So here’s another person with attitude. Lim Neo Chian (pictured above), the former chief executive of the Singapore Tourism Board, has set off on his ASEAN On Wheels roadtrip. He flagged off on Monday, April 27.

After a lifetime of working, it’s time to play.

Lim stepped down from the STB at the end of last year and decided that before he takes on another corporate role, it was time to do something he had always wanted to do but never had the time or opportunity – “to see and experience the world at my own pace”.

Pictured right: The Pajero packed full with the toyoda boxes

In his first blog entry, he wrote, “The many working trips I had made to several places around the world were often short, in and out very quickly, without a chance to really see or experience anything indepth.

“Around that time, I chanced upon Jim Rogers' two books, 'Investment Banker and Adventure Capitalist', and I thought, wow, what a great way to experience the world.”

Sensing his growing desire to do something fun and adventurous, I bought Neo Chian two books to read during his holiday in Kerala last December – "Long Way Round and Long Way Down" by Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman.

Time passed by and when I next caught up with Neo Chian over Chinese New Year lunch, he told me he had bought a Mitsubishi Pajero, was having it fixed, and was planning an ASEAN On Wheels adventure.

He had told his wife, mapped out the route, found a friend to travel with him and had set a flag-off date. Talk about a man who acts on what he says.

For the first part of his ASEAN road journey, he will cover the Indochina countries of Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, and Myanmar, in addition to Malaysia. (See map on left)

He has set aside two months for this journey, May and June, and he hopes to complete the ASEAN on Wheels journey by early next year.

He says in his blog, “The challenges will be different, as regular sea transportations will be a key feature for Indonesia and the Philippines. The ASEAN experience will prepare me for longer trips which I hope to make in the future.

“I am looking forward to discovering the different places and peoples of ASEAN. When I was at the STB, we worked very closely with all our ASEAN neighbours and we planned tourism campaigns together as well as crafted policies on how we could promote tourism to the ASEAN region.

Pictured left: Steep limestone hills on the way to Ipoh

“It will be nice to explore ASEAN as a traveller this time. I am sure it will give me a better appreciation of the immense tourism potential of the ASEAN nations and the challenges faced in realising this potential. Hopefully, I can make a small contribution to the promotion of tourism in ASEAN.”

Follow Neo Chian’s road adventure on his blog: ASEAN On Wheels

• Photos courtesy of Lim Neo Chian