Tag: fun
Be the first to hit the beach!
by Natalya on Feb.04, 2010, under General
Travelling period : 26 Feb – 7 Apr 2010
Booking period : now to 16 Feb 2010
Booking engine : For booking write in to hotelinfo@fireflyz.com.my
Highlights : Fullboard packages including meal, boat transfer, and snorkeling trips.
Firefly Review–Episode 20: Exploring JB’s Backyard Part 1
by Natalya on Jan.26, 2010, under General, Someone said...
Posted by azuan in :: All Posts ::, Brand Review, Featured Articles, Firefly Airline, Travel on 01 24th, 2010 | 4 responses
As much as I love traveling to other countries, I still very much prefer to travel within Malaysia. In my opinion, Malaysians sometime overlook what we have on our own backyard and too often we make an assumption that we have seen it and done it all!
With the aim to revive the fun experience traveling in Malaysia, I am embarking on a series of local travel this year dubbed as “Azuan Explores the Backyard of Malaysia” series!
Kicking off the series is a 2 days 1 night trip to Johor Bahru (JB). JB may be relatively a small city compared to the busy KL city, but it’s bursting with history, attractions, good food and plenty ways for visitors of any age to get to know its charms and people. Below are just some of the things to do in JB for a travel experience you couldn’t have anywhere else.
After a comfortable 1-hour flight on board Firefly FY2141, I arrived at the Senai Airport, JB ready for my exploratory trip. Firefly has three daily flights to JB from Subang SkyPark.
The best way to explore JB and surrounding areas is to drive on your own, preferably with a local showing the way. Car rentals are available at the airport at an attractive rate. I was lucky enough to be able to convince my wife (who is originally from JB) and her family to be my tour guide in this exploratory trip.
Straight from the airport, we made our way to Desaru Beach, a beautiful tourist attraction located 98km north east of JB. While it may sound a bit far, the journey itself is a nice experience with the option of stopping at another attraction, the Kota Tinggi Waterfalls.
Kota Tinggi Waterfalls is a great place for family picnics! The waterfall, which is 36m high, originates from the top of Mount Panti. Try swimming at the base of the waterfall for a refreshing change from the hot weather. However the Kota Tinggi Waterfall was too crowded on this particular Saturday so I decided to continue my journey to Desaru.
After about a 90-minutes drive, we arrived in the quiet beach town of Desaru. This place used to be a very popular destination for tourists as well as locals. However over the years Desaru loses its charm mainly due to the accessibility factor.
It was just recently that many new developments have taken shape and Desaru is now set to regain its glory!
One of it is this all new refurbished, Lotus Desaru Resort.
An apartment beach resort with very affordable rates!
It was monsoon season so the sea was too rough for sports activities. The beauty about Desaru is that you can enjoy a resort with its own integrated water theme park! It was Saturday afternoon but there were not more than 15 visitors at the park.
I was a 10-year old kid on that day and had a bit too much fun!
We also had fun time having a nice picnic by the beach,
Right after that we were all set to explore the famous Johor Lama Fort and Fireflies.
Johor Lama first arose under the rule of Sultan Alauddin Riayat Shah circa 1540. You will still be able to see remnants of the historical settlement, though not as impressive as it once must have been.
(Photo courtesy of VirtualMalaysia.com)
I was excited to witness a piece of Johor history!
Unfortunately, Mother Nature has a different plan. It rains so heavily that we have to just cancel off the plans and drive back to JB City. A real bummer as Johor Lama and Fireflies were the real reasons I made the trip all the way to Desaru. I will be back definitely!
(Photo courtesy of VirtualMalaysia.com)Luckily when we reached JB City, the rain stopped allowing me for a late-night supper at Dataran Bandaraya Johor Bahru. This place was built on 1 January 1994 following the declaration of Johor Bahru as a city.
Famous for its delicious ‘low-budget steamboat’.
After stuffing out with all the good food, I made my way to enjoy the nightlife in JB. Of course there are plenty cool clubs, karaoke outlets and bars with live bands in JB City but I was too tired for an active night. So I decided to just enjoy a breezy night walk at Danga Bay.
At 12 midnight, the place was very much alive. Aimed to be a “must-visit” site in Johor, Danga Bay is Malaysia’s premier waterfront city and the largest recreational park in the city of Johor Bahru.
International food joints, night bazaar, live bands, fun fair carnival. All here at Danga Bay.
