Educational/Cultural Tour: Please Select One Tour

The XII IOSTE Symposium Organizing Committee has made arrangements for five Educational/Cultural tours for IOSTE Symposium participants on Wednesday 2 August 2006. Tour begins at 8:00 a.m. and ends at 5:00 p.m., and will include lunch for each participant. These are guided tours with cultural and educational values on luxury air-conditioned coach with English speaking tourist guide service.

Please note that participant who selects tour CET05 (Pulau Paya Marine Park) is required to pay an additional fee of US30.00 (RM110.00) as the cost of this tour is more than double that of the other tours.

Participants are required to register for one of the tours on a first-come-first-serve basis (maximum number per tour: 38 passengers). All registered participants are requested to make their reservation by e-mailing their choice (stating the tour code) to Ms. Maznah Ali (Chair, Hospitaliti Committee) at: maznaly@usm.my

Code	Tour	Notes (for registered participant only)
CET01	Penang National Park	Free of additional charge
CET02	Matang Forest Reserve	Free of additional charge
CET03	Penang Industrial Park	Free of additional charge
CET04	Farm Tour	Free of additional charge
CET05	Pulau Paya Marine Park	Additional fee of US30 (RM110)

TOUR DESCRIPTIONS

Web-links

CET01. Penang National Park and USM Marine Research Station Pantai Acheh Forest Reserve which comprises 1181 ha of forest and 1381 ha of wetlands was declared the Penang National Park. Located at the north-western corner of Penang Island, Malaysia, it is the most remote part of the state. Penang National Park’s ecosystem consists mainly of tropical lowland forest with coastal features, be it beaches, hills, forest trails or even lake. It offers big biodiversity as a national park.

Visits include Guided tour with jungle trekking session, Boat trip to visit USM Marine Research Station at Muka Head, and the Monkey Beach for picnic BBQ lunch; Swimming at Monkey Beach.

http://www.worldisround.com/articles/19166/

CET02. Matang Forest Reserve Matang Forest Reserve comprises a large crescent-shaped bay, divided by seven major estuaries, which are further dissected by numerous rivers. The main vegetation is mangrove. Matang is the last area in Peninsular Malaysia capable of supporting a viable population of birds, esp. the milky stork. Matang is an important wintering and staging area, where species of egret are found. There are five small fishing villages within Matang. The remaining mangrove is completely uninhabited.

This is a guided tour to the Kuala Sepetang Mangrove Forest, Charcoal factory tour, and Bukit Merah tour (ecopark, Orang Utan Island and skycyecle ride). Light snack will be served during the tour with Buffet lunch at Bukit Merah Laketown Resort.

http://taipingtalk.com/forum/posts/2998.html,

http://www.geocities.com/stigerk07/KualaGula.html

CET03. Penang Industrial Park (the “silicon valley” of Malaysia): This is a guided tour to visit Intel Campus and PSDC (Penang State Development Corporation) Technology Training Centre, the Batu Maung WorldFish Research Centre and Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) Campus.

http://www.onefish.org/global/index.jsp

http://support.intel.com/jobs/Malaysia/sites/Penang.htm

http://www.logos-net.net/ilo/150_base/en/init/mal_5.htm

CET04. Farm Tour (Spice Garden/Butterfly Farm/Tropical Fruit Farm) This is a guided tour to visit, focusing on the Tropical Spice Garden (Guided Tour), Penang Butterfly Farm, Forest Reserve Museum (Taman Rimba), and Tropical Agro Farm (Guided Tour). BBQ lunch at Tropical Agro Farm.

http://www.butterfly-insect.com/butterfly-insect/

http://www.tropicalfruits.com.my/

CET05. Langkawi Coral Pulau Paya Marine Park North of the island Penang and south of Langkawi is the Pulau Paya Marine Park, rated as having one of the best diving off Peninsular Malaysia's West Coast. Pulau Paya has the best coral reef garden on the western end of the island and a reef platform has been built with an underwater observation chamber, making it easy for young and old alike to enjoy the beauty of the areas waters.

Visit Pulau Paya Marine Park with English speaking tourist guide service via speed boat ferry. Facilities include free use of snorkeling equipment, Underwater Observation Chamber, Glass bottom boat for coral viewing / Sun deck / Fresh water shower facility. Buffet lunch on board the Reef Platform.

http://www.geographia.com/malaysia/pulaupaya.htm