A snapshot of our journey – “Our Europe trail starts from London where we will celebrate our first white Christmas and experience the irresistible Boxing Day madness to Edinburgh for the countdown into 2010, then moving west to Germany, Austria, Hungary and finally to gorgeous Greece. The next half of our adventure takes us to South Africa traveling from Johannesburg to Cape Town in hope to steal a peek and be in the company of the magnificent Big 5’s and (possibly) camp in the open plains – (that’ll be our ultimate camping adventure!)”

And since we can’t afford to buy everyone a ticket to join us on our great adventure – we came up with this brilliant idea of sending you postcards from our destinations… Visit http://travelpostcards.posterous.com to learn more!

As part of my work, I am required to travel to selected destinations around Southeast Asia to verify s document called the Responsible Tourism Checklist. These destinations we cover have demonstrated outstanding practices in responsible travel, hence earning the title “finalists” of Wild Asia’s Responsible Tourism Awards.  The trips have been a huge eye opener for me since traveling is my passion and this was my golden opportunity to go behind the scenes to witness what resorts, hotels and home-stays do to make a positive difference by minimizing impact on the environment, contributing back to local communities and protecting the culture and heritage of the place. Noble indeed!

This year there were 8 finalists on the list – and I personally visited 4 of them.  Watch a slideshow and read more on these destinations below… My personal favourite (as a traveler) would be Soneva Fushi at the Maldives. It was pure luxury mixed with Maldivian charm and hospitality.

• (Hospitable & noble) Shangri-La Tanjung Aru Resort & Spa, Sabah, Malaysia
• (Ooh la la & awe inspiring) Soneva Fushi, Maldives… More photos!
• (Quaint stay in the middle of no-where) Lamai Homestay, Thailand… More photos!
• (Adventurous & truly Thai) Andaman Discoveries, Thailand

It’s not over yet… the Awards will finally be given to the deserving winners at the Award cocktail happening in the last week of October. Since August, I’m a reformed traveler on personal lookout for responsible tourism operators. Where’s the next stop?? Stay tuned…

More than 6 months of planning, weeks of meetings, hours in prayer and footprints of faith is what it took to make Camporama 2009 a reality. 10-12 churches and 700 people from all over Malaysia participated in this awesome experience. If there were more bunk beds, there wouldn’ve been more people! Kudos to the camp committee for making Camporama 2009 a lifetime experience.

I’ve grown up in Rangers for as long as I can remember and Camporama is one of those camps I look forward to whether rain or shine. There’s almost a 100% guarantee that it’ll be mind blowing, this time it’s no different. 700 people made up 4 cities – Australia, India, China and Japan.

Since we were team India we spent 3-4 months reading about the country, culture, culinary spread and people. We visited Indian Street in Klang several times and made umpteen trips to the Global Indian Fair at Mid Valley. We went on a shopping spree for bangles, bells, oil lamps, lanterns, sarees, punjabi suits, jeepas, Bollywood movie posters and tupperware full of Indian sweets. With professional help from engineers and self made architects we build an archway made of steel and screws, lined it with hand drawn posters and wooden boards and lited it with running bulbs. We even had our very own lifesize Taj Mahal made of frigde boxes and pipes. The energy and life in our city was contagious – dance broke out every minute or so, food was served to every visitor, laughter roared as “Indian” stand up comedians took the stage.

Above all, at camps like this – the night rallies are always filled with a sense of expectancy. When I was a Ranger my very real experiences with God were always at camp. Now as a leader – it is undoubtedly so that I pray the same prayer for rangers who come. God showed up in a very real way to many of the young ones. I have been extremely touched to see God being real to the Adventure Girls (the ones under my care)… at 13, 14, 15 they’re being filled with a relentless pursuit for God. And I know that this experience will last them till eternity.

Seeds were sown and a declaration of faith was made – that this NOW generation will recognize their position and destiny in Christ and they will do greater things!

Pictures on the life and pulse of Camporama 2009… here!

I’ve been camping for most part of my life but only recently did I come across the term “responsible tourism (RT)” – or “responsible camping” in my case. Not only did I stumble on RT, I now have to wrap my brains around it to get a handle of RT for Wild Asia’s Responsible Tourism Award.

