AirAsia Blog

What's Your India: The God with 10 faces

AirAsia Blog Team — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 01:45:47 +0000

Last month after counting my last nut and bolt, and tallying my final profit and loss, I finally found the courage to quit my job.

Merdeka! Merdeka! Merdeka!

My whole life has been about planning and calculating and weighing out pros and cons. I was getting a little tired of what I’d become – a staid, tight fisted pencil-pusher.
Inspired by Ian Wright’s backpacking exploits on the travel channel, I impulsively booked a flight on AirAsia to Tiruchirapalli. There was no particular reason for choosing that destination, to be honest. It just sounded unfamiliar and difficult to spell. I didn’t even book a return flight. I thought I’d just keep moving until the money runs out. My parents thought I was blinking mad but I told them a travel guide I once read said as long as I always carried a towel with me I’d be fine.

Much to their dismay and incredulity, I set off for South India.

I couldn’t believe it myself until I buckled up for take-off when I realised there was no chickening out. In spite of barely sleeping the night before I couldn’t catch any shut eye during the flight. I was OD-ing with adrenaline and alternating between feelings of trepidation and eager anticipation.

In my attempt to disperse the nervousness I befriended the passenger seated beside me.

Johnny’s has been wandering around Southeast Asia for roughly a year now. Suffering from backpacker’s fatigue he’s hoping India will serve up a few shocks to his jaded senses.
Turns out that we were both headed for the same hotel in Trichy which was brilliant because that meant we could split the cab fare into town.

Trichy, I am told gives an authentic experience of Tamil Nadu. Dusty and relatively underdeveloped, bullock carts, TATA compacts, bicycles, and rickshaws honk and swerve their way amid the haphazard traffic. This time of the year, the breeze can be quite pleasant except for when the occasional wafts of dung emerge to remind you of the large population of goats and cows in this town.

Trichy’s star attraction is the Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple – no shoes allowed and cameras can accompany their owners for Rs 50. If my (rather dubious) Rs400 guide got his facts right, five different dynasties including the great Cholas who extended their empire through to Southeast Asia, had a hand in shaping Sri Rangan. Spread out over 256 hectares with 21 towers and seven complexes, this is a sprawling monument to Vishnu the protector. Only certified Hindus are allowed into the centre of the temple where Vishnu lies sleeping on his side but there is plenty to admire around the outer walls where Brahmin priests sit in shrines to offer blessings.

The most amusing part of the tour was the most adorable elephant. Obviously well trained, you place a donation of a few rupees on its trunk and Iittle Dumbo will “bless” you with a swift tap on your head.

A footnote on Hinduism is probably worthwhile at this point and I must confess my ignorance of the religion prior this visit. I still don’t comprehend it completely but it goes something like this:
There a numerous deities in Hinduism but they are merely manifestations of Brahman, the source of everything in the universe. A bit like the alpha and omega, the beginning and the end; everything comes from Brahman and will return to Brahman. So Brahman is typically represented by Brahma the creator, Vishnu the preserver and Shiva the destroyer.
Vishnu himself has 10 incarnations, as I learned on the tour of the Sri Rangan.

The 1st being in the form of a fish; the 2nd a tortoise; the 3rd a hog; the 4th a lion; the fifth a young boy called Varmana; the 6th he is Parasurama and wields an axe; the 7th he is Rama the blue-hued prince in the Ramayana epic; the 8th he is Balarama; the 9th as Krishna an amorous one with 60,000 lovers ; and the 10th of which Hindus await his manifestation, he is Kalki, by which time the world would have been faced with its apocalypse.
It’s only been my first day and I’m loving India already.

Find out how to win goodies from Maryann's adventure right here via AirAsia's "What's Your India" contest :) and more pics from Trichy at http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=198490&id=18801397386 or http://www.flickr.com/photos/airasia/sets/72157623376827608/. Stay tuned for more adventure pics from India coming soon!Read more »

Up close and personal with Rachel Liang

Karen — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 03:09:59 +0000

When a colleague approached me to help take pictures of the re-launch event of KL-Tianjin route, I must say I was a bit apprehensive. Those who know me, knows that I cringe at the socializing with people I don’t know. And event photography has never been something that I enjoy doing. BUT! The task that came with the perks of being up close and personal with Rachel Liang and a return trip to Beijing was too hard to say ‘No’ to :D

For those of you who don’t know who Rachel Liang is, she is a Taiwanese Singer who took part in the talent show "Super Star Avenue" (超级星光大道). When I first heard her 2nd album titled ‘Love, there has been’ (爱，一直存在) I was hooked. I particularly love 哭過就好 and 滿滿. In fact, she reminded me of another Taiwanese singer that I really liked in the early 90s called Stella Chang 张清芳. With a very demure and angelic voice that makes you feel very at ease.

