What’s my job?

August 11, 2013 Leave a comment

My family and friends don’t really know what I am doing. They probably thought I am doing designing and drawing. My titles and the new company name (the world’s biggest activation company, Geometry Global) will definitely confused them.

It is really not so difficult to understand the essence of my job. I build relationships. In a simpler illustration, my job is like a match-maker and a marriage consultant. Helping 2 entities to connect in this messy world of distraction. No one likes being left on the shelf and that is my job to sell them so they get picked up by the right onlookers. Many connections ended up loyally for a long time while some were simply short-term affairs.

It is such a colourful job of image building and seduction. It is all about creating desirability, sensorial experience and ultimately, the big satisfaction. I get to dress my subjects, teach them how to communicate and even change their personalities to hook the right suitors. It is about creating the right impression and maintaining visibility. The formula is simple: Out of sight = out of mind. I have to teach my subjects how to extend dialogue and draw their suitors closer. Now, with the help of social media, I am able to fix appointments and create more opportunities for them to connect online. Strange but true, many relationships were successfully hooked up due to the recommendations and acceptance of their trusted friends.

To do all these successfully, I have to be culturally sensitive and to be able to speak in multi-languages. I have to understand the traits of different nationalities – what tingle the Chinese, Japanese, Indians, Koreans, Singaporeans and the Hongkies? What triggers them and what’s not. Trust me, these customers are demanding and come with different expectations. I have matched and hooked up different nationalities – the English to the Chinese, the Scottish to the Koreans and more. Some customers like it cheap while some like it pure and authentic. Many prefer the popular-cum-pretty-looking ones while a few would ask for the very old ones. Best of all, most of my subjects offer 30-day money back guarantee and full replacement for strained relationship.

Man, now I start to think I am a mamasan papasan. A very important one indeed. In fact, I am more important than the “Mad Men” as I am there to ensure Mr and Miss Right meet and to fall in love. This job can be tough, desperate and sticky and I do get complaints for unsuccessful consummations.

So, if you are having any relationship troubles and are left on the shelves, you know who to look for. It is my job to make you shine! I can sell anything as long as you aren’t empty or rotten inside. Spilt-personality freak. Don’t worry, I can fix that too. I have a good team of award-winning papasans and mamasans.

Well, what’s my job? I am a Precision Activation Expert in shopper-trade-experiential-digital-promotional-channel-retail-marketing. Still confused? Stick with Papasan then.

Filed under Jo's Thoughts, Life in Hong Kong

Last Action Conquest – Langkawi

July 30, 2013 Leave a comment

Langkawi – This will be our biggest and last Action Conquest. A total of 26 Action Heroes conquered the northern island of Western Malaysia. A perfect mixture of work and fun with great people, perfect weather and loads of chaotic fun and incredible moments!

Day 1 – The flight to Langkawi was bumpy and dreadful. The plane struggled badly in the stormy weather. David announced officially that he will not want to travel with me on the same flight anymore. After his last Shanghai trip and including this one, David is so certain that I am cursed with typhoon and rain.

Thankfully, all of us arrived safely at sunny bright Langkawi. We had a sumptuous welcome dinner at a local Thai seafood restaurant. Most of us had little sleep the night before due to the “Pitch Bitch Contest” that we have to present on Day 2. I had only 1 hour of sleep in the past 48 hours, I was so lethargic that I misplaced my iPAD. Thanks to Harshad and Alwi, they managed to locate the bus driver and returned the iPAD to me.

Day 2 – It was Pitch Bitch Day. All of us arrived at the conference room in white translucent tight-gay-looking mini-tees. I hated the choice for this year’s attire – the slim tight fitting cut certainly didn’t look good on my fat body. Worst of all, I received many rude stares from other hotel guests when I was wearing this attire. The ambigram logo spelled “Pitch Bitch” but most people read that as “Bitch”. Imagine 26 of us walking around in the resort donning this “Bitch” tee, I bet the onlookers were puzzled which notorious organization or triad we represented.

“Pitch Bitch Contest” was intense and very educative. We learnt a lot from one another. The stakes were high and every one put in their heart and soul in this exercise. The winning team gets to win a 3-day trip to attend the SpikesAwards 2013 in Singapore. The judges (Subu, David and Danny) gave very honest and insightful comments to our ideas and presentation skills. The overall standard surpassed what David expected and we did generate some awesome good ideas. Congrats to Paul, Kelly and Olivia for winning the first prize and Harshad, Tracy and Marlon for taking the 2nd prize!

