Yeoh Siew Hoon gets caught up in Olympics fever as she returns from a top contending city to one that will host those who will decide the winner. Bottomline: Everyone behave please.
It seems I simply can't get away from the Olympics.
While I was in Paris last month, I saw a city emblazoned with signs proclaiming, L'amour des jeux (Love Of the Games).
The country may have been divided over the European Union Constitution but it certainly was not over its bid for the world's biggest sporting show in 2012.
Not only its citizens but also its emigrants.
A taxi driver I engaged in conversation – he was from Guangzhou, so we managed to communicate in a mixture of Mandarin and Cantonese and besides, real Parisian taxi drivers simply do not talk to their passengers – refused to even talk about the EU issue but was extremely forthcoming about the Games.
"EU, none of my business," he said. "Olympics, I hope Paris wins. Good for business."
Yes, it seems you can take the boy out of China but not China out of the boy. He cared more for business than politics.
"Politics, waste of time. Just old men talking," he said in brusque Cantonese. "Sports more exciting".
He asked me if I knew of Yao Ming. I think if I had said no, he would have dropped me in the middle of the traffic jam.
His parents moved from Guangdong to Paris when he was a child. Now in his late 30s, he is toying with the idea of returning to his homeland for good. He is excited about the Olympics 2008 in Beijing which he is convinced will bring lots of business to the whole country.
As I listened to him, I couldn't help but smile at how things have changed. Thirty years ago, folks like his parents moved from China to Europe in search of a better life. Today, the next generation of emigrants are thinking of returning in search of a better life.
Yes, the grass is always greener on the other side.
Meanwhile, back in the green, green grass of home in Singapore, the town is bursting with great expectations over the hosting of the 117
th International Olympic Committee meeting.
The big guns of the IOC are coming to town, starting July 5, and it will be during this five-day event that the decision over who will have the pleasure and privilege, and pay the price of hosting the Olympics 2012 will be made.
The five cities in the race – Moscow, Madrid, New York, London and Paris – will have their last chance to lobby IOC voting members. And everyone's bringing their biggest names to influence the vote. London, for instance, is fielding the Blair and Beckham show. New York will have Steven Spielberg showing off a movie he's made about the city. France will have Luc Besson doing the same thing.
As with everything it does, Singapore is taking this event very seriously. The whole nation has been put on alert to ensure everyone puts their best foot forward. A total of S$2.1 million will be spent on the event, which is expected to have a payback of S$40 million.
The Singapore Tourism Board, for instance, has put together 17 free half-day tours for the 1,500 journalists expected to cover the event.
Fifty Mercedes-Benz limousines numbered IOC1 to IOC50 are being put at the beck and call of voting IOC members.
The 300 volunteers who signed up to work round-the-clock to host the 5,000 delegates have undergone training at the SIA training centre and one of their instructions was, do not use Singlish (the colloquial form of English spoken here) and instead speak proper English.
Meanwhile, in New York, the delegation has been advised how to behave in Singapore. Among the don'ts are do not spit, litter, jaywalk, chew gum or smoke in prohibited areas, never touch, hug or kiss a person of the opposite sex at a business meeting, (for men) do not offer to shake a woman's hand unless she initiates the gesture and do not compliment her appearance as this may be misconstrued as an amorous advance.
I can just see an interaction going like this.
Singaporean female volunteer: Excuse me, sir, may I have the pleasure of welcoming you to my Singapore?
New Yorker: Hey, don't get too close, lady. And by the way, you look terrible today. I must say though, you speak fantastic English.
According to media reports, Paris and London are the top two contenders, with Paris slightly ahead but, to keep up the suspense, they are also saying, it ain't over till the fat lady sings. So the other three cities could still have a fighting chance.
Anyway, what I want to know is, if Paris wins, will the government ask its residents not to speak the language they are most comfortable with?
This reminds me of Mark Twain who said, "In Paris, they simply stared when I spoke to them in French. I never did succeed in making those idiots understand their own language."
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: 65-96801460Check out Siew Hoon's new website, www.shy-connection.com, which features a newly-launched e-zine with a difference. 
