It’s that time of the year again when AirAsia plays Santa Claus (even though it’s nowhere near Christmas yet) and gives away 1,000,000 free seats on all of its flights to and from Kuala Lumpur, Johor Bahru, Kuching and Kota Kinabalu.

However, you must book between now and 31st August 2008 for travel between 1st April 2009 and 31st July 2009.

The airfare is free but you must still pay for taxes and other surcharges. For instance, a KL-Bangkok-KL ticket would only cost RM295, out of which RM25 goes to Malaysian airport tax, RM75 goes to outbound fuel surcharge, RM22.50 for outbound administration fee, RM75 goes to Thai airport tax, RM22.50 is allotted for inbound administration fee and RM75 for the inbound fuel surcharge.

The cheapest normal AirAsia fare for that route is RM595, which means savings of RM300 per person. Is that a great deal or what?!Other samplings: KL-Bali-KL for RM260. KL-Krabi-KL for RM263. KL-Phuket-KL for RM294.

So forget about those Halloween invitations for a while and hurry over to AirAsia.com now!

Psst…the best time to log on is between 3 am and 7 am. And plan to travel on weekdays, eg departing on Tuesday, come back on Thursday, because the free tickets are usually for weekday flights.

Initially, I resisted signing up for Facebook because I felt I wouldn’t have the time for it. But I ended up signing up anyway because I wanted to contact my former English teacher in Ateneo and she was somehow in Facebook and couldn’t be found anywhere else on the Web.

I was sure glad I signed up because I managed to hook up with a lot of old friends from Ateneo de Manila — batchmates, my seniors, and my juniors alike.

Oh, and I also had a lot of fun tinkering with Trip Advisor’s Travel Map.

All you need to do is click on cities that you’ve already visited from TripAdvisor’s default list. TripAdvisor will then pin those places in the world map. At some point, I found that the list of cities took some time to load, hence I decided to click on certain areas of the world map instead and just zoomed in to refresh my memory on which cities I’ve already visited. Most of them are on the map (such as Puebla, Mexico and Zaandam, The Netherlands) but some aren’t (such as smaller towns in the Philippines).

After I was done, I was blown away by the results — so far, I’ve been to 60 81 cities in 19 countries! True, most of my trips were work-related, mostly two- or three-day trips crammed with meetings, lunch meetings and dinner meetings. But then again, some trips were family holidays, thanks to some irresistible travel deals, usually involving AirAsia. (What can I say? They’re pretty generous with free ticket giveaways!) But in the end, whether it was for business or pleasure, I have been to those places. And I feel so blessed. Even if it means renewing my passport every 2 years or so at exhorbitant prices in the Philippine Embassy in KL. Yes, Virginia, they charge a ridiculous amount — in Malaysian Ringgit, no less! — for making a new passport, easily 3 times as much as what you’d pay if you did in the Philippines. But I digress…

Click here if you want to waste a good hour or so making your own travel map. Have fun! :)

DH and I were invited to a wedding in The Sultanate of Oman last January. I typed the draft about the henna night right after we came back to Malaysia but totally forgot about it until today.

The application of henna as a temporary decoration on the hands and feet of the bride is an important part of Indian, Malay and Arab weddings. According to Wikipedia, in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sudan, the groom is expected to have it done as well. In Malaysia, the most that Malay grooms ever have is on their fingertips. And not every groom does it.

For Malay brides, however, the tradition is so deeply ingrained, that no wedding seems complete without it, even if it’s not a compulsory thing to do. It’s also a definite must for Indian brides.

In Malaysia, henna can be applied at the fingertips only, but it can be as intricate as the photos in this site.

The henna night I attended in Oman was very unforgettable indeed, for good and bad reasons. Read on…

Held at the bride’s home, the all-ladies affair started around 6 pm. I felt so honoured to have been invited, as the henna party was limited to the immediate family and very close friends and relatives of the bride.

