Awards Season 2012

by Bama
June 20, 2012
10 comments
Asia, Europe

Awards Season, Bringing Blogs with Different Colors Together

Receiving an award from other blogger is always a nice thing because that way I know that someone does enjoy reading my blog and furthermore it works as a big support for me to keep writing and sharing stories of places I have traveled (and hopefully encourage people to travel as well). A few weeks ago I was nominated for three different awards: the Sunshine Award, Illuminating Blogger Award and One Lovely Blog Award by Travel Photo Media, The Wanderlust Gene and Thirdeyemom respectively. Thank you so much for nominating me! I am really honored.

The rules of all the awards are quite simple as you have to thank the person who nominated you, tell random things about yourself and pass the awards to other bloggers. However, I found that writing random things about me for all the three awards a bit challenging. Therefore I decided to do what The Wanderlust Gene has done: the Atlas Game!

The Atlas Game is basically the collection of your travel memories based on a list of places sorted out alphabetically. Since What an Amazing World! is a blog about my travel stories and photographs, I just knew this game would fit in perfectly. For those who are new to this blog, you can find out a little bit about me in one of my old posts on a similar award which I received several months ago.

Without further ado, here is my Atlas Game:

A Amsterdam I can’t really say that I’ve been to this city because I only stayed for three hours in the airport for transit. However Amsterdam (Schiphol Airport to be precise) marked my first trip abroad back in 2007.
B Bandar Seri Begawan Simply the smallest and quietest capital I’ve ever been to. It was so surreal wandering around the empty streets with only the golden dome of the state mosque watching you.
C Changi Airport It was not until three years after my 2007 Eurotrip that I had the chance to go abroad again. It was the smell of Singapore’s Changi Airport that brought back the memories of my Eurotrip and awakened the wanderlust within me.
D Duisburg Sometimes it can be fun to visit places which are not in tourists’ radar. This German city is one of them. However French sculptor Niki de Saint Phalle apparently has made her way to this place and put her typical enigmatic work of art right at the city center.
E Eiffel Tower The Parisian landmark blew me away when I visited it around 11 pm, the second time on the day when I went to Paris. The dim reddish light suddenly turned into hundreds or even thousands of sparkling white light. Beautifully orchestrated to resonate Paris’ nickname, The City of Light.
F France I love French, even though now my French is kind of rusty. Unfortunately when I went to Europe I only had the chance to make a short trip to Paris. I hope one day I will get the chance to explore France’s regions and taste the world-famous wine and cheese.
G Guangzhou My preconception of Guangzhou as a big bustling city was completely altered when James decided to take me to Shamian Island, a nice and beautiful old quarter of Guangzhou with British and French old colonial buildings.
H Hong Kong It was in this city when I met another blogger – James – for the first time. We, since then, have traveled together to Laos and China. It’s just amazing how blogging can open up new opportunities!
I Intramuros Undoubtedly the highlight of my trip to the Philippine capital in January 2011. The fact that most signage were written in Spanish makes this place even more special.
J Jakarta The city where I currently live. A big bustling city of ten million people. Most people find it hard to love this metropolis but most of them simply didn’t go to the right place.
K Kuala Lumpur Among other cities outside Indonesia, Kuala Lumpur is the one that I visited the most. But most of my visits were only for transit, thanks to AirAsia’s insanely cheap offers!
L Luang Prabang One of my most favorite destinations in Southeast Asia by far. A tranquil town packed with beautiful wats and superb restaurants. This place can also easily be writers’ haven.
M Macau The most interesting thing in Macau is the fact that most street signs were written in Portuguese, along with Mandarin and English (yes, I have a penchant for European languages). The eggtart is also not to be missed!
N Nuremberg This German city was the place where I spent the most days during my Eurotrip in 2007. Its Altstadt is particularly special and definitely worth a visit.
O Olympiapark I’m a big Olympic Games fan so when I went to Olympiapark in Munich – the main venue for the 1972 Summer Olympic – it was definitely a special moment.
P Paris Everyone has mixed feelings about the City of Light. For me, Paris was definitely beautiful, but sometimes could be overwhelming at the same time.
Q Quadrangle Sacred Quadrangle to be precise, is an ancient site in the Sri Lankan town of Polonnaruwa, the second capital of the country’s ancient kingdom. Undoubtedly one of the tourism highlights of the island nation.
R Ringstrasse Probably the most beautiful street in the world. This place was also the one that made me fall in love with Vienna at the first sight.
S Siem Reap I love ancient ruins and Siem Reap is the base to explore one of the world’s greatest ancient ruins: the temples of Angkor.
T Tidung Islands A group of two islands which make the larger group of ‘Thousand Islands’, just north of Jakarta. This is where I had to deal with my fear of height like never before when I wanted to jump from a bridge, and I failed to conquer it. But one day I will come back for the unfinished business.
U Uluwatu Perched on a cliff overlooking the Indian Ocean, this southern tip of Bali is just simply breathtaking. Every afternoon a Balinese dance show is performed just before sunset.
V Vienna By far it is the city that I  love the most. Beautiful, pedestrian-friendly, great food, good music, I can name as many reasons as you want to hear.
W Wat Phra Kaew The first wat I’ve ever visited and I was blown away by its splendor. Truly a highlight for any visit to Bangkok.
X Xingping A small Chinese village which is often flocked by tourists who want to see the landscape which inspired the reverse side of 20 yuan note. Climbing Lao Zhai Hill is one of the things everyone must do.
Y Yangon One of the most peculiar places I’ve ever visited. A city which seemed to be trapped in time. Old cars and buses, men and women wearing traditional outfits and dilapidated British colonial buildings were evident throughout the city.
Z Zuidstation When I went to Europe in 2007 one of the things that I wanted to do the most was practicing my French, and it was in Brussels’ Zuidstation (Gare du Midi) where I first spoke French in a francophone land.

For more stories on each place, you can go to Index page of this blog and look for the specific entry you wish to read.

As goes with tradition, I would also like to nominate the following bloggers for the awards:

Sunshine Award:

  1. The Unwitting Traveller
  2. The World Wanderer
  3. Lrntn’s Blog
  4. TravelWithLaughter
  5. Rocky on The Road

Illuminating Blogger Award:

  1. Temporarily Lost
  2. curiouscatontherun
  3. Sandstone and amber
  4. Kaboom
  5. A Word in Your Ear

One Lovely Blog Award:

  1. Deano Around The World
  2. One World, 4 Girls
  3. retireediary
  4. Hammersmith Tales
  5. The Chamborres Expedition

For those who are nominated, there’s no obligation to pass on the award. It’s simply an acknowledgement from a fellow blogger for your great blogs. Enjoy the awards!

Posted by

Based in Jakarta, always curious about the world, always fascinated by ancient temples, easily pleased by food.

10 thoughts on “Awards Season 2012”

  3. thirdeyemom says:

    Wonderful post! I’ve enjoyed reading your posts on Laos and actually forwarded your blog info to a friend who is moving there soon! 🙂 Nicole

    Like

    • Bama says:

      Oh, thanks a lot Nicole! That’s very kind of you. I hope your friend will have a wonderful time living in Laos!

      Like

Leave a comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.