This 22 year old girl has definitely come a long way since her earlier days as a participant in “Super Star Avenue” contest. I did a search in YouTube for her performance and was awed by her determination and superb performance. She definitely captured the essence of the AirAsia spirit – Young, fun, dare to dream and never take no for an answer. Which is why we have chosen her as ‘Friends of AirAsia’ (亚太圆梦大使 ).

Rachel and her crew arrived at our office at around 5.30am. The minute she walked into the conference room, she was greeted by her screaming fans from Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand. It’s not hard to understand why she is loved by her fans. Such a friendly and lovable character!

Welcome to the AirAsia family Rachel!

Rachel signing her buntings :p She was fun to photograph; she is a natural and very photogenic too!

Sorry Rachel, you can’t bring the plane home hehe!

With our lovely cabin crew, Rachel’s fans from Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia, who flew with us from Kuala Lumpur to Tianjin (Beijing)!

After the award presentation, and a breakfast session with her fans, we took off to Tianjin (Beijing)!

Here’s more shots of Rachel here

to be continued...

Showcasing AirAsia's Pavillion Kiosk

AirAsia Blog Team — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 02:03:30 +0000

AirAsia kickstarted our kiosk initiative to get our merchandise reach out more accessible for the masses beginning with our first one at LCCT itself. Now, how many of you are actually aware that AirAsia actually has a second kiosk and even plans for a third?

Our second kiosk is located at K6.03, 6th floor, Pavilion KL. It's right outside Times bookstore, and near TGI Fridays. Here's a few snapshots for those interested to drop by

Located right smack in the heart of the shopping drive of Kuala Lumpur city, the kiosk presents a great opportunity for aircraft model collectors to pick up our various AirAsia plane models as it has:

AirAsia A320 (scale 1:150) - Lat Livery
AirAsia A320 (scale 1:100) - AT&T Williams Livery
AirAsia A330 & A320 Aircraft models
*The Oakland Raiders aircraft model will be available by end of February*

It's not just for aircraft aficionados alone as the kiosk also offers our limited edition Truly Asean Gift Boxes and a limited range of tops and bags by Gadis Manis and beautiful gift ideas by Kama Artworks.

This is the second AirAsia Retail Outlet, the first is located at LCC Terminal, and a third will be unveiled in Q2. We look forward to you dropping by and maybe get a bit of a "red" wave going on at the heart of Malaysia itself. Stay tuned for more news soon and we would definitely like to invite our readers and all our guests to have a say where the next kiosk should be and also what kind of goodies you think we should have at our kiosk. Have your say right here, right now!

Have You Flown AirAsia?

Intan Maisara — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 03:21:46 +0000

The contest is called Have You Flown Airasia? HUFA for short

My Answer : Yes * with a big smile *

Although for my entry, I would like to improvise a little and call it How Many Times Have You Flown Airasia? I hope the very nice people at Airasia don't mind :)

So, how many times have I flown Airasia? Well, let's start counting shall we?

1) Bali, Indonesia - New Year 2005
It was my first time flying with Airasia. I was stoked. Spending the new year in a foreign land with a few of my best buddies and best of all the flight tickets were cheap! I was only into my 1.5 years working at that time so I was pretty much thankful for Airasia and it's free tickets promo. That was the only way I could afford my holiday trips.

2) Phuket, Thailand - New Year 2006
Again, new year in a foreign land with my best buddies courtesy of Airasia's free tickets promo!! yes, we are THAT lucky! and airasia made it possible for us and our overflowing needs to travel :) It was my first time in Phuket and I was amazed with the beauty and serenity of Phuket's beaches. I have not been to many beaches my whole life, and i thought Phuket's beaches were truly breathtaking! The weather was almost perfect - blue skies and sun of most the time. And not to forget, we stumbled upon the best ever Padthai in Phuket. It was a small stall by the road side in Patong Beach area and the Padthai was cooked to perfection!

