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Batik Boutique's 2020 Spring Collection asks Who Made Your Clothes

The postponed Tokyo Olympics will be held from July 23 to August 8 in 2021, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has confirmed. An agreement was reached on Monday after a call between leaders from the IOC, Tokyo 2020 organizers, the Japanese government and the International Paralympic Committee. The Summer Games had been scheduled to run from July 24 to August 8 this year, but it was announced last week by Bach and Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe that the Olympics had been postponed because of the coronavirus pandemic. The new dates for the Paralympic Games are August 24 to September 5, 2021. "Humankind currently finds itself in a dark tunnel," Bach said in a statement. "These Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 can be a light at the end of this tunnel. "With this announcement, I am confident that, working together with the Tokyo 2020 Organizing Committee, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, the Japanese Government and all our stakeholders, we can master this unprecedented challenge."
The IOC says the decision on the new dates was taken "to protect the health of the athletes and everyone involved, and to support the containment of the COVID-19 virus." Source: CNN

Tokyo Olympics 2020 postponed to 23 July - 8 August...2021

Malaysia Airlines is reinstating some of its international flights between April to May 2020 to bring home families who haven't been able to return home due to travel restrictions in many parts of the world. Its group chief executive officer Captain Izham Ismail said that many Malaysians and foreigners had reached out to their global offices requesting for available flights, mostly between Kuala Lumpur to Australia, New Zealand as well as London. "Being a network carrier, Malaysia Airlines is able to maintain connectivity and bring our customers direct or closest to their intended destination. And being Malaysia's national carrier, it is our duty to ensure accessibility for Malaysia domestically and internationally during these difficult times," he said in a statement on Monday (March 30). Since the enactment of the movement control order on March 18, Malaysia Airlines has had to reduce its domestic frequencies and schedules. It is running at minimum mostly to facilitate essential travels and cargo movement. Capt Izham said that together with their sister airlines under the Malaysia Aviation Group, they supported the Health Ministry with space across their domestic and international network and on MABkargo's global freighter network for the transport of medical devices and supplies. They recently transported two tonnes of face masks and personal protection equipment from Kuala Lumpur to Kota Kinabalu as well as 300,000 pieces of disposable masks, 50,000 pieces of protection suit and 8000 pieces of protection suit with eye masks courtesy of the Jack Ma Foundation and Alibaba Foundation from Shanghai to Kuala Lumpur. In the next few days, MABkargo will be flying in more than 10 million pieces of masks and ventilators from Shanghai and Guangzhou which was made possible by the National Disaster Management Agency (Nadma), Transport Ministry and, Pharmaniaga Berhad. Capt Izham said that domestically, Malaysia Airlines, Firefly and MASwings are facilitating movement of goods as well as medical staff across Peninsular Malaysia, crossings and within Sabah and Sarawak. The three airlines have also positioned standby aircraft at Subang Airport, KLIA and KKIA to initiate rapid mobilisation of medical staff and professionals as well as other (non-Covid-19) patients to support MOH's resource management efforts across Malaysia. Passengers looking for flights to return home on Malaysia Airlines may book their tickets on Malaysia Airlines' official website at https://www.malaysiaairlines.com/my/en.html or via Malaysia Airlines' app with some departure dates available for booking from 30 March 2020 onwards. Source: The Star, Malaysia Airlines

MAS reinstates international flights to bring home Malaysians abroad

In view of the COVID-19 pandemic that has led to extensive and increasing border restrictions imposed by various countries, AirAsia Group would like to announce that it is temporarily hibernating most of its fleet across the network. This announcement is made for and on behalf of, and as agreed with, the operating airlines under the AirAsia Group and the AirAsia X Group as follows: AirAsia always places the safety and wellbeing of its guests and employees as its top priority. With governments imposing travel and movement restrictions including home quarantine orders, AirAsia is also playing its part in helping curb the spread of the virus in order to keep flying safe for everyone.
All affected guests are being immediately notified by email and SMS. They have the option of converting their flight booking into a credit account that is valid for future redemption for 365 days or moving their flights for an unlimited number of times without any charges to another date prior to 31 Oct 2020. Guests can perform these changes via AirAsia virtual Allstar AVA on airasia.com or support.airasia.com .

