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!
New Zealand is a sovereign island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean consisting of 2 main islands, both marked by volcanoes and glaciation. These islands are one of Earth’s most peculiar bioregions, inhabited by flightless birds seen nowhere else such as a nocturnal, burrowing parrot called the kakapo and kiwi. New Zealand is one of the most difficult countries in the world in which to forecast the weather.
New Zealand has been called “God’s own country” and the “Paradise of the Pacific” since the early 1800s.
New Zealand is a long way from anywhere else in the world, so for most visitors, the only practical way to enter New Zealand is by air. Even the shortest flights between Australia and New Zealand take over 3 hours. The capital Queenstown is a resort town in Otago in the south-west of New Zealand’s South Island with a population of 15,850
Top 12 Things to do in New Zealand
Exploring New Zealand’s magnificent landscapes and coastline tops the list for many. We put together the top 12 most popular attractions.
Queenstown is the home of the world’s first commercial bungy. In 1987 A. J. Hackett made a bungy jump from the Eiffel Tower and founded the first commercial bungy site in 1988. Today you can choose from either the original Kawarau bridge bungy where water touches are a must, the Ledge bungy located high above Queenstown, or the 134 metre Nevis Bungy, Queenstown’s highest bungy jump.
It’s New Zealand’s “Most Popular Tourist Destination” and offen called the “8th Wonder of the World”. Milford Sound is a fiord in the southwest of New Zealand’s South Island. It’s known for towering Mitre Peak, plus rainforests and waterfalls like Stirling and Bowen falls.
It is a fusion of spectacular natural features with amazing visual cues around every corner.
Fox Glacier is a 13-kilometre-long temperate maritime glacier located in Westland Tai Poutini National Park on the West Coast of New Zealand’s South Island. It was named in 1872 after a visit by then Prime Minister of New Zealand Sir William Fox.
You can join some of the variety of tours, heli-hikes, ice climbing and glacier walks amidst the spectacular scenery of Fox Glacier.
Lake Matheson, one of the most photographed lakes in New Zealand. The lake, formed by glaciation 14,000 years ago, is located near the Fox Glacier in South Westland. It is famous for its reflected views of Aoraki/Mount Cook and Mount Tasman.
The waters of Lake Matheson are dark brown, so on a calm day, they create the ideal reflective surface. The only way to approach Lake Matheson on the south island of New Zealand is on foot.
Established in 1960, the park covers 1,320 km² and extends from the highest peaks of the Southern Alps to the rugged and remote beaches of the wild West Coast. It is home to magnificent primeval vistas – snow-capped mountains, glaciers, forests, tussock grasslands, rivers, wetlands, beaches, scenic lakes, and dense temperate rainforest, as well as remains of old gold mining towns along the coast.
The Moeraki Boulders are unusually large and spherical boulders lying along a stretch of Koekohe Beach, between Moeraki and Hampden. The boulders are grey-coloured septarian concretions, which have been eroded out by wave action from the cliffs of soft, black mudstone that back the beach.
They originally formed on the seafloor when the mudstone was accumulating during the early Tertiary period some 60 million years ago. The largest concretions are traversed by cracks, filled by yellow calcite.
Lake Tekapo is part of a UNESCO Dark Sky Reserve, making it the perfect spot for stargazing. Lake Tekapo is about three hours drive south-west of Christchurch in the Mackenzie Basin. Lake Tekapo is the second-largest of three roughly parallel lakes running north–south.
Finely ground rock in the glacial melted waters give Lake Tekapo a beautifully unique turquoise color. The highland location of the lake enjoy some of New Zealand’s highest sunshine hours, and the lowest average wind speeds.
The pancake rocks in Punakaiki are the most visited natural attraction on the West Coast. The foundations of the Pancake Rocks were formed 30 million years ago when minute fragments of dead marine creatures and plants landed on the seabed about 2 km below the surface. Along the way, there are some impressive blowholes that are best viewed at high tide.
The Pancake Rocks are presently explorable by a number of walkways winding through the rock formations
Mount Cook is the highest mountain in New Zealand with 3,724 metres. The mountain is in the Aoraki/Mount Cook National Park. Some people regard the area to be the best climbing region in Australasia. The mountain walks lead to alpine tarns, herb fields and spectacular glacier views. Its level of difficulty is often underestimated and can change dramatically depending on weather, snow and ice conditions.
Wanaka is a popular ski and summer resort town in the Otago region. Visitors from around the world are drawn to the Wanaka region by its outstanding natural beauty. Arts and music festivals, international sporting and aviation events are just a few of the activities, each as unique as the season it is staged.
Take a once-in-a-lifetime journey to Middle-earth, traveling from Auckland to Queenstown joining as group tours or self-drive tours to Lord of the Rings filming locations.
New Zealand’s stunning landscapes captivated movie fans around the world as the unbilled star of the hugely successful The Lord of the Rings film trilogy. Over 150 real New Zealand locations were used from the rolling green hills of Matamata on the North Island.
This is among the most popular day hikes in the country and often described as New Zealand’s greatest day walk, the Tongariro Alpine Crossing is a challenging journey across a remarkable volcanic landscape. The Tongariro National Park is a World Heritage site which has the distinction of dual status, as it has been acknowledged for both its natural and cultural significance.
Singapore, an island city-state off southern Malaysia, is a global financial center with a tropical climate and multicultural population.
