India And Malaysia Plan To Promote Rural Tourism

Malaysia & India are in talks to jointly promote rural tourism, which is becoming a stylish outing for vacation makers.

Tourism Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ng Yen Yen, who is currently in India, broached the idea of rural homestay programme to her Indian counterpart Kumari Selja Monday.

Dr Ng, who is here to promote Malaysia as a favourite tourist location to Indian holiday-makers, said there were 146 Malaysian villagers offering adventurous homestay programme to foreigners, which is rapid becoming popular among Europeans travellers.

"We should look in to a memorandum of understanding to boost rural tourism. India & Malaysia can be a building bridge for this sector," Dr Ng told Kumari, India's Minister of Tourism, Housing & Urban Poverty Alleviation.

"A(H1N1) has its negative impact & they're taking it seriously," he said.

Allaying fears of the Influenza A(H1N1), he said it was a problem but the disease had not affected tourist arrivals in the country & had in fact increased by 3.9 percent during January-July this year compared to the same period last year.

An estimated 22 million tourists landed on Malaysia's shores last year, of which 500,000 were from India, & for this year the ministry had pegged an additional 100,000 from the Indian market.

Last year Indian tourists spent nearly RM1.5 billion during their visit to Malaysia.

In Delhi, Dr Ng also launched the "1Malaysia, limitless Experiences" marketing campaign to woo Indian travellers.

Under the vacation package, travel from anywhere in India to Kuala Lumpur would cost only Rp17,000 (RM1,259).

Is JetBlue's 'All You Can Jet' Deal Worth It?

Unlimited travel” — sounds great, right? JetBlue Airways is making a big splash with its “All You Can Jet” promotion that offers just that, for a month, for $599 — and if you fly domestically, taxes are included.



So is this air travel buffet really worth it?



The airline is offering travelers a pass good for unlimited travel to any JetBlue destination — domestic or international — between Sept. 8 and Oct. 8. Passes are on sale until Aug. 21, or while supplies last. For now, there are a “limited” number of passes available —> JetBlue won’t say how many — while the airline assesses customer demand. To purchase the pass, a flier must join the airline’s TrueBlue loyalty program, book all travel at least three days in advance, and fly in coach. As long as the flight you’re looking for isn’t sold out, there are no blackout dates or restrictions on the time you’ll have to fly, the airline says. “Any seat that’s available for sale, you can have,” says Bryan Baldwin, a JetBlue spokesman. The program’s rules and restrictions are online here.



The promotion makes more sense for the airline than it might appear. “This is a slow period for airlines,” says George Hobica, the founder of fare-tracking site AirFareWatchdog.com, because relatively few people take vacations between Labor Day and Thanksgiving. But Hobica isn’t convinced the promotion is good enough to draw in many of those balky leisure travelers, especially given that many fares are already discounted. “There are some scenarios where possibly it would work, but I’m not sure you’d be saving huge amounts of money,” Hobica says.



For instance, say you’re tempted to buy an “All You Can Jet” pass to book a getaway to the Dominican Republic. Round-trip flights from Washington, D.C., to Santo Domingo could cost you around $445 with tax if you booked a weeklong trip now. Using the pass, you could also take a weekend trip to Houston that might otherwise cost about $348 on JetBlue. You’d still pay taxes on the international flight — so you’d spend about $746 on travel that would have cost you $793. Depending on where you’re flying from, you might need to take three trips within that month to really make the pass an attractive bargain.



Business travelers may be a better target market for the promotion. “It can be an excellent value for business travelers, but business travelers obviously need to do a little homework before they plunk down their money,” says Henry Harteveldt, a travel industry analyst at Forrester Research.



Traveling from New York City, the pass could start to pay for itself after round-trip weekday flights to Boston, Chicago and Denver — a total cost of around $668 if booked on JetBlue’s web site now without the pass.



“Let’s say you’ve cut back your travel budget, but you have clients all over,” says Hobica. “Now here’s your chance to actually see them in person.”



If your company often uses JetBlue, another way to use the pass could be to piggyback a personal vacation on top of some business travel, Harteveldt points out. For example, say you had already booked a $390 trip from Boston to Seattle for work. Then, for the $209 it would cost you to upgrade the pass, you could also fly round-trip to a vacation in California or the Caribbean, potentially saving around $100 or $200 on that trip.