In their effort to further manage and contain costs, both the management and senior employees of AirAsia Group have volunteered a salary sacrifice, ranging from 100% at the very top to 15%. This will help ensure that they can ride out this prolonged period of extremely low travel demand and at the same time minimise the impact on employees, especially those in junior positions.
AirAsia Group will remain committed to assisting the relevant government authorities to support the repatriation of travellers and shipment of goods.
AirAsia’s online marketplace OURSHOP and its cargo and logistics platform Teleport will remain operational, with Teleport utilising passenger aircraft to transport medical aid and protective equipment intended for hospitals and frontline emergency responders at selected destinations. Stay strong, AirAsia! Source: AirAsia Press Release

AirAsia Temporarily Grounds Fleet

Written by Loveleen Multani Arun on LinkedIn and reposted with permission. And what you can do to help! What a month (or two) it has been! As the dreaded Corona Virus has spread around the world, it has created massive waves of economic destruction and social havoc in the countries that it has entered. One after the other, travel advisories have been issued and like uncontrollable domino pieces one country has been locked down after another. Then cities and neighbourhoods, until 90% of the world is now confined to their homes. This has had far reaching effects on each and every one of us and to all our businesses. Some have seen immediate impact and for some there will be reverberating repercussions for many months to come. Undeniably, the travel industry – comprising of airlines, hotels, travel agencies and tour operators are the frontline soldiers who have bitten the first bullets. Like a never-ending nightmare, one travel plan after another is being cancelled, business trips have turned into virtual meetings and large events have abandoned resulting in millions of trips being terminated. After the cheery Christmas holidays when people travel to be with their loved ones or to take advantage of the holidays; January and February are somewhat quieter months for travel agents. This time is usually spent in brushing up on product knowledge, creating and finalising new itineraries for the summer, training staff to gear up for the pressure of work in the coming months because almost 60% of the annual business happens between April – August globally. When the first news of the Wuhan virus started coming out in early February, the first reactions were – well Asian destinations cannot be considered, let us focus on Europe, Africa and USA...and we will all be fine. But then the panic gripped the world! And how! Starting 1st of March, in a terrifying sequence, planned trips started getting cancelled. Every call was for that of changed minds. Initially the calls were about asking advice but that soon turned into a committed level of not wanting to travel and eventually, no one had a choice to travel due to the severe lockdowns. Soon, (and rightly so) the conversations have turned to “refunds”. Everyone who had booked and paid and eventually cancelled, wanted their money back. In general there is a misconception that travel-agents wont or don't want to refund your money. I would like to put my neck out on behalf of 99.9% of my tribe in the travel-industry to say that this is NOT TRUE! In this age when the off-line agents are all competing to stay relevant in the time of online booking engines, we WANT to be able to give value to our clients. We take PRIDE in being on your side and fighting for refunds on YOUR BEHALF. Some of my own most loyal customers have stayed with Panache World because we have worked to waive off cancellation charges, extended payment deadlines or just managed to work out refunds for botched up stays. The travel agents NEED’NT do it, but most of them are PASSIONATE about it. I can vouch for this because I am privy to a lot of industry Whatsapp chat groups where most are actively involved in minimising damage for their clients. In the present scenario, remember that if you had booked a tour with your travel agent in February for travel in lets say June, he/she would have paid up for the flights, remitted money to the overseas agents/hotel or booked some non-refundable flights in remote countries like Uzbekistan! The profit that the agent would have earned would have already been consumed towards paying salaries and other fixed costs. You are right in cancelling your trip, but the travel agents need time to check with each vendor & supplier on their terms, they need to get that refund back from each of them and this process under NORMAL circumstances can take up to a month. And these are EXTRAORDINARY times! The entire supply chain has completely dried up! No one wants to cheat you out of the refund. We just need time! The whole world just needs time right now. Just because the times are bad; intentions are not. Had this been September instead of March, the scenario may have been slightly better as we would be coming out of a good season. But it is not. We are coming out of a slow quarter. All travel companies, small hotels who don't have deep funds or investor-pockets they can dip into are in dire straits. The employees are clueless about the future and the usually flamboyant owners are walking around with lumps in their throats talking about unpaid leaves and layoffs to their loyal employees. What can you do to help? Be patient with your travel agent. Give him/her time to sort out your refund. If you are not willing to risk it all, ask for a credit note until such time that the funds can be transferred. Of course, my heart also goes out to all the people who booked directly with online companies and hotels and airlines – good luck with fighting this on your own….else you would have had an army behind you. The other thing you can do to help is to look for a nice, boutique travel company who looks out for you, is knowledgeable, is informative and who matches your travel-quotient. And be fiercely loyal to them. Book your next trip with them! And yes, also, we REALLY DO NEED THOSE HUGS! (See you on the other side….when we shall talk about how beautiful the wonderful destinations are and how we can get you there) #Coronavirus #Panacheworld #Covid19 #hospitality #Airlines #effectsofCoronaVirus About the writer Loveleen Multani Arun is the Director Panache World , a boutique travel company based in Bangalore that specialises in customised holidays for clients since 18 years.

