Tourism in ‘Bears Armed’ (Sign-up/OOC thread)

[Bears Armed]

"Bears Armed is ranked 8th in the region and 6'954th in the world for Most Popular Tourist Destinations."

In recent years, as at least some of you already know, the nation of Bears Armed — whose population consists mainly, although not completely, of anthropomorphic bears — has been gradually opening up to the outside world[s]. Now, the national government and most of the Clans’ governments have agreed to accelerate that process by promoting the country as a tourist destination too. This will hopefully help our people to learn about foreigners, and get foreigners more accustomed to the fact of our existence… and, also, bring in some more foreign currency for purchasing imports with and for use by those of our own people who travel abroad.
The newly-established ‘Bears Armed Tourism Agency’ (or ‘BATA’) has been told to begin this programme with a limited number of guided tours, partly to “to test the waters” about the project’s economic viability and partly because ‘Ursines’ tend to be even more "territorial" in nature than Humans do so that it seems advisable to get the residents of the areas concerned accustomed to outside visitors on a small scale before allowing larger-scale tourism.

Parties of tourists to have between 8 & 24 members, tours to have a basic length of 2 weeks (in IC time) with the possibility of extending this (current upper limit = 4 weeks) if enough people are interested. No unaccompanied children, and no very young children at all, at this stage, thank you...
If you’re interested then you could send an entire party from just your own nation (or from 2 or 3 closely-linked nations), or contribute individual tourists to a party of more widely mixed origins. The tours are being priced highly enough that this should exclude most people who are simply looking for a cheap getaway with plenty to drink (and we don’t have much in the way of beaches, or warm seas, anyway…), but not so highly that only billionaires and national leaders need apply. Think of ‘professionals’ and ‘gentry’ as the sort of potential customers that are being targeted, at least at this stage. Oh, and anybody who would “need” to bring along armed security personnel needn’t apply for tickets at all. I wouldn’t be surprised if the initial visitors included people from your own tourist boards and travel firms, scouting out this potential destination for future use, and maybe some people looking into the country’s potential for business purposes of other types (or even for missionary work) as well. Might the government of any nation that’s been interacting with us in other threads feel that sending a spy along would be useful? (C&M, this means you… )
My OOC intention is to give you another opportunity for character-based RP, hopefully of a fairly light-hearted nature, and to learn about my nation, while I have fun showing-off the country’s details (and in designing more of them, when you’re going to be visiting the relevant sites). This is NOT a thread for assassinations, for causing riots, or for any other events that could be used to justify wars…

I (and 'BATA') hope that this propsect will appeal to tourists who are interested in seeing a country in whose population 'non-humans' predominate in action, and in experiencing some of its cultures' special features. According to recent descriptions by 'international' sources, this nation is “remarkable for its museums and concert halls”. Also, it has a legal & well-developed Gambling industry that is always open to new suckers customers.
I’ll post some possible locations for inclusion in the tours’ itineraries tomorrow, and will start an IC thread if and when enough people have signed up as willing to send tourists along…

[Ardchoille]

Hmmm ... the executives of Madame Gazunda's have been feeling a little jaded lately, and would be all the better for a holiday.

Of course, Verillia may well be looking for recruits to her multi-national establishment, and Meraut is, after all, the daughter of Bast, the Ardchoillean Cat who is the nearest thing the nation has to a spymaster ...

But even a pair of talented and highly intelligent courtesans have to lower their guard sometime, and where better than as part of an anonymous and diverse group of tourists?

[Bears Armed]

Hmmm ... the executives of Madame Gazunda's have been feeling a little jaded lately, and would be all the better for a holiday.

Of course, Verillia may well be looking for recruits to her multi-national establishment, and Meraut is, after all, the daughter of Bast, the Ardchoillean Cat who is the nearest thing the nation has to a spymaster ...

But even a pair of talented and highly intelligent courtesans have to lower their guard sometime, and where better than as part of an anonymous and diverse group of tourists?

Welcome! Okay, they can be in the first mixed-nationalities tour-group.

Now, where's everybody else?

[Gehenna Tartarus]

I'll send a party of tourists to your nation. If we are all going to be in the same group, I'll send a family of four, the husband being a member of the tourist industry of the Empire of Tartarus.

[Bears Armed]

I'll send a party of tourists to your nation. If we are all going to be in the same group, I'll send a family of four, the husband being a member of the tourist industry of the Empire of Tartarus.

