New York Times Travel Show 2016

"Where do you wanna go, Ma?" Asked Bo, my boy, while excitedly looking at the spin-and-win roulette. 
"Where do YOU wanna go, Bo?" I asked him back and smiled. 
"Let's go to the place where we can snorkel and dive, as you like it" Bo said seriously and started spinning.

***

The New York Times Travel Show 2016

Do you like coming to an expo?

I do, especially if it's related to traveling. 
And we just had the annual New York Times Travel Show last week at Javits Center.
I won't miss it for the world!
My itchy feet tickle since God knows when and coming to this prestigious gathering feels like joining a party with old friends, great food and endless photo sessions. 
It makes me thrilled and super happy :). 

How can't you be so thrilled?

Displaying more than 500 exhibitor booths in 16 different Pavilions, starting from the amazingly diverse Asia to the classically elegant Europe, from the adventurous Africa to mystifyingly intriguing Pacific, this exhibition really spoiled its visitors with vast variety of first-class holiday options which suit different walks of life. Cruise trips, adventurous vacations, well-being and healthy travels to family-fun-packed holidays are being introduced, reintroduced, and even auctioned during this three-day travelvaganza.

As you continue to be amazed with places and attractions you are familiar with,  get yourself prepared with new destinations, off-beaten tracks and once-in-a-lifetime experience that will surely fill your blog and social media platforms with endless stories and photos. 

Being held since 2003, this international travel exhibition has been famously coined as the biggest of its kind in the East Coast region. Harboring hundreds of countries and travel industries from every corner of the world, NY Times Travel Expo certainly has a lot to offer. Seminars, book signing, cooking demo, cultural performances, free goodies, discounted trips,  raffles, and more can be enjoyed during this show.

As Bo, Obi and I arrived in this Hall, we first headed to the Asia Pavilion cultural show, as we had a medley of 5 traditional dances from different part of Indonesia, like Rengkak from West Java, Pakarena from South Sulawesi, Sirih Kuning from Jakarta,  Gending Sriwijaya from South Sumatera, and Giring-giring from Kalimantan. What a lovely performance! 

medley of 5 Indonesian traditional dances

Cukup banyak pengunjung pameran yang begitu menikmati pertunjukan tari-tarian tradisional yang khusus digelar untuk kegiatan ini. Ragam tarian Indonesia yang ditampilkan, gerak lincah para penari dan  kostum tradisional yang berwarna-warni membuat panggung di paviliun Asia ini penuh dengan mereka yang menikmati budaya asli tanah air. Dari beberapa orang lokal yang saya tanya, rata-rata mereka mengenal Indonesia namun belum pernah mengunjungi negara kita tercinta. Semoga ketertarikan mereka ini bisa membuat mereka penasaran dan benar-benar mengunjungi Indonesia ya. Aamiiin.

gemulainya para penari membawakan Gending Sriwijaya

And not far from the stage, we saw the Wonderful Indonesia booth. Inspired by the famous Pinisi boat, Wonderful Indonesia booth indeed showcased the beauty of our beloved country, including its world-famous coffee and traditional cuisine. 

Wonderful Indonesia booth

Dan serunya lagi, booth kita yang mengadopsi bentuk Kapal Pinisi dipenuhi pengunjung yang antri untuk mencicipi kopi Papua dan Sumatera yang dibagikan gratis selama pelaksanaan pameran. I bet they enjoy the exquisite taste of our original worldwide famous coffee.

anyone wants to try Papua and Sumatera coffee?

But of course, more fun sparks from the photo booth. Who wouldn't take photos and selfies these days. Almost everyone, I guess, including me. And in our booth, we have a specially prepared photo frame which is indeed instagramable :). Super fun indeed :)

cheeers....I was really having fun at the photo corner :)

For sure I wasn't the only one having fun here. We have some guests coming and join the selfie time. Some of them got a chance to take pictures with the dancers and wearing the properties, most of which are indeed originally from home, like the head piece from Bali, West Java and more. Bahkan banyak pengunjung lain yang  mengabadikan momen kami selfie dengan telpon pintar dan tablet mereka masing-masing. Mungkin bingung kali ya melihat kehebohan di pojok foto ini :).

