China. We spent nine days driving by the edge of
the mountain, where the ground is often uneven
’cos of mudslides and landslides. Then one day, a
nine-year old volunteer in the car asked me, “Xin Yu
jie jie, are we about to die soon?” ’Cos at any time,
if the driver is not careful, with just one tilt of the
vehicle, we’re gone! (Laughs) When I was living in
the wilderness in Africa, I had to eat wild meat. And
when I wanted to go pee at night, I was so afraid
that I’d be bitten by a snake or some strange animal
will eat me up. I also once took care of baby cows
in Mongolia. Basically, my life is one big adventure.
Some of my friends said my life is very much like
[that of the protagonist in] The Secret Life of Walter
Mitty(laughs).
What’s your most life-changing travel
experience?
In 2012, when I was filming travelogue Find Me
A Singaporean in Mongolia, I met a girl who was
suffering from cancer and other illnesses. She had
worm-infested wounds all over her body and was
dying. And when the doctors were cleaning her
wounds, I looked at her and all of a sudden, she
smiled and asked me to play arm wrestling with
her. Of course, I allowed her to win. When she won,
she let out another big smile and said, “Yes, I
win! I’m stronger than you!” At that time, I was
suffering from depression [after my break-up]
and thinking of giving up on myself. But when I
met her, I suddenly felt so ashamed. Here she
was, fighting for her life. And there I was, wanting
to waste my life away. Her smile was like a ray
of light and hope that shone so brightly into the
depths of my heart. A few months later, she died.
And the person who brought me to her passed
away too from a heart attack. So that’s why I have
a very different perspective on living life. And I’m
quite confident that my 8 DAYS interview will be
rather different from the rest (laughs).
Following the recent Harvey Weinstein
scandal, sexual assault victims have been
trending the #metoo hashtag worldwide,
sharing their experiences. Have you ever been
sexually harassed?
Yeah. It’s common, especially in our industry. I
absolutely hate it whenever I need to take pictures
with members of the public, and some of these
sleazy old men, especially if they’re sponsors or
potential clients, feel that they have the right to
grope me, or put their hands around my waist.