After the intense contest, we hopped onto a boat where it took us on a sunset dinning cruise along the strait. There, the judges announced the results of Pitch Bitch Contest and we “invited” the winners (Paul, Olivia and Kelly) to tryout the Ocean Jacuzzi. It was a terrible experience for the trio as they were attacked by jellyfish just minutes into the water. A sizable jellyfish stung poor Paul and Kelly. It was a comical sight to see Paul jumping out of the water. Only when I saw the big red swollen scars later, I realized this was no joke.

The cruise was smooth and very relaxing. We saw showering clouds at the horizon, rainbow over distant hilly islands and mesmerizing sunset at twilight. No work, emails or deadlines, we found ourselves happily immersed in this beautiful setting – BBQ dining, drinking, chatting, cheering, laughing and photo whoring. Simply awesome, this was one of the best programs of the itinerary.

Later that evening, a group of us went out for some causal night shopping and supper.

Day 3 – Island Attacks! We were grouped into 4 coloured teams to conquer 3 islands and 9 mind-blowing and body-breaking challenges. Flag signalling, leopard crawling, canoeing, tray-balancing and swimming – some of these games were a lot tougher than the ones I did in Phuket. “Chaotic Harshad”, “Lazy Marlon” and “Bossy Joe” didn’t have any chemistry. Despite having one of the most disorganized and chaotic team members, we won first place (thanks to our wit and some magically influence)! Surprise, surprise! David wasn’t pleased about the results. His team lost to us the last time in Phuket!

Burnt and half-broken from the morning “Island Attacks”, we took a nice relaxing dip in the swimming pool before the finale dinner. There, we attempted some awful underwater team photo. It didn’t turn out well. For the least, beer drinking by the pool was great. Food feeding by the pool was even better!

At dusk, we had our finale dinner at a nice pavilion restaurant by the ocean cliff. There, David presented all the awards and prizes to the winning teams. I managed to “spot and steal” the grand prize (which is an iPAD Mini) in the lucky draw. Unfortunately, I confessed to my “crime” and gracefully gave it away to Chowpo who helped to organize this marvellous trip for the company. Harshad and Alwi were punished to dance for their late appearance. A great night for the deserving winners and wonderful bonding time with the newbies!

Day 4 – Time to say goodbye. The group spilt and flew out separately. A group of us flew to Kuala Lumpur for a day trip while some stayed on in Langkawi and a couple returned to Hong Kong.

Day 5 – Kuala Lumpur was short but good – I met up with my old Malaysian friends (Hong Fei, Sherry and Josephine) and cousins (Lita and Jacqueline). Thanks to my Malaysian relatives, I got to feast all my favorite local dishes! Best of all, I managed to convince Kelly to take a bite on the durian! Just hours before departure, Phylis and Chowpo parked themselves at a very deluxe Jojoba Spa while poor Tracy, she is still nursing a bad tummy at the Hong Kong hospital (as I type), possibly due to an overdosed of durian-cocktail.

What a great rewarding time in Malaysia! Time to make my way to Singapore for another short stopover for an important presentation and quality time with my family and friends.

Filed under Family, Life in Hong Kong, Travel

Time Lapse Hong Kong (HD – IOS App)

June 29, 2013 Leave a comment


Thanks to Wing (my creative colleague) who recommended me this fantastic free app – “Time Lapse”. This app is so idiot-proof and user-friendly that anyone is able to create their own HD time-lapse photography with ease (sunset, roving clouds, night traffic etc). Simply pick a good spot, leave the iPAD there for 50 minutes and let the program shoots and stitches the time-lapse video automatically. I am overly excited and satisfied with my first attempts. The IFC shot, overlooking Victoria Harbor is simply amazing! I never know how busy the channel is. Those boats looked like they were going to collide. Below is a very nice 198-day time-lapse video created by a Shanghai photographer Smaty. Enjoy.

Filed under Cool Stuffs, Life in Hong Kong

Photo Instag-Win at Sky100HK

June 25, 2013 2 Comments

Instagram is indeed very rewarding! I just won my first ever photo contest (took part during our last trip to Sky100HK – Read: https://wahbiang.com/2013/06/02/sky-high-reunion/) … Hahaha… Never expected to get a nice surprise this evening (certainly not in the midst of wee-hour OTs, deadline-panic and tons of unexpected crisis at work.). I was so busy that I missed out the earlier note sent by the organiser. The deadline to claim the prize was over. Thankfully, the lovely people at Sky100HK dropped me one final note this evening and I managed to login 5 hours before the deadline to redeem my prize! What a great energy booster! Feeling really sky-high!

