Zafigox 2019: For Women by Women

Founded by Datin Paduka Marina Mahathir, ZafigoX, the highly-anticipated two-day annual event was officiated by the Deputy Minister of Women, Family and Community Development, Hannah Yeoh in Sheraton Imperial Kuala Lumpur Hotel.

Brought to you by AirAsia and Zafigo, the third instalment of the women-only travel event returned better and bolder with a diverse group of 26 extraordinary women (and 1 man), travel experts and service providers; as well as exciting opportunities to discover new travel experiences and destinations, participate in workshops and discussions, and learn how to travel smart and savvy.

Songkran Celebration & Media Preview of dimsum

In conjunction with its Songkran campaign this month, video streaming service dimsum hosts a special media preview at STREAT Thai restaurant, Bangsar South. As the video-on-demand service with the largest Thai content offering in Malaysia, dimsum aimed to further promote Thai creativity and culture in Malaysia, as part of its Asian content focus.

The event is honoured by the presence and speech by Minister Counselor Mr. Amnat Phalapleewan from the Royal Thai Embassy. Among the cultural activities arranged for this occasion include dessert making of Khanom Chor Muang (Steamed Flower Dumplings) and Khao Neeo Mamuang (Mango Sticky Rice), traditional costume wearing, and traditional rice craft-making.

5 Instagrammable Cafes in Bangkok Accessible by MRT

I am green with envy that so many of my friends are spending their holidays in Bangkok. While incredibly cooling towards the end of December, Bangkok, Thailand is a great place to visit all year round, made easy with many airlines offering Kuala Lumpur to Bangkok flights daily. Delicious food, exciting shopping hunts (cough pratunam/ chaktuchak ladies cough) and so so many instagrammable cafes popping up all over the city. Exciting times to be travelling indeed.

Asides from all the aforementioned stuff, Bangkok is also known for their mad traffic which is why I have always prefered taking the MRT around. To help ease your transport worries, I am going to share with you five instagrammable cafes within walking distance from a MRT station.

AirAsia BIG Loyalty launches eStore

To many Malaysians, AirAsia is no stranger. But did you know that by setting up an AirAisia account, you can also collect AirAsia BIG points via their loyalty point programme as you purchase flights?

But unless you're a frequent flyer with the airline, point collection can take a while before you can actually redeem something. Enter AirAsia BIG eStore, the latest lifestyle offering from AirAsia’s loyalty programme, where BIG Members can shop online to earn BIG Points faster than they fly.

AirAsia Launches World’s First Freedom Flyer Programme

AirAsia yesterday unveiled the world’s first Freedom Flyer Programme aimed at making it easier, faster and better for loyal guests to earn AirAsia BIG Points. The overhauled loyalty programme, powered by AirAsia BIG Loyalty, is based on a unique membership status system determined by how often guests fly - the more guests fly with AirAsia, the faster they will earn BIG Points, regardless of how much they spend on fares.

 AirAsia BIG Loyalty CEO Dato' Eddy Leong flanked by AirAsia Executive Chairman Datuk Kamarudin Meranun (centre left), AirAsia Group CEO Tan Sri Tony Fernandes (centre right) and cabin crew at the Freedom Flyer Programme launch. 

How it works 

The four-status system starts with Red status for guests who fly 13 or fewer one-way short-haul flights in the preceding 12 months, through to Gold and Platinum, and all the way up to Black for those who fly 50 or more times with AirAsia.

3 Pet Cafes to Visit in Bangkok

They say when in Bangkok, shop. Unless you're a frantic animal lover who constantly needs some furkid therapy to survive the hustle and bustle of the busy city. Well, lucky you because the pet cafe scene is just purrrfect (hah!) in the city and most are easily accessible via BTS. If you're looking for a place to rest your weary feet after a long day of walking or just want to get your furkid fix, here are three animal cafes (in no particular order) which I visited on my recent trip to Bangkok in Dec 2016.

1. Caturday Cat Cafe

Cats cats cats! So many cats in one room just running and snoozing all over the place. I was in search of a place to rest my feet and kill time without spending a bomb and discovered (via Tripadvisor) Caturday Cat Cafe, just a BTS train ride away from Siam. Caturday Cat Cafe was the kind of place that you could visit regardless if you're in a group, a couple or just flying solo like I was that day.

Bangkok 2014 - Street Food Hunting

Besides shopping for clothes and weird snacks, Bangkok is also known for awesome reasonable street food at every nook, canny and corner of its lively city. Once I decided to walk from MBK center to my hotel in Wireless road just so I could see what the streets had to offer. And it was a lot. I ended up eating so much that I was stuffed by the time I reached my hotel. I supposed I did burn off some of the calories I was consuming.

So on my previous trip in Dec 2014, I took to the streets and malls again and went food hunting with a checklist in hand. If you're ever in Bangkok in need of a quick fix of food, here are few quick bites to look out for. 

