Upcoming Penang events for the coming week or so

For the following week or so there are quite a few events lined up. I would like to draw your attention to this event next week:

Young People's Showcase Exhibition

Young Designer’s Arts Camp

By Anak Anak Kota , ARTS-ED

When: 20 Nov 2008 (Thursday), 1 -3pm

Venue: Youth Center, Acheh Street

Featuring children and youth work process and creative products
with heritage theme from 4 workshops

1) Silkscreen Printing

2) Handmade Rubberstamp

3) Heritage Conservation Board Game

4) Traditional Costume Plaque


Any inquiries please call fidel at 012- 4565867

Arts_ed_penang@yahoo.com

So, remember to keep the date in mind and check out the event if you have the time. Otherwise, here are some other events over the weekend:

Blood donation campaign

by

Amata Free Medical and Diabetic Centre

Venue: Mahindarama Buddhist Temple

When: Sunday, 9.30am to 12.30pm.

Tel: 04-2825944

Diabetes in Children and Adolescents Talk

Venue: LohGuanLye Specialists Centre, Penang

When: Saturday, 2pm to 4pm

Admission is free.

Tel: 04-238 8888 ext 8087/8088

Enzyme water workshop

by

Friends of Penang Botanic Garden Society

Venue: Botanika Outreach, 673-A, Jalan Kebun Bunga

When: Sat, 9.30am to 11.30am

Fees: RM3 for member and RM5 for non-member.

Tel: 04-2279915

On another note, I wonder what's wrong with some people who could be so blind to the faults of others due to absolute devotion and hero-worshiping? It really boggles my mind over how naive and gullible some people are over the promises made by people they DO NOT EVEN KNOW personally.

All they know is through the newspapers and at some public functions where they may have heard them talk. And they presume they KNOW everything about their 'heroes' and anyone else who dared criticise their so-called 'heroes' must either be supporters of other groups.

Well, let me state clearly here again. This blog nor any of my other blogs nor me in particular DOES NOT have any ties or affiliations to any political parties, good or bad. I blog what I see and what I know. I can criticise whomever I want BECAUSE IT IS MY BLARDY BLOG.

I don't blardy care what you think about what I blog here.

Don't like it, then, blardy eff off and go set up your own blog to rant all you want.

I may have a lot of friends in the political field but this does not mean I have to support and trust whatever they say blindly and without using my brains to think about what their actions mean. And yes, politicians ARE humans too. They make mistakes and and yes, they too HAVE weaknesses. The sooner the public sees this, the better. No human is perfect and much more, no single politician should be SO perfect that he is above reproach.

Deepavali at Little Penang Street Market

The monthly Little Penang Street Market is this weekend and in conjunction with the Festival of Lights coming up this Monday, it is themed 'Deepavali' naturally.

So, there's going to be some Deepavali cultural shows from a talk on the origins of the festival to some performances.

The Little Penang Street Market is a pretty cool bazaar full of artsy stuff and handicrafts. If you are looking for some great souvenirs, gifts, decorative items or pretty knick knacks, it's one of the best places you can check out.

However, prices are fixed so there's no bargaining here. Some of the prices here are pretty steep too but there are quite a few charity stalls so I usually buy from these knowing that the money goes to charity.

Now that they have a food section there too so you can even eat lunch there. Worth checking it out.

Where: Upper Penang Road

When: Sunday, 11am - 6pm (Every last Sunday of the month)

What: Handicrafts, art works, food, cultural events

Penangites beware of possible floods

Looks like we have wet, wet days ahead of us.

According to the meteorological department, we should expect more rain for the next week or so. Rain and thunderstorms are expected in the evenings so, be prepared.

And that's not the worse of it. Kuala Muda Dam is releasing its water periodically so the rivers on the mainland are swollen and threaten to flood nearby villages with very little rainfall.

Also, due to the wet weather in recent days, the lands in Penang are already highly saturated so it can no longer absorb water.