Your Travel Agent Needs More Than A Hug!

Amidst news of Malaysia's extended MCO, a glimpse of hope rises from the country where it all begun with this pandemic. In its efforts to restore normalcy to its people, China has reopened a small section of its Great Wall to visitors on 24, March, Tuesday. The Badaling section of the Great Wall that stretches from Bei Liu Lou to Nan Wu Lou Ban – the most popular section for tourists – has begun receiving visitors daily from 9am to 4pm. The section of the wall, which is about 70km from Beijing, has been so popular that officials have capped visitors to 65,000 per day from June last year. Chinese officials said in a statement that only 30% of the usual number of visitors will be allowed into the area for the time being. Visitors will need to book a ticket in advance, either on the on the Badaling Great Wall’s official website or through China’s WeChat app. Visitors will also be required to register via a Health QR code on their AliPay or WeChat app connected to their identification card, which must indicate green, or healthy, before they are permitted entry. Visitors will also need to observe health safety measures such as temperature screening, wearing face masks and maintaining a distance of at least one metre from each other at all times. Currently, all other sections of the Great Wall are closed, including the cable car and China Great Wall Museum in Badaling. Each year, over 10 million people visit the UNESCO World Heritage Site. The site was closed to visitors on 25 January as the coronavirus epidemic began to spread. Other tourist attractions throughout the country, including the Forbidden City complex in Beijing and Shanghai Disneyland, also remain closed. But the opening of China's iconic attraction is a great start to seeing things return to normalcy. Source: CNN

Great Wall of China's Badaling section reopens to visitors

The Malaysian government has decided to extend the movement control order (MCO) for another two weeks until April 14, says the Prime Minister. Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said he was given a briefing by the National Security Council and Health Ministry and the trend showed new Covid-19 positive cases had spiked. "The trend is expected to continue for a while before we can see the number of new cases reported decline. "The government is of the opinion that the movement control order should continue. "In line with this, the government have decided to extend the MCO until April 14. I am informing you on the extension earlier so that the people can be prepared," he said Muhyiddin said it was important to stop Covid-19 infections and the strategy can be a success if the people are not exposed to the virus through daily interactions. As at noon Wednesday, 172 new Covid-19 positive cases were reported, bringing the cumulative cases to 1,796. The Prime Minister noted that in the past week alone, 673 new cases were reported. "The public must be.mentally and physically prepared to stay at home for a reasonably longer period of time," he said. The Prime Minister said those who had left for their respective hometowns need not rush back to Kuala Lumpur or other cities at the end of this week. Students who are scheduled to return to hostels also need not do so and offices that are closed need not resume operation. He urges Malaysians,"Please stay calm and don't panic. Even though we have extended the movement control order (MCO), you don't have to unnecessarily stock up on food because the supply is sufficient. I assure you that there is enough food for everybody. So no panic buying please, Malaysia! We can get through this together! #flattenthecurve #covid19 #kitajagakita