Filed under Cool Stuffs, Life in Hong Kong

Back to Escape-Room II (密室逃脫遊戲 – Hong Kong)

June 24, 2013 Leave a comment

After our embarrassing lucky escape last Sunday, we teleported ourselves back to the mysterious old school this afternoon to solve the other puzzle rooms. This time, we brought Felicia (the one who started all these) and 6 new young hopeful Hong Kong detectives (Chowpo, Alan, Susanna, Ansel, Chris and Kelly) to help us solve the codes.

We were ambitious and decided to conquer 2 highly-challenging rooms. I thought more brains = bigger victory. I was wrong. We barely survived the first room (Art Room) and the entire team was hopelessly stranded in the second room (Science Laboratory). In the end, Ansel and daddy escaped the room in the most unconventional manner – 4-year-old Ansel called for a urgent natural break 10 seconds before the clock stopped.

Despite another fruitless week of margin wins and shameful defeats, we had lots of fun. It was a good first-experience for many of us. Felicia and I didn’t take part in the second room. We were watching the team on the CCTV outside the room. It was hilarious watching their behaviours and helplessness. Elkan and Ansel were the “alternative keys” to get the adults out of the rooms. For some strange reasons, Kelly looked like a haunted lady in the room. Eerie…

Thanks to the helpers at the mysterious school for explaining the codes to us. And thanks for allowing me to take so many nice pictures inside the school. For those who are interested to visit the “school”, here is the address: The Truth Gaming Room 1, 20/F, Win Century Centre, 2A Mong Kok Road. Call the helpers at +852 5597 8250 before you pop by. Just in case there is no one to help you to unlock the doors at ghostly hours.

Filed under Cool Stuffs, Life in Hong Kong

Guess who are our 151st HK Visitors!

June 20, 2013 Leave a comment

(Photo Taken: Meeting my 151st HK Visitors – Pearlyn and family at the Peak, Hong Kong – So happy to meet up with Pearlyn and family in Hong Kong. A perfect getaway from the deadly haze in Singapore!)

Filed under Life in Hong Kong

The Real-life Escape-Room Game (密室逃脫遊戲 – Hong Kong)

June 17, 2013 Leave a comment

Felicia dared recommended us to take part in this fairly new game concept – “Real-life Escape Room (密室逃脫遊戲)”. It is like playing a board-game except this time we are playing real-life in a locked room. This is an awesome experience for those who love to decode clues and solve puzzles. Of course, you be surprised to witness the best and worst sides of your friends / comrades in such pressurising scenario. This game-concept is gaining popularity in many Asian cities including Japan, China and even Singapore. According to Felicia, it has been around for almost a year.

For my birthday treat, Tracy brought us to an industrial complex in Mongkok where it hosts the “Real-life Escape Room Game”. We paid about HKD100/person to play the game. The objective is simple – find the clues and unlock the door to escape. Think “Prison Break” and play Sherlock Holmes for a moment to test your wit or stupidity.

The plot was creepy. We were “teleported” to a school compound where there were 4 different rooms – the classroom, the science room, the geography room and the art-room. We chose the “classroom” – a very dim and eerie looking classroom with old textbooks and furnitures. There, we were locked for 50 minutes to search for clues to unlock the door. It wasn’t easy at all. We have to be calm to observe and analyse the surroundings. There was no instruction or starting clue to lead us to solve the mystery. Like true detectives, we have to search for tools and clues to unlock the door. We soon found touch-lights and a couple of torn papers with strange scribblings. From there, one clue led to another. Out of desperation, we used wit and creative more than wisdom to solve the puzzle. Through sheer luck and some “muscles” , we managed to unlock the door 5 minutes before the time ran out.

Our results? We didn’t do very well. We were unable to detect some critical clues. Still, we managed to sniff out the logic and found other creative ways to locate the key. Despite our panic mode, it was a very enjoyable experience for all of us. The game and its settings (props, clues) were very well designed. It is pretty addictive and we have made plans to come back next Sunday to conquer the other 3 mysterious rooms. Check out the weblink: http://www.thetruth.com.hk/ and video below. Enjoy!


Filed under Cool Stuffs, Life in Hong Kong

Thanks For Your Presence!

June 17, 2013 1 Comment

The ladies in my family love giving me surprises. Being a prankster myself, I should have known and seen it coming. It is in our blood. The problem is their acts are getting so good that it is getting more and more difficult to detect anything amiss. I can’t blame them, me too – loves giving them surprises. Afterall, who doesn’t love a good surprise?

