Last weekend was one which I didn’t expect to have. I boarded a flight to Jakarta from Kuala Lumpur on Saturday night, to participate in the charity flight from Jakarta to Padang the next morning.

A standby aircraft was arranged in one hour, and 148 seats were opened up free of charge on flight QZ7526 for those who wish to visit their affected family / friends in Padang, as well as an avenue for relief workers to access Padang and deliver much needed supplies over to Padang. The response was overwhelming, with all seats snapped up in 20minutes.

As early as 630am, there were people gathering at Terminal 3 of the Soekarno Hatta Airport in Jakarta, waiting in line to check-in & board the charity flight. As I was waiting, a lady by the name of Hulfa turned up at the AirAsia sales office, praying hard she’s able to get a seat on the charity flight. My heart goes out to her, as I found out she is actually part of the International Relations for Indonesian Youth Institute (IRINYI) team, and was hoping to send some supplies over to the team of people helping out in Padang.

Dian, from the Indonesia AirAsia checked and there was a no-show for the charity flight, so we managed to put Ibu Hulfa (that’s how they greet ‘Miss’ in Indonesia, like how we call ‘Cik’ here in Malaysia) on board. I spent quite a while chatting with her, about her family in Padang, which were thankfully all safe.

We proceeded to board the plane at about 8.00am. It was nearly a full flight, with 142 pax on board. Approximately 2 tonnes of cargo were also carried on the charity flight without charges, such as food and basic necessities for the victims, as well as telco equipment. Complimentary food & drinks were provided on the flight too. Pak Darmadi, CEO of Indonesia AirAsia was on board too.

The flight to Padang took 1 hour 40 minutes. We touched down in Padang at about 10.15am. Had an aerial view of Padang before we landed, but could not really see much of the aftermath of the quake. Was hoping that it wouldn’t look too bad when we land too.

As we walked out of the arrival hall, there was a sea of people waiting for the arrival of their loved ones. I asked some of the locals, is it usually so packed at the airport? Aparently, it’s not. The influx of people is mainly due to the tragic quake.

And as we were exiting, many people stopped & shook our hands. Some said thank you, some didn’t utter a single word, but with an expression of gratitude I cannot find words to describe. It humbles me so much, that such a simple gesture of transporting them to Padang will evoke such indescribable emotions.

We did not have much time while in Padang, as the return flight to Jakarta was at 1.40pm. We spent an approximate 2 hours in the town of Padang, and visited the Governor’s house; where most of the NGO’s & the media operates from. Saw people from the UN, World Vision, and many others of all nationalities congregated there.

We also visited the well-known Dutch-era colonial Ambacang Hotel, a landmark of the Padang town. Bodies are still being found, with hopes there will be more who are still alive. Rescue work was still going on as we approached the site. The streets were filled with curious on-lookers, and many were snapping away with their cameras.

Along the way, we spotted many jeeps & trucks carrying supplies to the other affected areas such as Bukittinggi, Padang-Pariaman, Padang Panjang & Agam. We also saw the French army, who just arrived to lend a helping hand as well.

Although I was not able to have a first hand view of the other affected areas, being in Padang for that two hours has provided me with insights on how fragile life can be (cliché, I know, but it’s true) & because of that, how every single little way we can help can go such a long way to those who need it.

Special thanks to Dian for her hospitality while I was there.

Some of them who were there found the experience a once-in-a-lifetime chance to witness a tragic natural disaster, but I see it as a privilege to be part of something that touched lives. Proud to be an AllStar!

Thank you to everyone who participated in the 'Chengdu Here I Come' Week 1 & 2. It has been very interesting to see how all of you are geared up about Chengdu :) Oh, and we especially love those Mandarin entries.

So, we've got one more week till we finally decide on the winner for each week. But before that, we are opening up the contest for a final week, with a different theme: Events in Chengdu!!

We've got entries about things to do, and the glorious food available in Chengdu, now... let's see how you can weave up a great blog entry with Events in Chengdu :)

It's really simple to participate, just follow these steps:

1. Check out the pictures below on events in Chengdu
2. Tell us ur dream vacation in Chengdu based on the pictures
3. Send us a blog entry here (simply register & submit ur entry)
4. Pray really hard we love ur entry above the rest... n wait for the announcement of winners! (which is next week)

Photos here, so impress us with your entries! :)

Dragon Boat Race (Image Source: Show China)

Lantern Festival (Image Source: China Daily)

Longchii Snow Festival (Image Source: expatinsechuan)

Chengdu Flower Fair (Image source: chengdujournal)

Chengdu International Panda Festiva (Image Source: Prlog)

And Chengdu is also a gateway for you to enter the modern Chongqing! (Image Source: panoramio.com)

We look forward to your entries :)

It was quite a sight, having a couple of pandas roaming around. A few people were quite terrified too. We didn't really know how and why there were here... but when things were more calm, we managed to sit them down and they unraveled their story.

This is TongTong. He was found frantically walking around our office. Our security officer tried to calm him down, and we got the story out of him.

According to TongTong, both himself and NiNi are from Chengdu, China. That's where the Panda Research Base is, and most of their friends are there. They don't remember much of what happened, but visions of being shoved into a large box, and a lot of darkness. We suspect they were kidnapped by hunters who wanted to sell them illegally.