This means, whenever it rains, the water will flow on the surface and not be absorbed into the ground. Yes, that means, floods!

For those of you staying in the lowlands, well, remember to be on the alert and get your belongings up on high ground. Of course there is a possibility that it may not happen at all but we never know, right?

Do remember, the Air Itam Dam is also filled to capacity so even if they don't release water, there is bound to be an overflow due to this system they have had for decades (or else the dam might burst which will be worse, right?).

So, bring around an umbrella with you okay? Oh, yeah. Go buy a boat too if you stay in easily flooded areas. It would be a better mode of transport.

Here are some events and activities happening in Penang

If you are into some art and looking at paintings is your thing, do check out:

Darussalam Spaces 2008 Art Exhibition

@ The Penang Art Gallery, Dewan Sri Pinang

When: now till Oct 31

What: 60 paintings by Brunei artists

Contact: 04-2613144


Reflex exhibition

@ Muzium & Galeri Tuanku Fauziah, USM

When: Oct 18 till Nov 8, 9am - 5pm.


Not your thing? What about food? Why not enjoy some by the chefs on Sunday (oct19):

5th International Chef Day

@ Penang Municipal Park

When: Sunday, Oct 19, 9am - 3pm.

Contact: 04-2268659

Here are some other activities you may be interested in:

Pesta Cahaya Deepavali

@ The Summit BM Plaza

When: Sunday (Oct 19), 5pm - 8pm



Alzheirmer Disease Caregivers Forum

@ Penang Caring Society Complex

When: Sunday (Oct 19), 3pm - 5pm

Contact: 04-6565291

A night of beer and oompah-pah, it's Octoberfest!

Wilkomen! (That's welcome in German)

It is the time of the month again for a spot of alcoholic indulgence, great German food and German music!

Yep, it is time for Octoberfest and it is happening this weekend, Saturday to be exact, and it is bound to be great fun!

Catch this band:


Over at this year's Octoberfest and enjoy some original German music!

Now, here are the details:

Where: Malaysian-German Society and here's the map to its location:



When: Oct 18, Saturday, from 6.45pm onwards

What: German food, beer, contests, dancing, music, prizes, great fun!

How: Entrance is by donation of RM10 per person (members) & RM20 p.p. (non-members) for those who pay before that day and RM15 p.p. (members) & RM25 p.p (non-members) for those who pay at the entrance on that day.

Contact: 04- 2296853 / office@mgs-penang.com / website: www.mgs-penang.com

Tomorrow is the Nine Emperor Gods Festival

After a whole nine days of going on full strict vegetarian, devotees will see the culmination of the Nine Emperor Gods Festival tomorrow on Tuesday.

This festival which is held from the first day of the ninth lunar month until the ninth day of the ninth lunar month annually is in honour of the Nine Brother deities.

There are different versions to the origins of this festival and one of the more popular ones is that these nine brothers were like Robin Hoods who robbed the rich to help the poor. At least, that's what I heard.

It is believed that they will only get to come back to Earth for nine days each year and being strict vegetarians, those who pray to them will need to be on full vegetarian diets for the nine days. It seemed that devotees will receive more blessings if they go on the strict vegetarian diet. The vegetarian diet is so strict that all utensils used to cook the food must not have touched meat before and no garlic and onions are allowed to be used too. Even the forks and spoons and plates must be new or have not been used to serve meat before.


Also, devotees must wear light coloured clothing when going to the temples to offer their prayers during this period. Women who are menstruating are not allowed to enter the temples.

Whatever the believes, one thing is for sure. It will usually rain a lot during this period. As can be seen, the first day itself there was a heavy downpour causing flash floods in the state.

So, as is 'tradition' it will definitely rain during the street parade of the festival tomorrow (Oct 7) evening. It won't necessarily be heavy rain but will probably be some light drizzle around 7pm or 8pm.

