Our BAT adventure started on Merdeka day when we met William, BAT Malaysia at the airport. 14 hours of flight time and 3 hours of transit later, we found ourselves in the land of watches – Geneva. Upon arrival at the airport, there were no less than 20 watch ads plastered along the corridors of the Geneva airport! The spoken language here is French but you can get along just fine in English.
It took us another hour by car to get to Montreux where the BAT summit was held, a beautiful town by the Lake of Geneva. The drive along the Lake of Geneva, the largest lake in western Europe, was a scenic one. Terraced vineyards lined the coast of the lake. Across the lake is the French side and a lovely view of Mount Blanc, the highest peak of the Alps is faintly visible. We stayed at the Montreux Palace Hotel situated by the lake and took a nice long stroll into the town of Montreux (right by the beautiful waters) and relaxed over drinks before we headed out to dinner. The weather was just perfect hovering between a low of 10 and highs of 20 plus degrees.
This is Montreux Palace, where we stayed…
We took a romantic walk by the lake…
Day 2 – Thursday
As the summit opening commenced at 4, we had the first half of the day to ourselves to explore! We made our way to Gruyeres, a medieval town 40 minutes away from Montreux. The main attraction there is a medieval castle built in 11th century. Situated on a hillside slope, the view of the Alps and the vast greenlands was fantastic!
That evening, we had sundowners and canapes on the terrace, overlooking the lake and beautiful sunset at the Le Petite Palais. I was introduced to a couple from Vietnam, Janet and Dan (not their real names coz they are covert like that) and Andrew, MD of BAT in Vietnam. Also at our dining table were Taiwanese reps from BAT and Pan, the CEO of FamilyMart. It was obvious that everyone was impressed by the opening talk that swimmer, environmentalist and former maritime lawyer Lewis Gordon Pugh gave. He had swam 1km in the north pole, another in Mt Everest and was giving inspirational and motivational advise. The two things I got from everyone there were:
1. Radical Tactical Shift – What used to work before may not necessarily work in today or in future. And at times, a different approach may be needed for success.
2. Don’t set yourself up for failure. (Only set one objective/goal in your head. If you have a backup/exit plan, you’re psychologically preparing yourself for failure.
Gruyeres
… view from the Castle…
Inside Castle Gruyeres
The view from the Castle was just magnificent!
I found my Prince Charming! I fell in love with Prince when I saw him! He is a mix Yorkie and Shih Tzu! Super adorable!
I absolutely loved my trout!
Day 3 – Friday
The ladies were treated to a pampering session at Clinique La Prarie. I had opted for collagen mask and face massage which was followed by a healthy lunch the La Prarie restaurant.
The Montreux Jazz Gala dinner was a black tie event held at the Salle des Fetes, the ballroom of our hotel. The evening started out with champagne and a group photo session. Dinner was exquisite, especially the funghi risotto dish prepared by Michelin-starred chef Anton Mosimann OBE and his entire crew who were flown in from the UK just to cook for the event! Ming had the pleasure of sitting next to BAT CEO Paul Adams who is a great guy with a wonderful sense of humor! Everyone at BAT seems to remember him by the stories he tells of his son, setting him by example and relating it back to the workplace. His tip to us that night was “Management by Stories” – that people forget the PowerPoint slides and charts you present to them but they remember stories.
After dinner, there was wine and cigars and we randomly bumped into a gentlemen who was also part of the summit and somehow or rather, he ended up giving us 2 tips on love and knowing if your partner is THE ONE. He said:
1. She is not the one if she doesn’t give you shit. (good one!!)
2. If you can’t imagine your partner making u laugh 25 years from now, it’s not gonna work
Duly noted with thanks!
Day 4- Saturday
It was a 60-minute train ride to Gstaad, a ski resort/town 1050m above sea level. Upon arrival, we hopped onto a horse-drawn carriage and circled the town. The weather there was surprisingly warm (well, just perfect, I thought) and I didn’t need the overcoat I had brought with me. Despite the lovely scenery and nice weather, the windy car ride through the mountains back to Montreux made me sick and I was thankful when we arrived back at the hotel.
Dinner that night was divine. Andrew had made reservations at a lovely French-fine dining restaurant by the lake, L’ermitage and the food was superb, despite the waiter who’s service didn’t quite match up. We checked out the party scene in Montreux that night which only got happening at 2-ish, which was also about the time we were ready to go to bed, (blame it on old age, or old souls!). Besides, other than the fact that the clubs there close at 5am, I think we do a lot better in KL!
In the train, on our way to Gstaad…
Gstaad town
Andrew & William checking out an antique…
Every other passerby had a dog!
On our way back (by car) to Montreux… (I was car-sick soon after I took this photo!)
Day 5 – Sunday
Our last day was somewhat relaxing. We visited Chateau de Chillon (pronounced Shee-on), a castle built on an island of rock in the 12th century. It was there at the souvenir shop where I discovered Smarties Pop-up ice cream, one of the greatest inventions in the history of ice creams on a stick! I am head over heels over my new-found guilty pleasure and couldn’t help myself so I had two of those. I’m secretly thankful though, that they don’t have it in Malaysia so I don’t over-indulge! Lunch was a little lackluster, as expected, after two delightful Smarties ice creams! No doubt, the company and view of the lake was amazing, as always.
This is a cool invention! Check out how it works! And you get a Smarties treat at the end of the ice cream!
And what better way to end the vacation than to buy RM1500 worth of Swiss chocolates as gifts! Yes, the sales lady and a few other passengers thought we were crazy or don’t have chocolates where we come from!
A big THANK YOU to William who took such great care of us in Montreux and for his kind hospitality!
To our new friends Andrew, Janet and Dan (not your real names but you know who you are!) it was a pleasure meeting and hanging out with you guys! You guys are a fun bunch and I’m looking forward to some jaw-dropping, eyebrow-raising action during our next visit to Vietnam!
Last but not least, I just had to post this up! After 10 minutes of looking around the hotel room for plug points, I finally realized that the cool looking dots on the wall were electrical points! I’m assuming it can fit various plugs as well, which not only looks funky but it’s so practical!
… and it looks even cooler with a plug on it!
