My Selangor Story - Day 1

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Works best if you have Facebook open! Thanks for leaving your comments! Thank you all for voting for me previously! If you did not know, there were more than a hundred participants and only 30 bloggers were selected for the My Selangor Story Blogging Competition 2010. To all my international friends, Selangor is one of the 14 states in Malaysia and is will be my destination for the next week!
VIP treatment, Hot air stewardess, fastest Internet speed in Malaysia, moonlight dinner at iCity, a paparazzi’s best friend, budget shopping n more! So here goes my story! For those who enjoy videos, here’s a show I put together:



Don’t worry, I know you guys want more so here come the story and the pictures!
It was a clear morning at Penang for this time of the year. Bb and I started out journey to Penang International Airport. A 10 minute drive compared to if I were heading to KLIA. Despite the current growth spurt, Penang is still a small place and we reached the airport in no time at all!
Upon reaching the air port, a relations manager, Derrick, greeted us at the airport, and escorted us throughout the check in process! Even first class passengers don’t get that kind of treatment!! Today, we would be flying Firefly to Subang Airport, my first time with Bb! We were escorted past security after checking in our luggage and we were welcomed into the Malaysian Airline lounge (Firefly is a subsidiary of MAS)




Greeting us at the lounge was this lady with full MAS uniform. Before catching the 1pm flight, we were met with a fellow blogger, Jing Yi from Penang as well! At the First Class lounge, it was like heaven!!! Not only was there space for a hundred people, there was a kids room, Satellite TV, newspapers and a business centre.
More importantly, there was a buffet! We helped ourselves to some finger food, canapés, drinks and dessert!


Even the wash room was first class! (see Bb's blog for the ladies room). Everything you need and more!



Not long after, we were given VIP treatment to board the plane. Derrick, the airport relations manager escorted us all the way to the tarmac and on to the Fokker class jet.


As you can see, the flashy orange white uniforms of the air hostess are designed to catch your attention! A young airliner since 2007, Firefly is a subsidiary of Malaysian Airlines. Its fleet services local routes and do expect to get cheap flights between Subang, Penang and Singapore!
Take off was unexpectedly fast compared to the time it takes for larger planes. The flight to Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport would take another 50mins, at 15,000 feet and a ground speed of 500kmph. Much quicker than the 5 hour drive (at a legal 110kmph of course). We were shocked to hear the cabin crew welcome us via the cabin announcement! Light refreshments were served. Peanuts and biscuits, orange and apple juice!

The journey was as quick as a blink of an eye, apart from the cloudy weather. I decided to do an initial D test in the plane. A manly voice called over the PA,"Ladies and gentlemen, we have now landed at Subang Airport, please remain seated until the plane has come to a stop. You may not use your mobile phones until reaching the inside of the terminal." Thank you firefly! Been a pleasure!

Upon reaching Subang Airport! Another sweet surprise! The Kapitan was kind to host us for some afternoon tea!



We had coffee, tea and the traditional kuih-muih. Then, we were joined by the pilots and air hosts from Firefly. Hot stuff! Beside me, they were whispering "Hold it, hold your breath..."




We were briefed on the plans for the day by our MSS mummy, Amelia Tan and our MSS daddy, En Fazli from tourism Selangor. All set, off we went to Shah Alam! Once again thank you Firefly for the amazing time!

We checked into to the Carlton Holiday Shah Alam where we will be staying for the night.

After some freshening up, we were acquainted with our official media sponsor, Pentax. Our 30 participants were given 30 cameras from their entire range! Some got the DSLRs, some got the compact cameras, as for me, I got the Pentax X70, a mini telephoto camera. At first I was not impressed by the tiny thing. After all, bigger is better right? As will soon find out, small things should not be underestimated!
Pentax x70
Will be reviewing this camera soon! Look out for it!



Cameras all packed, we headed to iCity for a first night out! iCity, the city of digital lights! Just a stone’s throw away, we made it there in no time. Glimmering as always, iCity attracts about 70,000 people every week and about 3 million visitors every year.

We were greeted by the CEO of iCity, Mr Eu who was kind enough to enlighten us with some insider information. Not many people know that iCity is now fully occupied, aiming to be home base to the Googles and Amazons of Malaysia. To keep it short, iCity is an enormous office, where facilities like board rooms, conference rooms or business centres are rented out to companies on an ad hoc basis. With its dedicated fibreoptic network and servers, internet speeds there surpass the speeds of most places. I mean, you should have been there when the man loaded Youtube, faster than London’s internet! Besides that, the city has two power stations feeding into it as a back up in case one goes down!

Icity is known as the city of digital lights as it boasts more than one thousand' trees'. In total, more than 3 million LED light up at night, turning the office park into one of Malaysia's most visited tourist destinations. Apart from that, laser light shows are the latest installations and will a spectacle every 830pm and 1030pm. Next year in 2011, four giant screens will be fitted around the commercial park, turning the place into a countdown and entertainment centre. Here’s a piece of trivia, since LEDs do not consume that much power, the total energy consumption of the millions of LEDs total up to 4 shoplots! Not bad eh considering all the lights!

For dinner, we had steamboat. But this was no ordinary dinner, for our fist dinner, we were treated to a seafood steamboat, UNDER THE STARS! Yes that right, we dined in the middle of the iCity garden! No one else would get this kind of treatment I tell you! Every one looking were like



The view was breath taking as it was my first time dining under moonlight, LED lights and a laser light! Wee! :)



After dinner we took some time to explore the area and what iCity had to offer: lights lights and more lights. Like a mini Las Vegas, without the casino, the pretty lights drew us like moths.



Don't miss the highlights:
Christmas Tree
Winter wonderland
Chinese garden
Jurrasic park
Lantern Court
LED Forest
Cactus patch
Laser lights
Deer
Peacocks
Flamingoes
Swans and the
Giant Screen



Next up, Uptown Shah Alam! It was the first time for me at Uptown Shah Alam! To the locals, this would be a night market as it will be open from 7pm to 3am every day! Yes, every day! 365 days a year this place would be open to the public!



Do expect shopping for all sorts of goods including:



Uptown Shah Alam is more like a Pasar Malam. Everything you need is here, food, clothes, cars, flowers, apparel, mediums and decorations.



We were also treated to some supper and some local entertainment. Amelia volunteered to entertain the crowd!


Back at the hotel, bb swapped her room to be closer to me! As we left her earlier room, OMG!! Blattella asahinai alert or in Hokkien Kacuak, Malay, Lipas, or in plain English, cockroaches!

Got back I closed my eyes, hoping not to sleep with any cockroaches tonight...

But the cockroach would find it's way into some place so unexpected, it would freak you out!! My little six legged friend was spotted in...Read on to Day 2, where you won't expect to find creepy crawlies, lunch with genting's CEO and the Selangor state tourism exco, and a show that will thrill and even teach you some magic! Promise that Day 2 is going to be bigger and better!

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