So, if you are interested to check out the street parade which will promise quite a good show with some people going into trance (yes, and with piercing of the cheeks, tongue, whateva), do head on over to:

Junction of Hong Kong Street and Carnavon Street from 7pm onwards

Normally, the parade is to 'send off' the brothers back at the end of the festival. So, the parade will start off at Hong Kong Street and may pass through Burmah Road and then head to Gurney Drive to send the brothers off in a boat out to sea.

Sorry

Sorry for the long silence here... I've been so overwhelmed with recent events that I do not even know what I could or could not post here anymore.

At the risk of showing the idiots that I am frightened by the scare tactics, I've been careful in some of my blog postings but sometimes it is not so easy to control one's urge to just rant, rant and rant! I had a few parodies in mind but somehow didn't get around to typing it all down and it all got lost along the way....

In my quest to make money blogging and make money online, I've been experimenting with some new stuffs and reading up more things that I could do other than blogging. Much as I love to blog here and in all my other blogs, I always felt that there must be something more than this....surely, there are other ways to earn money online, right?

Yep, there are quite a lot of ways and I am slowly exploring some which I find interesting, though a bit time consuming. So, sorry first if I somehow neglect this blog and my other Penang Views and News blog a bit.

However, I am still updating my personal blog on a daily basis and my food blog every other day. So, you can also drop by there for any recent updates (not necessarily on Penang stuffs only)...

Anyway, here are some things coming up this weekend...

Help the poor unwanted doggies and kitties in SPCA by attending the

SPCA Charity Food Fair 2008

Where: Sungai Dua Silver Jubilee Hall, Jalan Sungai Dua

When: Sunday, Sept 28, 2008

Time: 10am - 3pm

What: It's a food fair so go and stuff yourself silly while doing charity!

The fair is to collect funds for SPCA to purchase a bigger piece of land so that it could really house all the animals they had saved. They need RM3mil to buy an acre or two of land and build the necessary buildings and kennels and cattery for the animals.


After that, you can also make a beeline to the monthly Little Penang Street Market which is also this Sunday. The bazaar of arts and crafts and food is open from 11am to about 7pm. It is located along the Upper Penang Road stretch.

On Monday, it is the week-long vegetarian fest!

Yep, it's the start of the Nine Emperor Gods Festival come Monday and some of the vegetarian stalls will probably start selling vegetarian food on Sunday evening. The usual spots to look for is along Lorong Madras and all the other vegetarian restaurants all over the island and mainland. If you see makeshift stalls with the yellow flag, it is most probably vegetarian fare for the festival.

The festival is from Sept 29 to Oct 7.

Support the Release the ISA detainees even on Sunday!

I am sure by now everyone knows about RPK, Tan Hoon Cheng (Sin Chew reporter) and Teresa Kok being detained under ISA on Friday night.

Suaram is holding an Anti-ISA night here in Penang. Here are the details:

Event: Anti-ISA Night

Where: Dewan Sri Pinang

When: 9pm, Sept 14, 2008, Sunday

What: Wear black to support the cause

For details, call this number: 012-8756179

Now that PGCC project is dead, what next?

As we all know, Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng has announced that the Penang Global City Centre project is as good as dead since its application was rejected when the developer failed to follow the council's schedule.

So, the question now is what happens to the Penang Turf Club land? What will happen to the land which was converted by the previous government to allow the developer to build residential properties there?
The land was initially slotted for recreational use and has since been converted for residential and commercial development.

So, will the state government be able to convert the land back to open recreational land?

Don't ask me. I wouldn't know but if you want to know, Penang Heritage Trust is organising a forum to talk about the future of the Penang Turf Club land. Here are the details:

Venue: Dewan Sri Pinang

Time: 9am - noon

Date: Sept 14

Merdeka celebrations in Penang

This will be the first year that our new state government celebrates Merdeka in Penang as the state government. If you are wondering what's going on this weekend in line with our 51st Merdeka celebrations, here are the details:

Merdeka Countdown 2008

@ Komtar

On Merdeka eve (duh!)

