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I come from a grassroots family. My mother gave birth to five children in six years. My parents had a difficult time raising us.  
I was not a shy child and I loved talking to people. In my report cards, teachers would always comment that I was a good student, but I talked too much. 
In the 1970s, I finished school at form five. At that time, not many people could go to university. I had to find a job to ease the burden on my family. 
I didn’t have a particular job in mind. Just like a fisherman spreading his net, I sent my resume to many companies. 
My old boss called me up and asked me to attend an interview for the job of junior clerk. 
He told me that if I performed well, I would be promoted to be a tour escort and get a chance to travel for free. 
His words got me. In those days, a tour to Bangkok cost about $1,700. My starting salary was only $600. If I wanted to go on a trip, I had to save every penny for months. 
Also, the office was located in Crawford House. The building was new and clean. It was a classy place. 
I always wanted to be an office lady in Central. If I could work in Central, that meant I wasn’t doing too bad. 
Because of all these reasons, I accepted the job.  
After five months, I was a tour escort. I was thrilled when I led my first tour, which went to Chiang Mai and Pattaya. 
I worked as a tour guide for three years. It helped a lot because I learnt how to interact with people of different ages and backgrounds. 
I look very fierce and serious. Some of my customers were actually afraid of me. Somehow it made my job easier because they were willing to listen to me. 
It was easier to be a tour escort in the past. Customers treated us more politely, and they would even buy drinks and snacks for us. 
After nine years, I was promoted to the position of General Manager of Hong Thai. It wasn’t like I was extremely capable. I was lucky. At that time, Hong Thai was still a small company. My boss didn’t have a lot of options. 
But after I took up the job of General Manager, I don’t think that I succeeded solely on opportunity and luck. I did my part well. 
In 2003, SARS hit Hong Kong and people stayed in town. We launched local tours so that people could stay at the Gold Coast in Tuen Mun. It didn’t bring a lot of profit but it seemed to inject life into Hong Kong. 
Before my resignation, I always had headaches and a rapid pulse. My body was giving me warnings because I had been working in a stressful environment for a long time. It had been 32 years, and life shouldn’t be just about work. 
The Manila hostage crisis happened in my last week at Hong Thai.  
Originally, I had planned a lot of farewell parties during that week. I was supposed to leave the company happily. But it turned out that I had to focus and deal with a tragedy. 
I didn’t know Masa Tse [the tour escort who died] personally. But I did recognize him. He used to pass my office when he came to headquarters to pick up stuff. 
I didn’t cry for the first five days. I had to be calm because I had to deal with media and handle the company’s internal affairs. 
My tears finally came during the memorial service at Chater Garden. At that point, I didn’t need to attend any more meetings. I didn’t need to face the media. I became an ordinary person and could release my emotions. 
Looking back, my 32 years at Hong Thai were very exciting. 
However, I missed the essential stages of life: dating, marriage and starting a family. I was kind of naïve and assumed that all these things would happen naturally. I was too absorbed in work. I might have made a mistake. 
My ex-boyfriend emigrated. I broke up with him because I chose work over love. 
I am not retiring. I have said it many times but a lot of reporters still write that I am. I am not young anymore but I am still able to work.


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First Person: Susanna Lau

Magazines

Everybody in the travel industry has heard of Susanna Lau. At the age of 27, she became the general manager of Hong Thai Travel Services. In her 32-year tenure, she has helped it grow to become the biggest travel agency in Hong Kong. In August 2010, she decided to step down. Her last task, however, was to deal with the aftermath of the Manila hostage crisis, in which eight people were killed. She talks to Grace Tsoi about her career, the crisis and her current unemployment. 
