Podcasts https://dev.traveldailymedia.com/podcast/ Informing, connecting and developing the world’s travel industry professionals. Tue, 09 Jan 2024 04:12:41 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.4.3 Podcast: The spotlight on Aviation, Part I – Geoffrey Thomas https://dev.traveldailymedia.com/podcast-spotlight-on-aviation-geoffrey-thomas/ Mon, 06 Dec 2021 05:06:05 +0000 https://www.traveldailymedia.com/?p=682710 The post Podcast: The spotlight on Aviation, Part I – Geoffrey Thomas appeared first on TD (Travel Daily Media) Brand TD.

In this limited aviation focused podcast series, the first episode drops today, when we have a chat to Mr Aviation himself, Geoffrey Thomas, Editor-In-Chief of AirlingRatings.com, who is one of the world's highest regarded aviation writers, and an expert on the missing MH370.

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Where is MH370?

 

In this limited aviation focused podcast series, the first episode drops today, when we have a chat to Mr Aviation himself, Geoffrey Thomas, Editor-In-Chief of AirlingRatings.com, who is one of the world’s highest regarded aviation writers, and an expert on the missing MH370.

 

 

 

 

Battling myriad conspiracy theories, that dredge the tragedy to the fore, time and time again, Geoffrey has been a voice of reason for both the public and the media, who turn to him for comment on aviation, in particular in Australasia.

Malaysian Airlines flight 370 (or MH370 as it is commonly referred to) disappeared on 8th March, 2014 whilst flying from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing.  That disappearance has become one of the world’s greatest aviation mysteries and has dominated aviation headlines for over six years, but new research in the past week, believes it may have pin-pointed a possible resting place.

A team of experts, led by aeronautical engineer Richard Godfrey, have been examining the plight of MH370. Mr Godfrey has designed new location tracking software that has been fully tested using blind tests from data supplied by Qantas, the New Zealand Air Forces and others, which has shown to be unerringly accurate.

Geoffrey discusses with Steve Collins, the motives of MH370’s pilot, and how he had practised flying the route on a flight simulator and reveals his belief that the remains of MH370 lie 1,933 km west of Perth between two underwater volcanoes at a depth of 4,000 metres.

Geoffrey also maintains that the Malaysian Government at the time was corrupt, and hindered – rather than helped, the investigation.

This must listen to podcast is a fascinating examination of the disappearance of MH370 which presents facts about this enduring aviation puzzle.

 

About Geoffrey Thomas

Geoffrey Thomas is a world-renowned multi-award-winning writer, author, and commentator who has taken a holistic view of the aviation industry for more than 50 years.

In all, he has won 43 international and national aerospace awards for his work including being a four-time winner of the prestigious Royal Aeronautical Society (RAS) Aerospace Journalist of the Year twice each in the ‘Systems and Technology’ and ‘Business’ categories. He was also crowned overall winner in 2009.

Geoffrey is the Editor-in-Chief of AirlineRatings.com and also the Aviation Editor for The West Australian newspaper and a regular commentator on Australian and New Zealand TV and radio, including the aviation commentator on Channel 7’s top rating Sunrise program. He is also seen on CNN, the BBC, and SkyNews. He has been published in Australian Aviation, The Australian, Sydney Morning Herald, and The Age.

  

About TellMeWhere2Go.com

TellmeWhere2Go.com is a one-stop travel platform, with podcasts, stories, discounts and offers, and interviews about travel, all on your favourite podcast app or direct from the website.

The in-built Travel Agent booking widget, allows visitors to inquire about any product, and they can also make a booking directly from the site, via an experienced and licenced travel agent.

Explore at ease, search by words, or by your preferred travel style, or just drop your mouse on a pin and see where it take you. Discover countries and places you’ve always dreamed of visiting. Listen to tales that explain and entertain.

Think you know someone interesting we should have a chat to?

Let us know by contacting the team here –  contact@tellmewhere2go.com

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Podcast: Virginia is for Lovers https://dev.traveldailymedia.com/podcast-virginia-is-for-lovers/ Sun, 14 Nov 2021 23:46:34 +0000 https://www.traveldailymedia.com/?guid=f0ab1ec8b495bdc34ced26ad01c83b6c The post Podcast: Virginia is for Lovers appeared first on TD (Travel Daily Media) Brand TD.

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Podcast: Manitoba where Canada’s Heart Beats https://dev.traveldailymedia.com/podcast-manitoba-where-canadas-heart-beats/ Tue, 09 Nov 2021 00:24:07 +0000 https://www.traveldailymedia.com/?guid=242809316c4b136821b3a70a01941790 The post Podcast: Manitoba where Canada’s Heart Beats appeared first on TD (Travel Daily Media) Brand TD.

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IWTA speaks with K. Rujirapun Juangroongruangkit (Mook), Executive Vice President Pattana Sports Resort, Chonburi, Thailand https://dev.traveldailymedia.com/tdiwta-mook-juangroongruangkit-pattana-sports-resort-thailand/ Wed, 20 Oct 2021 23:00:37 +0000 https://www.traveldailymedia.com/?p=679486 The post IWTA speaks with K. Rujirapun Juangroongruangkit (Mook), Executive Vice President Pattana Sports Resort, Chonburi, Thailand appeared first on TD (Travel Daily Media) Brand TD.

We are delighted to introduce you to K. Mook Juangroongruangkit – Executive Vice President Pattana Sports Resort, Chonburi in our newest interview in a series from TDs Inspiring Women in Travel Asia (IWTA).

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We are delighted to introduce you to K. Rujirapun Juangroongruangkit (Mook) – Executive Vice President Pattana Sports Resort, Chonburi and newest interview in a series on TDs Inspiring Women in Travel Asia (IWTA).

 

 

 

In an historically expatriate, male-dominated industry, it is great to see more and more Thai female leaders in hospitality in Thailand, excelling in many varied roles throughout the country.

 

Rujirapun Juangroongruangkit (Mook) is one such leader.  She studied accounting and finance at Thammasat University, Bangkok, never dreaming that one day she would be leading one of the largest sports tourism destinations in Asia.  She initially took over the challenge of managing the family hotel and golf resort in 2008, built in memory of her father.  Not content with simply managing what was already there, she began exploring ways to create an impact both with the local community and internationally. With vision, dedication and sheer determination, Khun Mook has developed the hotel and golf course into one of the leading sports resorts in Asia, with much of the progress accomplished since 2016.

Khun Mook has learned about hospitality the hard way, studying what others have done, both successful and not so good, locally, regionally and internationally, and adapting what she has seen into something that fits her vision, and works in Thailand. She has focused on learning as much as possible, about every aspect of hospitality, project development, and the sports she loves by asking questions, participating in events and long hours of hands-on experience.

Combining her passion for competitive sports, her desire to make the world a better place and her vision of supporting local communities, she has successfully combined golf with football training camps, competitive triathlons with swimming competitions and supported the development of young disadvantaged footballers, many of whom are now being snapped up by professional clubs.  She has both opened up the football ground and stadium for use by amateur teams from the surrounding industrial estates, and welcomed international teams & tournaments to the facilities.

One of Khun Mook’s greatest challenges has been to overcome the resistance and doubt of others, questioning her decisions and pushing back against the changes she wanted to make.  She continues to draw on her clear vision for motivation and energy to keep moving forward, and shows the same determination to just keep moving towards the goal, as she shows when competing in triathlons and other sporting events. Crossing that finishing line means everything to Mook, whether it is in a race, life or business.

COVID19 brought both domestic and international travel to a standstill, but Mook continued with her vision to build an internationally renowned sporting destination, undeterred, and hopes to see the return of international events and event participation in 2022.  Local events are already starting again in November 2021, and with Khun Mook’s future vision for Pattana Sports Resort to be inclusive, rather than exclusive, to enable everyone to access the services and become involved in sports in some way, this is one lady, and one resort, to keep an eye on.

 

Find our Podcasts on your favourite RSS Platform

 

 

If you know of any female leaders or up and coming superstars in the Travel and Hospitality industry you would like to nominate, please visit our page and complete a nomination form!

 

 

 

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IWTA speaks with K. Rujirapun Juangroongruangkit (Mook), Executive Vice President Pattana Sports Resort, Chonburi, Thailand We are delighted to introduce K. Mook Juangroongruangkit – Executive Vice President Pattana Sports Resort & IWTAs newest interview series IWTA,IWTA;Inspiring Women in Travel,Mook Juangroongruangkit,Pattana Sports Resort,TDIWTA,TDIWTA TDiwta-logo-768×435 Mook nominate
Podcast: Houston Texas a true space city https://dev.traveldailymedia.com/podcast-houston-texas-a-true-space-city/ Mon, 18 Oct 2021 03:19:05 +0000 https://www.traveldailymedia.com/?guid=8ac15c0977a9961ce3ed01ad25d98ee2 The post Podcast: Houston Texas a true space city appeared first on TD (Travel Daily Media) Brand TD.

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Podcast Super Seven Series – Charles Van Rensberg & Herbie Rosenberg https://dev.traveldailymedia.com/podcast-super-seven-series-charles-van-rensberg-herbie-rosenberg/ Thu, 14 Oct 2021 04:16:36 +0000 https://www.traveldailymedia.com/?p=679089 The post Podcast Super Seven Series – Charles Van Rensberg & Herbie Rosenberg appeared first on TD (Travel Daily Media) Brand TD.

Episode No 7, is a cracker to complete this present series, two stalwarts of the African travel industry tell us where to go.

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Herbie Rosenberg & Charles van Rensburg

 

 

Herbie Rosenberg – MD of Africareps

Charles van Rensburg – Wilderness Safaris

Herbie Rosenberg has been involved in African inbound tourism for almost 40 years and has been running Africareps in Melbourne, Australia for about 10 years. The company represents and markets a comprehensive and prestigious collection of organisations currently covering 8 African countries and islands, being Botswana, Kenya, Madagascar, Namibia, Rwanda, South Africa, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

Charles van Rensburg lives in the heart of southern Africa and has immersed himself in a career in conservation, wildlife, and safari excursions. Now the Business Manager of Wilderness Safaris, Charles remains an advocate of respectful encounters with wildlife and is a fervent believer in protecting the places where the lions rule the land.

For more information visit africareps.com.au and wilderness-safaris.com

 

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Podcast: Stunning Banff Lake Louise https://dev.traveldailymedia.com/podcast-stunning-banff-lake-louise/ Mon, 11 Oct 2021 23:52:23 +0000 https://www.traveldailymedia.com/?guid=1377d5492e71b534e8c8692e2d788c0f The post Podcast: Stunning Banff Lake Louise appeared first on TD (Travel Daily Media) Brand TD.

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Podcast Super Seven Series – Damian Perry https://dev.traveldailymedia.com/podcast-super-seven-series-damian-perry/ Wed, 06 Oct 2021 19:00:00 +0000 https://www.traveldailymedia.com/?guid=7c8a6d30413ffa6ad08746fc827d1c63 The post Podcast Super Seven Series – Damian Perry appeared first on TD (Travel Daily Media) Brand TD.

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Podcast: St Helena a speck in the Atlantic Ocean https://dev.traveldailymedia.com/podcast-sthelena-speck-in-the-atlantic-ocean/ Tue, 05 Oct 2021 01:54:31 +0000 https://www.traveldailymedia.com/?guid=09d6017d5c90d575f4e5f0ea3d7d10b4 The post Podcast: St Helena a speck in the Atlantic Ocean appeared first on TD (Travel Daily Media) Brand TD.

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Podcast Super Seven Series: Tony Giles https://dev.traveldailymedia.com/podcast-super-seven-series-tony-giles/ Thu, 30 Sep 2021 01:00:06 +0000 https://www.traveldailymedia.com/?p=678088 The post Podcast Super Seven Series: Tony Giles appeared first on TD (Travel Daily Media) Brand TD.

Episode No 5, is a spectacular story, of Tony Giles, the blind and partially deaf extraordinary traveller who has travelled the globe and written books about all his experiences. You can’t make this stuff up, and if this doesn’t inspire you to get travelling, we don’t know what will!

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NEW PODCAST SERIES at TellMeWhere2Go

The Super Seven Series – Tony Giles

 

 

Tony Giles

Tony the Traveller

Tony Giles is a blind and partially deaf extraordinary traveller who has travelled the globe and written books about all his experiences. To date, Tony has visited 125 official UN countries. He’s also Bungee jumped seventeen times, sky dived three times and has been zorbing twice, driven jet boats, a large jeep, ridden motorbikes, jet skied and water skied, to name a few activities. In 2004 Tony nearly drowned whilst white water rafting on the Zambezi River in Zambia.

For more information visit tonythetraveller.com

Between October 2001-March 2002 Tony backpacked independently around part of the southern hemisphere; visiting Australia, New Zealand, part of southern Vietnam and Thailand. It was during this trip that Tony was diagnosed with high blood pressure and kidney disease, a condition that gradually deteriorated. In December 2008 he underwent a successful kidney transplant operation. After a recovery period, in 2004 Tony undertook a year-long, epic backpacking solo world journey; visiting parts of South and North America, Mexico, Cuba, and most of Southern Africa.

 

In 2005 Tony began writing his first, in a trilogy, of travel books, Tony has now visited all 50 US States and all 10 of Canada’s Provinces and he has crossed the Arctic Circle by boat off the coast of Norway.

 

To date, Tony, totally blind and partially deaf, has visited 125 official UN countries.

He’s also Bungee jumped seventeen times, skydived three times and has been zorbing twice, driven jet boats, a large jeep, ridden motorbikes, jet skied and water skied, to name a few activities. In 2004 Tony nearly drowned whilst white water rafting on the Zambezi River in Zambia

 

Tony plans to travel for the remainder of his life and visit every world country, both official and unofficial nations and his aim is to continue writing travel books and eventually publish some travel fiction. One day he would like to live in New Zealand with his partner Tatiana, and maybe open a hostel. In the last few years he’s discovered “couch surfing”, and has couch-surfed in over 40 countries.

See tonythetraveller.com for more information.

 

TellmeWhere2Go.com is a one-stop travel platform where you can follow and listen to enthralling stories and interviews about travel on your favourite podcast app direct from the website.

With travel now opened up in great swathes of the world now, if Tony doesn’t inspire you, we don’t know what will!

The in-built Travel Agent booking widget, allows visitors to inquire about any product, and they can also make a booking directly from the site, via an experienced and licenced travel agent.

Explore at ease, search by words, or by your preferred travel style, or just drop your mouse on a pin and see where it take you. Discover countries and places you’ve always dreamed of visiting. Listen to tales that explain and entertain.

Think you know someone interesting we should have a chat to?

Let us know by contacting the team here –  contact@tellmewhere2go.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Podcast: Colorado straddling the Rockies https://dev.traveldailymedia.com/podcast-colorado-straddling-the-rockies/ Tue, 28 Sep 2021 09:20:19 +0000 https://www.traveldailymedia.com/?guid=784399bb61d82a3812950de1522b18c4 The post Podcast: Colorado straddling the Rockies appeared first on TD (Travel Daily Media) Brand TD.

Featuring: Liz Birdsall and Steve Collins
Colorado is one of the most scenically stunning states in the United States. In this podcast Liz Birdsall, International Marketing Manager for the Colorado Tourism Office chats about Colorado's many attrac...

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Colorado straddling the Rockies

Image: Rocky Mountain National Park. Credit – Visit Colorado

Mountains distinguish Colorado. The Rocky Mountains to be specific.

The state encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains.

The 38th state in the U.S., it is referred to as the “Centennial State” because it became a state one century after the signing of the United States Declaration of Independence.

Although known for its mountains half of Colorado is flat and rolling land. To the west of the Great Plains of Colorado rises the eastern slope of the Rocky Mountains. The Rocky Mountains within Colorado contain 53 true peaks with a total of 58 that are 14,000 feet (4,267 m) or higher in elevation. The summit of Mount Elbert at 14,440 feet (4,401.2 m) elevation is the highest point in Colorado and the Rocky Mountains of North America. Colorado is the only U.S. state that lies entirely above 1,000 meters of elevation.

Denver is Colorado’s capital and most populous city. Called the Mile High city, you can see the mile-high mark on the steps of the State Capitol building. It has a very friendly urban area and a free bus travels along 16th Street Mall in order to make getting around easier. Walking through Larimer Square, near the historic centre of Denver, is like journeying back to the Old West, with its historic buildings and fascinating shops.

 

Image – Visit Colorado

 

Colorado boasts some of the best skiing in the United States with places like Aspen, Vail, Breckenridge, Beaver Creek and Telluride being some of the most popular areas for skiing and other snow sports.

 

Colorado Springs is the second most populous city and the most extensive city in the State of Colorado. There are a great number of attractions there including the new Pikes Peak Summit Complex at the summit of the mountain, plus the fascinating  Manitou and Pike’s Peak Railway which reopened in 2021.

Glenwood Springs is another “must visit” town. Located at the confluence of the Roaring Fork River and the Colorado River, it is known for its hot springs, which are the largest in North America.

 

Image – Visit ColoradoColorado is a most beautiful and fascinating destination. Take your time when you visit, as that will be a decision you will never regret making.

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Podcast Super Seven Series: Rachel Oakes-Ash https://dev.traveldailymedia.com/podcast-super-seven-series-rachel-oakes-ash/ Wed, 22 Sep 2021 19:00:00 +0000 https://www.traveldailymedia.com/?guid=366ecc02d6f08f5b6cac9d761dfc4765 The post Podcast Super Seven Series: Rachel Oakes-Ash appeared first on TD (Travel Daily Media) Brand TD.

Rachael Oakes-Ash is better known as Miss Snow It All, the name behind Snowsbest.com and the @misssnowitall digital platform for skiers and boarders that travel. Australia’s queen of the snow has been top of her snow media game for close to two decades with ten years as a Fairfax ski columnist before launching her own digital publication.

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Rachel Oakes-Ash

 

Rachael Oakes-Ash is better known as Miss Snow It All, the name behind Snowsbest.com and the @misssnowitall digital platform for skiers and boarders that travel. Australia’s queen of the snow has been top of her snow media game for close to two decades with ten years as a Fairfax ski columnist before launching her own digital publication. You’ll find her on the slopes in Japan, Canada, USA, New Zealand, Europe and at home in Australia.

For more information visit http://www.snowsbest.com/

 

 

 

In this series of seven podcasts, prominent travel identities chat to TellmeWhere2Go about adjusting to the Covid era. From travel restrictions to how they view the current state of their industry sector, our guests discuss what they see ahead and how they’ve had to adapt.

We also asked them, where they’d rather be? The answers may just surprise you.

Tune in every Thursday for the next seven weeks as we release a new podcast and reveal who is a part of our Super Seven Series.

 

Choose your podcast app below
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Podcast: Super Seven Series: Campbell Wilson https://dev.traveldailymedia.com/podcast-super-seven-series-campbell-wilson/ Thu, 16 Sep 2021 04:16:36 +0000 https://www.traveldailymedia.com/?guid=51bd6b1040e42b53bc60d19c33f2e17d The post Podcast: Super Seven Series: Campbell Wilson appeared first on TD (Travel Daily Media) Brand TD.

We have a chat with the ever exuberant Campbell Wilson, CEO of Scoot – the bright yellow-tailed, low-cost airline, based in Singapore. With twenty-nine year’s experience in the SIA group, this Kiwi is a passionate and well-respected leader in the aviation industry.

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Campbell Wilson

 

From SCOOT

We have a chat with the ever exuberant Campbell Wilson, CEO of Scoot – the bright yellow-tailed, low-cost airline, based in Singapore. With twenty-nine year’s experience in the SIA group, this Kiwi is a passionate and well-respected leader in the aviation industry. With flights resuming from Singapore to Athens and Berlin soon, he hopes to “rattle-any-snakes” out of all his planes and get them back in the air soon.

For more information visit https://www.flyscoot.com/

 

 

 

In this series of seven podcasts, prominent travel identities chat to TellmeWhere2Go about adjusting to the Covid era. From travel restrictions to how they view the current state of their industry sector, our guests discuss what they see ahead and how they’ve had to adapt.

We also asked them, where they’d rather be? The answers may just surprise you.

Tune in every Thursday for the next seven weeks as we release a new podcast and reveal who is a part of our Super Seven Series.

 

Choose your podcast app below
SpotifyAnchorBreakerGoogle PodcastsPocketCastsApple PodcastsRadio Public

 

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IWTA speaks with Suyin Lee, Managing Director – Discova https://dev.traveldailymedia.com/tdiwta-speaks-with-suyin-lee-managing-director-discova/ Mon, 13 Sep 2021 00:30:35 +0000 https://www.traveldailymedia.com/?p=676012 The post IWTA speaks with Suyin Lee, Managing Director – Discova appeared first on TD (Travel Daily Media) Brand TD.

Please be introduced to Suyin Lee – Managing Director, Discova and our first in a series of interviews from TDs Inspiring Women in Travel Asia (IWTA).

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Meet Suyin Lee – Managing Director, Discova
TD’s first in a series of interviews with
TDs Inspiring Women in Travel (Asia)
.

 

 

 

Background: 

Suyin is Malaysian born Chinese-Australian, the eldest of 3 girls and grew up in Australia. She qualified as a chartered accountant which was a profession her family considered to be respectable. The adventure in travel started when she joined the Flight Centre Travel Group in Brisbane in 2001. It seemed like a good choice after completing her MBA in finance. 

 

Summary

Get inspired by Suyin’s passion and commitment for empowering local communities and education. Many pearls of wisdom from her own career journey so far and the importance of getting to know people along the way, understand their lives and remain curious about the world around you 

 

Find our Podcasts on your favourite RSS Platform

 

 

 

If you know of any female leaders or up and coming superstars in the Travel and Hospitality industry you would like to nominate, please visit our page and complete a nomination form!

 

 

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IWTA speaks with Suyin Lee, Managing Director - Discova Meet Suyin Lee – Managing Director, Discova our first in a series of interviews with TDs Inspiring Women in Travel Asia (TDIWTA). Discova,IWTA,IWTA;Inspiring Women in Travel,Suyin Lee,TDIWTA,TDIWTA nominate TDiwta-logo-300×150
Podcast: Super Seven Series: Georgia Rickard https://dev.traveldailymedia.com/podcast-super-seven-series-georgia-rickard/ Thu, 09 Sep 2021 23:44:29 +0000 https://www.traveldailymedia.com/?guid=39b045f510fdda0d0eb0568b162f63e9 The post Podcast: Super Seven Series: Georgia Rickard appeared first on TD (Travel Daily Media) Brand TD.

Featuring: Georgia Rickard, In this series of seven podcasts, prominent travel identities chat to TellmeWhere2Go about adjusting to the Covid era. From travel restrictions to how they view the current state of their industry sector, our guests discuss what they see ahead and how they’ve had to adapt. Georgia Rickard is a multi-award-winning magazine editor. The former Editor at Large for Virgin Australia, and editor of Australia’s largest selling travel magazine, Australian Traveller.

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In this series of seven podcasts, prominent travel identities chat to TellmeWhere2Go about adjusting to the Covid era. From travel restrictions to how they view the current state of their industry sector, our guests discuss what they see ahead and how they’ve had to adapt.

We also asked them, where they’d rather be? The answers may just surprise you.

Tune in every Thursday for the next seven weeks as we release a new podcast and reveal who is a part of our Super Seven Series.

 

Georgia Rickard

From Phhnix

Georgia is a multi-award-winning magazine editor. The former Editor at Large for Virgin Australia, and editor of Australia’s largest selling travel magazine, Australian Traveller. She is co-founder of The Travel Bootcamp and The Modern Travel Media Summit, sponsored by TravMedia, a Destination Gold Coast Content Awards ambassador, a travel curator for Fairfax Media and a correspondent for Airbnb and a featured Airbnb Insider.

For more information visit https://www.phhnix.com/home48620165

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Choose your podcast app below
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SUPER SEVEN SERIES -2nd podcast drops – interviews with travel identities – who’s next? https://dev.traveldailymedia.com/podcast-super-seven-series-2nd-podcast-whos-next/ Wed, 08 Sep 2021 11:54:12 +0000 https://www.traveldailymedia.com/?p=676798 The post SUPER SEVEN SERIES -2nd podcast drops – interviews with travel identities – who’s next? appeared first on TD (Travel Daily Media) Brand TD.

In this series of seven podcasts, prominent travel identities chat to TellmeWhere2Go about adjusting to the Covid era. From travel restrictions to how they view the current state of their industry sector, our guests discuss what they see ahead and how they’ve had to adapt. We also asked them, where they’d rather be? The answers may just surprise you.

Tune in every Thursday for the next seven weeks as we release a new podcast and reveal who is a part of our Super Seven Series.

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NEW PODCAST IN SUPER SEVEN SERIES at TellMeWhere2Go

Listen to Second Episode of Seven Influential Travel Industry Identities

Episode 2 of 7 part podcast series https://tellmewhere2go.com/

 

 

The Super Seven Series drops the second of seven episodes, when we have a lively chat with the ever bubbly Georgia Rickard, and catch up on all the goss, her best experiences and her favourite places to travel.

 

About Georgia Rickard – she is a multi-award-winning magazine editor. The former Editor at Large for Virgin Australia, and editor of Australia’s largest selling travel magazine, Australian Traveller.  She has contributed to News Limited, Conde Nast, Fairfax Media, BBC, AFAR, and several newspapers of note, including The Times.

 

Georgia is a SKY NEWS travel expert, has presented travel for CNN to an audience of 135 million people, and has been shortlisted for Editor of the Year in the Australian Magazine Awards.

 

As contributing editor to Tourism Australia she led a team of 20 of Australia’s most respected travel journalists to deliver the million-dollar overhaul of, and consequent editorial management for Australia.com, creating the stories that Australia tells to the world through its immediate social audience of over 12 million through, and extensive global PR network.

 

Georgia has also produced several successful campaigns, including “Australia’s Most Instagrammable Road Trip” campaign (featuring Australia’s South West, Australia’s Golden Outback and @JarradSeng). She has appeared on all major Australian television networks and is an accomplished keynote speaker who has hosted events for major corporations, including Apple and Accor.

 

Of note, she is co-founder of The Travel Bootcamp (in partnership with Intrepid Travel and Olympus) and The Modern Travel Media Summit, sponsored by TravMedia, a Destination Gold Coast Content Awards ambassador, a travel curator for Fairfax Media and correspondent for Airbnb and a featured Airbnb Insider.

 

TellmeWhere2Go.com is a one-stop travel platform launched in late 2020, and visitors from around the world tune in to listen to podcasts, offering varied topics, from etiquette in an Onsen bath in Japan, staying in a lighthouse, transatlantic antics on QM2, to travel anecdotes from some of the world’s iconic and cultural destinations, interviews, travel tales and good old storytelling.

 

Follow and listen here on your favourite podcast app https://tellmewhere2go.com/

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Podcast: Super Seven Series: Margot Andersen and Simone Pregellio https://dev.traveldailymedia.com/podcast-super-seven-series-margot-andersen-and-simone-pregellio/ Tue, 07 Sep 2021 06:45:31 +0000 https://www.traveldailymedia.com/?guid=0cd8532b8a0f8e1cbb838b2088c8b081 The post Podcast: Super Seven Series: Margot Andersen and Simone Pregellio appeared first on TD (Travel Daily Media) Brand TD.

In this series of seven podcasts, prominent travel identities chat to TellmeWhere2Go about adjusting to the Covid era. From travel restrictions to how they view the current state of their industry sector, our guests discuss what they see ahead and how they’ve had to adapt. We also asked them, where they’d rather be? The answers may just surprise you. Tune in every Thursday for the next seven weeks as we release a new podcast and reveal who is a part of our Super Seven Series.

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Margot Andersen and Simone Pregellio

 

 

From the Insync Network Group and the Boomeranging Podcast

 

 

Margot and Simone are from the Insync Network Group which produces the Boomeranging podcast – a podcast sharing stories of returned Aussie expats.  Both are repats themselves, Margot from London, Simone from Singapore, and share a love of travel and for advocating for Australian expat talent.   For more information visit insyncnetworkgroup.com

 

Choose your podcast app of choice below

 

 

 

In this series of seven podcasts, prominent travel identities chat to TellmeWhere2Go about adjusting to the Covid era. From travel restrictions to how they view the current state of their industry sector, our guests discuss what they see ahead and how they’ve had to adapt.

We also asked them, where they’d rather be? The answers may just surprise you.

Tune in every Thursday for the next seven weeks as we release a new podcast and reveal who is a part of our Super Seven Series.

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Podcast: Underwater Museums by Jason deCaires Taylor https://dev.traveldailymedia.com/podcast-underwater-museums-by-jason-decaires-taylor/ Fri, 27 Aug 2021 00:53:09 +0000 https://www.traveldailymedia.com/?guid=74b6e30106a4900da275940e11e53af5 The post Podcast: Underwater Museums by Jason deCaires Taylor appeared first on TD (Travel Daily Media) Brand TD.

Jason gained international notoriety in 2006 with the creation of the world’s first underwater sculpture park, situated off the west coast of Grenada in the West Indies. Molinere Bay Underwater Sculpture Park is now listed as one of the Top 25 Wonders of the World by National Geographic. His collective work is 1000+ life-size works, which are visited by thousands of visitors weekly.

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Underwater Museums by Jason deCaires Taylor

Image: © MUSAN / @JasondeCairesTaylor © MUSAN / Costas Constantinou

 

Jason deCaires Taylor is a sculptor, environmentalist and professional underwater photographer.

His permanent, site-specific sculptural works span the world’s oceans and seas and explore modern themes of conservation and environmental activism. Over the past 15 years, Taylor has been one of the first to consider the underwater realm as a public art space and has created numerous large-scale underwater “Museums” and “Sculpture Parks”.

Jason gained international notoriety in 2006 with the creation of the world’s first underwater sculpture park, situated off the west coast of Grenada in the West Indies. Molinere Bay Underwater Sculpture Park is now listed as one of the Top 25 Wonders of the World by National Geographic. His collective work is 1000+ life-size works, which are visited by thousands of visitors weekly.

Other major projects include MUSA (Mexico), Ocean Atlas (Bahamas),Museo Atlantico (Spain), The Rising Tide (UK), Nest (Indonesia), Nexus(Norway), Coralarium (Maldives), Ocean Siren (Australia) The Coral Greenhouse (Australia), and Cannes Underwater Museum (France)

His latest underwater forest is located in the waters of the Mediterranean island of Cyprus.

Image: © MUSAN / @JasondeCairesTaylor © MUSAN / Costas Constantinou

Named MUSAN, it is an underwater forest, the first of its kind in the world. Consisting of over 93 artworks some of which are in the form of trees, others which are figurative in nature.

The artworks, in particular those which represent trees, are designed to attract marine life on a large scale and as such will develop organically. These installations have been placed at various depths from the seafloor to its surface and are laid out to resemble a path through a dense underwater forest. Some of the tree forms will float just beneath the surface so that the whole structure provides a complex environment for marine life at all levels.

Marine life has been seriously depleted in the Mediterranean over the past 20 years and the work aims to highlight the need to rewild our oceans. Children are depicted playing in the forest, pointing their cameras at the human race, hoping for a future where the magic of nature will return.

READ MORE HERE 

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Meetings industry analysis published Scottish Castle offers new tourist attractions
Podcast: Te Puia Rotorua with Justin Te Hau https://dev.traveldailymedia.com/podcast-tepuia-rotorua-with-justin-tehau/ Mon, 23 Aug 2021 03:35:47 +0000 https://www.traveldailymedia.com/?guid=a981421a3da2d0b32b2ef54af4c37bc2 The post Podcast: Te Puia Rotorua with Justin Te Hau appeared first on TD (Travel Daily Media) Brand TD.

Te Puia is quite an institution in Rotorua, New Zealand.  This fascinating attraction has a 180-year legacy of guiding visitors through a stunning geothermal valley and showcasing the intriguing Māori culture! Justin Te Hau knows Te Puia well as he is a fifth-generation guide there. Justin’s great-great grandmother was one of the first guides, and his love and knowledge of Te Puia is a result of it being his ancestral home. Hence his passion for showcasing this amazing place to visitors.

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Te Puia Rotorua

Image: Kate Webster

Te Puia is quite an institution in RotoruaNew Zealand.

This fascinating attraction has a 180-year legacy of guiding visitors through a stunning geothermal valley and showcasing the intriguing Māori culture!

Justin Te Hau knows Te Puia well as he is a fifth-generation guide there. Justin’s great-great grandmother was one of the first guides, and his love and knowledge of Te Puia is a result of it being his ancestral home. Hence his passion for showcasing this amazing place to visitors.

Te Puia, is home to the largest active geyser in the Southern Hemisphere, Pōhutu Geyser. This geyser, meaning big splash or explosion, erupts approximately hourly to heights of up to 30 m

A special on-site feature is the New Zealand Māori Arts and Crafts Institute, which was founded to keep alive the Maori traditions of wood carving and weaving.

Located at Whakarewarewa, close to Rotorua, Te Puia is the site of a Maori fortress that was established in about 1325.   Māori have lived here ever since, taking full advantage of the geothermal activity in the valley for heating and cooking. The spirit of the Maori is very strong here.

 

Image: Kate Webster

Other geothermal attractions at Te Puia include mud pools, hot springs and silica formations.

Get up close to the elusive kiwi, New Zealand’s national bird, at the Kiwi Conservation Centre. Enjoy a guided tour, and immerse yourself in the Maori culture.

Te Puia is open from Wednesday to Sunday and is a simply wonderful experience.

READ MORE HERE 

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泰航将重返北美 Brussels Airlines expands Bristol flights
Podcast: Overview Vanuatu https://dev.traveldailymedia.com/podcast-overview-vanuatu/ Tue, 03 Aug 2021 03:32:24 +0000 https://www.traveldailymedia.com/?guid=efc393f42a638d31c4c784fbc987df71 The post Podcast: Overview Vanuatu appeared first on TD (Travel Daily Media) Brand TD.

Composed of 83 spectacular islands, the archipelago of Vanuatu features an authentic and unique blend of breathtaking landscapes, rich culture and friendly locals. After just a short plane ride from Australia, travellers can explore everything the destination has to offer – from untouched nature and exciting adventure to barefoot luxury and tropical beaches.

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Overview: Vanuatu

 

Composed of 83 spectacular islands, the archipelago of Vanuatu features an authentic and unique blend of breathtaking landscapes, rich culture and friendly locals.

After just a short plane ride from Australia, travellers can explore everything the destination has to offer – from untouched nature and exciting adventure to barefoot luxury and tropical beaches.

 

 

Vanuatu is quite unlike anywhere else on Earth. It’s like a ‘greatest hits’ of the world’s most spectacular experiences – all in one place.

With a population of under 200,000, Vanuatu is the very epitome of the idyllic south seas islands with its exquisite beaches, golden sands, clear waters, coral reefs, lagoons and free and easy vibe.

Port Vila is no bustling city, but a laid back, easy-going place where walking at a snail’s pace is being in a rush. It’s one of the few places in the world that can boast an underwater post box.

Yes, Vanuatu is different.

Many people go there for diving. Its clear waters are perfect for those who love snorkelling over reefs amid a myriad of colourful marine life. For those more adventurous, there are many World War II wrecks that over more changing dives for those who don’t like clinging to the surface.

 

Vanuatu Cultural Village

 

Stand on the rim of an active volcano and enjoy the fireworks. Venture into untouched rainforests and come face-to-face with ancient tribes. Or sail from island to island – there are 83 to hop between – and explore our lush tropical beaches before jumping in to snorkel on our spectacular reefs.

Wherever you go, you’ll find the locals to be the happiest, most friendly bunch you’re ever likely to meet. And whatever you do, you can be back relaxing by the pool in time for dinner.

Vanuatu has a slice of something for everyone. Adventure seekers will find outdoor activities such as diving, snorkelling, hiking and ziplining. Nature lovers can enjoy the most scenic views above and below the water. It is a destination that is well known for being family friendly with activities to keep even the most challenging kids entertained. Mature travellers can enjoy the ease of access around the country and niche markets like wedding and honeymooners will be spoilt for choice.

 

How to get to Vanuatu

Flights to Vanuatu

Vanuatu is a short plane journey from Australia, with direct flights from major cities including Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. Airlines operating include Air Vanuatu, Virgin Australia and Qantas (operates / codeshares with Air Vanuatu). These airlines fly into the nation’s capital, Port Vila, with flights from Brisbane flying directly into both Port Vila and Vanuatu’s largest island, Espiritu Santo. Inter-island flights and boat trips are available to explore all 83 islands of Vanuatu.

Air Vanuatu

Air Vanuatu is Vanuatu’s national carrier. Passengers can enjoy the finest dining in the South West Pacific skies, with Air Vanuatu’s in-flight service. Anyone flying into Vanuatu will have experienced the beauty of our people and warm hospitality from the moment they step aboard.

Port Vila Airport

Port Vila Airport, just 10 minutes from the centre of Port Vila and 20 minutes from the Havannah Coast, is where most visitors arrive for the first time in Vanuatu. It acts as a domestic hub for Air Vanuatu and a range of charter airlines, and is where most will come when travelling domestically in Vanuatu. The international and domestic terminals, while separate, are next to each other, allowing easy transfers between flights.

For information on travel to/from Port Vila Airport, check out this page

Getting to Espiritu Santo

Air Vanuatu also operates direct flights from Australia straight to Espiritu Santo departing Brisbane. For those flying into Port Vila first, there are daily domestic flight transfers to Espiritu Santo taking approximately 50 minutes.

Espiritu Santo is Air Vanuatu’s northern hub, with flights onward to the Banks IslandsPentecost and Maewo.

Getting to Tanna

Inter-island flights operate from Port Vila to Tanna daily with Air Vanuatu. The flight time from Port Vila to Tanna is just 40 minutes, however depending on what time and day your international flight arrives, you may require a 1-night stopover in Vila before continuing on to Tanna.

Top 10 things to do in Vanuatu

Discover the stunning paradise of Vanuatu where cascading waterfalls and breathtaking natural wonders meet lush, cool jungles and white sandy beaches. Just a few hours from Australia and New Zealand, Vanuatu is the ideal location for a romantic escape or fun-filled family holiday.

Couples, families, adrenalin junkies and serenity seekers will all find plenty to do.

So slow down and relax in the moment, and work up the energy to indulge in a plethora of invigorating experiences. From climbing to the rim of an active volcano, to soaking yourself under a stunning waterfall, day cruising between islands or careering through the jungle on a buggy fun adventure; Vanuatu has a wide range of activities that will make your holiday truly memorable.

Dive some of Vanuatu’s incredible, natural blue holes

Experience the rich, local culture and kastom by visiting a local village

Snorkel through colourful coral and deep dive through historic wrecks

Adventure through the lush jungle with Buggy Jungle Safari

Relax on one of Vanuatu’s many spectacular beaches

Take a plunge in the must-see waterfalls

Discover the breathtaking Blue Cave on Tanna

Explore the rugged landscape on a hiking trail

Take a day trip to an outer island

Scramble over suspension bridges and cool off in the water, with a tropical ecotour at Eden on the River

READ MORE HERE 

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Vanuatu Cultural Village Flights to Vanuatu 两岸互认驾照有望落实 赴台自驾游或明年成行
Podcast: A resident’s view of Paris https://dev.traveldailymedia.com/podcast-a-residents-view-of-paris/ Wed, 14 Jul 2021 02:48:11 +0000 https://www.traveldailymedia.com/?guid=c21ab2f9147382f92c3a953bc4f270d4 The post Podcast: A resident’s view of Paris appeared first on TD (Travel Daily Media) Brand TD.

Ruby Boukabou is an Australian woman who has lived part of each year in Paris for quite some time. Ruby is absolutely enchanted with the city she fell in love with. In this podcast, Ruby talks about this magical city from a resident’s perspective. She tells us about her favourite places. The café and nightclub life. About how tap dancing can introduce you to new friends.

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A resident’s view of Paris

Photo: Olivia Rutherford

 

Ruby Boukabou is an Australian woman who has lived part of each year in Paris for quite some time. Ruby is absolutely enchanted with the city she fell in love with.

In this podcast, Ruby talks about this magical city from a resident’s perspective. She tells us about her favourite places. The café and nightclub life. About how tap dancing can introduce you to new friends.

Mostly, Ruby talks about why she feels so at home in Paris; about how Paris is such a walkable city, and why each walk reveals a new surprise.

She describes what it is like to live in Paris, and how seriously Parisians take their food and culture.

Paris is a city like no other. It has a fascinating history and is imbued with style. It’s a romantic city that’s filled with charm and beauty. Ruby’s guide through Paris doesn’t take us to that city’s famous iconic places. Instead, we discover its parks, its laneways, the joy of living there.

Photo: Ruby Boukabou

 We stay well away from the tourist trail and learn about a Paris that only locals know.

Ruby Boukabou is an author, entertainer, TV presenter who enjoys life.  Her latest book is called `The Architecture Lover’s Guide to Paris’ which reveals the everyday style of Paris: Its park benches, statues and facades.  Ruby reminds us that Paris is a city that is over 2,000 years old and that architecture from every period is still represented there.

When you hear Ruby talk about her adopted city, you feel the need to visit. She is the best guide you can have.

READ MORE HERE 

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Rise in bookings likely after new bank holiday announced
Podcast: Monaco Oceanographic Museum https://dev.traveldailymedia.com/podcast-monaco-oceanographic-museum/ Mon, 12 Jul 2021 01:23:32 +0000 https://www.traveldailymedia.com/?guid=d3d4b07ef948571adf0333cb60f20a3f The post Podcast: Monaco Oceanographic Museum appeared first on TD (Travel Daily Media) Brand TD.

The Oceanographic Institute, Prince Albert I of Monaco Foundation was founded by Prince Albert I, a passionate and visionary seafarer. Recognised as serving the public interest by the French presidential decree on 16 May 1906, the Foundation has been working for the Ocean for more than a century. To promote the knowledge, love and protection of the Ocean, it brings together people from the worlds of politics, science, economics and associations and the general public. Managed by a Board of Directors assisted by a Scientific Council, it carries out its mission of environmental outreach via its two facilities, its international influence and the support of its partners.

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Monaco Oceanographic Museum

Credit: M.Dagnino

The Oceanographic Institute, Prince Albert I of Monaco Foundation was founded by Prince Albert I, a passionate and visionary seafarer. Recognised as serving the public interest by the French presidential decree on 16 May 1906, the Foundation has been working for the Ocean for more than a century.

To promote the knowledge, love and protection of the Ocean, it brings together people from the worlds of politics, science, economics and associations and the general public. Managed by a Board of Directors assisted by a Scientific Council, it carries out its mission of environmental outreach via its two facilities, its international influence and the support of its partners.

Since last summer, the Oceanographic Museum of Monaco is hosting the new IMMERSION exhibition: diving without getting wet in the middle of the natural resources of the Great Barrier Reef.

Written by an international team of designers, in close collaboration with the Oceanographic Museum and its partners, as well as divers and biologists, the experience is intended to be both entertaining and engaging.

The technologies used have a realistic and natural rendering thanks to the real-time projection system. It allows getting into the skin of a diver exploring his environment. On top of that, we can interact with the different marine species and make fascinating encounters!

 

The Oceanographic Museum, Monaco

Credit: Phillippe Fitte

Set against the mythical Rock of Monaco, the Oceanographic Museum is the “flagship” of the Foundation and raises awareness among more than 650,000 visitors per year. Beyond its remarkable architecture, it stands out for its world-renowned aquarium, its exhibition events and the alliance of art and science. A place of culture and exchange of ideas, where experiences in the protection of the Ocean are shared, the Oceanographic Museum organises and hosts international conferences. In 2019, a rescue Centre dedicated to marine species was added to the original building, strengthening its capacity for action and awareness.