9pm onwards

To include



@ Auto-City Juru

Time: 6pm onwards

Events to include live concerts and also fireworks


Unless you really have nothing better to do on a Saturday night, I'd advise that you try not to go in too many cars to Komtar. It's gonna be jammed worse than a can of tunas. Best to carpool or better still, stay home. Heh.

If it's fireworks, you wanna see, can go where you can see Komtar to watch it as I heard that the fireworks will be released from the top of Komtar for all to see.

Now, for Merdeka Day:


National Day Parade

@ Queensbay Mall

Time: 8am onwards

Events: Parade and cultural shows

Now, go enjoy Merdeka!

Breastfeeding versus formula milk

When I was pregnant with my firstborn, I made a lot of research into breastfeeding and the benefits of breast milk. I have long made up my mind that I will give my child breast milk and nothing else until he starts on solids at six months old.

However, the journey to breastfeeding is not easy. It is filled with obstacles and a lot of negativity from people who do not understand my conviction that breast milk the best for baby. They have been bought over by all those advertisements on milk powder boasting of this nutrient or that nutrient.

What most people do not know is that breast milk is nature's complete and perfect food for baby. It is the benchmark used by milk powder companies. Why else the claims 'As good as breast milk' or 'As nutritious as breast milk' or even 'almost like breast milk'? If infant formula are really so good why does it even need to promote itself as almost on par with breast milk?

Well, August is just a few days away and the first week is World Breastfeeding Week, thus this post.

To those in Penang, especially new mothers struggling to breastfeed their babies against all negativity and lack of support, there's a Mother Support breastfeeding campaign at the City Bayview Hotel on Aug 2.

For more details of the event, call Deborah at 017-4259378 or Dr Balkees at 012-4551551.

Bored with nothing to do?

Here are some events happening over the weekend for you to spend your time constructively:

For Single Mothers

What : Free handicraft / sewing lessons by the Women's Centre for Change

Where: Surau Al-Islah, near Botanic Gardens

When: Saturday, 10am - 12.30pm (also available on Aug 9 & 16)

Call: 04-2280342.

For Everyone

What : Charity Jumble Sale by Penang YMCA Deaf Club

Where: YMCA Courtyard, 211 Macalister Road

When: Sunday, 10am - 4pm.

Call: Rahela at 04-2298276 / 04-2288211

What: Bon Odori Festival

Where: Esplanade

When: Saturday, 6pm - midnight

What: USM Astronomy Convention & Expo 2008 - “Astronomy and Space - Open Your Heart”

Where: USM’s main examination hall and Padang Kawad

When: Friday to Sunday

Call: Dr Chong Hon Yew at 016-3157318


For mental patients caregivers and family

What: National Family Link education programme by D'Home Mental Health Association

Where: D'Home Premises, 11A-6-5, New Bob Place, Jalan Gottlieb

When: Saturday, 10am - 3pm

Call: 04-2291111

For the artsy people

What: A Poetry Exhibition by Marzuki Ali

Where: The Muzium & Galeri Tuanku Fauziah, USM

When: Now till Sept 15, 9am-6pm. Closed on Mondays and public holidays.

Call: 04-6533888 ext 3261

What: Budding Artists exhibition

Where: @ The Sun at Sun Yat-Sen Centre, 65, Macalister Road

When: Now till July 26

Call: 04-2265181

What: The Sketch Artist solo art exhibition by Ng Bee

Where: Galeri Seni Mutiara, 118, Armenian Street

When: Now till Sunday (July 20), 11am to 6pm.

Call: 04-2620167

Penang Bon Odori Festival

The annual Japanese festival featuring Japanese music and dances, Japanese food and fireworks will be held on July 19.

From my previous years' experience, it was really fun and a really great place to spend a Saturday evening. It is free to enjoy the performances on stage and although the food being sold are quite expensive, there are a lot of varieties and if you love Japanese food, all the more better!