One of the main attractions in Singapore is its cultural diversity. Singapore is also environmentally friendly. The dominant language which is English also helps to boost tourism in the country which is one of the main incomes for the country. The transportation system in the country is also excellent which makes traveling convenient and easy. It is one of the easiest and most comfortable countries to navigate in Southeast Asia. ‘
Marina Bay Sands
Marina Bay Sands is located at Bayfront MRT Station and steps from the lively Central Business District. The opulent Marina Bay Sands resort complex includes a high-end luxury hotel, a mall with a canal running through it, the ArtScience Museum, and the Marina Bay Sands Skypark
Outside of Marina Barrage, Singapore has a number of nature reserves such as Bukit Timah Nature Reserve. Singapore is one the second city in the world with the primary rainforest located within the city, Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve, a mangrove forest that protects a number of migrating birds. The National Parks Board has guided tours by park specialists on selected weekends.
Gardens by the Bay
Gardens by the Bay is a nature park spanning 101 hectares of reclaimed land in the Central Region of Singapore. The park consists of three waterfront gardens: Bay South Garden, Bay East Garden and Bay Central Garden.
It covers 1.28 hectares and it is the larger of three cooled conservatories. In 2015 broke the Guinness World Record as the World’s Largest Glass Greenhouse. It includes several heritage gardens, an aerial walkway, plant sculptures, and at least ten dining establishments.
Gardens by the Bay is just one of the many initiatives towards a cleaner and greener future.
The Gardens by the Bay also boost the city’s surging tourism industry, which is a big part of the overall Singapore economy.
The Singapore Botanic Gardens is a 160-year-old tropical garden located at the fringe of Singapore’s Orchard Road shopping district and one of three gardens, and the only tropical garden, to be honored as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Singapore Botanic Gardens’ sprawling grounds are perfect for picnicking, jogging, or escaping the city buzz. 60 acres of land were transformed from a disused plantation into the popular recreational garden you see today. The National Orchid Garden, which boasts the world’s largest orchid display, with over 60,000 plants and orchid plants. The Swan Lake is home to numerous species of aquatic plants and fishes.
Orchard Road is Singapore’s retail heart, with discount outlets, department stores and upscale boutiques, alongside luxury hotels, with over 5,000 establishments offering the ultimate lifestyle experience to tourists and locals alike.
To take a break from shopping and enjoy a bout of artistic immersion, visit the ION Art Gallery. This gallery features a range of international and local exhibitions.
The Singapore Flyer is a giant observation wheel at Downtown Core, Singapore. It opened in 2008, with construction having taken about 2½ years.
Designed by Arup and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries with a capacity of up to 7.3 million passengers a year, the normally constant rotation of the wheel means that a complete trip lasts approximately 32 minutes.
The Flyer’s 28 air-conditioned capsules are mounted outboard of the rim of the wheel structure, providing continuously unobstructed views. Wheelchair ramps and lifts, handicapped toilets, and a dedicated parking lot for the disabled are also provided.
In 2014 Straco Leisure Pte. Ltd. announced the acquisition of Singapore Flyer.
Discover Raffles Singapore and enjoy the hotel’s spacious, comfortable rooms. Raffles Hotel is a colonial-style luxury hotel. It was established by Armenian hoteliers in 1887.
A unique dining experience at Raffles Singapore with five restaurants and six bars – including the iconic Long Bar, famous for its Singapore Sling.
Following restoration works in 2019, the hotel now boasts a whole suite of new amenities and a fresh new look.
Chinatown in Singapore is a sharp contrast to the rest of the city, with low rise buildings and culture bursting. The narrow roads includes Chinatown Food Street, with its restaurants serving traditional fare like Hainanese chicken rice, noodles and satay. You can find souvenir shops and indie boutiques in the area, offering clothes, crafts and antiques.
You can spend a whole day exploring from the Buddha Tooth Relic Temple & Museum, to a walk down South Bridge Road, and don’t forget to check out Sri Mariamman Temple, the oldest Hindu temple in Singapore.
Sentosa is a sunny island, home to exciting events, themed attractions, award-winning spas, lush rainforests and golden sandy beaches. Here you’ll find one of the largest oceanariums on the planet with more than 100,000 marine animals and the world’s largest wind tunnel for indoor skydiving. The 18-foot-tall acrylic ‘glass walls’—allow you to enjoy panoramic views of the South China Sea and Siloso Beach.
Clarke Quay is a historical riverside quay, located within the Singapore River Planning Area and at the fringe of Singapore’s Central Business District.. Clarke Quay is also the name of a road along the quay, part of which has since been converted into a pedestrian mall.
Southeast Asia’s first and only Universal Studios theme park, featuring 24 rides, shows and attractions in seven themed zones. Universal Studios Singapore is a theme park located within Resorts World Sentosa on Sentosa Island.
Guests can also immerse in a celebratory atmosphere with the Hollywood Dreams parade, which features amazingly detailed floats, special effects, a custom musical score.
Merlion Park is a famous landmark and a major tourist attraction, located near One Fullerton, near the Central Business District.
The Merlion is a mythical creature with a lion’s head and the body of a fish. The original statue of the Merlion used to stand at the mouth of the Singapore River. Later, the statue was relocated to a new pier specially built on the other side of The Esplanade Bridge adjacent to The Fullerton hotel.
Located along the Singapore River, this museum shows the history of the Asian civilizations. It is one of the pioneering museums in the region to specialize in pan-Asian cultures and civilizations. The museum specializes in the material history of China, Southeast Asia, South Asia and West Asia.
You’d find the offices of the Colonial Secretary, Legislative Chamber, and Surveyor-General, all located there.
Want to learn more about Singapore? Check our other posts about Singapore.
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