| Aziz Idris in Malaysia |
TOURISM Malaysia recently organised the inaugural Asean Media Bloggers Tourism Hunt 2015 to promote Malaysia to regional travellers and to encourage visitors to explore Malaysia through self-driving holidays. The theme of the Treasure Hunt is “Fun and Enjoyable Drive to Experience Malaysia”.
A group of 40 media representatives and bloggers from 10 Asean countries took part in the Tourism Hunt. Twenty brand new Proton cars were allocated for the programme which spanned three days taking the media representatives and bloggers from Kuala Lumpur to Putrajaya, Port Dickson and Malacca in a distance of over 600 kilometres.
The journey began with the Tourism Minister Dato’ Seri Nazri and Director-General Dato’ Mirza officiating the flag-off at Malaysia Tourism Centre (MaTIC) in Kuala Lumpur. In his speech, the Tourism Minister said: “The Asean Media Bloggers Tourism Hunt is especially created with the media personnel and bloggers in mind to give them a new and exciting perspective of Malaysia as a tourist destination.”
He added, “This programme will help us to enhance relationships with members of the Asean media and bloggers. It’s a fun way to introduce and promote new destinations and products to the Asean market through the media members and bloggers who have a popular following back home.”
First stop was at Putrajaya, the federal administrative centre of Malaysia where the media personnel had to identify and look for clues of a specific photo located in and around the Putera Perdana Complex – the office complex of the Prime Minister of Malaysia.
Forty media representatives and bloggers from 10 Asean countries took part in the Tourism Hunt. PHOTOS: AZIZ IDRIS
First stop at Putrajaya, the federal administrative centre of Malaysia where the media had to identify and look for clues of a specific photo located in and around the Putera Perdana Complex
Bruneian media representatives from Borneo Bulletin and Media Permata.
Photo hunt on a trishaw along the historical street of Jonker Walk, Malacca once renowned for its antique shops and eateries
The journey then continued with a 45-minute drive down south to Port Dickson, Negeri Sembilan where the Army Museum is located for the next challenge. The media representatives had to dash through the outdoor displays and indoor museum in search of answers for the “Explorace”.
The media representatives, in full “face-camo”, learned about the fascinating military history of Malaysia from the Sultanate era to the Japanese and British occupation until the present day.
On the next day, the media members proceeded towards The Port Dickson Ostrich Show Farm, whereby three “fear factor” challenges were waiting. The first was to feed the ostrich, followed by catching an ostrich egg in a compound full of male ostriches and lastly to catch a goose within five minutes.
After completing all challenges, the media representatives were treated to lunch, where ostrich omelette and satay were served. Other activities included a race against a full-grown ostrich and drilling an ostrich egg.
The day continued with an hour drive to Mini Malaysia and Asean Cultural Park located in Malacca where the media personnel was fascinated with the full-sized recreations of wooden houses from every state in Malaysia and several Asean monuments.
Here, the media members had to complete another three more tasks before resting in Malacca: “Batek” painting, coconut grinding (using traditional hand grater) and spinning the “Gasing”. Points were given for the most creative Batek painting, the most coconut shredding and the longest spin on the wooden gasing.
Batek painting at Mini Malaysia and Asean Cultural Park located in Malacca
Coconut grinding using traditional hand grater
Feeding the ostrich at Port Dickson Ostrich Show Farm
The media, in full “face-camo”, learned about the fascinating military history at Port Dickson, Negeri Sembilan Army Museum
Sarah, a blogger from the Philippines (fashioneggplant.com) sharing a light moment
In Malacca, the hunt continued with a photo hunt on a trishaw along the historical street of Jonker Walk, once renowned for its antique shops and eateries. The thick haze did not dampen the spirit of the media personnel to find clues on the hundreds of shop signs along the streets.
Finally, the last leg of the hunt was at the Stadthuys Malacca opposite of the Maritime (Samudera) Museum located in the heart of Malacca City. Media representatives searched the iconic red building inside out to look for clues on the ruins of a fort which belongs to the Portuguese.
The hunt required media personnel to find clues of the history starting from the great Malay Sultanate and the Portuguese, Dutch and British colonisations till the present day.
One of the interesting elements during the Tourism Hunt was the photography competition where participants needed to upload pictures of the Tourism Hunt activities to their Facebook and Instagram accounts.
With social media being a popular promotional platform, along with the trend for “selfies” and “wefies”, this will help to promote Malaysia online to the followers of the Asean media and bloggers participating in this programme.
The winners of the Asean Media Bloggers Tourism Hunt 2015 were announced at a gala dinner held at Swiss-Bell Garden Hotel, Malacca whereby the Singaporean team bagged the first prize followed by the two Bruneian teams coming in second and third.
On a personal note, Malaysia Tourism Hunt was a good venue to showcase the rich cultural heritage of Malaysia with every pit stop a different perspective to explore the country.
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