Okay... I think... as long as none of the family's members are too young. Given the nation's name, are these Humans or what? If they are Human then 13-14 years old is about the minimum that would be acceptable, at this stage, for safety reasons.

Now waiting for at least two more players, and at least two more characters, before the first tour begins...

[Gehenna Tartarus]

I'll make the family fit whatever is necessary. They were going to be teens, just thought it would be interesting to have the tour viewed from various age groups. One about 15/16 the other 18/19.

[Bears Armed]

I'll make the family fit whatever is necessary. They were going to be teens, just thought it would be interesting to have the tour viewed from various age groups. One about 15/16 the other 18/19.

Okay. And these are just 'standard' humans, despite your nation's name, yes?


____________________________________________________

Sorry, folks, but I've been rather busy with this & that today and have run out of time online. I'll type-up my list of suggested sites for the tour to visit during my lunch-hour at work on Monday, and post it that evening (GMT)...

[Gehenna Tartarus]

Yeah, the citizens of Tartarus are normal, modern day humans, most of whom have never met anything other than other normal humans.

[Myedvedeya]

We will send a group of three of our long-lived sentient Ursines.

Name: Father Igor Kazmiazov
Age: 157
Species: Ursus Arctos Beringianus
Occupation: Priest of the Myedvedeyan Orthodox Church, rumored to be on the verge of becoming a Bishop.
Yearly Salary: MYRB 150,000 ($70,955), plus free housing.
Length (Nose to tail): 10 feet 8 inches
Weight: 1142 pounds
Standard Clothing: Priest's Vestments
Personality: Serious, Pious, very stereotypical thinker

Name: Konstantin Borisovitch
Age: 86
Species: Ursus Maritimus
Occupation: Vice President of Gazprom
Yearly Salary: MYRB 3,000,000 ($1,419,110)
Length (Nose to tail): 11 feet 2 inches
Weight: 1471 pounds
Standard Clothing: Large overcoat, business clothing
Personality: Subdued, quiet, extremely wealthy but does not show it

Name: Ilya Romanov
Age: 31
Species: Ursus Arctos Isabellinus
Occupation: Operatic Tenor
Per-Performance Salary: MYRB 500,000 ($236,518)
Length (Nose to tail): 7 feet 9 inches
Weight: 812 pounds
Standard Clothing: Showy, fashionable, casual
Personality: Loud, fun-loving, energetic.

[Auman]

"At first I was like "Where's that?" Then I got excited about the prospect of going to an exotic new country. Then I asked myself "Who just gives bears guns?" Then I remembered "Allanea."

~Random Aumanii traveler.

[Bears Armed]

We will send a group of three of our long-lived sentient Ursines.

Name: Father Igor Kazmiazov
Age: 157
Species: Ursus Arctos Beringianus
Occupation: Priest of the Myedvedeyan Orthodox Church, rumored to be on the verge of becoming a Bishop.
Yearly Salary: MYRB 150,000 ($70,955), plus free housing.
Length (Nose to tail): 10 feet 8 inches
Weight: 1142 pounds
Standard Clothing: Priest's Vestments
Personality: Serious, Pious, very stereotypical thinker

Name: Konstantin Borisovitch
Age: 86
Species: Ursus Maritimus
Occupation: Vice President of Gazprom
Yearly Salary: MYRB 3,000,000 ($1,419,110)
Length (Nose to tail): 11 feet 2 inches
Weight: 1471 pounds
Standard Clothing: Large overcoat, business clothing
Personality: Subdued, quiet, extremely wealthy but does not show it

Name: Ilya Romanov
Age: 31
Species: Ursus Arctos Isabellinus
Occupation: Operatic Tenor
Per-Performance Salary: MYRB 500,000 ($236,518)
Length (Nose to tail): 7 feet 9 inches
Weight: 812 pounds
Standard Clothing: Showy, fashionable, casual
Personality: Loud, fun-loving, energetic.

And they will be VERY welcome.

"At first I was like "Where's that?" Then I got excited about the prospect of going to an exotic new country. Then I asked myself "Who just gives bears guns?" Then I remembered "Allanea."

~Random Aumanii traveler.

Does this mean that you are sending somebody?

