WHEN 28-year-old Janet Hsieh swears she isn't one of those typical overachieving Asians, you can't help but arch your eyebrows in disbelief.

Born and raised in Texas, the Taiwanese TV presenter picked up the violin when she was five, and at 10, was invited to perform at the White House for then American president George Bush.

She later turned to modelling in Taiwan and appeared in over 20 commercials and magazines such as Harper's Bazaar, GQ and Vogue.

You quickly realise that life is unfair when, on top of possessing killer good looks and musical talent, she's brainy to boot.

She graduated from Massachusetts Institute of Technology with a bachelor's degree in humanities and biology, and speaks five languages: English, Mandarin, Taiwanese min nan yu, Spanish and French. Before she hits 30, she aims to pick up either Japanese, German or Cantonese.

'I may look Chinese but when I went to school, all I knew was ni hao and xie xie ('How are you' and 'thank you' in Mandarin). I love learning languages because I just hate not understanding what people are saying,' she says.

You could say that she has wanderlust in her blood. In the last 12 years, she's travelled to over 35 countries, lived in six, trained as a sushi chef in Santa Barbara and even had a six-month stint as a circus clown trainee in Argentina.

And now, add to that travel log her appointment as host of two new shows on Discovery Travel & Living - Fun Asia, which premieres tonight, and Fun Taiwan, which airs next month.

She was in town last month to promote the two shows. Fun Asia takes viewers to cities such as Bangkok, Palau, Okinawa, Boracay and Macau, while Fun Taiwan - which is in its seventh season - explores Taiwanese culture and history.

1. You're quite the overachiever, aren't you?

Definitely not. That word has the notion of setting out to achieve, but I'm just open-minded and lucky that being able to try and unafraid of trying new things has taken me places.

2. When was the first time you left the United States?

That was for two months when I was 16. I went to Ecuador on one of those trips I signed up for as an aid worker, and was giving out vaccinations against rabies for people there. I think that started my exposure to international health issues.

3. How did your love for travel come about?

It's family background. As a kid I never had cable TV or Nintendo, so we just went out. I'd go on ski trips in Oregon during school weekends while my schoolmates went to the mall. Sometimes we'd just drive for two days to the Grand Canyon and back. But we weren't rich. We're just regular middle-class people who focused on things that other families wouldn't.

4. What was the worst part about modelling?

I was terribly depressed when I was a model. I starved myself before photo shoots and avoided the sun to maintain my skin's fairness. I asked other models for advice and they told me to eat only the white of eggs. I've tried everything - from liquid diets to Atkins - to keep below 54kg. I just stopped short of bulimia. The whole weight struggle was really unstable.

5. Why put yourself through that?

My dream was to be on the cover of magazines such as Harper's Bazaar. But at least now that I know what women with weight issues go through every day. One day I may even write a book about self-love for women.

It's funny that now, without me trying, magazines are approaching me to put me on their covers. I eat gobs of food on Fun Asia and Fun Taiwan and my weight vacillates between 51kg and 55kg, but I don't care at all.

6. Why, of all things, did you train to become a circus clown?

It's really a question of 'When else? Why not?'. This was eight years ago when I was studying in Buenos Aires, Argentina. My friend and I signed up on a whim after seeing a poster. We didn't join the circus in the end but we made about US$60 per hour just juggling and practising flips in the park.

7. And the sushi chef stint?

I love sushi, so why not learn to be a sushi chef? I started as a waitress drooling over the counter, and telling the chef to just teach me to wrap sushi, slice fish, et cetera.

For helping out, I could eat all the sushi I want so I'd take home boxes of yellowtail, salmon, toro... Oh, I had sashimi every day for two months.

8. Complete this sentence: If I could live life again, I would...

Not change a thing. Sometimes people say it's such a shame that I gave up medicine, but I believe every twist in life has its reason. Just because I gave up being a doctor six years ago doesn't mean I can't go back to it at 50, 60, or even 80. I leave every door open and live with no regrets.

Fun Asia premieres tonight and airs every Monday at 9pm on Discovery Travel & Living (StarHub Channel 16). Fun Taiwan will premiere on the same channel on July 26 and airs every Saturday at 11pm.

This article was first published in The Straits Times on Jun 2, 2008.