You are never ever the same after you travel.
I just came home from a trip organized and sponsored by AirAsia Zest and Tourism Malaysia. It was a special flight – I, together with my fellow Cebu travel bloggers, men and women from media and travel agents and the regular passengers – we were all on-board the inaugural flight of this popular Asian airline company.
December 1 was their first day of flight for their new direct route: Cebu to Kuala Lumpur and KL-Cebu and we were invited to celebrate it with them by flying to KL and experiencing the city.
Thank you Air Asia Zest for this amazing 4 days trip, it was a wonderful start to December. Terima Kasih, Daghang Salamat. =)
Cebu Travel Bloggers: All Smiles fresh from our Malaysia Experience!
The trip was also design so we can get to know the top attractions of Malaysia including sight-seeing of its well preserved historical buildings and amazing skyscrapers and towers, the history of the city, theme parks, the savory and flavorful food offerings, to witness first-hand why shopping here is popular the world over. But most especially it was to know more about the culture and its people.
There are tons to do and things to see and moments to experience in this wonderful country and I will share some of my experiences in a more detailed way on another blog post. Errr it’s going to be a series of blog posts haha. 
The Changing Hue of the Seri Wawasan Bridge in Putrajaya
I am well-traveled within our country but not so much about overseas travel. I was not really expecting much about Malaysia, I thought that it’ll be like our country the PH but mannn I was blown away the moment we left the airport and coursed through their long intersecting highways. They’ve got like tons of express ways there hehe.
Sorry if I sound so probinsyana but well I am and I only drove through SLEX, NLEX and Maharlika Highway hehe. When we got to the Kuala Lumpur, ohhh myyy. I tried not to compare but it is very hard not to so I must say what I feel – present day Manila / Cebu has a lot of catching up to do to get near where KL is right now.
Kuala Lumpur Skyline and Skyscrapers
Masjid Putra or the Pink Mosque
i-City Snowalk Experience – with a crazy photobomber hehe
Getting Chummy with celebrities at the Red Carpet Wax Museum
On the plane I was seated beside this Australian guy and we got to talk about his visit in Cebu, his efforts in helping Typhoon Haiyan/Yolanda in Bantayan Island but what I remembered most from our conversation was how he was excited for me and our group to experience Kuala Lumpur. He was in KL numerous times 2 decades ago and when he came back years and years after, the sight that greeted him completely astounds him.
Gone was the old KL, it’s now replaced with a modern cosmopolitan city frequented by tourists and visitors from all over the globe. Kuala Lumpur has such a turn-around in a short time; you can’t recognize it from what it was before, he excitedly shares.
Later on during our tour, our guide relayed that Malaysia is among the most popular country destinations among travelers. It certainly looks so because everywhere I look I saw groups, couples, solo foreign travelers everywhere. There were really tons of them, us rather since we were also foreigners there hehe.
One of the busy food jaunts in Malaysia, food was superb!
Then I told him that we were on the maiden flight of Air Asia Zest for Cebu to Kuala Lumpur, he asked if the flight is going to be a regular thing and informed him that yep, Air Asia now has a 4 times weekly flight for Cebu-KL and KL-Cebu. ‘Great! Now I think I am going to fly Sydney – KL – Cebu instead of going to Cebu by way of Singapore.
I asked why, is travel time shorter? He said no, it’s more or less the same from Sydney but Singapore is more impersonal, whereas Malaysia and Malaysians are more welcoming. That was my first intro to the character of Malaysian, an observation by a foreigner. 🙂
At the i-City Trick Art Museum
Lastly, let me just share this because I am so impressed with the sense of pride that our guide Mr Ashar exudes, it’s the kind of pride of country that I hope more and more Filipinos will feel about the Philippines.
I am a very proud Filipino, I am proud of our country in spite of all that ails her right now, and when you see kindred souls who without a doubt is a proud local you can feel it and makes you wish more people will feel that special ‘pride sense’ too for their own place. Sir you are doing a great service to your country and you are an awesome guide. Thank you for the stories and infos. =)
I am going to end this post with this pic of me with the Petronas Tower visible in the background. As our guide said, you’ve never been really to Malaysia without stopping by and taking a picture with the current tallest twin towers in the world.
Selamat Datang! Welcome to Malaysia!
p.s. you know how much I love Christmas and the whole holiday season right? I was beyond joyous when I saw the dazzling and glittering Christmas display at the Pavillion Mall in Bukit Bintang, I thought Malaysia as a whole does not celebrate Christmas so imagine my delight when I saw all those amazing displays and set-ups in the malls! *one happy kid*
p.p.s. Discovering Malaysia sparked a yearning in me to get to know and explore the rest of Asia, that explains the first line of this post. =)
**This post won the Best in Photoblog conducted by Air Asia Marketing team for this Malaysia trip. For prize, I got a free round trip ticket to any local destination of Air Asia. Yeyyyy!!!
If you are planning to explore other countries, don’t miss visiting this Asian neighbor, you will definitely enjoy Malaysia! And when you do choose the right way to fly. =)
This trip was made possible by AirAsia Zest – The Right Way to fly and Tourism Malaysia . Air Asia Zest now flies direct daily to Kuala Lumpur Malaysia from the Cebu Mactan International Airport. For online flight bookings and reservations, schedules and updates on promo fares, please visit Air Asia Zest website. Follow them too on Twitter and Facebook.
Visit Malaysia 2014 as Tourism Malaysia and the whole country gear up to give all visitors and guests a one of a kind amazing experience all year round. Discover Malaysia, Truly Asia!
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