Also, do remember to bring an umbrella and raincoat because it is bound to rain as it did EVERY year. Trust me. And don't wear high heels, unless you want to sink into muddy grounds. Wear something that you can tramp over muddy wet grounds easily.

Here are the details:

What: Bon Odori Festival

Where: Esplanade

When: July 19, Saturday, 6pm - midnight

Fireworks is set to be lighting up the skies at 8pm so go early.

So, enjoy!

Penang Matta Fair this weekend

If you are looking for special travel deals and 'cheap' travel packages, the Penang Matta fair is here this weekend. The details:

What: Penang Matta Travel Fair

Where: Pisa

When: July 4, 5 & 6

Time: July 4 (5pm - 8pm), July 5 & 6 (10am - 8pm)

A note of warning, not all the deals are really great bargains because I have booked a few packages before and later realised that the rates aren't all that cheap compared to other times. AND they offer really crappy deals too. AND they tend to change the dates of travel or even cancel it if they don't get enough people to go on a certain trip.

Better to go to different tour agencies to check their special promotional rates on times when they are having 'sale' or discounts.

Meet with Anwar Ibrahim and Pakatan Rakyat leaders this Sunday

All those of you with DAPitis (or not) and in awe with the Pakatan Rakyat (or not), there's going to be this huge 'Meet the People' session at the Penang city stadium this Sunday (June 15).

Entrance is free due to hard times... (heheheh, couldn't resist adding this line...)

And you will get to listen to the great minds of Pakatan Rakyat...who else...but Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim (or so they said in their banners), Lim Kit Siang, our beloved (or not) chief minister Lim Guan Eng and all of the Penang state government reps.

They will be talking about recent issues especially about the rising costs and the recent petrol price hike. So, expect to get an earful about how the federal government (read: BN government) is wasting millions if not billions on inconsequential stuffs and claiming that they are 'subsidising' us. Or something like that.

I am sure, it will be loads of fun. And extremely crowded. And also jam packed. And parking will be horrendous. And you will be left to the elements too.

So, bring your own umbrellas and refreshments. And try to go early to find good parking spots. Or better still, park somewhere else and carpool. Or if you stay nearby, walk lah. With the expected jam, it is faster to walk.

Here are the details again:

What: Meet the people session with Pakatan Rakyat leaders

Where: Penang City Stadium (Lorong Kulit)

Why: To listen to them talk about current issues or simply because you want to meet them or maybe you just like packed places or you want to hear for yourself and see for yourself what transpired since you can never believe the mainstream media reports later.

When: Sunday, June 15, 8.30pm (but do go early)

Who: Anwar Ibrahim, Lim Kit Siang, Lim Guan Eng, etc...

Where to park: the limited parking lots around the stadium

What to expect: a heavy police presence since they tend to be very 'careful' during such events so if you are planning to sell illegal stuff there, don't. It's not a good time.

Expected crowd: 15,000 (or so they claimed, go and find out yourself)

If nothing to do, you can go gawk at Japanese dolls

I have always had this thing for porcelain dolls...especially the part where it could come alive and start terrorising people ala Chucky style...Damn cool, huh?

Okay, okay, my morbid sense for horror aside, there's this free Japanese doll exhibition at the Sun Gallery at Sun-Yat Sen Centre in Macalister Road. No, no, not the 'live' Japanese doll but the porcelain kind that you can see but can't touch.

For more info on this exhibition, here is the news about it taken from our community rag, The Star. By the way, the exhibition is only until May 31 so hurry if you really need to gawk at Japanese dolls in antique kimonos.

A JAPANESE doll maker is giving porcelain dolls an important role to play.

She is turning them into ambassadors of Japanese culture.

Doll maker and antique kimono collector Hiroko Hirano, 60, has been making the ‘ultimate’ porce-lain dolls and dressing them in priceless kimonos that are almost a century old, and more.