_________________________________________________________________

TODAY: "Bears Armed is ranked 2nd [of 28] in the region and 2’811th in the world for Most Cultured." !!!
^_^

[Arroza]

We'd like to send 2 mid-level officials from the Arroza Ministry of Sport and Tourism to figure out such an insular country can be such a welcome tourist destination and to see how we can replicate that success at home.

[Esperantujo 2]

I will publish your message in Bulteno Pri Eksterlanda Turismo. I'm also forwarding your message to the Department of Anthropology of the University of Charma, and the School Students Union, who are responsible for relations respectively with Charmuloj and Friendly Monkeys, although neither species of primate has been known to leave its native habitat.
Bears are of course welcome in Esperantujo 2, but please inform this office of any special needs. I should also point out that tourists are not allowed to bring weapons into our country.
Bonvenigina Chambristo
General Secretary Tourism Trade Union of Esperantujo 2

[Bears Armed]

We'd like to send 2 mid-level officials from the Arroza Ministry of Sport and Tourism to figure out such an insular country can be such a welcome tourist destination and to see how we can replicate that success at home.

Okay.
We now have enough characters for a tour, although if anybody else comes along before the IC thread starts then there may be room for them as well...


________________________________________________________________

TOURIST INFORMATION

Getting Here
No direct connections exist between Bears Armed’s ‘Mainland’ section, in which this tour will take place, and anywhere outside of its native region (except for the WA’s headquarters, of course…). The suggested means of approach therefore consists of flying into the neighbouring [Human-run] nation of Mikitivity and then continuing onwards aboard one of that country’s transport systems. Eule Fluglinien runs both regular and chartered flights to several cities in Bears Armed, using airships (Helium-filled, for safety, of course) of various sizes, and ]Mikitivitybahn has recently extended its train services to a newly-built route that enters our territory at ‘Padding-Town’ — just a few leagues after it passes over a stone bridge of “Ancient” origins that is itself a sight well worth seeing — and then runs in parallel with one of the Great WestWoods Railway’s lines to the nearby city of West-Port.

Getting Around
Travel for tourists within Bears Armed will probably be mainly by train, although for certain routes the use of paddle-steamer ‘riverboats’, airships, or airplanes, may be preferable alternatives. Relying on ‘road’ vehicles is not recommended in most areas, due to the rather “basic” condition of most roads, but is feasible in the district around ‘Council Groves’ (the nation’s capital city) and a few other places: In any cases where this is the only means by which tourists could get to sites that are situated elsewhere in a reasonably short amount of time, four-wheel-drive cars — with native drivers — will be arranged.
The local unit of currency is the ‘thaler’, which is divided into eight ‘shillings’ of eight ‘pennies’ each: Foreign currency can be converted into thalers at the points of arrival, and at some other places. Facilities for the use of credit-cards are extremely limited so far, and cheques are not widely accepted either.


(Continued tomorrow; sorry about the delay, but I've got to work on the Bears' WorldVision votes too...)

[Bears Armed]

(Continued tomorrow; sorry about the delay, but I've got to work on the Bears' WorldVision votes too...)

... for a given value of "tomorrow", anyway... Sorry about that, but life got in the way...


Where To Go


1). COUNCIL GROVES: This city has now been the nation’s official capital for over two centuries, since shortly after the end of the ‘Monarchic’ period (during which one of the Kings’ main residences was located here), and had already been an important settlement for quite a while before that. During this lengthy history it has developed not only as a political and military centre but also as a cultural and commercial one, with resident populations from all of the country’s major population-groups and from many of the minor ones as well, and its inclusion in the itinerary for any “general” tour of the country therefore seems obvious.
Direct access to this city from outside the country is possible, because the Mikitivitian national airline ‘Eule Fluglinien’ operates a regular airship service to the nearby ‘Karroy Den’ aerodrome, and so it could potentially be the tour’s starting-place and/or ending-place. Because of its importance it is a hub for rail, riverboat and light aircraft routes within the country, which would make travelling onwards along the tour — or perhaps simply using it as a base from which to explore the surrounding territories — easy. BATA suggests that tourists should plan on spending at least 3 to 5 days here, maybe including 1 or 2 ‘free’ days when they can just wander around as they choose.

