called Crackberry.

Now maybe this is my Freud mind playing tricks on me but "wiener" and "crack" would be informal names given to respectively the male and female intimate parts.

I am sure the designer had a lot of fun, but I can not understand nobody noticed this before printing these pamphlets for the new THAI airways aircrafts. But once again maybe I am just seeing this that are not there ...

Anyway I had a good chuckle in the plane seeing this. Did anybody else noticed this sign before?

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My first Taiwanese interview

During the International Travel Fair in Brussels from 2-6 February I promoted different trips for my company. A new trip that I was in charge of developing is a combination tour of Taiwan and South-Korea.


The first day of the fair a lot of international media were present especially for Indonesia, the host country this year at the fair. But some Taiwanese media were interested as well in or product and so I gave 2 interviews for Taiwanese reporters. One of these interviews was done for CNA Video News and a piece of this interview in integrated in their broadcast, you can find me on halfway the video.

My 2011 in 12 Pics

January - Historical City of Brugge - Belgium

February - A Sunbird on my neighbour's roof - Thailand

March - Monument of Love Taj Mahal - India

April - New SMAK museum in Antwerp - Belgium

May - Citytrip to Roma - Italy

June - Jogyesa temple Seoul - South-Korea

July - view on Sun Moon Lake from Lalu hotel - Taiwan

August - Jade Dragon Snow Mountain in Lijiang - China

September - Night view of main casinos - Maca

October - Daibutsu in Todaiji in Nara - Japan

November - Loy Krathong festival in Chiang Mai - Thailand

December - Mural Paintings in Wat Pho in Bangkok - Thailand

Pictures of floods in Ayutthaya and Bangkok

Thailand is suffering its worst flooding in the last years. During a trip in Thailand it was clear the situation got better in most part of the country. But the rice fields in the Central are still submerged. Ayutthaya on the other hand is almost cleaned up and soon back fro business. 

Mosque in Ayutthaya

Driving on the highway

Protecting Wat Arun in Bangkok

House in Bangkok Noi

House in Bangkok Noi

Cleaning up action in Ayutthaya

Wat Mahathat, clearly visible where the water stood

Volunteers clean up

Top 5 most annoying things on airplane

As I fly quite often for work I like to get to the next destination as quickly as possible. Listening to music, reading, sleeping all help to let time pass faster. But some things, especially fellow travellers can be so annoying that it almost ruins your flight. Here is my personal top 5 of annoying things during flights:

1. Reclining chairs
I completely understand that people want to relax on airplanes, but when space is already limited and people are reclining the chairs at full stretch it can really get me angry. When food is served there is almost no space to manoeuvre your cutlery. When watching TV, the screen is so close that you can only see your own reflection. I try to never recline my own seat as I know how annoying this can be, but if the dude in front of me finds it necessary to click it all the way I have no option than to do this myself too. Of course in business class you wouldn't have this problem. but not everyone can afford this. So when I flew Ryanair a few months ago I was happily surprised that the airplane chairs could not move! Why can't it be possible for all flights.

2. Armrest wrestler
Again this is a concern about the limited space in airplanes. So when you are sitting by yourself, especially in the middle seat, and the person next to you clearly shows his territory by occupying the full length of the armrest it makes your blood pressure rise. So you start a psychological battle of pushing bit by bit and occupying the armrest yourself when this person leave his chair. Annoying to have to spend time like this in the air.

3. Kids screaming , kicking
Sitting for several hours on a plane with a kid or baby crying for the full length of the flight is another very irritating thing. I do understand that kids are tired and that sitting still on a flight can be a big challenge for them. But is it so difficult for the parents to ask your kid not to kick the chair in front of you or can't the parents try to hold the child until it stops crying. Anyway trying to sleep is out of question and you might get of the plane with a major migraine if you didn't provide some earplugs.

4. Never-ending storytelling
It seems like some people are telling their whole life to each other on the plane. When those people are sitting right next to you are behind you and you would like to get some rest during the long flight, it can be a real burden to suppress your feeling to tell them to shut up.

5. Toilet blocker
When you are sitting in the middle or window seat you might want to wake up the people next to you when you need to go to the toilet. Some people or in such a steady sleep it's not easy to wake them up and of course you will get some angry stares. It's also annoying if that person doesn't get up to let you trough but just bend his knees. On the other hand if you have a aisle seat and the person next to you needs to get out all the time, that is a pain in the ass as well.

My modeling Career

Generally people think that when working in tourism you get a lot of advantages like free hotel rooms and flight tickets.  Actually these benefits are almost non-existing, although you might get some reductions on hotel rooms. But the great thing in tourism is that you get to meet a bunch of people from all over the world.