Within its two institutions, the Oceanographic Institute welcomes politicians, scientists, NGOs, entrepreneurs and visitors with the same conviction and desire to share. Playing a federative role, it works to raise awareness, to convince and “recruit” as many people as possible to form a network of ambassadors for the protection of the Ocean.

Mobilising the senses makes visitors alert. Readier to integrate knowledge, they are also more readily aware. To the scientific data, the Oceanographic Institute adds fun and sensory activities, such as a virtual dive with Immerseave 360° or a session of discovery of the fauna and flora of the Mediterranean around a touch pool. Many workshops offered during the school holidays are specifically designed to raise awareness among Ocean Ambassadors, in particular, the “Club Oceano“ to reach further and encourage vocation.

READ MORE HERE 

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Podcast: Oita Japan https://dev.traveldailymedia.com/podcasti-oita-japan/ Tue, 06 Jul 2021 03:48:13 +0000 https://www.traveldailymedia.com/?guid=2baa68074cac761e2a3299802e84e616 The post Podcast: Oita Japan appeared first on TD (Travel Daily Media) Brand TD.

Nestled into the western end of the Seto Inland Sea on the North-East coast of Kyushu Island in Japan is the extraordinary Oita Prefecture. Here you’ll discover a varied and lush countryside that ranges from intricately eroded coastlines dotted with islands, peninsulas and inlets and, famously, the sweeping Beppu Bay.  Enjoy coastal plains and elegant valleys which lead to high plateaus and onto soaring mountain ranges and active volcanoes.

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Oita Prefecture Japan

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nestled into the western end of the Seto Inland Sea on the North-East coast of Kyushu Island in Japan is the extraordinary Oita Prefecture.

Here you’ll discover a varied and lush countryside that ranges from intricately eroded coastlines dotted with islands, peninsulas and inlets and, famously, the sweeping Beppu Bay.  Enjoy coastal plains and elegant valleys which lead to high plateaus and onto soaring mountain ranges and active volcanoes.

Kyushu is just south of Japan’s main island of Honshu and is quite easy to reach. Oita is a very popular tourist destination for Japanese travellers because of its hot water springs and spas. Many people travel there because the waters are considered to be very beneficial for one’s health.

The town of Beppu is Japan’s top onsen hot spring destination. What is an onsen? Well, it literally means “hot spring”, and Beppu has an abundance of them, as well as many bathing facilities and accommodation to cater for the many visitors who seek the therapeutic effects of the thermal springs.

There are both tourists onsens and local onsens in Beppu.  The local onsens have very strict rules, whereas the tourist onsens are a lot more flexible. When visiting a local onsen one rule is to never put your towel in the water, but you can put it on your head.

One group of onsen that you won’t want to bathe in is the Jigoku Hell Onsen. This is a series of seven very hot and colourful springs that are near boiling point, so far too hot in which to bathe. The hells display steaming ponds of various colours and bubbling mud pools and are a fascinating sight.

If bathing in water isn’t your thing, then try bathing in sand. Your whole body is buried in these hot, volcanic sands, with just your face left uncovered. You do have to get naked for this, but your modesty is preserved as everyone is given a robe, called a yukata, to wear as the sand is shovelled over you.

With so much thermal activity in Oita, one popular method of cooking is to steam food using the steam from the onsens. This is called Hell Steaming, and very few herbs or spices are used for flavouring and the natural minerals in the steam add their own unique flavour.

Oita Prefecture gives visitors a unique, yet traditional, Japanese experience.

Easily reached by train from Kyoto and Osaka, Oita Prefecture is a most beautiful, yet exciting, destination.

READ MORE HERE

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Podcast: Kitesurfing Qatar https://dev.traveldailymedia.com/podcast-kitesurfing-qatar/ Wed, 16 Jun 2021 06:00:09 +0000 https://www.traveldailymedia.com/?guid=1a6a40bc9891b41651bea0e9a74c96cf The post Podcast: Kitesurfing Qatar appeared first on TD (Travel Daily Media) Brand TD.

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Podcast: Destination Dining in the Air https://dev.traveldailymedia.com/podcast-destination-dining-in-the-air/ Wed, 16 Jun 2021 05:00:45 +0000 https://www.traveldailymedia.com/?guid=c23ff99af493902ffb40cbf4b1b73c03 The post Podcast: Destination Dining in the Air appeared first on TD (Travel Daily Media) Brand TD.

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Podcast: I’d Rather be in Radda https://dev.traveldailymedia.com/podcast-rather-be-in-radda/ Wed, 21 Apr 2021 00:56:03 +0000 http://www.traveldailymedia.com/?guid=232fe2f98d3b49223324121d85eb8731 The post Podcast: I’d Rather be in Radda appeared first on TD (Travel Daily Media) Brand TD.

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Podcast: Eating and drinking in The Great Southern https://dev.traveldailymedia.com/podcast-eating-and-drinking-in-the-great-southern/ Mon, 15 Mar 2021 23:51:20 +0000 http://www.traveldailymedia.com/?guid=34f0637bdcc5029ffb3e5a83f768d38a The post Podcast: Eating and drinking in The Great Southern appeared first on TD (Travel Daily Media) Brand TD.

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Podcast: Taronga Zoo Roar & Snore https://dev.traveldailymedia.com/podcast-taronga-zoo-roar-snore/ Sun, 28 Feb 2021 17:00:52 +0000 https://www.traveldailymedia.com/?guid=e783d38a7912393c4a3015b814232763 The post Podcast: Taronga Zoo Roar & Snore appeared first on TD (Travel Daily Media) Brand TD.

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Podcast: NOX Dine in the Dark Singapore https://dev.traveldailymedia.com/podcast-nox-dine-in-the-dark-singapore/ Sun, 28 Feb 2021 17:00:02 +0000 https://www.traveldailymedia.com/?guid=7cedebde6f99896f331790ced8800239 The post Podcast: NOX Dine in the Dark Singapore appeared first on TD (Travel Daily Media) Brand TD.

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Podcast: GinGin Gin https://dev.traveldailymedia.com/podcast-gingin-gin/ Sun, 28 Feb 2021 17:00:01 +0000 https://www.traveldailymedia.com/?guid=c9bb3ff354fd03fae512724e9b0db8eb The post Podcast: GinGin Gin appeared first on TD (Travel Daily Media) Brand TD.

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Podcast: Overview Monaco https://dev.traveldailymedia.com/podcast-overview-monaco/ Mon, 01 Feb 2021 05:53:10 +0000 https://www.traveldailymedia.com/?guid=931059391bd0bbcc68cde8ea36cdc91f The post Podcast: Overview Monaco appeared first on TD (Travel Daily Media) Brand TD.

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Podcast: A world of Malaysian Laksas https://dev.traveldailymedia.com/podcast-a-world-of-malaysian-laksas/ Mon, 25 Jan 2021 11:55:58 +0000 https://www.traveldailymedia.com/?guid=84560fdc6fda0067b7c585d246c1fcf9 The post Podcast: A world of Malaysian Laksas appeared first on TD (Travel Daily Media) Brand TD.

One of the things that I truly love about Malaysia is its food.  Usually, a flight from Perth lands in Kuala Lumpur at about 9 pm, and if I get the Airport Express train into KL Sentral Station for the 59 km journey (which is, by far, the quickest way to get there), I can be checked into my hotel and heading out for my first Roti Canai of the trip by about 10:30 pm.

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A world of Malaysian Laksas

 

I’ve been fortunate to travel to Malaysia often, and that country is one of my favourite destination.

One of the things that I truly love about Malaysia is its food.  Usually, a flight from Perth lands in Kuala Lumpur at about 9 pm, and if I get the Airport Express train into KL Sentral Station for the 59 km journey (which is, by far, the quickest way to get there), I can be checked into my hotel and heading out for my first Roti Canai of the trip by about 10:30 pm.


Assam laksa. Source: rasamalaysia.com

There are heaps of 24-hour local restaurants in the city, and a great Roti Canai, which is a freshly cooked flatbread that is served with either dhal or curry, is my way of welcoming myself back to Malaysia.

My other favourite food is a Laksa, which is a type of soup that has a coconut-based, spicy broth that is filled with noodles, chicken or fish (or both) tofu, herbs and it is just delicious.

I have discovered during my travels that each region in Malaysia has its own variation of Laksa.  I like them all, but before I reveal my favourite, thanks to Tourism Malaysia here is a description of most of the regional laksas:

Recently, the beloved comfort food Penang Assam Laksa was ranked 7th on World’s Best 50 Foods by CNN Travel. As that should come to no surprise given what an explosion of taste a bowl of Assam Laksa can offer, here we give the same appreciation to the various laksa(s) Malaysians enjoy.

In Penang, Assam Laksa, as it is called, is a piquant, pungent, very sour, and fiery hot noodle dish with fresh vegetables bathed in a fish broth is a Penang Nyonya creation. Penang, in my opinion, is the food capital of Malaysia, and is best eaten from one of the many hawker food markets you will find in Georgetown, the capital of Penang.

Northern Region: Laksa Kedah

Laksa Kedah. Source: iluminasi.com

While Penang Assam laksa uses tamarind juice/ paste to give off the tangy, sour taste (hence the name, Assam) and paired with prawn paste, Kedah laksa is milder in its flavour as it is cooked with dried tamarind slices. Its broth is also lighter-coloured compared to Penang’s, which uses more red chillies. Kedah laksa is usually garnished with sliced bird’s eye chillies for that extra spicy kick when you bite into one!

Southern Region: Laksa Johor

Laksa Johor. Source: theinsiderarchived.com

Much different from the northern laksa in Johor Bahru, Johoreans prefer to have their laksa with spaghetti noodles! What’s more interesting, due to its thick gravy, it is traditionally eaten with our bare hands. However, this really depends on the thickness of the gravy of each household. Some prefer to enjoy their plate of laksa with the usual fork and spoon.

Apart from its noodle, laksa Johor is also distinctive in its gravy as it uses coconut milk, giving a richer, creamier flavour, accompanied by spicy sambal.

Southern Region: Laksa Nyonya

Laksa Nyonya. Source: bakewithpaws.com

If you head to Malacca, do not miss out on trying a bowl of laksa nyonya, the Peranakan version of laksa with curry broth! With similarities more inclined to match the curry mee, laksa nyonya is topped with various condiments to complement the creamy curry broth, such as fish balls, tofu puffs, as well as crunchy bean sprouts and long beans. However, it won’t be complete without the red sambal! (Much like many different laksa.).

East Coast: Laksam

Laksam. Source: asianinspirations.com.au

Similarly, the East Coast’s favourite laksa, or laksam, is distinctive in its choice of noodle and broth. Well, in this case, they’re not technically noodles, because they’re rolled! Its thick, pale-coloured, almost gravy-like broth also uses coconut milk and the whole dish is complemented with sambal, as Malaysians always like it spicy.

East Coast: Laksa Terengganu

Laksa Terengganu with kuah merah. Source: rasa.my

Next, Terengganu’s laksa, a laksa that comes in two versions! ‘Kuah mentah’ (raw broth) or ‘kuah masak’ (cooked broth). As the name suggests, one is not exactly cooked in the conventional boiled-to-perfection way, while one is cooked as usual. ‘Kuah mentah’ is specially cooked by combining the coconut milk and hot water with other ingredients, and has to be consumed immediately.

On top of that, laksa Terengganu can be found in the form of ‘kuah putih’ (directly translated as white broth, more similar to Kelantan’s laksam) or kuah merah (directly translated as red broth, more similar to laksa Johor). Also similar to laksa Johor, laksa Terengganu is traditionally eaten with hand!

East Coast: Laksa Pahang

Laksa Pahang. Source: rasa.my

Another variation of laksa available in the East Coast region, is laksa Pahang. Also available in either kuah putih or kuah merah, it can be served with either the usual laksa noodles or spaghetti. Originally, laksa Pahang is distinctive in its type of noodle. While the usual laksa noodle is made of rice flour, Pahang makes its laksa noodle using wheat flour and uses a tool made from copper called ‘kebuk’ to turn the dough into noodles.

East Malaysia: Laksa Sarawak

Laksa Sarawak. Source: sarawaktourism.com

Last but definitely not the least, is everyone’s favourite laksa Sarawak. Unlike the rest of her laksa sisters, laksa Sarawak doesn’t use fish for its broth’s main ingredient! Instead, the key to its base is sambal belacan. Due to this, the flavourful broth is the most distinctive among the others. The protein of laksa Sarawak is not blended into the broth, but instead is topped with other condiments, like shredded chicken and prawns. For its noodle, Sarawakians use rice vermicelli noodles, a much thinner option than the rest of the laksa we have mentioned.

When you get the opportunity, enjoy a trip around Malaysia to try those regional laksas.

My favourite: A lot of testing and consideration has gone into this choice and the winner is Laksa Terengganu. For me it just has the right combination of textures, ingredients and flavours.

For more visit https://www.malaysia.travel/

 

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Capture Quote of the Day 14 January 2011 AsiaWebDirect revamps website 江西旅游走出国门“叫卖”好风景 Kiwi Collection offers tips on getting hotel upgrades 西澳旅游局与南航续签战略合作协议
Podcast: My Sydney Boat Beckons https://dev.traveldailymedia.com/podcast-my-sydney-boat-beckons/ Thu, 17 Dec 2020 00:09:26 +0000 https://www.traveldailymedia.com/?guid=a724fa5f4acf13bc5ebca250189b2c65 The post Podcast: My Sydney Boat Beckons appeared first on TD (Travel Daily Media) Brand TD.

Sydney Harbour is arguably the most beautiful harbour in the world.  It is also the largest natural harbour in the world. 
Featuring: Steve Collins & Mark Dalgleish

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My Sydney Boat Beckons

 

 

Featuring: Steve Collins & Mark Dalgleish

Sydney Harbour is arguably the most beautiful harbour in the world.  It is also the largest natural harbour in the world.  With its backdrop of the Sydney Opera House, the Harbour Bridge framing that magnificent city skyline, Sydney harbour is instantly recognisable to almost anyone, no matter where they are in the world.

Without a doubt, the best way to enjoy Sydney Harbour is from the water. Fortunately, you have a choice of ferries and rivercats from which to admire Sydney’s magnificent waterway.  However, one of the best ways to get to know Sydney Harbour is by My Sydney Boat.

My Sydney Boat is the place to go to organise a trip. It is a charter company, with a minimum charter of two hours, up to a maximum of eight hours.

Mark Dalgleish is the owner of My Sydney boat, and he guarantees that he can show you a Sydney Harbour that even few Sydneysiders know.

The vessel is a state-of-the-art 12 metre cruiser was created by acclaimed Scandinavian boat-builder Axopar, and won 2017 ‘European Motor Boat of the Year’.  It seats 10 guests and includes a sun-lounge, swim platform, retractable sunroof, walk-around deck with shaded cabin, dining table & ensuite bedroom with toilet.

The boat has a shallow draught, so can just pull up on any of Sydney Harbour’s beaches, and there are plenty of them from which to choose.

The harbour waters are very clean, so swimming and snorkelling is very popular. There are about 90 bays on the harbour, so you can always find an exclusive bay or beach to enjoy all to yourself.

If you want to fully enjoy the world’s best harbour contact https://www.mysydneyboat.com.au/ for a fabulous day’s outing.

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Podcast: Together Apart: Living in Lockdown https://dev.traveldailymedia.com/podcast-together-apart-living-in-lockdown/ Mon, 07 Dec 2020 03:12:35 +0000 https://www.traveldailymedia.com/?guid=f1be514aaadc5799879088d84e8d9248 The post Podcast: Together Apart: Living in Lockdown appeared first on TD (Travel Daily Media) Brand TD.

When COVID-19 hit the Victorian capital Melbourne in a big way earlier in 2020, it had a dramatic impact on the lives of Melburnians. Featuring: Steve Collins & Belinda Jackson

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Together Apart: Living in Lockdown

 

When COVID-19 hit the Victorian capital Melbourne in a big way earlier in 2020, it had a dramatic impact on the lives of Melburnians.

Belinda Jackson, one of our esteemed storytellers lived through the lockdown.  Although it was tough, a conversation over the back fence with her neighbour, portrait photographer Jude van Daalen, led to the idea for a book about how various people coped with the restrictions and stress of being in lockdown.

The result is their book Together Apart.

 

 

Together Apart illustrates through images and words the experience of isolation for a whole range of people. The two women took the photographs, wrote the stories, designed the book and, finally, saw the pages off the presses.

Jude had to shut her photographic studio down for seven months.  Belinda had several media trips cancelled and an exciting trip to an exotic destination morphed into a visit to the local shops to stock up on essentials.

Jude and Belinda photographed and wrote stories about people in their neighbourhood. They discovered that Melburnians are stoic, strong and were able to cope as best as they possibly could with the pandemic.

Together Apart is the story of a community that was kept apart by circumstances, one which thrived through determination. It tells the story of individuals, families and businesses, and is a true story of survival.

Get your copy here: https://shop.mostlybooks.com.au/p/together-apart-life-in-lockdown

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Capture Lufthansa traffic improves in 2010 Etihad passes seven million passenger mark 坎布拉开辟旅游新线路 Lufthansa traffic improves in 2010 Etihad passes seven million passenger mark
Hear hear! Podcast listening up 70% in Australia https://dev.traveldailymedia.com/hear-hear-podcast-listening-up-70-in-australia/ Mon, 23 Nov 2020 10:00:54 +0000 https://www.traveldailymedia.com/?p=566649 The post Hear hear! Podcast listening up 70% in Australia appeared first on TD (Travel Daily Media) Brand TD.

TellMeWhere2Go (TMW2G) reports the top three podcasts are about timeshare, Maldives and an aviation museum, and the most popular platform is Spotify, then Anchor

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Podcasting has taken the world by storm, stoked by a global audience with more time during the COVID19 pandemic, enforced lockdowns, and especially for travel-focused podcasts – a burning desire to plan and dream about travel again.

Following its successful launch in October, multimedia travel platform TellMeWhere2Go (TMW2G) reports the top three podcasts are about timeshare, Maldives and an aviation museum, and the most popular platform is Spotify, then Anchor.

TellMeWhere2Go has just completed its third season, with diverse stories and reviews from eclectic street walks in Cairo, a Singaporean’s experiences in Honolulu, Lighthouse accommodation, Bill Bensley’s inspirations, kid-friendly destinations, discovering Papua New Guinea and some transatlantic antics on Queen Mary 2.

According to one TMW2G storyteller, Belinda Jackson, the process of podcasting was made much more comfortable when all she needed to do, was write the story, and read it in exactly the way she had intended it to sound, as she wrote it, with passion.

Others, such as Paul Chai and Selena Oh, preferred the coached, live recording method, where the producer monitored them for each word, and could quickly correct a mistake if needed.

Visit Sunshine Coast found the process so simple, to commission the stories they wanted, with the writer of their choice, and having the narrative match their campaign. From commissioning to completion, the process took less than 8 days.

The most-read stories since launch have been about the Maldives, the Sunshine Coast and Hawaii. Popular social posts have been Jason deCaires Taylor’s underwater sculpture at the MOUA in Townsville, and the baby gorillas in Rwanda, plus the regular giveaways.

TellMeWhere2Go.com was launched as the global podcasting market size is expected to reach USD 41.8 billion by 2026.

In Australia alone, according to the latest Roy Morgan Single Source research, over 1.6 million Australians now download audio or video podcasts in an average four weeks, up from under 1 million just four years ago. Though this still represents only a small slice (8.1%) of the Australian population aged 14+, this is nevertheless an increase of nearly 700,000 Australians since 2015, and the market has grown by an impressive 70% during this time. Driving the growth in podcasts are downloads to mobile phones which have more than tripled since 2015, growing to over 1.3 million Australians today. This is an increase of over 900,000 over the last four years, an increase of over 215%.

Apple reports there are currently over 1,500,000 podcasts available with over 34 million episodes as of October 2020, including content in over 100 languages. Highlighting this growth, Apple had confirmed there were over 550,000 podcasts in early June.

According to Podcast Insights, in the US, nearly 50% listen at home, 22% listen while driving, listeners subscribe to an average six shows, and listen to an average of seven different shows per week, and an encouraging statistic for producers is that 80% listen to all or most of each episode. Reflecting today’s fast-paced society, 19% increase the speed to listen faster. Comedy is the most popular, then education and news.

South Korea leads globally for those who have listened to a podcast in the past month (58%), followed by Spain (40%), Sweden (36%) with Australia a close 4th at 33%.

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Podcast: Singapore Airlines Puts the Shine Back on the Big Apple https://dev.traveldailymedia.com/podcast-singapore-airlines-puts-the-shine-back-on-the-big-apple/ Mon, 23 Nov 2020 03:51:07 +0000 https://www.traveldailymedia.com/?guid=7a75f7056fcf57e702806aa66196bf3e The post Podcast: Singapore Airlines Puts the Shine Back on the Big Apple appeared first on TD (Travel Daily Media) Brand TD.

Featuring: David Bowden.. Singapore Airlines (SIA) returned to New York in early November, when it launched non-stop flights between Singapore and John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK). Services to Newark Airport were suspended at the onset of COVID-19.

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Singapore Airlines Puts the Shine Back on the Big Apple


Singapore Airlines (SIA) returned to New York in early November, when it launched non-stop flights between Singapore and John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK). Services to Newark Airport were suspended at the onset of COVID-19.

 

SIA will operate the Airbus A350-900 long-range aircraft configured with 42 Business, 24 Premium Economy and 187 Economy Class seats on this route. Its SQ24 will operate three-times weekly from Changi Airport to JFK while SQ23 will operate the return journey.

In addition to passengers, SIA also anticipates significant cargo demand from New York-based industries. The new service will provide the only non-stop air cargo link from the northeast to Singapore, which serves as a regional distribution hub for many companies.

A spokesperson for SIA claims that despite challenging times, there are early signs of optimism in air travel recovery. Customers inform SIA they are increasingly confident given the robust health and safety measures in place, as well as testing regimes to protect them and airline staff. This optimism is also driven by recent moves by countries like Singapore, which are easing restrictions on transit and inbound passengers in a safe and gradual manner.

Tried and Tested

Ironically, the second last flight I took before the onset of COVID-19 was Singapore to New York and return on SIA. My last flight was to northern Italy and at one stage I thought I might be a super spreader of the disease. Mercifully, I wasn’t and lived to tell the tale of both flights.

My notes from my New York flight should provide valuable detail for those planning to travel to the Big Apple.

While SIA has changed from Newark to JFK, few will complain. This flight is currently the record holder for the world’s longest scheduled commercial flight and at over 18 hours, it is memorable. While my flight was on the same aircraft as the new service, it had a two-class configuration – Business (67 seats) and Premium Economy (94 seats). The spacious and uncluttered Business Class has a one-two-one layout with no central overhead bins.

Noise-cancelling headsets are provided as are power points and USB ports while the reading light is good with multi-settings. There is an 18-inch HD screen and numerous entertainment options in various languages. While I was happy with the selection, I consider it too ‘safe’ with an emphasis on mainstream performers and shows; a few more obscure artistes would have been appreciated. Complimentary wi-fi is fast with minimal log-on procedures.

Supper, a full mid-flight meal, pre-arrival snack and refreshments throughout are offered. Local and global celebrity chefs provide input in the various menus including ‘Book the Cook’ before flying. I opt for healthy options listed as Canyon Ranch Selection. My entrée of grilled prawns with eggplant dip, pine nut crumble, lavosh and pomegranate vinaigrette is superb. The grilled, grass-fed beef fillet with garlic Bordelaise sauce is complemented by roasted sweet potato stuffed with chard and accompanied by an onion and chimichurri sauce. It too is memorable as the steak tasted as if it were just char-grilled.

A panel of oenologists has chosen wines like Laurent-Perrier Champagne, Weinhaus Ress Riesling and Morris Classic Liqueur Muscat. I sample all for research purposes and am suitably impressed.

When passengers are ready, the 28-inch seat is transformed into a 78-inch flatbed with three generous pillows. Bed conversion requires crew assistance who revel a quilt, linen and pillows in the headboard. All provide great comfort in what SIA refer to as ‘Lazy Z’ as this is the shape your body needs to be in to sleep. On the return flight, I requested a bulkhead seat (11D) and had more leg room as there was no seat in front. There are just four similar seats on the aircraft (11D, 11F, 18D and 18F) that have extra leg space and, despite them being close to galleys, they are best for passengers as tall as my six plus feet.

There is little space to stand on the aircraft with the only options being near galleys. While there, I peek through to Premium Economy and notice the spacious conditions there. The introduction of Economy seating for this long flight is perhaps a sign of the times and a necessity for those who need to travel on a budget.

Having spent so long in the air it was comforting that I did it in the good hands of Singapore Airlines with its professional crew.

Disclosure: The writer flew with the assistance of Singapore Airlines

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Podcast: Northern Territory https://dev.traveldailymedia.com/podcast-northern-territory/ Sun, 22 Nov 2020 05:37:18 +0000 https://www.traveldailymedia.com/?guid=298eff345b83fdedb1655c75f7a1575d The post Podcast: Northern Territory appeared first on TD (Travel Daily Media) Brand TD.

Australia’s Northern Territory is possibly closest to most people’s impression of what Australia could be: vast deserts, lush rainforests, hot weather, iconic land formations

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Overview: Northern Territory

Australia’s Northern Territory is possibly closest to most people’s impression of what Australia could be: vast deserts, lush rainforests, hot weather, iconic land formations and, with a population density of just 0.2 people per square kilometre, rather empty.Even for most Australians, the Northern Territory is the last frontier.  Everything is miles from everywhere, and the living can be quite harsh.  Nowadays, much of the Northern Territory is quite sophisticated and modern, and its tourist infrastructure is second to none.

 

 

Darwin, the Northern Territory’s Capital City, is named after Charles Darwin, who formulated the Theory of Evolution, so must be one of the few cities in the world to be named after a scientist.  The city is situated on a peninsular, so is surrounded on three sides by water.  Not that one would want to plunge into Darwin Harbour too readily, as they still have a daily crocodile patrol in the waters there just to ensure that the saltwater crocs don’t devour too many tourists.

Yes: crocs, snakes, spiders, Darwin has them all.  The secret to living with them is that if you ignore them, they’ll usually ignore you.  Darwin is a modern city, simply because it has been wiped out twice already – in World War II when the Japanese bombed it, and in 1974 when Cyclone Tracy demolished it.  During the wet season big storms are pretty common around Darwin, although, fortunately, few are as severe as Cyclone Tracy.  But just so you know, Darwin is the lightning capital of the world, and meteorologist flock there to study lightning displays.  If I’m making Darwin sound horrible, I don’t mean to.  Darwin is actually a much laid back place; it’s just different from everywhere else which I, personally, find quite attractive. Okay, it’s also the drinking capital of Australia, based on consumption per head of population, but it is hot and humid in Darwin and a Darwin stubby does go down well after a big day at work.

Two ends to the Top End

Although the Northern Territory is called the Top End, there are actually two ends – the bit up on the coast, where Darwin is, that is lush, green and gets plenty of seasonal rainfall, and the drier desert areas of the south, where the vistas are amazing.  The big town down south is called Alice Springs, which is located on the Todd River.  Each year they have the Todd River Regatta, but one year they had to cancel it because they had water in the river.  Yep! The Regatta is a series of boat races performed by crews in boats with no hulls; the teams just hitch up a boat around their waists and run for the finish line.

Alice Springs is situated in the MacDonnell Ranges, and is close to many other fascinating locations such as gorges, national parks and the Simpson Desert.  Also, the Alice, as the town is known, is a great spot from where to begin your journey to Ayer’s Rock, or Uluru, which is perhaps the world’s most inspiring rock given its remote location and stunning setting.  Uluru is one of those places that is equally interesting seen from afar and when you get very close.  The Rock constantly changes throughout the day as the sun moves across the sky, and if you are ever fortunate to see it when it’s raining you’ll be amazed by the number of amazing waterfalls it generates off its steep sides.

Another tremendous reason to visit the Northern Territory is to visit Kakadu National Park and Arnhem Land, which at 11,000 square kilometres is Australia’s largest national park.  This is where you can really study aboriginal culture, as it has the largest number of rock paintings in the world.  Kakadu is famous also for the variety of its wetlands and the rich flora and fauna that exists here.

The Northern Territory is really a destination to get out and experience.  It’s not the type of place where you sit back in a coach and are shown the place.  When you visit the Territory you’ve got to be prepared to do a bit of walking, or some easy climbing – or enjoy great fishing in remote rivers.  In some ways, a visit to the Territory is a step back in time, but with modern facilities to ease your challenge.

Getting there and about

Getting to NT is easy.  There are plenty of flights from all Australian State Capitals to Alice Springs and Darwin, and from a number of foreign ports. The Northern Territory is a very multicultural place, and Darwin is closer to Indonesia’s Capital, Jakarta, than it is to the Australian Capital, Canberra so there are plenty of flights to and from various places in Asia.  There are many coach tours available of varying durations, some are camping tours, but others offer the luxury of hotel accommodation.  The main roads are good, so it can be easy to drive yourself.  Or, there’s the Ghan, a luxury train that runs several times a week between Darwin and Adelaide in South Australia, and is one of the great train journeys.

The Northern Territory is a great place to just get out and do it.  It’s casual, laid back, but also exciting.  Do yourself a favour, get off your butt, and get to the Top End.

These you must do

Shop and eat at the Mindil Markets

You can only do this in the dry season between May and October, as the Mindil markets are unique and really do represent Darwin’s multiculturalism. The place is jam packed with about 200 food vendors and stall holders which feature a dazzling and delicious range of foods from around the globe and goods ranging from beauty treatments to clothing to arts and crafts, plus there’s entertainment to boot. Grab a drink and sit on Mindil Beach to watch the sunset on a typically magical Darwin evening.

Cruise Katherine Gorge

Katherine Gorge is part of Nitmiluk National Park, and is fantastic experience. The duration of the cruise depends on the season for in the dry the river is low, and you have to change boats in order to sail further into the gorge.  In the wet, the river is high and the trip is faster. In any season, Katherine Gorge is spectacular, and there are some fabulous Aboriginal rock paintings to see. There is a very good visitor centre in the park as well.

Visit Uluru at sunset

Australia’s most famous, and certainly most impressive rock (but not the biggest). Uluru, or Ayer’s Rock as it is also known seems like a lonely sentinel sitting alone in a desert. It is a sacred site, so visitors are asked to respect the local beliefs. Uluru changes throughout the day, its colours change with the movement of the sun, its personality seems to change, but it is always awesome. The best time to view Uluru is at sunset, when it puts on an entirely natural light show.

See the Alice Springs telegraph station

The Alice, as Alice Springs is colloquially known, is probably Australia’s most iconic town. It is the town that is closest to the centre of Australia, which means that it is a very long way from the coast. The colours of the rocks, sand and trees around Alice are astounding, and the town itself is fascinating. Four kilometres from Alice is the reason the town is there, because this where the original telegraph station was established to service the telegraph line that connected Australia to the rest of the world. The station of filled with interesting artefacts, and is a fascinating journey back to the 1870s.

Sit under a waterfall in Litchfield Park

Located about 100 kms southwest of Darwin, Litchfield National Park provides a great oasis from the heat of the Top End. On the way in from the front entrance you can wander through massive magnetic termite mounds which tower over you. Travel further into the park and you encounter a series of impressive waterfalls. Wangi Falls is the most popular swimming hole. The water is warm and clear, and the best part is that it’s an easy swim across to falls where you can just sit and enjoy a fabulous natural massage as the water flows over you.

Experience Kakadu

You can easily get overwhelmed at Kakadu, after all it only covers a measly 20,000 square kilometres. With terrain encompassing wetlands, rivers and sandstone escarpments, it is home to some 2,000 plant species and wildlife from saltwater crocodiles and turtles and an extraordinary variety of birds. Here you can admire Aboriginal rock paintings in their natural setting. One of the best things is to take an early morning Yellow River Cruise to experience Kakadu as it awakens.

Smile at a crocodile

This is the Top End, which is synonymous with crocodiles. That means the saltwater, or estuarine, crocodiles, the giants of the reptile world. When you get up close and personal to a saltie, you have to be impressed. Of course, your interaction with these primitive beasts is quite safe. Whether you view crocodiles leaping very high out of the Adelaide River, or go for a walk above their pens at Crocodylus Park to tantalise them with a chicken dangling above them on a pole, they will both terrify and astound you. You will feel their strength and be amazed at their speed. Then, buy a crocodile burger, just to let them know who is boss.

 

For more visit https://northernterritory.com/

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Podcast: Sulawesi https://dev.traveldailymedia.com/podcast-sulawesi/ Sun, 22 Nov 2020 05:25:06 +0000 https://www.traveldailymedia.com/?guid=d5bae8eab464f04f2150135ffcc7e1cc The post Podcast: Sulawesi appeared first on TD (Travel Daily Media) Brand TD.

When you look at a map of Sulawesi it looks really odd, like someone who has been run over by a steamroller. 

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Overview: Sulawesi

When you look at a map of Sulawesi it looks really odd, like someone who has been run over by a steamroller.  Sulawesi is one of the four Greater Sunda Islands. It is also the world’s eleventh-largest island, and is situated east of Borneo.

 

 

Sulawesi has a population of 19 million and the largest city is Makassar in South Sulawesi. The second largest city is Manado in North Sulawesi with a population of just over one million.

The central part of the island is ruggedly mountainous, such that the island’s peninsulas have traditionally been remote from each other.

You will find several volcanoes in Sulawesi, but the island is part of Wallacea, which means that it once formed a land bridge with both New Guinea and Australia. Interestingly, it is believed that sailors from Sulawesi may have populated the island of Madagascar, which is part of Africa.

Sulawesi’s tough terrain, massive size and great marine traditions, have combined to cause a wildly divergent set of peoples and cultures, speaking eight major languages and professing Muslim, Christian, Hindu and animist beliefs.

Getting to and around Sulawesi

The two main airports are in Makassar and Manado, which serve both international and domestic ports, but given the size of the island there are many regional airports as flying is one of the easiest ways to get around.

The Trans-Sulawesi Highway stretches about 2,000 km from Makassar to Manado. Despite the grandiose name, the road is narrow and twisty and can be dangerous for drivers who are unfamiliar with the territory.

There are plenty of local ferries, and when crossing the three gulfs, taking a boat can often be the most efficient way to travel. There are some speed boat services in various areas, which make the journeys quite rapidly.

The four provinces

Southern Sulawesi is home to the large coastal city of Makassar, which is also one of the main ports. Formerly called Ujung Pandang. This was the traditional capital of the Bugis kingdom who were known throughout the region as proud, fierce warriors and pirates and highly skilled mariners. Makassar is home to Trans Studio the world’s largest indoor theme park, and the city is also known for its fantastic cuisine.

Most of the province of Southeast Sulawesi is mountainous. The provincial capital Kendari is in the east on the coast of Kendari Bay (part of the Banda Sea), and is also the largest city of the province with a population of about 300,000. The only other independent city is Bau-Bau on the island of Buton.

Central Sulawesi has the small city of Palu as its capital, which was, unfortunately hit by a massive earthquake in 2018 which destroyed much of its infrastructure.  Close to Paul is Lore Lindu National Park which provides habitat to numerous rare species, including 77 bird species endemic to Sulawesi. The national park is designated as part of the UNESCO World Network of Biosphere Reserves. In addition to its rich wildlife, the park also contains megaliths dating from before 1300 AD.

Much of Northern Sulawesi is a solidly Protestant Christian enclave in mostly Muslim-majority Indonesia. A centre of Dutch settlement in colonial times, the region still retains many traces of Western influence. The capital of the province, Manado, is the cultural centre of the Minahasa people, for a long time Manado prospered through trade with the nearby Philippines and the spice trade with the rest of the world.

Things to do

Tana Toraja

Visiting Tana Toraja when in Sulawesi is a must. Tana Toraja is in the highlands of Sulawesi. The region is famous for its elaborate funeral rituals and burial grounds. There are funeral sites where the dead are embalmed in living trees, cliff face burial grounds and you can even find mummified dead bodies in everyday houses. The other thing that Tana Toraja is famous for are the Tongkonan houses and the delicious highland coffee.

Bunaken National Marine Park

Bunaken is one of Indonesia’s most famous diving and snorkelling areas. The park is famed for the clarity of its water (35m visibility is common), the abundance of coral and fish, and for the precipitous “walls” at some sites. Bunaken Timur, right off the east coast of the island and featuring all of the above, is rated by many as the single best dive site in all Indonesia.

Tangkoko National Park

The Tangkoko National Park is on the north eastern tip of Sulawesi. It’s a beautiful place to get away from it all and isolated enough that there aren’t too many visitors. The park is famous for Tarsiers, one of the smallest mammals in the world, which look a bit like gremlins. You can also find Black Macaques here.

World’s fastest yacht race in Mamuju

The traditional Sandeq wooden boats that sail at speeds 15-29 knots without any electrical engine. They are renowned as the fastest yachts in the world. The ancestors of the Mandar tribes were regarded as the strongest and the oldest sailor tribes in Austronesian archipelago. The Sandeq Race Festival is held annually in August-September in Mamuju to celebrate the sailing exploits of their ancestors.

Visit Sulawesi – https://discoveryourindonesia.com/sulawesi/

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Capture Peace and Clarity of Vision – Traits of a Fearless Entrepreneur #6 of 25 Lufthansa to fly A380 to Singapore Laos targets US$1bn travel industry United launches LA-Shanghai flights 泰国观光部拟修改外籍游客救助法规 Swiss-Belhotel takes over Jakarta hotel 全球航空业市场回暖 区域外压力增加 Plan, Execute and Don’t Forget to Celebrate – Traits of a Fearless Entrepreneur #7 of 25 广西漓江遭遇缺水污染严重 水质压力增大 United launches LA-Shanghai flights 泰国观光部拟修改外籍游客救助法规
Podcast: Lombok https://dev.traveldailymedia.com/podcast-lombok/ Sun, 22 Nov 2020 05:12:02 +0000 https://www.traveldailymedia.com/?guid=d391abcf94ee306e7947e758229581e2 The post Podcast: Lombok appeared first on TD (Travel Daily Media) Brand TD.

Lombok is an island in West Nusa Tenggara province, Indonesia. It forms part of the chain of the Lesser Sunda Islands

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Overview : Lombok

 

 

Lombok is an island in West Nusa Tenggara province, Indonesia. It forms part of the chain of the Lesser Sunda Islands, with the Lombok Strait separating it from Bali to the west and the Alas Strait between it and the island of Sumbawa to the east.

 

It is similar in size to Bali and has a population of 3.5 million.  Many people believe that Lombok is similar to how Bali was about thirty years ago, but the truth is that it is nothing like Bali.

For instance, Lombok is a predominantly Islamic island, so has a culture that is markedly different from that of Bali.  The island also has a much lower population than does Bali, and far less infrastructure. The similarity is that Lombok also has some fabulous beaches, but there is none of the traffic density that you find in Bali.

The island’s topography is dominated by the centrally-located stratovolcano Mount Rinjani, the second-highest volcano in Indonesia, which rises to 3,726 metres.  This last erupted in 2016, causing much damage, some of which is still noticeable as you drive north of Senggigi.

The capital is Mataram, which is a low rise city which seems to have some lovely buildings and few traffic problems.

Senggigi, the most popular beach area, is about 20 minutes north of Mataram.

How to get in and about Lombok

Lombok has a new International and domestic airport that is located about 40 minutes south of Mataram. As the government is actively promoting the southern area around Kuta as a new tourist area, the new airport is handily located.

Prior to Covid-19 there were international flights to Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and Perth, Western Australia, and these would be expected to resume when the pandemic has run its course.  There are also good domestic services.  Many people fly from Bali, which is just a 20-minute flight.

There are good ferry services from other islands, and speed boats from Bali serving Lombok, particularly the Gilli Isles.

For getting around Lombok taxis are relatively cheap, although I use the services of a driver who is not only very good, but cheaper than using taxis.

The touristy places

Senggigi – This has been a well-established tourist area for a long time. This is far quieter than anywhere in Bali, and that is part of its charm.  There are quite a few good hotels here, many right on the beachfront, also good restaurants and bars but not a lot of shopping as most people go into Mataram for that.  Batu Bolong, Kerangdangan and Mangsit are other beach areas that are spread out along the coast. There is a variety of accommodation at all of these places, ranging from cheap and reasonably cheerful to luxury resorts. If you hire a taxi or driver, it is a lovely drive along the coast, with some really good lookouts at high vantage points.

South Lombok – If the name Kuta sounds familiar the one on Lombok is much quieter than its Bali equivalent. Kuta is a drawcard for surfers, and the area is getting more development.  The beaches are some of the best in Indonesia, with pristine white sand, and transparent blue-greens in the water. There is a pretty good variety of accommodation and restaurants here too. Many people go to Kuta just to unwind, and lie on the beach. There are some nice bays and islands down south, good places include Tanjung Aan and the island of Gili Gede.

Gili Islands – The Gilis are located are located just off the northwest tip of Lombok.  If you want laidback, these are the ideal places. There are three islands – Gili Air, which is nearest to Lombok.  This is a very laid back island which is ideal for families and backpackers. Note: there are no cars on any of the islands.  Transport is by foot, bicycle or horse drawn carriages. One of the things I love about the Gilis is that you never have to dodge idiots on motorbikes riding on footpaths or down very narrow laneways. Gili Air is the most populated of the islands, but most houses are hidden behind lush gardens, so are not very noticeable. Gili Meno is the middle island, and also very quiet.  This is a preferred spot for honeymooners. There is a good channel between Meno and Trawangan, which is a very popular diving spot. The corals are quite good, and you can see a variety of fish and turtles. There are also underwater statues to swim around for a bit of variety. Gili Trawangan – this is known as the party island, although compared to Bali’s Kuta is it very tame. There are good restaurants and bars here, and some great resorts as well. Trawangan is also popular with surfers as the island has a couple of good breaks.

Things to do

Take a cooking class on Gili Air

Learn to cook authentic Lombok and Indonesian food.  These classes are hands on, both educational and entertaining, and you do get to eat your creations afterwards. Many of the ingredients come from the restaurant garden, so you know that it is fresh.

Trek Mt Rinjani

This is only possible between April and January to avoid the rainy season, and you can choose a two or a three day tour. The trek is a long slog, but not treacherous.  You don’t camp on the summit, but rise early in the morning to get to the peak in time to see the sunrise. You also get good views of the sulphur lake in the crater. Take warm clothes because it does get cold near the summit, and wear very good hiking shoes.

The fields of Pergasingan

This involves another trek of about six hours there and back 1200 mtr-high plateau, but the result is worth it. From your perch at the top of the hill you will not only enjoy fabulous views of Mt Rinjani, but admire the vibrant patchwork of colours and fields that are set out way below.

Wave-driven waterfall at Nambung Beach

natural waterfall created by waves at Nambung Beach about 60 kms south of Mataram. This natural phenomenon is caused by waves slamming into one side of the rocky headland then flowing down the rock face on the backside where there also happens to be a shallow pool so you can experience this natural seawater spa.

Sunset dinner on Gili Trawangan

This is the perfect way to spend and evening, drinks and dinner overlooking Lombok Strait at sunset with Bali’s Mt Agung in the background. On a balmy night, this is a wonderful way to end the day. Try the beach restaurant and bar at the Hotel Ombak Sunset. Absolutely gorgeous!