3) Kota Kinabalu, East Malaysia - July 2007
Yet again, I managed to bag a few free tickets to Kota Kinabalu courtesy of Airasia's free tickets promo. It was my first time stepping foot on the great East Malaysian soil. KK was great, chilled and laid back - unlike the fast-paced KL. The beach was amazing, crystal clear water with sandy beaches. I didn't get to see Mount Kinabalu up close , but it's okay cos I'm definitely coming back to climb Mount Kinabalu!

4) Bandung, Indonesia - March 2008
okay, I'm gonna copy and paste this again from the previous text . i went to Bandung courtesy of Airasia's free tickets promo!! . The ultimate "goal" to Bandung was to get things for my wedding. I heard from my friends who had gone to Bandung that textiles there are super cheap. And indeed, they are amazing and oh-so cheap! We went around shopping in Bandung since there went a lot of branded outlets in Bandung. Besides shopping, the other two things that got me hooked on Bandung were Nasi Padang and Es Jeruk!

5) Perth, Australia - April 2009
My husband and I flew in to Perth with Airasia X. I enjoyed the inflight entertainment; great selections of movies and TV series kept me occupied thruout the long flight to Perth. I consider Perth as my 2nd honeymoon. My husband and I wanted a laid back trip (unlike our 1st honeymoon - backpacking around Europe which was hectic), so Perth was pretty much it. Perth was interesting, the weather was great, sunny blue skies with chilly breeze. I loved their zoo because Perth Zoo was very clean and properly maintained, with a number of animals that I've never seen before in my life especially from the Australian bush walk. Best of all, I got to stroke a kangaroo! We also went to Cottesloe Beach which was the late actor, Heath Ledger’s favourite beach and the port city of Western Australia, Freemantle.

5) Perhentian Island, Malaysia, July 2009
My friends used to make fun of me when I tell them I've never been to Perhentian Island. I was adamant to make Perhentian Island as one of my holiday destinations in 2009. I gotta say, I was truly amazed with Perhentian Island. It was so beautiful that I almost cried, I kid you not. It makes me proud being a Malaysian cos we have such AMAZING nature. Perhentian Island was literally a big, crystal clear swimming pool! I didn't take many pictures cos I was so engorged in the beauty of Perhentian Island. So i didn't bother much cos it felt it would be waste of time hahaha . Its too pretty that u wanna enjoy each and every bit to yourself. We flew back home tired but with full of satisfaction with Airasia from Kota Bharu.

so is that it?
well, yeah it is up until 2009.

But for 2010, it is LONDON calling !!! and again, i bagged a REALLY good deal for my London flight from Airasia

It's time for me introduce myself

Hi, I'm Sara.
I'm a travel junkie and I need help.
I'm addicted to traveling and my condition is getting from bad to worse.
If I could get my hands on a couple of free tickets from Airasia, I'd be ever grateful to cure this condition of mine.

xoxo
P.S: I heard China is beautiful during spring :)
P.P.S: Yes, these pictures are mine, not randomly "stolen" from flickr or something :p

Thaipusam 2010 @ Batu Caves

Pueh Tian — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 06:38:55 +0000

Thaipusam (Tamil: தைப்பூசம்) is a Hindu festival celebrated mostly by the Tamil community on the full moon in the Tamil month of Thai (Jan/Feb)

It was a huge celebration over at Batu Caves, Kuala Lumpur last Saturday. It was reported that 1.7 millions visitors turned up for the event.

There is a huge Lord Murugan statue at Batu Caves - a whopping 42.7m (130 feet high) high statue watching over the devotees.

Every year, thousands of Hindu devotees carry pal kodam (milk pots) and the kavadi up the 272 steps to the Cave Temple to fulfil vows made to Lord Murugan.

For me, it was a fantastic opportunity to snap photographs of the colourful and exotic festival. As anticipated, the crowd was huge! Drums and devotion songs filled the air.

Kavadi dancers swirled and twirled to the beat of the drums as if they were spinning out of this world!

I started to click away with my camera as soon as I entered Batu Caves compound. There were plenty of photography opportunities - The colourful sights. The dramatic movements of the devotees in trance. The elaborately decorated kavadis.

Then suddenly, I saw a white bearded man with a huge belly carrying a kavadi.

Santa?

Hahah! Sorry, it's not Santa. Santa Claus doesn't exist. But the kavadi was real. The Caucasian man was in front of me, carrying a huge kavadi, complete with piercings! My jaw dropped!

