Visit Penang instead

What with the worry of swine flu and the possibility of it ruining your holiday plan, if you are in need of a holiday for you and your family, why not visit Penang instead?

The island of Penang has everything that makes up a great holiday. There is the sun and the sea, the beach and the shopping, great hotels, incredible food choices, lots of local attractions and more. On top of that, the Penang State Tourism Development Board has in place some interesting events lined up for the month of May and rest of the year.

There is the Visual Arts Exhibition and the French Art Festival a Jazz concert, Penang Bridge Marathon Photo Exhibition, French Film Festival and Penang Floral Festival 2009.

For sports, there is the Cendana Hikathon, Bukit Jambul Hiking Competition and Penang International Dragon Boat Festival 2009.

Here, check out the Events Calendar for May as well as for the rest of the year.

Clubbing in Kuala Lumpur

If you are one who enjoys clubbing, you will be pleased to find that Kuala Lumpur offers much to clubbing enthusiasts.

We have:

Bandar Sunway
MINISTRY OF SOUND - EUPHORIA
Sunway Lagoon Resort Hotel, Bandar Sunway

BARCELONA SUNWAY
Oasis Boulevard 3, 3 Jalan PJS 11/15, Sunway Pyramid, Bandar Sunway, PJ

REPUBLIC BAR
Sunway Pyramid Ground Floor (orange entrance)

HELO BALI
Sunway Pyramid (Main Entrance 2), Bandar Sunway

Petaling Jaya
MARDI GRAS
Lakeside Promenade, 1-Utama Shopping Complex,

LAUNDRY BAR
Curve, Mutiara Damansara, PJ

TITANIUM BAR & DANCE CLUB
MXM Tower @ Phileo Damansara II,


For details on entrance fees and special events, check out The Star's Voyage into a different realm

AirAsia flies to Taiwan from July 1

Those who fly to Taiwan on a regular basis would be happy to note that AirAsia will by flying direct to Taipei five times a week starting July 1.

The new route will be operated by its low-cost long-haul-carrier affiliate AirAsia X.

Attractive fares are being offered from as low as RM101 one-way and booking is available through the website at www.airasia.com.

Booking period is from today, April 24, up to May 3 for travel between July 1 and Jan 31 next year.

AirAsia X - daily direct flights to London Stansted

With AirAsia X flying daily to London Stansted come July 1, Kuala Lumpur has become a regional hub connecting three continents. Australians can now fly into Kuala Lumpur and onward to London. Right now, AirAsia X has flights to London Stansted five times a week.

From yesterday to tomorrow, one-way fare is being offered for as low as RM499 at www.airasia.com. Travel period is for between July 3 to Jan 31 next year.

From Kuala Lumpur, there is a choice of over 122 AirAsia routes.

Source: The Star..Daily flights between KL-Stansted from July

SMART tunnel to be closed on Wed

If you are using the SMART in your daily commute, you may want to take note this announcement on its temporary closure for testing of its tunnel systems this Wednesday from 11pm to 6am Thursday.


News from The Star:

The Stormwater Management and Road Tunnel (SMART) here will be closed to traffic from 11pm on Wednesday to 6am Thursday to facilitate the monthly testing of the tunnel systems.

Road users can contact the SMART helpline at 1300887188 for enquiries on the closure, Syarikat Mengurus Air Banjir & Terowong Sdn Bhd said in a statement Monday. -- Bernama

Direct Flights from Singapore to Sabah

From June, budget air carrier, AirAsia, and other airlines can begin operating direct flights between Singapore and the east coast Sabah towns of Sandakan and Tawau according to Malaysia's Transport Minister, Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat.

The direct flights from Singapore are certain to boost the economy of these two towns of Sandakan and Tawau, particularly the tourism sector as the two towns are the gateways to Sabah's wildlife and diving havens.

The respective airlines are in the process of determining the frequency of flights they intend to mount between Singapore and the two towns.

Currently AirAsia operates direct flights between Singapore and Kota Kinabalu, Miri and Kuching.


Related articles:
RM1 for an Air Asia Ticket
Direct Flights to Langkawi from Singapore
MAS, Awarded World's Best Cabin Staff for 2009
Tune Hotel opens in Penang
Hotels in Penang - Make it a Beach holiday
Pick A Seat on AirAsia

Pick A Seat on AirAsia

AirAsia has made further improvements to their brand. Travellers now no longer need to rush for seats as you can now pick a seat of your choice on an AirAsia flight.

This is a positive change as this system would ease the tension during boarding and makes boarding a more systematic and pleasant experience.

