Posted by azuan in :: All Posts ::, Featured Articles on 09 6th, 2010 | 3 responses

Since I caught the blogging bug in 2004, AzuanZahdi.com has been the home to many of my travel tales capturing the special moments that tell stories of me exploring cities all over the globe.

Like they said “there is no place like home” and believing in this I’ve dedicated the year 2010 for me to travel across my home country Malaysia. The plan has brought me to Langkawi, Kelantan, Kedah, Johore and more. Little that I realized that I’ve missed a state, my own home state, Selangor!

The more I travel, the more I appreciate being at home. All my travelling to other states in Malaysia assured me of one fact; I actually love my own home state SELANGOR the most!

How can I NOT love Selangor? This is the place that I was born, raised up, had my primary and secondary school education and even where I got my first degree and MBA from. On top of all this, I now work within the boundaries of this state!

Selangor provides abundant opportunities for family activities, business, medical, shopping and feel-good fun and play. Without realizing, for the last 29 years I’ve actually ‘traveled and toured’ Selangor like no others!

I want to fall in love with Selangor once again. With Tourism Selangor organizing the MY SELANGOR STORY contest to promote Selangor, I feel obliged to participate. This is the opportunity that I’ve been waiting. That ONE REASON for me to take leave (boss has approved! ) and explore my own backyard.

Why Me? What makes AzuanZahdi.com qualify as the final 30 bloggers selected? Without “masuk bakul, angkat sendiri”, allow me to answer why.

a) My passion for TRAVEL, PHOTOGRAPHY and BLOGGING – I always write detailed reviews with lots of photos. I am excited with the prospect to put my three favorite things at one place for MySelangorStory!

b) I go beyond the normal sightseeing path! I believe that to best appreciate Selangor, one has to go off the beaten path and experience both the modern and rural side of this culturally diversified state.

c) I participate when I travel – From playing football with locals to eating local food, I utilize all my senses when I travel and blog to fully appreciate an experience. No such things as “No, thanks” when it comes to trying something new.

d) A Selangor-ian visiting Selangor!!
Why not? The way I see it, it adds a pinch of flavor to the other 29 bloggers in making MySelangorStory an interesting campaign with stories from the perspective of someone who sees the state becoming what it is today

If I’m selected as the final 30, I promise to put my ‘Kimora personality’ hat on and have fun-filled blog posts, photos, videos and tweets that by the end of the contest, people actually will see the magic of Selangor beyond the ordinary sights.

Thank you for your votes.

Posted by azuan in :: All Posts ::, Brand Review, Featured Articles, Firefly Airline, Travel on 05 19th, 2010 | 2 responses

After exploring Johor Bahru and Alor Setar in the first quarter of 2010, I was set for another round of travel and adventure as part of my “Azuan Explores the Backyard of Malaysia series”.

Welcome to my next destination, Langkawi Island!

Langkawi Island (“Langkawi”) is an archipelago of 104 islands in the north western coast of Peninsular Malaysia. One of the most well-known islands in Malaysia, this island of myths and legends has come into its own as a well-known destination. Pristine beaches, great nature, local legends about Mahsuri, duty free shopping and friendly people, Langkawi has all the ingredients for a great holiday destination for both Malaysians and foreign tourists.

Thanks to Firefly Airlines’ great deals, I was in Langkawi for 3 days 2 nights together with my other half and her office colleagues. Right after covering the MasCharter CSR Programme – Sensational Saturday: Ride on Harley, Fly on Jumbo, I made my way to Langkawi via Firefly.

After a smooth flight and early arrival at Langkawi airport, we made a quick stop at a roadside stall for a late lunch. Authentic cendol pulot and laksa utara. It was interesting to have the view of the sea on one side and the view of airport runway on the other side. I can sense an ATR-72 took-off from the runway while I enjoyed the delicious meals.

