I Finally Own AirAsia!

Yes!! I now own AirAsia!!

No, not the airline company.

But their A320 Airbus!

The toy version, that is. Haha!!



No, I did not buy this plane on board the AirAsia flight.

By the way, I have never bought any souvenirs or gift items from AirAsia before. Have you?

Besides, this toy plane of mine is much more solid and heavier than the ones sold by AirAsia.



I bought it all the way from Bangkok! Yes, in one of those souvenir outlets in MBK Shopping Mall.

My purchase was actually inspired by what I saw at KLIA before my flight to Bangkok.



A display of some of the planes from various international airlines.

This is the Boeing 747-400 from our very own MAS (Malaysia Airlines).



And this is Airbus A380 from China Southern Airlines.



Vietnam Airlines has its Boeing 767-300 displayed here too.



Qatar Airways' plane is also on display though I am not sure which model is this plane. I am not really well versed in planes. Do you think it is a Boeing or an Airbus?



Etihad Airways from United Arab Emirates has its Airbus 332 here as well.



And of course, our very own budget airline AirAsia with its Airbus A320.



There were many smaller models displayed in glass cabinets.



So why did I choose to buy this AirAsia plane when the shop in Bangkok also sells other planes from other airlines?



I had almost wanted to buy the Thai Airways plane since I traveled with this airline for my trip to Bangkok, but decided against it.

I could have bought the MAS plane too but somehow, I ended up buying AirAsia.

Maybe because I have been traveling mostly with AirAsia and it had indeed made air travel more affordable for everyone!

FIRST COMMENTER

On Gifts, Pressies, Postcard And Souvenirs

Do you know that being a blogger has its perks? One of them is receiving gifts, presents, prizes and souvenirs from fellow bloggers! And that's exactly what I got for the past few months!

First, there was that nice little postcard from Ayie in the USA.



It's a greeting from her baby Jariel at 3 and a half months! Look how cute he is!! Oh no!! He called me Uncle!! That sounds so old!! Call me Brother next time, yes? Haha! Thanks Ayie for this wonderful souvenir! Please send me another one soon : )

Next, my good blogger friend Merryn gave me this wonderful gift in conjunction with Mooncake Festival last month.



It was a panda lantern made from ice cream sticks! How creative! Look! There's even a candle inside!



Thanks Merryn for this nice panda lantern. I love it! By the way, for those of you who are interested in all these arty hand crafts, do check out her Crafty Crafted site!

Last month, I also met up with blogger SK who is now well known for spamming comments on my blog and a number of other blogs too. Well, keep them coming SK - I love your spams! LOL!

The reason I met up with SK was to pass him his prize which he won from a contest in my blog and also to collect my prize which I won from his blog! Imagine that! Haha!

What did I win? A second-hand book called "The Lovely Bones" by Alice Sebold.



OK, if you want to read what he wrote in that postcard, let me magnify it for you. Guess what? He addressed me as Panda Foong - that's nice! Haha!



Excuse me, SK but I did not win this book by accident! I won it by sheer hard work and sweat! I won it because I left the most number of comments on your blog post and you can't blame me if nobody was as hard working as me! Perhaps the second-hand book was not enticing enough for them. Next time, offer a brand new, expensive book as prize! Haha!!

Anyway, thanks SK for this prize! : )

I have been visiting Lina's blog for quite some time and the amazing thing about her is she goes to Japan for holidays every year! No kidding! Recently, she came back from her Japan holidays and surprised me with a nice souvenir!



Ooh! What a cute letter! I love it! And what is that badge I see? Let me magnify it for you.



It's Mickey Mouse! Cool! Thanks for this wonderful souvenir, Lina!

While Lina went to Japan, another good blogger friend of mine went to London for her holidays. Wow! I have so many rich blogger friends! And I can only afford to go China, Bali and Cambodia. *sob*

Anyway, this blogger friend is none other than Mariuca! She had a contest in her blog asking her readers where she went for her holidays and I was among the first three who guessed correctly! Yay!!

And so this was what I won.



The packaging was so nice I was a little reluctant to open it. But opened it I did!



