Yesterday, I hit the Impian Emas trail at 7 am with two young accountants, Wei Khjan Chan and Jesu Dason.

This walk was long overdue—a promise made during the peak season when Jesu told me, “Let’s walk or run once this peak is over.” So there we were, with rain clouds overhead, ready for anything.

Wei Khjan and I had talked a lot about IT, AI, and automation throughout the peak season, discussing how these innovations are reshaping our field.

The morning started dark and cloudy as I left my house at 6:30 am. But gloom doesn’t bother me, especially with the fresh air and the company of two eager young accountants.

About 10 minutes into the walk, the drizzle turned into a solid rain. No problem—we ducked into a pondok, taking a 15-minute break, letting the rain pass (and the mosquitoes feast) before continuing along the trail.

It was their first time in Impian Emas, and they got a glimpse of the big lake here, adding a sense of adventure to the morning.

But the rain wasn’t finished with us yet. After another hour, it came down again, heavier this time. We found shelter in a nearby tunnel, giving us another moment to chat and let the storm blow over.

Conversations flowed on everything from 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗔𝗰𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝗔𝗰𝘁 1967 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗽𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿 𝗰𝗿𝘂𝗻𝗰𝗵 𝗶𝗻 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗶𝗻𝗱𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘆. We discussed 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝘂𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗴𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗻𝘁𝘀 face in an era of rapid change.

After an hour and a half, we wrapped up the walk, soaked but satisfied. It was refreshing to connect outside the office and see how both Wei Khjan and Jesu handled the rain and our conversation topics with resilience.

What a walk indeed—𝗴𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗳𝘂𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘀𝗲 𝘁𝘄𝗼 𝗷𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 ‘𝗼𝗹𝗱 𝗺𝗮𝗻’ for a morning filled with insights and a bit of rain-soaked adventure.