Last Tuesday, I received a mystery “call from a hotel booking agency”. It was a Hong Kong number. A lady who claimed she was calling from Beijing asked me to confirm my hotel booking for Shenzhen this weekend. For a couple of seconds, I was dumbstruck, confused and frightened. It wasn’t the fact that she knew my name or my weekend plan. She sounded like a crazy lunatic and I could not recognise her voice. I wondered who in Hong Kong would play such a sick joke on me. After a few terrifying minutes, the mystery lady finally disclosed her true identity. It was my sister, Jovel. She was here in Hong Kong with her hubby James, children Jovin & Jorance  and care-taker “Ice” (145th & 146th HK visitor). Best of all, my mum and Auntie Amy (the 2 infamous Rain-Makers who also brought rain and surprise to Cousin Leon in Xiamen a couple of days ago) were here too to surprise me! My wife knew about this beforehand and she kept it so well despite I told her my weekend birthday plans. Who says women can’t keep secrets?

Despite the long gloomy, rainy weekend, I had a very blessed and special birthday. Their presence brighten up my days with so much joys and warmth in Hong Kong. For a rare moment, my house was completely bombarded with flying rubber bullets and darts. It was amazing how the children and adults could co-existed in such a small tight space. That’s the feeling of home – noisy, messy and very heart-warming.

Big special thanks to Harshad, Tracy, Cousin Mike, Desmond, Scott, Chowpo & Ansel and Calvin from Shanghai (147th HK visitor) for your lovely great company on my special day. I am deeply grateful to Harshad, Tracy and Calvin who accompanied my family till the final second they left for Singapore. Tracy played Mongkok Tour Guide while Harshad played SuperNanny to Jorance! Special thanks to my dear wife of 13 years for making me another very “special birthday cake”! Your creativity never fails to surprise me year after year. I love it! And not forgetting my beloved Wahbiang Clan, cousins, clients, colleagues, ex-classmates and friends for your cheeky, naughty and heartfelt greetings on WeChat and Facebook. I am one year older, happier and richer with all your blessings, loves and hugs! Yes indeed, I am one lucky and blessed man! No gift is more valuable than your presence! Thank you very very much!

Filed under Family, Jo's Thoughts, Life in Hong Kong

Sky High Reunion!

June 2, 2013 1 Comment

Our last separation was the shortest ever – merely 2 weeks apart. It is June vacation and my 2 darlings are back in Hong Kong yesterday afternoon! 30 days of good family-bonding and lots of noise/mess/disruptions/laughters/movies/video-games/hugging/wrestling/home-cooked food!

Right from the moment they dropped their luggages at my tiny apartment, I brought Felicia and Elkan to all their favourite places – Coco Curry at Causeway Bay, window-shopping at Winsor House, toy-hunting at Sham Shu Po, movie at Elements, duck-watching at Harbor City and dinner at Tsui Wah!

It was clear blue sunny sky today. The sun was baking hot. At 36°, it was too hot to go outdoor. Visibility was at its clearest today (and thanks to a timely suggestion by Chowpo), I brought them to ICC’s Sky100 (天際100) Hong Kong Observation Deck. Standing at 492 metres, the ICC (International Commercial Centre) is currently the world’s 4th tallest commercial building. The viewing deck is located on the 100th floor, 393 metres above sea level (and 2 storeys below Ritz-Carlton Hong Kong Hotel).

Since its opening 2 years ago on 17 April 2011, I have no intention to visit this viewing deck. I thought the “free view” at the Hong Kong Peak is much more appealing than this. I was proven wrong today. On a good clear day like today, ICC offers the best – unparalleled 360° city panoramic view of Hong Kong. Entrance fee is quite expensive at HKD168/adult and HKD118/child. We got 10% discount off using my HKID card and making payment through Union Pay card.

Was it worth it? Absolutely yes – provided you come on a clear sunny day and absence of hordes of obstructive tourists. We made a very impromptu visit this afternoon – I arrived at the wrong timing and without my professional lenses. I bet the best view would be at dusk when the sun set in purple-orangish hues and the Hong Kong skyline lit up with beautiful buildings’ lights. Nevertheless, it was a rewarding trip for us. The sun was extremely bright and the sky was superbly clear. A large group of tourists has just left and we had the whole place to ourselves. Hong Kong was stunningly beautiful today. Even the photos on the iPhone turned up picture-perfect. Above all else, I had the best sight-seeing experience at 100th storey high, in fully air-conditioned environment with my dearest loved ones by my side. What a great place to celebrate our June reunion! Enjoy the photos!

