Being right: The Wright travel plans

Image by Smaku via Flickr

This talks about an upcoming TV show where they'd feature travel destinations. (Since I am posting late, this is already on air this time).

Pardon me, but I do agree with Ian when he said that "... they're free... they're not nailed down... " Take 'em with you when you leave...

Read on...
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The Wright travel plans

It's out with boundaries, and in with Ian Wright

by Michelle Ann Kwara
michelleann@mediacorp.com.sg

AN ENTIRE room of eager journalists watched as Ian Wright slowly unbuttoned his shirt. Don't worry, the children can stay - he was just showing off his gleaming sunburn from his most recent escapade.

"Eighteen years of travel, and I realised that I haven't learnt one thing," sighed the globe-trekker, who popped into town last month to promote his latest TV travel programme, Ian Wright: Out of Bounds.

As the name suggests, the 45-year-old Englishman's latest offering features destinations that are, well, out of bounds. The world's most remote or least visited locations - Cuba, Syria, Venezuela and Siberia are a handful of the cities explored.

It may not sound like a leisurely spa getaway. And it isn't - Wright was quick to say that he wasn't always as calm and smiley as what you see on TV. "You've got to be mad to not be scared of nothing," he said. "Or dead, I suppose."

The much-loved host of Lonely Planet, also known as Globe Trekker, Wright has also hosted shows like America The Wright Way and VIP Weekends With Ian Wright. The shows are a lovechild of travelogue and comedy, with Wright providing his trademark wit and screwball antics.

As a professional traveller, he is no stranger to exotic foods. While Singaporeans feast on shark's fin, Wright dines on mouldy sharks in Iceland.

"It's an old Viking dish, it's like cured meat. If you're on a boat, you got to have something to nibble on. No wonder the Vikings aren't here anymore," he quipped.

We cosied up with the award-winning host as he shared tips on stealing hotel toiletries and why we should all go to Siberia.

Where's the one place you think everyone should visit?

There's isn't anywhere, really. Some people say Auschwitz is one place you must go, just to remind yourself of what's going on. Like in Cambodia, the school that was the death camp. It's always worth going to one of them places, just as a reminder of what a bunch of a**holes we are. You don't necessarily need to visit those places. Everyone's got their own little mecca. And while you're in Cambodia, get yourself some noodles and go off to Angkor Wat, you know? It's only round the corner, innit?

What's the best advice you can give travellers who want to travel the way you do?

Well, just buy a ticket, really. The thought of going on your own, or with someone, to the other end of the world, it's like, "Oh my god!" and you can dwell and think about it too much. And it can stop you going. What you need to do is, when you get the idea, go and buy a ticket. Buying that ticket is the first step, and probably the hardest.


What are your travel essentials?

Now, it's my DVD player. I love films, especially for long plane journeys. But make sure you've got a bloody good battery.


Why should we visit Siberia?

Because it's unlike any other place. People want to travel to experience new experiences, to see different perspectives of the world, different landscapes in the world. And it doesn't get more different, or more extreme, than in places like Siberia.

Have you ever nicked hotel soaps and toiletries?

I don't use the word nick - they're free anyway. If it's not nailed down, put it in your bag. That's my motto.



Ian Wright: Out of Bounds premieres today and airs every Thursday at 9pm on Discovery Travel and Living.



From TODAY, Travel - Thursday, 20-May-2010
The Wright travel plans
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After the war

Image via Wikipedia

Tempting tourists back when the bombing stops is never easy, but war-weary Asian countries are planning new treats for travellers in a bid to cash in on a "peace dividend".

Sri Lanka

When government forces claimed victory against Tamil Tiger separatist rebels in May, Sri Lankan tourism chiefs set to work, launching a campaign called "Sri Lanka: Small Miracle", to polish its post-war image.

One of the new activities designed to sell the country on top of its beaches, tea plantations and religious sites is whale watching. The giant mammals frequent the island's shores between December and April.

Dileep Mudadeniya, Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau's managing director, estimates the promotional campaign will help raise tourist arrivals by at least 20 per cent to 500,000 visitors in 2010.

Nepal

The number of travellers to Nepal slumped during a 10-year civil war between the army and Maoist rebels which ended in 2006. But last year a record 550,000 people visited the Himalayan state after foreign governments relaxed their travel warnings.

Tourism authorities say they hope to attract a million visitors by 2011 and are focusing on some of the less developed areas of the country, where few foreigners have ventured.

One plan involves creating a "Himalayan Trail", taking trekkers to some of the remotest parts of the country. The trail would link paths already used by local people to transport goods and livestock, and would take three months to complete - with most visitors expected to walk it in stages.

Cambodia

Decades of civil strife under the Khmer Rouge ended in 1998, and tourism is now one of the few sources of foreign exchange for the impoverished South-east Asian nation.

Even though Cambodia now lures more than two million foreign visitors a year, most stay only briefly to see the ancient World Heritage-listed Angkor Wat temple complex.

"We need time to (change our image)," Ho Vandy, co-chair of Cambodia's tourism working group told AFP. The government last year launched an international "Kingdom of Wonder" campaign promoting the country's eco-tourism and culture.

More than 20 islands have been designated for development while a new airport in seaside Sihanoukville is expected to open later this year. Other plans include a game park for well-heeled hunters in the remote jungle-covered northern Ratanakiri province and several luxury golf courses around the country.

Indian kashmir

Tourists are returning to Indian Kashmir, once described by a 17th-century visiting emperor as a "paradise on earth", as militant violence in the Muslim-majority region subsides to its lowest level since 1989.

In 1988 more than 700,000 tourists visited Kashmir, but the number declined sharply as the insurgency intensified. Now the tide appears to be turning again, with more than 380,000 visiting in the first seven months of 2009. AFP

From TODAY, Traveller – Thursday, 17-Sep-2009

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