Sandra Chipchase, chief executive officer of the Melbourne Convention & Visitors Bureau, is one woman you don't mess with. Other than her mission of making Melbourne the number one convention city in the Asia Pacific region, she also wants to sing opera. Belt it out, Sandra.

What is the biggest buzz you get out of what you do?

Winning!

What do you most dislike about it?

That I didn't start sooner.

What is your most perfect travel moment?

Meeting up with friends I haven't seen for ages, and watching their eyes light up when I give them their Aussie presents.

What irks you most about travel?

Delays. And hotel rooms with windows you can't open.

What is your most treasured souvenir?

Hard to say there are so many. Maybe my piece of the Berlin Wall?

Who's the most interesting person you have met in your travels?

There have been so many, so I guess it would be the one I haven't met yet.

Who's the living person you most admire?

My Mother

What is the quality you most admire in others?

Patience

What is the talent you would most like to have?

To sing Opera

What do you value most in your friends?

Loyalty.. or is that confidentiality.

What's your favourite word?

Sale

What's your least favourite word?

Closed

What's your favourite noise?

Champagne corks popping out

What's your least favourite noise?

Ambulance sirens

What do you consider your greatest achievement?

Surviving the 80s

What's the one thing you would say to kids?

Get an education - then you don't have to take crap from anyone.

What's the one thing you must do before you die?

Make Melbourne number one convention city in the Asia Pacific region

The SHY Report
A regular column on news, trends and issues in the hospitality industry by one of Asia's most respected travel editors and commentators, Yeoh Siew Hoon.

Siew Hoon, who has covered the tourism industry in Asia/Pacific for the past 20 years, runs SHY Ventures Pte Ltd. Her company's mission is "Content, Communication, Connection".

She is a writer, speaker, facilitator, trainer and events producer. She is also an author, having published "Around Asia In 1 Hr: Tales of Condoms, Chillies & Curries". Her motto is ‘free to do, and be'.

Contacts: Tel: 65-63424934, Mobile: 65-96801460

Yeoh Siew Hoon's other writings can be found at www.thetransitcafe.com. Get your weekly cuppa of news, gossip, humour and opinion at Travel's Busiest Junction.