Taiping is among the top 3 most sustainable cities in the world, according to the 2019 Sustainable Top 100 Destination Awards, right behind Ljubljana, Slovenia and Vancouver, Canada in the “Best of Cities” category!
ITB Berlin hosted the most prestigious Awards Ceremony for Sustainable Destinations. This event is dedicated to recognizing innovation and good practices in tourism management: islands, towns, regions and whole countries. The award winners have been selected by a Jury representing 12 international organizations.
Taiping rated as one of the top green destinations.
The town’s Municipal Council president Datuk Abd Rahim Md Ariff received the award.
Taiping Municipal Council president Datuk Abd Rahim Md Ariff said, “This is the first time we received a prestigious international award. This achievement is due to the hard work of the community and all relevant governmental agencies.”
“The council always works hard to make Taiping a popular tourist destination,” Abd Rahim added.
The “Best of Cities” category of the awards recognizes cities that show leadership in urban sustainability and in avoiding disruptive over-tourism.
Taiping is the second largest town in Perak after the state capital Ipoh. The town also is known as the wettest town in Peninsular Malaysia. Its unusual rainfall has also blessed its Lake Gardens with a fertile and splendid collection of flora and century-old rain trees. Itis characterized by aging buildings and clear blue skies with high chances of rain.
Green Destinations, a non-profit organization that focuses on the efforts of creating sustainable tourism, leading global cooperation between experts, listed Taiping on its 100 Sustainable Cities list in December 2018.
Taiping used to be a thriving tin-mining town that lost its luster with the rise of Ipoh and Kuala Lumpur as cities.
Taiping has previously been recognized as the Best Destination Manager 2016 by the Tourism Promotion Board for the Asia Pacific; besides having received the Malaysia Tourism Council Gold Award 2017 in Best Heritage and Eco Travel Destination Category and Malaysia Tourism Council Gold Award 2018 for the Best Tourism Promotion Campaign.
For those who have not visited Taiping, it is time to consider visiting this beautiful city!
Haarlem is a small city located just 27 minutes with a train outside of Amsterdam. Its abundance of historical sights, cultural attractions and hidden gems crammed into a relatively small city, a visit to Haarlem makes for a brilliant day trip from Amsterdam. There are many attractions to keep you busy – including river cruises, flower markets and more.
The square is located at the historic heart of Haarlem, underneath the imposing Grote Kerk, and is the image of the city that many people will recognize. Hosting regular festivals, concerts and markets, the Grote Markt is the hub of daily life in Haarlem.
The Grote Kerk or St.-Bavokerk is a Reformed Protestant church and former Catholic cathedral located on the central market square in the Dutch city of Haarlem. This Late Gothic cruciform basilica, now reaching 140 meters in length with its slender 40-meter tower, was started in the 14th century. The cathedral’s famous Müller Organ is considered one of the greatest such instruments in the world for its tone and decoration.
The beautiful giant towers high above Haarlem’s rooftops and the gothic interior is nothing but breathtaking.
The Frans Hals Museum is one of the leading art galleries in the Netherlands. The museum has the world’s largest collection of works by Hals, including five of his large civic guard pieces.
It was founded in 1862 in the newly renovated former Dominican church cloisters located in the back of the Haarlem city hall.
The museum is specialized in restoration and research on the works of Haarlem painters in the 17th century and of the painters of the 16th century who taught them to paint, most notably Jan van Scorel, Maerten van Heemskerck, Hendrick Goltzius and Cornelis van Haarlem.
The museum includes a collection of modern and contemporary art, including paintings, sculptures, textiles, ceramics, and graphic art by artists from Haarlem and the surrounding area.
The City Hall in Haarlem is the seat of the city’s government. The oldest parts of the City Hall date back to 1250. The north wing, and the Neoclassical façade were added in the 1600s. The interior is also of interest and includes numerous fine paintings, relics, and mementos.
Teylers Museum, the oldest museum in the Netherlands, was founded in 1778. The museum is in the former home of Pieter Teyler van der Hulst. He was a wealthy cloth merchant and Amsterdam banker of Scottish descent, who bequeathed his fortune for the advancement of religion, art and science. Nearby the museum is the Teylers Hofje, a hofje which was also founded in Teyler’s name.
Teyler’s Museum displays an eclectic collection of fossils, minerals, scientific instruments, medals, coins, and paintings. It is most famous for its extensive collection of old master’s prints and drawings, including several works by Michelangelo and Rembrandt.
In the 19th century, the museum was expanded with two painting galleries.
Bakenessergracht is home to some of the city’s oldest and most spectacular buildings. At the end of the Bakenessergracht is the River Binnen Spaarne, crossed here via an attractive old drawbridge, and from which you get a great view of the Amsterdamse Poort. Haarlem’s city gate, built in the early 1400s and a national monument has two octagonal towers and two round towers.
In the 1960s the gate was declared a national monument. In 1985 a complete renovation of the gate took place.
The Proveniershuis is a hofje and former schutterij on the Grote Houtstraat in Haarlem, Netherlands. The complex of buildings surrounds a rectangular garden taking up a city block that is on the Haarlem hofje route. The homes around this courtyard are much larger, and the garden itself is about twice the normal size.