For more visit https://www.indonesia.travel/au/en/destinations/bali-nusa-tenggara/lombok

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Capture LA to host International Pow Wow 2012 韩拟提高中国游客接待质量 取消部分旅行社资格 Osaka station opens green taxi rank 纽约巨型圣诞树举行亮灯仪式 吸引游客驻足观看 Ovation adds Asia Pacific offices TUI granted Chinese licence 上海大雾突袭 影响数十出入境航班近5千旅客受阻 Jeju set for US$1.8bn New7Wonders boost 日本力推旅游经济 外国人消费300元以上即可免税 BA launches new Windows 7 mobile app 外交部提醒在南非中国公民加强安全防范意识 Cruising the Caribbean: South, East, West? What’s Best? TUI granted Chinese licence 上海大雾突袭 影响数十出入境航班近5千旅客受阻
Podcast: Java https://dev.traveldailymedia.com/podcast-java/ Sun, 22 Nov 2020 04:47:51 +0000 https://www.traveldailymedia.com/?guid=2e790627d9668439aa593afbaa7e20a3 The post Podcast: Java appeared first on TD (Travel Daily Media) Brand TD.

Java is an island of Indonesia, bordered by the Indian Ocean on the south and the Java Sea on the north.

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The post Podcast: Java appeared first on TD (Travel Daily Media) Brand TD.

Overview: Java

 

 

Java is an island of Indonesia, bordered by the Indian Ocean on the south and the Java Sea on the north. With a population of over 141 million Java constitutes 56.7 percent of the Indonesian population and is the world’s most-populous island. The Indonesian capital city, Jakarta, is on its north-western coast. Much of the well-known part of Indonesian history took place on Java. It was the centre of powerful Hindu-Buddhist empires, the Islamic sultanates, and the core of the colonial Dutch East Indies.

 

With one of Southeast Asia’s busiest metropolises with delirious nightlife to the peak of volcanoes, many of which are still very evidently active, which the fertile slopes are dotted with glimmering rice fields and small villages. Java is the heartland of Indonesia. Java has 121 active volcanoes plus a host of major national parks. So, together with its natural beauty and rich cultural history, Java has lots to offer the visitor.

Java is divided into three distinct regions: Western Java, Central Java and Eastern Java. Not very creative, for sure, but certainly plain enough to easily understand.

How to get there and around

Jakarta and Surabaya are Indonesia’s two biggest cities and both have extensive international and domestic air connections. Bandung, Semarang, Solo and Yogyakarta are also major hubs for both international and domestic travel.

Ferries connect the island with both Bali and Sumatra, plus there are a couple of ferry companies which connect with different islands.

Getting around Java is relatively easy.  There is a good bus work and great train network servicing most of the important cities on the island.  I wouldn’t recommend driving yourself as the locals driving habits can be erratic and those pesky motorcyclists don’t seem to recognise any road rules.

Major cities are:

Jakarta – the nation’s capital, a city that is sinking due to the overuse of groundwater. A big, bustling, polluted place that contains some of Indonesia’s great monuments, lovely preserved historic buildings, the delightful waterside area of Ancol, huge shopping malls and a dazzling nightclub scene.

Surabaya – Indonesia’s second-biggest city that is all about business, but has some pretty tree-lined avenues, some impressive colonial buildings, and some great local arts.

Yogyakarta – One of Indonesia’s oldest cities it is a city that is filled with many heritage buildings and monuments. Popular with tourists because of the city’s proximity to the heritage sites of Borobudur and Prambanan.

Bandung – the capital of West Java and Indonesia’s third largest city.  Also called the Flower City, because of its gardens, Bandung is in the mountains, just 153 kms from Jakarta so best to avoid on weekends and public holidays when you won’t be able to move in the place.

Things to do

Merdeka Square Jakarta

The centre of Jakarta and it is impressive.  See the National Monument, a soaring tower, which was built to symbolize the fight for Indonesia and constructed under direction of President Sukarno. Also visit the National Museum of Indonesia which is a very good archeological, historical, ethnological, and geographical museum. Jakarta’s national museum is well known as Elephant Building because of the elephant statue there.

Admire the waterfalls of Purwokerto

Located in Central Java, near the town are some outstanding waterfalls. Cipendok is 92 metres high and a popular place for locals. The Gomblang waterfall is actually a double waterfall that has a massive amount of water go over them and Belot waterfall is popular because it has a path to a rock located right next to the fall that people leap from into a deep waterhole.

Walk the hills of Dieng Plateau

The Dieng Plateau is a huge plain with spectacular views. In addition, it is home to some of the oldest Hindu architecture in Java. More than 400 temples are spread over the region at an altitude of more than 2,000 meters, dating from the 8th and 9th centuries. It is a huge plain where you will see volcanoes, lakes and terraced gardens gracing the slopes. Spectacular to get up early and view at sunrise.

Be stunned by Borobudur Temple

Located on the island of Java, the magnificent Borobudur temple is the world’s biggest Buddhist monument, an ancient site widely considered to be one of the world’s seven wonders. The temple consists of nine stacked platforms, six square and three circular, topped by a central dome.  A marvel of design, the monument is decorated with 2,672 relief panels and 504 Buddha statues. The architecture and stonework of this temple has no equal. And it was built without using any kind of cement or mortar. The temple has remained strong even through ten centuries of neglect. It was rediscovered in 1815, buried under volcanic ash. The restoration took eight years to complete and today Borobudur is one of Indonesia and the world’s most valuable treasures.

Climb Mt Bromo

Mount Bromo, which stands tall at 2329 m, is the most iconic and the most hiked mountain in Indonesia.  Many people start the trek up Mt Bromo, on Java, at about 2 am so they can be on the summit to witness the incredible sunrise. Mount Bromo is still one of the most active volcanoes in the world, and some areas are blocked off from tourists due to its imminent danger. Mt Bromo is located inside the massive Tengger caldera ( a volcanic crater with a diameter approximately 10km). This is surrounded by a sea of fine volcanic sand.

For more information – https://www.indonesia.travel/gb/en/home

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Capture Ethiopian Airlines launches flights to Hangzhou New Design Hotel opens in Khao Lak The World's Biggest & Brightest Cultural Festivals in 2017 Expedia Affiliate Network adds TripAdvisor 鸿鹄逸游突破定制概念,打造高端主题豪华团 China’s ‘land of a thousand lakes’ dries up The World's Biggest & Brightest Cultural Festivals in 2017
Podcast: Sumatra https://dev.traveldailymedia.com/podcast-sumatra/ Sat, 14 Nov 2020 04:54:04 +0000 https://www.traveldailymedia.com/?guid=037da35ea5f218a1a8fe80a77b75fe5c The post Podcast: Sumatra appeared first on TD (Travel Daily Media) Brand TD.

Sumatra is the second largest (after Borneo) of the Greater Sunda Islands, in the Malay Archipelago. It is separated in the northeast from the Malay Peninsula by the Strait of Malacca and in the south from Java by the Sunda Strait.

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Overview: Sumatra

 

Sumatra is the second largest (after Borneo) of the Greater Sunda Islands, in the Malay Archipelago. It is separated in the northeast from the Malay Peninsula by the Strait of Malacca and in the south from Java by the Sunda Strait.

The island is subdivided into seven provinces: North SumatraJambiRiauWest SumatraSouth SumatraBengkulu, and Lampung—plus the autonomous province of Aceh. The principal cities are Medan, Palembang, and Padang.

 

 

Sumatra is an island of extraordinary beauty where there’s a wealth of exotic and challenging experiences for intrepid travellers.

Much of the island has been shaped by volcanos, earthquakes and tsunamis, although the locals seem to take all of that in their stride. There’s a lot of everything here, big cities, brilliant beaches, dense jungles, raging rivers and extraordinary scenery.

On this remarkable island, you’ll discover a variety of unique as well as common rainforest fauna. You can spot not only red-haired orangutans, but also all sorts of monkeys that swing on treetops, in addition to Sumatran tigers, rhinoceroses, and elephants.

Travelling to and around Sumatra

 

The most common way of getting to Sumatra is by air, with Medan’s Kualanamu International Airport being one of Indonesia’s busiest airports. It is a fair way out of the city, but there is a commuter train service that takes you into central Medan. The other main airports are Sultan Mahmud Badaruddin II International Airport in Palembang and Minangkabau International Airport in Padang. These three airports have extensive international and domestic flights. There are also many smaller airports which cater mainly for domestic passengers.

There are plenty of ferry services from Singapore and Malaysia, plus a great variety of domestic ferry services.

Given Sumatra’s size, the most convenient way to travel around the island is to fly.  There is an extensive road network, but distances can be long and traffic is often heavy. Transport on Sumatra is an adventure in itself. The roads are bad and even short distances take forever. I’m a large westerner, and Sumatran buses are designed for much smaller Indonesians, so long-distance bus travel can be uncomfortable. Then again, if you are a smaller person, you may be perfectly comfortable. However, one advantage of bus travel is that you will experience some wonderful scenery from the road.

Things to do

 

Visit Lake Toba

This is an unbelievable experience.  The lake itself is huge, Samosir Island, a 50 km-long island within the lake, is fascinating.  The people here are Bataks and you can experience their fascinating culture. You’ll keep finding yourself yelling out “Horas!” which is a Batak greeting, a wish for good health and their way of saying goodbye. Cruise along the lake, visit numerous waterfalls, and stay in the village of TukTuk for a fully immersive Lake Toba experience.

Huta Siallagan Experience

This is a traditional Batak Village on Samosir Island and it truly is a wonderful experience.  You are welcomed into the village by donning some traditional headwear and joining the local in a dance. The village identifies the family or clan as its residents that in this case is the Siallagan Clan. The Siallagans are descendants of King Naimbaton who follow the line of King Isumbaon, second son of the King of Batak. The village is surrounded by a sturdy stone wall. Inside is a number of traditional Bolon and Sopo houses in which families live and share with their animals. Visitors are told about the history and customs of the village, and are also invited to watch how spies from other villages were executed. Fascinating!

Trek through Gunung Leuser National Park to see orangutans

My son did this, and loved it. Bukit Lawang, a small village northwest of Medan, is the base for jungle trekking in Gunung Leuser National Park, listed by UNESCO as one of the most significant biodiverse conservation areas in the world. Visitors may see semi-wild orangutans that have been reintroduced back into nature. My son said that his guide led them deeper into the jungle where they did see wild orangutans.

Climb Gunung Sibayak

Gunung Sibayak is one of several volcanoes in Sumatra although it is classified as dormant and is one of the easiest volcanoes to climb if you are in the area. Located close to the town of Berastagi, Gunung Sibayak still has gas and smoke erupting from the crater from time to time and you will also find some soothing hot springs on the side of the volcano. The hike to the top of Gunung Sibayak is around 7 kilometres long so depending on your fitness levels it should take around three hours to get to the summit.

Stop off in Palembang

Palembang is the capital city of the province of South Sumatra and also has a fascinating history as is it one of the oldest inhabited parts of Indonesia. It occupies a pretty spot on the majestic Musi River. This river is one of the main reasons to visit Palembang as the waterfront is dotted with small boats that also serve as restaurants. On these boats you will find delicious plates of local delicacies as you enjoy the river views.

Try durian in Medan

Durian is the most divisive of fruits.  Some say that it smells like a decomposing body, whilst others think that its aroma is a combination of “turpentine and onions, garnished with a gym sock”. Then again others (including me) love it! Durian Ucok Restaurant in Medan is sheer bedlam, particularly when you turn up for a feed at 10:30 pm at night. This place bustles, and the only thing they sell in durian, and there are piles of the fruit everywhere. The waiters slice it open with a sharp machete, and you tuck in. Eating durian is messy. It is very sweet, pungent and has the viscosity of runny snot. There are no table manners, you just slurp it up. Fabulous!

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Podcast: Bali https://dev.traveldailymedia.com/podcast-bali/ Sat, 14 Nov 2020 04:33:22 +0000 https://www.traveldailymedia.com/?guid=3120f0b717fe52349d14a6d57b281843 The post Podcast: Bali appeared first on TD (Travel Daily Media) Brand TD.

The most popular tourist island in the archipelago.  There’s a good reason for this, the infrastructure is excellent, locals are friendly, there is plenty to do and the island has a superb range of accommodation to suit any budget.

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The post Podcast: Bali appeared first on TD (Travel Daily Media) Brand TD.

Overview: Bali

 

 

The most popular tourist island in the archipelago.  There’s a good reason for this, the infrastructure is excellent, locals are friendly, there is plenty to do and the island has a superb range of accommodation to suit any budget.

Bali is often referred to as the Island of the Gods. That’s because the majority of Balinese are Hindus, and their religion is part of their everyday lives.  You see altars and temples everywhere, and the Balinese still enjoy wearing their traditional dress.

 

Bali is rich in culture and history that is still very prominent now with old temples that are still in used, festivals and practices.  There are plenty of activities on offer.  Surfing is excellent, white water rafting can get the pulse going, cycling or hiking through the interior is quite beautiful. There is plenty of opportunity for sightseeing, and as many Balinese are artisans, genuine artworks and carvings are readily available. There are certain towns which specialise in particular arts.  For instance, Celuk is known for its silverware and jewellery, Ubud and Batuan are renowned for paintings, Mas for wood carvings and Batubulan for stone carvings.

Getting there and around

There is no shortage of airlines servicing Bali from anywhere that is within flying distance.  Plenty of cruise ships also visit Benoa Harbour.  You can reach Bali overland from Java, and there are heaps of boats and ferries from Lombok and ferries sail out to many islands from the port of Padang Bai.

Getting around the island is easy. Most of the hotels will include an airport pickup or drop off to get your business. Many people book drivers for individual tours (I’ve been using the same driver for about 20 years). Hiring a car is easy, but, be warned, driving in Indonesia is not like in the west as the driving can be chaotic. Particularly the buses which will overtake on blind corners. Cabs are plentiful, but some will try to con you by not switching on their meters.  Bluebird Taxis are reliable, but there are some Bluebird copycats around, so be warned. Grab, the Asian answer to Uber, is pretty good. I’ve not had a problem with them, and have used them in several places throughout Indonesia.

You can divide Bali into several popular regions:

Kuta/Legian is party central.  This area is booming with hotels, restaurants, bars, shops and traffic. It has become more sophisticated over the years, but Kuta/Legian is where you stay if you want to party, shop, or simply lie around a pool or on the beach.

Seminyak/Canggu is further north along the strip. Seminyak is starting to attract biggerof crowds, but accommodation here is more upmarket than Kuta.  Canggu is popular with those who like to rent private villas, which are becoming the trend in Bali.

Denpasar – the largest city on Bali.  Most tourists avoid Denpasar, but there are some interesting shops there with local prices, so bargains can be had.

Nusa Dua is south east of Kuta where many of Bali’s best resorts are located. There are some superb resorts which boast some fabulous facilities.  Nusa Dua is for those who love luxury and who are happy to spend most of their time at a resort.

Jimbaran – has some good hotels, but is most famous for its seafood restaurants where you can sit on the beach to watch the sun set whilst enjoying fabulous seafood and watch planes take off and land at the nearby airport.

Sanur is about a 30-minute drive from Kuta on the eastern side of the main city Denpasar. It has many good hotels, restaurants and bars but is a lot quieter than Kuta/Legian. Sanur really appeals to families as it has a number of beaches that are less crowded than those near Kuta (and I think the beaches are better in Sanur).

Ubud is a mountain village that is really the cultural centre of Bali. It is very hilly and either shrouded in forest, or surrounded by rice paddies and really beautiful. Many people flock to Ubud for the arts and crafts and to stay in hotels that are stunningly located. Being in the mountains, Ubud is both a little cooler and less humid than the coast.

Candi Dasa – a nice beach resort on the east coast a couple of hours from Kuta.  Reasonably quiet, and some good snorkelling available.  Just north is Amed, which is quieter still, but even better for snorkelling.

Bedegul – this is inland town that is tucked between mountains and located right next to a large lake with a picturesque temple on its shore.  There have a good market here. Bedegul is more of a day trip, but there is accommodation here for people who want true peace and quiet.

Lovina – on Bali’s northern shore and famous for its long black sand beach, thanks to all of the volcanic activity. Best known for doing from dolphin watching.

What to do?

Are you kidding? This is Bali – there’s heaps to do! Here are some suggestions:

Visit Tanah Lot Temple

Located in Tabanan, about 30 kms from Denpasar, Tanah Lot is one of the most striking temples in Bali.  It’s built upon a small island that is surrounded by water at high tide, yet completely accessible during low tide. It is a stunning location, and it is best to visit in late afternoon so that you can watch the sun set behind the temple.

Discover Ubud

Ubud is located amongst rice paddies and steep ravines in the central foothills of the Gianyar regency, and is far more traditionally Balinese than Kuta. Ubud is renowned for its art and culture and although the township itself is quite busy, most people opt to stay in hotels and resorts that are scattered in idyllic locations outside of the township. Near the centre of town is the Puri Saren Agung  a large, but serene, palace located at the intersection of Monkey Forest and Raya Ubud roads. Diagonally across the road are the fascinating Ubud Markets.

Avoid the Monkey Forest

Bear with me, we will get to `What to Do’. The Ubud Monkey Forest is home to over 700 grey long-tailed macaques. Given that hundreds, and probably thousands, of tourists visit the Monkey Forest these little buggers are very aggressive, expert thieves. Do yourself a favour and stay away. Instead head to Uluwatu Temple, which is in a much more scenic location perched upon a cliff overlooking the Indian Ocean many kilometres from Monkey Forest. They also have monkeys at Uluwatu, but these are friendlier, and the location utterly spectacular.

Cruise with Bali Hai

Bali Hai Cruises is Indonesia’s leading Marine Tourism Company operating exciting day cruises to Lembongan Island from Benoa Harbour.  The vessels are modern and comfortable, the whole experience is great for families. The boat is equipped with snorkelling gear, there are banana boat rides, and other activities. Lunch is included, and it is a terrific day out.

Enjoy the Bali Safari Marine Park

This is an unexpected surprise!  It is a fair way from Kuta, but there are regular shuttle bus services from the main tourist areas to the Bali Safari Marine Park.  This is a well-organised zoo in which the animals live in open range pens.  Visitors tour the park inside comfortable, secure vehicles which are ideal for taking photos from. There are plenty of chances to interact with animals, a good aquarium, plus a water park and live shows. You can even stay in the Mara River Safari Lodge, where you get to see animals milling outside of your window.

Have a massage

Bali may indeed be the Land of the Gods, but is also the Land of the Massage.  Honestly, you can get a massage just about anywhere in Bali.  Services range from a simple massage of a beach to the full treatment in an upmarket spa.  Bali massages are really worth the effort. Each masseuse knows what they are doing, and you feel really wonderful afterwards.

Get out to Mt Kintamani

Mt Batur, also known as the Kintamani Volcano, is a great day trip. It is definitely active, as you can normally see the steam rising from it.  Mount Batur surrounds the 13-sq-km Batur caldera lake, and it is quite a breathtaking scene. There treks and climbs, for the more adventurous, or it is possible to visit the lakeside villages where there are, unsurprisingly, hot springs. The less adventurous can enjoy a meal in a caldera-side restaurant and amuse themselves by taking photos.

View the rice terraces

Close to Ubud are some extraordinarily beautiful rice terraces. These are carved into steep hillsides and consist of small paddies, each with built-up mud walls surrounding a flat planting area.  Flooding the planting area is the key to successfully growing rice. A system of channels are also built to guide the water into the gardens, and narrow paths connect the terraces.  Whilst you will find rice farms just about everywhere in Bali, the ones near Ubud are the most spectacular because of the way they dominate the vista by clinging to precipitous slopes. They are at the best when the rice is just about ready to harvest, a job that is still done by hand.

Taste a Massimo gelato

Massimo Italian Restaurant has been operating in Sanur since 1996.  The restaurant is fabulous, but at the front of the restaurant is Massimo’s Gelato. There’s always a crowd outside choosing from Massimo’s range of flavours.  Freshly made, the gelato’s a fabulous at any time of day or night. Get in line and make that difficult decision about which ones to choose.

Choose jewellery at Angel to Angel

This is dedicated to my late daughter. Whenever she went to Bali, which was often, she would always make a trip to the town of Celuk to visit her favourite jewellery shop in the world: Angel to Angel. The outside of the building is decorated with whimsical frogs, inside you will discover some of the most beautiful local handmade jewellery. Bali is an island full of artisans, and those skills are certainly on display here. It is well worth the visit and you probably won’t leave empty-handed.

For more information on Bali – https://www.bali.com/

 

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Podcast: Indonesia https://dev.traveldailymedia.com/podcast-indonesia/ Tue, 10 Nov 2020 03:48:55 +0000 https://www.traveldailymedia.com/?guid=5456b1579a4ae58e0ff464fd4fd266fa The post Podcast: Indonesia appeared first on TD (Travel Daily Media) Brand TD.

The Republic of Indonesia is a country located in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian and Pacific oceans and is part of the volcanic Ring of Fire. In fact, if you like volcanoes you will see many of them as you travel throughout Indonesia.

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Overview: Indonesia

 

 

The Republic of Indonesia is a country located in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian and Pacific oceans and is part of the volcanic Ring of Fire. In fact, if you like volcanoes you will see many of them as you travel throughout Indonesia.

Indonesia consists 17,504 islands, of which 6,000 are inhabited. These include the largest islands of Sumatra, JavaBorneo (Kalimantan)Sulawesi, and New Guinea (Papua).

 

The most popular island for holidaymakers is Bali, often referred to as the Island of the Gods, which is just east of Java.

Indonesia is the world’s largest island country. With over 267 million people, it is also the world’s 4th-most-populous country as well as being the most-populous Muslim-majority country.

Although Islam is that country’s largest religion, you will be surprised by the variety of religions and cultures which exist harmoniously in Indonesia.

In fact, Indonesian are very friendly and do warmly welcome visitors.

Indonesia consists of hundreds of distinct native ethnic and linguistic groups, with the largest one being the Javanese.

For travellers, Indonesia offer a plethora of experiences. Everything from just soaking up the sun on a beach, or enjoying the hectic pubs and clubs of Kuta in Bali, to indulging in superb diving right throughout the archipelago, surfing, visiting some tremendous cultural sites, trekking through dense jungles to see Orang-utans in their pristine environment, enjoying their fantastic cuisine, shopping for bargains in ultra-modern shopping malls or at local markets, or just admiring some of the most amazing views you will see anywhere.

The official language is Bahasa Indonesia, but there are also dozens of local languages and dialects.  English is also widely spoken.

The currency is the Rupiah.

Travelling to and around the country

 

The most common way to enter Indonesia is to arrive by air.  Indonesia’s busiest airport is Soekarno–Hatta International Airport in Jakarta on Java, followed by Ngurah Rai International Airport in Denpasar, Bali.  Third busiest is Juanda International Airport in Surabaya, also on Java. Next is Sultan Hasanuddin International Airport in Makassar on the island of Sulawesi. The fifth busiest airport is Kualanamu International Airport in Medan, on Sumatra.

Garuda is the official national airline, and it has many international and domestic routes. Air Asia Indonesia operates domestic and international flight routes. Lion Air is Indonesia’s largest private airline both it and its subsidiary Batik Air fly both international and domestic routes too.

Cruise ships do also call at several Indonesian ports, particularly Benoa Harbour in Bali.

There are various ways to travel around domestically.  Air connections are plentiful, with a number of airlines servicing many islands and cities. These include Citilink Airlines, Wings Air, Sriwijaya Air and Batavia Air, with some other smaller regional airlines operating services in the more remote regions of Indonesia.

Internal airfares tend to be quite cheap. For inter-island travel, there is the Pelni ferry service.  Pelni ferries visit practically every inhabited island in Indonesia.  Some journeys take just a few hours, whilst you can also embark on lengthy journeys that can take two weeks from beginning to end. PELNI uses European-built boats, which are large enough to deal with rough seas, but they can still be uncomfortably overcrowded during peak seasons.

Overland travel

 

In busy places such as Bali, Jakarta, or Sumatra there are local bus services, but the easiest way to get around is to hire a driver if you wish to do a tour. I’ve done this may times, and I have my favourite driver in Bali who is also a brilliant guide. For just getting from point A to point B take a taxi or book Grab for local travel.  Uber does not operate in Indonesia, and Grab is the local equivalent, if you don’t have a local bank account. You can pay cash using Grab, all you need do is download the app to your phone and it works just like Uber. I have used the local taxis – Bluebird is the most reliable of these, but Grab is cheaper.

If you enjoy train travel, there is a good rail service which links all the major cities in Java, and which offers fabulous views of the countryside. Trains are cheap, comfortable and air-conditioned.

Best Places to Visit

Because Indonesia is so big, too big to discuss in detail here, just click the link to these Indonesian destinations for a more in-depth information.

Bali

Java

Sumatra

Sulawesi

Lombok

Top 10 things to do in Indonesia

In such a diverse country it was difficult to make a selection, but here are my choices, in no particular order.

Visit the Komodo Dragons

Komodo Dragons are the world’s longest lizards, growing to over 3 metres in length which live on four islands: Komodo, Flores, Rinca and Gili Motang.  They are carnivores and cannibals, eating their own kind. They can eat prey that weighs 80% of their own weight and unlike other animals, they will eat bones and hooves. Komodo dragons have reddish saliva that contains 50 different types of bacteria. They have forked tongue which they use to detect prey by smell. They can locate the prey that is 6 kilometres away. The location of the komodos is within a UNESCO World Heritage Site so you can only visit the dragons on official tours. Itineraries include short cruises to Rinca Island or longer cruises which also visit the island of Flores.

Climb Mt Bromo

Mount Bromo, which stands tall at 2329 m, is the most iconic and the most hiked mountain in Indonesia.  Many people start the trek up Mt Bromo, on Java, at about 2 am so they can be on the summit to witness the incredible sunrise. Mount Bromo is still one of the most active volcanoes in the world, and some areas are blocked off from tourists due to its imminent danger. Mt Bromo is located inside the massive Tengger caldera ( a volcanic crater with a diameter of approximately 10km). This is surrounded by a sea of fine volcanic sand.

Walk around the Water Temple in Bali

For over a thousand years, Balinese Hindu worshipers have been drawn to Pura Tirta Empul (Holy Water Temple), whose sacred springs are said to have been created by The God Indra and possess curative properties.  The Temple is located in the village of Manukaya.  Entering the inner courtyard, you will arrive at the ‘Jaba Tengah’ area which is the main area of the temple. The holy springs here bubble up into a large, crystal-clear pool within the temple and gush out through 30 waterspouts into the two sacred purification pools.  Adherents enter the various pools, bathing and purifying themselves in each one, and praying in front of various altars. Just as at other temples and sacred sites around the island, you will need to put on a ‘sarong’ before entering the premises. This is one of the most serene places you will find. Balinese temples are Hindu and places of reflection.  The locals don’t mind if you wander around, just don’t walk between them and the altar when they are praying.

Discover Lake Toba

This is the remnant of the largest volcanic eruption in the past 25 million years, and what a fabulous place it is to visit. It is also the world’s largest volcanic lake.  This enormous crater-lake consists of an island almost the size of Singapore in its centre. At over 1,145 square km, and a depth of 450 meters, Lake Toba is actually more like an ocean. This is the largest lake in Southeast Asia and one of the deepest lakes in the world. Lake Toba is also home to two ethnic groups of Tomok and Simanindo. Located on the island of Samosir, a highlight is to visit a traditional village which is protected by surrounding barriers of earthen ramparts with bamboo fencing and trees. The village also features many unique and authentic traditional houses, especially from Tomok, which consists of a row of massive wooden houses with striking saddle-shaped thatch roofs made of sugar palm fibre.

Dive in the waters of Raja Ampat

If you love scuba diving or snorkelling, Raja Ampat is magical. Here will find a pristine paradise where Mother Nature and warm friendly people welcome you with all the exceptional wonders in Raja Ampat, the islands-regency in West Papua Province. Raja Ampat is an archipelago comprising over 1,500 small islands, cays, and shoals.  Raja Ampat offers amazing aquatic experiences. Home to 9.8 million acres of land and sea, with 540 types of corals, more than 1,000 types of coral fish and 700 types of molluscs. This makes it the most diverse coral reef system in the world. With crystal clear waters and an amazing abundance of sea life, Raja Ampat re-defines underwater discovery.

Relax on one of the Gili Islands

Lombok is just east of Bali and is growing in popularity as it is a lot more casual than its neighbour.  Just off the northwest coast of Lombok are the three Gili Islands.  These are Gili Air, Gili Meno and Gili Trawangan, which can only be accessed by boat. Automobiles and motorised traffic are prohibited on the islands by local ordinance, so the preferred method of transportation is by foot and bicycle or the horse-drawn carriage called a cidomo. Scuba diving and free diving in and around the Gilis is also common due to the abundance of marine life and coral formations. Gili Air (which means water in the local language) and Gili Meno are very quiet and suitable for families, whereas Gili Trewangan is more of a party island due to its larger number of restaurants and bars. All are magnificent.

See the communal houses in Torajaland

The land of Toraja, is a highland situated in the region of Southern Sulawesi. The Toraja people still practice many ancient rites and many say that they are obsessed with the idea of death, not in a morbid way but as something significant to them. After the person’s death, the body is kept for several years while they save the money for the actual funeral. Tongkonan is the traditional ancestral house. These houses have a distinguishing boat-shaped and oversized saddleback roof and are built on piles. The internal space is small in comparison with the overwhelming roof structure that covers it. Interiors are typically cramped and dark with few windows. The homes are the focus of family identity and tradition, representing the descendants of a founding ancestor.

Be stunned by Borobudur Temple

Located on the island of Java, the magnificent Borobudur temple is the world’s biggest Buddhist monument, an ancient site widely considered to be one of the world’s seven wonders. The temple consists of nine stacked platforms, six square and three circular, topped by a central dome.  A marvel of design, the monument is decorated with 2,672 relief panels and 504 Buddha statues. The architecture and stonework of this temple has no equal. And it was built without using any kind of cement or mortar. The temple has remained strong even through ten centuries of neglect. It was rediscovered in 1815, buried under volcanic ash. The restoration took eight years to complete and today Borobudur is one of Indonesia and the world’s most valuable treasures.

Have a stone jumper leap over you on Nias

Nias Island is south of Sumatra, about an hour flight from Medan. Some believe that this island conserves one of the last traces of a Megalithic culture.  In the fascinating stone village of Hombo Batu, which reminded me very much of an Incan village, they have a tradition of Stone Jumping. I was told that generations of men and boys would practise the stone jumping as a way of getting over stone walls when attacking villages. This tradition is also a virility ritual for boys in order to proclaim them men. They literally had to jump over a two-metre stone to prove their manhood. Originally this rock had spikes and sharp bamboo reeds on top so it was especially dangerous and led to injuries or even dead. People in Nias perform the Stone Jumping Ceremony as it was done centuries ago. Our small group was taken into a house and dressed in traditional clothes, we were then taken to stand in front of a tall, stone wall.  Next thing we know, a young man is leaping well over us, landing on his feet. It was a really impressive display and fantastic athletic feat.

See the rice terraces of Bali

Close to Ubud in the mountains of Bali are some extraordinarily beautiful rice terraces. These are carved into steep hillsides and consist of small paddies, each with built-up mud walls surrounding a flat planting area.  Flooding the planting area is the key to successfully growing rice. A system of channels are also built to guide the water into the gardens, and narrow paths connect the terraces.  Whilst you will find rice farms just about everywhere in Bali, the ones near Ubud are the most spectacular because of the way they dominate the vista by clinging to precipitous slopes. They are at the best when the rice is just about ready to harvest, a job that is still done by hand.

VFor more visit Visit Indonesia https://www.indonesia.travel/gb/en/home

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Podcast: Katherine Gorge Tour, Northern Territory https://dev.traveldailymedia.com/podcast-katherine-gorge-tour-northern-territory/ Tue, 10 Nov 2020 02:29:17 +0000 https://www.traveldailymedia.com/?guid=aeee31eb0a869b943ad4438e2b83731c The post Podcast: Katherine Gorge Tour, Northern Territory appeared first on TD (Travel Daily Media) Brand TD.

You’re in Darwin on holiday, you want to see a lot more of the Northern Territory, but there’s a mileage limit on the rental car, so could this be a problem? 

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Katherine Gorge Tour Northern Territory

 

 

You’re in Darwin on holiday, you want to see a lot more of the Northern Territory, but there’s a mileage limit on the rental car, so could this be a problem?  Not really, as there are plenty of organised tours from which to choose.

I decided on the AAT Kings One Day Edith Falls and Katherine Gorge Tour as it offered great value, and promised to show me a part of the world that I had been keen to experience for quite some time.

 

 

This was a deceptively long tour – up at dawn, in the coach by 6.30am, and returned to the hotel at 8.30pm.

If I had of chosen to do this drive myself, I would have been seriously exhausted at the end of the day, but by choosing an organised tour, my total responsibility was to relax and to enjoy myself.

The highlight of this tour was the 2-hour Katherine Gorge Cruise, which easily surpassed my expectations.

 

Katherine Gorge

The Katherine River winds itself through 12 kilometres of gorges, some of which have walls rising to a height of 70 metres, and it is an outstanding place.

We boarded a flat-bottom boat, which was open-sided for perfect viewing, and cruised deeper into the gorge system.

The Katherine Gorge was formed about 23 million years ago.  The Gorge consists of thirteen gorges, with rapids and falls, which follow the Katherine River, which begins in Kakadu.

The colours of the rocks change throughout the day, and the river banks are covered in lush greenery which grows out of ochre-coloured sand, upon which the freshwater crocodiles lay their eggs.

After travelling through the first gorge, we came to a natural rock barrier, through which the vessel could not pass.  This meant that we had to negotiate a 400 metre walk to another gorge, where a new boat awaited us.

The second boat took us to the most picturesque part of the gorge.  It was long and straight, and very impressive as the walls of the gorge towered over us.   We ventured right through this gargantuan corridor until we reached another rock barrier, we were turned back as the waters above this impediment were too shallow to negotiate at this time of the year.

During the wet season, these waters flow at a level up to 12 metres above our heads.  The water at this time is so abundant that what is normally a three hour tour in the dry season can be completed in just 45 minutes during the wet when there is nothing to impinge the boat’s progress.

Katherine Gorge is 340 kilometres south of Darwin, and the tour also stops at Adelaide River, for refreshments at the local pub, where the star attraction is a stuffed water buffalo that was hypnotised by Crocodile Dundee in the original movie.

A more sobering sojourn is a visit to the Adelaide River War Cemetery, which contains the remains of many of those who were killed in the bombing of Darwin during World War II.  This is a place for reflection and contemplation as we remembered those military personnel and civilians who lost their lives in those attacks.

Another highlight of the trip was a stop in Nitmiluk National Park at Leliyn, or Edith Falls as it is also known, where you can cool off and enjoy a swim in a huge, natural rock pool.

The AAT Kings driver, coach and organisation were all exceptional, and I would certainly travel with them again.

For more visit www.northernterritory.com

Disclosure: This was a private trip undertaken by the writer

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Podcast: Rwanda https://dev.traveldailymedia.com/podcast-rwanda/ Mon, 09 Nov 2020 03:02:13 +0000 https://www.traveldailymedia.com/?guid=fa752e29d79900ab7a39affd3f9207e7 The post Podcast: Rwanda appeared first on TD (Travel Daily Media) Brand TD.

You could be mistaken for being in a different country when visiting Rwanda. It is unlike other African countries, maybe even unlike any other country in the world. You can forget the raw, authentic and traditional Africa.

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Overview: Rwanda

 

You could be mistaken for being in a different country when visiting Rwanda. It is unlike other African countries, maybe even unlike any other country in the world. You can forget the raw, authentic and traditional Africa. The roads are impeccably maintained, rubbish is nearly non-existent and the feeling of safety is strong, making it perfect for solo travellers.

Rwanda is refreshingly different – a progressive Africa that is quickly moving forward, that is considerate of the environment and conservation, that values the expression of arts and culture and where things are going well.

It was a long and painful road to get to this point however. A phrase commonly uttered on the clean streets of Rwanda is “love means forgiveness”. If you know anything about Rwanda’s history, you will understand the importance Rwandans place on forgiveness. Love and forgiveness have been the driving force behind the country’s astounding progress and development following the tragic events that occurred in 1994.

The Rwandan genocide, also known as the genocide against the Tutsi, was a genocidal mass slaughter of Tutsi in Rwanda by members of the Hutu majority government. Over a 100-day period from 7 April to mid-July 1994, an estimated 500,000 to 1,000,000 Rwandans were killed, constituting as many as 70 percent of the Tutsi population.

Ever since the 1994 genocide, Rwanda has moved forward in leaps and bounds. Not only in reconciliation and forgiveness from that fateful event, but in development and conservation. If there ever was a country that the rest of the world can aspire to, it would be Rwanda.

The name Rwanda literally means ‘expanding’, and its capital city, Kigali, takes meaning from something large, fitting for a country that has grown so much in the past 24 years and continues to propel forward.

The sense of community is strong, and everyone is involved in sustaining the country’s movement. Known as Umuganda, every last Saturday of the month everyone does community work, regardless of status, to clean and look after the environment.

Known as the “land of a thousand hills”, green is a word that best describes Rwanda. Not only green in colour, with the rich rolling hills that are ever present on the horizon, but green on sustainability and conservation.

Single-use plastic bags are illegal in the entire country and will be confiscated upon arrival. Due to this effective ban and other factors, Rwanda was ranked number three of the greenest destinations of the world in 2015. Dubbed the Singapore of Africa, you can clearly see why the moment you arrive in Kigali – it is astonishingly clean by any standards.

In addition to the environment care is the conservation of the wildlife and national parks. Famous for their mountain gorillas, Rwanda has put a lot of effort into conservation to protect these precious primates.

The mountain gorillas are the world’s most endangered ape and are found only in small portions of protected afro Montane forests in northwest Rwanda, southwest Uganda and eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The mountain gorilla is only one of many species unique to these forests, which are also home to many wonderful birds, primates, large mammals, reptiles, insects and plants also ensuring continued water and medicinal plant resources for the local communities.

How to get there

Kigali International Airport, but sometimes referred to as Kanombe International Airport, is the main airport serving Kigali, the capital of Rwanda. Air access from Australia can be tricky with lengthy connections. Most popular routes from Australia are with South African airways via Johannesburg, Qatar airways via Doha and Etihad Airways via Abu Dhabi with limited transits. Other airlines like Ethiopian Airlines, Kenya Airways and the national airline Rwandair fly from East Africa into Kigali.

Experience Rwanda

A land of a thousand hills, Rwanda also has a thousand experiences to be had. Here are some of the must do and see experiences in Rwanda.

Gorilla Trekking

Today nearly half of the world’s 1000 remaining mountain gorillas live at the intersection of Uganda, Rwanda, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo in the Virunga Mountains of central Africa. The best place to witness these mountain gorillas is during a visit to Rwanda’s Volcanoes National Park. Consisting of 125 km2 of mountain forest and the six Virunga Volcanoes, the lush forested slopes of the mountains form an appropriately dramatic natural setting for what is arguably the most poignant and memorable wildlife experience in the world: gorilla trekking. A permit with set you back USD$1500, of which the money is put straight back into the protection and conservation of the gorillas. It is advisable to hire a porter (cost USD$15) for your trek, not only for the unfailing assistance as your trek and climb, but to help fund a living to the once poachers that pilfered the national park. It gives them incentive to stay on the anti-poaching path.

Kigali Genocide Memorial

A visit to the Kigali Genocide Memorial provides a better insight into Rwanda’s harrowing past. The memorial is the final resting place for more than 250,000 victims of the Genocide against the Tutsi. It is a place for remembrance and learning. While there are several memorials around the country, the Kigali Genocide Museum is the most popular to visit. A tour of the entire memorial takes approximately one hour and thirty minutes. The memorial is open seven days a week, however on the last Saturday of every month, the memorial is open from 1:00pm to 5:00pm due to Umuganda, when all Rwandans meet to undertake community work. The Kigali Genocide Memorial is a guided experience. Visitors can choose to be guided by one of the staff witnesses or purchase the KGM digital guide which provides an audio-visual tour of the memorial. Costs start from USD$15.

Nyungwe Forest National Park

The largest tropical afro Montane rainforest east or central Africa, Nyungwe forest is probably the most preserved forest in Africa. Nyungwe Forest National Park was established as a national park in 2004 and some say it is the most important site for biodiversity in Rwanda. It is home to over 1000 species of creation after all. Nyungwe is located near Cyangugu town in South western Rwanda, about 225km and a 4-5 hour drive from Kigali. It is bordered by the Rwanda-Burundi border in the South. Lake Kivu and the Democratic Republic of Congo lie on the west side of the park. It covers an area about 1020 sq.km and has an elevation of 1600-2950m above sea level. Roads that wind over hills and through tea plantations lead you to Nyungwe forest national park.  Here you can experience Kamiranzovu swamp, hiking trails through out, the forest canopy walk, birding, primate tracking and more.

Akagera National Park

Located in North Eastern Rwanda, at the country’s border with Tanzania, is Akagera National Park. A common view around Rwanda, the mountainous scenery surrounding Akagera National Park is quite simply beautiful. The landscape inside the park ranges from low, wide, plains dominated by grass and cactus-like Euphorbia candelabra shrub that morphs into both thick and thin forests amongst rugged terrain that is so characteristic of Rwanda. It is here you can experience the Big 5, and more, in Rwanda. The game drive experience is a scenic one, with wildlife like elephants, rhino, buffalos and antelope species including; elands and topis. There are also Maasai girafffes, monkeys, savannah birds, civets, leopards, hyenas, as well as serval cats. While you can self-drive around the park (staying on the designated roads), it is recommended you hire a guide who is so knowledgeable about the flora and the fauna that is found in the park.

Red Rocks Rwanda

Red Rocks is a spacious and friendly backpacker hostel, campsite, and cultural center situated in a picturesque valley surrounded by rolling hills with a spectacular view of Volcanoes National Park. It is the perfect place to base yourself for the amazing wildlife experience of gorilla trekking. ​At Red Rocks, the community comes first. Part of the bigger social enterprise, Red Rocks Initiative, Red Rocks believe in responsible tourism that directly serves local people, providing them with opportunity and empowerment by sharing their unique culture.

For more on Rwanda visit www.visitrwanda.com

 

 

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Capture 国内游价格普降三成 景区门票最高降50% 韩国拟打造本土赌场与中国城市争夺旅游市场 腾讯SOSO地图引入打车及本地优惠功能 Orient-Express partners with St Regis Quote of the Day 07 April 2011 Sumatra quake rattles Malaysia Shanghai population hits 22 million Thai-Cambodia border spat hits tourism Phocuswright 2016: Innovators, Innovators, Everywhere Innovators Oman Air makes gains despite loss 德国历史名城联盟旅游推荐会北京隆重举行 Jakarta airport to be expanded 港媒:免税店的中国小偷成泰国机场头疼对象 Malaysia wants faster clean-up after plane crashes 传统旅游淡季来临市民青睐“微旅游” TDA APPOINTMENTS 南航调整11条航线运价 长沙两航线票价上涨70元 挪威小镇人造“太阳”告别黑暗冬日 澳洲将斥巨资用于宣传以吸引中国游客 腾讯SOSO地图引入打车及本地优惠功能 United celebrates 85th birthday How To Sell: 1000 Reasons for Vienna How To Sell: Switzerland Orient-Express partners with St Regis 韩国拟打造本土赌场与中国城市争夺旅游市场 Quote of the Day 07 April 2011
Podcast: Stay in a lighthouse keepers cottage in Gippsland https://dev.traveldailymedia.com/podcast-stay-in-a-lighthouse-keepers-cottage-in-gippsland/ Mon, 02 Nov 2020 01:34:58 +0000 https://www.traveldailymedia.com/?guid=a3b9a08acf8e343df767bb5032b40e17 The post Podcast: Stay in a lighthouse keepers cottage in Gippsland appeared first on TD (Travel Daily Media) Brand TD.