Chinese people, especially those who haven't seen a lot of foreigners, are very curious about our different lifestyle. Mouth-dropped starring is quite common, especially if you would be tall and blond.

This Chinese curiousness can be very annoying, as when you get stalked to see where you're heading. Or as people check the groceries you bought in your supermarket trolley.
On other occasions it can be very charming in interesting. Being a foreigner in China can bring you to stardom in this Communist country.

So far I have acted on local TV and did two commercials.
A few years back I got a teacher's job in Hong'An county, Hubei province. For the annual Christmas show in the local TV studio I was one of the three TV hosts. This was broad casted in Hong'An TV.

One day I needed some call credit for my Chinese telephone. At that time I was guiding in Chengdu, Hebei province. I couldn't get any prepaid card at several kiosks. So I decided to go to the local China telecom shop. Upon entering the shop on man was acting very exited. After I got my credit he tried to explain me they had a promotion period for a new phone and he wanted my help for this promotion. I had to hold the phone and smile while he was taking some pictures. I guess he made some posters out of it, foreign models are very sought after in China, so he immediately saw an opportunity.

I played model one more time, advertising a new hotel. For my guiding job I was inspecting some hotels in Shanghai. After visiting some fancy places the Millenium Hongqiao hotel was next. This hotel held its "soft" opening, which means the hotel receives guests and tries to invite travel agencies for inspection, but is not 100 % operational yet. I was very well received and got the whole tour, including spa, swimming pool, all type of rooms and restaurants.  In the lovely restaurant one of the assistant managers and I were having lunch, when suddenly she got a phone call. She ended the call and asked me if I had time to come back in the evening. That day the Millenium hotel held the photo shoot for its website and catalogue, but their international model had just cancelled. The high-payed British photographer could not be cancelled and I was asked if I could help out. Of course, no problem. So I got back in the evening. I dressed up in a neat seat and got my instructions. I had to stand at the front desk, pretending to check in and keep looking in the eyes of the girls at the desk. Standing there half an hour, gibbering with those girls, wasn't an easy task.
The Millenium Hongqiao hotel used following picture for nearly 2 years on there website, but nowadays new pictures have replaced my glorious picture. So my modeling career is silently getting to an end.

Maybe I will encounter some new opportunities in China!

Kiekeboe - Tienduizend dagen

Kiekeboe is the best-selling Belgian (Dutch language) comic book. Mr Mehro, the designer of Kiekeboe went last year to Japan. I accompanied him for 2 weeks and give him some advice about Japan. I also helped translating some simple phrases in Japanese for his comic book.
As a result I am mentioned in Mr Mehro's new comic book as "adviser". 'Tienduizend dagen portraits the family Kiekeboe on an adventure through Japan. The encounter, geisha's, sumo's and the vicious yakuza.

It seems I even have my own page on "Stripinfo", a website dedicated to Belgian comic books!
Talking about web pollution.

Voice of the airport

In an earlier post you could already read that I had some strange experiences at Chinese airports.
Last year I had a special group travelling with me through China. This group consisted of older couples and a few singles from the same Christian organisation. The group started their trip from Shanghai and had to continue to Xi'an after a couple of days sightseeing in Shanghai.
I didn't know the group very well yet the day we had to take the flight to Xi'an as we were only 2 days together.
We arrived well on time at Shanghai International Airport to grab our flight but the flight was delayed. Which is normal in China, a flight arriving on time must be a miracle. After checking in the suitcases and receiving the boarding passes we passed the security check and headed for the boarding gate to discover that the plane had some delay. The ground staff assured me it would only be delayed for 1 hour. So I gather everyone around and told them they could leave their hand luggage near the gate. I would watch the bags while they could have a walk around and look at the shops at Shanghai Pudong International Airport. I also instructed them to be back on time (1 hour later).
As promised 1 hour later the plane arrived and we could proceed to board the aircraft. Everyone from the group picked up their luggage and got in the plane. I saw that one backpack was left behind and according to the luggage tag it belonged to Miss X, a single lady in the group.
I asked the group where Miss X could be and they revealed that she had a drinking problem and probably was sitting in a bar.
I got a bit worried as we had to board the plane immediately and asked the ground staff if I could call for her through the microphone system of the airport. They allowed it and I prepared my best voice to announce solemnly that Miss X was asked at the gate quite urgently. The whole of Pudong Airport heard this Dutch announcement.
I waited for 10 minutes and Miss X didn't show up. The ground staff urged me to hurry up as they wanted to close the gate in a few minutes. I gambled and took a choice and ran through the enormous hall of the airport looking in all the restaurants and bars around. I finally found Miss x sitting in one bar drinking a beer and looking at me as she was from another planet. I explained her the situation and finally got to her. She looked as she waked up from her trance and started to panic. We both ran to the boarding gate, where the staff was waiting for us. We got on the plane and entered the plane as the last passengers.
So that was a close call.
From then on I knew Miss X's problem and watched her carefully.
She didn't disturb the trip any more but we had to organise some "toilet stops" quite frequently for her.