Places to see in Council Groves

The ‘Halls of the HighCouncil’ (the seat of the national government; tickets for the Strangers' Gallery might be bookable...)
The sentries, wearing traditional uniforms, in 'Norse-Guards Parade'
EastMaster Palace (now a museum)
Castle Barrharrd
The medieval & later city-walls (although some of the later fortifications have since been adapted for use as government offices or foreign embassies)
The Ursion Church’s cathedral of St Marra Mogggra-Katta
The Eastern Orthodox cathedral of St Elijah
The Great Bazaar (merchants from all over the country, and beyond)
The showrooms of the Smith-Folk (jewels, fine blades, mechanical toys, scientific instruments, etc. The 'SmithFolk' are a non-Ursine people, whom some of you might think should be called 'Dwarves'... but they themselves object MOST STRONGLY to that name, saying that Humans apply it to things that are smaller than they should be whereas they themselves are just the right size and it's other people who are too tall: If you absolutely must call them anything except 'SmithFolk' then it's "Nibbelungher”, thank you very much...)

PlumTrees Park (home of various National University sports teams, and also of the national [all-female] Soccer team: Depending on the IC date of this tour, you [i]might[/I ]be able to catch one of their ‘home’ games during the qualifiers for the next World Cup… although it’s probably too early for the mid-qualifiers ‘friendly’ against Arroza.)
Heroes’ Park, a site of considerable historical importance, which includes some recently-excavated pre-Ursine ruins.
Lakeside Park, just east of the city, contains large expanses of both ‘gardened’ & semi-wild terrain… and, also, a large Funfair.
The Krannogh, a wooden "village" built on a platform over part of the lake much as the very first settlement here was...
The 'Grand New Opera', various ‘National Museums’, concert halls, theatres, casinos, restaurants (including some that are aboard boats on the Long Lake), etc.

‘Neutral Park’: This is an area, located just outside the city’s northern walls, which has traditionally been regarded as “neutral ground” in all inter-clan disputes. That status led many of the clans to construct residences for their delegations to the national government there, resulting in a display of widely varying architectural styles, although with the increased peacefulness within the country during recent generations most of those delegations have since moved to more conveniently located sites closer to the city-centre instead. Some of the former residences are now open to the public as museums or art galleries, often specialising in the cultures of the Clans concerned, whilst others have recently entered service as embassies for foreign nations.
(I’m going to post a note about this RP in my ‘Embassy Exchange’ thread, so that even if none of those nations feel like sending any tourists along they could still have members of their diplomatic missions happen by chance to encounter the tourists somewhere in this city…)

Also, we understand that on this “exploratory” tour [at least], some of your characters may wish to meet with people who are in the same lines of work as themselves and/or with relevant officials. Council Groves would probably be the best location for this, in most cases, and these meetings could then be arranged to coincide with a ‘free day’ there — or a day-trip to some other location, that’s reasonably close by — for the rest of the party…


Outings from Council Groves

a/ Behrarnnee Junction: Just a short trip by rail from Council Groves, we have this major railway junction & yards — plus the National Railway Museum — which makes it a great site for “steam buffs”. Also, tourists here could visit a settlement of the ‘Brocks’ (i.e. ‘Badger-People’) to see how those live. (This would probably be an optional extra for visitors staying in Council Groves, taking up part [possibly even “most”] of what would otherwise be a ‘free day’ for them, unless & until any tours that are specifically for railway enthusiasts get organised…)
b/ It’s just another short trip, by either rail or water, to ‘Ville de Perthuiss’ which is a ‘bastide’ (i.e. fortified [small] town) belonging to ‘Clan Calvin’: See how this Human group — which is French by language & ancestry, and Protestant Christian by faith — has settled into Bears Armed since its first generations’ arrival as refugees from religious persecution some three centuries ago. (Potential shopping here includes both wine and silk.)
c/Boating on Long Lake, across to the still-wild ‘Sheltering Groves’ (protected from development for historical & religious reasons) and to see the [sub-sapient] ‘Sociable Otters’ at play. (This would probably be another optional extra, taking up part of what would otherwise be a ‘free day’, for tourists who are basing themselves in Council Groves…)
d/East for a little way along the northern shores of the Long Lake, to the historic & highly picturesque ‘Urrsinborrth Castle’.
e/ Upriver to Straightford-on-SwanWater, to see the birthplace and the later home of the VERY famous Ursine playwright Werrim ‘ShakesBears’ o SwanWater… and perhaps to see one of his plays, such as the comedy “Lots Of Fuss Over Nowt”, performed, by the Royal ShakesBears Company. (This would be a complete day’s outing, either by rail or by river-boat, with the tourists sleeping aboard the boat during the return journey in the latter case.) Longer (multi-day) trips up the River WideWindle, past a number of castles & fortified towns and on into less heavily populated areas, would also be possible.


