February 1989, at a 3-star hotel’s meeting room in KL’s Chow Kit area, some 30 of us — men and women, old and young — were enthusiastically learning. Yes, we came together because of our dreams of securing well-paying jobs. A little unexpectedly, some ten of us are now still working as tour guides which will be 33 years later in 2022. And you are right, Lee San is one of them!

Luckily I was an English driver-guide for over a year. I had to look up plenty of information to tackle the inquisitive foreign tourists so that what I had learned could be put into practice even as I was still doing the tour guide course. As such, attending class was relatively easy for me. At that time, a tour guide course would typically take only a month although the same thing will take 4-6 months today.

The curriculum was more or less the same as it is today, mainly on culture and day-to-day life, plus a little of history, geography and politics. In the end, each student would have to pass three different tests in order to qualify.

The tests included multiple choice questions, with 60/100 as passing marks. What we were more afraid of was answering impromptu questions after watching three slides related to folk dances, historical buildings, local food, festive celebrations, religious rituals, ethnic weddings, etc. To be honest, we were really worried we might stammer under pressure and give the wrong answers.

The final test was a practical test aboard a tour coach whereby we were required to talk about what we saw along the way without going off topic. I remember there was this young lady who was so nervous that she couldn’t utter a word with the mic in her hand. Drenched in sweat, she just looked left and right for inspiration, and blurted out at the sight of the traffic lights: “Here in Malaysia we have to stop in front of the red light, go while it is green and be ready to stop when yellow.” Anyway, the examiner did not interrupt, probably because he felt it was natural for a person to stammer when nervous.

Chief examiner Poon, who was from the tourism ministry, concluded: Lee San is very steady when holding the mic. His voice is clear and his explanation excellent. In the end, I passed both the Chinese and English tests with a tour guide license No 2079, the tour guide permit with the picture of a giant turtle on top.

However, I later went to Japan to further my studies and came back to Malaysia only in 1996. Of course, my tour guide license No 2079 was no longer valid and I had to attend another two months of course and sit for the tests all over again. I eventually passed both the Chinese and Japanese tests with a new license No 4751.

I always tell people sitting for a tour guide exam is not any easier than sitting for a law exam. As if that’s not enough, the license has to be renewed annually with a number of new conditions added.

Looking back, from not requiring a license to be a tour guide in Malaysia to needing one today, I think I can draw this little conclusion: it’s too hectic and the course might not really be relevant at all?

Because I had my license, Reliance put me at the Taiwan inbound department as a tour guide on a large tour coach, which was a different experience altogether.

That was the first time I came into contact with Taiwanese tourists. I felt that these people were very cultured, polite and would patiently listen to what the tour guide would say. While interacting with them, I found that their performance was not any inferior to Mat Salleh tourists. Notably, the Taiwanese tourists would take care of other people’s feelings and were very cooperative throughout the trip. They would only take whatever amount of food they wanted to eat or were able to finish at a buffet dinner. Very self disciplined indeed. Those who took their kids along would tell the little ones how to respect other people’s customs.

The thing is, they really appreciated the cultural differences of this world. Moreover, the Taiwanese tour leaders were also highly competent and professional.

From late 1989 to early 1991, I moved over to Mandarin Tours, one of the top agencies back in those years. It was during those one year plus with Mandarin Tours that my tour guide career became gradually professionalised.

The inbound groups which I took were mostly official tour groups, business groups, corporate incentive groups or student and family groups from Taiwan. My experiences there have since helped me tremendously in my career advancement.

In addition, these Taiwanese tourists in the way also promoted me to want to further my studies in overseas!

More in the Isshōkenmei series

(Lee San is Founder and Group Executive Chairman of Apple Vacations. He has travelled to 132 countries, six continents, and enjoys sharing his travel stories and insights. He has also authored five books.)