Business card

Japan is in our mind the land of the business man. And this image is quite correct for the big cities as Tokyo, Osaka, Kobe, ...
The most important tool for a business man is his business card. If you don't own a huge map full of other people's cards you are a nobody in Japan. The business card is synonymous for the person himself. So you have to treat a business card with the same respect as for the person itself.
Upon receiving a business card make a slight bow and stretch out both arms. You will take the small card with both hands and make a quick nod with the head. Examine the card and then put it away respectfully. NEVER FOLD a card, because this could be seen as a sign of folding the person himself. Don't put the little piece of paper in your trousers but place it respectfully in a card holder or in the pocket of your jacket.

So a little card can make quite a fuzz. Upon walking in the streets in Tokyo I saw some men giving their business cards away (still with 2 hands and a little bow) on corners of the streets. It seemed only females were targeted in this random give-away game. I decided to ask my guide why these men were giving away these precious little papers.
Because Japanese get more relaxed after work and after some beers I decided to take my guide to a beer bar and question him. The bar was located in Ginza area, which is a good and expensive, but mobster-directed district of Tokyo. Only a couple of streets away from my hotel, but on the way I made another amazing discovery. In front of a classy building in one of the streets I saw a lot of pretty ladies all dressed up in wedding dresses. So I thought "What a nice huge wedding took place here!". But anyway it might be something to ask my guide for.
So after a couple of Belgium beers the tongue gets loose and that's when I find out that Japanese are refined in their ways of offering sexual services.
The men giving away them business cards are generally working men (sometimes married) who offer their services after their working hours. It seems a big percentage of the male population in Tokyo is handling business cards in the streets as to find some payed (or not payed) sexual activity!
The wedding girls didn't come from a highly fashionable party. They are the most exclusive prostitutes. How fancier the clothes, how more expensive the lady, that's the Japanese rule. And I didn't get to know the exact price, but it seems such a high class girl will demand as much as a half month's salary (Japanese salary).
Amazing what information you can get with a couple of strong Belgium beers!

Bell boys

My work bring me in contact with a lot of different people and situations. Most professional meetings are smooth and enjoyable. Countries like Thailand have a long tradition in receiving foreign tourists. Japan is so organised that, even though few foreign tourist visit this country, every step goes very smoothly.
China of course is a different story. As the country is experiencing a long lasting economic boom (but for how long) tourism is also developing very fast.
Most hotels are new or got a face-lift, new Chinese buses are touring the roads, different scenic spots have been accommodated for foreign tourists, ...
So everything looks perfect except that no service is offered, because the staff didn't get a proper training. Evolution goes so fast than anyone with some competence is allowed to work in the tourism business. So working with guides, who just do their job and want to make as much money as possible, is not as easy as it looks. Don't be surprised if you encounter bell boys in the hotels who only bring your luggage after you pay them the tip!

A few months ago I spoke with a manager of a new 5-star hotel in the Chinese capital. As I know the standard procedures for such a new hotel I was amazed to meet some front desk staff who didn't speak English at all. The manager explained me that they had to hire staff, as the hotel had to open just before the Olympic Games, and speaking English or any experience in hotellery was not needed. During the Olympic Games this is the hotel (Westin Beijing) where former American President George Bush stayed overnight.

Another example.
About a year ago I stayed in the Novotel in Beijing, which would be considered as a quite decent hotel with international management. As I got out of my room I heard the screaming of the fire alarm. I didn't notice any activity in the corridor and as I was on my way out I decided to drop by the reception to tell them about the noise.
So I started to explain in my best Asian English to one of the receptionists that there might be a fire alarm ringing near my room. She looked at me in a puzzled way and asked me in I wanted to check-out. My next trick was to imitate the sound of the fire alarm. The girl facing me could not help to laugh and look even more confused. So in my final attempt to explain what was wrong I try to speak in Chinese. I said "Fire near room". Now she looked even more astounded and asked one of her co-workers to help. So I started to explain again, but to no use, I still didn't want to check-out or pay for the minibar. I was thinking of leaving the counter and let the hotel burn down to the ground when a Chinese customer next to me helped. He clearly had understood what all my babbling and waving was about. When the receptionists finally grasped the meaning of it all the immediately asked for my room number and were very busy communicating on their interphone.
So I finally got out to go get my well earned coffee, thinking that maybe I saved this hotel from the flames. Can you imagine a real fire would have ignited?