Impressive: Hirano holding a porcelain doll dressed in a kimono.

Breathing new life to the antique pieces, she modifies the kimonos and converts them into doll kimonos.

Commonly used for aesthetic purposes, the dolls dressed in kimonos will dazzle admirers with their beauty and more importantly, restore the people’s interest in Japanese culture and kimonos.

“Antique kimonos were very finely-made. In olden days, kimonos were widely worn so there were many skilled kimono makers in Japan. They have since passed on and such fine kimonos are very hard to come by now.

Hiroko with some more of her dressed up dolls.

“I have been collecting these kimonos for 20 years. They are priceless and I feel it would be a shame to just keep them in storage just because they have some holes and faded colours.

“Even in Japan, not many are interested in the kimono anymore. So I want more people to have the chance to admire the beauty of such rare pieces,” said Hirano, adding that her kimono teacher had discouraged her from taking the ‘treasures’ out of Japan.

Kimonos, she explained, were more than traditional costumes as they also represented the spirit of Japanese women.

Another doll, which was dressed up in a miniature antique kimono.

“We call it Yamato-nadeshiko, which refers to the ideal Japanese woman who is gentle on the outside but strong spirited inside,” she said in an interview at her Jalan Thomas home.

Hirano began doll making from a young age as a hobby but as she became more skilled over the years after taking lessons from professional doll makers and doll artists in Australia, United States and Japan, she was inspired to teach others the wonderful art.

She started teaching doll making in Japan last year.

She has been living in Penang for about 10 months and believing that all good things must be shared, she wants to teach doll making here too.

“I started with clay but it was not so interesting so I moved on to porcelain doll making in 1991 and my interest grew.

“I thought only professionals or specialists could make such dolls. I was surprised that I could also learn the art. Now I want to teach others,” she said.

Those who are curious to learn more about her Hiroko Dolls and antique kimonos, can visit her first solo exhibition in Malaysia at the Sun Gallery at Sun Yat-Sen Centre, Jalan Macalister, Penang, from May 17 to 31.

She will be putting up about 40 porcelain dolls clad from top to bottom in antique kimonos and dolls dressed in Western-style clothing made from old kimono fabrics.

Accessories for the dolls like ‘geta’ (Japanese clogs), ‘kinchaku’ (Japanese handbags to go with summer kimonos or yukata) and ‘hagoita’ (wooden bats for traditional bats) will also be on display.

The exhibition will open from 10.30am to 6pm. Admission is free.

They are doing good work, so do chip in!

I have heard quite a lot about the amazing good volunteer work by the Buddhist Tzu-Chi Merits Society, especially when the tsunami hit our shores years ago. How they personally go out to the ground and hand out aids in terms of food and cash direct to the victims.

And the wonderful thing about this is that all of the volunteers are very polite, kind and very professional in what they do. I have personally seen how they go from house to house in the tsunami aftermath in Tanjung Bungah to check on the victims, get their names and contact and then give them food on the spot. It is something I have never seen before.

So, in the recent disasters in China and Myanmar, Tzu-Chi volunteers have also moved into action and they are (reportedly) one of the only two charitable organisations allowed in to help cyclone victims in Myanmar. I am sure, over there, the volunteers also personally went down to the ground to distribute aids to the victims instead of just dumping the whole shipment of food and supplies on some local organisation or even the authorities there.

I spoke to some of the volunteers there and it seems that it is a Tzu-Chi policy for them to hand out donations in kind or in cash direct to the victims and not through any middlemen. This is to ensure that all donated items do really reach the victims.

Their first batch of volunteers to Myanmar just came back and now they are planning to go over again to provide free medical clinic to the victims there.