Filed under Family, Life in Hong Kong, Travel

Eat Play Work Thailand – Bangkok Trip

May 29, 2013 10 Comments

Many are not going to believe this. The truth is I have never been to Bangkok –  I finally broke this curse and made my maiden trip to this vibrant city on 24th May. Over the past 7 years, there were at least 6 times when I planned for the trip but cancelled them due to all sort of reasons (the Thailand Coup in 2006, the riot of 2009-2010, the Thailand Flood of 2011 etc). It is almost impossible for a Singaporean like me who loves traveling and shopping and never make it to Bangkok. My clients were in disbelief when I told them I am heading to Bangkok for the first time in my life. I was so paranoid about this trip that I was so worried that something bad may hinder my journey. Thankfully, I had an experienced guide (my colleague Chowpo) with me, I landed with ease and spent 2 fulfilling days at Bangkok.

This is a working-cum-recreational trip for me. For years, due to my job nature, I always wanted to visit its new airport and downtown duty free shop. This trip, I managed to do some site recce at some of Bangkok’s top and most popular shopping malls. I must say I was very impressed by some of the local’s retailing standards. Within our first day, we managed to comb 4-5 shopping malls (Siam Center, Terminal 21, Siam Paragon). It was a very hectic exercise but a very rewarding one. In the end,  I took hundreds of photographs for future work reference.

Just before the sun set, we managed to rush over to Chatuchak Weekend Market for a quick tour. It is the most popular shopping destination for many Singaporeans and Hongkies. I was pre-warned by Chowpo that I may not have enough time for browsing. She was right. This market was massive! The stalls were closely packed and there were just too many lanes to comb. It was very hot and humid and too congested to navigate around the market. Too many things to see, so little time to shop. The sky was turning dark and I decided to cut short my trip and headed back to my hotel.

We parked ourselves at one of the top and finest boutique hotels in Bangkok – The Hotel Muse at Langsuan. The stylish and top-notch hotel brings together the essence of Eastern and Western cultures, French and Thai design through its posh interiors and settings. Great underground bars, roof-top terrace and infinity pool! I strongly recommend this hotel to holiday-makers who want to experience something different. Do visit the Starbucks next door. Uniquely designed, this is Starbucks’ first “Community Concept Store” in Asia Pacific.

On my last night, I managed to sneak out and visited Bangkok’s most famous red light district – the Soi Cowboy at Sukhumvit. Flashing neon lights, scantily dressed hot bods and beautiful faces lined up along the narrow street. Quite a temptation for me to pop in to check out the joints and the ladies. However, I encountered too many beautiful transvestites at the malls earlier that day. I simply didn’t have any appetite to explore further. After a couple of quick shots, I took a cab to Chinatown at Yaowarat for late-night supper.

The next morning – on my last day in Bangkok, I decided to visit 2 other “must-visit” attractions – the Damnoen Daduak Floating Market and the Maeklong Railway Market. Chowpo and I woke up at 6am for this short morning tour. We took a 90-minute car ride (70km outside Bangkok City) to visit these 2 unique markets. The Damnoen Daduak Floating Market is the pioneer and  largest floating markets outside Bangkok City. We hired a “motorised shopping boat” for 90 minutes. There were lots of floating shops and stalls offering touristic souvenirs and fresh cooked food. The crowd were mainly tourists and I did not see a lot of locals shopping there. Somehow, the authenticity of this floating markets was long gone due to the influx of tourism. Nevertheless, it was still an awesome first-time experience for me.

The Maeklong Railway Market is legendary. Stalls are lined up centimeters along the railway tracks. 4 times a day, these make-shift stalls (on rollers) make way for the passing trains. When there is no train, shoppers walk along the narrow train tracks to shop. I didn’t see many tourists around.  These stalls are mainly catered for local customers. I wished I have more time to observe the locals and explore the markets. By noon, we made our way to the airport (for one last work assignment recce).

My first taste of Bangkok isn’t that bad after all. I was very lucky to avoid the notorious traffic jams. I love the diversity, the richness and the buzz of this city. Messy, disruptive and colourful, Bangkok has so much to offer. It left me with such a strong sense of desirability and curiosity that lures me to return, to explore and to discover this magical kingdom.

Filed under Cool Stuffs, Jo's Thoughts, Life in Hong Kong, Travel

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