Featuring: Paul Chai.. It seems strange to wish for bad weather on a trip, but I’m happy to see a squall heading my way. I am sitting on the back porch of the assistant lighthouse keeper’s cottage at Point Hicks in Gippsland.

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Stay in a lighthouse keepers cottage in Gippsland

 

 

It seems strange to wish for bad weather on a trip, but I’m happy to see a squall heading my way. I am sitting on the back porch of the assistant lighthouse keeper’s cottage at Point Hicks in Gippsland.

We are in the middle of a lighthouse road trip across the east of Victoria and the approaching inclement weather seems more in keeping with this epic slice of coastal real estate.

 

 

In my mind I am looking for the sea-swept lighthouses of fiction; wind and weather seem more in keeping with the harsh beauty of these places where land and sea collide and they make me think of the stoicism and isolation of the early lighthouse keepers.

The truth is that modern lighthouses are mostly automated. GPS has essentially replaced the lighthouse keeper and the lights are solar-powered, plastic and many times dimmer than their predecessors – they now draw in tourists rather than repel wayward vessels.

But what remains is the architectural wonder, the rich history and the rugged beauty of these ultimate waterfront properties.

We started our road trip with two days at Gabo Island, one of the most remote lighthouse stays that is under the remit of Parks Victoria. We park the car at Mallacoota airport and take a plane from Merimbula Air Services to island, a precaution in case the sea is too rough for a boat. But we needn’t have worried, the sun is shining and the sea is calm. But that is not always the case.

Gabo Island lightstation (the complex of lighthouse and accommodations) is located at a particularly dangerous spot where the Southern Ocean, Tasman Sea and Coral Sea all meet in a swirl of seawater that was perilous to early sailors.

Ships were lost regularly until Gabo Island lighthouse was first lit in 1862, hewn from the pink granite rocks that now surround the lighthouse.

Our home for the next two nights is the assistant lighthouse keeper’s cottage made from the same pink granite as the lighthouse. The three-bedroom house is decorated with seal skulls, feathers and ephemera that add to the wild feel of the island.

We have the island to ourselves, save for a couple of daytrippers who have their own boats, and Parks Victoria’s Leo Op Den Brouw, the modern lighthouse guardian who has watched over the island for 20 years.

“I think people like lighthouses because they are symbolic of security and a fixed place and coming home safely,” Op Den Brouw tells us on a tour of the lighthouse.

“You know that what you are doing here is part of something bigger, you are connected to all those ships that are going past – though probably more so in the early days.”

Gabo Island lighthouse at sunset sees the pink granite glow and the view from 47-metre-high tower is spectacular. In an era of disconnection it is good to remember there was a time when your safe passage along this dangerous coast was in the hands of a string on human beings manning these often lonely, and always labour-intensive, beacons of protection.

The following morning I take my coffee out to the back deck and watch a group of Australian fur seals on the red rocks, eyeing off a rival New Zealand fur seal colony a few bays over, staring balefully at each other like Wallabies and All-Blacks fans at a match. Later we dip our toe in the same bay as the New Zealanders, walk the length of the island to swim at the private beach, and end the day as the lighthouse keepers did, sitting around the family dinner table playing card games.

It’s still sunny when we arrive at Point Hicks, a few hours west of Gabo Island.

This lighthouse has been helping sailors since 1890 and the cottage was built soon after made with wood that was salvaged from a shipwreck. There are two assistant keepers cottages – Eastwinds and Westwinds – plus the head keeper’s residence as in its heyday Point Hicks was a three-man job. The feature of Point Hicks is the spiral staircase that is bolted to the sides of the lighthouse walls, with no central column, meaning you can get a vertigo-inducing view straight down, or up, as you climb the 162 steps to the top. But it was hardly a plum posting, so remote was it that even lighthouse keepers considered it a demotion.

But this isolation brings time to think, no phone, no wifi but plenty of wombats, dolphins, seals and a family of blue fairy wrens that welcome you to the property and rarely leave the back porch. The accommodation, which was only recently returned to Parks Victoria’s management, is homey and comfortable with a 180-degree horizon view from the sturdy furniture on the back porch – you may not be on an island here but, with the lighthouse wedged between the accommodation you feel more exposed at this stay, more at the whim of the elements.

And that’s when our weather arrives. We get a glimpse of the weather that wrecked the SS Saros and the SS Kerangie the remains of which are a short walk from the cottage. It whips up the scrub on a wander through a series of middens left by the traditional owners.

And it is the perfect setting for a ghost story from Parks Victoria Lightstation Office Paul Harper.

The tale involves Kristofferson, a keeper from the 1940s. A keen crayfisherman Kristofferson went out to check the craypots one night and never returned. Soon after people started hearing loud footsteps in the lighthouse when no one was around to make them.

“I’m not into ghosts but something was happening here,” Paul says.

“We had a succession of nights where we kept turning the stairway lights off in the lighthouse and they would be turned back on.”

Four years ago, Kristofferson’s younger sister died and her family called the lighthouse to tell them that on her deathbed she confessed suspicions her brother had been murdered after his wife was having an affair with the single assistant lighthouse keeper next door. Once this knowledge was public, Kristofferson, and his noisy boots, shuffled off.

From Point Hicks, our lighthouse tour takes us to Cape Liptrap Coastal Park and its resident lighthouse and finally on to Cape Schanck lighthouse on the Mornington Peninsula built in 1859 from the surrounding local limestone.

There were over 400 lights around Australia’s 36,000 kilometres of coastline and one of the best ways to experience this is to play keeper-for-a-day at these wild and wonderful places with Parks Victoria.

Five of the best

Wilsons Promontory Lighthouse

Built in 1859 from local granite, this Parks Victoria stay is for the hardy with a day’s walk out the accommodation, but it is one of the most remote places you can lay your head on the Victorian coast.

Cape Nelson

Cape Nelson is also looked after by Park Victoria and is located on the Great South West Walk; the lighthouse is open to the public every day.

Timeball Tower

An easy visit in the Melbourne suburb of Williamstown, the ball on the top of this lighthouse would drop at a certain point each day, so the boats moored offshore could set their clocks.

Cape Otway

This is the grand dame of lighthouses and is one of the oldest on the mainland, first casting light in 1848. Experience the light with day trips and history talks.

Point Lonsdale

The Queenscliff Maritime Museum conducts tours of this lighthouse on the Bellarine Peninsula

Where to stay

Parks Victoria has some of the most remote and historic stays in the state. For a full list visit Parkstay at parks.dpaw.wa.gov.au/park-stay.

The road trip also stopped over at The Riversleighin Bairnsdale, doubles from $180; riversleigh.com.au. And Bear Gully Coastal Cottages beachfront cottages, visit beargullycottages.com.au.

For more on the area visit visiteastgippsland.com.au

Disclosure: The writer explored Victoria with assistance from Parks Victoria

 

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Capture 旅行社与金融机构合作推“按揭旅游” World’s longest sea bridge to open in China Airbnb Your In-Laws this Holiday Season Airbnb Your In-Laws this Holiday Season TDA Face-to-Face: Jennifer Ranno, EZYield 旅行社与金融机构合作推“按揭旅游” Chinese planes questioned after Indonesia crash 年末打折季带火境外购物游 欧美最热 World’s longest sea bridge to open in China Airbnb Your In-Laws this Holiday Season
Podcast: Transatlantic antics on Queen Mary 2 https://dev.traveldailymedia.com/podcast-transatlantic-antics-queen-mary-2/ Sun, 01 Nov 2020 23:33:03 +0000 https://www.traveldailymedia.com/?guid=e7a8bcfbf99d56b1b650f1ff41b2885f The post Podcast: Transatlantic antics on Queen Mary 2 appeared first on TD (Travel Daily Media) Brand TD.

We boarded, efficiently at Brooklyn Terminal in New York, the queue moving steadily towards the luxurious lobby of Cunard’s flagship liner, the transatlantic doyen, Queen Mary 2...

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Transatlantic antics on Queen Mary 2

 

We boarded, efficiently at Brooklyn Terminal in New York, the queue moving steadily towards the luxurious lobby of Cunard’s flagship liner, the transatlantic doyen, Queen Mary 2, patiently tied up, loading her supplies and 2100 passengers with their luggage.

This was our first cruise on a large liner, we had only two previous commercial cruises, on small Ponant yachts, that accommodated only 130 cabins. We were more used to private yacht charters for 10-12 people or our own boat. We had booked with trepidation, 3 Cunard cruises, back to back.

 

 

As we stepped aboard, we joined a line of guests moving past a welcoming committee of beautifully tailored and immaculately uniformed officers and the Captain. Smiling, shaking hands or gesturing us to embark, and myriad staff adopting each guest to escort them to their cabin.

As we followed our escort to our eagerly awaited balcony Britannia suite cabin, it was evident that this cruise liner was well-loved and cared for with the most excellent attention to detail. The carpet in the gangways had been meticulously swept against the pile to create a new, plush, “you’re the first to step on it” feeling.

When our cases arrived, we were amazed at how we were able to empty the contents into the ample wardrobe and drawers with space and coat-hangers to spare. Bonus! Our cabin steward or “house mouse” who was to look after us the entire seven days, pointed out the intelligent bed design, that was high enough to allow luggage storage underneath.

Time to hit the decks exploring. The source of that band music on the back deck, turned out to be the party venue for the “Sail Away” party, with dancing, drinking and observing the host port, New York become enveloped in a massive history-making thunderstorm, triggering Government phone alerts. As we steamed away from real-life dramas, we entered the serene biosphere of a seven-day transatlantic crossing.

A few beers, a deck spa and a chat with other excited sailors later, it was time to dress up for our first dinner in the Britannia Grill Restaurant, at our chosen time slot for the week of “late” adults, a sitting reserved for us at 830pm each night.

Here we encountered our “first night – oh dear” moments. On arrival at the grand entrance, our Maitre d’ – Atilla clucked his tongue, observing my husband’s lack of tie, and his jacket slung over his arm. “Oh no!” he remonstrated, a jacket must be worn, at least to the table, and “Would Sir like to borrow a tie, as he had clearly forgotten his?”

Dress code addressed we followed the agile Atilla up an endless series of stairs, up to the bleachers, and across the already packed restaurant to a table for twelve – where he beckoned to two seats opposite each other, straddled in the middle of 10 other strangers. On one side of a chair was a mute teenage boy, frowning at us and the other side of the table sat an elderly gent – probably in his 80’s.

This was to be our table seating for the entire seven day cruise, Atilla triumphantly announced.

Little did he know what force of resistance he had come up against. No. No No!

I have not paid this sort of money to spend a romantic seven days with my husband after the most stressful 18 months, sitting here. We expected a beautiful table for two, where we could unwind, catch up and reconnect.

A wave of a $20 note produced an intimate ringside table overlooking the lower level of the theatrical restaurant. We dined every evening, with tie and jacket at our intimate table for two, and a smile from Atilla.

Walking is the new black on a large liner. Always one to buck authority,  and being from Australia, where our water drains anti- clockwise – so, I walked anti-clockwise much to the disgust of 99% of the human sheep. But I got to see them all face on, and it was sport to me to observe who was happy, angry, frustrated trying to overtake dawdlers. Detours up stairs and gangways revealed many surprises.

On day one, with the sun shining and the sea wind whistling in my ears, I climbed eight flights of stairs to the top deck and discovered the posh Queen Mary kennels. Eleven dogs were being stylishly transported to London , with QM2 rain coats for inclement weather, visits from family in the lounge area or in the outdoor exercise area, complete with a US red fire hydrant to pee on, before settling into luxury cages for the evening.

At the very front of the ship on the deck sat 4 huge, smooth, dark grey sculptures, like a hump-back whale outline. I marvelled at the artistic display for days, until I stopped and read the small plaque, declaring they were in fact spare propellers, in case of emergency. I could not imagine how they would have entertained replacing them at sea, but spare they were, in case.

Opposite the spares, was a huge brass bell proclaiming 2003 as the QM2 launch date, that was evidently regularly polished, and was fortunately protected in a Perspex cabinet, because my rebellious streak would have seen me ringing it each time as I walked anti-clockwise on the deck.

The corridor forward of the ship, on both sides was dedicated to table games. Cards, Scrabble, Monopoly, Mah-jong and jigsaw puzzles. Seated at deep picture windows just above (mostly) the waterline they provided hours of entertainment as the sea and occasional mammal passed by.

The theatre offered such diverse entertainment each night, with a show at 830pm for early diners and 1030 for late sittings. Plush red tub chairs stage-side with drinks service, and 2 levels of audience all faultlessly silent and respectful of the acts, witnessed seven shows, ranging from top comedians, to Cirque style circuses, musical theatre and magicians. Departing the theatre, the crowd pushed you through the casino, where many were lost, into the overspilling bars and lounge areas that served guests till the wee hours.

You could never go hungry on QM2. Specialty Restaurants serving top cuts of beef, Japanese cuisine or French specialities, expansive buffets, operating seemingly 24 hours, and a 24/7 in-cabin service, ensured the walking “sheep brigade” never missed a lap.

All too soon we passed Land’s End in Cornwall, where a phenomenal coincidence had me passing by my father’s last residence, on the exact 30th anniversary of his last living birthday on this earth.

Docking at Southampton before dawn, we ended a smooth, incident free transatlantic crossing. Eating wakame, sushi and muffins for breakfast, I watched the dogs excitedly smell land again.

The we disembarked and headed 500M to board Queen Elizabeth to cruise for 14 days to the Arctic Circle and Norway.

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Capture 全球各大豪华酒店为揽中国游客各出新招 The 20 habits of eventual millionaires 越南推旅游发展战略 力争两年吸引750万外国游客 Air France launches A380 flights to Canada Best Western pens deal with Virgin Atlantic The 20 habits of eventual millionaires 全球各大豪华酒店为揽中国游客各出新招 Air China signs deal with China Telecom Hanoi to restore Old Quarter Hijacker overpowered on Alitalia flight 越南推旅游发展战略 力争两年吸引750万外国游客 Best Western pens deal with Virgin Atlantic Air France launches A380 flights to Canada The 20 habits of eventual millionaires 全球各大豪华酒店为揽中国游客各出新招
Podcast: Red Rocks Intiatives Rwanda founder, Greg Bakunzi https://dev.traveldailymedia.com/podcast-greg-bakunzi/ Sat, 31 Oct 2020 11:29:39 +0000 https://www.traveldailymedia.com/?guid=48c58ee87b552f8e799667ea1078f430 The post Podcast: Red Rocks Intiatives Rwanda founder, Greg Bakunzi appeared first on TD (Travel Daily Media) Brand TD.

Featuring: Kate Webster & Steve Collins
Red Rocks founder, Greg Bakunzi, moulded Red Rocks Rwanda to be community-based organizations, where the local community can gain from tourism activities, and in the process, have a sustainable income.

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Red Rocks Rwanda

 

 

Red Rocks founder, Greg Bakunzi, moulded Red Rocks Rwanda to be community-based organizations, where the local community can gain from tourism activities, and in the process, have a sustainable income. Red Rocks brings under-served communities into the tourism supply chain and supports community development projects that help people help themselves through Red Rocks Initiatives.

Red Rocks is a spacious and friendly backpacker hostel, campsite, and cultural centre situated in a picturesque valley surrounded by rolling hills with a spectacular view of Volcanoes National Park. It is the perfect place to base yourself for the amazing wildlife experience of gorilla trekking.

 

 

​At Red Rocks, the community comes first. Part of the bigger social enterprise, Red Rocks Initiative, Red Rocks believe in responsible tourism that directly serves local people, providing them with opportunity and empowerment by sharing their unique culture.

Everywhere you look at Red Rocks, it oozes Rwanda culture. The walls are covered with colourful​ artworks by talented resident artist Zulu. Accommodation comes in the form of a bed in the private rooms (single, twin and double) big safari tents or a campsite with tents available for hire. Bathrooms are shared and include hot showers, soap and towels are provided free of charge.

There are also options to stay in a GAKONDO, literally meaning – “Heritage”, a traditional Rwandan local house built by local builders. Its architectural structure in the Rwandan style is fundamentally connected with traditions and customs of the Rwandese local life and traditional architecture. All the cottages are located in a Secured and relaxed tranquil environment in which you can reconnect with nature. All Rooms equipped with a Double Bed – Per Person rate; US $ 25, breakfast included.

In addition to this, there are a wide range of facilities, including a fully stocked bar, ping pong table, volleyball court, fire pit and even a community-run souvenir shop with locally made handicrafts and artworks.

You will be kept busy with activities like volleyball, table tennis, bicycle hire, tattoo studio, cable TV, recording studio, nightclub, chill out area with beds and hammocks and a fire pit. There are also a large range of cultural activities on offer upon request, including; banana beer making, cooking lessons, basket weaving, home stays, agricultural tours, tree planting, heritage walks, painting lessons.

 

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Capture Orient-Express partners with St Regis How To Sell: 1000 Reasons for Vienna United celebrates 85th birthday 新《旅游法》实施1个月 导游从月入万元降至3千 W Hotels to debut in Malaysia ATE injects US$10.5m into Sydney economy Phocuswright 2016: The Board of Directors trip down memory lane 日观光厅成立5周年 “观光立国”政策面临考验 Worldhotels partners Finnair 金正恩要多打造旅游胜地 韩媒称其欲发展经济 China Airlines partners hotel for in-flight meals Exotissimo supports disabled volleyball event LEADERSHIP: Joe Calloway – Keep it Simple Regal to launch luxury hotel brand 东京成田机场举行外国游客COSPLAY体验活动 东南亚游爆出史上最低价 Airbus builds new eco-friendly base 第52届ICCA全球年会首次移师上海举行 PATA to expand chapters Orient-Express partners with St Regis
Podcast: Hawkes Bay New Zealand https://dev.traveldailymedia.com/podcast-hawkes-bay-new-zealand/ Sat, 24 Oct 2020 03:39:57 +0000 https://www.traveldailymedia.com/?guid=2d22111eabe176b556e554689fa9d39d The post Podcast: Hawkes Bay New Zealand appeared first on TD (Travel Daily Media) Brand TD.

As it juts out into the Pacific Ocean, the folk in Hawke’s Bay boast that it is the first place in New Zealand to see the sunrise.

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Hawkes Bay New Zealand

 


A lovey place to visit is Hawke’s Bay.

From Mahia in the north to Porangahau in the south, Hawke’s Bay’s 360 kilometres of coastline and beaches hugs the vast Pacific Ocean.

Located on the east coast of the North Island, Hawke’s Bay is famous for its wines, and the lovely art deco city of Napier.

 

 

As it juts out into the Pacific Ocean, the folk in Hawke’s Bay boast that it is the first place in New Zealand to see the sunrise. Certainly, the region does allow some wonderful of the magnificent coastline, with stunning, craggy landscape of Cape Kidnappers at the southern boundary of the bay.  The Cape is just about a 30 minute drive from the two major towns of Hastings and Napier.

The name comes from an incident between Captain Cook, during his visit in 1769, and local Maoris, who kidnapped a Tahitian cabin boy.

One of New Zealand’s longest sandy beaches can also be found at Hawke Bay.  This is Waimarama Beach, which attracts many visitors during summer, and at other times of the year. One of the major attractions here is Hakikino, the remnants of an ancient Maori fortress, which still has great significance for the local indigenous people.

Hawke Bay is the name of the 100 kilometre-long curved bay which has its northern border at the Mahia Peninsular. Hawke’s Bay is the name of the region, which includes the inland areas.

Watch out for place names here, because Hawke’s Bay has a hill which the Guinness Book of World Records says has the world’s longest name. It is a 57-letter Maori word Taumatawhakatangi­hangakoauauotamatea­turipukakapikimaunga­horonukupokaiwhen­uakitanatahu, which has the poetic meaning “The summit where Tamatea, the man with the big knees, the slider, climber of mountains, the land-swallower who travelled about, played his nose flute to his loved one”.

If you like to sample the juice of the grape, Hawke’s Bay is New Zealand’s oldest wine region and home to over 200 vineyards, 76 wineries and 38 cellar doors.  The most widely planted grape varieties are Chardonnay, as the conditions here are just right for producing good whites, and Merlot Cabernet blends.  This is because the area has a long ripening season, so is producing goods reds as well.

One of the most charming places that I have visited is the city of Napier, which owes a 7.8 magnitude earthquake that devastated the Hawke’s Bay region in February 1931, killing 256 and injuring thousands more for its emergence as a quite beautiful art deco city.

City landowners take pride in the beauty of their historic buildings, which have been painted in colours and hues that were popular in the age of art deco design.

The main reason why Art Deco was chosen was because it was fashionable and Napier wanted to be modern. Originating in Europe and most popular from 1920 to 1940, the Art Deco style was at its peak popularity for buildings in the early 1930s. Decorative themes include sunbursts and fountains, skyscraper shapes, symbols of speed, power and flight, geometric shapes and ancient cultures.

New Zealand has many regions which are blessed with magnificent scenery.  Hawke’s Bay may not be as dramatic as some of them.  It is, nonetheless, a beautiful region that is certainly worth being included as part of your itinerary.

To learn more visit www.newzealand.com/au/hawkes-bay/

Disclosure: The writer explored Hawke’s Bay as part of a private holiday

 

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Capture Thai airline plans to build southern hub One dead in Java boat accident Shanghai Zoo unveils hyenas Thai airline plans to build southern hub One dead in Java boat accident
Podcast: The Bernina Express Switzerland https://dev.traveldailymedia.com/podcast-bernina-express-switzerland/ Sat, 24 Oct 2020 03:10:46 +0000 https://www.traveldailymedia.com/?guid=14b25996beeabe8168f7f1e950bb66b3 The post Podcast: The Bernina Express Switzerland appeared first on TD (Travel Daily Media) Brand TD.

Switzerland, because of its mountainous landscape and magnificent lakes, is renowned for its attractive and amazingly-engineered railway lines, some of which are so steep they seem to defy gravity. 

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The Bernina Express Switzerland

 

Switzerland, because of its mountainous landscape and magnificent lakes, is renowned for its attractive and amazingly-engineered railway lines, some of which are so steep they seem to defy gravity.  One train that has a grand reputation for its great beauty and eye-popping gradients is the Bernina Express.

 

 

This is a well-named panoramic train, which runs between Switzerland’s oldest city, Chur and the Italian town of Tirano.  The Bernina Express runs along a one-metre narrow gauge railway that is over a century old.  It was originally built to exist in harmony with the surrounding countryside, a decision which meant that some very intricate engineering decisions had to be mastered in order to complete the line.

Many of the principles which were incorporated in the line served as the template for other complicated railways in Switzerland and elsewhere.  In the Bernina area, the railway is quite unique, being the highest altitude transalpine railway and one of the steepest adhesion railways in the world.

The Bernina Express is a four-hour journey via an impressive piece of railway engineering: the train reaches an altitude of 2253 m. It requires lots of spiral loops, 55 tunnels and 196 bridges to accomplish this.

Incredible scenery

The landscape varies greatly, from high alpine scenery on the Bernina Pass to Mediterranean scenery in the Poschiavo valley to Tirano.

The railway passes through the Albula Valley.  An amazing journey, it passes across many viaducts.  Some of these are utterly spectacular, such as the Solis Viaduct, which is made from limestone and has eleven arches.  Built in 1902 it is 89 metres high, 164 metres long, and has a main span of 42 metres.

A viaduct with a very tight turn is the Landwasser Viaduct, which can be seen long before you actually cross it.  This viaduct has six arch spans 20 metres in width which rest on five high pillars. You approach via a steep gradient and once on the viaduct traverse a circular arc with a radius of just 100 metres. The south eastern abutment of the viaduct is located on a high cliff, and at that point, the tracks lead directly into the 216 metres-long Landwasser Tunnel.

The Albula tunnel leads to the high Upper Engadine valley, where Pontresina is one of the prominent towns. This valley sits at such a high altitude that its climate is considerably different from climates in other Swiss valleys. You will not see many deciduous trees here. It’s a fantastic winter sports region.

In the high Alps

The Lago Bianco (White Lake) will come into sight, and soon after the Bernina Express will reach the small station of Ospizio Bernina. This marks the highest point of the route, at 2253 m over sea level.

I did this journey in May, when there was still plenty of snow around, and long icicles hanging from the station eaves, making it a most magical place.

The train now begins its dramatic descent of 1824 m, all the way to Tirano at 429 m.

The most audacious engineering is on the section between Bergün and Preda. In order to overcome the height difference of 417m between the towns, in a distance of only 6.5 km the route is extended for 12km by a series of stunning engineering structures which includes a series of spiral tunnels and a couple of curved tunnels and viaducts to provide one of the most fascinating rail journeys in the world.

The scenery, in any season, is glorious, and the railway is considered to be so unique that, and the surrounding countryside, has been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site so that it can be preserved for future generations to enjoy.

For more visit www.sbb.ch/en/leisure-holidays/

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Capture “多彩贵州”中国旅游卡 打造无障碍金融服务 STR, Newmarket joins forces STR, Newmarket join forces Hawaiian Airlines receives new A330 朗廷欲5年全球开50家 主打逸东华和朗豪 New7Wonders winners can expect US$1bn windfall FACE-TO-FACE: Charles de Foucault, AYANA JAL flight suspensions continue in May Hawaiian Airlines receives new A330
Podcast: A tale of two cities https://dev.traveldailymedia.com/podcast-a-tale-of-two-cities/ Sat, 24 Oct 2020 03:02:36 +0000 https://www.traveldailymedia.com/?guid=c5eecae814791bb382642262dab7c0bb The post Podcast: A tale of two cities appeared first on TD (Travel Daily Media) Brand TD.

Featuring: Paul Chai..When I first visited the Burmese city of Yangon ten years ago it was far from sleepy. Soon after arrival I found myself tucking into a spicy salad of fermented tea leaves, or laphet, at 4am in the morning in a bustling night market.

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A tale of two cities

 

When I first visited the Burmese city of Yangon ten years ago it was far from sleepy. Soon after arrival I found myself tucking into a spicy salad of fermented tea leaves, or laphet, at 4am in the morning in a bustling night market. Returning recently there has been simultaneously great change and yet it looks very similar. Great hopes for democracy may have been dashed, but street life goes on and the city still has a shambolic charm and a slow pace unlike many of its regional counterparts.

 

My hotel back then, was the Governor’s Residence, a Colonial throwback in the best sense of the word and was originally a two-storey teak residence built for one of the governors of Myanmar’s south. Now it is an Orient-Express property run with a keen eye for local colour. Evenings, they have a Burmese curry spread that is one of the best ways to experience the local cuisine that is a mix of salads and rich curries that lean away from the spice of nearby Vietnam and Thailand without sacrificing flavour.

The next day I take a post-breakfast stroll to explore the city. Walking can be a hazardous mode of transport here with few clear road crossings and pavement like a smashed crockery, but you get into groove of things, hopscotching your way past walls covered in voluptuously beautiful Burmese script and quietly wilting Colonial buildings. Cross-legged stallholders sell piles of deep-fried locusts, handmade shop signs and betel nut, that stains teeth dark red.

Up Pyay Road through People’s Park I spy the famous golden dome of Shwedagon Pagoda, the geographical and spiritual heart of Yangon, as well as the scene of some of its saddest and uplifting moments of political struggle

The pagoda (or paya) itself, is 322 feet of gold leaf opulence crowned with more than 1100 diamonds, with another 1300 precious stones studded around the peak.

Sunset is the most popular time to visit as this amazingly extravagant nod to the humble Buddha reflects the changing light, while around its base is something of a Buddhist theme park with many statues, the great man’s footprint and a replica of the Buddha tooth relic in Singapore; adding to the Nirvana-land effect is the Burmese habit of giving their Buddhas LCD halos that pulse in a multitude of colours.

Pilgrims circle the paya clockwise sans shoes and socks and prostrate themselves in front of their deity of choice or pray at the various stations that correspond to the day they were born. The whole area is buzzing with monks, tourists and an inordinate amount of vocal black crows.

When I leave I wonder what the city, in the midst of huge change, will look like in the future.

Same but different

Image supplied by Awei Metta Hotel

Ten years later I am excited to be returning to Yangon, this time based at a modern golfing resort just outside of the city limits.

Awei Metta, in the gated community of Pun Hlaing Estate, sits across the Hlaing River from downtown Yangon and is a peaceful collection of housing, country club and the Awei Metta hotel.

The large open reception is hung with dramatic portraits by Belgian artist Christian Develter who has lived and worked in Asia since the 90s. Check-in takes place in the cigar bar where another Develter portrait oversees things from the wall that has teak detailing and comfortable lounges. For non-smokers, you can sit on the deck overlooking the perfectly coiffed golf greens. The hotel has a sleek, modern feel with nods to local culture such as a welcome longyi, a traditional long wraparound sarong worn by men and women.

My stay is the polar opposite of the Colonial digs of ten years ago but I am just as eager to explore the town. Yangon had become a tourist darling in my absence, and then political unrest meant it had not fully realised its potential; I am not sure what to expect.

Instead of walking I am talking the very new Elephant Coach tour that takes you around the former Burnese capital in retro-style. It is modelled on an old troop carrier, but the seats have been reduced to accommodate half a dozen people; the interiors are fashioned from local teak and rosewood, with carved elephants as doorhandles, tiny chiselled hands to hold your curtain aside and sculpted faces to blow cool air onto you – it is a reimagined Colonial extravagance that manages to be both whimsical and comforting, overindulgent and lot of fun.

And we are not even the most interesting thing on the road. The byways are packed with party trucks full of revellers, hanging off the backs of the vehicles, beating decorated bamboo drums, and pumping out dance music. It is the end of Yangon’s Tazaungdaing Festival, the end-of-the-rainy-season festival of light, and the parks are strung with lanterns and fairy lights are twisted into sculptures of animals. On the busy streets the devout queue along the city’s smashed-pavlova pavements to donate new robes to the Buddhist monks.

Our first stop is the Yangon Heritage Trust the organisation tasked with preserving the crumbling past and charting a new future that includes a bold new development to open up the riverside and port.

Back on the bus we make a grand entrance to the Former Secretariat office, driving our Elephant Coach past guards and along the tree-lined walkways on the 14-acre property. Built in 1890 the Secretariat was only recently renovated and had been off limits to the public for decades due to its notoriety. It is hard to believe as the sun hits the blazingly gold façade and locals take selfies on the ornate double spiral staircase, but this building is the birthplace of Burma’s woes.

In July 1947 armed thugs broke into the Secretariat and assassinated Bogyoke Aung San, the man credited with freeing the country from the British, along with his cabinet ministers; they died just six months before Burma was to gain independence. Chaos and a military regime followed.

Now you can stand in the ghostly quiet chamber where the assassination took place and look at black-and-white portraits of the victims lining the duck-egg-blue walls; a tattered national flag looks over the long-empty wooden pews.

After boarding our Colonial coach the mood is more sombre as we once again head out onto past the Yangon Stock Exchange, home to just six listed stocks. The Secretariat was a chapter in Yangon’s history that was closed from locals and tourists alike that is now open for all to see.

Burmese politics may not have changed for the better since my last visit, but neither has my love for this incredible south-east Asian city.

Images supplied by Memories Travel

Disclosure: The writer explored Myanmar with assistance from Memories Travel

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Capture 2012年赴芝加哥中国游客位居国际游客前三 2012年赴芝加哥中国游客位居国际游客前三 Etihad CEO visits Bangkok and Singapore 瑞典旅游局举办年度推介会 诉求「慢游瑞典」
Podcast: Toden Arakawa Tramway Tokyo https://dev.traveldailymedia.com/podcast-toden-arakawa-tramway-tokyo/ Sat, 24 Oct 2020 02:53:57 +0000 https://www.traveldailymedia.com/?guid=851d672f60c5f8471f647d1b46775fb8 The post Podcast: Toden Arakawa Tramway Tokyo appeared first on TD (Travel Daily Media) Brand TD.

I had the great pleasure to ride on one of Tokyo’s last remaining tram lines, the Toden Arakawa Tramway. Public transport is a necessity in Tokyo, and the city is fortunate to have an excellent rail and bus service.

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Toden Arakawa Tramway Tokyo

 

Public transport is a necessity in Tokyo, and the city is fortunate to have an excellent rail and bus service.

Apparently, Tokyo used also to have a good tram network.  Sadly, most of those have now disappeared, but the Toden Arakawa Tramway is still going strong.

The local name for the trams is chin chin densha, and I was lucky enough to be riding in an older model carriage, which gave me a sense of history.

Being a lover of trams, and, also, someone who when travelling likes to get out and about in non-touristy area, I took the trouble to find the tramway and enjoy a very pleasant ride.

Tokyo’s last remaining tram

The tramway actually runs through the northern and eastern suburbs of Tokyo.

It is strictly a local tram service, which was part of its appeal to me, as I didn’t really want to ride a service that catered mainly for tourists.

The entire length of the track is just over 12 kilometres, and it runs from Minowabashi to Waseda.

I had a rail pass, which included travel on the tram, so rode the tram from Machiya-Ekimae to Otsuka-Ekimae, a distance of about seven kilometres.

Upon exiting Machiya railway station I had no trouble finding the tram stop, so stopped to take some photos before boarding my tram.

Although the tramway does cross many roads, for most of its journey it occupies a separate tramline which travels between buildings.  There is one section where it enters a main road, and follows a course up the centre of the road, negotiating a reasonably steep hill on the way.

The tram that I boarded was barely occupied, and so I did manage to get a seat up the back of the carriage so that I had a great view of the route we were taking.

Although the Japanese are very polite people, I could see some were taken aback to see a westerner on their local tram.  I am sure that it is not usual to share the tram with occidentals, and I was the only westerner that I saw, anywhere, during the whole trip.

Apart from the thrill of riding a tram, I was most intrigued by the areas we were traversing.

A great local experience

This was the true Tokyo, the one which locals know so well.

It was a great joy to see a Tokyo that was so suburban, and I really enjoyed watching the locals go about their normal business.

Trams move at a reasonable space, and this one seemed to stop every several hundred metres or so, which gave me plenty of time, and opportunity, to rubber neck the local communities, and to gain an appreciation for a slice of Tokyo life which seemed to be less frantic than that which I had witnessed at Shinagawa Station, near where I was staying.

All too soon we reached Otsuka-Ekimae, where I paused to take more photos, and to enjoy the sight of those trams rattling off into the distance.

A few minutes later I was back on the train to busy Shinagawa.

A day later and I was on the Shinkansen, the Bullet Train, racing across the countryside at over 300 kmh, thinking that somehow, between the Token Arakawa Tramway and the Shinkansen I had somehow lost a century.

Then I discovered that the Shinkansen is actually older than the tramway, which was re-opened in 1974, and that’s when I gained a deeper respect for the Japanese sense of tradition.

Ride it yourself HERE

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Capture Twelve die in China hailstorm 美国运通与阿航Skywards常旅客计划达成合作 Dodgem driver fails to dodge traffic cops 广东星湖国家湿地公园(试点)正式通过国家验收 Quote of the Day 18 April 2011 Ascott to debut in Macau Two of the Most Powerful Words in the English Language 专访安纳塔拉酒店集团 Michael Marshall和Mark Thomson Singapore Marriott to host Red Bull F1 display 广东星湖国家湿地公园(试点)正式通过国家验收 Quote of the Day 18 April 2011
Podcast: 5 Outstanding Curiosities of Architect and Designer Bill Bensley https://dev.traveldailymedia.com/podcast-bill-bensley/ Sat, 24 Oct 2020 02:45:28 +0000 https://www.traveldailymedia.com/?guid=a2d5671940ef33d3d4011769b02aa39b The post Podcast: 5 Outstanding Curiosities of Architect and Designer Bill Bensley appeared first on TD (Travel Daily Media) Brand TD.

Featuring: Steve Collins and Bill Bensley
Who is Bill Bensley you may ask? The Bangkok-based architect famous for his design work on one-of-a-kind luxury hotels is just as unique as his work.

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5 Outstanding Curiosities of Architect and Designer Bill Bensley

Who is Bill Bensley you may ask? The Bangkok-based architect famous for his design work on one-of-a-kind luxury hotels is just as unique as his work. He has masterminded over 200 properties in 30-plus countries, designed jewellery to save wildlife and puts conservation in high regard.

Here are just a few of the outstanding curiosities that are Bill Bensley.

 

He is passionate about conservation

So he bought 875,000 trees, 4.5 kilometres of wild river and three magnificent waterfalls, saving it from becoming a titanium mine. Instead, he bought the land that was for sale by government, land that had been designated for logging, and instead created the extraordinary Shinta Mani Wild. It is Cambodia’s most unique tented camp experience, located in the heart of the South Cardamom rainforest. During a stay at Shinta Mani Wild, guests select one of 15 luxury tents – there is one tent to every 66 acres of forest – and not a single tree was cut down in the building process – so guests are well and truly immersed in the greatest of great outdoors.

You arrive at the resort via a 400m zipline over the forest canopy, river and waterfalls.

Resetting every year

He takes one month off every year and heads to Mongolia, with friends and some of his Thai staff, taking them from the urban jungle of Bangkok to the wilderness where they camp Mongolian style, hike, horseback ride, catch and release non-barb fly fish, never seeing another person.  During this month they are totally disconnected from the electronic world, no email, phones, internet or social media.  Just a total reset of his focus and creativity. This is Bill’s true luxury

He understands that education is critical to the planet

Along with its partnership with NGO Wildlife Alliance, Shinta Mani Wild and the Shinta Mani Foundation support the local community, teaching Cambodians that conservation is more valuable than extraction through community outreach and environmental education programs – these started long before the camp was built. Shinta Mani Wild employs 120 people, 70% of whom are from the local village. Many were poachers and loggers before the tented camp was built, as this region had little infrastructure and fewer opportunities to work, before Bill.

He doesn’t just talk the talk

The entire design studios and office, along with his home is “off the grid” during working hours. So, undistracted, Bill, along with his team of up to 100 architects, designers and artists, work in “a phone-free zone.”  How refreshing.  He is truly a man who walks his talk, not just talks the talk.

Can an earring save an elephant?

Yes, it can, but only if it is a part of the exquisite ‘Nature’s Treasury’ collection by Australian bespoke jeweller Kate McCoy, and raising money for Wildlife Alliance environmental protection at Shinta Mani Wild. The Bamboo collection was created as a homage to the sustainable nature of bamboo, a fast-growing, robust material that can be used in furniture, building and crafts in place of the virgin forests that are illegally logged in the areas surrounding Shinta Mani Wild. Priced at US$26,375 it is designed for the big-hearted not the faint-hearted. Or take an Amaranthine Orchids earring. At USD 28,680 they protect 100% of Shinta Mani Wild forest and its wildlife (843 acres) for 66 days.

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Capture 合众国航空计划于明年第1季度退出星空联盟 Asian countries see surge in hotel development
Podcast: Kid friendly fun at the Novotel Phuket Surin Beach https://dev.traveldailymedia.com/podcast-novotel-phuket-surin-beach/ Sat, 24 Oct 2020 02:36:05 +0000 https://www.traveldailymedia.com/?guid=cc66d62c27c40a246287d521890f1c0f The post Podcast: Kid friendly fun at the Novotel Phuket Surin Beach appeared first on TD (Travel Daily Media) Brand TD.

Featuring: Rafferty Laight
I know parents think they know it all when it comes to what makes a holiday resort kid-friendly, but I reckon the best way is to ask a kid, which is why I’m going to tell you what makes Novotel Phuket Surin Beach Resort cool ...

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Kid friendly fun at the Novotel Phuket Surin Beach

 

 

I know parents think they know it all when it comes to what makes a holiday resort kid-friendly, but I reckon the best way is to ask a kid, which is why I’m going to tell you what makes Novotel Phuket Surin Beach Resort cool for kids.

To start we were greeted with welcome drinks and a backpack full of goodies, including sunglasses and water pistols before being escorted to our room which was packed with even more welcome treats like chocolates, fresh drinking coconuts, a big cuddly bear for my sister and a family of towel elephants.

 

But I couldn’t see beyond the in-room PlayStation. At least until mum opened the blinds to reveal the huge lagoon pool.  It has two awesome slides and incredible pool activities like pool Olympics, overwater Muay Thai boxing and inflatable zorb water walking balls and a genius Popsicle Hotline where you can dial up a free popsicle, anytime of the day you like. There’s also a fun weekly foam party where they fill the pool with so much foam it feels like you’re in the world’s biggest bubble bath. And the pool is open until late, so even after dark you can splash and soak and play. And if you can tear yourself away from all the Novotel Phuket Surin fun, Surin Beach is just across the road.

But this hotel offers so much more than just great rooms, a beachfront location and an epic pool.  The resort’s Siam Adventure Club is hosted by a squad of rangers who have to be the funeest people in the whole of Phuket. It’s an awesome program for kids that includes all kinds of awesome activities like umbrella painting and origami, movies and pool games. Plus, there are a stack of cool board games like Connect Four, Guess Who and Jenga at the Siam Adventure Club Tour Desk, where anyone crazy enough to want to actually leave this awesome place can organise tours of the island. Then there is the two-storey Kids World Kids club with indoor and outdoor games plus activities like Thai dancing and crafts, a playground with climbing structures and a slide, a ball pit for younger kids and a PlayStation 4 room, complete with bean bags.

One of my favourite activities in the Kids World Kids club was a Muay Thai Lesson. The resort’s instructor took us through our paces, teaching us how to punch with crosses, jabs and hooks, plus turning kicks.  But wait, there’s more. There’s an in-house arcade with Mario Kart, Pacman and other cool video games. Once we’d totally nailed Mario Kart, there was also a mega ping pong table and a pool table. Plus, get this, there’s an in-house candy store with shelves full of every kind of lolly and chocolate imaginable.

I have to talk about the food because bad hotel food is a deal breaker for me. So, I am happy to say that the food at Novotel Surin Beach is amazing form morning until night. The breakfast buffet is good, with all the usual western dishes, mega platters of tropical fruit and some local dishes too. At lunch we ate poolside at Joe Kools. A Thai Green Curry was delish but so were the wood-fired pizzas.  Dinner at Asia Alive rocked my tastebuds with creamy red duck curry, whole Thai-style spicy fish, and my new favourite dessert, mango sticky rice. I just wish they did deliveries… to Australia.

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Capture 中华航空荣膺“2013亚洲职棒大赛”指定航空 Anantara unveils first property in Vietnam The Saff boutique hotel opens in Singapore Top 5 Tips to Visiting Pearl Harbor Asia Pacific arrivals increase 5% in February YTL launches Shook! Shanghai 中华航空荣膺“2013亚洲职棒大赛”指定航空
Podcast: Sanur the Quieter Side of Bali https://dev.traveldailymedia.com/podcast-sanur-the-quieter-side-of-bali/ Wed, 07 Oct 2020 07:17:40 +0000 https://www.traveldailymedia.com/?guid=ff7393e2cc38012e7d0583ffc1437f57 The post Podcast: Sanur the Quieter Side of Bali appeared first on TD (Travel Daily Media) Brand TD.

Sanur is certainly a much laid back place, although it is still home to many hotels. You are less likely to be hounded by hawkers at Sanur, but some of the stall holders in the markets can be very insistent in their aggressive ...

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Sanur the Quieter Side of Bali

 

I’ve been a frequent visitor to Bali, Indonesia’s famed holiday isle.

Bali is an island with many faces.  The predominant religion here is Hinduism, and signs of that belief are everywhere, with offerings, altars and small temples common in every home and workplace.

The most popular tourist resorts are in the south of the island, centred near the city of Denpasar.

