Avid adventurers and travel enthusiasts packed The Long Beach Convention Center over the weekend for the annual Los Angeles Travel and Adventure Show.
The show offered opportunities for great deals on travel destinations, presentations, cultural cuisine, free trips, door prizes, and a variety of activities for the entire family.
The biggest travel promotion this year is the nation of Taiwan, considered to be the most under-rated country to visit.
Positioned as the first exhibit as you walk through the entrance door — travel promotions included entertainment, games, tea tasting, and a lecture with video presentation on what you will see and experience when visiting Taiwan.
Cultural dances and music from around the world were presented at The Global Beats Stage — Africa, China, Malaysia, Mariana Islands, Spain, Germany, Turkey to name a few.
The Fiji exhibit was the most culturally entertaining — Fijian dancers and musicians took over the aisle, along with a traditional Kava Drinking Ceremony for visitors to partake in.
Kava, a non-alcoholic drink made from the root of a pepper tree is more of an acquired taste for first-times — Fijians claim to drink Kava for its medicinal remedies.
Fijian Dancers: http://youtu.be/0QHsK1Bru7U
Rock Climbing, indoor Scuba Diving, Bubble Ball Rolling and Zip-lining were activities included in the $12 admission price with children under 16 admitted for FREE! A great family bargain.
The zip-line activity presented by Costa Rica Tourism is a promotion for their zip-line excursion over the forest canopy when visiting Costa Rica and is one of the most popular activities at the show.
The Destination Theater hosted guest speakers such as photographer Ralph Velasco and his video presentation tips on travel photography and Ron Mracky, associate publisher of "The African Times" with his presentation on Africa.
If you have never been to Africa, just listen to Ron Mracky. Originally from Australia, Mracky inspires his audience with everything Africa that will make you want to jump on the next flight for a safari excursion.
On the Culinary Stage, celebrity guest Mark DeCarlo hosted the "International Fiery Foods Challenge" with a variety of guest chefs demonstrating cooking techniques and offering tasty samples to the audience along with recipes.
While The Travel and Adventure Theater hosted well-known celebrity guest speakers Andrew Zimmern, Samantha Brown, Peter Greenberg and travel writer Patricia Schultz — engaging their audiences with fascinating travel tales of their own experiences both inspiring and humorous, as well as travel tips on the do's and don'ts when visiting foreign countries.
Andrew Zimmern from Travel Channel's "Bizarre Foods" was very entertaining — presenting his own stories of travel and adventure that involved the understanding of certain cultural customs and cuisines.
As part of his presentation, Zimmern demonstrated cooking techniques on stage that involved gooey duck clam and jelly fish. Afterwards slices of clam and jelly fish were offered to audience members, as well as cooked chicken feet and Asian beef. Zimmern did not mention what part of the animal the beef came from, but fortunately all food items were cooked and quite delicious.
Boy tries gooey duck clam: http://youtu.be/FVKhEZmcHzo
The Travel and Adventure Show was a great weekend experience for the entire family. If you can handle the crowd, and are looking for cultural experience and adventure that is easy on your wallet and close to home, The Los Angeles Travel and Adventure Show was worth the affordable admission price.
Additional Videos from show
- Bubble Rollers: http://youtu.be/xSisTPF4usg
- Cultural Entertainment: http://youtu.be/zgIlfgxYva0
- Inland Empire Jam - http://youtu.be/lgQVv4bzDi0
- Malaysian Tea - http://youtu.be/sI1j9XYPQPc
- Zip-Lining - http://youtu.be/ZbOryxq8zOE
- Scuba Pool - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=33eP7BFz08w
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