This home for Haarlem proveniers was founded in 1707 by the city council to house elderly men. The main buildings are much older than that.
The Roman Catholic Cathedral of St. Bavo is a relatively recent three-aisle cruciform basilica built between 1895 and 1906. Some 100 meters long, 42 meters wide, and 60 meters high
That church was itself a replacement for the Sint-Bavokerk, that had been converted to Protestantism from Catholicism in 1578.
Haarlem has been voted as the Netherlands’ best shopping destination. You can find a unique combination of big brands to independent labels, as well as charming antique and curiosity shops. The best-known streets in Haarlem are the Grote Houtstraat, the Barteljorisstraat, and the Zijlstraat. But you’ll find many interesting shops if you explore the smaller streets such as the Schagchelstraat, Kleine Houtstraat, Anegang, Warmoesstraat, Koningstraat and Gierstraat.
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Jackson Hole is a valley between the Teton Mountain Range and the Gros Ventre Range in Wyoming sitting near the border of Idaho.
Mammoth Hot Springs
Mammoth Hot Springs are a must-see feature of Yellowstone National Park. The limestone is a relatively soft type of rock and it is allowing the travertine formations to grow much faster than other sinter formations.
Mammoth Hot Springs has two terrace boardwalks, the Upper and Lower. Approximately 50 hot springs lie within the area.
Mud Volcano is created by the eruption of mud or slurries, water and gases. Mud volcanoes do not produce lava.
It was first discovered in the 19th century when the rumbling eruptions could be heard half a mile away. After an earthquake in Yellowstone in 1978, the soil temperatures increased to nearly 200 °F and the slope between Sizzling Basin and Mud Geyser, once covered with green grass and trees, became a barren landscape of fallen trees known as “the cooking hillside.”
Norris Geyser Basin is home to the largest active geyser in the world, Steamboat Geyser. It hosts 550 geothermal features including Yellowstone’s tallest active geyser, Steamboat Geyser, which spouts water more than 300 feet in the air. A 2-mile trail winds through Norris Geyser Basin leads you to Black Growler Steam Vent, Ledge Geyser, the basin’s second-highest geyser.
The Fountain Paint Pot is a mud pot located in Lower Geyser Basin in Yellowstone National Park. The Fountain Paint Pot is named for the reds, yellows and browns of the mud in this area. The differing colors are derived from oxidation states of the iron in the mud.
The National Museum of Wildlife Art (NMWA) is located in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. In addition to 14 galleries, the museum has a sculpture trail, museum shop, restaurant, children’s discovery gallery, and library.
The Museum is a nonprofit, with a mission to collect, display, interpret, and preserve the highest quality North American wildlife art, supplemented by wildlife art found throughout the world.
There are more than 5,000 cataloged artworks and 550 artists represented in the museum’s permanent collection.
The museum’s Sculpture Trail, designed by award-winning landscape architect Walter J. Hood, opened in fall 2011. The three-quarter-mile long trail extends to the north and south of the museum and host 30 permanent and temporary works of art.
There are always fun activities that everyone will love – from the world-class ski and snowboard terrain at Jackson Hole Mountain Resort in the winter, to exploring the parks through the Wild West in the summer.
Snow King Mountain or Jackson Hole Mountain Resort ski resorts have invested in turning their bases into exciting summer destinations that the entire family can enjoy. Skiers and snowboarders come from all over the world to test their skills on the world-class mountains of Jackson Hole.
Canyon Rim South Trail to Artist Point is a 2.5-mile trail located near Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, primarily used for hiking and walking, that features a river and is good for all skill levels.
Yellowstone National Park has the largest concentration of wildlife in the lower 48 states. The wildlife that visitors want to see the most in Yellowstone are Bears, Wolves, Moose, Elk, Bison, Badgers, Otters, Fox and others.
Wild animals, especially females with young, are unpredictable. Keep a safe distance from all wildlife. Each year a number of park visitors are injured by wildlife when approaching too closely.
Yellowstone also has a wide variety of plant life. In the spring and early summer, wildflowers appear in abundance. They are well worth viewing, and it is usually safer to approach them.
Do not approach bears! Bears are unpredictable and may attack people without warning. Never leave food or garbage unattended and do not feed wildlife.
Jackson Lake Kayaking and Snake River Rafting
Incredible sea kayaking on Jackson Lake in Grand Teton National Park combined with a Scenic Raft Trip down the Snake River are some of the most popular activities. You can raft a beautiful and scenic few miles section of the river inside Grand Teton National Park where wildlife sightings are common.
Grand Prismatic Spring
The Grand Prismatic Spring in Yellowstone National Park is the largest hot spring in the United Statesand it is the most photographed thermal feature in Yellowstone.
The hot spring has bright bands of orange, yellow, and green ring the deep blue waters in the spring. The reason for the multicolored layers are different species of thermophile (heat-loving) bacteria living in the progressively cooler water around the spring.
Featured image photo credit: Tim Lumley / Flickr
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