 

 

Along the southern coastline is the village of Kuta, which was once famed for its surf beach, but is now better known for its hotels, bars, nightclubs, shops, street hustlers, traffic jams, West Australian Bogans and crowds.

When I visit Bali I prefer to avoid Kuta.  Whilst many people love to stay in Kuta, I try to stay away from the place because, in my humble opinion, it does not represent anything that is good about Bali at all. I much prefer to stay in Sanur, which is on the other side of Benoa Harbour and is a lot quieter than Kuta.

For me, the beach at Sanur is superior to the beach at Kuta.  The sand is whiter (Kuta’s beach is made of volcanic sand, which is a dull grey colour), and the township has more of a village atmosphere.

Quiet Sanur

Resting at Sanur Beach

Sanur is certainly a much laid back place, although it is still home to many hotels.

You are less likely to be hounded by hawkers at Sanur, but some of the stall holders in the markets can be very insistent in their aggressive approaches to encourage you to buy from them.  The best way to deal with them is to tell them a firm “No!”  If you tell them that you will return tomorrow, they remember, and they hound you every time you walk past because you promised to buy from them.

If you are used to their methods it is not an unpleasant experience, and you can actually joke with them, as long as you don’t lie about turning up at a later date.

Not all stall holders are aggressive, as over the years I have built up a great relationship with a stall holder at Sindhu Beach Markets so that even if I don’t wish to purchase anything, I can just go along for a chat.

Nari, the stall holder, has become a family friend. We have been visiting with her for so long, we knew her before she had children and now she is a proud and devoted grandmother.

Sanur has both a long, sandy beach and, slightly inland, a long street that is full of shops, restaurants, bars and hotels.

One of the most popular restaurant is an Italian place called Massimo’s that has been there for about thirty years. Massimo makes his own cheese and gelato. His gelato shop has a street front and I have never seen it without a crowd lined up to purchase Bali’s best treat.

For those who are terrified of contracting Bali Belly you will find known chains such as KFC and McDonalds there too. Although I’ve been to Bali many times, I’ve never had a problem. Then again, I don’t think about Bali belly, and always assess an eating place for cleanliness, so never suffer from it.

I’ve found that one of the best ways to get around is to use Grab.  Uber is banned in Indonesia, and most of South East Asia, because Uber has an aversion to paying its fair share of local taxes. Grab is the local version and you only need to download the app. It does work out to be cheaper than taxis.

The water in Sanur is quite good for swimming in, and on the northern side of the beach, immediately in front of the Inna Grand Bali Beach Hotel is a nice little reef area that is perfect for exploring at low tide.

If you wish to visit Bali, but wish to avoid the Kuta crowds, then Sanur is the perfect location for that laid back, tropical break.

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Capture 喜达屋酒店与度假村国际集团推出最新会议礼遇 飞机上随意换座位 可处500元以上1万元以下罚款 MAS unveils new A330 波音:2013年全球民用飞机交付额将超1000亿美元 Preferred opens first sales office in China Japan’s hotel bookings plummet Aston to expand in Palembang China considers time travel ban MAS unveils new A330
Podcast: Hue Vietnam a Very Regal City https://dev.traveldailymedia.com/podcast-hue-vietnam-a-very-regal-city/ Wed, 07 Oct 2020 03:18:53 +0000 https://www.traveldailymedia.com/?guid=92fabd5e5aff578aecfc22e4bfb0ac66 The post Podcast: Hue Vietnam a Very Regal City appeared first on TD (Travel Daily Media) Brand TD.

Hue Vietnam is strategically located on the banks of the Perfume River, near the coast almost midway between Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.

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Hue Vietnam a Very Regal City

 

My wife and I spent our 40th anniversary in Hue Vietnam, and it was great decision to visit.

I must admit that my first knowledge of Hue, the former capital of Vietnam, was when I saw the Stanley Kubrick film Full Metal Jacket in which the final battle scene takes place in Hue and the whole town seemed to be destroyed.  The fact that those scenes were actually filmed in London should have given me a clue that the real Hue (pronounced “Way”) is nothing like how it was shown.

 

 

There was a fair amount of damage done to Hue during the Vietnam War, but many of those damaged historic buildings have been restored, and today Hue is a fascinating place to visit because of the magnificent architecture that is on display there.

Hue Vietnam is strategically located on the banks of the Perfume River, near the coast almost midway between Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.

Strategic location

Whilst the Perfume River certainly doesn’t smell like Chanel No. 5, it does seem to be very clean. Our boat trip down the river certainly didn’t assail our olfactory senses at all.

It was Vietnam’s capital during Nguyen Dynasty which lasted from the 17th century until 1945 when a communist government was established and the seat of power was moved north to Hanoi.

As the former royal capital there is much to see in Hue, chief among which is the Royal Citadel which is a vast complex of palaces, temples, moats and pavilions. There’s a lot of walking and it does take quite some time to fully explore just by ambling along.

The Citadel was both a place of impressive royal ceremonies and of mass murder under the Viet Cong who threw 3,000 citizens to their deaths over a nearby cliff face.

In fact, on the Citadel side of the river no building is allowed to rise taller than the Citadel, so the high rise is conveniently located on the southern side of the river.

Local attractions

Another of the attractions is the Emperors’ Tombs.   These are located to the south in an area called Kim Son and one of the more interesting ways to see them is from the Perfume River.   It is easy to pick up a cruise, plus you can get to the tombs by road if you wish to have a quicker trip.  The tombs span a distance of 13 kilometres, with some being more elaborate than others.  The most extravagant is the Tomb of Minh Mang which covers several hectares and which features several lakes and beautifully wooded areas.

The Tomb of Tu Duc is also very serene as the Emperor used for his own recreating as well as for his resting place.  It do also has a lovely lake and gardens, but many of the buildings have fallen into disrepair.

There are several hot springs near Hue, which many visit because of their reputed health benefits.  Nevertheless, it is still refreshing to swim or soak in the hot springs which provide a restful break from touring.

It’s also easy walking on the southern side of the river where the bulk of hotels and restaurants are situated. Some of the streets are closed to traffic after dark, so the most popular streets become malls where the hardest decision is where to dine?

A good meal does not break the bank here. We found some quite good restaurants, some with a French influence, where we sat, ate delightful food and just people watched, which was a wonderful to end the day.

Delightful city

Hue is a delightful city, which certainly doesn’t appear to be as congested as other major cities in Vietnam. In fact, despite the fact that we were staying in the tourist area, we found Hue to be quite serene.

There is a lovely river walk between the Citadel and the Thien Mu Pagoda, which is a 7th century seven-storey Buddhist temple that boasts some lovely gardens, and great views over the river.

Many of the local women wear the traditional Ao Dai, a split tunic dress made from colourful fabric that is worn over trousers, for their walk.  They look beautifully graceful as they amble along in groups, enjoying their day out.

We hired a boat for a sunset sail along the Perfume River. A small family lived aboard the vessel, a young couple and their baby. They were very obliging and made our cruise feel so special, as they did make us feel at home. The cruise was very interesting as the river is quite wide with lots of water traffic passing by. Watching the sun bid farewell as it slipped below the horizon on our final night in Hue, was the perfect way to end the day.

Hue travel guide: https://www.vietnamonline.com/destination/hue.html

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Capture Eldora Mountain Resort Launches The Woodward Experience For 2016/2017 Season Elysian Bali opens new Japanese restaurant Call for tourism sustainability ‘revolution’ 温德姆加速开拓经济型酒店市场 旗下速8酒店在中国突破500家 Elysian Bali opens new Japanese restaurant 泰国成中国公民出境第二大目的地国家 SIA’s Los Angeles A380 flights to start in July Eldora Mountain Resort Launches The Woodward Experience For 2016/2017 Season Call for tourism sustainability ‘revolution’ 温德姆加速开拓经济型酒店市场 旗下速8酒店在中国突破500家
Podcast: Worming your way through The Big Apple https://dev.traveldailymedia.com/podcast-worming-your-way-through-the-big-apple/ Tue, 06 Oct 2020 22:45:39 +0000 https://www.traveldailymedia.com/?guid=f50802b96c546db78156b0e5a41911d8 The post Podcast: Worming your way through The Big Apple appeared first on TD (Travel Daily Media) Brand TD.

Let’s not beat around the bush – New York is the most exciting city that I have ever visited. I’ve visited many cities, but nothing tops New York for the vibe that you get just being there.

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Worming your way through The Big Apple

 

 

Let’s not beat around the bush – New York is the most exciting city that I have ever visited.

I’ve visited many cities, but nothing tops New York for the vibe that you get just being there.

 

 

My arrival was by train, straight into Pennsylvania Station in the heart of Midtown Manhattan. It’s a very busy station and BOOM! As soon as you leave the platform you are amid the hustle and bustle that is New York.

Organised chaos, best describes what New York is.

Exit Penn Station and you’re at the bottom of a canyon. Like most canyons, there’s a slow moving river, but his one consists of yellow NY cabs which swarm their way down congested streets. Thousands of cabs!  The canyon walls are skyscrapers which soar high above you, like termite mounds with windows.

New York has a tingling vibe. It’s exciting just being there, and I found that the best thing to do is to just go with the flow.

Expect the Unexpected

Chances are, that in New York, your best and long-planned travel itinerary is just going to go awry. Things happen in New York, stuff you don’t expect to see.

For instance, I headed down to East Village on the subway for an appointment. It was a Saturday, and Broadway was closed to traffic for a dance parade. Dozens of New York dance groups were sashaying up Broadway to celebrate the art of dance. It was a fascinating diversion, and I truly admired the way the members of the Taiwanese Salsa Dance Club performed their sensuous moves.

New York is the perfect city for just sitting and observing.

Jostling for business

I was sitting in Heald Square, just opposite Macy’s, minding my own business. The streets of New York are filled with vendors of every kind. Most sell food, but others sell souvenirs and the essentials of life, such as sunglasses. There were several vendors operating outside Macy’s, one of whom was selling kebabs.  He was just going about his business, when another vendor turned up and started an argument about territory.  I don’t know the full story, but the interloper used his cart to ram the incumbents cart in order to move it, so the great food cart ramathon began. It was a terrific thing to watch, but my money was on the go who had been there because, in my view, he had every right to be to occupy that spot.

Of course, Times Square is a place where people just sit and stare at others.

It’s not as big as I imagined it to be, but tourists just seem to like to hang out there. You’ve got to visit, but really only to gawk at all the street performers who dress as super heroes to make money by being photographed with people.

Times Square is also where the touts hang out.

Heaps of them, selling double-decker bus tours, or tickets to comedy shows. I was in New York to perform comedy, so didn’t need to purchase show tickets. I did do a double-decker bus tour, and thought it to be poor value.  You spend a lot of time sitting in traffic, and I found the subway to be more efficient for getting around when you needed a long journey.

Time for contemplation

One of my most endearing memories is of visiting the 9/11 Memorial and Museum on the site of the former World Trade Centre.

They have done a magnificent job of honouring those who lost their lives in the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Centre. The scale of the memorial is immense, yet heartening and within those great spaces you feel the intimacy of the occasion. Outside, New York is a cacophony of sounds and mashing of human interaction. Inside the 9/11 Memorial and Museum it is quiet and contemplative. Sad and, occasionally horrific.

As fabulous as New York is, my visit to the 9/11 Memorial and Museum left the biggest impression on me.  The reason being that it reminded me that New Yorkers are one of a kind.  Outwardly, they appear to be brash. You can tell the New Yorkers because they walk the streets with a purpose. The attack on the World Trade Centre was the worst thing that has happened to New York, yet the response of its citizens was heroic, with hundreds responding, with no thought of their personal danger, simply to try to help their fellow New Yorkers.  This terrible event proved that New Yorkers have soul, courage and concern. 9/11 defines all that is magnificent about the citizens of this fabulous city.

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四川做大做强生态旅游业 将建设森林旅游餐饮文娱设施 Travelport slams American Airlines over lawsuit STR Global partners HSMAI Gulf Air adds two new destinations 四川做大做强生态旅游业 将建设森林旅游餐饮文娱设施 2013智利美食&旅游体验节”来沪推介引起热捧 Travelport slams American Airlines over lawsuit STR Global partners HSMAI Booking.com Unveils New Travel Agent Platform Gulf Air adds two new destinations 葡萄牙旅游局拟在北京设旅游代表处向国人推介旅游资源 日本东京华人聚集地 开设“东方红”餐厅 NZ arrivals rise despite quake 四川做大做强生态旅游业 将建设森林旅游餐饮文娱设施 2013智利美食&旅游体验节”来沪推介引起热捧
Podcast: Historic Fort Cochin in Kerala, India https://dev.traveldailymedia.com/podcast-fort-cochin-kerala-india/ Tue, 06 Oct 2020 01:15:22 +0000 https://www.traveldailymedia.com/?guid=d20a7b5e1be3fd6a3ac7cd1afbe51f18 The post Podcast: Historic Fort Cochin in Kerala, India appeared first on TD (Travel Daily Media) Brand TD.

Kerala is located on the south west corner of India and the city of Cochin, or Kochi, as it is also called, is located on a peninsula bordering the Laccadive Sea, which is part of the Arabian Sea.

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Historic Fort Cochin in Kerala, India

 

Kerala is located on the south west corner of India and the city of Cochin, or Kochi, as it is also called, is located on a peninsula bordering the Laccadive Sea, which is part of the Arabian Sea.

Fort Cochin, a suburb of Kochi, this situated on the southern shore of the entrance to Cochin Harbour.

 

A really charming town, Fort Kochi has an interesting European history which harks back to the Portuguese explorer Vasco Da Gama who established a settlement here in 1502.

The house that he lived in is still standing, and is now a guest house, and the church where he was buried for a time is still there.

The streets are narrow, and many of the houses are whitewashed, but they have a certain charm about them.

A bit of Europe in India

Fort Kochi feels more European than Indian, a direct result of its history.

After the Portuguese lost their influence, the Dutch moved in for a time, then the British took over.

All of these colonists left their marks, particularly as their various religious beliefs have lived on, so that Fort Kochi, has a wealth of churches of many Christian denominations.

Roman Catholicism seems to be the main religion, but there are also Protestant churches, as well as both Coptic and Orthodox places of worship.

As well, there is a Jewish neighbourhood. Hindu and Muslim temples and mosques are commonly seen, as are a smattering of other religions too. Fort Kochi is a true melting pot of beliefs.

One of the main attractions in Fort Cochin is the plethora of Chinese fishing nets, all of which attest to Chinese influence in past times.  These are outrageously large nets that are built on the shore, but which have three long cantilevered wooden arms which hold an enormous net that is lowered into the waters.  Several men are required to lift these monstrosities out of the water, but it does seem to be a very inefficient way to catch fish.

As I watched them, there seemed to be a lot of effort for a minute gain.

I have seen these types of nets before on Hainan Island in China, where they are erected in deeper, and certainly cleaner, water, where they seem to catch much bigger fish.

Unfortunately, the area around the nets is full of rubbish, and the aromas of stale fish combined with raw sewerage does not encourage one to stay long.

I asked a local about the large amount of rubbish that is strewn virtually everywhere and was told, “Well, if I didn’t drop it, why should I pick it up?” An attitude I found to be unconvincing.

That’s not to say that Fort Kochi doesn’t have charm. The town doesn’t seem to have the masses of humanity you find in other parts of India.

Kerala had India’s first democratically elected Communist government, so it seems to have more facilities, particularly health and education, than most other places in India.

Taking a stroll

It is interesting to wander around the town, which is full of narrow streets filled with western-style colonial houses, to enjoy its historical perspective.

You could even take a tuktuk to drive, precariously, through the narrow streets.  You don’t even have to search for them as the tuktuk drivers will approach you to offer rides for outlandish prices – but this is wishful thinking as they can be bartered down to a more realistic price quite easily.

I thoroughly enjoyed hairing around Fort Kochi, gripping on for dear life in a tuktuk, it is an exciting adventure, particularly given that if India does indeed have traffic rules, no one seems to obey them.

For longer journeys I opted to hire a cab, and was lucky to encounter a driver who was both excellent, and fairly priced, so I engaged him to carry me around for a few days.

This experience I really enjoyed because his vehicle was the traditional Indian-made taxi, a Hindustan Ambassador, which is a copy of the Morris Oxford which was built in the 1950s. The cab was roomy and very comfortable. My driver was brilliant and very knowledgeable about the places he took me to.

It is interesting to discover different parts of the township, to stop at the historic churches or to browse the shops. One great adventure was to cross the harbour on a local car ferry. The bedlam of trying to fit too many vehicles on the ferry, only to experience hundreds of pedestrians jam themselves between the vehicles was a real hoot.

Fort Cochin in Kerala is a good place in which to introduce yourself to the assault on all senses that is India. Because of its history as a European enclave, its high percentage of Christians, and, seemingly little in-your-face poverty, it is not as overwhelming as other parts of India. There are even some good beaches there, and the people were both charming and friendly.

For more visit www.keralatourism.org/destination/fort-kochi/422

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Capture Qantas to relaunch Tokyo flights 叙利亚计划斥4000万美元兴建旅游设施以推动旅游业复苏 TRAVEL OFFERS: Thailand Special Qantas to relaunch Tokyo flights 叙利亚计划斥4000万美元兴建旅游设施以推动旅游业复苏
Podcast: Timeshare – True, Tried and Tested https://dev.traveldailymedia.com/podcast-timeshare-true-tried-and-tested/ Mon, 05 Oct 2020 00:49:50 +0000 https://www.traveldailymedia.com/?guid=07fd27e13650aa0afe73ae9dc6f56f65 The post Podcast: Timeshare – True, Tried and Tested appeared first on TD (Travel Daily Media) Brand TD.

Featuring: Barry Robinson, Wyndham Vacation Clubs Asia Pacific
Timeshare first emerged in the 1960s as a way for large families to secure a holiday home. The concept gradually changed to become a system where many families pooled their resources to buy...

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The post Podcast: Timeshare – True, Tried and Tested appeared first on TD (Travel Daily Media) Brand TD.

Featuring: Barry Robinson, Wyndham Vacation Clubs Asia Pacific

 

Timeshare – True, Tried and Tested

 

Today, timeshare has evolved from visiting the same destination at the same time annually into vacation clubs like Club Wyndham South Pacific, where timeshare owners use a flexible, points-based system to choose:

  • Destination
  • Apartment type
  • Season of travel
  • Nights to stay

The club’s 60,000 members have access to 51 properties in Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, Indonesia, Thailand, Japan, the US and Europe. Holiday destinations range from tropical Port Douglas and the lively Gold Coast to the rugged beauty of Phillip Island and Wanaka in New Zealand. Owners make a one-off payment to receive credits annually for the life of the club. They can save credits from the previous year or borrow from the next year to take longer holidays. A small levy contribution per credit helps to keep apartments in excellent condition.

As a product for families, club resorts feature excellent amenities, which can include pools, day spas, dining, bars, complimentary equipment hire and kids’ clubs. About 55 per cent of club apartments have two or more bedrooms, offering plenty of space and often boasting kitchens and laundries.

Club Wyndham South Pacific partners with the world’s largest exchange provider, RCI, to offer owners even more options. Through RCI, owners can exchange their points to stay a week at 4,300 properties globally.

Club Wyndham is a global brand with a customer-centric team capable of delivering consistently high standards of service and personalised experiences across a resort portfolio. The earliest timeshare products set aside time for cleaning and renewal; the modern club features an annual deep cleaning program and a refurbishment schedule to keep apartments contemporary.

The club continues to evolve the timeshare offering. Owners have been able to access their own travel club for years and, now, they can utilise Lifestyle by Wyndham. This e-commerce platform features more than 150 brands with exclusive offers on everyday goods, services and experiences of up to 76 per cent off the market price.

Timeshare’s core purpose remains to secure the family holiday and, even in the post COVID-19 world, owners are doing this. They are using the product’s flexibility or utilising exchange to make a quick return to holidaying. The best practice health and hygiene standards in place across the Club Wyndham South Pacific portfolio also give them renewed confidence to travel again.

Wyndham Destinations Asia Pacific Pty Ltd ACN 090 083 613 is a corporate authorised representative of Wyndham Vacation Clubs South Pacific Limited ACN 090 503 923 AFSL 225200 the issuer of Club Wyndham South Pacific ARSN092 334 015. You should consider the current Product Disclosure Statement available from www.wyndhamap.com/pds for Club Wyndham South Pacific before deciding whether to acquire this product.

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Capture Life Resorts Vietnam educates guests Travel Corporation Announces New Senior Promotions Embraer seals Chinese deals Travel Corporation Announces New Senior Promotions
Podcast: Inspiring Temples of Bagan Myanmar https://dev.traveldailymedia.com/podcast-inspiring-temples-of-bagan-myanmar/ Wed, 23 Sep 2020 06:18:00 +0000 https://www.traveldailymedia.com/?guid=4dbe706e08f9c9debd7786379f458b46 The post Podcast: Inspiring Temples of Bagan Myanmar appeared first on TD (Travel Daily Media) Brand TD.

In those days, Bagan was the biggest city in the country we now know as Myanmar, or Burma.  In fact it was a very religious city.  Staunchly Buddhist, whose citizens built over 10,000 Buddhist temples, pagodas and monasteries.  Of course, time is a great leveller, and now only about 3,800remain.  They are still very impressive, and very much worth visiting.

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Inspiring Temples of Bagan Myanmar

 

 

 

Under its former name, which was spelt as Pagan, you would imagine that the citizens were a bunch of heathens with little or no religion, but nothing could be further from the truth from those who lived in Bagan during its heyday from the 9th to 13th centuries.

In those days, Bagan was the biggest city in the country we now know as Myanmar, or Burma.  In fact it was a very religious city.  Staunchly Buddhist, whose citizens built over 10,000 Buddhist temples, pagodas and monasteries.  Of course, time is a great leveller, and now only about 3,800remain.  They are still very impressive, and very much worth visiting.

Bagan is situated on the eastern bank of the mighty Ayeryarwady (Irrawaddy) River, almost in the middle of the country.   It is 290 kilometres (180 mi) southwest of Mandalay and 700 kilometres (430 mi) north of another former capital, Yangon.

Bagan is Myanmar’s ancient capital, and it is like no other place I’ve ever visited. There are probably more Buddhist pagoda’s here per square kilometre than anywhere else in the world. Many more than you can easily comprehend. The temples don’t seem to be built in any logical sequence, so it is very difficult for the casual visitor to estimate the number.

To call Bagan a “town” gives the wrong impression: it is more of a “place”.

Old Bagan, as it is now known, was first established in the 9th century and used to be well populated, but once the military junta, which ruled Myanmar for several decades, realised Bagan’s tourism potential most of the residents were moved a few kilometres away to New Bagan as a means of supposedly preserving the historic sites.  This new village is quite a laidback tourist town that is filled with restaurants, hotels, lacquerware factories, ATM’s and ebike rental places. I visited during the off season when few other tourists were around, so local business was not brisk, but you could tell that New Bagan would really buzz during peak season.

These magnificent monuments cover a large area measuring 13 kilometres by eight kilometres.  It was originally established as a walled city, with twelve gates and a moat, by King Pyinbya in 849.   It grew to become the capital of the Pagan Empire for about 250 years, and it was during this period that many of the buildings were constructed by the adherents of Theravada Buddhism.

There are a great number of important temples which are open to visitors, but in order to get a better understanding of the history and the meanings of the various temples I hired local drivers to show me around.

My reasoning was because very few of the pagodas are signposted. There are a couple of main roads that have been asphalted, but mostly the site is criss-crossed by unmarked dirt tracks, so good local knowledge is needed in order to find many of the pagodas. Hiring local drivers was quite cheap, and I do like to support the local economy. These drivers have spent their whole lives in Bagan, and they know how to find temples that are pure gems.

 

In many instances, I was the only westerner to be found wandering around.  Yet, there were hundreds of Burmese also visiting whilst I was there.

The one thing I was not fully prepared for was that each pagoda is still an active place of worship, and that means removing shoes when entering.  I had done some research beforehand so knew that showing knees at temples was shunned. I had taken both long trousers and shorts that extended to well below the knee.  I also knew that in order to enter a temple I would have to remove shoes.  I wore Crocs because they are very light, waterproof and easily removed.  However, I had assumed that each pagoda would have marble floors that would be easy to walk.  That was true for the pagodas I’d visited in Yangon and Mandalay, but the Bagan temples are so numerous, and so ancient, and those smooth walking surfaces had been trodden so often over the centuries that, either from lack of maintenance or earthquake activity, many surfaces were more like broken brick than smooth marble.

There is so much detail to be seen at each place.  Some pagodas are very grand, and quite ornate with remarkably cool interiors, a true retreat from the clinging heat outside. All show signs of age, especially as inside plaster has deteriorated and wall and ceiling paintings have become quite faint.

I could easily detect the locals’ excitement as they entered each temple, in fact they exhibited palpable joy at the experience of visiting a new site.  I grasped that each temple, and indeed each Buddha within, held much significance although I couldn’t hope to understand the basis for it.

I was truly enchanted by the town as it is a destination like no other I have visited. My feet may have suffered a little, but my mind expanded at the audacity of human initiative on display there.  My feet soon recovered from their ordeal, but my memories keep taking me back to Bagan; a place where time has stood still.

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Podcast: Magical Maldives at Mercure Kooddoo https://dev.traveldailymedia.com/podcast-magical-maldives-at-mercure-kooddoo/ Tue, 22 Sep 2020 13:07:03 +0000 https://www.traveldailymedia.com/?guid=befd100133ddeadf166c8ddd21ea02b1 The post Podcast: Magical Maldives at Mercure Kooddoo appeared first on TD (Travel Daily Media) Brand TD.

As my flight soared upwards, high over the glimmering Gold Coast beaches of Australia, I contemplated the possibility that I may have made a big mistake by booking a trip to the Maldives. Why, when we have such beautiful, pristine, white sand beaches, with crystal clear water did I need to travel over 9000km for a beach holiday?

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Magical Maldives at Mercure Kooddoo

As my flight soared upwards, high over the glimmering Gold Coast beaches of Australia, I contemplated the possibility that I may have made a big mistake by booking a trip to the Maldives.

Why, when we have such beautiful, pristine, white sand beaches, with crystal clear water did I need to travel over 9000km for a beach holiday?

 

 

Landing in the dark in Male, I emerged to a salty, warm and gentle breeze and an even warmer welcome by staff, who walked me via a quick visit to the lounge, to the domestic terminal next door, for the one hour flight to Kooddoo airport in the southern tip of this chain of flat sandy islands. Then it was simply a three minute buggy ride to the Resort.

My research showed me, that the Republic of the Maldives consists of 26 ring-shaped atolls, which are made up of more than 1,200 coral islands. As I landed directly on Kooddoo, I didn’t then have to get on a speed-boat and travel 1-2 hours to some of the more isolated southern island Resorts, for which, after the long journey, I was grateful.

As my eyes adjusted to the light when we entered the Mercure Maldives Kooddoo Resort, I was led down a wooden walkway, over the water to my overwater room. As the door opened I could hardly believe my tired eyes. It was just like a stylish beach house, but with pops of colour everywhere and huge glass doors and windows. A huge comfy bed beckoned, with a welcome note laid out painstakingly, made from strips of foliage, but my eyes were drawn outside to the infinity sparkling pool that was all mine.

As I stepped outside into the inky steamy air, the water views just kept on going, way out over the Indian Ocean into darkness.

 

 

Morning broke and the colours of the ocean and lagoon were spectacular hues of blue, so a swim in the sea down my ladder was a must, before I headed for breakfast weaving through the fragrant native trees, to arrive at Alita Restaurant.

First on the agenda for the day was an extraordinary culinary experience – with a personalized cooking class from the Resident Chef, who took me on a short journey through the rich culinary heritage of the Maldives and Indian Ocean region, and then the tantalizing lunch was served in the share on the deck.

After lazing by my pool and pinching myself, at sunset we set sail on a traditional dhoni and drifted lazily around the island and the lagoon, enjoying champagne and canapés. The perfect day finished with the most astonishing display from mother nature at sunset and a BBQ dinner on the beach.

Sleeping soundly, and with the sun waking me early with pastel watercolours, I breakfasted early and headed to the watersport’s bure. I skimmed silently over the water on my canoe, spotting little reef tip sharks, colourful fish and corals. On my return I amped it up a bit and took a jetski for a spin and amused lazy onlookers with a lame attempt to learn to windsurf.

To keep you busy during your stay there’s an all-day restaurant overlooking aquamarine waters, a waterfront pool and pool bar hosting a band every evening, and it overlooks the most picture perfect Insta designed swing for two, that is framed by a spectacular sunset show each evening. Chill in the spa, work off the cocktails in the gym, or on the tennis court, and explore underwater life from the fully equipped dive centre.

All the postcards and photos I’d seen were not as good as seeing it with my own eyes and relaxing into the slow island life for four days.

 

READ MORE HERE.

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携程抛合作橄榄枝 旅行社态度不一 Firefly boosts KL-Kuching flights
Podcast: Rest, Rejuvenate & Repeat at Crystal Creek Rainforest Retreat https://dev.traveldailymedia.com/podcast-crystal-creek-rainforest-retreat/ Tue, 22 Sep 2020 12:20:45 +0000 https://www.traveldailymedia.com/?guid=226255c141c7157dcddb13cdf7d099da The post Podcast: Rest, Rejuvenate & Repeat at Crystal Creek Rainforest Retreat appeared first on TD (Travel Daily Media) Brand TD.

Hidden on the Far North Coast of New South Wales, Australia in the Tweed region is Crystal Creek Rainforest Retreat. A scenic hour drive from the Gold Coast and you are on the doorstep of this lush valley, surrounded on three sides by the world heritage-listed Numinbah Nature Reserve and Springbrook National Park.

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Rest, Rejuvenate and Repeat at Crystal Creek Rainforest Retreat

 

 

Hidden on the Far North Coast of New South Wales, Australia in the Tweed region is Crystal Creek Rainforest Retreat. A scenic hour drive from the Gold Coast and you are on the doorstep of this lush valley, surrounded on three sides by the world heritage-listed Numinbah Nature Reserve and Springbrook National Park.

The scenic beauty of this region is brought right to your doorstep at Crystal Creek Rainforest Retreat. My abode for a few nights was Lamington Lodge, one of the five Luxury Mountain View Lodges found higher in the Retreat.

These lodges are as breathtaking on the inside as the views outside. Luxurious down to the last detail whilst being environmentally conscious, the open planned space mixed with floor-to-ceiling glass windows make you feel at one with nature.

Days here are spent on the back deck, enjoying the symphonies of the surrounding rainforest while cooling off in the private plunge pool or relaxing in the intimate space just admiring the movements amongst the trees.

Crystal Creek Rainforest Retreat is a place where your living space is just as much your destination. There are no restaurants on site. Instead, a delicious hamper option to purchase is available for daily meals that you can cook yourself in the fully functional kitchen or out on the back-deck BBQ.

 

 

If you can drag yourself away from the blissful retreat, you can venture on a short walk through the rainforest to the rockpools. The cold waters in these pools are perfect for a refreshing swim before retiring to the hammocks hung across the flowing creek below. It is hard not to drift off into a peaceful snooze, listening to the waterfalls over the rocks and rainforest birds call.

As darkness falls around the tropical bushland, the starry night sky comes down to meet you. Twinkling amongst the foliage are glow worms, invisible to the eye during daylight, they create an entrancing display at night.

Back at Lamington Lodge, falling asleep to the forest’s natural orchestra of cicadas and wind in the leaves is only rivalled by waking to the sun rising over the silhouette of the canopy as morning birds stir.

The entire experience at Crystal Creek Rainforest Retreat is a magical one, where you can immerse yourself in nature, rest, rejuvenate and repeat, leaving you refreshed and revived.

A two-night minimum stay is required at Crystal Creek Retreat. Prices in a Luxury Mountain View Lodge start from $675 per couple from April to August and $675 per couple from September to March. Meal packages and hampers are additional and paid direct.

 

READ MORE HERE.

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Podcast – Queensland Air Museum, Sunshine Coast – Queensland https://dev.traveldailymedia.com/podcast-queensland-air-museum-queensland/ Thu, 17 Sep 2020 04:35:54 +0000 https://www.traveldailymedia.com/?guid=5d078566f51ebe2e92674c904734a7a2 The post Podcast – Queensland Air Museum, Sunshine Coast – Queensland appeared first on TD (Travel Daily Media) Brand TD.

Featuring: Tiana Templeman
Queensland Air Museum at Caloundra is home to an amazing collection of aircraft and aviation artefacts, and exciting tales of courage, adventure and lucky escapes.

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Meet the aviation legends at Queensland Air Museum

Queensland Air Museum at Caloundra is home to an amazing collection of aircraft and aviation artefacts, and exciting tales of courage, adventure and lucky escapes. However, you don’t need to be an aviation enthusiast to enjoy a visit here.

The volunteers who have been preserving Australia’s aviation history at this museum since 1973 are what make this place special. Every exhibit has a story to tell and the volunteers are accomplished raconteurs.

Retired commercial and navy pilot Noel Dennett has been flying since he was 17 and still takes to the air as an 86 year-old in a plane he affectionately calls a ‘bug smasher’. The single engine aircraft doesn’t look small to me but unlike Dennett, I haven’t spent my life flying jumbo jets and fighter planes.

He pulls out his phone and shows me a photo of a Fairey Gannet, a British aircraft with distinctive foldable wings that was popular in the post-Second World War era. It is one of a dozen aircraft at the museum which Dennett has flown.

“I was flying one of these for the Navy when the plane blew an engine as the catapult fired. I ended up bobbing around in the ocean about a kilometre in front of the aircraft carrier. That was enough excitement for one day,” he says with a wry smile.

The Queensland Air Museum’s collection features more than 60 aircraft including an F-111, the Lockheed Orion which searched for MH370 and a DC-3 that was commandeered as General MacArthur’s personal aircraft during WWII. It’s the oldest DC-3 in Australia and also one of the oldest planes of its kind in the world. You’ll probably enjoy this aircraft far more than MacArthur did; he apparently hated flying.

Visitors can sit in the F-111 and relax in General MacArthur’s DC-3 during the museum’s popular open cockpit days which are set to resume post COVID. The Lockheed Orion will also be open to visitors. It is the newest addition to the collection and completely intact inside. However, some things had to be removed.

Look carefully and you’ll see the metal patches known as blanking plates that were used during the demilitarising process. It might look like a 1960s aircraft but this plane contained state of the art surveillance equipment so sensitive it could track a mobile phone turning on as the plane flew overhead.

You won’t find any high-tech interactive displays here but unlike most museums, visitors are encouraged to touch the exhibits and ‘feel’ their history. Having the freedom to roam around inside the hanger and outside with sunlight bouncing off the planes’ shiny fuselages gives the Queensland Air Museum a sense of freedom.

It’s impossible not to experience a touch of nostalgia for flying’s days gone by, especially when you stop to explore the impressive collection of airline memorabilia on your way out. There are glamorous sets of matching in-flight crockery, all the more amazing because they came from economy class, pre-internet flight timetables and branded playing cards from the days before there was in-flight entertainment. Even if you’re not an aviation buff when you arrive at this museum, you will be by the time you leave.

Disclosure: The writer travelled with assistance from Tourism & Events Queensland and Visit Sunshine Coast.

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Capture Singapore to host 15th World Gourmet Summit Hilton signs two hotels in Delhi UN deal to promote tourism for LDC development 一名中国游客在泰国芭堤雅沉船事故中遇难 Singapore to host 15th World Gourmet Summit Hilton signs two hotels in Delhi
Podcast: Can Sea Islands Provide a Blueprint for the Future of Tourism? https://dev.traveldailymedia.com/podcast-can-sea-islands-provide-a-blueprint-for-the-future-of-tourism/ Fri, 14 Aug 2020 06:30:05 +0000 https://www.traveldailymedia.com/?p=555799 The post Podcast: Can Sea Islands Provide a Blueprint for the Future of Tourism? appeared first on TD (Travel Daily Media) Brand TD.

This week’s island hop through South East Asia also takes in the latest travel developments across the region. Gary Bowerman and Hannah Pearson also discuss how idyllic island getaways such as Maldives and Seychelles plan to reboot tourism.

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South East Asia is blessed with a spectacular array of island destinations. These include the world’s largest archipelago and the planet’s 2nd, 3rd and 6th-largest islands.

With such a diversity of offshore travel options, will more governments promote their islands as test cases to reopen domestic, and perhaps international, tourism?

All eyes are currently looking towards Bali and Indonesia, but Malaysia, Thailand, Philippines, Cambodia and Myanmar are among the countries that may promote island tourism above all else.

This week’s island hop through South East Asia also takes in the latest travel developments across the region.

Gary Bowerman and Hannah Pearson also discuss how idyllic island getaways such as Maldives and Seychelles plan to reboot tourism.

Can Sea Islands Provide a Blueprint for the Future of Tourism?

 

For more info, please visit us at: www.theseasiatravelshow.com

 

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Podcast – Overview: Cairo, Egypt https://dev.traveldailymedia.com/podcast-cairo-egypt/ Fri, 07 Aug 2020 04:15:49 +0000 https://www.traveldailymedia.com/?guid=55232988d8963570ede311c6c7a56158 The post Podcast – Overview: Cairo, Egypt appeared first on TD (Travel Daily Media) Brand TD.

Featuring: Belinda Jackson
Cairo, Egypt’s sprawling capital, is set on the Nile River. At its heart is Tahrir Square and the vast Egyptian Museum, a trove of antiquities including royal mummies and gilded King Tutankhamun artifacts.

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Overview: Cairo, Egypt

 

Lined with palaces, mosques, merchant’s mansions and markets, Cairo’s Al-Muizz is a contender for the Middle East’s most beautiful street.

It’s the ancient thoroughfare of medieval Cairo, the lifeblood of a dozen centuries: every time I return to Cairo, I find myself walking the length of Al-Muizz li-Din-Allah.

Like most before me, I’m lured by the street’s imposing palaces and caravanserais, its dusty mosques and vivid markets. I’ve walked this street countless times over a decade, and each time, I make a new discovery. A forgotten tomb. A synagogue. Cool, dark water cisterns that plunge deep underground or a merchants’ mansion, instructive in the ways of generations of traders, aristocrats, craftsmen and families who filled the streets of Islamic Cairo when it was established by the Shi’ite Fatamid regime in 969AD.

Cairo – Photo Credit: Belinda Jackson

The Fatamids had big plans for al-Qahirah, the Victorious City, which was built as a showcase of its authority across the Islamic world. Instead of tacking their seat of power onto the existing metropolis, the idealists built their own great walled city, slicing it in half with the palatial thoroughfare, Al-Muizz.

The main section of the street runs about 1.2km, bookended between two of medieval Cairo’s city gates, the dominating Bab al-Futah (the Gate of Conquest) in the east and Bab Zuweila in the west. Like many great buildings in Cairo, Bab Zuweila’s foundations are massive, inscribed stones dating from Egypt’s pharonic era, and named for the ferocious Berbers who guarded the walled city’s southern door, stringing their enemies’ heads from the gate.

Cairo has long burst its vast city walls and until recently, Al-Muizz languished as a dirt road, potholed and filled with the soup of a millennium. However, the northern section of the street, from Bab al-Futah to the bewilderingly busy Al-Azhar street, is beautifully paved. This is Bein Al Qasreen, or Palace Walk.

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7 Months in a COVID Travel Bubble [PODCAST] https://dev.traveldailymedia.com/7-months-in-a-covid-travel-bubble-podcast/ Thu, 30 Jul 2020 08:52:31 +0000 https://www.traveldailymedia.com/?p=554171 The post 7 Months in a COVID Travel Bubble [PODCAST] appeared first on TD (Travel Daily Media) Brand TD.

With few signs of movement on border re-openings in South East Asia, Gary Bowerman and Hannah Pearson reflects on 7 lost months in travel and tourism.

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With few signs of movement on border re-openings in South East Asia, Gary Bowerman and Hannah Pearson reflects on 7 lost months in travel and tourism.

As August looms into view, several big questions remain unanswered…
– What have been the landmark events and milestones of 2020 so far?
– What outcomes have surprised, challenged and discouraged the travel industry the most?
– Is survival now the overarching goal for the rest of 2020?
– Can South East Asia reclaim its status as the world’s most dynamic travel region?
– Will tourism be domestic and, hopefully, regional only for the foreseeable future?
– Can Bali serve as benchmark for reopening in South East Asia?
– Are there lessons and inspirations to learn from other lifestyle and consumer sectors?
And why did ‘mojito romance’ merit a mention?

All this and more in the 30th episode of The South East Asia Travel Show!

 

For more info, please visit us at: www.theseasiatravelshow.com

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Podcast – Cape Range National Park, Exmouth – Western Australia – Australia https://dev.traveldailymedia.com/podcast-cape-range-national-park-exmouth-western-australia-australia/ Tue, 07 Jul 2020 07:00:00 +0000 https://www.traveldailymedia.com/?guid=b0151c7024ff58f517dcd3c72cbbe0e9 The post Podcast – Cape Range National Park, Exmouth – Western Australia – Australia appeared first on TD (Travel Daily Media) Brand TD.

North West Cape is a peninsula which juts out into the Indian Ocean just north of the town of Carnarvon. 

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Cape Range National Park, Exmouth

 

North West Cape is a peninsula which juts out into the Indian Ocean just north of the town of Carnarvon.  The biggest town on the cape is Exmouth, which swells from a normal population of 2,000 to about 14,000 each winter as many people who live in the south of the state chase the sun.

On the western part of the cape is Cape Range National Park, which covers an area of over 50,000 hectares.  The key feature of the park is Ningaloo Reef, an amazing close-to-shore coral reef which runs the full length of the park.

 

Whilst there are 50 kilometres of beaches contained within the park, there are also some fantastic gorges that have been carved out of Cape Range by wind and water, plus a number of ecosystems, including mangrove swamps, flowing creeks, large anthills, beautiful wildflowers and arid landscapes.

Contained within the park on the eastern side of the ranges are a couple of stunning gorges, which include Potshot Gorge and Charles Knife Gorge, which reminded me of a small Grand Canyon.  The colours of the rock are very vibrant, consisting of vivid reds, oranges and yellows and scrawny bushes which help to soften the landscape.

Mostly, visitors spend the bulk of their time on the western side of the park, where there is the excellent Milyering Visitor Centre and some wonderful small campsites, which are often full due to high demand.  Mostly, these campsites have direct access to quiet beaches, some of which have areas from which you can launch a boat.

There are many sanctuaries offshore, meaning that fishing from boats in banned, although fishing from the shore is still allowed.

There are many types of fish which make the reef their home, and it is also possible to see turtles, dolphins, sharks and dugongs in the shallow waters within the reef.  The deeper waters off shore see seasonal visits by a variety of whales, which head further north during the cooler months to give birth before returning past the park on their journey back to Antarctic waters.

The most famous of the marine behemoths to visit the region are the world’s largest fish, enormous whale sharks which also hang around during the winter months.

On land there is a great variety of birdlife, particularly hawks and osprey, as well as kangaroos, wallabies, emus, echidnas and large lizards called bungarras.

Apart from fishing snorkelling, swimming and kayaking are popular activities, and there is a well-known drift at Turquoise Beach which will safely carry snorkelers above the coral for several hundred metres.  One of the best places to visit is Yardie Creek, which is the only permanent fresh water stream within the park.  Here you can enjoy a cruise through Yardie Gorge and also a walk into the gorge, during which you can enjoy fantastic views of the gorge, creek, beaches and reef.

