Adventure-packed winter escapade
ONE of the best parts about travelling farther than your usual comfort zone is the chance to experience and absorb different cultures and sub-cultures so vastly diverse only to discover the natural warmth and friendliness that runs through us all, regardless of where we may be based.
Thanks to companies such as Parlo Tours Sdn Bhd, many Malaysians and fellow global travellers get the chance to experience life in a northern town.
According to Carol Sum, the head of operations at Parlo, tour and travel packages to the northernmost and coolest regions are becoming increasingly popular with Malaysians and Asians.
“When you join Parlo’s tours, especially these Aurora lights hunting trips, we will make sure to let you stay in places above the Arctic circle so that you have a better chance of seeing the lights,” she shared when met at the Parlo office, in preparation for Parlo’s participation in this year’s MATTA Fair.
While the company has been taking part in the MATTA Fair for two decades now, Sum enthuses about the fantastic response at such fairs and also, the response to tours to northern territories.
“Our tour guides for the packages to Finland, Iceland, the Arctic Circle, Alaska and even Russia – they’re all very experienced and will ensure you enjoy all the attractions, such as staying in a glass igloo in Finland, king crab fishing safari or husky rides,” she assured, adding how the Northern Lights Alaska package has been a top seller with groups of travellers comprising 20 or more pax.
She added that Parlo goes the extra mile to ensure customers are not burdened by surprises on the trip by having to fork out for extras. Depending on the package that customers choose at the MATTA Fair, they can possibly get discounts of up to RM1,000, while at the same time, getting a little extra for Parlo’s Go For Gold campaign.
“The Go For Gold campaign has been running since January this year,” explained Sum, a purchaseand-win campaign where for every RM3,000 spent by their customers, they receive one entry ticket for the lucky draw.
The grand prize for the draw is a 1kg gold bar of 999-gold, worth some RM200,000.
The winner will be announced in January 2020, but during the MATTA Fair, Parlo will be giving customers two entry tickets for every RM3,000 spent, which means they can double their chances of winning the grand prize or other prizes from the campaign, including holiday packages for two and trips to Europe.
Additionally, during the MATTA Fair period this September, customers who purchase packages or trips with Parlo and use their Citibank credit card are entitled to an additional 5% discount on top of the fabulous discounts, promotions and offers during the fair.
Sum added how the Russia packages are also becoming very popular with travellers.
Parlo offers travellers various packages, such as the nine-day Aurora in Alaska package at RM17,388, which comprises staying in Alaska’a Modern Geodesic Dome, dog-sledding and snowmobile rides and soaking in Arctic hot springs.
For those looking at Norway or Finland, Parlo has the Lifetime Experience in the Arctic Circle package for RM15,288 that comprises glorious activities such as Arctic wildlife sightseeing at the Ranua Wildlife Park, dining in the world’s biggest snow fort, a polar explorer icebreaker cruise and a Lapland reindeer safari, among others.
The Arctic King Crab feast, says Sum, is a hot attraction. Those who are sturdy enough to go on the king crab hunting safari can do so with this package, and they may be lucky enough to catch the Aurora Borealis, the jewel-toned lights phenomena that only happens in certain regions.
They are a natural light display in the Earth’s sky, predominantly seen in the highlatitude regions. Auroras are the result of disturbances in the magnetosphere caused by solar wind.