Invited by the German National Tourism Board

After some quality rest time at home with family and friends, it is time to hit the road again. This time, the destination is Germany and it is my first visit there. I have been invited by the German National Tourism Board to explore the Baden-Württemberg region, especially Stuttgart and Schwarzwald (Black Forest). The idea behind this visit to explore some of the highlights, traditions and unique cultures of this region.

During this visit, I will be exploring the city of Stuttgart where I will be seeing the Mercedes-Benz museum, the Museum of viniculture and participating in the Stuttgart Spring festival. And from Stuttgart, I am heading to the Black Forest, a dense forest region that is home to the famous Grimm’s fairy tales. Here at Black Forest, I will be visiting places which follow an ancient way of making glass, the Black Forest Open Air Museum, the Black Forest farmhouses, Triberger waterfalls (one of the highest waterfalls in Germany), see traditional and modern cuckoo clocks and the world’s largest cuckoo clock.

After exploring Stuttgart and the Black Forest region, I will be taking off on my own and explore the fairy tale town of Heidelberg and around. Have not made any specific plans for Heidelberg, so will go with the flow like I usually do.

I am very excited about this trip to South Western Germany and will be providing regular updates on my blog, Facebook, twitter and instagram channels. If this part of the world interests you, you can follow my travels through the channel of your choice.

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Tourism Malaysia invites me to Chinese New Year Open House Event

After close to 6 months, I am back in the beautiful country of Malaysia and this time on an invite from Tourism Malaysia to participate in the Malaysia Open House celebration, a program that brings together people from all walks of life to celebrate Chinese New Year and foster unity and harmony of 1Malaysia. I am currently in a quiet town called Taiping that has a colonial feel to it. And this is where this event will be held tomorrow (Feb 8, 2014) amidst esteemed delegates from the government of Malaysia and other guests.

I arrived here this morning after a short drive from Kuala Lumpur’s Bukit Bintang area where I stayed the previous evening and night. I didn’t have much time at KL, but managed to squeeze in some time to explore the Twin Towers yet again and some of the malls of the Bukit Bintang area. I also got to taste some exotic tropical fruits on the way to Taiping.

The plan for today is to enjoy the oldest museum of Malaysia and also go on a night safari. Tomorrow is more an event day, which will allow me to see cultural performances, taste interesting local foods and meet like minded people.

After the event, I am headed to the Royal Belum rainforest park at Pulau Banding where I spend a couple of days visiting waterfalls, aboriginal villages, rafflesia sites, fish sanctuaries and more before returning to Kuala Lumpur for some small shopping. This is an area that all locals seem to rave about and I am very excited in visiting this tract of rainforest and spend some quality time in true nature.

This 5 day trip organized by Tourism Malaysia will let me explore a side of peninsular Malaysia that I haven’t seen before and one that is slightly off the beaten track especially for foreign tourists.

For this trip, I ended up getting myself a one year multiple entry visa to Malaysia and I hope to use this multiple entry visa properly in visiting as much of Malaysia as possible. Malaysia as its tag line goes is Truly Asia and I personally feel that it deserves many visits!!

I am hoping to click many pictures and find lots of stories for all you people. Do stay tuned for lots of interesting stories about the Chinese New Year Open house and other off beat destination stories from Malaysia.

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Invited by Tourism Authority of Thailand

Tomorrow night, I embark on a 6 day trip to Thailand and Cambodia. This trip is part of an invite from Tourism Authority of Thailand  Ministry of Tourism of Cambodia. I have worked with tourism boards and have gone on other FAM trips before, but this one is my first tourism board FAM trip.

Out of these 6 days, I will spend the first 4 days in Thailand and the next 2 days in Cambodia. Here’s how the overall plan looks like:

Bangkok, Thailand
Dusit Thani Hotel | Taling Chan Floating Market | Ploen Restaurant | Chatuchak Weekend Market | World Gourmet Festival at Four Seasons Bangkok

Nakhon Nayok, Thailand
Creation World Wild Wood | Khun Dan Prakarnchon Dam | Bhumirak Dhamachart Project | Chorchamuang Restaurant | Royal Hill Resort

Prachinburi –> Srakaew –> Aranyaprathet, Thailand
Chao Phraya Abhaibhubate | Ban Dong Krathong Yam | Ban Klong Luek Border Market or Talat Rong Kluea | Makmai Restaurant | Tournesol Boutique Hotel

Siem Reap
Cassia Restaurant | Prasat Ta Prohm | Prasat Bayon | Sokha Angkor Resort | Angkor Wat | Asian Square Restaurant | Dinner with Ministry of Tourism of Cambodia

I am very excited to be a part of this FAM trip and look forward to discover more of ‘Amazing Thailand’ and ‘Cambodia – kingdom of wonder’. Do stay tuned for regular updates here on this blog and my Facebook and twitter streams. I am sure you are as excited as me!!

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