The most problems I encounter is not with guides or receptionists but is with lazy bell boys. The only work these guys have to fulfill is bring the luggage of the clients as quick as possible to the rooms. Now this would happen in an ideal world but not in China.
Like I said before sometimes these bell boys ask for their tip before working and if it's not enough, according to them, the will work very slowly.
In a hotel in Xi'an I got so angry with the working speed of these porters, that I loaded all the luggage of my clients on the chariots of the hotel, took the service elevator and started to deliver it by myself room by room. After this incident I demanded, still red-faced by fury, to speak to the duty manager. She had to hear all about and was stunned by my allegations. She assured me it would never happen again. So I calmed went to my room and enjoyed my dinner later on. Next day a beautiful picture book was positioned in my room with a sorry note next to it.

The worst encounter I had in China with the porters was in Shanghai. This hotel, which I will not name but which is very very badly managed and is property of the Novotel group, has one or two bell boys working in a suit. Being a bell boy and wearing a suit has some disadvantages especially when carrying luggage. So their work is a bit slow. These worst thing is that these porters only work form 8 am until 8 pm. So next morning when we want to leave the hotel to go to the airport no porters are available!? First time I didn't know this fact so I ordered at the reception that the porters should pick up the luggage at 7.30 Am so we could leave on time to go to the airport. Fine they said and wrote down my request. My surprise was great when, next morning, at 8 AM still no luggage were brought down in the lobby and I asked reception when it would happen. So I got the answer that I could do it myself as the bell boys, who were already there, were only starting work at 8 AM. Unbelievable.

Arrested in China

It has been a while since I updated my blog. I will start to compile different stories about what strange experience i had with my job.

In July 2008 I had to take a flight from Kunming to Guilin in China. This is one month before the Olympic Games so security was pretty tight. Another thing about flying in China is that planes are almost never on time and strange things happen all the time.
I took care of a group of 20 people. Because the tickets for us are issued by name, not every couple is sitting next to each other. But we still get all seats in one block. So I developed a system to redistribute the tickets after everyone passed the security check and are standing in front of the boarding gate (The name is never checked at the boarding gate in China). So everybody had a boarding pass with a different name, but could sit next to their companion.
This system backfired on me in July 2008, I was taken away by the airport security.

The airplane to Guilin had about 30 minutes delay and finally we could get on the plane. I redistributed the tickets again so everybody could sit on the plane next to their companion with a boarding pass with a different name.
After the delay we entered the plane and were greeted by the stewardesses. The hand luggage was stored and we were all ready to take off.
But we had to wait about 20 minutes in the plane, because their seemed to be some kind of maintenance problem. So people got a bit uneasy and afraid. Actually nothing to get afraid of as China could not afford to have an international scandal by an air crash. So the stewardesses ask us to get off the plane again. We took our hand luggage out and walked the same hallway back to the waiting hall for the boarding gates.
We had to wait until a new plane was provided, but as I checked we needed our original boarding pass. And now unfortunately 1 girl forgot her boarding pass in the plane. No problem she could get a new one with her name if she would go to the check-in counter again and show the original booking. So I went with her all the way to the start of the checking counters to show the original list and with her passport she obtained a new boarding card. Until then everything went quite smoothly.
We had to pass the security check again. She showed her passport and boarding card and could rejoin the group. Not same story for me. I had my passport, but my boarding card had a different name. So I started to explain (In my best English-Chinese) at the security gate that I switched it in the group and that someone else in the group must have my boarding pass with my name. After some minutes that security guy started to understand what I was saying and accompanied me to my group, which was still waiting at the boarding gates, to show my boarding pass with my name. So when I arrived and asked my group to check if my name was on their boarding pass, they picked up their boarding pass and checked. No my name was on none of them!
I started to panic a bit, as the security man was maybe thinking I was a terrorist (not tourist). I started to argue with him that my boarding pass must have been the one the girl forgot in the plane. As more and more Chinese spectators gathered around us he didn't want to listen to me and took me away to his office.
I was getting quite nervous and angry because maybe the new plane was going to leave soon and my group would be worried. So I started to slam the table and told him to listen very well. That strategy didn't work as I expected and he called his chief, while I was still sitting on a chair like a prisoner in an interrogation session. I experienced some scary minutes, not really knowing what would happen to me. So the chief came in and he started to talk with the security man. He was also looking fiercely at me and I tried to explain to whole story again.
My last remedy was to call my local Chinese agent and to tell him the whole story so he could tell it in clear Chinese to them. After a few minutes of discussion, the security man finally let me free and accompanied me to the check-in counter, where I finally got a new boarding pass. I thanked him, he throw me an awkward look and I headed straight for the security check. This time no problem and I could finally rejoin my group.

A new plane was provided and we landed 2 hours later than planned in Guilin.
The security staff in Kunming airport will surely remember me next time. I still think I should revise my ticket system.