My first destination, Cenang Beach or Pantai Cenang! Stretch of wide beach on the west of the island, Pantai Cenang is the most happening beach in Langkawi with clean white sand, fun water activities, plenty of budget accommodation and great hangout spots especially at night.

Despite being “the best beach” of Langkawi, unlike some other beaches in the Asian region, Pantai Cenang is still clean, quiet, laid back and plenty of space for everyone.

The beach also makes a great spot for sunset.

As the sun sets, the fun begins on the other side of the beach. Restaurants with BBQ and great seafood dishes, drinks, music and other activities kick in after the sun sets.

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The next day, as early as 8am, we gathered in one of the makeshift jetty in Pantai Cenang for our island hopping. With sleepy eyes, packed Nasi Lemak, sandwiches and junk food we were off as the first boat just to be at Pulau Dayang Bunting before everyone else.

I love the speed boat ride! Thank God for HyperGear WaterProof gear, my DSLr was safe and dry despite all the splashes.

1st stop – Pulau Dayang Bunting!

Pulau Dayang Bunting or in English the “Island of the Pregnant Maiden”, is the second largest island in the Langkawi archipelago. One of the attractions of this island is the hills that form the backdrop to the lake that has the outline of the body of a pregnant woman who is lying down on her back.

We arrived on the island’s jetty a bit too early, even earlier than the staff. Beautiful view while we had our breakfast….

and as we were about to enter the island, we had quite a nervous experience. We were ‘welcomed’ by a group of monkeys. As the first group of visitors, we were literally surrounded by not less than 20 monkeys. Within seconds we lost ALL our junk foods and drinks.

Nevertheless, the moment we saw the beautiful lake, it was all worth it.

For a good 30 minutes we were the only visitors of the lake and it was like having a private lake! Some form of attractions in this island includes – a unique cat fish spa experience, solar boat, swimming or just sunbathing.

Legend has it that any woman who couldn’t conceive a child will be rewarded and blessed with one if she drank the water from this large and beautiful lake.

As much as I want a child, a legend is a legend; and i don’t think it’s healthy in any way to drink untreated water anyway!

So we ended up swimming on the lake instead.

As the lakes got more crowded, we hopped on our speed boat to our next activity – eagle feeding!

As much as it was a new and exciting experience to see the eagles flying low while being fed with the chicken pieces, I cannot help but to wonder whether this is an eco-friendly activity. Plus I left my telephoto zoom lens at home and was not able to capture the eagle feeding moments.

From the eagle feeding, we went to our second island which was Pulau Beras Basah.

Another clean and quiet island suitable for swimming and sunbathing. Although the water is not as clear as the islands in Sabah, it is good enough for a couple hours of easy swim and sun!

After a tiring morning, the afternoon was spent with few hours of shopping in Kuah! Being a duty-free island, shopping is a must in Langkawi and Kuah is the place! Places like Haji Ismail Group and Coco Valley are famous for duty-free shopping especially CHOCOLATES! Super cheap!

No visit to Langkawi is complete without visiting the landmark icon of Helang (eagle) at Dataran Lang in Kuah.

After a long and tiring day, we ended day 2 of our tour with an early dinner at Langkawi’s famous EE Burger in Kuah.

Day 3 begins with a visit to Kota Mahsuri.

Formely known as Makam Mahsuri, the complex holds the Mahsuri’s Tomb, Mahsuri’s well, an aviary, a museum/gallery and Kedah traditional houses. It is highly recommended to visit Kota Mahsuri to learn about this interesting legend! I was so amazed that I wish there would be someone who will make a movie out of the legend of Mahsuri.

After a few hours in Kota Mahsuri, we went for our final destination; the Langkawi Undewater World. I have to be honest that prior to the trip, I do not think that it’s worth spending money to visit an aquarium.

Little that I know that Langkawi Underwater World is something unique! It is a home to 5000 types of aquatic life and some mammal and reptile species.

The highlight of the trip was seeing for the first time, these little cute PENGUINS! Amazing!