Movement Control Order extended until 14 April

In the present circumstances and based on the information provided by the WHO, the IOC President and the Prime Minister of Japan have concluded that the Games of the XXXII Olympiad in Tokyo must be rescheduled to a date beyond 2020 but not later than summer 2021, to safeguard the health of the athletes, everybody involved in the Olympic Games and the international community. The unprecedented and unpredictable spread of the outbreak has seen the situation in the rest of the world deteriorating. The Director General of the World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said that the COVID-19 pandemic is "accelerating". There are more than 375,000 cases now recorded worldwide and in nearly every country, and their number is growing by the hour. The leaders agreed that the Olympic Games in Tokyo could stand as a beacon of hope to the world during these troubled times and that the Olympic flame could become the light at the end of the tunnel in which the world finds itself at present. Therefore, it was agreed that the Olympic flame will stay in Japan. It was also agreed that the Games will keep the name Olympic and Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020. Simone Biles' coach Cecile Landi, who represented France at Atlanta 1996, admitted that the delay would be heartbreaking for athletes, especially gymnasts, but that the postponement was "needed". With Biles planning to retire after the Tokyo Games, the four-time Olympic champion from Rio 2016 will need to continue training for another year in order to add to her medal tally. Source: Tokyo Olympic 2020 Press Release

Tokyo 2020: Olympic Pushed to Summer 2021, dates to be announced

All AirAsia guests with existing flight bookings made on or before 22 March 2020 with a departure date between 23 March and 31 May 2020 will now be able to select from a range of extended flexibility options for future travel. Eligible guests can now select from the following flexible travel options immediately, using the airline’s AI chatbot AVA on support.airasia.com or airasia.com: Unlimited flight change: Change to any new travel date before 31 October 2020 on the same route for an unlimited number of times without any additional cost subject to seat availability; OR Credit account: Retain the value of the flight booking in the guest’s AirAsia BIG Member account for future travel with AirAsia to be redeemed within 365 calendar days from the issuance date. The travel date of the new booking can fall on any date within the published flight schedule on airasia.com. Please refer to the COVID-19 Guide to check your eligibility and for information on how to submit your preferred alternate travel request. The above guest information is only applicable for direct online bookings made via airasia.com. For group bookings or those made with travel agents, kindly refer to your respective booking agent for further assistance. Follow AirAsia on Twitter (@AirAsia) and Facebook (facebook.com/AirAsia) for the latest updates, or contact their customer support team at support.airasia.com. Guests are also encouraged to check their flight status at airasia.com/flightstatus for live updates.

Travel Advisory: Extended Flexibility for all existing AirAsia flight bookings until 31 May 2020

The 2020 Olympic Games maybe postponed by one year because of coronavirus, says International Olympic Committee member Dick Pound. The Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games are due to take placed from 24 July to 9 August. It comes after the chairman of the British Olympic Association said Great Britain would be unlikely to send a team to Tokyo this summer. Australia and Canada have already said they will not compete in Japan. On Sunday, Canada became the first major country to withdraw from this summer's Olympics and Paralympics. "On the basis of the information the IOC has, postponement has been decided," Pound told USA today. "The parameters going forward have not been determined, but the Games are not going to start on 24 July, that much I know." Japan Today reports that despite the IOC members voicing their opinion – the IOC has the final call on whether or not the Games are postponed. In other words, the postponement of the Games is not confirmed and IOC president Thomas Bach will ‘guide the final decision’. On Monday March 23, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said postponing the Games was an option and that the IOC will make the final decision. An official statement from Tokyo 2020 said ‘a final decision has not been reached at this time, and discussions will be finalised within the next four weeks.’ They also added that cancellation is not an option at the moment. Source: BBC

