ON SAFARI!
I still am floored by all of my experiences from this past weekend.
I went in, as I mentioned in my prior post, with some reservations.
I was excited to be coming in with a Media badge. Beyond that, I didn’t know what to expect from the event itself or from my fellow bloggers.
After having gone, I swear by the event. For $9 for an online ticket or $12 at the door, you got to hear celebrity speakers, get lots of swag (pins, calendars, fridge magnets, mini Simple Green bottle, etc.), see cultural dancing sorts of exhibitions, get tips from professional photographers, do the scuba diving tank, etc. A solid day’s entertainment, nay, more than I could pack in over two days of being there from open til close, for less than the cost of a movie. Not to mention, if you really were looking for vacation ideas or wanted to talk to people from other countries, they had the whole world there for you. On the right side of the floor, everything from Papua New Guinea to Thailand to African safaris. On the left side, tons of stuff in the US and Canada, along with other sorts of other trips, including polar and nudist trips.
Plus, the speakers.
I saw all of the headliners:
Arthur Frommer, Andrew McCarthy, Rick Steves and Samantha Brown.
But, this is my overview post, so we’ll end here. I’ll do a few more over this week.
Coming up:
More on the headliners: My reactions to and interactions with the speakers.
The booths: Schmoozing with those aforementioned people from all over the world, including talking to Egyptians about the goings-on over there and an Indian journalist who will never go back to his native land.
My compatriots: Networking with the press and fellow travel bloggers, including the exclusive parties.
And that should pretty much cover everything of note.
Hope you read. And, of course, if you were there, I’d love to hear how your impressions were similar or different from my own.
Plus, at some point, another video of my experiences, including my first time scuba diving.