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Podcast – Penang Re-Born, Penang – Malaysia https://dev.traveldailymedia.com/podcast-re-born-penang-malaysia/ Mon, 06 Jul 2020 03:17:26 +0000 https://www.traveldailymedia.com/?guid=ee641253c030d5e7c4313179a392d74d The post Podcast – Penang Re-Born, Penang – Malaysia appeared first on TD (Travel Daily Media) Brand TD.

Facing the Straits of Malacca, Penang was one of the great trading ports in South East Asia.  Once part of the Sultanate of Kedah, it was ceded to the British East India Company on the strength of a lie in 1786.

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Penang Re-Born

 

 

Facing the Straits of Malacca, Penang was one of the great trading ports in South East Asia.  Once part of the Sultanate of Kedah, it was ceded to the British East India Company on the strength of a lie in 1786.

The British may have been the administrators, but it was the Chinese who controlled the business. The British built the imposing public buildings, whilst the Chinese built their shophouses and mansions on a mangrove swamp near the main port.

 

St George’s Church in George Town is a beautifully restored building that is the oldest Anglican Church in South East Asia.  Its imposing set of exterior columns were built to withstand at least a metre of snow on the roof, a fate unlikely in a city that is barely three degrees north of the Equator.

Nevertheless, St George’s is certainly worth visiting and, by law, has to open for at least one hour each day.  The interior is bright and breezy featuring teak altar and pulpit, with wooden louvered windows and doors down both sides to facilitate air movements.

Once outside and a few paces up Jalan Masjid Kapitan Keling and you are well into the narrow streets of Chinatown.

This part of George Town has recently been declared a UNSECO World Heritage Site, but such an honour came with conditions.

One condition was that buildings in a state of bad repair had to be renovated using traditional methods.  For instance, they couldn’t use modern paints because they don’t breathe.  Traditional paints do breathe, and as the town is built on a former swamp the walls need to breathe to rid themselves of rising moisture.

The heritage area does give you an impression of what Georgetown was like is during its earl days, and is still part of a very vibrant city.  Here, businesses of all types operate from tiny shops which line the bustling streets cheek by jowl.

Getting around is easy. There are free buses which can take you into the heritage area.

However, for the visitor, I believe that the best way to experience the streets is to walk them. This part of Georgetown is flat, so strolling is easy.

One very good reason to see the area by foot is to enjoy the amazing street art, which can be found in the most surprising areas.

For me, discovering the street art was pure joy.  It is not gaudy nor garish, but just appears.  Sometimes the art is thought provoking, at other times it is humorous.  The art does not dominate the streets, but becomes very much a part of it.

For instance, a painting of Bruce Lee on a wall that has lost some of its plaster.  The bare bricks are untouched, so Bruce has bits missing where the plaster should be.

There are also dozens of wrought iron caricatures which have anecdotal descriptions of the streets they adorn.  These are very whimsical, and a great way to introduce you to the main trade of the street.

The house where famed shoe designer Jimmy Choo began his apprenticeship has a comic adornment.  On Muntri Street the rich merchants once housed their mistresses, hence its alternate name of `Love Lane’.  Here there is a caricature of a large, near naked man climbing out of a window.

To understand the lifestyle afforded the wealthy, a visit to Pinang Peranakan Mansion on Church Street is a must.

By the way, the spellings of Pinang and Penang seem to be interchangeable, one being a relic of the Portuguese, the other of the British.

I was fortunate to be shown around the impressively decorated Pinang Peranakan Mansion by Lillian Tong, who is the Museum Director. What a brilliant hostess she was as she vividly re-enacted vignettes from the elegant mansion’s history and told its story with mesmerising enthusiasm.

The Peranakans, who were also known as Babas and Nyonyas consisted of Chinese men who married women who were not Chinese, but who were either locals or were from nearby Thailand and Indonesia.  These women, and their children, developed their own culture, and Lillian wore traditional Peranakan clothes.

Originally the home of Kapitan Cina Chung Keng Kwee, it was a typical Chinese courtyard mansion featuring lots of carved-wood panels, with British influences such as Scottish ironworks and English tiles.

Now a museum it is filled with over 1,000 antiques and collectibles.  Within each room is either ornate furniture, period clothing, precious jewellery plus plenty of crockery and glassware of all types.

It is a local tradition for engaged couples to have their official photos taken at the mansion prior to their wedding, and I saw two brides preparing for their photo shoot.

The mansion is much larger inside than it looks from the outside, and I discovered quite a good, and reasonably-priced, jewellery store in one of the rooms.

The Heritage Area of George Town is well worth visiting as it is no relic, but still a thriving commercial and residential centre.

From the wooden clan jetties, where many people live on pylons about the harbour’s edge (a little tip – go at high tide when the odour is less vile), to the shophouses, mansions, temple’s and street art of inner Georgetown, Penang is definitely a great place to visit.

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Talk Travel Asia podcast – Season 3 Launches! https://dev.traveldailymedia.com/talk-travel-asia-podcast-season-3-launches/ Thu, 18 Jun 2020 08:50:20 +0000 https://www.traveldailymedia.com/?p=552250 The post Talk Travel Asia podcast – Season 3 Launches! appeared first on TD (Travel Daily Media) Brand TD.

June 1 2020 saw the launch of Season 3 of Talk Travel Asia podcast. With more than 100 episodes available for travel enthusiasts to explore Asia, hosts, National Geographic Cambodia Guidebook writer Trevor Ranges, and specialized travel company co-founder Scott Coates, have a fantastic lineup of guests ready, with new episodes every two weeks.

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June 1 2020 saw the launch of Season 3 of Talk Travel Asia podcast.

With more than 100 episodes available for travel enthusiasts to explore Asia, hosts, National Geographic Cambodia Guidebook writer Trevor Ranges, and specialized travel company co-founder Scott Coates, have a fantastic lineup of guests ready, with new episodes every two weeks. Upcoming episodes include:

Past guests include:
Lonely Planet authors Joe Cummings and Nick Ray, celebrity chef Bobby Chinn, photographer Justin Mott, journalist Patrick Winn, and other travel industry leaders and experts.

Tune in and get connected to the cutting edge of travel in Asia with Talk Travel Asia podcast.

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Podcast – Overview: Coral Coast, Western Australia https://dev.traveldailymedia.com/podcast-coral-coast-western-australia/ Mon, 08 Jun 2020 01:16:38 +0000 https://www.traveldailymedia.com/?guid=45fd11afa40300f83b546dd0e67b7cff The post Podcast – Overview: Coral Coast, Western Australia appeared first on TD (Travel Daily Media) Brand TD.

long stretch of coastline measuring about 1,100kms north of Perth, the Coral Coast extends from the town of Cervantes as far north as Exmouth and slightly inland.

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Overview: Coral Coast, Western Australia

 

 

A long stretch of coastline measuring about 1,100kms north of Perth, the Coral Coast extends from the town of Cervantes as far north as Exmouth and slightly inland.

The Pinnacles, which form part of Nambung National Park, consists of hundreds of peculiar pinnacles which can be up to 5 metres in height.  They were formed from 25,000 to 30,000 years ago from piles of seashells that were left standing after the waters receded.

 

 

The closest town to The Pinnacles is the fishing village of Cervantes where you will also be able to see stromatolites, the world’s oldest known living organisms in Lake Thetis which you can visit just before you enter the town.

Further north is Jurien Bay, another fishing town, but one which is larger than Cervantes and also more of a tourist town.  Much of the coastline here has been preserved as part of the Jurien Bay Marine Park.

About 20 kilometres north of Jurien is Green Head, a tiny place that has some safe beaches, good fishing and is wonderful in spring when the wildflowers come out in Lesueur National Park.

If you head inland towards the town of Coorow you pass the Alexander Morrison National Park, which is another fine place to view the wildflowers.

Coorow is a small farming community whose major crop is sheep.

Badgingarra is another small town on the Brand Highway, just 205kms north of Perth.  Just north of the town is the halfway point between Perth and Geraldton.  Although you pass mostly farmland, the area bursts into colour during wildflower season.

Further inland, and slightly south, is Dandaragan which was one of the first towns in the area to be settled.  It offers an alternative inland route north to the busy Brand Highway.

Back on the coast is the fishing village if Leeman.  Just off the coast on Beagle Island is the largest Australian Sea Lion colony in Western Australia.

Carnamah is the name of both a town and the local shire.  The town itself is a small rural community and there are some interesting historic buildings within the town.

The next towns north of Leeman are the twin towns of Port Dennison and Dongara which are separated by the Irwin River.  There’s good fishing here with Port Dennison being home to one of Western Australia’s largest rock lobster fleets.

Between Dongara and Geraldton is the town of Greenough where you can visit an historic town that has been converted into a Pioneer Museum, and which gives you a great insight into how the early pioneers lived.

Geraldton is a large port city, and is the biggest town north of Perth.  It has great beaches and a busy port and marina, and great views can be seen from the HMAS Sydney II Memorial which is perched on the top of a hill.

Inland from Geraldton is the beautiful Chapman Valley which is a great place for a scenic drive and to sample some of the locally-produced wines.

Further inland, and accessible via the Chapman Valley, is the town of Mullewa which is home to a superb church built from local stone and is highly regarded for its carpets of wildflowers.

About 30 minutes north of Geraldton is the historic town of Northampton, which has been classified by the National Trust of Australia.   It does have some magnificent buildings and is also home to, what is purportedly, Western Australia’s most haunted house.

Turn off the highway at Northampton and head west to Horrocks where the Bowes River enters the Indian Ocean.  There is safe swimming at the beach and good fishing.

Port Gregory is a little further up the coast; it too is a popular place for a simple holiday, with the nearby Pink Lake, or Hutt Lagoon as it is also known, being an interesting place to visit.

Heading north you pass some impressive cliffs just before you enter the town of Kalbarri.  Located at the mouth of the Murchison River, it is very popular with holidaymakers who indulge in many water activities and explore the nearby gorges.

Shark Bay is a world class natural attraction, with most of it being included in the Shark Bay Heritage Area.  The bay boasts incredible beaches, stromatolites in Hamelin’s Pool, spectacular cliffs and one of Western Australia’s best known attractions the Monkey Mia dolphins who negotiate the shallow waters to be fed by hand several times a day.

Steep Point, at the entrance to Shark Bay, is the westernmost place on mainland Australia.

Carnarvon, which is 900 kilometres north of Perth, is a major agricultural area thanks to the Gascoyne River, which mostly flows underground but which can flood during heavy rains.  The heart of WA’s banana industry whale watching, fishing and surfing are popular pastimes here.

450kms east of Carnarvon is Mount Augustus National Park, and the site of the world’s largest monocline, or rock.  There are some strenuous walk trails to the top of the rock and many ancient aboriginal rock paintings.

The northernmost part of the Coral Coast is the Ningaloo area which begins at Coral Bay where you can snorkel amongst the coral just a few metres from the beach.  This is part of the Ningaloo Marine Park which stretches along the coast for 300kms.

Located on the eastern side of North West Cape is the town of Exmouth where one of the unique attractions is the ability to swim with whale sharks, the world’s largest fish.

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Capture 日本旅行社将把外国游客团体游增至3000种 Charles-Knife-Gorge-Exmouth Charles-Knife-Gorger-Cape-Range-National-Park Dolphin-Pelican-Shark-bay Having-a-quiet-fish-near-Exmouth Ningaloo-Reef-from-the-air The-Pinnacles-Nambung-National-Park Turqoise-Bay-snorkelers Turquoise-Bay-Exmouth Twilight-Cove-Cape-Le-Grand-National-Park-Espereance-Western-Australia Vlamingh-Head-Lighthouse-Exmouth Yardie-Creek-Exmouth Z-Bend-Kalbarri-National-Park
Podcast – Overview: Western Australia https://dev.traveldailymedia.com/podcast-western-australia/ Sun, 07 Jun 2020 03:33:56 +0000 https://www.traveldailymedia.com/?guid=ee4e12d46767ed12403b0575615e5672 The post Podcast – Overview: Western Australia appeared first on TD (Travel Daily Media) Brand TD.

if you wish to drive from Eucla in the south east corner of Western Australia around the coast to Kununurra in the north east, in the Kimberley region, you would have to drive a distance of 5456 kilometres.

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Overview: Western Australia

 


Western Australia, at 2,529,875 square kilometres, is the largest State in Australia in terms of area.  To give you some perspective on its size, WA is 3.6 times the size of Texas, and is approximately the size as Kazakhstan. 

Western Australia occupies the western third of the Australian continent. Consider this example: if you wish to drive from Eucla in the south east corner of Western Australia around the coast to Kununurra in the north east, in the Kimberley region, you would have to drive a distance of 5456 kilometres.

 

Despite its huge size WA has a population of just 2.59 million, and of that nearly 2 million people live in the capital city Perth.  This means that WA is one of the least densely populated places on Earth, so there is plenty of room here to find your own identity.  The vast distances and low population in regional areas also means that parts of WA are very remote, and that care should be taken when travelling in these areas.  Much of WA is desert, and there are some remote roads that would not see much traffic in days, sometimes weeks.  So, if you are contemplating driving through outback Western Australia make sure that you are prepared for such a journey.

Having said that, the parts of WA which attract the most travellers are usually fairly easy to get to, and have most of the comfortable tourist facilities you would expect – and some even have exceptional facilities.

This is an ancient land.  Some of the geological features here can be traced back billions of years.

Human occupation by our indigenous people can be traced back over 50,000 years, and much of the country has remained unchanged for many millennia.  If you are the sort of person who likes to visit pristine places then Western Australia will not let you down.

WA is in the same time zone as China and Singapore and we have a huge coastline that is pounded by the cold currents emanating from Antarctica in the South, to the very warm tropical waters near the Equator in the north.  Western Australia has, literally, hundreds of beaches, some of which are the prettiest you will find anywhere in the world (starting at Esperance and finishing at Cable Beach, Broome).  There is the added benefit that when you visit you will, most likely, have them to yourself.  Even our most popular beaches, such as Perth’s Cottesloe and Scarborough, and the amazing Cable Beach in far north Broome allow you plenty of room for yourself on the busiest days.

If you are a person who loves aquatic pursuits, then Western Australia should be on your `must visit’ list as there is practically everything here: superb fishing, some of the world’s best surfing spots, numerous great dive sites, some of the world’s best wind surfing and kite surfing, fantastic rivers and coastal area for kayaking, and great sailing (it was West Australians who first beat the USA to win the America’s Cup after others had tried for 132 years) – and how many other places in the world can you, legally, feed dolphins in their natural habitat and swim with the world’s largest fish, the massive whale sharks?

There are five distinct regions in Western Australia:

Perth & Surrounds

South West

Coral Coast

Golden Outback

North West

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Capture Pan Pacific to open two new hotels in Ningbo Z-Bend-Kalbarri-National-Park Bungle-Bungles-at-dusk-Purnululu-National-Park-Western-Australia Charles-Knife-Gorge-Exmouth Charles-Knife-Gorger-Cape-Range-National-Park Dolphin-Pelican-Shark-bay Galvans-Gorge-Gibb-River-Rd-Kimberley-Western-Australia Having-a-quiet-fish-near-Exmouth Ningaloo-Reef-from-the-air Perth-City-from-Kings-Park Sunset-drinks-on-Vlamingh-Head The-Pinnacles-Nambung-National-Park Turqoise-Bay-snorkelers Turquoise-Bay-Exmouth Twilight-Cove-Cape-Le-Grand-National-Park-Espereance-Western-Australia Vlamingh-Head-Lighthouse-Exmouth Wave_Rock_Hyden_Western_Australia Yardie-Creek-Exmouth Z-Bend-Kalbarri-National-Park Bungle-Bungles-at-dusk-Purnululu-National-Park-Western-Australia Charles-Knife-Gorge-Exmouth Charles-Knife-Gorger-Cape-Range-National-Park Dolphin-Pelican-Shark-bay Galvans-Gorge-Gibb-River-Rd-Kimberley-Western-Australia Having-a-quiet-fish-near-Exmouth Ningaloo-Reef-from-the-air Perth-City-from-Kings-Park Sunset-drinks-on-Vlamingh-Head The-Pinnacles-Nambung-National-Park Turqoise-Bay-snorkelers Turquoise-Bay-Exmouth Twilight-Cove-Cape-Le-Grand-National-Park-Espereance-Western-Australia Vlamingh-Head-Lighthouse-Exmouth Wave_Rock_Hyden_Western_Australia Yardie-Creek-Exmouth Z-Bend-Kalbarri-National-Park
Podcast: Papua New Guinea Undiscovered https://dev.traveldailymedia.com/podcast-papua-new-guinea-undiscovered/ Sat, 06 Jun 2020 23:00:00 +0000 https://www.traveldailymedia.com/?guid=90b085d2696e5d625e5914e80f7190b5 The post Podcast: Papua New Guinea Undiscovered appeared first on TD (Travel Daily Media) Brand TD.

It is hard not to be mystified by Papua New Guinea. It is a land that is untamed and wild in beauty, while diverse in unique culture.

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Papua New Guinea Undiscovered

It is hard not to be mystified by Papua New Guinea. It is a land that is untamed and wild in beauty, while diverse in unique culture.

The country comprises about 600 small islands with only 13 percent of people living in urban areas. Papua New Guinea has more than 800 indigenous languages and approximately 312 different tribes, including some uncontacted peoples.

 

From raw and diverse cultures and tribes on display at festivals to diving some of the most untouched and pristine waters in the world, come on a journey with me to Papua New Guinea and find out why I found this country so fascinating.

Physically remote and still very isolated, Papua New Guinea is a land that is untamed, wild and raw with diverse culture.

Through festivals and cultural displays, visitors can delve into the anthropological secrets of Papua New Guinea’s rich cultural traditions. Some of the more popular and longer running festivals include The Mt Hagen Show, The Tumbuan Mask Festival and the Goroka Show.

The newest and possibly most interesting festival is the Baining Firedance Festival. Based in East New Britain province, the festival is a cultural spectacle that awakens all the senses. Held across two days, the unique cultures and subcultures on display at the Firedance Festival gives an insight into how diverse the region is. There are over 50 masked performances and each one is as exclusive as the next.

A great example of sustainable travel, the Baining Firedance Festival is a community driven initiative, with over 1200 performers in attendance. Unlike other festivals and events in Papua New Guinea where the show ground is within town, this festival takes you directly into the villages. It gives a more authentic and genuine experience.

Throughout the day, the various tribes emerged from the forest and shared with the audience their story. Giving further insight into each individual cultural performance was a man called Dr Jacob Simet, who has translated the narrative of each individual cultural group so that you could see, hear, feel and understand each performance at the festival.

Intriguing tales of secret woman’s business, bravery of adolescences in initiation, harvest rituals and more played out in colourful dance and song. I witnessed tribes transform as geckos, cassowaries, lizards, frogs, birds and spirits that set my imagination alight. Like stepping into a fantasy type realm, each performance transported me into a world of mystery and often secret behaviours. There is a sense of taboo that lingers around the festival grounds, as if conjuring up the spirits that are spoken of.

With the setting sun and turn of night, the taboo became thicker in the air. This is what the day had been building up to, the Linganga or the Bainings Firedance. The dance is performed for the initiation of young boys into adulthood, to commemorate the dead, to celebrate the harvest, the arrival of a new child, a wedding and other special occasions.

A wood stacked fire burnt high and as the flames grew, so did the anticipation. I was surrounded by darkness with the only illumination provided by the glowing wood and fire throwing off flickering light. The drums began to beat and drew me into a rhythmic trance. I felt slightly anxious, like I was watching something I shouldn’t be.

As the flames licked up higher into the night sky, it allowed me glimpses of what was gathering in the dark. To my right sat the percussion from where the drumming sounded, about fifteen adolescent males thudding large bamboo sticks into the ground whilst chanting in unison. The beat was as memorising as watching the flames of the fire dance like spirits.

Suddenly a silhouette passed in front of the fire breaking my gaze. It was the Iarqi of the Uramat group. One by one, more Uramat appeared and accompanied the Iarqi. I was drawn back into the beating bamboo music like a hypnotic trance. This music certainly controlled the atmosphere and the lull soon turned chaotic as the tempo increased, whipping the village into a frenzy.

Suddenly, from the forest, they appeared. One by one, emerging from the darkness, the firedancers had arrived. These were the masked men of the Linganga, with their skin painted black and huge elaborate masks with enormous cartoon like eyes and protruding beaks.

Without warning, the first dancer exploded through the fire, kicking embers high into the air. They appeared to feed off music and in an almost trance-like state, each summoned up the courage to take turns running through the roaring fire. Every burst of sparks was as dramatic as the last, raining down like fireworks.

This entrancing performance continued into the night until the fire died down to just glowing logs and embers. The flames had vanished and before I knew it, the masked men also retreated back to the darkness of the forest.

For more on Papua New Guinea visit https://www.papuanewguinea.travel/

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Podcast: Jay Jhingran Crises Leadership in Hotels, Covid 19 & beyond of Java with Jay, Hotel stories https://dev.traveldailymedia.com/podcast-jay-jhingran-crises-leadership-in-hotels/ Tue, 07 Apr 2020 02:26:56 +0000 https://www.traveldailymedia.com/?p=547812 The post Podcast: Jay Jhingran Crises Leadership in Hotels, Covid 19 & beyond of Java with Jay, Hotel stories appeared first on TD (Travel Daily Media) Brand TD.

Jay Jhingran discusses Crises Leadership in Hotels, Covid 19 & beyond of Java with Jay, Hotel stories

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Jay Jhingran,  a well known and respected Hotel General Manager formerly of Thailand has launched a series of Podcast interviews covering all topics relevant to the hotel industry globally.

Click on the Podcast icon below to listen to Jay’s thoughts and input on “Crises Leadership in Hotels, Covid 19 & beyond episode of Java with Jay, Hotel Stories”

 

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TD Podcast: SiteMinder’s VP in Asia “There’s a huge unpenetrated market out there” https://dev.traveldailymedia.com/td-podcast-siteminders-vp-in-asia-theres-a-huge-unpenetrated-market-out-there/ Mon, 03 Feb 2020 01:30:26 +0000 https://www.traveldailymedia.com/?p=534986 The post TD Podcast: SiteMinder’s VP in Asia “There’s a huge unpenetrated market out there” appeared first on TD (Travel Daily Media) Brand TD.

Today marks the first TD podcast of 2020 and for the opening edition, I spoke to Brad Haines, the regional vice president of Asia Pacific (APAC) for hotel room reservation specialists, SiteMinder.  Not only is Brad still fairly new to the role but also to life in here in Bangkok, where for the last six […]

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Brad Haines

Today marks the first TD podcast of 2020 and for the opening edition, I spoke to Brad Haines, the regional vice president of Asia Pacific (APAC) for hotel room reservation specialists, SiteMinder. 

Not only is Brad still fairly new to the role but also to life in here in Bangkok, where for the last six months, he has been busy embedding himself into the leadership of the thriving Asia office as well as navigating the culture shock of relocating to a new city, in a new country.

Brad and I delve in the minutiae of SiteMinder

To find out more about SiteMinders recent billion-dollar capital raise, the strategic importance of Asia to SiteMinder and much, much more. Click on the link below or, continue reading for the first ten minutes of this informed and insightful conversation with a driven exec at the top of his game.

TD: Hello Brad, welcome to the TD Podcast.

Brad Haines (BH): Hello, thanks for having me.

TD: Jumping straight in, SiteMinder announced some big news recently, which we headlined as SiteMinder passes the billion dollar mark, Aussie dollars that is  — could you expand on that?

BH: Yes, so SiteMinder has recently taken on its latest round of capital raise which has taken business evaluations to over a billion dollars which has been a great milestone for us. And, though we don’t to like to use the term, you can now take us as one of Australia’s unicorns in the tech space. Which is great news for us and obviously very motivating for everyone internally.

TD: What does that mean for the success of SiteMinder in the immediate future… and a bit further down the line?

BH: I think the investment for us is key for continuing our expansion and growth. We have a vision for the next three years, as well as for further, for what we want to achieve as a business and how we want to grow.

There’s a huge unpenetrated market out there for us to continue to work in; there’s over a billion hotels now globally which allows us to really take on that market. This [in turn] helps to accelerate that growth more than anything.

TD: So, SiteMinder, I know who and what you are, but for those of our listeners who don’t know exactly how the company operates, could you open that up?

BH: SiteMinder is a distribution technology company, working with hotels — and the hospitality industry — helping to drive reservations, connecting them with third-party platforms and sitting as the hub of the technology system of the hotel.

TD: Right then, If I am a hotel and I’ve got some empty rooms, and we have an existing relationship, do I need to call you for assistance, or does it happen more naturally…?

BH: Exactly, essentially once you’ve implemented our solution it should really run in the background for you, depending on the configuration that you have. Typically we’re connected into the property management system of a hotel — which is really the cornerstone piece of technology they’re interacting with; they are checking people and cancellations are coming through et cetera.

Our system will be connected to all that, which enables us to drop reservations, whether it is from online travel agents, wholesalers or GDS, into the hotel and vice versa pushing your rental availability back out to those sites.

We’ve also recently launched the Hotel App Store, which allows the property management system companies to be able to link up through SiteMinder to some of those third-party platforms to provide up-sell technology or marketing to people in hotels.  So we’re providing a bit more of a complex connection now for those different systems as well, not just the traditional online travel agents.

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“If you are another nondescript branded hotel they will not even remember your name”: The Hotels Network CEO https://dev.traveldailymedia.com/juanjo-rodriguez/ Thu, 31 Jan 2019 12:06:02 +0000 https://www.traveldailymedia.com/?p=493643 The post “If you are another nondescript branded hotel they will not even remember your name”: The Hotels Network CEO appeared first on TD (Travel Daily Media) Brand TD.

For this week's podcast, I spoke to Juanjo Rodriguez, the CEO of The Hotels Network, a company delivering a hotel tech ecosystem that increases direct channel conversions.

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For this week’s podcast, I spoke to Juanjo Rodriguez, the CEO of The Hotels Network, a company delivering a hotel tech ecosystem that increases direct channel conversions.

The company grew from five to 50 in three and a half years, with a core tech team in Barcelona and a second office in San Francisco, plus people on the ground in Bangkok, Singapore, Mumbai, Mexico, Montevideo, Bogota. He and I discussed building a company, from just an idea:

The following is an abridged version of that conversation. Rodriguez speaks:

When you are an entrepreneur looking for an interesting project to work on, the impulse is to work on consumer problems but there are a million opportunities in B2B even though they are harder to discover.

When we started exploring ideas, it became clear that the most interesting space was accommodation. We started thinking about this was when Airbnb was starting out, so there had not been very much innovation in the industry and it was clear there was an opportunity.

We built some technology to help people plan their trips and we found that it was much more interesting to offer this technology to hotels instead. The market is really fragmented so none of the hotels or brands are large enough to have the same level of technology or marketing expertise as the OTAs who have huge teams and resources.

The Hotels Network products

It’s tough to compete for a booking – even if the user really wants to stay at the hotel – so we try to reduce friction in the booking process.

The concept is that a user visits 38 travel sites before booking and that happens because there are many sources of information; the user is never sure if they are making the right decision. We wanted to preempt that by providing the information that the user needs about their whole trip on the hotel website.

We also looked at the booking funnel, and every step the user has to take when booking a room. We pull information about the review scores that the hotel is getting and we send that in a very easy-to-read format to the website. Once you decide on the hotel, you check prices – we help compare prices directly so we compare with the OTAs and meta search. As a user, you are sure you are going to get the best deal.

Then we help personalise the experience. The key insight we found when we were working in the B2C space is that travellers are extremely specific on what they want – and not just on the destination they want to travel to.

“Personalisation is paramount”

I am friends with two brothers – they are twins so in every traditional social demographic they are the same. One wants to take a trip to Rome and one wants to go to Bangkok – and there is no way on earth to discover that until they say so on the website. Each one will have a million super-specific requirements about their stay. Personalisation is paramount.

Our tools change the booking experience depending on what you are doing – not who you are; it’s behaviour-based. We don’t care about your email or your name and we just want to understand what you are doing, so we can take the best potential offer from the hotel and showcase it in a way that is really attractive.

The Hotels Network reviews platform

We have two levels for our review tool. First, a score gives you a quick understanding – patience is not one of our greatest qualities as human beings! We can give you something very quick to check a weighted average across all reviews, then you can go deeper into each review.

“Reviews that tell the story of the hotel in the words of the user”

The idea is not to present the best review – that would sound false. The best approach is to get reviews that tell the story of the hotel in the words of the user. Mine the reviews for those that understood what you are about. Even if they just say ‘I loved it!’, this gives no information.

I think it’s better to be different than good, and in a market where there are hundreds, if not thousands, of other hotels that could be as good as yours, you have to be different. If you are another nondescript branded hotel they [the consumers] will not even remember your name.

Price comparison

We compare against 20 different OTAs including all the major ones like Expedia, and not just the international ones but top local ones, for example Traveloka in Southeast Asia.

We provide a personalisation system that has two components: first, targeting (who sees the campaign) then the look and feel. We’ve seen many different variables for the behaviour of users: the hotel, the dates, how many people are in your party, how likely you are to come back. By tracking their experience on the website, we can help the hotel deliver messages to you that are relevant to what they are doing.

For the hotel marketer it is very difficult to update the website regularly; it is time consuming and they cannot do it [separately] for every user. Through our system, they can do it in three minutes and create different campaigns for different people.

You can create a campaign to only display, say, on Friday evenings for people from neighbouring countries to you; or as specific as ‘Chinese people looking for a holiday in Singapore will get a 5% extra discount for their CNY holiday travel’.

You can create an unlimited number of promotions or perks; say for example your clients want to rent a car. If they book for three nights they receive a car rental discount.

“Relevant – to your behaviour not your name or your email”

Our tool delivers a message in a way that is relevant and impactful to anyone visiting the website – without overloading them. You could have 20 messages but if you display them all at the same time they will be lost.

We serve only one that is relevant – to your behaviour not your name or your email, although hotels can also link our product to their CRM and loyalty programme so all the things that the hoteliers knows about you can be used for targeting.

Anything that you can think of can be transformed into a trigger for whatever messaging you want to deliver, anywhere across the funnel.

For example you can welcome people that came specifically from TripAdvisor or clicked on a discount they saw in AdWords.

The death of the traditional ‘persona’

You are also not the same person all the time; sometimes you travel with your family or on your own for business so a person may have a very different profile.

What you did six months ago is the worst predictor of what you are doing today.

One of the things I learnt while working in marketing is that the traditional approach of social demographic – for example, ‘women aged 30 to 35 love yoga’ – is stupid! In the hotel industry there is an additional level of complexity and if you are a small independent hotel you don’t have the critical mass of data to create a CRM database in the first place.

Let’s say you have a chain of six resorts in Southeast Asia. If I take a trip to Phuket the chance that I will take another trip to Phuket is smaller because I want to try another destination; maybe I don’t come back for 10 years even if I loved it.

For example I had my honeymoon in Australia and I loved everything about it but I have never been back in 10 years because it’s too damn far away!

“90% of people will never come back to your hotel”

The average number of trips per person is two per year and it’s never to the same destination. 90% of people will never come back to your hotel. If you look at the industry average at any hotel on any given day, 90% of people are there for the first time. The only time you see real repeated business is for business trips.

Trying to capture repeat business is a very risky strategy long-term because you might become dependent on your distributors; if Expedia changes their commission structure if you have to pay a new fee. One of the key strategic reasons to develop a really well thought-out and productive direct channel is to be able to de-risk your future and the evolution of the market. Depending on your distributors means they will have all the power and you cannot allow that to happen.

The future

It is hard to predict what someone is doing today from what they have done before, unless you have seen millions of similar people before. We use machine learning and ‘predictive personalisations’ to predict what users will be doing.

We can work with every independent hotel and every [chain] brand and so we can collect feedback from across the world. We can gather one client from Paris, one from Bangkok and one from LA with different local environments, and we can interact with these people on their terms and in their languages as we have 18 nationalities across 50 staff. Indeed [when hiring], the first thing we look at is a person’s languages; the average number of languages of our staff is three.

We are in a very fun industry: we spend so much time looking at hotels that we become homesick for travel! The industry is doing well and so you can build a sustainable business, but the space is ready for innovation. We have a lot of ideas for what we can build and there are many more things that we’ll be bringing to the market in the next few years.

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How tennis and tenacity helped to build the MICE industry’s biggest global player https://dev.traveldailymedia.com/bharet-malhotra-cvent/ Thu, 10 Jan 2019 00:40:58 +0000 https://www.traveldailymedia.com/?p=489310 The post How tennis and tenacity helped to build the MICE industry’s biggest global player appeared first on TD (Travel Daily Media) Brand TD.

I caught up with Bharet Malhotra, senior vice president of sales at Cvent – and one of the company’s founding members – for this week’s podcast.

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I caught up with Bharet Malhotra, senior vice president of sales at Cvent – and one of the company’s founding members – for this week’s podcast. We discussed building and selling the industry-leading platform for cloud-based event registration software, and his role in the hospitality business.

The below is an abridged version of that conversation. Malhotra speaks:

The start of Cvent and the dotcom bubble

The company started in September 1999 and I joined in 2002. I was, perhaps, one of the first six or seven people in the company when it started.

Back then in 1999, with the dotcom hype, if you held your hand out, someone would have given you money! But, in due course of time, a series of events happened including 9/11, the anthrax scare and then came the dotcom bust.

This event defined the companies that could survive and stand tall. During that time, I remember, an investor came in and told us, ‘The company that you’re becoming is very different to the company that you are today.’

We wanted to build an event registration tool or a data analytics provider – at that point, event registration was a sexy space and something along the lines of a billion dollars of venture capital money went into it – but at that point we needed focus.

There were a couple of things that we did well and the most important was sticking together. The entire original team stood together – there is a lot of value in that and it helped strengthen our relationship. We understood that we weren’t focused on any one thing – so we said, ‘Our strategy now is survival.’

Cvent HQ in Tyson’s Corner, Virginia

What do you need to survive? You build a good product, hire great people and service your customers. Sometimes, you’ve got to stop to reflect and just do one day at a time: correct the course and set the ship sailing straight.

The grind

Every startup has got hard-working people and bright executives from successful companies, but the one thing I give ourselves credit for is we were willing to invest in the grind longer than other people – we were committed to being in this for up to seven years.

“At some point some entrepreneurs tire of eating ramen noodles”

I think a lot of starters frankly don’t fail because of execution; they fail because, at some point, some entrepreneurs get tired of eating ramen noodles for 18 months!

I’m like, ’18 months? Name one profession that you can be amazing at in 18 months!’. You can’t be a pro tennis player or musician, artist or mathematician. Why is [building a] company any different?

The move into hospitality

Back then – in 2002 – we were a one-trick pony; we had one product, event registration, and that’s where I started selling. Cvent now is a product ecosystem of two clouds: the event cloud for meeting planners and buyers, 70% of our business, and the hospitality cloud for hotels, convention visitor bureaus and destinations, 30%.

In 2008 we added the hospitality product, then we started acquiring companies and we started getting much more innovative, but our mantra is the same. We have incredible support; the people we have in our global offices are so bad-ass.

I felt that, at 22, I was a pretty smart kid; now when I have conversations with the 22-year-olds who are six months out of school, I see I was nowhere near the same business mind. That’s partly because we put a lot of emphasis on recruiting; it is a maniacal focus.

We have a huge tech team and product management team and we have 25,000 organisations that are customers, so with the amount of feedback you get from them, it’s a built-in innovation lab.

“It’s worth those risks because you don’t need all of them to work to continue taking the lead in the market”

The only deviation from our mantra is the flexibility now to be innovative and creative. If we make a mistake, it’s okay as it didn’t cost us the company; it’s a calculated mistake that may cost a few million dollars. We’re very sensitive to it but it’s worth those risks because you don’t need all of them to work to continue taking the lead in the market.

Tennis and sales

Growing up, I was a tennis fanatic and played at Duke University. I got to travel the world and became independent, and I got that competitive spirit that only tennis can teach you: if you’re losing, you have to figure out a way – you have to noodle through everything and win.

Duke University

I can lose the first set, but then I get the second set. You have so much going on in your brain. No sport has that where you have two to three hours to come back. People talk of boxing but that has a corner; people talk about a 100m sprint but you can’t strategise much in nine seconds!

“I would have been very different had I been a soccer player”

After my family, tennis taught me the most about character and personality. I think I would have been very different had I been a soccer player.

Everything you do is selling: trying to win an argument with your parents, or trying to impress a friend. Selling was easy for me and I was like, ‘Why are people unable to hit the target?’. I can figure out the pain points; I know how to hone in on the pain points. I know that whichever part of life-cycle they are in, we have value.

You can’t have a bad product but you also need patience and persistence. You need to invest a hell of a lot of time building a funnel, building trust, building the value of the product. People have eight good phone calls and then they relax but that’s not what it is. I don’t care how big your month is; there’s always a next month.

Bringing the hospitality sector into this century

We launched the hospitality product in 2008, and the good thing about being a startup within an organisation is that everyone rallies around you. In year one we did 200,000 dollars in bookings; in year two (2009) we did seven million, and in year three, 14 million.

“I think we can help you gain an additional million bucks”

I love to work with the hospitality sector; it is so cool for me to sit with an executive from a hotel chain or an ownership group and share with them: ‘I think we can help you gain an additional million bucks on your top line!’.

The hospitality sector needs to do a more aggressive job of embracing technology. They are concerned that they have given so much of their leisure business away to the OTAs – that charge 10, 15, 16%.

In the meeting sector, a lot is going towards intermediaries and third parties. Once again there’s a tremendous value that they provide, but the hotels are concerned: for every dollar, ten cents goes away from the top line. As a result of these economics, I think they’ve got timid and can’t open up to innovation.

I say, ‘You have six salespeople for MICE business; how are you going to get that event from a company, on the third of a building, that only has 40 employees? They’re doing an event of 100 room nights. You’re never going to a cold-call them – you don’t even know the company exists!’

“I will be able to go online to book a 75-person meeting – a $40,000 sale”

The number one thing that I try to convey is not a product – I don’t even talk about a product – I just want them to know that even MICE is moving online. It’s not too far from today, maybe two to five years, where I will be able to go online to book a 75-person meeting – a $40,000 sale – and I don’t even have to speak to anybody.

For a repeat meeting, it’s very ‘cookie-cutter’: classroom style, pen and paper, coffee break and a simple lunch – I don’t need to send an RFP to 10 hotels. It’s painful [at the moment] and that’s because hotels are very possessive of their meeting space – that’s still the one thing that they own.

There are easy fixes – that have been developed eight years ago – to all these problems. I would advise hoteliers to go and sit inside a tech company that they respect and see how they function and make mistakes and course correct. There’s a notion that, because you’re sitting inside 100-million-dollar asset, you can’t be nimble and that’s not true.

Solutions

Cutting-edge technology will make life 100 times more painless for the attendees. Yes, you need to think about the event planner, but they need to think about the attendees – with simple check-ins and name badges.

“How can it be that to get on an aeroplane is a smoother process than registering for an event?!”

Airports have become so creative that I can not see anybody and enter into the plane because I get the boarding pass on my phone and carry on a bag. How can it be that to get on an aeroplane is a smoother process than registering for an event?!

Heatmap technology is there too: I want to know that Brett spent an hour and 20 minutes in one session. If I’m a sales guy I don’t need to talk about the other eight sessions that he spent six minutes in and then walked out of.

The second highest RoI activity of any organisation after their own website is trade shows and events, so we’re in the business of not just telling people ‘Make your event much more efficient’ but ‘Do more events!’.

2019 and beyond – get the basics right

Hotels are one of the most analytical industries, with RevPAR and ADR – they have more acronyms than anybody – but there are certain basic things that they’re not doing and they don’t have to spend a penny, like bid rate.

Say a hotel gets 100 Requests for Estimation (RFEs) but only bids for 50 of them. For the other 50, the planner doesn’t even get a rate. We end up telling them, ‘Take the 50 and make it 70 – just bid on 20 more leads and I promise you you’ll win one of them.’ These are not outlandish crazy 2025 things; they are there today so embrace it!

For more information, visit cvent.com.

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Content + collaboration = success: Podcast with Chirag Gupta, CEO of Deyor Camps https://dev.traveldailymedia.com/chirag-gupta-deyor-camps-ceo/ Thu, 20 Dec 2018 13:49:18 +0000 https://www.traveldailymedia.com/?p=490783 The post Content + collaboration = success: Podcast with Chirag Gupta, CEO of Deyor Camps appeared first on TD (Travel Daily Media) Brand TD.

I spoke to Chirag Gupta, CEO of Deyor Camps - India's largest experiential travel company - about staying true to your values for this week's podcast.

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The post Content + collaboration = success: Podcast with Chirag Gupta, CEO of Deyor Camps appeared first on TD (Travel Daily Media) Brand TD.

I spoke to Chirag Gupta, CEO of Deyor Camps – India’s largest experiential travel company – about staying true to your values for this week’s podcast:

The below is an abridged version of that conversation. Chirag speaks:

What is Deyor Camps?

If you look at the Indian travel market, you have companies like Make My Trip, which is an online travel agency for budget hotels and OYO [hotels] that is doing in a fantastic job in India and now China, but within the travel space – which is now so streamlined by these bigger companies – there is a fragmented niche within the industry: experiential and adventure travel.

Before we came into existence, there were problems with discovery and trust – with the entire experience. India has beautiful offbeat destinations like Kashmir, Ladakh and Himahcal, and if you’re going to these destinations and you don’t get the experience you are paying for, it’s a bummer.

We produced a concept called Deyor Camps which is bringing this fragmented industry together; we’re across 70 locations in India now with almost 600 campsites and almost 2000 experiences. We do everything from mountain treks to bike trips to scuba diving the jumping out of an aeroplane.

Ladakh, India

We are a consumer transaction platform – everything from discovery to booking it, to the experience itself, is controlled by us in-house. If you want to ride a bike across the Himalayas, you can explore the options on my website and then you would book it, and then people from my team would be there, ensuring that you have the experience that you signed up for.

This is our third year of operation. The first year was about building up the experiences and the standard operating procedures; the second year for us was to build up brand visibility to start getting consumers’ trust; now the third year is to become the established one-stop shop for millennials in India.

Getting started

Before Deyor, I was helping a fund of London to invest in startups in India. I was 22 and I told the manager of the fund ‘It’s too early for me to be doing this; let me be on the other side of the table and build up something I am passionate about.’

Every time I had an option to take days off, I would run off to the hills or the beaches. The passion was there but the problems I mentioned – about discovery, trust and experience – were there. I’m fixing those issues.

“I have been conned myself”

I have been conned myself; I’ve seen content online which didn’t look like the place when I arrived. I feel so many people in India, and other people coming in from abroad, are being conned. Somebody needs to step in into this fragmented niche within the travel and build up a brand around it – that’s what we did.

Fortunately, because of my investment fund background, that fund put in the early seed round and they were very kind to cooperate on that. Our initial trips were rafting,  and camping and bonfires – small, USD 100-ticket trips – but from there on we became a company that focuses on USD 500 trips. The average online invoicing now is about USD 1500.

The market and scaling up

India is going to become the youngest country in the world by 2021 with 65% of the population between the age of 18 and 32; the millennial audience. Back in the day, my parents would earn one dollar and save 80 cents – 20 cents would be spent on shelter and food.

Now, in our generation, we like to spend 80%. We don’t buy cars, we take cabs, and we’re looking a looking for a getaway a month. We are very extensive on spending – it’s the new era of travel. Gone are the days of hotels and resorts being fascinating; now it’s all about camping, homestays and the wilderness.

The average millennial spends at least 1.5 times of his monthly salary on a trip with my company and he does that three times a year. People are willing to pay a premium people for a stress-free trip so they can come back happy from their new vacation.