Somehow, when they awoke and tried to break out of the box, they are already on ground. Not sure of where they are, they made the dash of their lives and realised they were in a big place with a lot of planes (we have explained to them they are at LCCT, Kuala Lumpur - beats me how they ended up here!).

Funny thing is, as they were wandering around, looking for help, they bumped into some buntings promoting our new route to Chengdu, China!

We gave them T-shirts too!

And now, after relating their story to us, all they really want to do is to go back to Chengdu, and wants our help to send them back to Chengdu. The fastest way for them to go back is to travel by flight, as only AirAsia flies direct to Chengdu, China from Malaysia; and our inaugural flight has been set to be on 23 November 2009!

After some talks & deliberation with the management, we have decided that we will send them back to Chengdu on our first flight out on 23 November 2009, with ONE condition. They both need to get at least 500 supporters to take pictures with them, and we'll send them back!

In other words, 500 pictures with supporters who says, "Yes, AirAsia, send them home to Chengdu!"

So, TongTong & NiNi has got a plan. They will be camping out at The Curve (Fashion Walk 3, in front of Metro Jaya), Damansara this weekend (25 - 27 September 2009). No, not to do shopping, but to get as many supporters as possible to take pictures with them so that they can return to their homeland.

Here are more details:
Venue: Fashion Walk 3 (in front of Metro Jaya), The Curve, Damansara
Date: Fri - Sun, 25 - 27 September 2009

Will you help TongTong & NiNi?

We will also throw in 2 x Return Flight Tickets to Chengdu for the best pictures with TongTong & NiNi. So, you can also accompany the both of them home on our inaugural flight to Chengdu, China!

So, get the word out & be at The Curve, Damansara this weekend to help TongTong & NiNi with their 'Send Me Back to Chengdu' Quest... they really, really need your help.

P/S: All the pix taken with TongTong & NiNi will be uploaded into AirAsia's Facebook Fan Page, and open for voting from 28 September onwards. The supporter with the most 'Likes' for the picture will win the return flight to Chengdu with TongTong & NiNi :)

Look out for more information on TongTong & NiNi's endeavours with us!

TERMS & CONDITIONS: (read more...)

What a week it has been! And we're glad to see that there are many of you who's so excited about Chengdu. Trust me, we're equally as excited, if not more... coz we're rubbing our hands with glee, deciding who to send to Chengdu as winner of Week 1. Woohoo!

While we do that, we've put together a set of pictures for "Chengdu, Here I Come" Week 2 Contest, and the focus is FOOD! Oh, glorious food!! Tell me now, which of you out there do not appreciate food?

If ur reading this for the first time, welcome! We'd love to hear your dream vacation in Chengdu (and be in the running to win yourself a Return flight to Chengdu, yeahh!!), or if you just feel like submitting another blog post on your travel stories with us, we'd totally love that too.

So, are you ready for "Chengdu, Here I Come" Contest Week 2? Here's what you need to do:

1. Check out the pictures below on the yummy-licious Szechuan cuisine available in Chengdu
2. Tell us ur dream vacation in Chengdu based on the pictures
3. Send us a blog entry here (simply register & submit ur entry)
4. Pray really hard we love ur entry above the rest... n wait for the announcement of winners! :)

There you go, the pictures!! Have a blast conjuring your dream vacation, y'all!

Szechuan Hot Pot
Dan Dan Noodles (Picture source: FF the Broiler)
Kefir Yoghurt (Picture source: Eat Drink Chengdu)
Szechuan Lai Tang Yuan
Wash it all down at the many Tea Houses available throughout Chengdu
Not only can you go to Tibet from Chengdu, it is also a gateway to XiAn, China! (Picture source: Wikipedia)

All the best, and lookout for Week 3!! :) Oh, and Selamat Hari Raya from all of us here. Have a great one!

Terms & Conditions Apply (read more...)

You saw it on our Facebook & Twitter status updates last Friday, so here it is! AirAsia's latest destination is Chengdu, China and believe it or not, YES, you can now fly DIRECT from Kuala Lumpur to breathtaking Chengdu with AirAsia!

We're giving you the chance to discover this place which has so much to offer, by letting you tell us what your dream vacation would be like in Chengdu. But you're not sure of what is there to do in Chengdu, you say? Don't worry, we're posting up pictures of things to do & places to go to guide you (but a tad bit of research on Chengdu by yourself would help heaps too!).

So, what do you need to do to win these THREE pairs of Return Flight Tickets to Chengdu? Send us blog entries and simply tell us what your dream vacation would be like in Chengdu based on the pictures that we posted in this blog entry. The story that amuses us, excites us and makes us feel like, "Whoa, we so wanna go to Chengdu with you!!" will win the contest. (Do check out the Terms & Conditions below, though :D)

This contest will run for three weeks, with different pictures posted up by us each week. So remember to keep a lookout on all our social media channels :)

Ready, get set, go (and savour the pictures & send us some kick ass entries!!)... here are the pictures:

Jiu Zhai Gou

Jin Li Street

Panda Research Base

Zi Gong Dinosaur Museum

EMei Mountain

Did you know that Chengdu is also a gateway to Tibet? (Picture source: Wikipedia)

Terms & Conditions Apply (read more...)