Bruce Poon Tip travelled a lot when he was younger, but since 1991 he has been doing it for a living as CEO of a package travel company that focuses on what might be called reality travel - less Paris in the springtime, more Antarctica in the winter.
Just how much does the head of a travel company travel?
"It's up and down, but right now, I'm travelling like a bit of a madman. This month, I'll be in Europe, Australia and Brazil. We're pushing into new markets, changing how we do business, with new offices in Nairobi, Bangkok and Buenos Aires."
What do you do to keep it together on so many long-haul trips?
"I'm getting older now (39), so I can't do those two-day Australia trips as well any more. One of the big things I do is yoga. Before I go anywhere now I find out where my yoga schools are so after I get off a 30-hour plane ride I can get grounded again. I've only been doing that in the last five years. I can't go without it now. "
Anything you never leave home without?
I definitely don't leave without my iPod, and I definitely don't leave without my gym clothes. Oh, and I always travel with wine gums - I never get on a plane without my sugar supply of wine gums. And my universal power supplies to manage my wireless world.
What would you say is the top rookie traveller mistake?
Not being prepared for your time outside of work. For instance, I went to the U.K. a couple of weeks ago. I play basketball, and I was able to find in advance a league that plays pickup games, so I was able to teach some of those U.K. kids how to play. You don't want to end up taking some cheesy tour on a bus. You want to spend your time doing something more interesting, that's outside dinner reservations or something. If you're staying over a weekend, or even if you have an evening to yourself, with the Internet, if you plan your time, you can easily find some great things to do on the ground - festivals, concerts, getting some physical sort of exercise, walks or hikes in the area. Some people just end up sleeping in the hotel, working, eating in the hotel restaurant, and not really getting the most out of their trip.