Two henna artists made magic with tiny cones of henna paste, expertly drawing intricate freehand designs on the guests’ fingers, hands, arms and feet, with the area of coverage depending on the guest’s personal preference.

The ladies sat and talked, sipping tea and exchanging gossip as they waited for their turn. Those who already had their turn sat with their arms outstretched, to avoid having their clothes stained by the henna. Even little girls as young as 3 or 4 years old patiently sat down to wait for the henna to dry. One lady took some food from her plate and fed her friend who was having her arms decorated up to the elbows. There was music, there was dancing. Omani ladies sure know how to party!

When my turn finally came, I excitedly put my hand on the special pillow and let the henna artist swirl the dark brown paste into tiny flowers, vines and leaves. The lines were very fine and no two designs were alike. I was so excited, I felt like a bride myself!

My hands, nails and fingers done, I sat down and started the long wait for the paste to turn into a pale green colour, signifying that it has already dried.

Unfortunately, it turns out that Omani henna artists now add a certain chemical to the henna paste to make the colour turn dark faster. Traditionally, henna would have to be left on overnight in order to achieve the desired dark red-brown colour. With the addition of certain chemicals, the same colour can be achieved in about an hour. The downside? Not all skin types take kindly to it, including mine. Especially mine!

My poor hands started to feel a hot stinging sensation underneath the cool smooth paste of swirly patterns on my hands. During the first 20 minutes, everyone said it was normal. But as time went on, the stinging became more intense and my skin started to turn scarlet. The other ladies who were present started crowding around me, murmuring intelligible Arabic phrases. All I understood was “ahmar“, which meant “red”, a most apt description of the colour of the skin on my hands.

One of the aunties gingerly touched the inflamed skin in between the half-damp, half-dried designs on my hands. She declared that some of the areas have already dried, and she slowly scraped off the hardened bits. I winced as her hands rubbed my skin, then felt immense relief as she gently dabbed some petroleum jelly on the raw areas. Someone else brought in a small ice pack from the kitchen, which they pressed gently on my burning skin.

It took quite a while for the stinging sensation to completely go away, with my skin feeling raw for the next few days, even after we already went back to Malaysia.

Ahh…the lengths women go through for the sake of beauty!

Postscript:

If you are tempted to try this temporary form of tattoo, you can expect the henna to fade within a week or two, depending on the type of henna that you use and how long you let it stay on your skin after application. But if you apply henna on your nails, the colour will go right into the keratin and there is no way of removing it. You can only wait for your nails to grow out.

Different types of henna produce different colours, ranging from red to orange to brown to dark reddish black, and can also be used for dyeing the hair.

The Tuileries Gardens in Paris make for an interesting stroll. It’s a sprawling park with trees, mallard ducks playing hide and seek amidst the tulips, and ancient statues. But stay away when it’s a windy day lest you find yourself in a virtual dust storm because a huge portion of the area is comprised of bare earth.

Between now and the 2nd of June, 2008, if you do visit the Tuileries, be prepared to come face to face with a gargantuan black spider, about as tall as a tree. Or to be more precise, 30 feet (9.1 m) tall.

It’s actually a sculpture by artist Louise Bourgeois, one of the seven bronze casts, with a stainless steel version on long-term loan to the Tate Modern, London. The six other bronze casts are located at:

* National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa
* State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg
* Guggenheim Museum Bilbao
* Mori Art Museum, Roppongi, Tokyo
* Samsung Museum of Modern Art (Leeum), Seoul
* Havana, Cuba

I hadn’t planned on posting this pic because I find it quite creepy (I hate creepy crawlies!) but then I saw a photograph of the same spider in Kayni’s Corner Cafe, although I didn’t know yet at that time that there are several casts of the same sculpture. That’s why there’s no oomph in this photo. I just snapped away without thinking of composition or angles, just focusing on showing its size relative to the trees.

