My Putrajaya Hot Air Balloon Ride Experience

OK, let me begin the story about the contest held in Twitter by @myballoonfiesta.

I found out that there was a contest where 5 top twitterers who tweets about the Putrajaya Hot Air Balloon Fiesta 2011 and tag the @myballoonfiesta (so that they can count the tweets) will win free hot air balloon ride for two. So, since I had never been in a hot air balloon before (or being flown in one), I decided to enter this contest. About three days before the closing date, I was tweeting quite madly, apologizing to my followers at the same time for clogging the timeline.

By the end of the contest, I was told that I won a pair of tickets. At first, the person in charge (Nur Atiqah) informed me that my time slot is on Saturday morning and that I have to be at Secretariat, Monumen Alaf Baru, Putrajaya by 7.45am to register and then the hot air balloons will take off at 8am. A few hours later, she called me up again to inform that my time slot has changed to Sunday morning instead and again, she reminded me that I must be at the Secretariat at 7.45am because the hot air balloons will take off at 8am. 

Note : She reminded me TWICE.

At first, I thought I would not be able to go because of my "tie" with the Selangor Water Festival but after a last minute change of plans with the family (that's another long story), I was able to go to the hot air balloon fiesta on Sunday.

Now see this, I arrived at 7.45am at the Secretariat (Site C) just like she told me to. I had to wait for 10 minutes for the person at the Secretariat to call the person in charge about the hot air balloon ride and then text that person my name. Then, the same person at the Secretariat brought me to Site A at the Command Center. By now, it was already 8am. And what did they tell me when I arrived at Site A? ALL balloons have flown. (Check out map here so you can understand the layout better.)

I'm like, seriously??

The person I met at Site A (Mazlina, Razali and a very nice sis whom I forgot to ask her name - sorry!) asked why I was late and so I explained what the Twitter person in charge (Nur Atiqah) informed me on the phone about my flight schedule. Honestly, Nur Atiqah spoke to me in short and precise Manglish that does not leave room for any hidden meanings or misunderstanding. Again, let me stress here, she said clearly to, "come at 7.45am because 8am all hot air balloons are up in the air". Whereas Mazlina told me that the balloons had started to take off since 7.15am.  

NOBODY TOLD ME THAT! 

Yes, I was disappointed. So, Mazlina offered me the tethered ride. And apparently there were others who also missed their hot air balloon ride. Turns out, there were 5 groups who missed. So, they prepared a new balloon for us to ride at site G and yeah, I only got to ride the tethered balloon ride that goes up in the air like 4 stories high, stayed up for nearly 5 minutes and then settle back down to the ground. Insasmuch as I would like to say we went up again, we didn't.

Am I disappointed? Yes. However, it was kind of Mazlina, Razali and sis-I-forgot-to-ask-name to offer me the hot air balloon ride in the evening. They said, if I am around at 5pm and if the weather is fine, they will slot me in to the evening ride. Although I already guess it was quite far-fetch considering that for the past few weeks it always rains in the evening, I was also happy with that offer. At least they tried. Heck, they even gave Bbunz a tag so that we can get into Site A whenever. And all this while, I could not contact Nur Atiqah.

By 3pm, it was raining cats and dogs. And by 5pm, only some balloonists dared to brave the wind and none was willing to carry passengers with them. As a matter of fact, Bbunz and I witnessed two balloons crashing into each other and propelled one of them into the trees. That was a dangerous moment.

1. So, was I satisfied? No.
2. Would I wait until next year for another chance to ride the hot air balloon? Maybe.
3. Do I have any suggestions? Yes, I do. I suggest those involved forward this hot air balloon event to the middle of the year or some time when the weather is not as wet as in March. In doing so, not only will  it attract more visitors from around the country - which means an increase in profit for the organizers - it will also allow everyone at the event (balloonists, visitors and traders on site) to feel more ease and will allow them to do what they do best better.

Come on, if you can organize something as big as this, it wouldn't be too hard to just change the dates that would benefit everyone right? If you need petition from the people, then rally up the Malaysian bloggers and twitterers. I'm sure A LOT would be willing to cooperate because if it's beneficial for us all, why not? Think about it guys!

Anyways, just some photos at the 3rd Putrajaya Hot Air Balloon event. More photos will be uploaded at FB.

Hot Air Balloons

Paramotor, Helicopter, Hot Air Balloons

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SHEMAH

MATTA International Fair Selangor Umrah & Muslim Travel 2011

Had been at the fair and working as part of the live tweeting group for the past two days. The event started on Friday, 14th Jan 2011 until Sunday, 16th Jan 2011 from 10am to 9pm. It was at Shah Alam Convention Center and though it was pretty further from where I live, I like being involved. Although I don't usually sacrifice my weekends, but this one I made an exception. LOL..

Some other photos of MASUM I tweeted here.