We have always been India focused, in terms of the trips and the source market. This year, fortunately, we expanded to Bhutan, Nepal and Sri Lanka, and the north-east part of India which is completely untapped. There’s no single company that focuses on the north-east because they say it is too damp and there’s no demand, but we have seen people come in and flock there in great numbers.

“I’m not talking about mainstream, corporate,  family or honeymoon travel – I’m talking about millennial travel”

We’re looking at a USD 8 -10 million dollar series A funding round and we’ve got great interest. Once we get that funding we’ll be focusing more on Southeast Asia; we’ve been looking at Thailand, Laos, Cambodia Vietnam and Bali.

I’m not talking about mainstream, corporate,  family or honeymoon travel – I’m talking about millennial travel: bike trips, water activities, air activities. After that, we already have plans to expand to Africa, such as Tasmania and Kenya.

Content + collaboration = success

The idea was always to completely focus on the team but when you’re selling offbeat experiences, content is very important. We’ve got a full-stack content team who does everything from video curation – we have fancy drones in the office – and cinematographers and blog writers.

We have also started doing VR 360-degree videos, so a person sitting in a tier three or four cities, who has always dreamed of going to these free destinations but hasn’t been able to, can experience it on his mobile phone or through his VR headset or Google Cardboard.

It has to be a mix of team, content, product, consumer and good mentors: I have great mentors, including the founder of Travel Boutique Online – India’s largest travel portal for travel agencies – who are veterans in scaling businesses.

In India, by 2020 we are going to have a trillion-dollar collaboration economy – that means that, for one company to exist in the ecosystem, they need to collaborate with other companies.

For example, PayTM, which is one of India’s first payment platforms, collaborated with Uber when it came to India and both companies got traction. There was no cash feature and people were very sceptical about putting their credit card details on an app. PayTM came in with a preloaded cash wallet and you could use it.

We’ve been collaborating with communities and companies like Make My Trip and Trip Triangle, who buy our products and resell them to their customers. The more we grow, the more we are looking for collaborations, which help you remain sustainable and help you build up credibility. Because other travel brands are talking about you, you scale up.

Values and advice for founders

Don’t get into the herd movement – just because one person is doing it, doesn’t mean you can. OYO built up OYO but it doesn’t mean I can. It’s about commitment and timing; you need to have something which you believe in and are passionate about – and feel you can do justice to that company.

“When you get the first round of funding, that’s not your money”

When you get the first round of funding, that’s not your money. A lot of entrepreneurs I see treat it as their money, and their lifestyle and living habits changes. The more you can invest in the company is going to be better for your future so don’t look at what’s happening now look at what you can do with the company five years later.

Keep innovating: lots of entrepreneurs are stuck to the concept of ‘This venture is my baby and I will not pivot; I will not change the model no matter who says what.’ The more investors you meet, the more VCs you meet, everybody will give you new advice. If you start agreeing to everyone’s advice, a year later you’re going to be back to your old job for back to school.

“Sales solves all problems”

Sales solve all problems – this is what Mark Cuban always says. If your product is getting sales and is validating that there’s demand and if you’re growing on month, even if the top VC comes to you and says you have to pivot, you know what you doing is working.

I’ve met entrepreneurs who have fantastic ideas but they’re coming into the business early before the market ready for the product or service.  Some companies in India tried to do what we’re doing almost 10 years ago – it was the wrong time.

“Founders do not know the art of delegation”

Today is striking when the iron is hot, and fortunately, we’re on top of the tree right now. Do it and you should know that the market is ready for it and there is product acceptance; if it’s not working out, pivot. The biggest problem with founders is that they do not know the art of delegation. If you are a leader, you can’t do everything on your own, so you must accept that ‘I have to go from four to staff to five, to six…’

Having someone else do it gives you more time to be able to innovate, ideate and go out there and meet the right people to be able to collaborate with. The CEO, the main founder, should be focused on how to build up the brand and investor relations while the rest of the team should be fantastic enough to be able to handle sales, product development, customer relations.

If you get funded, don’t go from four to 40 overnight. Set your processes one by one; build up opportunities, build up openings, and only then hire. Otherwise, you’re going to have 40 people who are going to look like a fish market, with nobody knowing what to do and you’re going to burn all the money away!

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WNTM (what not to miss) at WTM – TD’s CEO and editorial director share their picks https://dev.traveldailymedia.com/wntm-what-not-to-miss-at-wtm-tds-ceo-and-editorial-director-share-their-picks/ Mon, 29 Oct 2018 15:18:29 +0000 https://www.traveldailymedia.com/?p=485965 The post WNTM (what not to miss) at WTM – TD’s CEO and editorial director share their picks appeared first on TD (Travel Daily Media) Brand TD.

London's World Travel Market (WTM) has an terrifying 139 presentation sessions spread over its three days, 5 - 7 November. How do you decide which ones are worth your time? No need to worry - we've done the hard work for you.

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The post WNTM (what not to miss) at WTM – TD’s CEO and editorial director share their picks appeared first on TD (Travel Daily Media) Brand TD.

London’s World Travel Market (WTM) has an terrifying 139 presentation sessions spread over its three days, 5 – 7 November. That’s not to mention all the other things you could be doing: pounding the trade floor closing deals, forging new partnerships or building new relationships.

So how do you decide which ones are worth your time? No need to worry – TD’s editorial director Simon and I have done the hard work for you for today’s TD podcast – we’ve each picked out five must-attend sessions:

Brett’s top 5

1. How Caribbean islands can work with influencers, a case study with Antigua Barbuda

15:00 – 16:00, 5 Nov 2018 / Americas Inspiration Zone – LA360
Moderator: Michael Ball, cofounder, Traverse
Speakers: Colin C. James, CEO, The Antigua and Barbuda Tourism Authority
Amy Skelding, partner, Brighter Group

Why: Brighter Group and Michael – Traverse’s cofounder and an awesome presenter – will give a real case study with no corporate speak and all actionable insights from the successful and proven Love Antigua Barbuda influencer campaign.

2. Keynote: Instagram and travel

10:45 – 11:25, 5 Nov 2018 / WTM Global Stage – AS1350
Moderator: Mark Frary, cofounder, Travel Perspective
Speaker: Neasa Bannon, EMEA travel lead, Instagram/Facebook

Why: Because Instagram and Facebook are behemoths – Instagram passed the magic number of a billion users in June. When they speak, you should listen – plus Mark is a great moderator.

3. How to get billions of video views

11:35 – 12:15, 5 Nov 2018 / WTM Global Stage – AS1350
Moderator: Mark Frary, cofounder, Travel Perspective
Speaker: Adam Middleton, head of strategy, UNILAD

Why: Learn how vloggers represent so many of the billions of views on Facebook and why have they gained such a strong presence. It’s Mark again and Adam is a badass.

4. Tapping into China outbound market with social

14:00 – 14:45, 5 Nov 2018 / Asia Inspiration Zone – AS1070
Moderator: Steve Keenan, cofounder, Travel Perspective
Speakers: Gary Grieve, MD, Capela China
Jennifer McCormack, chair, Lake District China Forum
Sienna Parulis-Cook, communications manager, Dragon Trail Interactive

Why: Dragon Trail rules! We need to listen because international travel spend from China has grown tenfold in a decade and will grow even more.

5. Get out there

Finish with the talks and walk the floors, meet the exhibitors – soak it all up. That’s what WTM excels at.

Si’s top 5

1. How Chinese demands and innovations change the global tourism industry

11:00 – 12:00, 5 Nov 2018 / Asia Inspiration Zone – AS1070
Moderator: Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Georg Arlt, Director, COTRI China Outbound Tourism and Research Institute
Speakers: Liwu Wang, VP, Qyer
Kane Xu, CEO, Ctrip Customized Travel
Charles Liu, Europe director, Ctrip TTD
Yi Liu, cofounder & chief business officer, Huizuche
Luis Garcia Cristobal, GM, UnionPay International Iberia

Why? China (if not already) is soon to be the big daddy of travel. What Chinese consumers want, suppliers will have to provide or they’ll lose out. There’ll be big data insights from Chinese companies on customised travel and payment tech, plus some big speakers – Qyer.com is the largest Chinese outbound traveller online community.

2. The ROI of Experiential Travel

5 Nov 2018 / UKI & International Inspiration Zone – TA190
Speaker: Murray Sutherland, senior director, Cirque du Soleil Entertainment Group, Events & Experiences

Why? For me this is easiest ‘the most 2018’ talk headline of the entire schedule. Could you more perfectly capture the travel zeitgeist in five words? Cirque du Soleil is a famous brand across the globe but not well-known for its sustainability efforts so it will be interesting and exciting to see real-life examples.

3. How podcasting can strengthen your brand

13:30 – 14:30 6 Nov 2018 / UKI & International Inspiration Zone – TA190
Moderator: Lisa Francesca Nand, travel journalist and host, The Big Travel Podcast
Speaker: Callum Morgan, owner, Morgan Branding
Tracy Durrant, business / lifestyle coach and podcaster
Andy Williams, PR expert and The Media Masters Podcast

Why? You can probably guess… It’ll be interesting to see how we can benefit this product and prepare it for 2019. The speech will touch on what a podcast can do for your brand, what makes a good travel and hospitality podcast and how to market and monetise your podcast.

This is an interesting time for podcasting – BuzzFeed News is putting its podcasting ambitions on pause, for example – so it I’m eager to see what the future holds.

4. The Role of Award-winning Storytelling in Sustainable Tourism

14:15 – 14:356 Nov 2018 / Middle East & Africa Inspiration Zone – AF190
Speaker: Rob Holmes, founder and chief strategist, GLP Films

Why: These are two things I’m very passionate about – great storytelling and environmental / social conservation. It matches my education too, as a master of environmental engineering and a journalism post-grad. With 200+ films in 35 countries and a decade of “authentic, character-driven films” to look into, there should be plenty to learn from.

5. Responsible Tourism – how much progress have we made?

11:15 – 12:007 Nov 2018 / Europe Inspiration Zone – EU80
Moderator: Tanya Beckett, television and radio journalist

Why? It’s always the elephant in the room when it comes to travel – it’s easy to talk about being sustainable and ecofriendly but if you don’t action it, it’s just marketing BS. Are we actually making a difference? Food for thought on the final day of the conference presented who’s done it all: FT, CNBC, Sky News, CNN and now BBC.

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Building the billion-dollar travel company “you’ve never heard about” https://dev.traveldailymedia.com/worldventures-rovia-josh-paine/ Wed, 24 Oct 2018 10:09:09 +0000 https://www.traveldailymedia.com/?p=485563 The post Building the billion-dollar travel company “you’ve never heard about” appeared first on TD (Travel Daily Media) Brand TD.

For this week’s TD Podcast I met the CEO of WorldVentures Holdings and Rovia, Josh Paine, back stage at the Impact Arena in Bangkok. Paine had just finished speaking at an event for his company WorldVentures Holdings and one of its products DreamTrips:  The following is an abridged version of the conversation. Paine speaks: WorldVentures […]

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The post Building the billion-dollar travel company “you’ve never heard about” appeared first on TD (Travel Daily Media) Brand TD.

For this week’s TD Podcast I met the CEO of WorldVentures Holdings and Rovia, Josh Paine, back stage at the Impact Arena in Bangkok. Paine had just finished speaking at an event for his company WorldVentures Holdings and one of its products DreamTrips:

 The following is an abridged version of the conversation. Paine speaks:

WorldVentures Holdings is one of the biggest companies you’ve never heard about – even for me. I actually live two miles away from the office and I never heard of it even with my travel background.

It’s the world’s best kept secret; a 13-year-old network marketing company that offers life-changing experiences that are like nothing else you can get on the globe. The company that supplies all those is a virtuoso travel agency called Rovia, a platform that builds curated experiences for members.

Background

I was born and raised in Tyler, Texas, and I moved to Dallas in the late 80s. The long and short of it is I ended up taking the accounting route – which is a little interesting given my personality. I went to Texas A&M and graduated in accounting with a masters in finance, and ended up at PriceWaterhouseCoopers.

Tyler, Texas

I did that for a few years and I was very good at it – the problem was, I hated it! A few years later I joined an organisation in the credit card processing space, but it had blown up and gone bankrupt.

We put together an investor group, to rebuild this organisation because it was very uniquely positioned: a company that serviced credit card processing for e-commerce companies, as the world was coming online. We took it from a bankrupt company to the eighth largest processing company in the world, and had a lot of fun doing that.

Through that experience, I joined cheapcaribbean.com – a no-name company that overnight went from nothing to about $80 million. It boomed and there was so much money that in 2007 I was told – these are the actual words – “I want you to come help me count the money”.

My whole family moved across the country and I helped to count them money, but it wasn’t what I expected. I said, “You guys have got 60 days of cash in the bank; you’re going bankrupt.”

It turns out you can sell a lot of widgets for USD 30 even when they cost you USD 55 – this was an upside-down equation, but it was fixable. I wanted to see the company live so the founders and I put together an investor group. In 45 days we had enough money to save it and the investors asked me to take the lead.

“Replicate processes to create infrastructure”

I like to grow and scale organisations and I’m fairly good at it. Part of the reason you do that is you can institutionalise; you replicate processes to create infrastructure. If you want to build a building first you have to dig deep to create foundations. For me, it was realising that we could build a foundation for this and we could combine two things: we could combine the institutionalisation that needed to happen to grow and the entrepreneurial spirit that the company had.

We just hit it out of the ballpark. The next year, in 2009, as the global markets melted down, we made more money than the entire 10-year history of the company combined – just taking these two things and putting them together.

We went from an 80-million dollar business that was losing money to a company that was making a lot of money – in the end I did get to count the money.

Dream Ventures

I got what I wanted – and it wasn’t what I wanted. So I set up a private equity company because I wanted to let my money work for me. Frankly, I was a little tired and had young kids at home and thought I would sit on boards and mentor other people, and I did that for years.

“It was a leisurely life but it wasn’t full of purpose”

The problem is, when you’re wired to operate this isnt’s fulfilling. I no longer had teams and I tried to work through other people. I had a bit of a void in my life – it wasn’t what I was passionate about doing. It was a leisurely life but it wasn’t full of purpose. I had the ‘unique blessing’ of one of my investment companies go sideways; I say that tongue in cheek because I had to parachute in and fix it – but I had a lot of fun doing it.

A month later, a friend who had a credit card processing company called me and said “I’ve had a company for nine years and it’s going out of business right now. I’ve lost every key executive in the last 14 days and I’m going under – I need some help.”

I jumped in to help and so I was running three companies, when I got a voicemail from a guy named Wayne Nugent. He started talking about conscious capitalism and the Stagen Leadership Academy – things that I really care about. I was morbidly curious (it wasn’t until later I realised he cyber-stalked me and all that was on my LinkedIn profile!).

Nonetheless, I called him back and he said he was building a billion-dollar travel company and he wanted me to come run it. I said, ‘I’m a man of my word and I’m running three businesses right now and I’m not going to not fulfill that and so I need about six months.’

Wayne Nugent

I did take six months but I got to know Wayne and the company and meet the leadership and I just fell in love with it. I joined as CEO of Rovio in February last year.

I have to be in a position that allows me to use my strengths, resources and gifts to bless other people and if I’m not, I don’t feel any purpose. I didn’t see myself as a turnaround man but if you look in mirror and say, ‘You did it six times – maybe you are that guy.’

“A massive emotional shift that takes place as you’re growing up”

Companies are like people, with childhood, adolescence and adulthood. For the companies that are blessed enough to make it to the adolescent life cycle, that’s where things get rocky. In the same way as human development, it’s always difficult and it’s always emotional because you’re this child and you’re trying to become an adult but you don’t yet have adult ways. There is such a massive emotional shift that takes place as you’re growing up and the same is true of companies.

When a company starts off and it is crazy, young and entrepreneurial, you have to throw Jell-O at a wall and see what sticks. You’re trying so hard to see what’ll work and you develop a winning formula but that winning formula only takes you so far. There’s a point in time where the thing that got you here won’t get you there.

You have to change the formula, which is a scary thing. I like to find organisations that are in that adolescent life cycle and help them unlock that growth for the next stage of growth and development.

WorldVentures Holdings and Rovia

There’s a lot of networking marketing companies out there – they usually sell lotions and potions with goji berry or a root you find in the woods that has magical properties. I’m not sure about that! But successful companies always have the same thing: they take you on a trip. There’s a prize for recognition.

Wayne actually told me ‘I want to become to Mary Kay of travel!’. We make it all about the trip, all about the life experiences, and we do it in a unique group setting that creates a community. Everything revolves around that; that’s the heart of Wayne Nugent. I just fell in love with this vision and my job here is to help his vision become a reality.

You can buy a hotel on hotels.com or booking.com and you can buy your airfare, but we package it up in the unique way to provide true life experience. We put hosts on the trip and we open up special things such as a cocktail reception on the roof or we’ll open up a museum that you can’t get into.

We shut down Disney World and took over the theme park just for one of our DreamTrips – no-one can do that!

Personal trips

I realised I’m a hypocrite because I was not eating the bread I’m baking – I hadn’t done a trip myself. I love riding Harleys – every year I ride around Colorado with my brother – and so the team built a dream trip riding Harleys through the mountains of Colorado. It was epic!

They said, ‘We’ve got the concept; let us run with this.’ They built the trip and they posted it out to the community and then overnight the thing sold out. They had chaser cars and drones that are capturing footage so they can put together a video.

Colorado, USA

In one town they opened up a saloon that had been open since the 1800s and served local whiskey. It was a game-changing experience: 45 dream trippers crossing Colorado!

The company and its events

We’re in 90 different countries and we have about 260,000 members, with 48% of our members in the US. We have great leaders in this company and we build trips around their passions too.

We get to showcase a lot of people’s passions – the community can actually submit their passions and put things on a bucket list and it will notify them when something relevant comes up.

Impact Arena, Bangkok

We do a series of events across our regions. People go to be enriched and to think differently, and to find out about the latest and greatest product offerings and incentives. We always have a little something extra special for the people. It’s a whole lot of fun; it’s like a family gathering.

So the training really centers around the stumbling blocks we have, like the false beliefs we have in this life – we really think people are motivated by a passion, but the reality is people are motivated by fear.

These talks help people in their businesses as well as personally and that’s something that I’m really passionate about. Our mantra is ‘Fun, freedom and fulfillment’ and it’s something we strive every day to give people.

The future

Going into 2019, it’s been fun for me to take this past year to develop a full product spectrum. We have our flagship product DreamTrips but we have made massive advancements in our OTA engine and have we launched DreamDays, DreamNights and DreamBreaks.

I have just hired the CTO from Cheap Caribbean because we’re delivering a lot of new technology that is going to make it easier for people to have these amazing life-changing experiences. We’re investing heavily in an ecosystem for dining and entertainment – it’s a vast network of tens of thousands of merchants. For members, you get points that you can burn on our DreamTrips rewards platform – that we just launched in Asia.

“We want people to be a part of our ecosystem”

This is for everything from travel to everyday purchases; your vacuum cleaner to your trip to see your mother-in-law in Phuket.

We want people to be a part of our ecosystem, join the family and get additional daily value from their membership – and we have more in store for 2019.

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The workforce of the future: When AI meets HR https://dev.traveldailymedia.com/the-workforce-of-the-future-when-ai-meets-hr/ Wed, 12 Sep 2018 02:04:30 +0000 https://www.traveldailymedia.com/?p=481484 The post The workforce of the future: When AI meets HR appeared first on TD (Travel Daily Media) Brand TD.

TD spoke to Jitender Panihar on this week's podcast about how AI will affect the role of HR professionals and indeed the global workforce.

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Jitender Panihar is talking at the TD HR Executive Summit about the workforce of the future. I spoke to him on this week’s podcast about how AI will affect the role of HR professionals and indeed the global workforce:

Below is an abridged version of that conversation. Panihar speaks:

Background

My career started at consultancy organisations such as Deloitte and PricewaterhouseCoopers in both national and international stints. After that, I decided to be part of a different ecosystem, leading HR for a health and nutrition start-up, healthkart.com.

I always had entrepreneurial ambitions so I explored options on my own. I worked a lot with founders and organisations to build HR systems in-house while evangelising and mentoring startups on their product and tech platforms.

Moving away from the blue-chip lifestyle

This depends on you as an individual, your personality and your thought process. When I was at PWC, I was based in Kuala Lumpur and Singapore, and I started conversations with startups.

Even if everything is going great you have aspirations, and if you are someone who wants to bring best in class change and who wants to take transformation to another level, and wants to be able to impact the lives of the people in the organisation, that’s the time you decide and you go back to fundamentals.

It’s not a difficult decision if you’re clear in terms of what you’re passionate about. It’s risky and the environment around you will be deciphering these decisions a little differently, but you have to look at how to make those decisions yourself.

Unlocking potential

I’ve seen a disconnect between today and the future of what the workforce will look like—there’s a changing technological landscape, new businesses coming into the picture and operating models throughout the globe. What does it mean to the workforce when they look ahead and when they envisage organisations of the future?

There are several changes that we are going through today that define how we will function tomorrow. With the advent of technology, our work has been impacted. We have virtual environments and virtual teams.

What this means to me, as an employee, is there is an impact on my role which will need me to come up with different skills.

How has the work environment changed with the advent of technology, AI machine learning and virtual reality? What will happen when humans have to work in the same environment as machines? There’s a lot of controversy around it. Will we lose jobs or will we become redundant?

The building blocks of the future

Computers came, and then www came, and now we are talking about AI. The fundamental trend which is a very clear metric of success is not your technical upgrading because technology will keep on changing.

“Adaptability and flexibility… is the first building block of this particular change”

The defining success factor is how you adapt and learn those new technologies. Adaptability and flexibility is something which is the first building block of this particular change. Our inherent ability to be able to go to a new environment, to become a part of that environment – the faster you do that and the smoother you do that, defines your success.

More than technologies and technical skills, these environmental skills will be critical not only for us as HR professionals but employees in general.

There is an airline organisation in India that does a lot of work on artificial intelligence. They are trying to use AI to collect a lot of analytics and data to understand their employees and demographics and to understand the new generation which has become part of the workforce.

This is so that they can understand the needs and aspirations of the existing workforce, and help and prioritise their needs. They are working on employee experiences, understanding the learning quotients, and creating learning frameworks today because they want to understand the data so that they can ready the workforce for future gain.

They are leveraging learning applications and tech-enabled mobile applications which are being used by every single employee right now from their customer support officer to the crew, to somebody who sits at the ticketing counter.

Managing change

This is a classical change in management scenario, and it’s not just about this particular technology. It depends on how you as an organisation is trying to manage the change. There are going to be employees which will not have the understanding and there are going to be employees who are resistant and who may be insecure.

It depends on how the management communicates this change and there has to be a very clear vision for the change. If I intend to use this technology, then I need to have a clear case for change defined and communicated to my leadership, cascaded down to the employees through town halls and conversations.

Tell them why you are doing what you are doing right now. Involve people whenever they are needed and then make an implementation plan for changing the existing scenario—if processes need to be changed or if jobs and roles need to be changed. It depends whenever there is a change, there is going to be friction but that’s where the job of the HR professional becomes important—especially in the age of AI.

Upscaling your skillset

HR is a very cyclical industry. Every two or three years, we talk about new technology and trends and that’s what I’ve seen in my experience over the last 11 years. We used to talk about HR analytics in the same breath as we would talk about artificial intelligence.

There is still a difference in that context.

 

Now, we are talking about a more holistic change. Only an HR function was getting changed because of new technology; now the entire world is changing. Somewhere by choice or by chance you have to prepare for this.

AI is nothing new and it’s been around since the 1950s, although a lot of people feel like it’s a recent phenomenon. But now there are lots of practical applications and significant work, particularly in the last two years, that has gone into this.

The HR technology space is the most active space as far as artificial intelligence and machine learning is concerned because that’s where you see a lot of use cases. That’s why there are a lot of interesting startups coming up every fortnight.

“The capability of HR organisations needs to go up”

How do you solve an employee experience problem when you go out in the market to attract talent? How do solve feedback issues when you are trying to capture data fundamentally and historically the organisation has not been able to manage data?

I am disappointed by the ability of HR to comprehend and translate AI. The capability of HR organisations needs to go up and it’s very different to talk about AI and to be able to implement it those technologies. It’s not just about understanding artificial intelligence but the tertiary skills you need to demonstrate, such as change management, next year and two years from now.

Being equipped for success

HR has been traditionally functioning as a silo. The fun starts when you as an HR guy think about how AI can influence customer experiences or make improvements for the sales team. It’s a learning and development philosophy which will need to be relooked at. Someone has to be able to translate the entire value chain from one function to an organisational function is able to create use cases leveraging people and AI.

The people that I have worked with and the ecosystem that I have been a part of that needs to be addressed before we start to walk that path. Having an acknowledgement is very very different from practising the real change. I’m constantly saying that the faster we realise the need for change, will define we will be walking towards a success, or towards a doom!

“Unlearning is one of the first fundamentals of leadership”

It is our inherent ability to unlearn a lot of things we have learned in the last 10 to 40 years. Unlearning is one of the first fundamentals of leadership and for HR professionals. We need to realise and then we need to equip ourselves with new skills.

The change has to start at the top. It’s easy to focus on execution and training people on new skills and implement some of the transformations but I think the crux of it comes from the top. That’s where make or break happens.

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Unlocking potential HR skill set
Podcast: NDC’s status and potential – with VP of NDC-X, Amadeus https://dev.traveldailymedia.com/gianni-pisanello/ Mon, 10 Sep 2018 10:28:57 +0000 https://www.traveldailymedia.com/?p=481337 The post Podcast: NDC’s status and potential – with VP of NDC-X, Amadeus appeared first on TD (Travel Daily Media) Brand TD.

I spoke to Gianni Pisanello about the game-changing new platform's current status and future potential.

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Gianni Pisanello is the vice president of NDC-X at Amadeus. I spoke to him for this week’s podcast, about the game-changing new platform’s current status and future potential:

The below is an abriged version of that conversation. Pisanello speaks:

What exactly is NDC-X and why is it important?

NDC is a machine-to-machine messaging protocol. When you have two machines communicating to each other you have a bunch of technology on either side. This is a protocol and a lot more.

The way the industry works at the moment is based on technology that was created 30-40 years ago. It works well and it’s efficient, but it is not adapted to the modern retailing world. If you’re trying to do what Amazon is doing or Netflix is doing, you need a more modern infrastructure. NDC is upgrading the existing travel industry with modern techniques.

We started off on difficult terrain because when it was first proposed by some of the airlines and IATA, it was proposed as essentially a business model change. It was suggested that it was going to be disintermediating a lot of the market and many people became worried about it. They said, ‘If this is a business model change, we are not very keen to be a part of it!’.

Fast-forward seven years and the rhetoric has changed: it’s now focusing on the technology merits and the benefits that can be delivered to the traveller. That’s why a lot more of the technology providers, including large companies like Amadeus, are now behind it.

A travel agency would benefit as well because it has more products, more choices and more services to offer to travellers. We’ve really moved into a win-win-win environment compared to where we were before.

Fundamentally at Amadeus we believe that technology can generate a lot of value for the participants and that is why we are ready to invest a lot of money into this to make it work.

Actualising NDC-X: what will be delivered?

There will be steps to NDC-X: at the beginning, we will do what we do today and do this as well. The next step is to include more relevant features into the content that is offered to a traveller.

Today, is there a lot of personalisation around the offers that you get as a traveller? Not really. With NDC as a foundation, it will be easier to provide that personalisation.

For example, I am a big rugby fan and next year there is the Rugby World Cup in Japan. I would love to see some offers that are personalised to me, saying ‘Here is a flight and a ticket for one of the matches that you are interested in’.

“This is basically a shopping cart on Amazon”

It’s packaged nicely and comes to me in a proactive way. That is going to be much easier to create with an NDC framework than it is today. This is basically a shopping cart on Amazon. We are using modern techniques as seen with other retailers in other industries and applying that to travel. In this specific example, the rugby package comes as one document that is all paid at once, and all those payments are passed to the various participants.

There is a reason the travel industry did not do this many years ago; one of the great things about the industry is that it has a very strong base in standards, thanks to IATA. This enables all the participants, such as airlines between themselves, and airlines with all of the stakeholders in the ecosystem, to collaborate very closely.

A typical flight to you may have three legs: Singapore to London; London to New York; New York to Buenos Aires. That can happen on completely different airlines and you as a consumer would be able to buy that whole ticket. When you go to check-in, you can check in for the entire flight. All the payment systems are aligned thanks to the strong standards in the industry.

As soon as you have standards, of course, you need everyone to abide by them. That’s why, when you make a change to the standard, or come up with a new standard, you need the entire industry to follow. That’s why it takes more time to put things in place – but once they are in place, what it creates for all the participants, and ultimately the traveller, are much higher.

The current infrastructure can be equated to SMS messaging. It works: you can do advertising on it and you can communicate with people, but we are moving towards a world that is more like WeChat. It’s messaging, but you can also complete transactions, you can offer rich content, and a lot more.

Who is already involved

If you look at all the large airlines and travel agencies, clearly they believe that the NDC is going to happen. As part of our programme, we have American Airlines, Qantas, Flight Centre, Amex, BCD Travel and CWT these are major players and all of them have embarked on this journey.

It’s not going to happen overnight –a reference: just for the industry to move from paper ticketing to electronic ticketing, took 11 years! That is essentially just putting one analogue process into a digital process.

“It’s a change management process as well as an upgrading process.”

The complexity of NDC means that we are not only porting into a greater digital world but we are changing the process as well; it’s a change management process as well as an upgrading process.

One of our first partners was Travix, a European OTA. It’s much simpler to adopt NDC because they already have XML-based services. Other examples include FinnAir using NDC for Skyscanner and that is live already. The online segment knows how to do it already.

Travel management companies (TMCs) have more work to do with integration; they have developed very efficient processes around the global distribution systems (GDS), with a lot of automation and queuing and accounting systems. They need to be efficient when dealing with the complex services they offer to corporates; as soon as you start changing one of those processes you have to adapt all the other processes.

Geographies

The US and Europe are the two markets where things are happening faster, driven by the very large airlines – American, United, British Airways, Lufthansa, Air France, who are very engaged in the initiative.

In APAC, Qantas is very keen to push forward with NDC and we are helping them. In Asia in general, there is so much growth that NDC does not need be their first priority but it’s exciting to be there anyway! In more stable markets with single-digit growth, there is more opportunity to focus on optimising what exists already.

There is a lot of growth in the China market and everyone is focusing on capturing that. Travelsky has already been using NDC so I think they are aligned in terms of concept and it’s a case of when is the right time for them to deploy on a massive scale.

The systems that we have today work very well already but what we are talking about is going to the next level. It’s going to depend on each country’s, each airline’s, each travel agency’s business case, in terms of determining when is the right time.

Amadeus’s involvement

Amadeus has a large IT business where we provide IT systems to the airlines, and we have our distribution platform, the GDS that we offer to travel agencies – so we are working on both sides of this equation.

Gianni Pisanello, Amadeus

We have to make sure that airlines have the proper merchandising and retailing systems to be able to create these offers. We have to also be able to deal with the massive increase in transactions that this is going to generate on a technical basis.

The distribution platform is where we are spending most of our effort at the moment, so we can consume the offers that come from airlines offering NDC content, and make them available to the travel agency.

In this respect, we see our role as bringing industrialisation to the market. This means global, high-volume deployment of NDC. We have the broadest geographic footprint technology providers and the widest network of travel agencies and I think we understand our responsibility as a key component.

NDC Certification

Certification is a required step, but just because you have a Level 3 certification, it does not mean that NDC transactions or sales are taking place. Amadeus is certified on both sides as an IT provider and an aggregator, but you have to look under the bonnet and ask what has been implemented and if it meets the needs of both sides.

“Next year we will start to have some meaningful volume”

As an IT provider we are already live, with a number of airlines doing direct connections to Skyscanner for example. As a distributor, we expect that next year we will start to have some meaningful volume.

Amadeus Live Travel Space

Amadeus’s Travel Platform is the technology platform and the evolution of the GDS, where we aggregate all types of content, including NDC content and content from hotels. We reaggregate the relevant content that a travel agency needs. Today, this content is being dispersed into different channels so we’re going to solve that problem.

The Live Travel Space is a concept; an approach to share how the GDS is evolving as a business. For the next 20 years, the things that you will need to succeed in this area are technology expertise, people around the world who understand travel, and you have to marry these things together in order to respond to all the new challenges that are coming.

It’s a dynamic environment where new travel players will enter the industry and others will exit. For example, why is Facebook today not providing travel services? There is going to be a lot of innovation, especially when we have NDC in place, when new players come on board and we can bring them to the market.

The future

The reason we called it NDC-X is like SpaceX or Google X – we are expecting something to happen after. When the internet came we never knew that Facebook would be created. When mobile 4G came along, we never knew that we would have Uber.

That’s the kind of thing we should be thinking about with NDC: when we have laid down the pipes, something will be able to be built on top of it, and we don’t yet know what it is. But that’s really exciting!

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“Doing away with the yearly appraisals that nobody likes”: HR tech in 2018 https://dev.traveldailymedia.com/adrian-tan/ Fri, 07 Sep 2018 15:00:45 +0000 https://www.traveldailymedia.com/?p=481206 The post “Doing away with the yearly appraisals that nobody likes”: HR tech in 2018 appeared first on TD (Travel Daily Media) Brand TD.

I spoke to Adrian Tan, the cofounder of The Resource Group, about how HR technology will disrupt the industry in the years to come and how HR departments will operate in the future.

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Adrian Tan, the cofounder of The Resource Group, will be talking at the upcoming TD HR Executive Summit about HR technology, and how it will disrupt the industry in the years to come.

I spoke to him for this week’s podcast to learn how HR departments will operate in the future:
The below is an abridged version of the podcast. Tan speaks:

Background

I was looking at an HR tech map created by a company called CB Insights, an American company that showcases mainly US and European markets. I thought to myself, ‘Is there a version that covers the Singaporean market?’. I spent a few hours searching online but I couldn’t find anything.

I realised I needed some information and it didn’t exist so I created it myself – the HR Tech Market Map. I eventually found 71 companies and I realised how huge the HR tech market was in Singapore. I have just updated the list this year and found that there are over 120 (not all of them are based in Singapore but use it as a regional HQ).

Along the way I profiled HR consultancy business for small to medium enterprises (SMEs) and I wanted to see how we could blend these two together. So as part of our consultancy we now help to make the right recommendation across each of these companies.

With 120 companies and growing, to really identify the right solution within any organisation it can be really tricky. Without the right information or the right means of comparison, it will take months to identify what you truly need and that’s where we come in.

The changing landscape of HR tech

Five or six years ago nobody was talking about employee engagement or experience, and 10 years ago nobody was talking about employer branding but things have changed drastically. Many small players are coming in to target specific areas; for example, they deep-dive into employee engagement, or video interviews.

I’ll be talking at the summit about, for example, AI, bots, and identifying and pre-screening an individual based on their social footprint. The larger adoption at the moment is in the space of screening. This means communicating with interested jobseekers to identify whether they are a good fit before they advance to other stages.

“Benchmark them against… the top performers in your organisation”

There are a few outstanding companies that are gaining traction [in this] as they have gamified the assessment experience. Instead of taking an assessment test, jobseekers have to download an app, which behaves like a game.

The results from a series of games will be used to benchmark them against the same set of games that the top performers in your organisation have already completed. Looking at many different data points and putting in a layer of neuroscience – and using AI to continuously measure the results – you are able to predict the suitability of this jobseeker.

Social footprints and bots

Screenshot of Belong’s software

There are companies going beyond the usual AI algorithms to find new staff, for example Belong who are based in India. They look at attributes that you may not usually associate with hiring – for example what you retweet who you follow on Twitter. They use that information to predict whether the individual may be a good hire, referencing against the behaviour of the employees already in your company.

Chatbots are being used to speed up the entire recruitment process and people management process. They act as your HR administrator; you will often have cases where your employees need to know about the amount of leave that they have taken and if they can take leave next week, or when pay day is.

“You simply key in your question to the bot and it will be able to retrieve the information, almost instantaneously”

Traditionally you would pick up the phone and call or email your HR department. The HR administrator is always doing the same thing or always being asked the same question; now bots are coming into the picture. You simply key in your question to the bot and it will be able to retrieve the information, almost instantaneously, and it will let you know that, for example, you have 10 days of leave left.

One of the leading banks in Singapore, DBS, recently announced that they will be rolling out screening bots – it’s a game changer. This is really helping to raise the awareness of bots and has made others more courageous to give it a try.

The death of the yearly appraisal

There’s also a huge potential for companies to look into the employee experience space. In Singapore, the focus right now is very much an employee engagement, getting real-time feedback from your employees to find out how they are doing and if there is anything you can help them with.

This is related to performance management, and doing away with the yearly appraisals that nobody likes, and also into the space of people analytics, where big data related to how your employees function and perform will be crunched this will help you to identify who may be a better employee for different kinds of jobs.

I think the most prominent company that has done away with these yearly appraisals is Adobe. They have replaced it with micro realtime feedback. They reduce the friction for feedback between workers and their supervisors or managers. This usually takes the form of an app and so push notifications can remind you to take certain action and allows you to have an overview of where you stand at any point in time.

You don’t have to wait until the end of the year to know how you have performed. I was involved with these before I started my first company and it’s a very painful experience for both parties.

Blockchain and video

In Singapore there is a company that has adopted blockchain to provide an Ethereum-backed LinkedIn to help facilitate screening and background checks. For most companies a background check is a prerequisite; you usually have someone call the employee’s old company.

Chances are that somebody is going to give a glowing testimonial of the work you have done before, but that doesn’t necessarily represent the truth. This new version of LinkedIn is looking to get a majority consensus of certain skillsets that you have.

“Think of it like your personal TripAdvisor ranking”

People are incentivised to review what you have done before and to grade you accordingly. Think of it like your personal TripAdvisor ranking. There are so many reviews that there is a higher chance that the review will be more likely to represent what is really out there. Your potential employer can tap into it to have a good gauge of your credibility.

For companies looking to hire 100 employees and above on a regular basis there are a number of opportunities where technology can come into play, particularly if millennials are the key candidate market.

Companies need to be open to candidates around the world and this is where video interviews come in to play. Applicants go online and answer a series of questions that have been pre-recorded by the recruiter. This will help to reduce the number of applicants who were perhaps too trigger happy to apply!

Some companies have gone one step further and have integrated facial recognition or vocal tech so they can identify micro expression changes in your face or voice to see if you were telling the truth or not.

Unilever in the US has already adopted this across the country.

More information

Adrian Tan is speaking at the TD HR Executive Summit on the 21 September in Bangkok. For more information visit Adrian’s blog at adriantan.com.SG.

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Adrian Tan
“HR is not about policies or transactions” – Sam Neo, founder of People Mentality Inc. https://dev.traveldailymedia.com/sam-neo/ Wed, 05 Sep 2018 04:00:05 +0000 https://www.traveldailymedia.com/?p=480711 The post “HR is not about policies or transactions” – Sam Neo, founder of People Mentality Inc. appeared first on TD (Travel Daily Media) Brand TD.

Sam Neo is the founder of People Mentality Incorporated, a Singapore-based HR consultancy, focussing on employment culture, I spoke to him about creating the 'picture perfect employer of choice for millennials'.

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The post “HR is not about policies or transactions” – Sam Neo, founder of People Mentality Inc. appeared first on TD (Travel Daily Media) Brand TD.

Sam Neo is the founder of People Mentality Incorporated, a Singapore-based HR consultancy, focussing on employment culture. In advance of his speech at the HR Executive Summit, I spoke to him about creating the ‘picture perfect employer of choice for millennials’ for this week’s podcast:

The below is an abridged version of the podcast. Neo speaks:

Background

I’m 30 years old and I started my career seven years ago when I received a scholarship from the Ministry of Manpower. I was there for three years involved in business partner and employee engagement roles, plus corporate social responsibility and learning development.

I was headhunted by Changi airport and joined as a business partner. The airport is a very people-centric organisation; we talk internally enabling people and empowering them. It’s not just about driving results; it’s about thinking about people – that will then drive your results.

Changi is of course results-driven – it always wants to be the number one airport – but we don’t want to rest on our laurels. We wanted to take time to look at our employees and see how they’re doing and listen to their voices and learn how we can do better year after year. We don’t just want to be the top airport we want to be the top employer.

Changi really shaped me as an HR professional. It looks beyond just transactions: it’s not about processing payroll or managing policies. With the right mindset from the management you can make a huge difference. HR is often seen as a second-tier function because it focuses too much on processes, too much on transactions, but if we can put more effort into enabling people and making a difference in their lives, I think you can really impact the business.

After six years of corporate life I decided to relook at things. When I was 29 – millennials call it the quarter life crisis – I was at a point where even though I was very comfortable and stable in a well-paid job in a good company, I thought, ‘Is this really what I want to do long term?’

“If I retired right now, what would I be known for?”

I love the profession but if I remained in a corporate setting I wondered if I would be able to fulfill what I believe in and be able to impact more lives. I thought, ‘If I retired right now, what would I be known for? Would it be a millionaire HR officer or would it be a change maker in the profession?’. I chose the latter.

I reached out to different mentors and communities for clarity. I wanted to create a movement and a voice for the profession, and in particular for Asia. I think we look towards the west too much – where are there are good practices for sure, but I believe we have good practices here as well.

Regional nuances in HR

In Asia, we’re not that articulate and we don’t voice ourselves well; it’s a pity. If we can bring the best of the west and the best of Asia it will be a great exchange and we’ll grow the profession globally. For global MNCs, it’s the case that the global headquarters – wherever it is in the world – will just cascade down information and the regional officers just have to follow.

We’re asking what has be kept consistent and what could be customised because we are creating different employer experiences in different countries.

You will look at the core message – for example, caring about employees. In China it might be about ensuring time for the family but in Singapore it might be about flexible hours.

“A lot of HR policies are top-down and don’t have regional ownership”

The theme is the same across global units but for different countries you have to tailor the message and get the local units to take ownership of it. A lot of HR policies are always top-down and don’t have regional ownership. It’s just me taking instructions even though I don’t really believe in it.

In Singapore study leave is important as Singaporeans love certifications. This means companies can let employees improve themselves – it’s certainly a positive for the employer experience. It’s always about country-sensitive.

Making the break

When starting a business, you always think, ‘Is this sustainable? Is it a dream that will only last six months or is it something that can become a business while you live the dream?’. Fortunately, I work for companies that paid me well and I had some savings so I thought I would go for it.

My first client was a company called Bread Talk and I did a benefit study with them. We looked at how we can better attract engage and retain different employees; we wanted to know what made them tick.

Benefits are not just about spending top dollars but what gives high perceived value for the employees, for a relatively low-cost to the company. For one of my F&B clients, one employee said that ‘appreciation isn’t about movie night or dinners, it’s just about my boss telling me that I did a good job – and knowing who I am’.

“At a certain point the money doesn’t make you tick anymore”

It’s important to understand the drivers for different employees and then tailor their needs to create the right experience for them. I would say more money is just a surface requirement – of course all of us want to be paid more! However, if you think of the law of diminishing returns, at a certain point the money doesn’t make you tick anymore.

If somebody says I want more money we normally did a little bit deeper to find out what they want the money for. What’s the core value that’s driving you? Is it for looking after the family, or chasing a dream, or for travel?

People Mentality

We focus on three key pillars. We are an HR and branding consultancy firm for small to medium sized companies, focusing on the millennial angle – there is a conception that millennials are a tough bunch to manage and we try to bridge the gap.