Now ain't that cute! A nice souvenir all the way from England! Although I would have preferred a panda bear, but how would you find a panda bear in England right? Haha!

This bear is so adorable, don't you think? Love it!!



Thanks for the pressie, Mariuca! Now when is the next contest on your blog? Haha!

I am so grateful to have so many nice blogger friends! And I look forward to receive many more gifts, pressies, postcards and souvenirs in future! Thank you my dear friends!

FIRST COMMENTER

My Linga Yoni Sandstone From Cambodia

This is one of the more interesting things I bought during my trip to Cambodia.

Can you guess what it is?



Don't know? How about if I take the view from the top?



Clearer now? Or still don't know? OK, let me give you an even clearer picture.



Now you got it? Yes, it's the linga-yoni symbol which I found in many places in Cambodia, even in the ruins of Angkor Thom.



The linga is shaped like the male sexual organ while the yoni is the female genitalia. However, before you start thinking dirty thoughts, this object is actually considered sacred by the Hindus.

I shall not attempt to explain more as I am still new to this and I think the more I talk about it, the more wrong things I will end up saying. And the more corrupted your mind might become, if it is not already. Haha! So google it for more information or if you like, read more about linga HERE and yoni HERE.



The above photo showed linga separated from yoni.

I bought this linga-yoni sandstone (measuring about 3.5" in length and width and 5.5" in height) from the famous Artisans d'Angkor shop in Cambodia. Priced at USD29, you now know why I cannot give this away as souvenir or even as a prize in my blog's recent contest. I am not that rich OK?

It's currently displayed in my home together with other fine things.

I knew I was in trouble the other day when my mom asked me what exactly is this object. I just blurted out, "Oh, it's some kind of artistic sculpture from Cambodia."

Which is kind of true, don't you think? : )

FIRST COMMENTER

Souvenirs From Bali

I did some shopping in Bali and it was fun! There were rows and rows of shops selling all kinds of souvenirs in Seminyak where I stayed and also in Ubud.

The road along Kuta Beach was also a shoppers' paradise and I spent quite some time there. I bought myself some nice T shirts and cushion covers at this tourist spot.

I have already announced the three winners of my Top 3 Commenters Contest in my previous post. Here they are again....(drum roll).....

No.1 Commenter : SK

No.2 Commenter : Jam

No.3 Commenter : Tekkaus

Congratulations to all three!

SK, you really went all out with a total of 70 comments! Wow! So you deserve to win 1st prize! As a 1st prize winner, you get to be the first person to choose which souvenir you want among all the souvenirs below.

Jam, it's good to know that you finally win a prize from me! And you know, I am so excited to join you for our Cambodian trip this July! Looking forward to that!! As 2nd prize winner with a total of 20 comments, you get to choose your souvenir after SK chose his.

Tekkaus, I still remember you won that mini mahjong tiles from my Guilin trip last year. Good to know you are winning again this time with 13 comments. Choose your souvenir after Jam chose his.

And here are the souvenirs from Bali....

#1


Fridge magnets (choose one). Bought these from a nice souvenir shop along the touristy Kuta Beach road.

#2


Bali soap with oil. (Sorry Lemongrass soap + Jasmin oil taken. Only Sandalwood soap + Frangipani oil or Frangipani soap + Frangipani oil available). Bought these from a shop along Monkey Forest Road in Ubud.

#3


Elephant sandstone card holder. I am showing this in four different angles. Haha! Bought this cute card holder from the same shop I bought the fridge magnets above.

#4


I call this kamasutra statue! LOL! It's about 2 inches long and 4 inches tall. I am showing it from 3 different angles. Only thing is I am not sure if the two lovers here are of the opposite sexes or the same sex. What do you think?

I bought this special statue from a shop along Monkey Forest Road in Ubud. I actually asked the shop owner if these are 2 gay lovers and he said he had no idea! Haha! Oh well, I just thought it looked quite artistic.

#5


Maldives plate hand made from shell. Make nice decoration in your home. It's about 9 inches long and 5.5 inches wide. Bought it at Kumbasari market in Denpasar. I asked the seller to choose 2 good ones from the hundreds that were being sold there!

