The Gala opening, 19 November

The Gala opening which marked the official opening of the International Tiger Youth Forum was held at the underground hall in Vladivostok State University of Economy and Service. We listened to insightful speeches made by 4 important officials there. Then, we went to Sportivnaya Gavan embankment for the ceremonial opening of the “Tiger Trail”. After lunch, we had an introductory lecture about tiger conservation, presentations of tiger situation in each tiger range countries and the UK.

It is very interesting to learn that the threats affecting wild tigers in many countries are rather common such as poaching of tigers and their prey species, fragmentation and loss of habitat and illegal trading of wildlife products. Many delegates have raised an important key to double our wild tiger population by 2022 which is to strengthen trans-boundary and international cooperation.  This is mainly because the tigers do not recognized political boundary and they are more likely to become extinct when one country can implement effective conservation whereas another does little to prevent poaching.

The delegates from the UK spoke about how countries without any wild tiger can also help to save our magnificent wild tigers by   increasing public awareness and through donation. After all, saving wild tiger is a way to save our natural environment, our heritage and our planet.

To view the video of our first day of the forum, please click here.

Vladivostok tour, 18 November

Vladivostok, “rules the East”, a hilly state similar to San Francisco, opened up again in the late 1980s and will be the host of the 24^th APEC Summit in 2012. There are constructions and renovations in many areas. It is indeed a fast developing state. The two main economic activities are fishing and trading. They have many Japanese made cars just like in Laos. The majority of the Russian population are Christian and hence there are many churches here, unlike in Laos where there are many temples.

I find Russian language very interesting but very difficult to learn. You can learn some useful phrases from here.

After dinner, we had an ice-breaker session to get to know each other better.

My first cold, cold day in Russia, 16 November

It was a sunny and windy day when I safely landed in Vladivostok at 2pm (local time) on the eastern part of the world largest country, Russia. At -3°C, it was not as cold as I thought it would be because this cold breeze was simply refreshing.

The delegates from Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam whom we met at Incheon Iinternational airport were also embraced by this unique greeting of the Vladivostok wind.

After that, Olga led us to the Money exchange counter where they bought 1USD for 29.00 Rubles and sold 1USD for 31.40 Rubles.

Then she brought us to a warm bus which later arrived at Sedanka hotel at about 4pm. I savoured my first Russian dinner. The hotel rooms were well-furnished and cozy. Though it was only my first day, I have already been homesick. Fortunately, the heaters and the people made the hotel atmosphere comforting. So on this first cold, cold day in Russia, I began to like this hotel.

[Background: Sedanka hotel. From left: Me, Ann, Onny, Rini]