The sculpture is, interestingly, called “Maman“, which is French for “Mama”. I found the choice of name bizarre, at the very least, for a spider. Curious, I immediately googled it up and found out from Guggenheim Museum’s website that the sculpture is actually associated with the artist’s own mother (seriously!). According to the site: “The spider, who protects her precious eggs in a steel cage-like body, provokes awe and fear, but her massive height, improbably balanced on slender legs, conveys an almost poignant vulnerability.”

If you are looking for a safe, clean, cheap place to stay in Amsterdam, try the Shelter City Hostel. It’s a Christian hostel that’s drug-free, smoke-free and alcohol-free. If you’re a party animal, stop reading right now because this place is not for you. But if you like the idea of a hostel where men and women are segregated, where a curfew is strictly followed, is drug-free, smoke-free and alcohol-free, then please read on.

The location is very convenient — it’s about 2 minutes’ walk from the Nieuwmarkt tram stop, 15 minutes’ walk from Central Station, about 15 minutes’ walk from Anne Frank huis and Nieuw Kerk (New Church). Within walking distance are restaurants, cafes, coffee shops, quaint retail outlets selling everything from kites to shoes to costumes to souvenirs. Oh, and it’s right smack at the doorstep of the Red Light District. Lola and I accidentally found this out on our first night in Amsterdam, but I’ll write about this in a separate post.

The rates start from €16.50 per person per night for a 12-20 bedded room. The price includes hot showers (shared facilities per floor, which also have a common-use hair dryer) and a free breakfast. They offer 5 different combinations for breakfast involving eggs, ham, bread, jam, butter, and/or boiled egg. You can also opt for a hot breakfast, whose menu varies everyday, e.g. French toast for Sundays.

There are no lifts in this place and you need to go up two flights of stairs to get to the girls’ floor, with the second flight being impossibly steep and small. You either leave your heavy stuff with the reception or be prepared to lug your bag by yourself.

The rooms are small and spartan, but the sheets are crisp and clean. We had a sink and mirror in our room, in addition to the small lockers that are provided for free. It’s highly encouraged to lock the lockers but you must bring your own padlock or rent one from the reception.

It felt so nostalgic sleeping on the upper bunk bed, as it reminded me of my freshman year in Eliazo Residence Hall at the Ateneo de Manila University :)

Stairs	Bunk Beds	Sink
Steep & narrow stairs	Bunk beds inside room	Sink & mirror on the right

Most of the people who were there during our stay were young people (obviously!), but there were a few elderly guests, and even 2 Muslim ladies from Algeria who were wearing headscarves. The hostel welcomes everyone, irregardless of religion or belief… or even lack thereof. But true to their Christian nature, they have small Bibles stashed discreetly inside the lockers and also displayed conspicuously on the dining hall counter. They hold Bible studies, as well, but no one’s forced to join them.

Considering that the staff are all volunteers, I was pleasantly surprised to find everyone very friendly and helpful. I remember Michael, who patiently explained to us the house rules when we checked in and gave us directions to the new library near Central Station if we wanted free wi-fi. (We lost our way, by the way, and found the Red Light District instead.) There was also another guy whose name I never managed to find out who taught me how to pronounce ‘Zuiderzeeweg’ [zhao-der-zhey-wakh]. The people who served breakfast at the breakfast hall were also very cheerful.

Reception	Breakfast	Hallway
Reception counter	Breakfast hall	The girls’ floor

Check-out time is quite early — 10 am — but you can leave your bags for free at the reception until 6 pm on the same day of your check-out. Again, you have to provide your own padlock or rent one from the reception.

They have a strict 2 am curfew (definitely not an issue for me and Lola!), and they only re-open the doors at 7 am. Most of the guests abide by this curfew but others don’t seem to mind getting locked out. Apparently, they just spend the whole night partying, then hanging out later on at ‘coffee shops’ before finally going back to the hostel at 7 am to sleep. [A quick note on ‘coffee shops’ in Amsterdam. They don’t exactly sell coffee. People hang out there to smoke marijuana, which is perfectly legal over there.]

The Shelter City Hostel has another branch in the picturesque Jordaan area, the Shelter Jordan Christian Hostel.