Wow! Thaipusam is now being celebrated not only by the Indians but by other races as well!

Then my jaw dropped the second time when I saw this little kavadi dancer!

He was amazing - dancing his way up the Batu Caves with a kavadi on his shoulders. He is 8 years old.

AirAsia's own version of "kavadi"???

Just kidding! I spotted this while I was watching the kavadi parade from the highway in front of Batu Caves. Brilliant advertising! :)

AirAsia now is flying to 5 new cities in Incredible India - New Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad, and Bangalore!

I love the atmosphere at the Thaipusam celebration. I will definitely be back next year to climb up the 272 steps to the Cave Temple.

For those who have not been to Batu Caves, please come and experience Thaipusam. You will be blown away by the rich cultural experience like I did.

For full story, more photos and video clips, please visit my blog - Running With Passion

Be the first to Watch True Legend starring Jay Chou!

AirAsia Blog Team — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 03:51:48 +0000

50 pairs of movie tickets to the latest Jay Chou flick, True Legend, up for grabs within the next 60 hours! On top of that, stand a chance to win the grand prize of a 5D4N trip for 4 to Beijing with airfare and accommodation paid for!

For new users, all you need to do is register at www.niubeijing.com and start taking the challenge!

For existing users, make sure you log in within the next 60 hours and take the challenge.

Contest starts 12:01hrs (GMT+8:00hrs) 1st February 2010 – 23:59hrs (GMT+8:00hrs) 3rd February 2010.

Winners will be notified by email and calls. The redemption will start 7.15pm (2 hours before the actual show time), see you there.

Are you NIU Enough??

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Virtual buddies become real buddies

Imelda — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 02:05:19 +0000

This story was originally published at "The Window" http://imeechan.wordpress.com

Happy New Year!!!

I promised to write soon but I’m afraid it was not as soon as I expected, sorry folks… Holidays had consumed my time after nearly six months in Sudan without having any break. I had a great time and as usual, it was always too short.

Went home felt so good, spending Christmas and New Year with my family and friends was amazing. Most of all, I had a chance to visit some friends whom I only met virtually before. MI, NH, and SC are three awesome girls whom I met through social network, Twitter. It started with our common interest in an ex-boy-band, NKOTB. From our ‘Twitter ritual,’ we finally became good friends, the idea to spend a weekend together and a-girls-night-out in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, where they come from, came up and we finally made it happen in early of this year.

I flew out to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, from my hometown, Surabaya, Indonesia, with ‘The World’s Best Low-Cost Airline’ called AirAsia. If you happen to have an idea to travel around South East Asia I suggest you to fly out with AirAsia. The price is cheap but very convenient, for example, I only spent about USD$100 for my round trip Surabaya-Kuala Lumpur-Jakarta. For that, I booked three months in advanced but if you booked earlier you might get cheaper.

I was picked up by MI and NH at LCCT Airport, I was very surprised with their warm welcome and in fact, it was the first time for us to meet up face to face. Soon after that, SC joined us and we went to Burger King for lunch.

After lunch, we went to Citrus Hotel where I stayed at on my first night. Citrus Hotel is a three star hotel and located in city centre. It was not far away from Bukit Bintang, downtown area, where shopping centres and restaurants are.

The room rate in Citrus Hotel is not expensive I’d say, it was MYR129 (USD$39) per-night for standard room inclusive of tax and breakfast. However, some travel reviews suggested to book Club floor room instead with MYR149 (USD$45) per-night inclusive tax and breakfast. If you stay on Club floor area means you will get free wireless internet in your room and you have access to Club floor lounge where you can use their free business centre with free snack and soft drinks, you won’t get these facilities if you stay in standard room. I finally did what people suggested and I never regret!

Although I never had a chance to enjoy the hotel facilities but I noticed Citrus Hotel has quite facilities like gym, swimming pool, spa and nice restaurant with international cuisine.

In the evening, SC, MI, NH and I went to see a movie, Sherlock Holmes, at One Utama Mall cinema. At the cinema I also met my long-lost dear friend, KE. KE & I were in UN mission in Afghanistan together back in 2003/2004. That night was a special night for me, I met my virtual friends and also my old friend.