It was an amazing 3 days in Langkawi and despite not being my first trip, I always find reasons to come back to this magical island. If you are planning for a trip to Langkawi, check out the places mentioned above and also some other interesting areas that I’ve covered in my past blog posts such as Langkawi Cable Car, Seven Wells Waterfall, Laman Padi and Oriental Village. Click here to read about these places.

Go discover Langkawi! Firefly offers great deals via Firefly Holidays and there are two daily flights everyday with good timing and reasonable price all year long.

We have not heard stories from our friendly blogger, Azuan for quite sometime due to his new job. Finally, he has something to say again. Let’s hear from the man himself now! Hear Hear!

Posted by azuan in :: All Posts ::, Featured Articles, Firefly Airline, Travel on 04 28th, 2010 | 3 responses

Flying is addictive. At least for an aviation geek like me . However, due to the nature of my new job (office-based and busy weekends), I have not been flying for the last 2 months. Something I myself find hard to believe. There were temptations in the form of cheap tickets and desire to explore new places but there were always some report or presentation that occupy my valuable weekend.

As I settled down with my routine, I finally have enough time to plan for some air travel in May. As the 5th month of the year is just around the corner, I’m all excited to list down my plan for the next 30-days.

a)

Trip: Sensational Saturday with MASCharter
Route: Subang Airport to KLIA on Malaysia Airlines Boeing 747-400
Date: 1st May 2010 (Saturday)
Description: A Charity event by MASCharter. 280 Children, 20 Terminally Ill Ambulatory Children will be picked up from their homes by 7 buses provided by MasCharter. They will rendezvous at NAZA Harley Davidson Showroom, then 20 Police Outriders along with 180-200 Harley Bikes and 15 BMW Camerabikes will form a 2km convoy and escort the kids to SZB MasCharter premises where they will be given brunch, followed by bike rides on Harley machines, presented with Goodies Bags. The kids will then board a Boeing 747-400 for a short hop from Subang to KLIA. Similar to last year’s Night to Remember, I will be one of the photographers covering the event.

b)

Trip: Exploring Langkawi’s Backyard
Route: Subang Airport to Langkawi on Firefly Airlines ATR72-500 and Langkawi to KLIA on Boeing 737-400.
Date: 1st – 3rd May 2010 (Saturday-Monday)
Description: As part of my “Azuan Explores the Backyard of Malaysia” series, I am going to explore the beauty of Langkawi in particular the historic side of the island and embark on a full-day island hopping! The long awaited break!

c)

Trip: Exploring Kota Bharu’s Backyard
Route: Subang Airport to Kota Bharu and return on Firefly Airlines ATR72-500
Date: 15th – 16th May 2010 (Saturday-Sunday)
Description: Also part of my “Azuan Explores the Backyard of Malaysia” series, I will finally step my feet into the only states in Malaysia that I have never been to – Kelantan. It would be difficult to squeeze many things that I want to do in KB and places that I want to visit in 2 full days but I will stretch myself to get the best out of this trip Feel free to suggest to me things to do and attractions in KB yea!

d)

Trip: Exploring Penang’s Backyard
Route: Subang Airport to Penang and return on Firefly Airlines ATR72-500
Date: 22nd – 23rd May 2010 (Saturday-Sunday)
Description: My “Azuan Explores the Backyard of Malaysia” series will continue up-north in Penang, the food heaven! Simply one of my favorite holiday destinations in Malaysia, this time I plan to embark on a food adventure hunting for the best Nasi Kandar and not to forget to chill out at Bt Feringghi.

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Feel free to share with me on interesting places at the above three destinations.

In the meantime if you are interested to get attractive fares for ALL Firefly flights, check out the Firefly Facebook Faceoff Campaign where 30% discount is given to Firefly Facebook Fans for selected tickets to ALL destinations including Singapore. All you have to do is be a fan of FY Facebook Page at www.facebook.com/firefly.