Bangkok 2014 - Jim Thompson's House

If there was one thing you should not do when visiting the Jim Thompson's house in Bangkok, it would be to say you are Malaysian. Simply because the famous Jim Thompson, the darling of Bangkok went missing in Malaysia's Cameron Highlands over 45 years ago and hasn't been found since.

But the house itself, located in the heart of Bangkok city was an architecture inspiration and well worth a visit at only 100baht (RM10). The entrance fee covers a guided tour of the house by a knowledgeable guide. The tour can also be conducted in various languages to cater to the growing tourist numbers visiting the attraction. While I was there, Koreans and Japaneses seemed to be in abundance.

Bangkok 2014 - SabX2 Braised Pork Rice, Pratunam

There was one place my sister was particularly insistent on eating at and that was Sabx2 Wanton noodles and Braised Pork Rice in Pratunam. Except she didn't know its name. She kept calling it that pork rice place with the awesome pork rice. Luckily she knew the way there. 

When we got there, a queue greeted us. Mind you, the place opens at 9am, we were there at 920am and the place was already jammed packed. Fortunately we only had to wait 5 minutes before the shop auntie attended to us. 

Bangkok 2014 - Victory Monument Boat Noodles

Boat noodles and Bangkok are two things that have always gone hand-in-hand and Victory Monument is the heart of boat noodle feasting in Thailand's capital city with its famous Boat Noodle Alley and one of the most easily accessible by public transportation.

We decided to indulge in our noodle craving on our way to the Husky cafe in the morning and found ourselves spoiled for choice with three different boat noodles shops along the canal at Victory Monument. 

Bangkok 2014 - Khrua Nai Baan restaurant, 94 Soi Langsuan Rd

Khrua Nai Baan restaurant along Langsuan road was my father's favourite dining spot when he was based in Bangkok and I guess that love rubbed off on his daughters as we could not resist visiting Khrua Nai Baan on our recent Dec 2014 trip.

True to its translated name (Home-cooked) Khrua Nai Baan serves up home-cooked Thai dishes with a Chinese flair, giving most of its dishes a familiar flavour with the added Thai kick. The restaurant is located in a house-turned-restaurant and its many rooms upstairs offers privacy for diners. You can also opt to eat on the balcony overlooking the parking area.  

Bangkok 2014 - True Love Husky Cafe

Cat cafes are a dime a dozen in many Asian countries but a dog cafe that specializes in the well-being of huskies are hard to come by. Fortunately Bangkok has one such a husky cafe called True Love cafe, founded and managed by former husky breeders, Neverland Siberians.

True Love cafe was the main reason why I visited Bangkok this time round. There are two or three slots a day at the cafe (except Monday) and reservations are highly recommended. I made my reservations a month prior to the visit via email with cafe owner Choty.

Travel 2014: 5 Countries in a Year

Yes, it's that post. That last post of the year, the post that recaps the year. That post. 

 

Because, truth be told, 2014 has been a good year for me - wanderlust-wise. With everything that has been going on at posting time, it may seem insensitive but it has made me grateful that I got to travel safely and got to experience what I did in five different but distinctively beautiful countries.

Not as many as some people who have jetted to seven countries in a span of 12 months (I am looking at you, mom!) but still a feat for me who is used to traveling once or twice a year.

Bangkok 2014 - Som Tam Nua, Siam Square Soi 5

The famous Som Tam Nua restaurant in Siam Square Soi 5 was the first place we hit upon reaching Bangkok. After checking in at Lub D, we headed to Siam Square by foot since it was just across the main intersection and is accessible via the elevated walkway. 

Even though it was only about 5pm when we came across Som Tam Nua in Soi 5, there were several groups of people inside, munching happily on the colourful variety of Thai dishes on their tables. The clientele was a mix of local and foreign visitors, indicating Som Tam Nua's popularity which is further contributed to by the restaurant winning CNNGo.com's Best Eats 2010 awards. I've heard that at peak hour, a queue forms outside the restaurant hence our decision to have a early dinner.

Bangkok 2014 - Lub D hostel, Siam Square

On my previous trips to Bangkok, I have had the privilege of having a working parent located there and that meant free accommodation at fancy serviced apartment and for a brief time period, a driver to drive us around the city. 

Fast forward three years later, said parent has returned back to Malaysia and I have not visited Bangkok since. Well, until recently, when I had an insatiable urge to revisit the city. And also to visit a  husky cafe there *insert excited scream*

Anyway, without a luxury apartment waiting for me, it fell to me to find a place to stay in Bangkok. Fortunately my trip to Japan has turned my preference towards hostels as a means of a budget accommodation and after asking around amongst friends and family, I opted for Lub D, Siam Square (www.lubd.com) for my 5D4N trip to Bangkok in December 2014.