This fair, called MASUM in short, showcases quite a lot of travel packages for both Muslims and Non-Muslims. Although the title itself says that it is for Umrah & Muslim Travel, it does not mean it is purposefully for Muslim travelers only. What it meant with Muslim Travel is that the location, lodging, food and other necessities provided where the tour goes to are within the scope approved for Muslims. So this means, travelers that purchases the holiday package offered here do not have to worry about looking for Halal food or others because everything is within the line of the Islamic law.

So, no worries while enjoy yourself to the max during your trip!

Not only the prices of the tour packages offered by the exhibitionists are affordable and competitive, there was also a few competition going on for visitors throughout the day. 

The competitions were:

1. Colouring contests for children aged 5-7
2. Chanting Batik for those aged 8-12 and 12-15
3. Quizzes for the adults 
4. Buyer's Contest

The Buyer's Contest are only for visitors who purchased from the exhibitionists. This contest is the easiest because visitor's eligibility is at as low as RM200 minimum purchase. Imagine if you purchase a tour package worth RM5000? You've already gotten yourself 24 entries, just like that! The lucky winners will win two free tickets to London, Paris and Frankfurt!

So there I was, in the morning slot (10am-3.30pm), tweeting about #MASUM since yesterday. I'm sorry if I flooded your timeline. Won't make that a habit, I promise. Here are some of the things we tweeted about.

#MASUM

I wasn't tweeting this matter by myself. If you have seen this word #MASUM in twitter, you will notice that there were 6 of us in total tweeting on the topic, not to mention Tourism Selangor and Selangor Events helping us out too (or more like Dian doing the three-man job all by herself). Kudos to everyone involved! Kudos to Tourism Selangor too for this first time approach. Social media is quite a force to be reckoned with.

Some of the showcased items at Perbadanan Adat Melayu dan Warisan

Negeri Selangor (PADAT) booth outside MASUM Hall.

In case you missed this year's MASUM, there'll be another in January 2012. So don't miss out on the chance to get the best traveling deals! Hope to see you guys at MASUM 2012!

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LADYJAVA

Latest version - Twitter and My Own Story

MySelangorStory

Alright, truth is, I have not blogged for quite a while because I was involved with the MySelangorStory tour and there were no stable internet line during those days I was away. However, I know I can't let this go on for another few days because somebody have started nagging at me about updating and wanting to read latest post from me. OK OK, I'm doing this solely coz of you, you know! LOL.

There are so many things that I want to tell about my experience with MySelangorStory which requires me to do it in six (yup, 6!) different posts - or more, come to think of it - on the fun and fatigue things I did throughout the tour. So, to those who wanted to know what had happened, just hold on a little bit more guys, I need to spice things up a bit so you can feast your curiosity.

Oh yes, did anyone realize that there's a new version of Twitter? I opened my Twitter this morning and I saw this blue headline at the top written : "Pssst.... the new version of Twitter is here." So, I clicked the yellow box "Try It Now" and this is what I get --->

Twitter new version layout

I did not fall in love with it the first time I saw and tried out the options. I encountered a lot of errors but then I suppose you'll come across such problems in a Beta version of an application right? But as time goes by and after getting feedbacks from the users, I'm sure they'll improve version and the options available. Personally, I think the options on the right hand side should be made into a more orderly fashion. Or if the tabs on the top left box is highlighted. All in all, there were not so many changes from the present Twitter interface so I don't have a tough time to work it. I just feel that it needs some more tweaking to allow quicker updates. Still, it doesn't mean something is bad if you don't fall in love with it at first sight, right? 

Personally, even in relationships, if I fall in love at first sight with someone, I'll fall out of love just as quickly.

P/S : Oh yes, just a reminder to everybody... Once I've put up posts for my entry on the MySelangorStory - no worries, I'll make sure there's a note to say it's for the contest purposes - I would gladly appreciate votes from all of you and comments too! Hope to get help from all of you out there. Thank you in advance.

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MONICA

Between Facebook and Twitter

Do you guys have Facebook or Twitter? Do you have both? Neither?

I think in this new-age era, it would be surprising if you do not have at least one. Both these social network sites have brought out a new meaning on the quote "world at your fingertips". I mean, you can be connected with someone 10,000 miles away from you and you'll feel as if they're right next to you. You get instant replies and sometimes you might chat with these people more than with your brother or mother that's living in your same house.

Although I'm not saying that this happens to everybody, but it has turned into a viral phenomenon pretty much overnight. 

As for myself, I think I am more of a Twitterer than a Facebooker. I hardly leave any status on my Facebook. And now that I have connected my Twitter to my Facebook, then all the updates I make on Twitter will come out on my Facebook wall immediately. Which makes me lazier to get in to Facebook. Still, I'm not living my Facebook dormant. I do love playing the games there.

Oh, while I was browsing some sites and reading some cute comics, I stumbled upon this one and thought of sharing it with you guys.

Well, for what it's worth,  I don't think I'd appreciate reading my parents' Facebook status on their "date" and stuffs. So luckily there was no Facebook back then. LOL!!

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MONICA