These Travel Hosts Had To Eat Scorpions And More Live On Facebook
The 2 hosts went to 6 different Asean countries over 6 weeks.
By Gowri Chitra — 03 Oct 2017, 10:03 AM
If you follow AirAsia on Facebook, you might have noticed (and maybe even taken part in) their unique new travel series
Dubbed 'Adventure Live', the show followed the 6 week journey of the two hosts, Natalie Kniese and Denise Chan, spanning the following destinations: Hanoi (Vietnam), Cebu (Philippines), Yangon (Myanmar), Lombok (Indonesia), Phnom Penh (Cambodia), and Luang Prabang (Laos).
But what made the show truly unique and set it apart from all the other travel shows out there was the fact that the entire series was broadcasted to viewers LIVE via Facebook!
Viewers greatly influenced the content of the series as they literally held the fate of the hosts in their hands
It was almost like they got to direct their own personalised travel show. Whether it was deciding what crazy activity the hosts had to do or what local delicacy to sample, everything was up to the viewers! Each live-streamed episode asked the viewers to vote using FB emojis and the hosts would comply with whatever option came out on top.
As you can imagine, this led to some pretty insane situations like when Natalie had to give fire spinning a try in Cebu or when Denise had to eat scorpions and tarantulas in Phnom Penh.
The best part was that viewers also had something to gain by watching the live episodes. At the end of every broadcast, Natalie and Denise gave out 50,000 AirAsia BIG points (redeemable for travel anywhere in Southeast Asia to lucky winners! All they had to do was answer simple questions by commenting on the FB live videos.
Both hosts loved how every day brought them something new and exciting to experience
When asked for a particularly memorable moment, the girls had this to say:
"I got the chance to try so many new things on 'Adventure Live' - each destination & task was a favourite, so it's really hard to choose especially since each location was unique in its own way. I'd have to say Cebu, Philippines because I don't think anyone has ever broadcasted live from a jet-ski in the middle of the ocean!" - Natalie
"The one place that surprised me the most was Luang Prabang, Laos and how serene it was. There were times where it felt like we were the only ones in town because of all the noise and energy we were bringing for the show!" - Denise
The live element of the show came with its own set of challenges
Ion Furjanic, director of We are KIX, said that "the planning took about 2 months of hard work, prop making, test shooting, scripting, and research...(because) there were a million things to consider with a LIVE video that we had to overcome and handle one by one."
He also recounted the most difficult moment they faced which happened on a mountainside in Lombok: "One hour before we were set to go live (with horses, martial artists and drummers) and it was absolutely pouring rain! We were huddled under a tarp on the side of the mountain as the wind got stronger and stronger. Luckily, the clouds parted just in time and we went live on one of our craziest adventures!"
But at the end of the day, it was all worth it as the series was well-received by the public, garnering a total of 661,447 views, 9,363 comments and 76,968 reactions by the end of its run
If you missed out on the live broadcasts, you can check out the wrap-up video above for a taste of everything they experienced. Or you can check out the full episodes of Natalie’s adventures in Hanoi, Cebu and Yangon here and Denise's journey through Lombok, Phnom Penh, and Luang Prabang here.
'Adventure Live' was created in collaboration with Tune Protect and spearheaded by award-winning Malaysian film company We are KIX as part of AirAsia’s ‘Live Life Unexpected’ campaign. This was done in support of the year-long Visit Asean@50 initiative to encourage travellers to explore the unique Asean experience.
Feeling that #wanderlust kick in and itching to go on a trip of your own? You can now explore over 80 destinations across Asean with the AirAsia Asean Pass.
The nifty little travel pass gives you access to a fixed number of credits to redeem flights so you will not be affected by fluctuating fares. What this means is that you'll be able to lock down low base fares with your credit and then subsequently redeem them to travel from destination to destination.
The places you can travel to with the Asean Pass are Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.
Plus, you will not be subject to a processing fee when redeeming flights and you'll still get to earn AirAsia BIG points.
There are two different types of passes available:
1. AirAsia Asean Pass: 10 credits over 30 days of travel validity for RM499
2. AirAsia Asean Pass +: 20 credits over 60 days of travel validity for RM888
