Sawaddee Krub and As-Salamu Alaykum, everyone. My name is Na’im from Thailand. And let me introduce you to Mrs. Ya Ngankhaeng. She is my mother.

July 2002, I won a competition from a famous “Printing & Publishing Public Company” here in Thailand. The prize was a trip for 2 persons, THB 29,500 each, to Bali, Indonesia. I made my first passport for this special chance and was willing to take my mom along with me for this supposed-to-be an unforgettable trip of mother and son.

But after months, for various reasons, I had to give up on this prize. And until now, my mother and I still never visited Indonesia.

But my hope of taking my mom to Indonesia revived, like a flame that had been relit, once I read about the "Where Would You Rather Be Week 3" Contest from AirAsia on my Facebook page. (نعيم Na'im หนวดเขี้ยว http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1785904394&ref=profile and another one is Na'ima-natrix Spice http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/naimspice?ref=profile) First I think “Week 3? How did I miss the first 2? Giving I’m online for, like, 16 hours a day, everyday of the week!”

Then I saw four pictures of this contest and I just know this is the right place for me to taking my mom on our trip, even better than Bali.

The first picture of Lake Toba, credited as the work of G. P. Soon, just thrills an islander from Phi Phi Island like me. It looks just like a picture of somewhere in Europe. I never thought I could find a place like this in a nearby country! The scenery is just beautiful and deserves to be described as “Take My Breath Away”. Because it did!

And for the third and the forth picture, I believe they are beautiful surrounding of Lake Toba. My guess is right or wrong, I don’t know. I would love to discover it for myself, anyway.

The second picture is just right for my mom. At the age of 60, my mom still strictly does her fasting like every Muslim woman. I visited her in Krabi last week, for my late Mother’s Day visit, and she looks just fine. Allah blessed her, of course. After finishing this holy month of Ramadan, she deserves the prize for her hard-work for Allah. But before she meets Allah himself on Yawm al-Qiyāmah, her son will take her for our time together. Say a pray in the Great Mosque (Masjid Raya) of Medan will be the highlight of the trip for my mom. As much as she loves Allah, she also loves beautiful things and places. And visiting this Great Mosque would make her happy. (All and all, she loves me. This one is for sure. ^_^)

If I really won this contest, AK 805 on Thursday 1st of October from Krabi to Kuala Lumpur would be a perfect choice for me and my mom to redeem our prize, which starts from KL to Medan. Then AK 804 on Monday 5th October for our trip back. With both flights on Economy Promo in a Year End Escapade campaign by AirAsia: The World's Best Low-Cost Airline, it will cost both of us only THB 4,106.00! How wonderful is that.

I’m sure me and my mom will have a lots to do there. And, if we got a chance to go there, I will share our trip on this AirAsia blog for you guys.

تكرم عينك

نعيم Na'im

P.S. For AisAsia, in case I do not win this contest, please operate the flights from Bangkok or Krabi to Medan. After these pictures and research about this place. I KNOW I have to be there!

P.S.2 For those who read this, please come to Thailand. And don’t forget to visit the beautiful “tropical paradise” of the Phi Phi Islands in Krabi. Trust me it’s blissful. I should know, I was born and raised there! (And my mom lives there, too. ^_^)

P.S.3 Merry Ramadan to all of you, Muslim or not.

P.S.4 How is your mom?

I couldn't believe it when I got the call that I won tickets to see U2 in London! I'm usually unlucky when it comes to stuff like that but this one takes the cake! Big thanks to Mix FM! :) And so the planning began and the possibilities were endless. I have never been to UK or Europe before so I took this opportunity to explore that continent. In the end, I settled on covering London, Paris Barcelona & Madrid. As AirAsia was one of the sponsors of this trip, naturally we all flew AirAsia X from LCCT to Stansted in London. I had my doubts before this, you know, having to fly 14 hours on a budget airline, in my mind, would be painful. But to my pleasant surprise, the seats were rather comfortable and spacious, even for a 6 footer like me. My only complaint is the entertainment system for rent. There were only so few to go around and half of it was broken!

We arrived on time and we took the stansted express train into London. The hotel we stayed at is called St Giles Hotel. Just situated above Tottenham Court Rd's tube stop, the hotel is really central, which is perfect for travelers! Because of the convenient location, I managed to walk to areas like Leister Square, Oxford Circus, SOHO and Covent Garden. Most of the other attractions are just a few stops away on the tube from here. But I like to walk and sort of get lost in the city, I feel like its the best way to explore it! On the second day, I think I walked in a total of 9 hours with a break for lunch and a stop for coffee! My feet were hurting at the end of the day but it was well worth it!

On the 14th, this was the first of two concerts that U2 will be performing at the new Wembley stadium. I've been a U2 fan since I was 13 and I've seen them live 4 times across the globe but U2@ Wembley is definitely one of the best to catch! As I walked into the stadium, I was amazed by the scale of "The Claw" stage that they built for the tour. With the installation of a wrap-around state-of-the-art screen, U2 is set to provide a 360 degree experience, hence the title "360 Tour" The opening acts were The Hours & Elbow. Both very good bands but a little too emo and mellow for my liking especially when they are suppose to hype up the crowd. But once U2 took the stage, everyone was on their feet. Bono and Co. kicked it off with new material from their "No Line On the Horizon" album before dishing out old classics like Beautiful Day, Sunday Bloody Sunday. Pride & Streets Have ho Name. There was such great energy in the atmosphere and the crowd was giving just as much as the band. We literally sang HALF of Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For!!! I was thoroughly surprised that they brought back The unforgettable Fire, a song they haven't performed since the 80s! Another treat for me was "Ultraviolet", one of my fav tracks off the "Achtung Baby" album which i've never heard live. Bono, with his usual theatrics, came out in the dark wearing a suit mounted with tons of LED lights, hanging onto a swinging mike! You can always count on Bono to put on a show,hehe. Before you know it, everyone was chanting along With Or Without You and the band closed the show with Moment of Surrender. Among the 5 U2 shows I have been to, this one definitely tops the list.

London is a wonderful city to be in, especially during summer. So much to do and see. I must say I managed to cover most of the touristy stuff but I think my favorite moments were walking along Thames River, picnic at Regent Park, visiting Tate Modern Museum, Greenwich and all the good times I shared with my friends in London! This will definitely not be the last time I visit London.

1/7/09..was excited about tonite prize presentation that i am about to receive from AirAsia. It was supposed to be a 'big' event for me...i even dreamt of taking pictures with my idol, Dato Tony. as one of the winner under Twitter me to Taipei contest, I was really looking forward for the event. well..it didnt turn out quite smooth that i've expected..as i left KL, and was on the middle of highway when suddenly the car stop...oh man! not now...

so i text jason (AirAsia's marketing commercial staff) that i will be late. call my bro for help.
was 'stranded' there almost an hour with my another brother and my bf..once fixed, we rushed to Lcct in the hope that we might able to catch up.

upon reaching LCCT, i called Jason, n he said the event already over. so i just collected the tix from him infront of McD..so sad...didnt manage to reach on time and worst still didnt have the opportunity to see my idol...still in denial..why?

anyway thanks AirAsia for the tix and invitation....sob sob...