As rangers it was ingrained in our heads that camping should always be friendly to the environment. Throw waste in the garbage, carry the garbage with you until you see a rubbish bin. Don’t chop down trees and branches, use fallen twigs to build fires. Leave the campsite better than we found it. Well now I know that there’s actually a term for it – Responsible Camping!

This weekend a bunch of us are off for another outta-this-world kind of adventure. We’d be kayaking from mainland (PD) to a little unknown island, then parking our kayaks and staying the night on the island. No electricity, no toilets, no water source (except from the sea), no luxury of bed or mattresses – it’s back to the wild!

Since reading up on RT, I thought I should share some interesting pointers on how to camp responsibly leaving minimal impact on the environment.

• Camp on durable surfaces and place tents on a non-vegetated area.  Do not dig trenches around tents. (In Malaysia however, it is sometimes unavoidable since rain gets everything drenched in the dense rain forest)
• Don’t create new routes or expand existing trails.
• When building fires – use existing fire rings. Use fallen twigs & branches. Do not cut standing trees. Clear a 6ft diameter area around the site by removing any grass, twigs, leaves and extra firewood. (Rangers taught us well – we’ve been doing this since we started camping!)
• Detergents, toothpaste and soap harm fish and other aquatic life. Wash 200 feet away from streams and lakes.  (There are a lot of environmentally friendly washing agents out there)
• Pack out what you pack in. Carry a trash bag and pick up litter left by others.
• In areas without toilets, use a portable latrine if possible, and pack out your waste. If you don’t have a portable latrine then bury your waste.  Dig a shallow hole 6-8″ deep at least 200ft from water sources. Cover and disguise the hole with natural materials. Pack used toilet paper and carry out!
• Keep noise to a minimum especially in the early morning and evening hours (Oh! this has been hard especially with when camping with children!)
• Avoid “spooking” livestock and wildlife you encounter and keep your distance (The only wildlife we ever “spooked” were the nasty monkeys that crept into our tents!)

It’s astounding how much of the Malaysian culture is hidden from the public eye. Although I’m not entirely new to the kampong lifestyle or even interactions with the indigenous people (orang asli) – this particular visit to Pulau Carey last week shed new light to the Malaysian indigenous culture.

Having grown up in the city, kampong life is far from reach. My exposure to kampong life rides mainly on the many mission trips I’ve been to in the past. However my knowledge or experience on the festivals they celebrate is quite limited. Hence my excitement when the opportunity was offered to witness the colourful Hari Moyang celebration observed by the Mah Meri people at Pulau Carey.

We were greeted by naturally decorated archway of pandanus leaves ushering us into an open space with several shelters in place. The Mah Meri people are incredibly friendly and this particular celebration usually brings bus loads of tourist. In cases like this individuals have taken the responsibility to monitor the flow of outsiders to protect the privacy and culture of indigenous groups.

I was there to learn about the culture and not merely join in the celebration. This small group of people is incredibly skillful with craft work, their weaving skills are seen showcased in the neatly woven skirts, headbands and sashes worn during the celebration.  Mah Meri people are also great craftsmen with an inherent skill of carving intricate wood pieces.

The celebration started with an upbeat mask dance featuring a man donned with a big artificial belly hidden under a shifting skirt. He held an intense looking mask and thumped to the beat with hit feet as he moved in circles. Then a group of women joined the dance with synchronized dance moves around a woven center piece. Tourist stood still watching the dance unfold as the whole scene was quite mesmerizing, reminding me of the New Zealand Hakka dance.

After several rounds of dancing, we were invited to join in – and we did! It was so much fun as we moved in circles, waving hands in the air, stepping to the beat of the drums. The dancing soon adjourned to feasting as villagers swamped the buffet table filled with snacks and local delights.

Slightly to the right of the buffet table was a shelter hut where I believe the spiritual leader of the indigenous group sat. Behind him displayed an array of offerings. He sat cross legged as people journeyed up the steps to seek blessings from him. Tourist beamed at the idea of cultural blessings. The spiritual leader would pronounce a blessing and then he would smear white paste on the arms and forehead. We watched but did not participate – was quite a sight.