The “All You Can Jet” pass does have some unique restrictions — for example, travelers must buy the pass and book their travel on the phone, a restriction that’s unusual “for an airline that’s so web-focused,” says Harteveldt. The pass also carries particularly heavy penalties for failing to make a flight: A no-show who doesn’t call to change or cancel a flight could see their remaining “All You Can Jet” flights canceled.



The bottom line: You’ll need to do your homework on the rules and restrictions, and do the math to compare the pass to fares on JetBlue.com and other sites. But if you’ve got a couple of trips you’ve been wanting to take and you’re willing to squeeze them all into one month, this could be a good way to save.

HONG KONG ISLAND

The size is only 80 Square Kilometers, but it is the heart of Hong Kong.

On the Island's north, from Central to Causeway Bay are the shopping, entertainment and commercial districts. Whereas the Southern District is the backyard of HK where you can find nice beaches, cafes and markets.

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Indonesia " the magical country "

The word of “Indonesia” is coined from Latin word “Indos”, means ‘India’ and “Nesos”, means ‘island’. Both words mean Island of India, or islands existing in India. And event those two words are suitable with Indonesia condition having 17.508 islands, in where about 6.000 islands are occupied which are stretching along 5.510 kilometer between Australia and Asia Continent and divide Pacific and Indian Ocean on the equator line.

Indonesia comprising 32 provinces has five big and main islands, namely Sumatera (473.606 km2), Kalimantan 1539,400 km2), Sulawesi (189,216 km2), Irian Jaya (421,981 km2), and Java (132,187 km2). Those five islands are occupied by about 70 % of Indonesian people. Geographically, Indonesia is also grouped into four specific territories. First, Sunda Besar (Big Sunda) Island consisting of Sumatera, Java, Kalimantan, and Sulawesi.

Second, Sunda Kecil (Small Sunda) Island comprising smaller islands ranging from Bali Island to the East territory. Third, Maluku Island covering all islands situated between Irian Jaya and Sulawesi territory. And the last is Irian Jaya, the island situated in the most eastern part of Indonesia.

The capital city of Indonesia is Jakarta, a city with impressive histories and backgrounds. At the beginning, Jakarta was known as a seaport named Sunda Kelapa. The anniversary of Jakarta on 22nd June 1527 was stipulated based on the conquest history of Demak soldiers under the commander Sultan Fatahillah to subjugate the territory from Portuguese. The name of Jayakarta donated by Fatahillah for the conquered territory means “city with big triumph”. But the name of this city was changed from Jayakarta to become Batavia during the Dutch colonial.

As the capital city of the nation, Jakarta also plays role as governmental center, business and industrial hub. The city with 660 kilometer width is occupied by about 8 million populations and now Jakarta is growing as a metropolitan city that reflects the advancement of the nation economic, politic, social and industry.

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cheap flights to Bangkok

From the moment of stepping off a flight to Bangkok in the sparkling new Suvarnabhumi Airport, a visitor to Thailand’s capital can see what’s on offer. The new airport has become something of a symbol for modern Bangkok and is a microcosm of the city itself. Excellent restaurants and high-end designer shops sit in the architecturally magnificent hall, alongside huge wooden statues of Spirit Guards. Old Eastern Buddhist traditions exist happily among new Western commercialism in a bustling, stimulating environment.

It would be possible to spend years in the city and still not see all the huge metropolis has to offer, but most tourists book flights to Bangkok hoping to catch some of the favourites. A visit to Wat Pho and the Grand Palace gives an idea of the city’s history. The shopping is unrivalled, with high-end designer malls and street markets both sprawling throughout the city. Thai boxing (Muay Thai) is a popular activity for locals and tourists alike; both watching a fight and training. The nightlife, of course, is notorious, but it’s not just the red light district of Patpong. The Khao San Road, ever-popular with backpackers, is filled with bars, clubs and even Irish pubs, while the central area has some of the world’s super-clubs and most fancy bars. From sunrise to sunset, there is plenty to see in this friendly, accessible city.

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UNIQUELY SINGAPORE

It's popular to dismiss Singapore as a kind of Asia Lite - blandly efficient and safe, a boringly tasteless, disciplinarian and unadventurous place where citizens are robbed of their cherished freedom to spit on the street and chew gum. Utter nonsense.