Tokyo 2020: Olympics maybe postponed until 2021, says IOC member

Hang in there, Malaysia! We're halfway through this Movement Control Order (MCO) to slow down this pandemic! We can do this! Until then, only leave the house for necessary errands, listen to the government directives and practice good hygiene. At the meantime, we should use this opportunity at home to do something productive either for yourself or for the household. Of course, if you are working from home, do complete your work first before tackling out these activities. 1. Marie Kondo Your Home Always wished you had time to clean out your closet? Well, now you do! As Marie Kondo would say, categorise your items and thank them before setting them aside either for donation or recycle. Check out this link for more decluttering tips. 2. Binge Watch on your favourite series or Youtube channel Believe it or not - Destressing and just kicking back to catch up on your favourite TV series, movie or Youtuber is productive for you. In this stressful time, it's not just important to look after your physical health but also your mental and emotional wellbeing as well. So go forth and binge without guilt. For you travel junkies, you can start with our list of travel vloggers to watch . 3. Exercise! Speaking of looking after your physical health, you should also make time to exercise. At home of course. The internet is filled with many great home-based workouts but you can start with this name-based workout. Why not video yourself, post it on social media and tagging a friend to spread the motivation around. 4. Try out a new recipe There is no better time than now to try out that new recipe. Or several in fact! During this downtime, a lot of people on social media are discovering new and inventive ways to whip up their favourite dish or a healthier version so join in on the fun as well. Always wanted to master meal prep for a healthier lifestyle? Here ya go ! 5. Learn a new language What better way to enhance your travel experience once this pandemic is over than to pick up a foreign language. With the internet at our fingertips, you have access to various resources to learning a new language be it Korean (for your Opps and Noonas!) or French! We recommend dedicating a hour to studying it and before long, you will find that you can watch your favourite foreign drama series without the subtitles! 6. Take a virtual tour of a museum or art gallery Thanks to Google Arts and Culture, you can now visit any of these world-famous museums and galleries such as the Guggenheim Museum in New York, the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, and the British Museum in London, without leaving the safety of your bed or sofa. Some of the displays even have info drop-downs for you to read - just as though you were there! Check out the list of virtual tours here . 7. Get your taxes ready With no brunches to go to, games to watch, or really any public fun to be had, this is the perfect time to start wrapping up your taxes. Yes, we know the income tax deadline has been extended by two months but why wait? For the forgetful and noobs, here's a guide to get you started . 8. Support Your Local Cafes and Hawkers This is a bad time for small local cafes that rely on a steady flow of customers to their shop to survive. With MCO in place, many cafes are forced to turn to takeaways and food delivery to reach out to their customers. It's even harder for the hawker aunties and uncles who do not have the luxury of a food delivery service. So why not tapau from them at least once a day to help them through this hard time? 9. Play with Your Furkid If you have a pet, this MCO is blessing for them as now you can shower them with all the attention in the world. You can't walk your dog but you can still teach them a new trick. Mental simulation is good for you and your pet. It also helps to build trust, a deeper understanding and connection between you and your furkid. 10. Plan Your Next Vacay Overseas trips may be on hold for now, but you can always plan your next adventure in Malaysia to start with once this pandemic has died down. Malaysia has a plethora of scenic destinations as listed here and even islands to rival that of Maldives and Boracay. Check out Sedunia Travel if you need help planning out your next travel adventure. We know that CoVID19 has caused all travel plan to come to a halt but it's in our nature to be wanderers. So just hang in there and the storm will pass. Stay safe Malaysia and let's flatten the curve together. #flattenthecurve #StayatHome #Kitajagakita