Cruise ship dinner anyone?
Petting Zoo at 12 midnight? Only n Danga Bay!
In for a drink?
A refreshing night walk with nice night view.
I was hoping that luck was on my side when I decided to try these fun fair games.
The only thing I won was a lot of laughter from my wife and passersby. It was fun nevertheless.
By the time I reach my accommodation, it was 2am in the morning. A long and tiring day in JB! It was exciting although not being able to visit Johor Lama ancient sites and Fireflies in Desaru was a big letdown. Day 2 turned out to be a better day with visits to the Royal Museum and more interesting sights and food! Trip report and photos will be in part 2 coming soon!
Thanks Firefly Airlines for making this trip to Johor Bahru possible. Visit Firefly Airlines at http://www.fireflyz.com.my
Firefly Review – Episode 13: FY2168 Subang to Alor Setar
by Natalya on Oct.28, 2009, under Someone said...
This week, join me in experiencing the touch of Firefly Airlines onboard FY2168 from Subang to Alor Setar. As requested by many of my blog readers, this episode will feature an honest and complete ‘departure to arrival’ review from a passenger’s point of view.
Joining me in this flight was my 3 years old nephew, my mum and my granduncle and grandaunt. Read on to find out how well the community airline handles children and senior citizen passengers.
Arriving at SkyPark, I was able to drop off everyone right in front of the entrance at the check-in counters. Well done SkyPark for the passenger friendly design!
Check in was fast as dedicated counters are provided for each flights departing that morning. Manning the counter to Alor Setar was Mr. Samuel. He was friendly and very kind to grant my request to place the senior citizens at the back of the plane.
My cute nephew, Edy (not to be confused with the other Eddy working with FY) enjoying the view of Firefly planes on the tarmac.
Like me, Edy is a frequent flyer. He flies once every two weeks on Firefly to Alor Setar with my mum to visit my elderly Grandfather.
FY2168, ready for boarding at Gate 5. Priority boarding was given to those traveling with senior citizens and children.
We flew on 9M-FYE.
Boarding through the back of the plane.
Welcoming the passengers were Flight Stewardess Suzarenne and Fligh Stewardess Najiah. Almost all the seats were occupied.
I was seated at Seat 18D and Edy was seated next to me at 18F.
Edy will help me to demonstrate things to do on a Firefly flight.
1st up, always familiarize yourself with the safety procedures even if you’re a frequent traveler.
Edy also never miss to pray for a smooth and safe flight every time he flies.
At 10:10am, the aircraft was pushbacked and the flight begins.
Edy checking his seatbelt to ensure it’s securely fastened.
The 1st thing to do right after take off is to enjoy the view.
As we settled down at our cruise altitude, the gorgeous FSS Najiah famous for being on FY print ads and billboards, started to serve light refreshments.
As always, mango/orange juice and muffin.
Edy being shy while getting his muffin from FSS Najiah
Thumbs Up!
Muffin done, time for orange juice.
After one muffin and 1 cup of juice, he was still hungry and put up a cute face to ask for more muffins!
I cannot resist his cute face and immediately gave up my muffin.
After the light refreshment, Edy went on the aisle and became a flight attendant serving his Grandma.
Then he went back to his seat and start flipping through the reading materials provided at the seat pocket.
As we begin our descent, the clouds started to appear and it became a bit bumpy. Edy was really enjoying the turbulence and pretended to be the pilot flying the plane.
As the cabin being prepared for landing, Edy decided to digest all the muffins by taking a short nap.
Alor Setar city in sight.
We landed smoothly a few minutes earlier than our scheduled time of arrival.
Sultan Abdul Halim Airport
Edy seen here leading everyone into the terminal.
Waiting for the bags
All luggage were handled with care and delivered within 5 minutes including the Zam Zam water.
It was a typical ‘beyond expectations’ flight experience. The feedback that I got from my granduncle is that they are happy with the fact that they done need to climb many steps to get in and out of the plane. They were also impressed with the hospitality shown by FSS Najiah and FSS Suzarenne who made sure that they were comfortably seated throughout the flight.
As for Edy, he enjoyed the experience and seeing his impressions do remind me of myself when I was a little boy. Who knows one day he’ll fulfill my dream of flying high as a pilot!
In a nutshell, the FY2168 flight that we took that day simply illustrates the quality of a Firefly flight. Whoever you are, young or old, the community airline is ready to serve you making flying more affordable and definitely more fun!