Singapore is in fact one of the most enjoyable cities in Southeast Asia. As you zoom in from one of the world's best airports along the lushly tree-shaded expressway or on the zippy MRT train line, you'll quickly realise this is no traffic-snarled Bangkok. And as you stroll through the fashion emporiums of Orchard Rd, poke around antique shops in Chinatown or take a walk around one of the dozens of beautiful city parks, you'll know the city bears no comparison to crime- and poverty-ridden Manila or Jakarta.

Then, as you are drinking and dancing until dawn in the city's pubs and clubs, or sipping a cocktail surrounded by the colonial elegance of a Raffles Hotel veranda, think of your fellow travellers in Bangkok, who are being turfed onto the street at midnight.

There's no law that says an Asian city can't be well run. It may have been a long and difficult haul from swampy colonial outpost and notorious den of vice to powerhouse industrial nation, but those who say that Singapore has lost its soul along the way couldn't be more wrong.

Few cities in Southeast Asia can boast Singapore's fascinating ethnic brew. Where else in the world can you dip into the cultures of China, India and Muslim Malaysia all in one day, against a backdrop of ultra-modern Western commerce? Not only has Singapore's history of migration left a rich cultural and architectural legacy that makes wandering the streets an absorbing delight, it has created one of the world's great eating capitals.

Food is the national obsession - and it's not difficult to see why. Sitting out under the stars at a bustling hawker centre with a few bottles of Tiger beer and diving into an enormous array of Asian dishes is one of the iconic Singaporean experiences. Sambal stingray, char kway teow, oyster omelette, chicken rice, clay-pot seafood, fish head curry, beef rendang…the list is as long as it is delicious.

And, of course, if your credit card hasn't already taken a battering in the shops, the city's restaurants are some of the most stylish and innovative in the region.

If there's one thing more stylish than the bars and restaurants, it's the boutiques that have made Singapore a byword in Asia for extravagant shopping. Away from the Gucci and Louis Vuitton onslaught of Orchard Rd, however, there are bargains to be found on everything from clothes to electronics - and a range of art and antique shops that few Asian cities can match.

But Singapore is not all about shopping and eating. Nor is the notion of Singapore as completely urbanised anything more than popular myth. Adventure activities include diving with sharks at Underwater World on Sentosa, mountain biking around Bukit Timah, leopard-spotting at Singapore Zoo's magical Night Safari, waterskiing or wakeboarding on the Kallang River, go-karting and rock climbing. And if you want to retreat from civilisation completely, the centre of the island retains large tracts of forest where the only sound you can hear is the monkeys swinging through the trees. In fact, Singapore is one of only two cities in the world that still retains a patch of primary rainforest, in the form of Bukit Timah Nature Reserve.

It's a fascinating place - and a remarkable achievement. No-one is denying that Singaporeans have had to sacrifice some level of freedom in their island's rise from racially divided, resource-starved port town. But you get the feeling that if Western development aid had ever matched Singapore's strides in poverty reduction, education, infrastructure and health care, they'd be patting themselves on the back and saying that political freedom was a small sacrifice to make.

Besides, it's not all strait-laced conformity. You don't have to look far to find echoes of the island's colourful, rakish past, or evidence of a thriving and creatively unfettered artistic community. Singapore's soul is alive and well - and it is unique.

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ABOUT MALAYSIA "TRULY ASIA "

Multiculturalism has not only made Malaysia a gastronomical paradise, it has also made Malaysia home to hundreds of colourful festivals. It's no wonder that we love celebrating and socialising. As a people, Malaysians are very laid back, warm and friendly.




Geographically, Malaysia is as diverse as its culture. There are two parts to the country, 11 states in the peninsula of Malaysia and two states on the northern part of Borneo. Cool hideaways are found in the highlands that roll down to warm, sandy beaches and rich, humid mangroves.

One of Malaysia's key attractions is its extreme contrasts. Towering skyscrapers look down upon wooden houses built on stilts, and five-star hotels sit several metres away from ancient reefs.

For the perfect holiday full of surprises, eclectic cultures and natural wonders,
the time is now, the place is Malaysia.

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