The second night I moved out to a four star hotel downtown, Berjaya Times Square Hotel & Convention Center. I should say this hotel is one of the luxurious hotels in Kuala Lumpur. Berjaya Times Square Hotel & Convention Center has all facilities of most four/five star hotels to offer. It has swimming pool, gym, jacuzzi, spa, restaurants and it’s adjoining to Times Square Mall which used to be the biggest shopping centre in South East Asia back in 2004.

Actually I booked this room together with MI, NH and SC because we planned to have a girls-night-out at Red Box Karaoke in Low Yat which was just across the street from Berjaya Times Square Hotel. We booked one superior room with only MYR277.73 (USD$85) per-night inclusive of tax. This rate was a special rate which allows you to book 30 days early and you get 30% discount from its internet published rate, MYR355++ (USD$107++).

The room was very big like a studio, it has TV room, kitchen, bedroom and spacious luxury bathroom, I should say the room is nicer than Citrus Hotel. Unfortunately I couldn’t get facilities that Citrus Hotel offered in Berjaya Times Square Hotel, television at Berjaya was very old fashion, Citrus has LCD screen TV, unlike Citrus Hotel, there was no DVD player at Berjaya except CD player which was not well-played. There was no free wireless internet at Berjaya, if you want to get 24 hours internet connection you have to pay MYR50 (USD$15).

Our room was on the 26th floor and it offered spectacular view of Kuala Lumpur from our room’s window.

Anyway, less facility didn’t stop us to have fun. We shopped till we dropped at Times Square Mall during the day and in the evening we went to Red Box Karaoke to have our girls-night-out. Each of us paid MYR50 (USD$15) to book a karaoke room for two hours and it was including dinner buffet and two free non-alcoholic drinks. I think it was not bad for total MYR200 (USD$60) especially we got bonus to use karaoke room for another two hours FREE! We really enjoyed ourselves singing and dancing until 2 a.m. Apparently we got along so well, not only virtually but in the real world too!

The next day I returned to Citrus Hotel. In the evening I was invited for a fine dinner by KE and her husband, VC, at Leonardo’s Restaurant in Bangsar area. Bangsar was like 20 minutes away by car from Tiong Nam road, where Citrus Hotel is. The food selection at Leonardo’s was impressive, it offered not only Western food but also local food like Bai Kut Tee. VC and I ordered pork ribs steak, KE ordered Bai Kut Tee. The steak was very delicious and a couple of glasses of white wine made the evening so perfect!

Blue Sunday I should say… I felt like didn’t want to return to Indonesia but I had to because my best friends in Jakarta were waiting for me to go to Singapore on the next day. NH and MI dropped me off at the airport, we were sad to leave our fun weekend behind. We had lunch at Old Town White Coffee before we said goodbye. Old Town White Coffee is the largest kopitiam restaurant chain in Malaysia. It offered various delicious local dishes like Nasi Lemak, Curry Mee, Assam Laksa, and also hot/cold beverages, of course, its coffee, tea and chocolate. I ordered Assam Laksa (Fish soup with noodles) and cold original Old Town White coffee. The funny thing is, I thought Old Town White Coffee was really white coffee, literally, but it was not… It was normal black coffee with cream and sugar… Silly me!

Kashgar: The Far West of the Far East

Neil — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 02:14:19 +0000

Author: Mark Vranicar - chinatravel.net

The wail of prayers from the Id Kah Mosque made it hard for me to believe that I was still in the Middle Kingdom. But there I was, walking the narrow streets of Kashgar's Old Town past men in kufi skullcaps, veiled women and bazaars selling rugs, spices and silk, all of which gave Kashgar an aura I'd always associated more with the Middle East than the Far East. Indeed, Kashgar feels as exotic to a Chinese tourist from Chengde or Chengdu as it does to an American or an Australian.

In a city where more than three-quarters of the city's residents are ethnic Uighur, the faces on the streets of Kashgar often look more like people from Istanbul or Islamabad than Shanghai or Xi'an. And not only do the Uighur look different than most of there fellow Chinese citizens, they sound different as well. The Uighur language, a member of the Turkic language family, uses a modified Arabic script and you'll see few signs Kashgar in either Chinese or English.

Kashgar's unique culture is reflected in its location: over 1,220 meters (4,000 feet) above sea level, Kashgar lies between the vast Taklamakan Desert to the east and the Pamir Mountains—one of the tallest and most imposing mountain ranges on the planet—to the southwest.

