“1 Malaysia, People First, Performance Now”.

31st August is around the corner and Malaysians are in the “Merdeka” mood. There is a sense of patriotism everywhere and the air is thick with the feeling of Merdeka. Celebrating the 52nd Independece Day celebration, Firefly Airlines have came out with exciting promotions and contest just for you.

~ FIREFLY FEVER ~

First up is the “Firefly Fever!” promotion. In conjunction with the Merdeka celebration, Firefly is offering great deals for holiday packages. There are “adventure fever”, “luxury fever”, “family fever” and “island fever” deals up for grab from 24th until 31st August 2009.

I gave the Firefly Fever – Island Fever holiday package promotion a try with the aim of getting a good deal during the ‘almost impossible’ end-of-year period. December is peak-season for many hotels and with the Langkawi International Maritime & Aerospace Exhibition (LIMA) happening on 1st to 5th December 2009, finding a good deal is not easy.

This is a rough estimation of the cost of a 3 days 2 night trip to Langkawi based on prices from separate websites for 2 people.

And this is what I got from Firefly Fever. It was my first time buying a “flight+hotel” package and I have to be honest that I initially thought the price would be pretty much the same. I was wrong. The moment I did a search on Firefly’s website, the Firefly Fever caught me. This is what I got:

I could not believe my eyes. For the same return flight + same hotel for 2 nights + car rental, it cost me only RM380 for 2 people. My buddy and I only have to fork out RM190 each to cover our flights, hotel and car rental.

Immediately I keyed in my credit card details and bought the package. This is one ‘fever’ that I don’t want to be cured!

***

~ MALAYSIA THROUGH MY LENS ~

Besides the Firefly Fever, Firefly is also giving away gifts to be won in celebration of Merdeka Day!

Firefly’s Blog is organizing the “Malaysia Through My Lens” Contest.

It’s so easy! Just snap a photo (e.g. items, products or scene) and write a summary of why you think that photo represents Malaysia to you (less than 100 words).

The best 4 chosen (best photo and explanation) will stand a chance to win tickets to Firefly International destinations! (Singapore, Medan, Pekanbaru, Phuket) So, give your best ‘shot’ and show them your patriotism this Merdeka!

Send your entry to travel@fireflyz.com.my before August 31st 2009! Terms and conditions can be read here.

Be creative and think ‘outside-the-box’ to get your best shot. Any photo that represent “Malaysia”. I’ve just spent the last 2 hours going through my photo collection to see something that I can use.

Traditional dance to mark 1Malaysia spirit?

Good old Dataran Merdeka Flag?

Malaysian food?

Malaysian unique flavor of ‘Petai’?

Malaysian great scenery?

Malaysian beautiful beaches?

Malaysian Best* Airline?

Or a good-looking Malaysian with a Jalur Gemilang?

I’ll probably spend the whole weekend going around with my camera hunting for a great Merdeka shot for this contest. I urge all my friends and guests of AzuanZahdi.com to participate in this contest. It is FREE and all you have to do is just send your best “Malaysia” photo. Even if you do not win, trust me you’ll love Malaysia even more!

Let us together celebrate the 52nd year of peace and harmony together on this auspicious day. Happy 52nd birthday Malaysia~!

…nobody.

Well, regrettably, there was no winner for our Miss Chinese Cosmos Pageant 2009 contest as the rule of the game was for you to correctly vote for all 3 winners. Surprisingly, none of you got it right and we have to be fair to everybody.

However, we have planned to forward the prizes to another contest! So, stay tuned!