So, I am calling all who wish to help, to donate to Tzu-Chi in order to help the cyclone victims in Myanmar. They are also helping victims in China so, if you want to donate to the victims in China, you can too. Here are the details:

Make your cheques payable to:

BUDDHIST TZU-CHI MERITS SOCIETY MALAYSIA
Please write your particulars on reverse-side of your cheque such as: Name, I/C, Address, Tel no.,and Handphone

Please mail to:
316,Jalan Macalister,10450 Penang, Malaysia

To bank in the money:
Payable to: BUDDHIST TZU-CHI MERITS SOCIETY MALAYSIA

Please write your particulars on the bank-in slip such as: Name, I/C, Address, Tel no.,and Handphone and Fax to 604-2261013

Bank Name: Malayan Banking Berhad (Maybank)
Account Number: 507013126489

Bank Name: Public Bank Berhad
Account Number: 3102212517

Alternatively, you can also use online banking to bank in the money to the two bank accounts.

To receive official receipts, please mail them your following information:
- Name
- IC No.
- Postal Address
- Transaction Date
- Donation Amount
- Donation Purpose :International Relief Fund

For more inquiries, please call
604-229 7021 or fax : 604-226 1013
Email: acc@tzuchi.org.my

Website: http://www.daai.com.my

Fly to Perth cheap!

So the airfare war between AirAsia and MAS continues which greatly benefits us, the consumers. Looks like AirAsia, the no-frills, low cost carrier, is flying to Perth! Read on about it at Malaysiakini. I have also place the excerpt here:

AirAsiaX to fly to Perth amid fare wars
May 15, 08 4:19pm

Malaysia's long-haul budget carrier AirAsiaX today announced an expansion of its Australian operations amid fears that a fare battle with the national carrier could lead to its demise.
MCPX

The launch comes as national carrier Malaysia Airlines (MAS) announced that it would give-away airfares to 20 regional destinations a week after AirAsia airline similar offers for domestic flights.

AirAsia's group chief executive Tony Fernandes criticised MAS for copying the budget carrier's everyday low fares policy saying it was unclear how badly AirAsia would be hit by it, the New Straits Times reported.

"The government will never allow MAS to fail but a private company? Who is going to save us," Fernandes told the daily.

"I'm not against competition but it has to be a level-playing field. You can't send me into a boxing match with one hand tied behind my back," he said referring to a subsidy the government provides only to MAS for some of its international flights.

Six flights a week to Perth

AirAsia also wants to be given equal rights to fly the Singapore-Kuala Lumpur air route, one of the region's most lucrative routes.

At present, MAS has 69 flights per week between the two neighbours while AirAsia is only allowed to mount 14 weekly flights.

AirAsiaX, a sister company of budget-carrier AirAsia, will offer six return flights per week between Perth and Kuala Lumpur starting Nov 2, the airline said in a statement.

Perth will be the airline's second destination in Australia after its four-weekly return flight to the Gold Coast which began in November last year.

"Looking at what we've done with these two routes, we are confident of creating a bigger market in Western Australia," Fernandes said.

According to The Star, AirAsiaX will offer 5,000 free seats for the travel period between Nov 2 to April 30 starting midnight today.

The airline said it plans to launch flights to Britain in the fourth quarter of 2008, with London and Manchester being considered. It is also eyeing more destinations in China as it expands its network.

Wow, with AirAsia, it is true that now, anyone can fly!

I am keeping this blog

I have decided to continue maintaining this blog after all!

So, keep a watch out for new blog posts coming soon.

Meanwhile, you can still go on over to my own domains:

Foong Speaks Her Mind

Penang Views and News

The Food Site

for more interesting reading.

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT

Finally, this blog has MOVED!

My new homepage will be Foong Speaks Her Mind and for Penang news, you can go to this site: Penang Views and News.

Due to the new domain and Wordpress platform, I am still trying to figure out most of the Wordpress stuff and etc...So, please be patient if you find the blogs lacking...I am working at making it more presentable!

However, I will be blogging from there starting NOW!

So, go on over to my brand new sites:

Foong Speaks Her Mind

AND

Penang Views and News