10 Productive things to do during the Movement Control Order

There are a lot of uncertainties and confusion around this coronavirus. The COVID-19 is now a global pandemic. While we should maintain calm and avoid spreading unnecessary panic, we also need to be properly informed and be socially responsible for our actions. Fact #1: The virus can infect anyone. People who are young and strong can also be infected, but they may show milder symptoms and not seek medical treatment. However, if they do no practice social distancing or quarantine themselves after being exposed to coronavirus risks, they can infect people with weaker immune systems. Fact #2: Wearing a surgical mask does not protect you from the virus. The surgical mask is designed to prevent the wearer from passing on germs to others. You can still breath in airborne viral particles through the sides of the mask that does not fit tightly around your nose and cheeks. A more effective mask is the N95 mask, which is uncomfortable to wear and difficult to breath in. The most effective prevention method now is to wash your hands often, and keep a physical distance from other people. Fact #3: You do not have to show symptoms to be infected and contagious. The COVID-19 has be observed to have an incubation period of 2 to 14 days. Meanwhile asymptomatic people are still contagious. This means that you can be infected with the virus but not show any symptoms yet, and still spread the virus to people you come into contact with. Fact #4: Social distancing is the most effective measure to curb virus spread The longer we take to implement critical changes to curb the virus spread, the more severe the long term impact on our lives will be. The responsible and sensible thing to do now is to minimize all social activities and keep a physical distance from other people outside of our immediate family. While it can be inconvenient and uncomfortable temporarily, it is the most effective measure we can take now to slow down the virus spread. Minimize all non-essential travel and interactions with people outside of your family. Practice social distancing. Stay home and video-consult a doctor using the Doctor Anywhere app if you are showing any signs of cough, flu, fever, or difficulty breathing. We are all in this together. Let's stay united to overcome this critical time! Source: Doctor Anywhere

Debunking CoVID-19 Facts

Australia is closing its borders to foreigners and pumping about A$100 billion (49 billion pounds) into the economy as it seeks to minimise the blow from the coronavirus epidemic. Australia has recorded around 600 coronavirus infections and six deaths, a relatively small number compared to other countries, but officials are growing increasingly concerned about the prospect of an exponential rise in cases. With the majority of the cases originating overseas, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Thursday all non-Australian residents would be barred from entering the country from 9pm (1000 GMT) on Friday. In neighbouring New Zealand, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced the same measure almost simultaneously, with the ban on foreign arrivals there beginning on Thursday evening. "For the next six months we need to work together," Morrison told Australians in a televised news conference. "We do need to moderate our behaviour and understand things need to change." Morrison's office said the ban would remain indefinitely. Morrison said the government was working to keep some flights open, as national carrier Qantas and other airlines drastically cut or abandon international operations, to bring Australians home. The small island state of Tasmania on Thursday imposed its own state of emergency, becoming the first region within Australia's borders to do so, ordering people who arrive from mainland Australia to self-isolate for 14 days. Small Pacific islands, meanwhile, have reported nine confirmed cases of the virus. Most of the island nations, however, do not have the ability to screen for the virus, raising concerns its spread in the region is being masked. Source: the Star, Daily Mail

