Author Archives: jollenl

So there I was, 40 floors up in one of Shanghai’s swankiest hotels, staring straight at the city’s iconic spire like it was challenging me to a staring contest. I got lucky this time—upgraded to a suite with multiple rooms and a jaw-dropping view of the Shanghai skyline. Below me, the Huangpu River was buzzingContinue reading “Shanghai”

I’ve been to China a few times—mostly Beijing—but every trip has been great. One of my all-time highlights is, of course, the Great Wall near Beijing. It’s such a jaw-dropping marvel that each visit felt like meeting a new celebrity, only taller and with more bricks. I’ve gone three times! The first was a sunnyContinue reading “Suzhou, China”

So here I am in Cancun, just a quick 20-minute jaunt from the airport, gearing up for our next Global Symposium. The place is so off-season that the hotels are basically ghost towns—it’s like I’ve rented out the entire resort just for myself. In contrast, arriving at the airport is like walking into a carnival—onlyContinue reading “Cancun”

When I stepped foot in Taiwan, I had to walk over a disinfection mat that instantly brought back memories of a Dutch congress I organized during the foot and mouth disease outbreak in Europe. Back then, the government decided that gathering veterinarians from all over the Netherlands—and beyond—would be just fine, as long as weContinue reading “Tasty Taiwan”

If you ever want to visit the moon, forget NASA—you just need to head to my hometown in the east of Malaysia, my host says. And that’s where the confusion begins. There’s an east, west, north, and south Malaysia—so far, so good—but then you also get an east of western Malaysia and a south… orContinue reading “Malaysia”