The World Travel Mart

Its been almost a month now since I attended the WTM in London, and I can still feel the buzz running thru me.
It was my first time attending the world travel mart and the intention was two fold, one being to promote my beautiful country Malaysia in particular Langkawi the magical island and the other being wanting to learn more on social media and blogging.




It was indeed an overwhelming experience and I just don't know where to start. It really felt like I traveled most parts of the world all in just 4 days.

The jet lag was definitely kicking at the early part of the day but once everything kicked in the vibes were in full force for my friends from Malaysia and I.








The stands were beautifully created by each country showcasing their own unique features and also promoting culture, tradition and of course food. There is so much to see and from traditional performances to traditional massages. From belly dancers from Egypt, to masseurs from the Maldives.



The ever so popular "Gangnam style" was a crowd puller at the Korea stand with its high techie robots dancing to the tune in perfect choreography.




Art and handicrafts were also a way of showing a uniqueness of a country as was evident at the Malaysia stand where the artist painted "batik" which means printing in wax... wax is dripped on fabric and then dyed to your own colour and design... It was simply amazing.... Also at the Langkawi stand there was Amanda our coffee painter who is extremely talented, she paints with pure crushed coffee beans from all over the world.






When it came to handicrafts I was mesmerised by the hand made jewellery done by a Kazakhstan designer, it was so pretty I wanted to take it home with me but unfortunately it wasn't on sale. I also later learnt about the Silk Road Project for these countries and want to be apart of this somehow but never got around to speaking to the right people. These parts of the world will captivate you, heart and soul and is definitely on my to visit list!



The other thing that I found pretty common was beauty queens parading around the aisles, so elegant and poised I couldn't help but take a photo with Miss Panama .....




There was an award for the best stand and that was won by Honduras, when I entered I understood why they won, it was as if I was traveling in a time machine and it just transported me directly to Honduras. Well deserved award. I even managed to get a picture with the minister herself.








India and Sri Lanka didn't fall short with their cultural performances and costumes which was what made the place even more lively than it already was.





I went for a few seminars during the show on blogging and social media which I thought were extremely useful and through twitter was able to meet up with fellow bloggers alike with different interests and so on... The show also made me decide which countries to visit while I was in London and I decided to go with Madrid and Amsterdam. ...... Stories coming up soon.

All in All WTM is where you meet the world and it is truly beneficial for all tourism sectors be it the ministry or the travel agent or the tour operator or airline company, there's something for all to gain from. Just like how I gained knowledge on social media.

I will return for sure next year... See ya soon WTM 2013

Location:London Excel

Istanbul so much History so much Culture!

I was always fascinated about what Turkey had to offer... i dont know why but i guess it was because of the food and the people i really didnt know why i was so attracted to this country so i decided to go and see for myself. 

Istanbul here i come.... 

It was a short flight from London to Istanbul and once i landed everyone around me started clapping their hands because we were safe and sound on the ground! Hmmmm.... i was already beginning to like the people... 

The drive to the hotel was a very interesting drive, the taxi driver was extremely friendly when i asked him if we could stop to get a kebab he said he will take to the best kebabs in Istanbul... 

we stopped over at a corner cafe, he hopped out and got me one and ran in again, i guess it was illegal to park ... it was so yummy! Nice and hot and the cold weather complimented it. 

I arrived at my very nice hotel the crown plaza in the old city, i didnt expect to be so beautiful,everything was well designed and it looked really pretty. The streets outside was filled people and shops so it was nice to stay in an environment where there is so many locals. Breakfast in the morning was amazing. Such wide spread it was enough till dinner!! 

I found a local tour guide who was extremely helpful and was great company! He took me around the city and to old the famous spots and gave me the run down of the history of each place. The Hagia Sophia, Topkapi Palace.

The Blue Mosque was not BLUE though....but he did explain that in summer it does shade its blue because of the sun light that is shining through. The interior of the mosque was just amazing, the design and the work done on the insides of the dome makes you wonder how these people all those years ago were so creative and great at their work.... 

Lunch at the tower was really nice i tried turkish bread and of course my tour guide thought me how to drink Rakhi.... interesting flavour... but hard to swallow!!! 

Then we went to the Grand Bazaar, it was a great place where you can find anything and everything from souvenirs to carperts to small little tringklets. I got stuck at a carper shop they didnt want to go... they introduced to me turkish tea and had me sat there for a good 2 hours forcing to buy a carpet, although beautiful it was just not my thing. Thats really something that i didnt appreciate at all they harassed you and became forceful to a point when you just snap and say no!!!!

 

I decided no more bazaar for me.... i then went on to the Bosphoros ... the Istanbul Bhogazi .... it was a really nice sight... watching all the vessels going up and down was really something to look at and the view of the bridge was a nice one too. 

The Bosphoros Cruise was not to be missed... dinner together a dance show... belly dancing.... it was so much fun! I had a ball and also tried to dance like a belly dancer to no avail! hahaha! 

I Visited a few islands as well and i had a great time on the ferry and the views were just stunning.... it was peaceful just watching the birds in the sky.... it was free falling i must say. My favorite was The Princes island. 

I even went to a fresh fish market and it was really nice to see all sorts of fish.... later on i ended at the spice market too and bought a lot of spices back.... really a great experience. 

The food was really good at all the restaurants i tried and to compliment the food there was always music... and it was live. It was really good to listen to traditional and local music and i felt like dancing all the time....  

The biggest city in the world... but everyone was so warm and helpful.... i would really come back again..... 

 

Felt like d movies ... Ana n d King & Bridge over River Kwai

I just had to go and watch the movie after I visited the River Kwai in Bangkok, Thailand.

Its about 2 hours away from the city Bangkok with a little bit of traffic of course. I took a cab and it cost  1500 bht so its not too bad and the drive was a fairly comfortable one nice sceneries as you drive by but i think i slept thru most of the journey.

I went first to Kanchanaburi where the Tiger Sanctuary was located..... my... my... i was in for a shock... i thought at 1st these tigers were to be kept at arms lenght and we will just see them from a distance but to my surprise you can tickle them and play with them just like your own little pet. It was so sweet. They were really cute and didnt look like they were going eat you anytime soon at least....

I managed to sit next to one and snapped a photo... it was still scary even though they were tied up. The thought of one of the tigers pouncing on me never left my mind....

  Next up was my visit to the River Kwai .... there was bridge that linked Burma to Thailand which was the targer for frequent bombing raids back in the days during the world war.

Now a popular tourist attraction because it was made even more famous after the movie was done. They sell the DVD at every corner making you want to buy it so you need to watch and say "hey I've been there" ...

The river itself is very pretty and has a nice view from many of the restaurants there that you can choose from for your lunch. I wouldnt say the food was great though because it wasnt. Its just that there is no other choice but to eat at one of those places as there is no where else to go but there.

On the way back i visited my friends at Kantana Studios and got a tour of their movies sets and it was awesome i felt i was in Ana and King for a moment. It was nice to see all the set ups such as places and temples... also small remote villages. It was a great experience and lots of fun too.

All in all i really enjoyed the day trip out of the city for a while.... away from the hustle and bustle of the busy traffic in Bangkok.