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For sure ada banyak booth pameran dari berbagai negara lainnya. Kami sempat berkeliling dan mengunjungi beberapa booth yang menarik. Salah satunya booth National Geographic yang sejak dulu terkenal dengan foto-foto perjalanan ke berbagai pelosok bumi yang luar biasa cantik dan menariknya. Dan kita pun asyik berfoto a la cover majalah ngetop ini. Plus properti lucu, jadi deh foto kita a la (Dora the) eksplorer :).

Who's the explorer :)

Tidak lupa kami mencoba keberuntungan dengan mengikuti berbagai undian, kuis, dan raffles yang diselenggarakan beberapa operator tur maupun maskapai penerbangan. Well, who knows? Siapa tau memang ada rezeki kami yang nyangkut di salah satu undian ini :). Dan memang berbagai undian dan hadiah ini menjadi salah satu daya tarik 

Bismillahirrahmanirahiiiim..semoga menang :)

And as I said before, the fun is not complete without enjoying the taste of the world. Culinary experience is indeed pack and parcel with the whole traveling package. So kami pun sempat mengikuti demo masak dari Afrika Selatan dan satu lagi dari Estonia. Sayangnya kami tidak selesai mengikuti demo-demo tersebut  karena Bo et Obi pun jadi merengek lapar dan minta dibelikan makanan dan minuman.

demo masaknya seru juga :)

Di beberapa panggung yang tersebar di banyak tempat seputar areal pameran ini juga berlangsung banyak diskusi, book-signing dan workshop  seputar traveling dan trik-triknya. Sepertinya seru, hanya karena anak-anak tidak begitu betah duduk lama di sesi tersebut, saya pun hanya sempat melihatnya sekilas. Yang ada anak-anak menarik saya untuk melihat booth di bagian depan yang memang sangat menarik karena menampilkan banyak foto dan backdrop yang mengundang #myitchyfeet to go there dan membagikan banyak souvenir gratis, mulai dari alat tulis, pin, stiker, environmental bags sampai kalung dan boneka lucu. Bahkan di sudut relaxation booth tersedia pijat gratis yang antrian panjang mengular. Plus tato temporer menggunakan hena yang ditawarkan di boot Maroko. They really know how to attract people's attention :). Jadi tambah semangaaaat deh kami.

Anjungan utama dari negara-negara sponsor besar..Seru :)

Tidak lupa kami mampir ke bagian Amerika dan mendapat banyak informasi menarik, plus tawaran mengundang, untuk menjelajahi negeri tempat kami bertugas hingga 2018 nanti. Kalau dipikir-pikir, rasanya banyak sekali negara bagian di AS yang layak didatangi. Jangankan saya, Bo et Obi pun langsung semangat menyebutkan tempat-tempat favorit yang mereka lihat di pameran ini. Mostly it involves robots, princesses and beautiful beaches :). Langsung berdoa semoga selalu diberikan kesehatan, rezeki dan kesempatan untuk menikmati ciptaan-Nya di belahan bumi lain. Aamiiiin.

So many destinations, so many interesting places..aaarrghhh...

All in all, it was a fun dat at New York Times Travel Expo 2016. 
Tidak rugi rasanya menikmati pameran yang super lengkap ini dari pagi dan mendapat banyak inspirasi perjalanan yang membuat daftar #myithcyfeet makin panjang. Plus segudang doa agar kami bisa benar-benar menjejakkan kaki ke sana.
We got home late in the afternoon with a big bag packed with all our dream travel destination. And some free goodies, too. If you happen to be around NYC next January, don't miss this expo!.

***

"Oh noo...that was so close! I spinned it too hard, Ma! We didn't win" exclaimed Bo sadly.
You know what? He only missed one strip over the spin-and-win roulette which pointed his dream destination.

"No worries, Bang.. When the time comes, we will definitely visit those places." 
And can I get an amen for that :)