Pick A Seat provides a choice of two categories of seats, a standard seat and a hot seat. A standard seat comes priced around a fifth the rate of a hot seat.


Related articles:
RM1 for an Air Asia Ticket
Direct Flights to Langkawi from Singapore
MAS, Awarded World's Best Cabin Staff for 2009
Tune Hotel opens in Penang
Hotels in Penang - Make it a Beach holiday

Direct Flights to Langkawi from Singapore

There is good news for visitors to Langkawi as soon, there will be direct flights between the island of Langkawi to Singapore.

The Star reported that the Government has approved direct flights between Langkawi and Singapore which will take off soon. This move would boost tourism for Langkawi as well as boost the economy of the island.

AirAsia will assess the situation and decide on the number and frequency of flights between the two destinations. Stay tuned.


Related articles:
Pick A Seat on AirAsia
AirAsia Named World's Best Low Cost Carrier
MAS, Awarded World's Best Cabin Staff for 2009
Tune Hotel opens in Penang
RM1 for an Air Asia Ticket
Hotels in Penang - Make it a Beach holiday

AirAsia Named World's Best Low Cost Carrier

AirAsia, Malaysia's budget or low cost carrier has made it possible for a lot of people to go travelling or return home to their families on a more frequent basis. With tickets as low as RM1, air travel has become affordable encouraging more travel both locally and overseas.

Those who have flown on AirAsia flights would have noted that flying budget is as good if not better than flying on full-service airlines. It is therefore not surprising that AirAsia has been named the World's Best Low Cost Carrier by Skytrax, a Britain-based consultancy that rates commercial airlines.

AirAsia received the award from Skytrax in a ceremony held at the Aircraft Interiors Expo 2009 in Hamburg, Germany. The award was determined from results of the annual World Airline Survey of which airline products and service standards were evaluated.

AirAsia group chief executive officer Datuk Seri Tony Fernandes attributed the airline's good standing to their amazing cabin crew, professional pilots and guest serving staff on the ground.

“We are also good in many ways including on-time schedule, web check-in, airbus and food. Our assigned seating system has pleased many passengers and our call centre has high performance in serving them,” he said.

AirAsia’s ultimate aim is to be the best airline in the world.

Syabas! AirAsia.

Source: The Star..AirAsia named world’s best low-cost carrier by Skytrax


Related articles:
Pick A Seat on AirAsia
Direct Flights to Langkawi from Singapore
MAS, Awarded World's Best Cabin Staff for 2009
Tune Hotel opens in Penang
RM1 for an Air Asia Ticket
Hotels in Penang - Make it a Beach holiday

MAS, Awarded World's Best Cabin Staff for 2009

Well, what do you know.. A small country like Malaysia wins big as MAS, the nation's national carrier, Malaysia Airline System, has been awarded the World's Best Cabin Staff.

The 2009 World Airline Awards is based on the annual World Airline Survey by airline auditor Skytrax; and is recognised across the globe as the leading independent monitor of passenger opinions.

This is the sixth time that MAS has won the renowned award. MAS previously bagged the award from 2001 to 2004 and again in 2007.

Other contenders consist of airlines worldwide, and results from a global online survey determines the winning airline.

Tune Hotel opens in Penang

There is good news for budget travellers to Penang or visitors who would prefer to go budget yet have a comfortable place to stay. AirAsia's Tune Hotel has now opened in Penang starting April 1.













Touted as a “5-star sleeping experience at a 1-star price”, Tune Hotel is located along Burmah Road, downtown Penang, next to New World Park and within 5 mins drive to Komtar and all the heritage sites in George Town.

It has 258 clean and secure rooms with 5-star beds and private showers and are available from as low as RM8.00/night* for stays 12 April – 31 October 2009 and from as low as RM0.05/night* (yes – 5 sen!) for stays between 1 November 2009 – 31 January 2010.

The earlier you book, the less you pay, so book early. Bookings can be made online for best rates now at www.tunehotels.com or call 03-7962 5888 (Mon-Fri 9:00am-9:00pm, excluding Public Holidays).












Penang has a host of many hotels for your accommodation needs.



Source: The VisitPenang website

Power Handover - Prime Minister of Malaysia

Malaysia is about to get a new Prime Minister (right).



Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi arrived at Istana Negara at 9.59am Thursday for an audience with the Yang di-Pertuan Agong Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin and left at 10.57am.

Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak then arrived at the palace at 11.20am to meet the King and left at 12.15pm.


Source: The Star