We help companies attract the right talent and create structure and programmes to take the company to the next level – through their people. We also offer training facilities for bigger companies. We also offer content development: I have my own YouTube channel called PM TV; I write a lot of blogs and I’m very active on LinkedIn.

I get a lot of questions from people asking how can they join the profession. For me, it’s a good step towards my vision of taking HR to the next level and inspiring the next generation of people.

Travel and HR

Travel is about experience and when we do HR work, experience counts as well. It’s not just about transactions. How do you make sure that employees feel that this is the right place, then translate that positive experience to the clients?

There are common traits for millennials because of our value system and because of how we grew up. There are a lot of stereotypes, such as being impatient and wanting instant gratification, plus being entitled and self-absorbed.

There are underlying core drivers for this. For instance, we are impatient because we want to retire earlier: the average target age is about 60 years old. However while millennials want to retire early they want to learn a lot more. So a shorter career but wanting to do more leads to the impression of being impatient. That’s why they are always job-hopping: I need to find a new project when things don’t work out in the first few months.

We are wanting to learn why they appear to have that stereotype. A key theme of my talk at the HR Summit theme is to debunk these stereotypes, because before we talk about engaging we need to understand the target audience and about branding that is powerful and unique to the company.

“If people believe in what you stand for… you get company ambassadors”

Branding in its simplest term is what people think about you. What do you stand for? The best way to communicate this is through your company stories. By telling the right authentic stories you attract the right people from outside. Internally, if people believe in what you stand for, they become more engaged and you get company ambassadors rather than disgruntled staff. If you have people advocating you that adds to your credibility.

What to offer millennials

At this point in time, most millennials are in entry to mid-management level and are still finding their feet. They are looking how to grow their career and what they actually want. Having mentors helps with clarity, and managers who are equipped to have conversations about career makes a difference. The employee can work out what they want and the company can offer something useful.

To appeal to millennials, organisations should offer coaching and nurturing managers and a mentoring programme, and that means reverse mentoring as well, where millennials do not just learn but they can impart some knowledge two older colleagues as well and feel valued.

There are different roles in a company: as a CEO your job is to drive P&L of the organisation. In sales you need to drive sales; in marketing you need to brand the company, but the primary focus is not on the people themselves.

If you can provide platforms to empower people and to help managers, who are busy with day to day work, be better equipped to take care of their employees; for example being better acquainted with certain questions and how to approach your employees.

It’s about people mentality – not following a process but paying attention and acting based on your observations and interactions with your staff.

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Cross-border selling to and from China: Larry You, Westwin https://dev.traveldailymedia.com/larry-you-westwin/ Mon, 20 Aug 2018 13:09:25 +0000 https://www.traveldailymedia.com/?p=479270 The post Cross-border selling to and from China: Larry You, Westwin appeared first on TD (Travel Daily Media) Brand TD.

For this week's podcast, I caught up with Larry You, the marketing manager of Westwin for overseas businesses.

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The post Cross-border selling to and from China: Larry You, Westwin appeared first on TD (Travel Daily Media) Brand TD.

Recently Westwin, a digital marketing and consulting firm that focuses on cross-border business in and out of China, released a fascinating report on the purchasing behaviour of Chinese outbound tourists. For this week’s podcast, I caught up with Larry You, the marketing manager of Westwin for overseas businesses, to learn more.

The following is an abridged version of that conversation. You speaks:

Westwin’s background

Westwin provides brand strategies and digital marketing solutions to help clients achieve success in China and globally, formerly known as MSN China until 2004. We help our clients with online marketing; in 2010 we launched Bing ads in China to help Chinese companies such as Alibaba and jd.com to achieve success abroad. In 2016 through a management buyout the company was renamed as Westwin.

Westwin;s collaboration with Bing

Right now we are partnering with Chinese search engines and social platforms to offer foreign brands China-dedicated marketing and advertising solutions.

On one hand we are helping national brands to come to China, and helping them with brand exposure and presence; on the other hand, we are helping Chinese companies to go abroad to do the same thing.

The report

A number of successful companies have failed in China: 10 or 15 years ago, in the early age of cross-border business, foreign companies trying to come to China were making a lot of mistakes.

It became a huge lesson and learning experience – especially for companies nowadays. I think the real wave of companies going abroad started in the last two or three years; both global and Chinese companies are learning a lot from the earlier mistakes made by those foreign companies.

Digital trends in China

Chinese consumers are tech savvy and are using their mobile phones all the time. You have to keep up with trends and you have to know what’s going on in the ‘digital jungle’.

There are three key trends in outbound tourism; first, the numbers and growth. The number of outbound Chinese tourists has grown rapidly to 130 million. Keep in mind that this is not just about the travellers but the consumers: in 2017, China’s
outbound purchasing reached USD 115 billion – the highest number in the world. That’s a 5% increase from 2016.

[The report shows 7.5% growth – this is 7.5% growth on 130 million people; almost 10 million new travellers are entering the space every year]

Travel type

Second is type of travel. Now, more customers are choosing a self-guided tour or semi-self-guided tour compared to a travel agency tour, which were more popular 5 or 10 years ago. ‘Semi-self-guided’ means a mix of self-guided and agency travel; for example, I book the air ticket and hotel by myself, but when I arrive at the hotel I sign up for a guided tour.

85% of the outbound traveller volume is self-guided or semi self-guided. Only 15% is being reported as guided or managed tours.

Chinese tourists themselves are changing. Before, there were more senior citizens who had a language barrier so they were more reliant on the travel agencies. These days, Chinese tourists are younger and more educated so the language barrier has gone.

“A golden opportunity for tour operators”

Nowadays, Chinese people also have easy access to more information so they can do their homework and plan the trip themselves, for example via social media.

Scenic spots in Europe used to be famous for being filled with Chinese tourists, but this stereotype is gone and replaced by individual Chinese travellers who are spending a lot of money on food, hotels and souvenirs – this is a golden opportunity for tour operators.

Capturing the market

Japan, Korea, and the United States are the top key markets these days; plus Australia, United Kingdom Singapore and Canada are also drawing a lot of attention for outbound tourism.

The average traveller is no longer a senior citizen. From our research, they are aged 35 to 44 – they are younger than you might think. They are spending more; the average expenditure for an outbound tourists in the past 12 months is RMB 20000 or about USD 3000.

Tourists with children are spending more than those without children, so, if your brand is targeting families and young parents there are a lot of marketing opportunities.

Female travellers are spending more and the most popular items are cosmetics, apparel and footwear. Also, females make up the vast majority of frequent travellers. With the change of lifestyle, more females are embracing travel around the world.

However, men also buy a lot of cosmetics, perhaps for their families or loved ones.
If I am going abroad, my colleagues and my family will know and they will say, ‘Can you buy me some souvenirs?’. I have a shopping list of gifts for my parents, for my girlfriend for my colleagues. I’m going there with a mission to shop.

Payment methods

Before, we always assumed Chinese outbound tourists were paying with cash or credit card. According to our report bank cards are still very important at 77%; however, mobile payment options Alipay and WeChat are very strong. 69% of tourists chose to use Alipay when abroad and WeChat Pay accounted for 46%.

These payment apps are easy and really popular, especially in first tier and second tier cities. These are widely accepted; you can go out in China and not need any cash – make sure you have phone battery and you’re covered.

“Even though I have cash when I travel, it helps to use WeChat pay”

Furthermore, these apps are becoming very popular in the ‘famous cities’ for travellers, such as New York, Sydney, Bangkok and Singapore. In Bangkok every 7-Eleven accepts WeChat pay. Even though I have cash when I travel, it helps to use WeChat pay as it’s connected to my bank account at home.

Singapore Changi airport has WeChat Pay in every store so that’s good news for Chinese consumers and better news for the airport itself.

Payment tools as media providers

‘Scan the QR code and pay’ is the main function for these payment apps, but they can do more than that. Let’s say you want to go to New York City and you want to pay with Alipay. You open the app to pay and it also shows more information about the neighbourhood – a bit like TripAdvisor.

You can find great restaurants, shops and coffee houses around the area. Other users can share their experiences so you can not only pay but find information around you -which can trigger consumption.

The main source of information, for outbound travel, are e-commerce platforms, search engines and social media. And they are all domestic platforms, for example Weibo and WeChat, which have become important to search for information overseas. You might assume that they would use local platforms like Yelp or TripAdvisor but [we prefer to use] the Chinese platforms that we are used to. Indeed, TripAdvisor only has 5% of market share.

Crip is no doubt the number one for travel information and you can do this pre-booking so it operates more like an OTA. Fliggy is becoming more popular; it was launched by Alibaba, and Alipay is of course helping their business. These channels are very effective if you want to look into a marketing campaign or advertising as the average Chinese tourist is very mobile-centric.

Denping-Meituan is also very popular. It started as a restaurant recommendation platform, similar to Yelp. As its popularity increased it grew from restaurants to hotels, to shops and bars, and now tourism.

“You are almost definitely going to use Denping”

If you go to a new city and you are looking for a famous place to visit, you are almost definitely going to use Denping. You can see other people’s comments, with pictures and videos, and now Denping is working with the merchants to provide Groupon-style deals. That was mainly in China but is now growing to foreign countries such as London Sydney, and New York.

You can find restaurant listings, recommendations and comments from similar Chinese tourists. This is a really smart channel for local businesses to market themselves to Chinese people digitally, and to convert them from just a viewer to a purchaser.

Converting to purchase

The main drivers to purchase are opinion leaders – friends, relatives, colleagues, or KOLs (Key Opinion Leaders) such as internet celebrities – who take 61% of market share.

The next is discounts at 54%; we had assumed that this was the key reason for outbound tourists to buy. Third is brand story or brand culture, at 42%. This is particularly attractive for cross-border tourists and overseas residents.

“If your brand has a great story or culture make sure that you translate it into Chinese”

This is also for individuals with a higher education who play attention to the cultural creativity of a certain product. If your brand has a great story or culture, make sure that you translate it into Chinese and make full use of it.

Social commerce

Get your story out via Chinese social media platforms. The two giants, Weibo and WeChat, are not just social platforms for people to contact each other, but they are a great way to search for a product or brand information even for overseas companies. We check Weibo with a very high frequency so if you’re present there, there’s no way we can miss it.

Chinese consumers want to see real opinions and want to see how these places interact with people. Chinese people are still highly reliant on the word of mouth and the opinions of fellow Chinese tourists. Let’s say we go to a restaurant in London; even though it’s widely popular for London citizens, Chinese visitors feel like they have a link to other fellow Chinese tourists so we rely on their opinion.

Social commerce is simply e-commerce with a social flavour. If you see a brand talking about their product on WeChat, it’s just one click to the e-commerce platform, also within WeChat. It’s useful for brand presence and popularity but also you can change them from a follower to a consumer.

Conclusion

The report has a lot of interesting themes if you are looking to target Chinese travellers; especially buying habits and age groups, and preferred advertising platforms.

“Find your tone and have the localisation mindset”

Above all, if you want to win this market, you have to keep up with digital trends including social advertising. Our company is trying to help with localisation which is very important for brands and Chinese travellers. Make sure you find your tone and have the localisation mindset; that will be the key for success.

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Capturing luxury Chinese travellers: We talk to Anita Chan, CEO of Compass Edge https://dev.traveldailymedia.com/anita-chan-compass-edge/ Mon, 06 Aug 2018 08:59:08 +0000 https://www.traveldailymedia.com/?p=477583 The post Capturing luxury Chinese travellers: We talk to Anita Chan, CEO of Compass Edge appeared first on TD (Travel Daily Media) Brand TD.

Anita Chan, the CEO of Compass Edge, warned me that "the China that you understand is not the real China".

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The post Capturing luxury Chinese travellers: We talk to Anita Chan, CEO of Compass Edge appeared first on TD (Travel Daily Media) Brand TD.

Anita Chan, the CEO of Compass Edge, spoke at the TD GM Executive Summit on Friday and warned attendees that “the China that you understand is not the real China”. I caught up with her to chat about capturing the luxury Chinese travel market for the TD Podcast:

The article below is an abridged transcription of this podcast. Chan speaks:

Background

Compass Edge was founded in 2008, originally to provide online solutions for hotels, including internet booking engines, channel management, and GDS connectivity. With the changing competitive landscape, we noticed that OTAs were taking market share from independent hoteliers so we looked into what we could do to help.

I was a silent investor in the company since 2008 but now I am actively involved with the operations. In 2014, we looked at the environment and we saw booking volumes were going down – especially for independent hotels – so we asked, ‘What is going up? What are the opportunities?’.

The opportunities were Chinese outbound tourism, particularly FIT travel. We noticed hockey stick growth. Because we had partners in China and a team in Hong Kong that could speak fluent Mandarin and English, we understood Chinese culture. We noticed we could transform the company into what hotels need and we came up with Go China, which is a China-ready strategy for hotels.

The China marketplace

WeChat

China is so different and still, not many hoteliers know that. Google, Facebook and Twitter are all blocked – many people know this but they do not understand the extent to which cannot be seen unless they have been to China before.

Many people believe they can copy what they do well in the Western world but that doesn’t work.

Things are changing too quickly; for example, if you talked about KOLs – key opinion leaders – a couple of years ago, people wouldn’t know what you were talking about. But now it’s the number one profession that young Chinese people want.

Similarly, in 2014, we would say that WeChat was still a copycat of WhatsApp. But now WeChat is something completely different; it’s become its own ecosystem. General managers from overseas hotels do not understand the complexity of the China market and that is where we come in; we educate and put them on the right track.

Conservation with GMs

The view that Chinese people visit a destination in a large group and misbehave and don’t buy anything is an outdated stereotype.

The bus tour type of tourism is gone, especially to Thailand. Chinese visitors are more and more willing to travel by themselves. If you target the right people, they are no different from the Europeans.

You will always find hoteliers who are not interested in chasing the Chinese market because they have enough market share already. But, in reply to that, an interesting observation that we made is that the best use of the China market was during the low season. In Phuket, even in low season, when it rains, the Chinese are happy to go there. This low season demand fits perfectly when you need customers.

Phuket in the rain

Even that trend is changing a little bit because the savvy Chinese traveller now does not want to go to places that other Chinese people have been to. They want to show that they have been somewhere exotic and experienced something unique. If a thousand people have been to a destination they think that’s not cool any more – especially for the young generation and luxury travellers. They want to find a new Island that nobody’s been to.

The Chinese market has matured really quickly, moving from the tour guide model (as we say in Europe in the 70s) through to finding an exotic place for yourself. This is largely because of technology; before, language may have been a barrier. Now with a translation app on your smartphone in hand, you can go anywhere without a problem.

Digital and the power of social

Everyone has to unlearn what they know, even if they are a very savvy GM or digital marketing executive. They should have an open mind about the China market. In the Western world, one of the most important marketing goals is your position myself in a search engine, because the first step in digital marketing is Google Search.

“Hoteliers would ask, ‘How are you going to do SEO for me?’ – but in China the planning stage starts with social media”

Hoteliers would ask ‘How are you going to do SEO for me?’ – but in China, the planning stage starts with social media. Furthermore, now social media is converging with e-commerce; the technologies cannot be separated because a social media platform like WeChat or Weibo is evolving into e-commerce. 91% of Chinese will shop on a household brand OTA such as Ctrip – that’s the highest in the world.

We have also heard about O2O marketing – online 2 offline. You may see Ctrip as an online company but they have a lot of offline offices. Everything is so integrated and all of their units are one piece of a bigger puzzle that you that you have to put together or you won’t have a presence in China. There is no need to be an ‘online company’ or an ‘offline company’ and I think that comes from the Chinese culture. Trust is a big issue: Chinese people do not trust just anything you tell them.

One of the Ctrip offices, in Shanghai. Credit: Simon Willmore

Even if you are a very honest person, Chinese people do not trust you and they have their own system to value you: social media: They talk to each other and they read reviews and they ask a lot of questions. If you post a picture on social media they will ask is that really your hotel? Are you really that close to the beach?

That’s one of the reasons online and offline are so well integrated: Chinese people have to talk to you they have to see you as a person, so they know you are real and trustworthy.

Monitoring social feedback

Most of the hotels, especially independent hotels, do not even have a basic online presence in China. They think they are there – but nobody can see them.

Language is one thing, but so is the Great Firewall of China. If you are not locally hosted in China, the website speed will be very slow. If you do not pass the censorship, the speed again will be very slow. Most western websites are built upon Google guidelines to maximise the search result. It’s not just Google that is blocked in China, some of Google’s tools are, too.

Just translating the website is definitely not enough to have even a basic presence. Your website comes at a later stage; social media comes first. How are you presenting yourself in Weibo and WeChat? What are people saying about you? These things need to be managed before you think about your website.

“Marketers… spend 50 to 80% more than on Western online marketing”

It’s more competitive and a very crowded space. A lot of companies are willing to invest huge cash in order to have a presence. If you ask any agency doing international digital marketing, they will say that the China market is the most expensive. Benchmark surveys suggest that they spend 50 to 80% more than Western online marketing.

One of the key focuses is influencer marketing. A KOL can cost you as much as USD 150,000 per post and it’s common to have a KOL charging USD 50,000 per post – and that’s why everybody wants to be a KOL! For example, Volkswagen ran a campaign with a KOL on WeChat and sold 10 cars in 15 minutes. That’s the power of KOLs: people trust her so when she endorsed the product, people bought it.

“In China, nothing is cheap”

Hoteliers always tell me everything is made in China so everything is cheap – that’s a misconception. There are 1.3 billion Chinese so if it costs you just 1 cent to market to each of them, you’ll be broke by the end of the day! So where should you focus?

How a traveller picks your hotel and not the hotel next door is through information – and social media – but if you want a booking you need to work with the OTAs. I think exposure is key: different OTAs target different tiers of the market. Some are stronger in the primary cities, some are stronger in the secondary cities. Some are targeting older people, or younger people.

Meituan was a Groupon-type company three or four years ago but they transformed and purchased Dianping, a restaurant review site. They are covering the major third or fourth tier cities and actually topped Ctrip in terms of hotel bookings in March 2018.

We all think that Ctrip is so dominant but there is now a company that is supposed to be selling restaurant coupons that is now the top company for hotel bookings.

Anything is possible and things change so quickly. No one can claim to be a China expert, because no-one can know enough; it’s a complicated market. I want hotels to have an open mind and I want them to know if they think they really understand China, think twice!

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How to – and how not to – use OTAs as partners https://dev.traveldailymedia.com/dan-lynn-zuzu/ Mon, 30 Jul 2018 18:47:50 +0000 https://www.traveldailymedia.com/?p=476746 The post How to – and how not to – use OTAs as partners appeared first on TD (Travel Daily Media) Brand TD.

Dan Lynn is the co-founder of ZUZU Hospitality Solutions, a distribution and revenue management company for small independent hotels.

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The post How to – and how not to – use OTAs as partners appeared first on TD (Travel Daily Media) Brand TD.

Dan Lynn is the co-founder of ZUZU Hospitality Solutions, a distribution and revenue management company for small independent hotels. Englishman Lynn has lived in the US and Asia for the last eight years, with most of that time spent working in online consumer travel for companies including Expedia and HomeAway.

Two years ago he started ZUZU – because he felt that “hoteliers were getting increasingly overwhelmed with the complexity of working with online travel platforms”. In preparation for his talk at TD’s GM Executive Summit, we caught up to chat for this week’s TD Podcast – below is an abridged version of that conversation. Lynn speaks:

Background

I used to work for McKinsey in the UK but I really wanted to get into the travel industry. When the lead travel Partner left McKinsey to join Expedia in the States, he said, ‘This is exciting you should come and work for me!’.

So, aged 24, I moved to Seattle to take a strategy manager role at Expedia. It required doing whatever needed to get done; the company was going through its first growing pains as it had been a huge startup success story but was beginning to plateau.

It was a big turnaround time; we had just started to launch a few sites in Europe but it was all run very regionally.

My former partner had been asked to create a global supply organisation called PSG Partner Services Group. This is where we started recognising that we were a two-sided marketplace, not just a consumer-facing business.

The biggest change moving to Expedia is the sense of ownership. When you move from being a consultant to being part of the team and having that continuum of recognising there’s a problem, understanding the problem and coming up with a solution and then implementing it, and seeing that manifest itself, is immensely satisfying.

There’s an endorphin rush associated with ownership and being able to shape something and deliver it. When you start your own business it’s 100% about that.

I spent four years in Seattle – London is the only place that makes the Seattle weather look like a step up! – going from a dogsbody role then later pulling together Expedia’s global analysts into a team to create statistical analysis for things like fraud prevention. Then I moved to search marketing then I received the opportunity to move to Sydney and lead the business for Expedia Asia-Pacific.

We had recently launched Japan and India; it was incredibly exciting and I was very fortunate to receive the opportunity. It’s one of the things I really admire about the company: it gives people opportunities and it lets people make mistakes. As long as you don’t make the same mistake twice and make more good decisions than bad decisions, you get a lot of scopes to try things.

Expanding Expedia into Asia

A year later, we were the third or fourth largest player in Australia but we were growing faster than anybody else. The Japan business wasn’t doing as well and we had a major competitor in Rakuten travel. It became obvious that if Expedia was to have a great future in Asia-Pacific it needed to be in Asia – operating from Australia wasn’t going to work.

It made sense to shift our headquarters up into the region and we started having conversations about a more aggressive move to solve some of the secular issues. I felt that in Europe the sites that the low-cost carriers did not participate in OTAs as these companies made so much money in ancillary revenue. It cramped the growth of the model.

“Seven days locked in a hotel room in Hong Kong with Mark Okerstrom from Expedia and Kathleen Tan from AirAsia”

Instead, we wanted to attract low-cost carriers to be part of the platform and eventually we went into a joint venture with Air Asia who took a 50% stake in the business. It was a powerful idea and required seven days locked in a hotel room in Hong Kong with Mark Okerstrom from Expedia and Kathleen Tan from AirAsia. It no doubt accelerated Expedia’s entry into the market: we launched 13 new countries in the 18 months after that deal.

HomeAway

The autonomy from Expedia fed my risk appetite and I briefly started something with a friend, but then I took a year off while my wife gave birth. Travel was too in my blood to move away from and an opportunity at HomeAway came up.

They had recently turned to Asia-Pacific and had just bought three companies: Stayz in Australia, Bookabach in New Zealand and Travelmob in Singapore. I was an early-stage investor in Travelmob and so I got to meet Carl, one of the HomeAway co-founders. Later he asked me to come in and help.

“Find the balance between local and global solutions”

There was a need to add some global solutions to the local products they had and they wanted to try new approaches for the early-stage Asian markets. I think you have to find the balance between local and global solutions for any business.

It’s still very early days for a lot of these markets in Southeast Asia; for example, in Indonesia, online hotel bookings only make up 10% of the marketplace. Low-cost carriers were very quick to go online but hotels weren’t; I think this why companies like Traveloka still have a lot of scopes to grow fast.

They timed their heavy investment at the right point, just as it was starting to take off. They have been spending very aggressively because I think they are focused on the lifetime value of customers. They are thinking, ‘We might lose money on the first transaction but if we can be what online travel means to the Indonesian consumer then they will start coming directly the second and third time’.

Traveloka is also been very smart to focus on local, for example with payment solutions you need to accept money through ATMs or at shops or paying at the hotel directly.

The start of ZUZU

Coming back to the internal motivator that was the ownership of having an idea and getting it over the line, I feel I had always known I was going to build my own business. I had said to myself, by age 35 I would build my own business. I knew that the longer you stayed in corporate, the more you got used to the certainty of a paycheck.

But for me it was never about the title or the paycheck; it was about being able to turn an idea into something and build something. I gave myself a firm deadline because otherwise there’s always a reason to stay at your company – for the next stock option grant or the next project.

“A farmer, a fisher, or in tourism”

I grew up in Cornwall, where you are either a farmer, a fisher, or in tourism and I always wanted to be a hotelier.
I got together for a coffee with the man who would become my co-founder Vikram Malhi, whom I had worked with at Expedia. He was based in the US for Hotels.com and then he came to Asia when we were starting Expedia India.

Vikram Malhi

When I left Expedia he was effectively running all of the Expedia brands in Southeast Asia. During coffee, he said he needed to start his own business. I had gone to have coffee with the idea of asking him to join HomeAway!

We started talking about things we were passionate about. I had always had this nagging thought that you shouldn’t do a travel start-up because too many people love travel and there’s always a pain point in the booking experience.

There are too many travel startups that fail – it’s too crowded. But travel is the thing that we were passionate about and we couldn’t get away from it.

We saw what Oyo was doing in India and they noticed that there was a lot of mess in the independent hotel segment and there wasn’t uniformity of solution. In just that one country that segment covered tens of thousands of hotels.

The hotel industry is not at all consolidated and there’s a long tail of hoteliers owning one or two properties of 30 to 70 room – that’s the bulk of the industry. There were good performers and weak performers, and we felt like there was something we could do. By building something for the hoteliers, a B2B solution, we felt we could really create value.

3169 Hotel Lotus Grand, an OYO property in Hyderabad

In January 2016, in the process of going out and talking to hoteliers about joining the first platform we created – a booking site which we cancelled after six months – we spent more time with independent hoteliers and we got a much clearer sense of challenges were and how we could help them.

Six months later we signed our first hotel on what is now our business, which is all behind the scenes. We will do everything that your back office needs to do to generate revenue. That includes a small amount of work with your direct website but mainly includes optimising the way that you work with platforms like Expedia.

We know the behaviour that is rewarded by those platforms and what behaviour was punished by those platforms. We look at everything from, for example, where are you in the sort listing now on Expedia and why are you there. We have a deep understanding of the algorithms that Expedia and others use.

“When you’re not being punished by any of the OTAs you see yourself move up the sort orders”

Parity is important: all the OTAs are carefully watching the other OTAs and if they find that you are giving somebody else a better rate or better availability – which may just be an accident because you’re managing through extranet – any breach of the rate parity is punished. When you’re not being punished by any of the OTAs you see yourself move up the sort orders.

Then we start putting in place our revenue management principles, such as new rate plans, promotional structures and dynamic pricing. After three hotels, we realised that this was something that could drive 30 40 50% revenue growth for our partners.

In the traditional hotel chain model, you want to find a brand, then a 15- to 20-year management contract, and a heavy amount of capital expenditure upfront to make your hotel look like every other hotel in that chain. They will then do the revenue generation for you. We’re saying you don’t have to do those first three steps – and you don’t have to give up operation of your hotel – to get somebody to professionally deliver the revenue management for you.

We find in smaller hotels, you probably can’t even afford to have a director of revenue management or director of sales so it’s often the GM who is trying to do all that stuff in their spare time, for example struggling with an Excel spreadsheet on a Wednesday night.

New markets

We wanted to prove that we could create value for a hotelier across different types of markets not just developing or developed markets. The first two markets we focused on Indonesia and Taiwan because we wanted to have proof that we could create value in markets that were early in the online travel adoption and later in the online travel adoption.

Indonesia is seeing 6 to 7% growth in its economy every year which means that the travel sector is growing at one and a half times that which means that online travel is going up two or three times that so it’s just such a vibrant fast-moving market. It’s also an enormous market so if you can find a small segment where you really create value, you can deliver a lot.

Of course, part of picking markets is about people and in Taiwan, we knew a phenomenal leader: Ivy Hsieh, a Taiwanese woman based in Hong Kong who wanted to move back to Taiwan and wanted to build the business with us.

Taiwan is a really developed market that is often ignored by so many companies. Maybe there’s a feeling that the mainland China players are going after it so the international community doesn’t go there and maybe the Chinese players feel that they would have to tweak their product and it’s not big enough market so it’s not worth it. But I’ve always found that if you can build a relationship that creates value, it’s a rational market where you can have a great business and make money.

More recently we have started to expand so we now have hoteliers in Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia and we will add new markets steadily as we grow the business.

What’s coming up

We want to continue to invest in our product solution. We see ourselves as trying to strip out a lot of complexity and one of the complexities that exists for hoteliers is having five to six different operating systems that all have to talk to each other. We continue to progress our technology platform so that it can be a single solution; we’re trying to build a product that lets a hotelier use it the way they want to use it for his or her property.

We’re also looking into machine learning on the revenue management side. We are building a team of data scientists whose job is to build a revenue management model that takes into account historical demand current competitive pricing, airline ticket availability. It’s a huge opportunity.

Lynn will be talking about third-party distribution and how to use those channels effectively at the GM Executive Summit next week.

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How to - and how not to - use OTAs as partners Dan Lynn is the co-founder of ZUZU Hospitality Solutions, a distribution and revenue management company for small independent hotels. Englishman Lynn has lived in the US and Asia for the last eight years, with most of that time spent working in online consumer travel for companies including Expedia Brett Henry,Dan Lynn,Zuzu,ZUZU Hospitality Solutions,ZUZU Hospitality
Leveraging mobile and big data in the guest experience https://dev.traveldailymedia.com/podcast-mark-pope/ Mon, 23 Jul 2018 18:42:37 +0000 https://www.traveldailymedia.com/?p=476068 The post Leveraging mobile and big data in the guest experience appeared first on TD (Travel Daily Media) Brand TD.

I spoke to the cofounder of Portier about how engagement equals sales for five-star luxury hotels.

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I spoke to the cofounder of Portier about how engagement equals sales for five-star luxury hotels in the latest episode of the TD podcast, as we discussed in detail at our GM Executive Summit.

This is an abridged version of that conversation. Pope speaks:

The birth of Portier

Portier was founded two years ago by myself and my co-founder Dennis, who’s based in Hong Kong.

We focus on luxury hotels and there are two parts to what we do: first, we use mobile to drive guest satisfaction and engagement – while guests are in the hotel and while they are off site touring the city. The other side is using the engagement to increase sales; it’s an area that hasn’t really been pushed forward for a lot of independent luxury properties.

From a guest standpoint, we create a custom smartphone and put it in hotel rooms. There is a 4G data card with unlimited connectivity, free international calling, free local calling and perhaps most importantly, we take all of the hotel services – like you would see in the old directory in your hotel room – and bring them to life.

You can see what’s happening today and what’s happening tomorrow; we publish content from local editors into a city guide. Hotels can update the device content daily, such as the food menu and the spa treatments and the day’s activities, all translated into multiple languages.

“Even if you’re paying $250 a night, you still don’t like roaming charges – nobody does”

A ‘concierge’ module is also added to these phones so that when guests go off site they can simply text or call their private butler or the service desk. Even if you’re staying in a five-star hotel and you’re paying $250 a night, you still don’t like roaming charges – nobody does.

Connecting to the hotel is a big part of what we do but we also go beyond the hotel into the city; nowadays travellers are not looking to go to the number one site in the city, like the Eiffel Tower, but prefer to discover that new art gallery on a side street or a hole in the wall dining experience.

We like to blend in great journalism with technology; you cannot underestimate the value of local editors in each market.

 For example, our first customer was the Siam Hotel in Bangkok and when we started writing this guide we were looking at shopping malls and the like, but we found some of the best things to do are visit a floating market an hour and a half outside of town, or a walk around Chinatown to look at street art.

I live in New York so we used to think about the local culture editor for the New York Times. This app is like having that person as your best friend.

Markets and cultural nuances

Our focus is on Thailand as a first market and then Southeast Asia. At the moment our product has value in markets with high international arrival numbers. In Thailand, about 80% of all tourism spending – that’s 18% of the entire GDP of the country – is coming from international travel. In Asia is where we’ve seen the birth of the true international luxury experience in the hospitality industry.

In Thailand you have huge double-digit growth in Chinese arrivals and it was really important for us as a company to understand the Chinese traveller. We joined an accelerator based in Shanghai in order to focus on cross-border business, so we knew that, from day one, we were international not only in our markets but in our customer base.

This allows us to work with other portfolio companies who are based in Shanghai, which helps us to customise language settings to make it relevant for guests around the world.

Ebay versus Alibaba

We’re focusing on user experience beyond just language. For example, if you’re a Chinese user looking at the American product eBay it looks very boring but if you’re an American looking at Alibaba it looks too full of information and you get lost. So the priority of information has to change, not just the basic language.

In a few months when you log on to Portier you’ll notice the whole look and feel changes, not just the language. Even the navigation and third party integrations will be more representative to your individual experience of using mobile.

From the hotelier perspective, we focus on the bottom line and how to make this app pay for itself. We see Portier now as the most effective sales channel for hoteliers. For example, a lot of hotels have apps but the download rate is very low – maybe up to 3% for a rewards member for any chain hotel. But with our hotel at we’re seeing about 80% use rate every day.

The phones are completely white labelled for the hotel it has a back-end CMS – it’s easier than posting on Facebook. We list all the menus and spa offerings and we make it very easy for guest to click dial and book. On average the user uses the app 14 times a day.

General managers can push their spa treatments because the weather is fine and everybody is outside. Because these guests are already engaged with the concierge so this can direct the user to a dining experience on the beachfront for 300 to 500 dollars.

Case study

Banyan Tree Bangkok

One of our top users is Banyan Tree. In June, which is usually a slow a month in Thailand for bookings, we had 250 instances of users calling their villa host direct from the article for bookings.

For 88 villas, the top line number in revenue actions was about 450,000 US dollars. Most of this went to the spa and hotel experiences for example they have a private speedboat to do island touring and snorkeling.

If it’s a rainy day you do not want visitors going into the rooms; you want them to sign up for a cooking class or the spa. We want to be able to upsell using what we think is the strongest channel that a hotel would have.

Going live and new launches

As for the technology we’ve made it so that I could use it – so it’s fair to call it idiot-proof! The average number of tech products that a hotel uses is over 100 and I didn’t realise the number of vendors that hoteliers have to deal with. For us, in terms of the IT department there’s minimal interaction – but for the first few days of launch, we go onsite ourselves, complete with our name tags!

The operational lead time to be on property and live is about four weeks. That’s partly because of the time it takes to customise the look and feel of the app for your hotel and to understand the guest profile and write the most appropriate content. Even the same hotel chain will have different content at different resorts.

Now we know the product works for ROI, we’re integrating big data into our offering. We’ve started a partnership with a company that offers deep search for geolocation targeting – to within a 95% confidence margin.

This means we are able to start segmenting customers and we can find the experience that’s most relevant for them and change the content that they see.

Hotel revenue managers can give us destination dining offers that we can share to the right people at the right time with the most popular headline.

We’re starting a partnership in Vietnam and we’re already seeing similar double-digit growth as we did in Thailand, particularly within the five-star category.

We’re now in five cities in Vietnam; some hotels have seen a decrease in RevPAR because of increasing competition but that will change again with new airports and easier visa processes. There have been exceptional strides in service and property sizes.

“Independent properties that focus on the guest experience”

We think Indonesia will be an important market and will start operating there are in about a month’s time, with Bali as a launch market. We’re seeing great growth in Malaysia despite some pricing pressures but also lower costs of entry and high international arrivals to high-end properties especially independent properties that focus on the guest experience.

Adoption challenges

The engagement levels we’re seeing right now are more than double what our benchmark was. We’re still adding functionality so there’s still so much potential but the thing that ‘keeps me up at night’ is the pace of technology adoption. It’s largely down to the way properties are managed: sometimes the stakeholders have different priorities.

“There’s a significant lead time to actually get your product in a hotel room”

It’s been very difficult to get the first few partners up and running. If you’re a franchise property you need to convince many stakeholders, not only at the local property but at the regional headquarters or above. There’s a significant lead time to actually get your product in a hotel room and I don’t think we considered that length of time. We need to be able to evangelise something from us that has this white label so it’s not a product by Portier, it’s an extension of your company.

We’re part of a joint venture with a great telco company in Brazil called Surf that has proved adoption is just a matter of time. If you have all the decision makers in one place at the same time it’s easy to make a disruption compared to some of the larger chains, but I think that will change. It’s easier to steer a ship than a frigate but I think soon will have some really good franchise property opportunities.

The Siam Hotel has been operating for about a decade and was the number one property in Bangkok in TripAdvisor for two years by just focusing on its 39 rooms instead of 3000 rooms because of this element of pace od adoption. It’s easier to decide who you are and where you want to be execute on that strategy.

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Mark Pope
Using the cloud before it was even called ‘the cloud’ https://dev.traveldailymedia.com/andrew-mcgregor-guestline/ Fri, 20 Jul 2018 10:55:58 +0000 https://www.traveldailymedia.com/?p=475875 The post Using the cloud before it was even called ‘the cloud’ appeared first on TD (Travel Daily Media) Brand TD.

I spoke to Andrew McGregor, CEO of Guestline, about life in Asia, the early days of e-commerce, and how to expand into new markets.

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The post Using the cloud before it was even called ‘the cloud’ appeared first on TD (Travel Daily Media) Brand TD.

I spoke to Andrew McGregor, CEO of Guestline, about life in Asia, the early days of e-commerce, and how to expand into new markets, for the latest TD podcast.

This is an abridged version of that conversation. McGregor speaks:

Background

I’m originally from Scotland, but I moved to Asia in 1988 and spent five happy years there. I got a job with The Economist group in Hong Kong: we had reporters and analysts based there and in China, which was opening up at the time.

I remember being in Shanghai and looking across to Pudong – it was completely dark, not like today with all the buildings. That helps to illustrate the pace of change in the country.

Later, as marketing director for Europe, Middle East and Africa at The Economist, I helped to launch The Economist online, as one of the early trailblazers in terms of the new world of the internet.

Then I moved into telecoms, latterly as marketing strategy director for British Telecom. I was there until 2007 before I set up my own business called Ecommera. This actually has a lot of parallels with Guestline in that it is in the retail sector.

We sold Ecommera in 2015 to a Japanese group. We had a product that was, in essence, a cloud-based suite of applications – it wasn’t called ‘the cloud’ at the time! – to manage inventory across online channels and in store – ‘omni-channel’ retail. Before we sold the business we had about 400 staff spread from India to San Francisco and we were working with retailers from the likes of Victoria’s Secret to Asda, and we took Clarins online into China.

“I saw a lot of parallels between the retail sector and the hospitality sector”

In 2016, I was speaking to the team at Guestline. I saw a lot of parallels between the retail sector and the hospitality sector – effectively the challenges hoteliers were facing with the growth of online, and the changing expectations around the guest experience. I liked the idea that the company had a very strong focus on service particularly on helping customers through the journey, so I invested in the business and joined as CEO in 2017.

Guestline – the product

Guestline is a cloud-based hospitality software business that helps hoteliers and people with serviced apartments to find more clients through our distribution platform and to manage the guest experience. We manage all of the necessary integrations and provide the service wraparound – I would describe us as software and a service rather than software as a service.

Until 2018, the world of hospitality software has been split in two, with focus on operational software and property management, and then, separately, distribution software. Those two worlds are coming together with the emergence of cloud-based technologies. Until recently, the technology was sited on the actual hotel premises and there was a struggle to scale and push inventory out across multiple online agencies.

Now there is no need for these two things to be separate. The combined operational and distribution platform – that holistic offer – is solving a key headache for hoteliers. Oftentimes, the two platforms were not compatible so users would have to key in the same information twice. Our focus is how to smooth those processes for independent, national hotels. We need to make life as simple as possible for hoteliers so that they can spend more time servicing their guests instead of using technology.

Guestline’s key markets

Obviously our main market is the UK where the company was founded. In the past 18 months we have moved into Ireland, Belgium, Holland and Germany. Every new market has its challenges but we see a very significant opportunity, particularly in Germany, as they are slightly earlier in their development of a cloud offering.

We need to not only localise the product but the service; we need to become effectively a German start-up to ensure we are delivering in the local market.

Guestline’s Thai office

We have had a operation in Thailand for a few years and we’ve been investing in our sales capability in Thailand to serve our guests in Southeast Asia, including in Indonesia and in the Philippines.

It definitely helps to have seen the dynamism in the Asia market. I remember travelling to Koh Samui in 1988 when there was no electricity, no hotels and just empty beaches. Five years later I returned, to an airport and a full bank of hotels right across the beach! There is still a huge amount of dynamism in the Asian markets a lot of new builds and that creates a lot of opportunities for a business like ours.

Cultural differences and advice to others

I have seen a common set of challenges that hoteliers are facing but there are of course some nuances depending on the regional market.

“The core challenge of how do I improve my margins, how do I optimise my yield… remains fairly consistent”

It may be a different set of suppliers or payment systems, aside from some of the obvious fiscal requirements, but the core challenge of how do I improve my margins, how do I optimise my yield and distribution, how do I deliver the guest experience that modern consumers are experiencing in other sectors, remain fairly consistent.

For anyone looking to expand into a new market, the first piece of advice I would give is to go and talk to as many people as you can to get a real understanding of the opportunities and the challenges. I found in my career that people are very willing to share information, particularly in Asia.

The second thing is to focus. There are opportunities in different sectors and different markets and with different products so the challenge is to stay focused on the ones that make the difference for your customers and obviously benefit your business. The third thing is people. At the end of the day, even if you are a software business, you’re a people business. Finding and keeping the best people, particular when you are moving into a new market, is very important.

Future plans

We are focusing on a few things at the moment: one is to continue the development our omni-channel distribution platform, so that hoteliers can seamlessly manage their inventory and sell dynamically for example in the direct channel. We have a number of product launches coming in the summer connected to that.

We straddle the traditional world of the operations of hotels and the distribution. By bridging the two with our seamless guest experience that’s where we see an opportunity to help solve some of the challenges for our customers.

The final area is data. Later this year will we be launching a business intelligence platform which will provide a lot of the underpinning to help how customers make faster and better decisions.

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The rise in Asia’s middle class – with Graham Brown https://dev.traveldailymedia.com/podcast-graham-brown/ Tue, 12 Jun 2018 05:26:04 +0000 http://www.traveldailymedia.com/?p=471685 The post The rise in Asia’s middle class – with Graham Brown appeared first on TD (Travel Daily Media) Brand TD.

The host of Asia Tech Podcast Graham Brown and I talk about the startling statistic that, by 2030, it is forecast that two-thirds of the global middle class will be living in Asia.

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The post The rise in Asia’s middle class – with Graham Brown appeared first on TD (Travel Daily Media) Brand TD.

In the first of a weekly series of podcasts by Travel Daily’s CEO Brett Henry and a special guest, we talk about the startling statistic that, according to the Brooking Institute, by 2030, it is forecast that two thirds of the global middle class will be living in Asia. In contrast, North America and Europe will only account for a fifth of the world’s middle class population.

In the next 10 years, 170 million people will join the middle class every year – and the vast majority, 88%, will be from Asia. This will make the Asian middle class the biggest group of consumers on the planet – so travel companies should take notice.

The 2000s are the Asian century; in the 1800s, the smart entrepreneurial types moved to London. In the 1900s, you moved to USA. Now, in this century, it’s the time to move to Asia, says Jim Rogers.

Some of the important factors of the rising of the middle class, according to Graham Brown, are increasing wages, experiential travel, local inbound markets – in an industry run by Asians for Asians.

Listen to what Henry and Brown have to say here:

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Podcast: Anita Chan Capturing Luxury Chinese Travellers https://dev.traveldailymedia.com/podcast-anita-chan-capturing-luxury-chinese-travellers/ Fri, 13 Apr 2018 05:04:13 +0000 https://www.traveldailymedia.com/?p=548239 The post Podcast: Anita Chan Capturing Luxury Chinese Travellers appeared first on TD (Travel Daily Media) Brand TD.

Anita Chan discusses how you can capture the luxury Chinese traveller

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The post Podcast: Anita Chan Capturing Luxury Chinese Travellers appeared first on TD (Travel Daily Media) Brand TD.

 

Anita Chan launched a series of Podcast interviews covering all topics relevant to the Chinese Traveller industry globally.

Click on the Podcast icon below to listen to Anita’s thoughts and input on “Capturing the Luxury Chinese Traveler”

 

 

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