2). SOUTHERN REDWOOD: This is a large territory, belonging (as its name clearly suggests) to the influential ‘Clan Redwood’, whose northern edge is located a moderate distance south of Council Groves. It has been important economically and politically since quite early in the history of Bears Armed. The landscape basically slopes upwards from north-east to south-west, from the WideWindle’s valley to the SouthWall Mountains and the foothills of the High Ranges.
Tourists would reach this area by rail, from either Council Groves (around, with a ferry trip across, the Long Lake) or the ‘Northern Redwood’ area, probably passing through the lands of ‘Clan BerryGlades’ (“the fruit-basket of BearHome”…), or possibly by road from the ‘Mid-Surra’ valley which lies to its south (although that choice would probably be only as part of a tour that was lasting for longer than just two weeks).

Places to see in Southern Redwood

a/The city of ‘Urrath-am-Barrah’, which was the capital city both of ‘Clan Redwood’ and of ‘Bears Armed’ as a whole during the Monarchic Period: although it has now been superseded in its political roles it remains very important as a cultural and commercial centre. Particularly worth seeing are its medieval & later defences, including a large castle that’s called “The Tower of Urrath” (and that still houses both the Crown Jewels and the Royal Armoury, which are open to the public…), three separate Palaces that are now primarily museums (although the descendants of the last Kings have retained a hereditary right to live in the East Wing of the largets of these, which is known simply as“BearKing’s-Home”…), the grounds of those establishments (with the one at BearKing’s-Home including both the ‘Royal Botanial Gardens’ and the ‘Royal Menagerie’), ‘WhiteHill’ which is where the ‘Great Council’ — the forebears of today’s ‘High Council of Clans’ — commonly met during Monarchic times, the Ursion Church’s cathedral of St Grregg-the-DragonSlayer, some more showrooms of the Smith-Folk, the Royal Opera house, the Alberre Hall [i](which is the site of many great concerts), various other concert halls, and museums, theatres, casinos, and restaurants.

b/The ‘Free City of Barra-Barra’ is situated just across the Evening River from Urrath-am-Barrah, to which it is linked by three splendid bridges. It was established as an enclave where the leaderships of the Clans could maintain residences and missions, close to the Royal Court but with special immunity from Clan Redwood’s laws. This is worth visiting for its fine old buildings, which are in a wide variety of styles, and its restaurants that feature every cuisine from Bears Armed and some from further afield too…
[b]c/[b]The valley of the Evening River also contains a scenic lake that is called ‘Lake Peaceful, situated at its junction with WideWindle, and — upstream from Urrath — ‘Long Island’ (which is mostly a Clannal park, preserved for its natural beauty, but was formerly a Royal hunting-ground) and its neighbour ‘Short Island’, a lake called ‘the Pool of Berroam’ (located a few leagues away from the actual river) which has historical and religious significance to the Ursines Bears, and the town of ‘Imborrah’ which is the administrative centre of this territory nowadays.
d/One of the best-known of the natural wonders that can be seen in this territory is a large wood that is composed mainly of Redwood trees. This has special significance to Clan Redwood, and visiting outsiders are advised to be respect this fact.
e/The industries of Bears Armed include a prosperous Treacle-mining & refining sector, and one of the country’s main treacle-fields partially underlies this territory. Tourists are invited to visit the works at ‘Kam-Barrwich’, see the industry in action, and sample its products (which include a form of Rum…).
h/The hills to the south of Urrath-am-Barrah contain several large systems of caves, including the one where a near-legendary hero named “Urthrro ‘Vurra’” was born and where he subsequently sheltered for a while during the war to overthrow the tyrannical wizards who ruled the ‘Purple Empire’; nearby, at the town of ‘Barrwoo’, a set of well-painted murals tell his life-story in pictures.
g/At the southern edge of this territory, the route “down” to the Mid-Surra valley runs through a gap in the mountains that is called “Ba’h Khaia” (i.e. “Bloody Pass”). The district around it contains numerous old fortifications and historic battlefields, several sites where works of the region’s pre-Ursine civilisation remain visible, and even a few unique species of plants and animals.


(TO BE CONTINUED...)