The photo below shows the bottom part of the plate.



I think my photo did not do this plate justice. It definitely looks more beautiful than what my photo shows!

#6


Also from the Kumbasari market, I found these cute natural jasmine soaps with wooden toy cats. (Choose the red or the yellow cat)

#7


Cinnamon Bali soap with a couple of cute wooden cats. If you fancy cats and the smell of cinnamon, you will like this gift! I bought this at the same shop I bought the Bali soaps above.

#8


Mini bell made from clay. Bought this from the same shop I bought the fridge magnets.

#9


Cute piggy bank from a shop in Seminyak. Showing it from different angles. It is about 8 inches long, 5 inches wide and 6 inches tall. There is a slot at the top for you to put in your coins or money and you can open the mouth/nose to take out your savings! LOL!



I just had to show more photos of this cute little pig! Haha!

#10


More soaps from a shop in Kuta Beach. Choose between Frangipani + Bengkuang flavour and Avocado + Ylang Ylang. The shop owner told me these are high quality soaps but I cannot guarantee that! Haha!

#11


Bali cap from a shop in Seminyak. However, sorry to say someone had taken this cap so it's no longer available!

#12


Bali is full of shops selling arts and sculptures. I saw this nice kamasutra art (love the colour!) that looks like that kamasutra statue above in one of the shops along Kuta Beach. It is a high quality 10 x 12 inches oil painting which you can frame and hang on the wall of your house.

#13


If you prefer a more 'heterosexual' painting with blue background, then choose this one : )

To all the 3 winners, please choose your souvenirs, leave a comment here and email me your address so that I can mail these souvenirs to you!

Coming up next : What I Ate In Bali

Random Notes 5

1. Last year, I received a nice souvenir from blogger Wenn. It was a souvenir from her Hong Kong trip.

This is the card I received.



When I opened up the card, I saw my this! Aren't they cute! Thanks Wenn for this wonderful souvenir!



2. I am an extremely loyal Shell petrol user. If my car is in danger of running out of petrol, I would not simply drive to any nearest petrol station unless it is a Shell station. Maybe I'm influenced with Shell's branding? You know, Shell = Ferrari? Haha!

Recently, a friend told me that his favourite petrol is Mobil. I was like, what?! His least favourite is Shell! Reason? He found that Shell petrol does not last as long as Mobil.

Now I wonder if that's really true because so far, I have not tried any other brands other than Shell. Should I start switching brand?

3. The other day I went to Suria KLCC and took this photo of the Twin Towers.



I don't know about you, but am I glad Dr M went ahead with the building of this Twin Towers. Perhaps if Dr M is still the Prime Minister of Malaysia, we would have our very own rotating tower as well! Now that would be cool!

Although Burj Dubai is now the tallest building in the world, I still prefer our very own Petronas Twin Towers. What about you?

4. Have you tried PappaRich's soya milk cendol with gula melaka? It's so yummy!! I just hope they don't raise the price with increase in the price of sugar! Actually it'll be quite ridiculous to raise the price of the drinks. Sugar price had increased by 20 sen per kg. Don't tell me they are going to increase the price by 20 sen per glass!



And have you tried PappaRich's bread with butter and kaya? They are really generous with the butter and kaya unlike OldTown! Yummy!!



5. Do you believe in feng shui? If you have read about The Secret by Rhonda Byrne, and you believe in that, then you believe in feng shui. You may not be aware, but both The Secret and feng shui talk about invisible energy that flows around us.



Although modern science is still in the dark over this invisible energy, the Secret and feng shui have already been proven to work for countless of people all over the world.

I believe in feng shui because I have already seen its effects many times. And the beautiful thing is feng shui is constantly working in your life whether or not you believe in it!

The question now is no longer a matter of beliefs, but are you doing something about it?

6. I always like to read inspiring and meaningful quotes from famous authors and people. I have a collection of some of my favourite quotes on Twitter. Check some of them out here. Hope they will help motivate you and perk up your day! Happy weekend, everyone! Don't you just love weekends? : )

FIRST COMMENTER