Susanna Tjokro, Contributor, Jakarta, s_tjokro@yahoo.com
When life gets too hectic, you need a break -- time to unwind and enjoy yourself. For many people, traveling is the perfect way to recharge their batteries. Asian countries, especially Southeast Asia, are popular destinations for Indonesians. They are cheaper than other destinations, say like South Africa, and offer lots of things to see, from shopping centers to exotic beaches, from cultural shows to interesting nightlife.
Today there is a good selection of travel programs on offer. Puri Tur classifies its packages into categories: ""Romantic"", ""For Golfer"", ""For Shopper"", ""For Family"", ""For Health & Beauty"" as well as ""Adults Only"". The latter may tickle your curiosity. Priced at US$675 ""Bangkok-Pattaya, Adults Only"" is a crowd puller. ""Most who take the tour are married couples,"" says Ali of Puri Tur. The four-day tour takes you to see the wild side of Thailand's nightlife. Sexy transvestite shows, naked striptease and vagina shows are among the various steamy entertainment that awaits tour participants.
It is a known fact that although travel agents do not usually include X-rated entertainment in their programs, sometimes, if asked, guides can help you get tickets for those shows.
Thailand, one of the favorite holiday spots for Indonesians, offers non-erotic entertainment too. TM Tours will take you to see a James Bond show at The Safari & Marine World, the Elephant Show as well as the Temple of Dawn, among other activities. However, to spice up the tour, they will also take you to see the Alcazar Show, the legendary she-male musical extravaganza (the seven-day Thailand-Singapore package is priced at $745).
Just like other travel agencies, TM Tours also offers customized or personalized tours for small groups (minimum two persons). They are more expensive, but well worth the money if you consider the probability of having problems in a big group situation. And the best thing is you can design your own tour, be it a shopping tour, cultural trip or culinary tour or whatever you like.
Anta Tour and its sister company Vayatour are known as travel agents that pamper their participants with luxury. For Asian destinations, you fly SQ and Garuda and stay at four- or five-star hotels. However, to cater to the different needs of customers, since March 2006, they have offered low-budget tours, called ""Vantastiq"". You fly Air China, China Airline, Lion Air and the like, and stay at three- or four-star hotels. The prices are pocket-friendly, for example, the ""Vantastiq Panoramic China Tour"" (7 days) is priced at $798.
""Korea, Japan, Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia are the favorite Asian destinations,"" says Hendra of KIA Tours. As said by Dwi Indra Hartono of Vayatour, Japan is especially popular during the Sakura blossom season.
Popular TV series have also set trends in the travel business. The popularity of specially designed tour programs that give fans a taste of winter in Korea is a perfect example of this after TV soap Winter Sonata hit screen here. Disneyland, whether the one in Hong Kong or Japan, is also a crowd puller. Most big travel agents, if not all, offer packages to Disneyland.
Traveling within Indonesia is also popular. There are countless attractive packages to choose from -- Bali, Lombok, Jogyakarta, Manado and Toba Lake are among the wide variety of choices.
In general, Indonesians are natural-born shopaholics, so it's no wonder that most packages include shopping destinations to draw a crowd. ""Shopping tours are the best selling packages,"" says Hendra of KIA Tours.
It is widely accepted that buying complete tour packages is usually stress-free as well as cheaper than organizing your own journey and bookings. And one does not having to worry about where to go or how to get there. The tours offer so many interesting things to keep you occupied that even a week seems to pass as quickly as a day. Time does fly when we are on holiday.