Australia closes Borders for six months to stop coronavirus

$Technology is amazing. With so many of us home bound, several institutions and organisations around the world are teaming up with Google Arts and Culture to present everyone virtual tours and exhibitions of some of the world's most renowned places. Without having to leave your bed or sofa, you can now visit any of these world-famous museums and galleries such as the Guggenheim Museum in New York, the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, and the British Museum in London. at your own leisurely pace. Enjoy! 1. The British Museum, London Located in London's once most fashionable residential areas, the British Museum houses an impressive collection of world art and artifacts. Take a virtual tur around the Great Court and its iconic glass and steel roof - the largest covered square in Europe. Then visit cultural treasures such as the Rosetta Stone and an original Easter Island statue. 2. Guggenheim Museum, New York Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum's unique corkscrew design allows visitors to travel up its spiralling ramp and enjoy its collection of art in one continuous, unbroken journey. The Frank Lloyd Wright-designed building is home to an ever growing collection of Impressionist, Post-Impressionist and Modern and Contemporary Art. 3. Musee d'Orsay, Paris Once a Beaux-Arts railway station on the banks of the Seine, the Musee d'Orsay is now easily one of the biggest art museums in the Europe. Embark on a virtual wander of the impressive art-nouveau building and you can admire a vast array of French art from 1848 to 1914, including masterpieces by Monet, Cezanne and Gauguin. 4. National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Seoul As one of Korea's only museums dedicated to Modern and Contemporary art, MMCA is spread over four buildings, nestled in Gwacheon, Deoksugung, Seoul and Cheongju. You can take a tour of MMCA Seoul from the comfort of home right in the heart of South Korea's capital. It spans across six floors allowing you to take its colleciton of global Contemporary art from Korea and beyond. 5. Pergamon Museum, Berlin Berlin's famous cultural hub Museum Island is where you can find the Pergamon Museum, one of Germany's largest museums. Here, you can explore the ruins of ancient monument buildings excavated from all around the world such as its namesake, the Pergamon Altar, the Ishtar Gate of Babylon and Market Gate of Miletus. 6. Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam Over 8,000 objects of art and history from the years 1200 to 2000 sit on display at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. This is in fact just a fraction of the museums's collection of 1 million objects. Look out for iconic artworks from the Dutch Golden Age by notable painters such as Frans Hals, Johannes Vermeer and Rembrandt. 7. The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles California's J. Paul Getty Museum offers a backdrop of dramatic architecture, tranquil gardens and views of LA from its collection of art. It's home to works going as far back as 8th through the 21st century and includes European paintings, drawings, sculpture, illuminated manuscripts, decorative arts and European, Asian and American photographs. 8. Uffizi Gallery, Florence The Uffizi Gallery is the legacy of the art collection of Florence's ruling house of Medici. The U-shape design of the building is home to works by Renaissance Old Masters such as Michelangelo, Leonardo, Botticelli and Titian. The building was originally constructed to house the administrative and judiciary office. Uffizi means offices in Italian. 9. Museum of Art of São Paulo, Brazil Brazil's first modern museum was designed by Lina Bo Bardi. Its floating design is mirrored in its internal art displays with its collection of artworks suspended in perspex frames that make it look like the canvases are hovering above the ground. 10. National Museum of Anthropology, Mexico City At the center of this museum is a huge pond beneath its vast square concrete structure supported by a single pillar known as el paraguas or the umbrella. There are 23 exhibit rooms displaying treasures including Mayan civilization artifacts, the Stone of the Sun and giant stone heads that were found in the jungles of Tabasco and Veracruz. 11. Palace of Versailles, France The Palace of Versailles has been listed as a World Heritage Site for 30 years and is one of the greatest achievements in French 17th century art. Louis XIII's old hunting pavilion was transformed and extended by his son, Louis XIV, when he installed the Court and government there in 1682. A succession of kings continued to embellish the Palace up until the French Revolution. 12. Tokyo National Museum, Japan The Tokyo National Museum collects, houses, and displays a comprehensive collection of art works and antiquities from Japan as well as other Asian countries. The museum also conducts research and investigations concerning its collection of books, rubbings, and photographs, related to fine art, and makes these items available to scholars. Not being able to travel shouldn't stop you from seeing and enriching yourselves with the arts and cultures of the world. Furthermore, Learning about the collections in these places in advance will enhance your experience when you actually do get the chance to visit them in future! Check out over 1,200 other international museums on Google Arts and Culture - explore the full collection here . Or search by country to see museums in your area by navigating around the world map, here . Source: Google Arts and Culture$