Add it all up, and you won't find a place like Kashgar anywhere else in China. My brother and I decided to check out the best of the old Silk Road city before heading out into the nearby mountains.

The Sunday Market

"You know, I don't think it is possible for us to get farther away from home than where we are right now," my brother said. I nodded and laughed. We were at the Kashgar animal market, in the middle of a dirt field on the outskirts of town. Men with long white beards schmoozed over cattle, boys tried to impress their elders by keeping their animals in check, and farmers hauled newly purchased goats and cows (no pigs in Muslim Kashgar) around in three-wheeled tractors painfully small for the task.

We'd just come from the largest outdoor market in the world, the Kashgar Sunday market, where every week tens of thousands of people from the region surrounding Kashgar descend upon the city to buy, sell, and barter.

We'd gotten to the market early, at 6:30 a.m. I'd forgotten that Kashgar time is two hours off the official standard Beijing time. Though painfully early, the market was already abuzz, with sellers setting up for the onslaught of people that was set to arrive in the coming hours. Fathers barked orders to sons, daughters helped their mothers lay out silk, and a handful of buyers wandered about looking for early-bird specials.

By 8:30, the energy in the air
was electric. As an ancient Silk Road trading post, the market is a Kashgar tradition that goes back many centuries, and it was obvious that the people of Kashgar are virtuoso buyers and sellers. Simply watching the action was an incredible experience, as market-goers haggled over silk, carpets, Iranian saffron and hand-crafted knives, just to mention a few of the dazzling array of goods for sale.

After a full morning of prime people watching, it was off to the livestock market, its Kashgar cowboys and Uighur goatherds, for a taste of rustic Xinjiang. The next day, we'd head even deeper into China's Far West, taking on the Pamir Mountains.

Lake Karakul

The sights, smells and spectacle of being in one of the most remote cities make Kashgar exciting, but the sight of Lake Karakul, four hours to the southwest via the famous Karakoram Highway, simply takes your breath away.

One of the most accessible spots in the rugged Pamir Mountains, at 3,962 meters (13,000 feet) above sea level, Karakul's air is crisp and refreshing. There are no trees to block your view of the mountains—you're above the tree line and, even if there were a few trees, some of the world's tallest mountains loom to the north, east, and south. If the peaks of Kongur Tagh (7,649 meters/25,095 feet), Muztagh Ata (7546 meters/24,757 feet) and Kongur Tiube (7530 meters/24,705 feet) fail to impress you, you should give up traveling all together. The immensity of these mountains is staggering.

The mightiest of them all is Muztagh Ata, which translates to "Father of Ice Mountain" in the local Uighur dialect, it's easy to see how why it's considered the daddy of them all. If you're feeling up to it, Muztagh Ata is reputed to be the world's easiest mountain of 23,000 feet or higher to climb thanks to its relatively gentle slopes and dry weather. The base camp, littered with mountain climbers is just about a ten minute drive past Karakul Lake on the Karakoram Highway. Personally, Muztagh Ata looked amazing enough from the comfort of the shores of Karakul.

Wanting to see the area on our own terms, my brother and I politely refused the locals eager to house us in their yurts and instead began a circuit of the lake on our own. We'd brought camping gear, and prepared to spend the night out in the elements.

As the sun was setting, my brother and I sat down on the ground outside our tent near the lake in silence. The mountains, vivid sunset and fluffy clouds reflecting in the lake said all that needed to be said. China's Far West had left us speechless.

Getting there:

Flying is easiest, unless you have time to burn on long bus trips across Xinjiang's high desert country. Kashgar Airport is about ten kilometers north of the city and is served by over ten flights daily to and from Urumqi; the trip takes about an hour and a half. It's a good idea to book tickets as far in advance as possible. You can fly into Urumqi from cities around China. Check Ctrip.com for deals on flights.

As for transportation to the countryside beyond Kashgar, tours can easily be arranged in at hotels catering to Westerners.

Staying there:

The Qiniwak Hotel, situated on the grounds of the former British Consulate to the northwest of Id Kah Mosque, is one of Kashgar's most atmospheric places to stay, and it's easy on the budget. The more modern Xinlong Hotel is a good bet for a balance of budget, convenience and modern facilities. The Kashgar Hotel, formerly reserved for government officials and located a bit outside of town, makes for a restful stay amidst pleasantly landscaped grounds.

Resource: china travel, china hotels